#SAE December – the BBC Micro Owl

So where better to begin this project than an image that pretty much encapsulates the beginnings of what I occasionally refer to as my “career”.

I learned to use a computer back in the 1980s using a BBC Micro. Sitting just above the keyboard, under a slip of perspex with holes drilled out for the speaker, sat this owl, staring up at me as I took my first steps in trying to control the digital beast.

I must have spent weeks staring at the little wise bird as I endeavoured to work out why a bit of code had stopped working (again). Debugging was a much more manual job back in those days.

My very first bit of paid work was also achieved on the Beeb; a Ceefax-style information reel that I built for my dad for an open day his department were running. Funnily enough, his organisation’s logo was also an owl.

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If you would like one of the December #SAE badges, and you live in the UK, then all you need to do is post a stamped, self-addressed envelope to me at 78 Holmesdale Road, TW11 9LG. Please make sure that you correctly stamp the one you send to me if your package is greater than 5mm deep, and you will want to use a Large Letter stamp on the return envelope as the badges are about 7mm thick.

Alternatively, I’ll sort it all out for you through PayPal below: