'twas the night before Festivus ...
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace! Finish the poem!
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum ’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace! The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow, While visions of BASIC danced to and fro. With volunteers nestled snug at their screens, Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene. When out FRM the bench there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter. Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash, Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed. The glow of monitors cast an odd light, Giving life to machines asleep for the night. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer. With a jolly old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. Faster than a Cray his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now ENIAC! Now Colossus! Now Commodore, too! On Tandy! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you! To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall, Now compute away, compute away all!” As floppy disks spin when systems engage, The relics came to life on this magical stage. Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew, With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor, The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared. As I drew in my head and turned back around, Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow, With wires and LEDs making him show. A bundle of cables was flung on his back, And he looked like a coder unloading his stack. His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight, As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task, Refurbishing systems—no need to ask. He restored the old servers, fixed bugs in the code, And breathed life anew into systems that slowed. Then laying his finger aside of his key, He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee. Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh, Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way. He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team, And away they all flew like a well-coded dream. But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight, “Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-) On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
Excellent!Hit Print before its deleted. On Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 11:22:45 AM EST, Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote: ’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum ’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace! The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow, While visions of BASIC danced to and fro. With volunteers nestled snug at their screens, Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene. When out FRM the bench there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter. Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash, Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed. The glow of monitors cast an odd light, Giving life to machines asleep for the night. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer. With a jolly old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. Faster than a Cray his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now ENIAC! Now Colossus! Now Commodore, too! On Tandy! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you! To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall, Now compute away, compute away all!” As floppy disks spin when systems engage, The relics came to life on this magical stage. Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew, With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor, The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared. As I drew in my head and turned back around, Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow, With wires and LEDs making him show. A bundle of cables was flung on his back, And he looked like a coder unloading his stack. His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight, As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task, Refurbishing systems—no need to ask. He restored the old servers, fixed bugs in the code, And breathed life anew into systems that slowed. Then laying his finger aside of his key, He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee. Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh, Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way. He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team, And away they all flew like a well-coded dream. But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight, “Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-) On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
Dean, that was really good!!! On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out FRM the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now ENIAC! Now Colossus! Now Commodore, too!
On Tandy! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old servers, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
I haven’t replied to one of these emails in a while, but I’m saving this!! On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 4:07 PM Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Dean, that was really good!!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out FRM the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now ENIAC! Now Colossus! Now Commodore, too!
On Tandy! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old servers, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
Quite impressive Dean. May I share this with my computer club the Dayton Microcomputer Association at www.dma1.org in Dayton, OH? I definitely enjoyed reading this. Quite timely too. Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) mzstock@earthlink.net Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit www.dma1.org -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf Of Charlie's Computers via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2024 7:11 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Charlie's Computers <charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ... I haven’t replied to one of these emails in a while, but I’m saving this!! On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 4:07 PM Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Dean, that was really good!!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out FRM the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now ENIAC! Now Colossus! Now Commodore, too!
On Tandy! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old servers, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
Certainly! Please use the slightly tweaked, cleanup up version here: ’Twas the Night Before Festivus at the Museum (Inspired by Jeff Brace of the Vintage Computer Federation/M.A.R.C.H) ’Twas the night before Festivus, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace! The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care, In hopes that St. Niklaus (Wirth) soon would be there. The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow, While visions of BASIC danced to and fro. With volunteers nestled snug at their screens, Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene. When out from the workbench there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my station to see what was the matter. Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash, Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed. The glow of monitors cast an odd light, Giving life to machines asleep for the night. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a mini drive sled and eight robotic reindeer. With a jolly old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nik. Faster than a Cray his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too! On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you! To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall, Now compute away, compute away all!” As floppy disks spin when systems engage, The relics came to life on this magical stage. Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew, With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nik, too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor, The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared. As I drew in my head and turned back around, Down the mini-computer St. Niklaus came with a bound. He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow, With wires and LEDs making him show. A bundle of cables was flung on his back, And he looked like a coder unloading his stack. His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight, As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task, Refurbishing systems—no need to ask. He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code, And breathed life anew into systems that slowed. Then laying his finger aside of his key, He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee. Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh, Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way. He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team, And away they all flew like a well-coded dream. But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight, “Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:48 PM Michael Stock via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Quite impressive Dean. May I share this with my computer club the Dayton Microcomputer Association at www.dma1.org in Dayton, OH?
I definitely enjoyed reading this. Quite timely too.
Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) mzstock@earthlink.net Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit www.dma1.org
-----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf Of Charlie's Computers via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2024 7:11 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Charlie's Computers <charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ...
