james mcallaster
@jamesmca.bsky.social
just a guy. you can (also) find me on instagram. there's nothing there but who i follow. james.mcallaster
the truth this time is that he sees me at the most vulnerable i've been in decades and he wants to try to take advantage in some yet-to-be-revealed way. call me a cynic. i know him. there's no friendship there. he's just (and only) trying to get his hooks into me. humanity can be so disappointing
February 15, 2026 at 3:44 PM
the truth this time is that he sees me at the most vulnerable i've been in decades and he wants to try to take advantage in some yet-to-be-revealed way. call me a cynic. i know him. there's no friendship there. he's just (and only) trying to get his hooks into me. humanity can be so disappointing
it's funny when a compulsive liar tries to convince me that something they did convince me of is now a lie. guy i used to be best friends with is trying to convince me that all his efforts to show me we weren't friends anymore (long ago and since) is a lie.
February 15, 2026 at 3:36 PM
it's funny when a compulsive liar tries to convince me that something they did convince me of is now a lie. guy i used to be best friends with is trying to convince me that all his efforts to show me we weren't friends anymore (long ago and since) is a lie.
i've wanted to stop doing social/political commentary, having had my chance already and leaving it for someone younger to take up. it's so frustrating that democrats are the reason republicans win elections. i see no change and plan to stop voting altogether
February 15, 2026 at 11:48 AM
i've wanted to stop doing social/political commentary, having had my chance already and leaving it for someone younger to take up. it's so frustrating that democrats are the reason republicans win elections. i see no change and plan to stop voting altogether
having just bought updated (for me) machines two years ago i still have (let me count) ten computers running (again, let me count) five different operating systems, that i use every day
February 15, 2026 at 9:50 AM
having just bought updated (for me) machines two years ago i still have (let me count) ten computers running (again, let me count) five different operating systems, that i use every day
rather than work even harder and make it a business i took a vow of poverty and backed off. then started the long, long process that's continuing now with throwing away stuff that only "collectors" want, but won't pay for my having stored it for however long i've kept it.
February 15, 2026 at 9:45 AM
rather than work even harder and make it a business i took a vow of poverty and backed off. then started the long, long process that's continuing now with throwing away stuff that only "collectors" want, but won't pay for my having stored it for however long i've kept it.
at that point i needed to re-evaluate. i was good at what i was doing. combining scrap parts into working computers. people were starting to take advantage of how cheap i was. that wasn't fun anymore and my house was full of gifted stuff that was going to be hard to get rid of.
February 15, 2026 at 9:40 AM
at that point i needed to re-evaluate. i was good at what i was doing. combining scrap parts into working computers. people were starting to take advantage of how cheap i was. that wasn't fun anymore and my house was full of gifted stuff that was going to be hard to get rid of.
i'd been working quite successfully with the thrift store manager, never met the boss, but, he decided he didn't like what i was doing. gave away 90% of the unsold stuff i'd worked on or donated, when things were going really well, effectively shutting the whole thing down.
February 15, 2026 at 9:35 AM
i'd been working quite successfully with the thrift store manager, never met the boss, but, he decided he didn't like what i was doing. gave away 90% of the unsold stuff i'd worked on or donated, when things were going really well, effectively shutting the whole thing down.
as my house filled getting rid of stuff became an issue. seeing that the salvation army didn't know what they had i started volunteering to fix their stuff. combined with my stuff they made hundreds selling dozens of machines.
February 15, 2026 at 9:29 AM
as my house filled getting rid of stuff became an issue. seeing that the salvation army didn't know what they had i started volunteering to fix their stuff. combined with my stuff they made hundreds selling dozens of machines.
after college, to learn what college hadn't taught me, i ran a classified ad "computers bought, sold, repaired" and did it for free until i began to learn how. more than once people gave me a van-load of stuff that they would have otherwise thrown away.
February 15, 2026 at 9:20 AM
after college, to learn what college hadn't taught me, i ran a classified ad "computers bought, sold, repaired" and did it for free until i began to learn how. more than once people gave me a van-load of stuff that they would have otherwise thrown away.
out of the navy 1993jul01 i bout an epson 486sx25 for WAY too much. no cd. no modem. no sound. lived on it during college. my discs still having viruses, the pc's at college got infected with every use. i worked for and with the guy i was giving headaches to. finally got an anti-virus
February 15, 2026 at 9:14 AM
out of the navy 1993jul01 i bout an epson 486sx25 for WAY too much. no cd. no modem. no sound. lived on it during college. my discs still having viruses, the pc's at college got infected with every use. i worked for and with the guy i was giving headaches to. finally got an anti-virus
in maine i bought a piece of shit tandy computer and bigger piece of shit monitor (fropm a guy i worked with) that i set up to use at work. gave it away when i got to my second ship. living onboard meant nowhere to set it up.
February 15, 2026 at 9:06 AM
in maine i bought a piece of shit tandy computer and bigger piece of shit monitor (fropm a guy i worked with) that i set up to use at work. gave it away when i got to my second ship. living onboard meant nowhere to set it up.
my fourth command, limited duty, i didn't have access to pc's at work. one friend had one at home and i managed to give his machine all the petty viruses my discs had on them since maine.
