K

@kfj

I like cities, the people in them, and things that go click, clack, and boop. Collector of pinball machines, arcade games, and weird old stuff. US -> Germany immigrant, currently living in Düsseldorf.

165 Folgt267 Follower69 Posts

Bluesky

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K@kfj· 1d

It's beautiful...

A weather forecast showing clouds and rain with no end in sight.

K@kfj· 17d

Really love this pixel art map as thread index for local discussion too.

A pixel art map with icons representing discussion threads about whatever spot they represent on the map. It is framed by the below text:

" More than just the archive though, we've got an incredibly cool presentation. I talked a little before about how these BBSs are very regional and local to specific areas. These BBS operators decided to make that explicit: each is presented as a pixel art map of a region of Kansai, with little conferences dotted around in areas they're local to. At a time when the internet was about to go global, it's fascinating seeing something that's leaning this hard into being specifically local instead. I'm not going to do a conference by conference summary of these BBSs because, frankly, the amount of content in here could easily be a whole series of posts on its own, but how about we take a look at the maps and see how they chose to represent themselves?

Let's start with the main SimNaniwa map. SimNaniwa was located in Osaka and seems like it also served surrounding areas; it depicts itself with a nice little pixel art map centred on Osaka and its environs littered with icons representing different conferences. A lot of what we can see on this map is regional—take a look to the west and we can see a few local conferences for Kobe (神戸). Over to the east we can see conferences for the cities of Nara (奈良), Kyoto (京都), and more. But we're not just looking at cities; there are conferences for local landmarks too, like Osaka's Kyobashi Station (京橋), whose threads are lit up with people talking about their train commutes or the best places to watch fireworks near the station. I'd already been expecting local content after seeing the flavour of the discussion on XD, but this is far more specifically hyperlocal and it's genuinely quite charming."

K@kfj· 17d

cdrom.ca/games/2026/0... This is a really cool article (and site) in general, but I had to share this particular snippet.

K@kfj· Jan 14

Some lovely retro computing pins from a seller in France that arrived today.

K@kfj· Jan 4

"Lieber Fremder in der Fremde als Fremder im eigenen Land." I've felt like this for years... That I'd rather feel out of place as a foreigner somewhere I wanted to be, than as a native in a place that had become unrecognizable to me. I like this expression of it from Tülin Emircan's 'Entfremdung'.

A photo of part of a page from Als Fremder in Deutschland (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1982) showing an excerpt from Tülin Emircan's piece 'Entfremdung'. A digitally highlighted line reads "Lieber Fremder in der Fremde als Fremder im eigenen Land", or in English "Better a foreigner in the foreign, than a foreigner in one's own land."

K@kfj· Dec 18

Random lot of old computer junk on eBay included a few jumbo save icons. I love the iconographic use instructions on the sleeves of these.

A pair of 8" floppy disks with protective sleeves. One is IBM branded the other 3M. The labels read "RT-11 bootbar" and "MBASIC.COM".

The back of a pair of 8" floppy disk jackets. They feature iconographic instructions for proper use.

K@kfj· Aug 5

Presented without comment.

The rusted carriage of a Gabriele 2000 typewriter, hanging from the draw straps nailed to a heavily graffitied brick wall.

K@kfj· Jul 28

I love these kitschy ceramic clocks that are ubiquitous in Germany so I decided to make a world clock wall out of them for my office.

A variety of molded ceramic case wall clocks from various German manufacturers of the 60s and 70s. Movements are all quartz. Manufacturers represented are Junghans, Esme, WLH, and Garant. Each has its own color, texture, shape, and glaze variations. Green, brown, orange, and red are dominant in the palette. Blue embossed Dymo plastic labels on the glass covers indicate the time zone each is set to.

K@kfj· Jul 24

Found some great stuff 'zu verschenken' today. Neat little office trolley thing with no identifying marks on it, and a pair of minty Castelli DSC chairs. I had one I'd reupholstered back in Portland, and they're both cool looking and impressively comfy... Kinda missed it, happy to have one again.

A glorious free pile haul of a seafoam green office trolley with chrome accents, and a pair of stackable Castelli DSC 106 chairs upholstered in dark brown.

K@kfj· May 21

I'm sure it's unobtainium now but apparently there was a SECAM transcoder add on available. For if you wanted to watch programs from the DDR, say.

A manual page showing instructions for the use of a televisions Teletext functions, and details about a SECAM transcoder add on card.

K@kfj· May 21

Also discovered this has been a color set all along. I thought it was too old but whoever had it before me had just set chroma all the way down, and since it's something you can only adjust with the remote I hadn't noticed yet.

A Loewe portable television set displaying the title screen of the SNES port of Ms Pac Man, in glorious color!

K@kfj· May 21

Testing out an assortment of tech junk. VHS player was sitting on the curb when I was out walking the dog... Appears someone didn't know how to replace the fused power cord. It was missing some case screws but the only thing wrong with it was the cut off power cord.

A Loewe black and white television showing playback of a 3D art and music compilation titled X-MIX-3 published by STUD!O K7 of Berlin.

A photo of the track list and back cover text of X-MIX-3. Most of it is from before I was aware of this stuff back when it was new, but I recognize some of the labels.

K@kfj· May 20

That damn trap card always gets me... Lecker schmecker!

A sticker on the edge of a billboard frame, of a Yu-Gi-Oh trap card featuring a delicious looking glass of beer. Its title is 'Lecker Bierchen' and its description text is 'lecker schmecker'. To the left of the sticker the text 'ACAB' is written in vertical block letters with white paint market.

K@kfj· May 2

Spotted a snail trying to stay cool, or maybe just safe from the birds.

A snail wedged in the crevice between a yard gate and its frame.