I haven’t replied to one of these emails in a while, but I’m saving this!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 4:07 PM Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Dean, that was really good!!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out from the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too!
On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
Thanks Dean. By the way what is a “Brace”? That is the one term that I wasn’t familiar with in the poem. Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> mzstock@earthlink.net Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit <http://www.dma1.org> www.dma1.org From: Dean Notarnicola <dnotarnicola@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, December 16, 2024 6:18 AM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: mzstock@earthlink.net Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ... Certainly! Please use the slightly tweaked, cleanup up version here: ’Twas the Night Before Festivus at the Museum (Inspired by Jeff Brace of the Vintage Computer Federation/M.A.R.C.H) ’Twas the night before Festivus, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace! The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care, In hopes that St. Niklaus (Wirth) soon would be there. The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow, While visions of BASIC danced to and fro. With volunteers nestled snug at their screens, Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene. When out from the workbench there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my station to see what was the matter. Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash, Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed. The glow of monitors cast an odd light, Giving life to machines asleep for the night. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a mini drive sled and eight robotic reindeer. With a jolly old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nik. Faster than a Cray his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too! On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you! To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall, Now compute away, compute away all!” As floppy disks spin when systems engage, The relics came to life on this magical stage. Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew, With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nik, too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor, The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared. As I drew in my head and turned back around, Down the mini-computer St. Niklaus came with a bound. He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow, With wires and LEDs making him show. A bundle of cables was flung on his back, And he looked like a coder unloading his stack. His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight, As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task, Refurbishing systems—no need to ask. He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code, And breathed life anew into systems that slowed. Then laying his finger aside of his key, He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee. Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh, Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way. He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team, And away they all flew like a well-coded dream. But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight, “Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:48 PM Michael Stock via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote: Quite impressive Dean. May I share this with my computer club the Dayton Microcomputer Association at www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org> in Dayton, OH? I definitely enjoyed reading this. Quite timely too. Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org> -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> > On Behalf Of Charlie's Computers via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2024 7:11 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > Cc: Charlie's Computers <charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com <mailto:charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ... I haven’t replied to one of these emails in a while, but I’m saving this!! On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 4:07 PM Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote:
Dean, that was really good!!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out from the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too!
On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
That’s the one, the only, the legend Jeff Brace, VCF Vice-president and showrunner, and the person who inspired the idea to modify the poem. On Thu, Jan 30, 2025 at 1:05 PM Michael Stock via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Thanks Dean.
By the way what is a “Brace”?
That is the one term that I wasn’t familiar with in the poem.
Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA)
<mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> mzstock@earthlink.net
Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit
<http://www.dma1.org> www.dma1.org
From: Dean Notarnicola <dnotarnicola@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, December 16, 2024 6:18 AM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: mzstock@earthlink.net Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ...
Certainly! Please use the slightly tweaked, cleanup up version here:
’Twas the Night Before Festivus at the Museum
(Inspired by Jeff Brace of the Vintage Computer Federation/M.A.R.C.H)
’Twas the night before Festivus, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care, In hopes that St. Niklaus (Wirth) soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens, Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out from the workbench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my station to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash, Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light, Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a mini drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nik.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too! On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage, The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew, With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nik, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor, The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around, Down the mini-computer St. Niklaus came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow, With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back, And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight, As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task, Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code, And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh, Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team, And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!”
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:48 PM Michael Stock via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Quite impressive Dean. May I share this with my computer club the Dayton Microcomputer Association at www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org> in Dayton, OH?
I definitely enjoyed reading this. Quite timely too.
Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org>
-----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org <mailto: vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> > On Behalf Of Charlie's Computers via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2024 7:11 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto: vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > Cc: Charlie's Computers <charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com <mailto: charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ...
I haven’t replied to one of these emails in a while, but I’m saving this!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 4:07 PM Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org>
wrote:
Dean, that was really good!!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto: vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out from the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too!
