What is the most outlandish manner in which you received a pc, keyboard, mouse, whatever?
...yeah, this is my first post, so it's pretty clear that I just wanted to share an insane story with anybody who would read it, especially tech enthusiasts who would enjoy it. It is a pretty good one, methinks! Here goes:
Late one early spring night as a wee college sophomore, a group of friends and I were sitting bored at the waterfront along the somewhat nearby Hudson River. I knew three of the guys, and there were a couple guys I didn't know. Suddenly one of them makes the suggestion that we explore an abandoned (and haunted, according to locals) insane asylum across the river from where we were. The idea was scoffed at at first, but the longer we sat staring bored at the dirty river water, the more intriguing a haunted Scooby-Doo-esque adventure seemed to become. By one in the morning, we were at the gates of the creepiest ****ing place I will ever bear witness to.
It was clearly 'explored' before by local kids. Full-scale ransacking is the only phrase that comes to mind. Doors were torn off their hinges, replaced by sheets of plywood. The broken glass from windows littered the outdoor walkways. 60s architecture clashed with the gothic style of the older buildings by the light of a waning moon. We found a completely open door around the back to get inside the main building, and the inside was even more disturbing than outside... Every hallway was EXACTLY the same; paint was peeling off in footlong sheets. We passed a bed in one room, accompanied by leather straps and dried blood. Longing for a departure from the monotonous similarity of all the rooms, we made our way through a winding basement. That's where I saw them.
On the floor lie six or seven two-piece key caps. We continued to walk. The number of key caps grew. Then stems, metal plates and broken plastic frames. Finally, around a corner, the source of plastic carnage was found. An entire box of IBM Model M keyboards, 3/4 of which were still intact! They must have been sitting there for 10 years at the least. Wanting to explore more (and not wanting to lug around the heavy keyboards,) I left them where they were for the time being. But I came back. The box was too heavy to carry so I settled on taking just three boards. They were rotting away in the basement of a derelict building anyway. Why waste them?
Two of the boards were later models. Upon testing it was clear that they didn't survive the 10+ years of sitting in unconditioned squalor. Even Model Ms have limits. The June 12, 1987 model, however, works just fine. In fact, I've typed this whole story with it!
And yes, I am implying that there are precious Model Ms lying helpless in an abandoned insane asylum somewhere in upstate New York. I would NOT advise anybody to go after them. As I said, the success rate of my boards was 1 in 3. Also, the buildings are terribly unsafe and they've stepped up security around them since my little romp. Somebody tried to burn one of the smaller buildings down. Also, it's technically stealing, even though nobody was ever going to use the damned things anyway. Just got lucky.
Glad to get that one off my chest
I'll post pics of the board by the end of the week. It's the only IBM I've ever seen with significant key wear, but only on the top numbers and tabs oddly enough!
Anybody else have a really good story?
