Re: DEC/DECUS memorabilia -- ebay categories and search terms

From: Alan (Usenet02_REMOVE_at_Flying-Disk.com)
Date: 09/09/05

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    Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2005 13:41:04 -0700

    prep@prep.synonet.com wrote:

    > Got any 11/23 stuff to sell? Have been contacted by some one
    > from Serbia who has a milling machine in trouble and looking for
    > Qbus stuff.

    It will be a while before I dig down to that layer. :-)

    > Why are you selling your stuff?

    Well, that is a bit of a story. The first batch of stuff
    is not mine, but belonged to Jim Bostwick, former DECUS
    RSX SIG Chair. He died last September, leaving behind a
    huge collection. The major hardware is still in his
    garage in Minnesota, but 35 boxes of manuals, print sets,
    handbooks, and "small stuff". As a good friend should,
    I offered to help his family by "finding a good home" for
    it all.

    As I packed up all of Jim's stuff, I realized that 99% of
    it had no meaning to his family other than it was taking
    up space. This got me to thinking about my own collection
    and why I was keeping it. Also, I didn't want my family
    and friends to be faced with such a huge task. In the last
    few years, several of my friends have died and I have had to
    help sort out their belongings. It is very painful.

    The first reason I had for keeping most things was, "I might
    need it again someday", followed by, "Somebody might want
    this", and finally, "It would be a shame to throw this out".
    This was reinforced by actual occasions when someone really
    needing something I had. Whenever someone I knew was
    getting rid of DEC-related stuff, I was always there to give
    it a home.

    But this all comes at a price, both mentally and $$$. My
    life has become so cluttered with "stuff", that I'm not
    enjoying it as much as I would like. It is hard to change
    a life-style, but I think I need to do it. I think I will
    be happier with less.

    I am scanning all the print sets and hardware manuals, and
    they will appear on Bitsavers.org as soon as Al finds time to
    post-process all of them. This will allow people who want
    to restore a, say, PDP-11/35 or PDP-14 the documentation they
    need to do it. Those who insist on having the originals will
    find them on ebay. Everyone wins.

    I hope that as I gain space around the house and storage units,
    I will find it easier to work on the projects that give me
    real pleasure, rather than just trying to find room to squeeze
    in a few more boxes of stuff.

    Alan

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