February 15, 2026 at 9:02 AM
my fourth command, limited duty, i didn't have access to pc's at work. one friend had one at home and i managed to give his machine all the petty viruses my discs had on them since maine.
my third command (second ship) had windows 3.1 pc's. i didn't use them much but did get hooked on mahjongg. seems like wordperfect 5.1 was the word processor. peachtext was what i used in maine.
February 15, 2026 at 8:54 AM
my third command (second ship) had windows 3.1 pc's. i didn't use them much but did get hooked on mahjongg. seems like wordperfect 5.1 was the word processor. peachtext was what i used in maine.
when i left maine in summer of '91 they had just gotten their first windows computer and i remember it being a HUGE deal that one of three had a color monitor. i didn't have time to learn to use them. may have been windows 3.0
February 15, 2026 at 8:48 AM
when i left maine in summer of '91 they had just gotten their first windows computer and i remember it being a HUGE deal that one of three had a color monitor. i didn't have time to learn to use them. may have been windows 3.0
my second command, maine, there were DOS computers sitting around that no one was using. so, i did. there were also three distinctly different systems, deers, the main system for updating personnel records, and one obsolete system with a "montana board" that i found useful.
February 15, 2026 at 8:40 AM
my second command, maine, there were DOS computers sitting around that no one was using. so, i did. there were also three distinctly different systems, deers, the main system for updating personnel records, and one obsolete system with a "montana board" that i found useful.
in the navy, on my first ship, '84 to '87, i used a xerox 860 word processor every day, plus OCR documents, and there was a room sized mainframe that i had limited access to.
February 15, 2026 at 8:31 AM
in the navy, on my first ship, '84 to '87, i used a xerox 860 word processor every day, plus OCR documents, and there was a room sized mainframe that i had limited access to.
(since i can't sleep) let's talk about computers. before the navy in '84 i had some exposure to cash registers that did inventory control. (long before DOS)
February 15, 2026 at 8:25 AM
(since i can't sleep) let's talk about computers. before the navy in '84 i had some exposure to cash registers that did inventory control. (long before DOS)
the addendum to the story, my bitch of a mother was one of the principle architects of my ostracism from the family when, from sobriety, i became intolerant of their intolerance. not just of me. when she died i, literally, laughed and downloaded the munchkins singing ding, dong, the witch is dead
February 14, 2026 at 11:25 PM
the addendum to the story, my bitch of a mother was one of the principle architects of my ostracism from the family when, from sobriety, i became intolerant of their intolerance. not just of me. when she died i, literally, laughed and downloaded the munchkins singing ding, dong, the witch is dead
it's those blasted blue dots that are SO addicting...
February 14, 2026 at 8:42 PM
it's those blasted blue dots that are SO addicting...
damn it. now i have a follower. not what i want. i'm not posting for that. i'm posting for me (and someone in particular, who probably isn't reading)
February 14, 2026 at 8:40 PM
damn it. now i have a follower. not what i want. i'm not posting for that. i'm posting for me (and someone in particular, who probably isn't reading)
then there was the time in '82, on a visit, my bitch of a mother kicked me out of her house for calling her "collectables" junk when she was complaining about her mom's collectables. that time i walked into a blizzard (and got rides) for the hundred miles. the kindness of strangers far exceeding...
February 14, 2026 at 8:36 PM
then there was the time in '82, on a visit, my bitch of a mother kicked me out of her house for calling her "collectables" junk when she was complaining about her mom's collectables. that time i walked into a blizzard (and got rides) for the hundred miles. the kindness of strangers far exceeding...
true... before the navy it was nothing to take off on a trip on foot not not knowing when or how i was going to get where i was going
February 14, 2026 at 8:29 PM
true... before the navy it was nothing to take off on a trip on foot not not knowing when or how i was going to get where i was going
planning for this trip to wichita... i'm reminded that i used to be quite the traveler. in the navy, it was nothing to take buses and trains and planes on weeks long adventures that included days long layovers overseas. boy, have i changed. will admit to some comfort getting back on that bicycle
February 14, 2026 at 7:42 PM
planning for this trip to wichita... i'm reminded that i used to be quite the traveler. in the navy, it was nothing to take buses and trains and planes on weeks long adventures that included days long layovers overseas. boy, have i changed. will admit to some comfort getting back on that bicycle
correction: the soundtrack of my life is now what's streaming and on tv. mst3k, a lot
February 14, 2026 at 2:31 PM
correction: the soundtrack of my life is now what's streaming and on tv. mst3k, a lot
as i said in a previous bit, i've throw away, literally, a ton of stuff. including building materials for future projects. now my house just is what it is and i'm not going to be the one to change it. which means, whoever gets it next is going to have a lot of work to do
February 13, 2026 at 9:52 PM
as i said in a previous bit, i've throw away, literally, a ton of stuff. including building materials for future projects. now my house just is what it is and i'm not going to be the one to change it. which means, whoever gets it next is going to have a lot of work to do