When I entered college in the mid-’80s, I did so as an Electrical Engineering/Computer Science (EECS) student. My high school counselor noted that I had taken our school’s computer classes and told me, “Computer programming would be a good field to go into.” The actual extent of my programming experience had more to do with designing Lode Runner levels than learning BASIC, but, it was true, I liked computers for some reason. A career in programming seemed like the thing to pursue.

During my first year of college I stumbled upon one of the university’s Apple computer labs. The room had a few Lisas and perhaps a dozen Macs—the original 128K Mac, back when they still called them Macintoshes. A student was using one of the Macs to do something—work on a flyer—and I was amazed by how he was doing it. He was using something I had never seen before—a mouse—to freely move the cursor around the screen. The cursor opened menus and panels to change objects’ patterns and shades. The program had different fonts that looked nothing like the glowing green pixel-type I hammered out in command-line rows in my programming classes.

I asked the guy what program he was using. He said, “This is MacDraw, and this computer is a Macintosh.”

He continued working on his flyer—putting a grey box behind a white box to make a drop shadow, making type larger and bold for a headline, and moving elements around on screen. It was astounding. I watched him print the flyer to a LaserWriter in the corner of the lab and caught a glimpse of the output before he picked it up. I’d never seen a computer produce anything like it before.

In those few minutes, my relationship with computers changed.

The next day, I signed up for a Macintosh training session, which after a few minutes of sitting down in front of a Mac seemed unnecessary. I learned to use MacWrite, MacPaint, and MacDraw. I started doing freelance word-processing and graphics editing by renting time on a classmate’s Mac. Unconsciously, I was entering the then-unnamed field of desktop publishing.

A few college quarters later, with a pointed question from my girlfriend—“Why are you studying computer programming when you don’t even enjoy it?”—my school’s EECS program and I parted ways. A year later, I was working as a word-processor/desktop publisher and taking graphic design courses. Twenty-five-plus years later, I am working as a graphic designer and still using Macs professionally and personally.

Graphic design existed before the Macintosh—but I wasn’t aware of it. When I saw the student using MacDraw to make a flyer, I didn’t know that people did things like that for a living. What I saw was someone using a computer to create something. And, the ease—the simplicity—of the Mac as a creative tool changed my view of computers from something to make things for to something to make things with.

I didn’t know who Steve Jobs was when I first saw the Mac. I don’t remember if I knew who Steve Jobs was when I first got a Macintosh Plus, or when I started working in desktop publishing, or when I started studying graphic design.

But, somewhere along the way I learned that it was Steve Jobs that made the first Macintosh so insanely great that it changed the course of my life.

And, for that I say thank you, Steve Jobs. And, thanks for all the good things you’ve given us.

…from DHARMA Initiative Travel.

After this past weekend’s LOST finale, I was going through some boxes of old magazines and came across what I believe was DHARMA Initiative Travel’s last ad from a 2007 issue of Oceanic Airlines’ INflight magazine.

I’ve personally never used DHARMA Initiative Travel to book a flight, car rental, or hotel room, but it’s always sad to see a long-time business unable to make the transition to the digital era. I think the shift to web-based travel services killed off DI Travel and many other large and small travel services. DHARMA Initiative Travel also had an unfortunate reputation for disappearing travelers—actual people, mind you, not reservations—and luggage and rooms inexplicably torn apart by polar bears.

The one thing I wish I’d been able to do before they closed up shop was take one of their DI Travel submarine cruises. What other travel agency offers something like that?

…or snack, actually.

For our LOST finale viewing, Miss T and I opened up a few of the last items we recieved via product resupply drop—DHARMA Initiative Beer, Lemon Lime Soda, and Cheddar Baked Snack Crackers.

A good, happy, sad time was had by all. Namaste.

…(and wine).

Sometimes you don’t want wheat ale, double stout, Albanian pilsner, or double-hopped Bavarian pale lager. Sometimes you just want beer. DHARMA Initiative Beer. After a hard day of being a workman in Dharmaville or an afternoon spent repairing a DHARMA van, nothing hits the spot like a cold, refreshing DI Beer. Mmm… beer.

It’s been noted that DHARMA Initiative stations on the island have long received drop shipments of DHARMA Beer. Until now, here at The Hut we’ve only ever received DI Amber Lager, and DI Stout. Our recent Product Resupply Drop (PRD) included cases of DHARMA Initiative Beer in various differently-shaped bottles and possibly of various different beer varieties—but they were all simply labeled beer.

Good enough for me.

If good old DHARMA Initiative Beer is good enough for you, but none have shown up in your PRDs, you can make do with regular bottled beer and the following downloadable PDF:

• DHARMA Initiative Beer (variety)

The PDF contains body and neck labels for beer, amber lager, and stout. With scissors, tape, glue, and determination, you should be able to fit the labels onto the body of any bottled beer. Neck labels are a bit trickier and require experimentation, so start attacking those beers now. (Though, perhaps it’s best to not drink beer while you’re trying to fit labels onto beer.)

