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Category: My History

Published on Leave a comment on Grandpa, 1932-2024

Grandma always says to remember the good times.

I remember the camping and fishing trips like they were yesterday. I'm not sure if I caught anything of any account (I remember catching and releasing lots of Bluegill), but I still had fun.

I remember the woodworking that you did, the things you helped me build, and the things you built for me. I still have my clock (though it needs a new mechanism) and my truck, among others,

I remember the TV shop, where you repaired electronics, and where you got me interested in electronics. I remember the trips where we stopped at Radio Shack, and I eventually had a small collection of Forest Mims books to learn from.

I remember the gadgets you picked up at yard sales, which included an NES and a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A.

I recently learned that the scene of an accident where personal items are strewn about the road is called a yard sale: yeah, not that type...

I remember the day we visited my uncle at work, and got to see the data center. I remember the room was huge but advances in technology had left most of it empty. And I remember they had a plotter that drew the state of West Virginia county-by-county.

I remember many of the trips you took us on as our chauffeur, the "ejection seat" lever on the back of the seats of the Thunderbird, and the propensity of the vehicle to stop at any and all yard sales.

And I remember the times you took us to church, just like you took your children when they were young: "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6 (NASB95)

But there is an appointed time for everything... (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

As dementia slowly took hold of your mind, you had to stop doing the things you enjoyed: the woodworking, the electronics repairs, the driving, the yard sales. But you never lost the hope that is in Christ Jesus, who while we were yet sinners, died for our sins so that we may have everlasting life. (A few verses for the reader: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17)

Though death has separated us for now, you will always be my grandpa.

Until we are reunited in Christ, I will take care of myself.

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On Daves Vintage Apple Tech's last Sunday livestream, the question was asked of everybody on the livestream about the first concert they attended: The first concert I remember attending was DC Talk's Jesus Freak tour when they performed at Liberty University's Vines Center.

All week, I have been pondering the chorus of the title track of the Jesus Freak album:

What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak?
What will people do when they find that it's true?
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak.
There ain't no disguisin' the truth.

I am one of these "Jesus Freaks"; I've been a Christian ever since the early 90s. I believe that I am a sinner from birth, and that on my own there is no way I can get to Heaven - in fact, if left to my own devices, I would be headed to Hell for eternity to pay for the wages of my sins. I believe that Jesus, fully God and fully man, died on a cross to pay for our sins, and in conquering death, rose again on the third day. And in believing in Jesus, I will have eternal life with God in Heaven. And if you believe in Jesus, you will also have eternal life with God in Heaven.

I can't say that I wasn't warned about what people can or will do when they find out that you are a "Jesus Freak", as all four Gospels record Jesus saying the same thing: the world will hate you because of Me (my paraphrase). Hey, they're not called the Synoptic Gospels for nothing...

When I started doing livestreams and making videos on YouTube, I knew up-front that I could lose subscribers for being a "Jesus Freak". I knew that it could cost me followers on social media platforms. And yet it has not deterred me, for I am not chasing after subscribers and followers, but I am chasing after Jesus. So go ahead, unfollow and unsubscribe.

And when you've come to the realization that nothing of this world can fill the God-shaped hole in your heart, Lord willing, I'll be here to pray with you and/or help you find a local church.

Published on

Happy 23rd Anniversary, jdmcs.com!

Normally, I'd forget about the anniversary of registering my first domain name until tomorrow. However, this year, I remembered about it yesterday. And my inner nerd was telling me to do the math (or for my UK readers, do the maths) on which anniversary it would be. December 19, 1998 to 2021... that's 23 years.

Hey, that's a Prime Number Anniversary, if that's a thing! (They should be!)

Cue one unnecessary, over-the-top animation for celebration:

Here's to the next Prime Number Anniversary for jdmcs.com!

Seriously, society gets all worked up over round numbers. I'm just thankful to have a short domain name.

Then again, maybe the 25th Anniversary will be reason to celebrate again, even if 25 is neither round nor prime.

And now, for those of you who bothered to keep reading after playing my animation, I'll answer a question that I am often asked, but in the context of the day I registered my domain name: What does JDMCS™ mean?

The only reason I was registering a domain name as a high school student was so I could professionally host a school project that I was working on, before the website for the non-profit that agreed to host it long-term was ready. But we couldn't put our names on our display board, as these projects were going to be judged in the Project Forum and our names on the display board could sway the judges. So both GeoCities and registering a domain name with my name in it were out.

At the time, I was working as a contractor for a local computer repair shop. Since I was a contractor, I also did work on the side, so I wanted a domain name that I could use if my computer repair "side gig" ever took off. I think I had "Justin D. Morgan's Computer Services" on some business cards I had printed up. I may have considered "JDM Computer Services" as an option for the domain name, but that would have still been a really long domain name as so many short names were still available in 1998. Then it clicked:

Justin D. Morgan's Computer Services == JDMCS™

"Dot Com!"

That's how JDMCS™ was born on December 19, 1998.

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I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that today is the 22nd anniversary of registering my first domain name (jdmcs.com)... which conveniently happens to be the domain name being used for Computerized Start™ at the time of this post.

Hooray to the human obsession with anniversary dates!

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"There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they always be!" – Irish Proverb

Lunch time was an awkward time in high school...

The regional school I attended held classes for all in-district students, except seniors, in the afternoon.

Students at my high school attending this regional school were granted a ten minute early dismissal from second period. This was due to the regional school starting afternoon classes ten minutes before my high school started third period, as well as to ensure that we had an opportunity to eat lunch.

This did cause some awkwardness, as I was usually the only one leaving my class ten minutes early.

My regional school peers that attended my high school packed their lunch, and would head over to the regional school to eat it there. (I can't blame them.) However, I was used to buying lunch at school, and to-go boxes were not available.

Fun fact: when I was in high school, lunch cost $1.25.

While there were several other programs that also permitted an early dismissal from second period, there were not an abundance of people eating in the cafeteria early. Being the socially-awkward nerd who didn't fit into any of the cliques, I ate alone.

Until one day... While I couldn't tell you the exact date, I do remember the day: I had seen this group of gentlemen eating together before, while I was eating alone at another table.

One day, one of them came over and asked if I would like to join them, so I did. And from that day on, I didn't have to eat alone.

I'm not sure they realize how much this one small gesture has meant to me over the years, but this was a defining moment while I was in high school. I treasure our moments of fellowship at the round table.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, the tables in the cafeteria were round. And the pizza was triangular-ish...

As high school goes, we all eventually graduated and went our separate ways for college or careers. But I am glad to have been able to reconnect with several of them on Facebook.

(And for those of you from that round table and have not yet re-connected on Facebook and/or LinkedIn, please do. And maybe one day soon we could all reconnect in person at another round table somewhere in the US.)