On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto: vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
I appreciate the answer. That is local knowledge that I wouldn’t have been aware of. Glad to hear where the inspiration is from. Michael Stock From: Dean Notarnicola <dean.notarnicola@vcfed.org> Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2025 1:08 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Dean Notarnicola <dnotarnicola@gmail.com>; mzstock@earthlink.net Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ... That’s the one, the only, the legend Jeff Brace, VCF Vice-president and showrunner, and the person who inspired the idea to modify the poem. On Thu, Jan 30, 2025 at 1:05 PM Michael Stock via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote: Thanks Dean. By the way what is a “Brace”? That is the one term that I wasn’t familiar with in the poem. Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> > mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit <http://www.dma1.org> www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org> From: Dean Notarnicola <dnotarnicola@gmail.com <mailto:dnotarnicola@gmail.com> > Sent: Monday, December 16, 2024 6:18 AM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > Cc: mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ... Certainly! Please use the slightly tweaked, cleanup up version here: ’Twas the Night Before Festivus at the Museum (Inspired by Jeff Brace of the Vintage Computer Federation/M.A.R.C.H) ’Twas the night before Festivus, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace! The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care, In hopes that St. Niklaus (Wirth) soon would be there. The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow, While visions of BASIC danced to and fro. With volunteers nestled snug at their screens, Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene. When out from the workbench there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my station to see what was the matter. Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash, Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed. The glow of monitors cast an odd light, Giving life to machines asleep for the night. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a mini drive sled and eight robotic reindeer. With a jolly old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nik. Faster than a Cray his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too! On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you! To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall, Now compute away, compute away all!” As floppy disks spin when systems engage, The relics came to life on this magical stage. Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew, With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nik, too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor, The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared. As I drew in my head and turned back around, Down the mini-computer St. Niklaus came with a bound. He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow, With wires and LEDs making him show. A bundle of cables was flung on his back, And he looked like a coder unloading his stack. His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight, As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task, Refurbishing systems—no need to ask. He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code, And breathed life anew into systems that slowed. Then laying his finger aside of his key, He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee. Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh, Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way. He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team, And away they all flew like a well-coded dream. But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight, “Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:48 PM Michael Stock via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > wrote: Quite impressive Dean. May I share this with my computer club the Dayton Microcomputer Association at www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org> <http://www.dma1.org> in Dayton, OH? I definitely enjoyed reading this. Quite timely too. Michael Stock, Vice-President, Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA) mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net <mailto:mzstock@earthlink.net> > Trustee, Dayton Microcomputer Association, Inc. an 501(c)3 non-profit www.dma1.org <http://www.dma1.org> <http://www.dma1.org> -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> <mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> > > On Behalf Of Charlie's Computers via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2024 7:11 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > > Cc: Charlie's Computers <charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com <mailto:charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com> <mailto:charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com <mailto:charlies.retro.computing@gmail.com> > > Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] 'twas the night before Festivus ... I haven’t replied to one of these emails in a while, but I’m saving this!! On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 4:07 PM Chris Fala via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > > wrote:
Dean, that was really good!!!
On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 11:23 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > > wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, just only a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out from the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now Tandy! Now Apple! Now Commodore, too!
On Atari! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old consoles, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> > > wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
That was great man! That should be on the site. I hope people took photos On Sun, Dec 15, 2024, 5:23 PM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Museum
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
The punch cards were stacked by the Altair with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The terminals hummed with a soft, gentle glow,
While visions of BASIC danced to and fro.
With volunteers nestled snug at their screens,
Dreaming of tech from the ’70s scene.
When out FRM the bench there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the Univac, I flew like a flash,
Hoping the data tapes hadn’t been trashed.
The glow of monitors cast an odd light,
Giving life to machines asleep for the night.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature drive sled and eight robotic reindeer.
With a jolly old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Faster than a Cray his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
“Now ENIAC! Now Colossus! Now Commodore, too!
On Tandy! On Osborne! On Macintosh, you!
To the top of the rack, to the end of the hall,
Now compute away, compute away all!”
As floppy disks spin when systems engage,
The relics came to life on this magical stage.
Up to the mezzanine the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of parts and St. Nicholas, too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the floor,
The clacking of keyboards and drives as they roared.
As I drew in my head and turned back around,
Down the mini-computer St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed in red silicon, circuits aglow,
With wires and LEDs making him show.
A bundle of cables was flung on his back,
And he looked like a coder unloading his stack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks like capacitors, his nose a red cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in geek delight,
As he gazed at the machines in the soft winter night.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his task,
Refurbishing systems—no need to ask.
He restored the old servers, fixed bugs in the code,
And breathed life anew into systems that slowed.
Then laying his finger aside of his key,
He hit “Run” on the program, delighting in glee.
Through the leaky roof, he rose to his sleigh,
Ready to spread more joy the tech-lover’s way.
He sprang to his ride, gave a shout to his team,
And away they all flew like a well-coded dream.
But I heard him exclaim, as he soared out of sight,
“Happy computing to all, and to all a good night!” :-)
On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 12:49 AM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
and all through the place, not a creature was stirring, only just a Brace!
Finish the poem!
participants (8)
-
Charlie's Computers -
Chris Fala -
Christian Liendo -
Dean Notarnicola -
Dean Notarnicola -
Jeffrey Brace -
mzstock＠earthlink.net -
Sentry TV