Ah, the wine.

We’ve noted in the past that, clearly, DHARMA folk on the island get shipments of bottled Merlot and Cabernet. We’ve also been recipients of DHARMA Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Muscat, and Sauvignon Blanc. But what about Riesling? Or, Gewürztraminer? Where are all the other DHARMA Initiative varietals? Well, apparently, if a variety isn’t one of the grapes already mentioned it just gets labeled red or white. Again, good enough for me. And, again, if DI Red Wine or DI White Wine are good enough for you, the following PDFs will allow you to turn ordinary bottles of wine into DHARMA Initiative bottles of wine.

• DHARMA Initiative Red Wine labels (variety, 750mL)
• DHARMA Initiative White Wine labels (variety, 750mL)

Cheers, everyone! And, namaste.

…customize a new one.

One of the great conveniences of modern-day travel is the ability to print your own airline boarding passes in the comfort of your own home/office/hotel room/motorcycle sidecar/wherever. Oceanic Airlines has gone a step further by allowing you to not only print your own boarding pass, but to choose your own flight number, seat, date and time of departure, origin and desination city, passenger name, and endorsements and restrictions! Now that’s customer service.

How do you go about printing your own Oceanic boarding passes? It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 1. Download the fillable PDF below. 2. Use Adobe Acrobat to enter in the pertinent information for the boarding pass recipient: flight, seat, date, time, origin, destination, name, endorsements/restrictions. 3. Print out—it looks better in color—the pass onto to some nice, heavy, white cardstock. 4. Use a straight-edge to trim out your boarding pass, and don’t forget to round the corners. 5. There is no 5—you’re done! See how easy that was?

• Oceanic Airlines Boarding Pass (customizable)

Now, don’t forget that while you can put any kind of information you want on your Oceanic Airlines Boarding Pass, the TSA won’t let you through a security checkpoint without documents for a actual flight. So, if you aren’t printing passes for Oceanic Airlines travel, you can use them for party invitations or something.

…refrigeration required.

I’m not sure why the DHARMA Initiative Ranch Composite we have at The Hut is different than the Ranch Composite that gets shipped to DI stations on the island. Key differences: size – 13 ounces at The Hut, 1 gallon on the island; and, refrigeration – yes for The Hut, no for the island. The DI Ranch Composite delivered to the island is supposed to be good for 7 years without refrigeration. Seven. Years. Without refrigeration.

Now that is a remarkable scientific achievement.

In any event, if you didn’t receive either Ranch Composite you can make a bottle of refrigeration-required DI Ranch Composite with a 13-ounce jar of standard ranch dressing and the following PDF:

• DHARMA Initiative Ranch Composite (13 OZ)

DI Ranch Composite + french fries = delicious… If only there were DHARMA Initiative Oven Baked French Fries.

…buy DHARMA Initiative Explorers Cookies.

I love this time of year—after ordering several boxes of DI Explorers Cookies via station computer (I think it’s code 2-4, then 1-6-4, or something), our supplies of DHARMA Initiative Chocolate Mint Cookies and Lemon Iced Shortbread Cookies arrived via PRD. The Explorers sell several other varieties of cookies, but Miss T and I like the chocolate mint and lemon iced ones the best.

If you were unable to get your order in on time (it only comes around once a year, you know) and you don’t see any of the DHARMA Initiative Explorers girls* around your neighborhood, you can modify Girl Scouts® Thin Mints and Lemonades™ with the following labels:

• DHARMA Initiative Explorers Cookies (variety)
• DHARMA Initiative Explorers Cookies (variety) (for 11×17-capable printers)

Girl Scouts cookies are pretty good, but they’re not quite the same as DI Explorers’.

*Why is it only the girls that sell cookies? What are the boys up to during this oh-so-important cookie sales season?

…staved off (just barely).

It may have been the DHARMA Initiative Mixed Fruit or the DHARMA Initiative Crackers and Cheese (or a combination of the two), but last week something had my stomach churning worse than an island jumping through space-time. Miss T suggested that I try to get to The Staff for a checkup, but first I checked through the last Periodic Resupply Drop crate that landed in the back yard.

Down at the bottom of the box I found this:

It took two doses of the pink stuff, but in an hour everything was gastrointestinally back on track—like a record needle settled firmly in its groove.

If you’re suffering from heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, nausea, or—heaven forbid—diarrhea, I heartily recommend DHARMA Initiative Bismuth Subsalicylate for stomach relief. If you don’t have DI Bismuth Subsalicylate in your station’s emergency medical locker, go ahead and use a bottle of Pepto-Bismol with the following label PDF:

• DHARMA Initiative Bismuth Subsalicylate (8 OZ)

Like this 1972 ad says, DI Bismuth Subsalicylate will help you achieve “a calm mind and a calm body.” Namaste.

