Seems like old times, Marvin. You know what I’m talking about, right? Well … then load up some of your old data cassettes. I have that tape backup deck sitting around here somewhere. Or did I use it for an ideas tape … ?

Ah, yes. ‘Tis the season for looking back … something I always look forward to. (Yes, I did just say that.) And this year I’m looking back on what a hack I’ve been for the last nineteen years. This is the nineteenth anniversary of this humble blog, which first made itself known under the questionable moniker “Notes From Sri Lanka” back in December of 1999. Even to call it a blog was kind of questionable – I wasn’t using WordPress or Blogger at the time, just flat html pages that I would post via Frontpage. What’s the difference, right? (Attn: web developers: pretend you didn’t hear that.)

So we’re walking into the twentieth year of this phase of Big Green’s existence, and really … not much has changed since 1999 except that our releases aren’t typically on CD anymore and we’re driving smarter cars. Other than that, everything’s about the same around the Hammer Mill. Marvin (my personal robot assistant) still has a lot of his original vacuum tubes, and his various grease fittings haven’t been lubricated since those early days. The mansized tuber is still man-sized …. he hasn’t grown into some kind of gnarly behemoth. And our mad science advisor Mitch Macaphee is still off his meds … at least the ones his doctor advised him to take so many years ago.

If you want to see for yourself how bloody similar everything was back then to the present day, check out our ancient posts on our “Back Pages” compendium. Fair warning: I would pile my political rants on top of the band chronicles, so you’re going to get a dose of both, though many of the topics will seem a bit obscure after so many years. It does bring back some memories, and in that respect, it’s a little astonishing how little has changed even beyond the grounds of the abandoned Cheney Hammer Mill. Hoo boy.

Okay, back to work, people. Got to make the future happen.