K@kfj· May 1

Ich gehe gerne mit! #kleben #slaptag #stickerart

A sticker on a gutter downpipe attached to a brick wall. It portrays a young person with a stack of stickers in their pocket beckoning toward the viewer to follow them. Text around the border reads "Komm, wir geh'n kleben".

K@kfj· Apr 29

Bahnpfeil

A piece of scrap metal with 'DB' written in it in fluorescent orange spray paint, with an arrow indicating right. It is tied with wire to a metal cage wall full of rough stones. Some climbing plants are beginning to grow up the cage grid. The concrete support for the cage wall shows little weathering, but the edge of a spray painted tag in black is visible.

K@kfj· Apr 27

Some Czech synth-pop in the bike lane.

A copy of this tape spooled out on a bike lane in the sun:

https://www.discogs.com/release/28162864-Oceán-Pyramida-Snů

K@kfj· Apr 14

Loved the article! This is the example that I always remember... 'NO FOOD OR DRINK' signs on Brunswick AS-80 and AS-90 bowling scoring consoles from the 1970s/1980s. Not sure if the signs were a factory thing or just a common addition (they also cover a paper printout slot that was rarely enabled).

K@kfj· Apr 14

I've gone to a lot of effort to retrofit LED replacements for these Osram 41900 bulbs with integrated reflectors... Wish I'd realized earlier that the reflector is just metallized plastic. Can just pop the halogen bulb out and drill the reflector to fit whatever LED bulb you have lying around.

An Osram 41900 halogen reflector that has been drilled out to allow an LED replacement bulb to be slotted into it.

An Osram 41601 Minispot lamp in black. An LED replacement bulb has been fitted.

K@kfj· Apr 3

Finally got my hands on one of these. Portland Timbers scarf design that commemorates the opening of the Tilikum Crossing bridge and Trimet MAX Orange Line, from back in 2015.

A scarf with a design showing the Portland, Oregon downtown skyline with the Tilikum Crossing bridge in foreground.

A scarf with Portland Timbers text on it. At the ends are designs showing transit vehicles crossing the Tilikum Crossing bridge over the Willamette River.

K@kfj· Mar 31

I gently brushed Marci's ear with the back of my hand and lived to tell the tale. Always love seeing the resident cat holding court in my favorite Portland vintage shop, Really Good Stuff.

A beautiful fluffy cat, as voluminous as she is deadly.

K@kfj· Feb 28

Still can't believe the deals on vintage audio gear one finds here in Germany. This very handsome pair of mid-1970s Heco speakers was just a hair over €50 shipped. They sold for around 450DM for a pair when new... About half an average earner's monthly income back then. They certainly sound like it.

A pair of mid-1970s Heco P3302 speakers on a shelf. A salt lamp sits between them, glowing orange. A flip-digit clock, ceramic maneki neko, and stereo receiver sit on the shelf below.

The number plate for a Heco P 3302 SL speaker. It indicates an impedence of 4 ohms, 45 watt constant power handling capacity, 70 watt peak power handling capacity, and that the device was manufactured in the Federal Republic of Germany. The serial number, rather than being printed, is shown by dots punched out of the label to form numerals. A DIN plug connects the speaker to an amplifier.

K@kfj· Feb 22

Some true vintage arcade advertising pins I found on eBay, arrived from France of all places today. Hype material for the all timer classic video arcade game Space Invaders, probably the Midway version (1980), and Bally's Elvira and the Party Monsters pinball machine (1989).

A pair of round pins advertising Space Invaders (1979/1980) and Bally Elvira and the Party Monsters pinball (1989).

K@kfj· Nov 26

Someone was so proud of this back in the day... Now it waits for the trash collector. Can't say I really miss that era of design, but this is certainly a potent example. #vintage #computer #2000s

A tower-style computer case sits on a weedy section of uneven sidewalk. It is an object with strong early 2000s styling. The Case is silver painted plastic and steel, with a swooping carrying handle on the top. The front panel has mirrored plastic drive bay fillers. A pair of vertical bubble-pillars frames the front controls. The power buttons and ports are low on the front, with a small recessed liquid crystal display to show some information. A blobby window on one side of the case allows one to view the motherboard and other components.

K@kfj· Nov 21

Old lines. A bit past the east end of the Südbrücke, Köln.

An overgrown railway underpass. A tent is pitched under the shelter of the bridge span. A small brick building is visible just beyond the arch, and the roofs of some industrial buildings are seen in the distance.

The side of an old brick building. It's facade shows signs of many patches over the years. A massive window opening has been closed with rough concrete. The roof edge has lost some of its tiles. A round crest of the city Köln rendered in stone is set into the wall toward its top.

The same railway underpass viewed from the other side. A graffiti covered stop block is anchored to the right hand track section. A road with a massive vacant lot covered in rubble is visible on the other side of the arch. The tops of some modern glass office buildings are visible in the distance.

K@kfj· Nov 10

Recent eBay find. A big double sided Telenorma ceiling mounted hall clock, with the red second hand like you often see (well, saw, most of these have been replaced) in rail stations. 1960s vintage I think. Uses two 24v impulse driven coils for each side, one for hours & minutes and one for seconds.

K@kfj· Nov 1

Lovely day for a wander around Köln...

K@kfj· Oct 13

Flohmarkt goodies! Spent all of 18 Euro. I've been hunting one of the old style Underberg bandoliers for years 😄

K@kfj· Sep 28

Some great mugs at the thrift store today. Sony Betacam SX and Mobil advertising pieces.

K@kfj· Sep 23

Found this incredibly cursed artifact on eBay. That election was my introduction as a teen to how completely cooked the American political system is... "IBM 9957 Poll Star Punch-card Style Voting Machine" www.ebay.com/itm/28607353...