…now in cans!

Last week Miss T and I snacked on some DHARMA Initiative food items while we watched the LOST season 6 premiere. Nothing fancy, just some DI Crackers and Cheese and DI Mixed Fruit.

If you’d like some DHARMA Initiative Mixed Fruit for tonight’s episode of LOST, making your own may be the only way to have them in time. (Unless you can somehow get a retroactively-timed product resupply drop—one that will arrive in the past.) All you’ll need are 4-ounce tins of Mixed Fruit and the labels from this link:

• DHARMA Initiative Mixed Fruit labels (4 OZ)

Bon appétit and namaste!

…one last time.

With LOST back on the air—for its final season *sob*—I was inspired to go digging through some of the old periodicals piled up in our station’s storeroom (a.k.a. the garage) for DHARMA Initiative stuff. A 1976 issue of Oceanic’s INflight had a DHARMA Initiative Travel ad which I’ve scanned and posted on Flickr.

As Season 6 continues, we’ll keep looking for fun DHARMA Initiative things to post. Namaste!

…and a little LOST cheese.

Sometimes you just want a snack. A small one. Not a sweet—something savory. And, you want to have to use a stick in the preparation of your snack. Yes, a stick. (These may sound like peculiar circumstances, but it comes up more often than you think.)

For those small, savory, need-a-stick snack urges, the DHARMA Initiative has you covered—try DHARMA Initiative Crackers and Cheese.

If you’ve searched your station’s pantry and come up short in the DI Crackers and Cheese department, you can restock with generic crackers and cheese, some self-adhesive label stock, cutting implements, and this PDF:

• DHARMA Initiative Crackers and Cheese (.95 OZ)

DI Crackers and Cheese might just be the snack for a LOST Season 6 premiere viewing party! If not, there are many more items at our LOST labels for your DHARMA Initiative needs.

…the DHARMA Initiative way!

Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day (you do know that, right?), and, despite being in an indeterminate place and time, life on LOST Island is no different—breakfast is important. So, when wild chicken eggs, boar bacon, and taro-flour bread are in short supply, make sure you at least have a bowl of DHARMA Initiative Cereal. There’s a wide variety available—from Sweetened Puffed Corn Cereal to Sweetened Multi-grain Cereal—and they’re great with milk or dry.

We were fortunate enough to receive a DI Cereal Individual Variety Pack in a recent resupply drop, but if your pantry is lacking in the DI Cereal department, you can improve ordinary individual-serving cereals the DHARMA Initiative way with scissors, tape, and the following PDF file:

• DHARMA Initiative Cereals (variety) (.81 OZ to 1.52 OZ)

Make sure to try them all! (DHARMA Initiative Cereal not your thing? More DI labels at LOST labels for your DHARMA Initiative needs.)

…Thy name is “Titanium.”

In 2001 Apple introduced its Titanium PowerBook G4. It was then, and remains now, my favorite laptop. The PowerBook G4 still wasn’t quite as fast as a desktop Power Mac G4, but it was much, much sexier.

This batch of 2001 Apple ads really only cover two subjects: laptops and DVD authoring. DVD authoring may not be as big a deal in these days of online streaming video, but the laptop lifestyle still seems to be going strong*.

You can fulfill your Apple ad nostalgia via the thumbnails below (and find more at maxpixpix on Flickr).

*Smartphones and mythical tablet devices haven’t supplanted laptops—yet.

…You’re not fully clean, until you’re LOST-fully clean.

And how does one get LOST-fully clean, you ask? By using DHARMA Initiative Soap (like Kate at the Hydra Station above), of course! And, it just so happens we were lucky enough to receive two types of DI soap in our recent PRD (product resupply drop): 4.25 oz bars in boxes and 3.1 oz bars in paper.

If your DHARMA Initiative supply cabinet is low on such health and beauty supplies, you can always make do with some locally-sourced bar soap and the following PDF labels:

• DHARMA Initiative Soaps (3.1 and 4.25 OZ)

Remember, cleanliness is next to Jacob-ness!

…from the days before gigahertz.

Another batch of Apple Computer ads from the late, great pages of MacAddict magazine. In the year 2000 we were still running laptops on 400MHz PowerPC G3s and desktops on 500MHz G4s. Just short of ten years later and smartphones—in this case, the iPhone 3G S—are running CPUs at 600MHz. Desktops are running Quad-core 3GHz chips, sometimes two to a machine.

You can peruse the ads via the thumbnails below or at maxpixpix on Flickr.

(No multi-chip machines in our household, though. Maybe by 2020.)