Digi-Comp 1 — The First Home Computer

When I was a kid, it bothered me that most people were more interested in the ads in comic books than in the stories. Most of what was sold was junk, of course — the notorious X-Ray Specs for example — but once in a while a legitimately interesting product was offered. So, in acknowledgment of that, here’s an ad from a 1967 Marvel comic book. It’s the Digi-Comp 1!

If not exactly the first home computer, the Digi-Comp 1 was a working binary counting machine. Here’s a Digi-Comp 1 in action, counting from 0 to 7 in binary. It’s even done twice, in case you miss it the first time. 😉

Exciting, huh? But compared to the comic book ad the Digi-Comp 1 must have been a disappointment. First, there’s nothing electronic about it, and the atomic symbol would seem to imply it’s nuclear in some way. But at least the Digi-Comp 1 is described accurately as being a “mechanical analog of a binary computer.”

I hope the person who wrote the ad copy didn’t use a Digi-Comp 1 to figure out the price, because it’s listed first at $4.99, then in the coupon at $4.98. Oh well, they didn’t claim “down to the penny precision!”

The Digi-Comp 1 has, as you might expect, something of a cult following. Original units are often auctioned in eBay, and there is a replica of it available at Minds on Toys.

Freak Show In Framingham

Last year I talked about an exhibit I saw called Bodyworlds 2. (Note: the item at that link includes an audio clip of the late Paul Sullivan on his Boston radio show. Sullivan was much more sanguine than I about Bodyworlds 2.)

I had ambivalent feelings about it, and after reading this article in The New York Times, I stopped being ambivalent. I think it’s an old-fashioned freak show.

Even if Bodyworlds, as Gunther von Hagens claims, presents only the bodies of people who gave their consent, the ‘Bodies’ show that Stephen Colbert highlighted uses unclaimed Chinese corpses; presumably including prisoners, political or otherwise.

The ‘Bodies’ show is about to open literally around the corner from where I work in Framingham, Massachusetts, but not without protest. There’s one lone voice speaking out against Bodies. The Metrowest Daily News has the story at this link. If the link is dead, click here. In keeping with the latest trend in journalism, the reporter posted a video on YouTube. Sort of blurs the line between print and TV media, doesn’t it?

Plastic Fantastic Spender

I think this TV commercial is obviously intended to get people into the holiday shopping mood.
[flv:/Video/OCT07/VisaAd.flv 400 300]

The second thing I noticed about this commercial is that it’s a full minute long, which is relatively rare these days. The reason it deserves to be a 60-second spot is the first thing I noticed — the music, which I recognized immediately. It’s by Danny Elfman, from this…
[flv:/Video/OCT07/PeeWeeBigAdventure.flv 400 300]
Tech note: The buzz in the TV commercial is from Comedy Central. Not my fault.

My Iraq Faqs

  1. Who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001?
      2. Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida
  2. Did the United States have a good chance at capturing Osama bin Laden?
      3. Yes, in December, 2001, in Tora Bora, Afghanistan.
  3. Has the United States captured Osama bin Laden?
      4. No.
  4. Did Saddam Hussein and Iraq have any involvement with September 11, 2001 or Osama bin Laden?
      5. No.
  5. What justification was given by President Bush for invading Iraq?
      6. Saddam Hussein was in possession of lethal weapons that represented an imminent, large scale threat.
  6. Did Saddam Hussein have any such weapons?
      7. No.

None of these facts are in dispute, are they? And they were all known before the election of 2004, were they not? Just checking.