HP Biographies

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Full Name (family, given): Meyer, Michael
Email: mlmeyer@pol.net
Location: Omaha, NE
Entered: 12 Mar 2003, 10:10 p.m.

I guess I was born with a knack for fixing things. As an infant, rather than chewing on the crib as my brothers did, I would take it apart.

My parents tell me that when I was only about four or five years old, I retrieved a broken lamp from the trash. I re-bent the contacts in the socket, and wanted to try it out. My mom said, "One of three things will happen when you plug that in. 1. It will work. 2. It won't work. 3. It'll blow you across the room. I hear that I looked around the room as if to say, "Goodbye, world..." The lamp worked.

When I was just a few years older, I asked for a broken radio for my birthday. (Can't get in trouble if you break a broken radio taking it apart...) When I was 12, I was given a choice: a new bicycle or an oscilloscope. I chose the scope. I later put myself through high school, college, and medical school as a "pro" bicycle mechanic.

My first HP was an HP-25. I once wrote an entire "infield" baseball program in 49 steps. It took me through my junior year in high school. I then bought a TI-59. My HP was stolen one week later from my locker. I kept the manuals, and missed it dearly... until I started collecting HP's. Medical school brought an HP-71B.

When I bought my first XT PC, the HP went in a box. More than 10 years later, I retrieved the HP, and realized how much I had missed it. I started collecting HP's after a visit to the Smithsonian and after replacing my HP-25 from e-Bay.

When I first retrieved the HP-71B, I remember thinking, "Wow. This is too complex. How did I ever know how to work this thing?" Well, it all came back to me within a few days.

A wonderful part of the hobby, for me, is restoration. Taking a non-functional or damaged machine and making it work again. Awesome!

I have many other hobbies and interests, but none have been as fulfilling as collecting and using classic HP's.

I have met some really wonderful people here on the HP museum site. Thanks again, Dave!

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