John Poultney
 News Editor, MacHome magazine. In former lives was staff writer for Ziff-Davis' MacWEEK, and a marketing writer for various high-tech concerns. Wanted to be a chemist for a while but it was too complicated. Once had a job feeding wild animals at an amusement park. Semi-insufferable amateur musician and storyteller. |
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| How did you personally get into using the Macintosh family of computers? |
I was in college circa 1986, I was taking an AutoCAD class on a 286-based IBM computer with an amber monitor and - get this - eight-inch floppy disks (so the students wouldn't steal them, I suppose). I would sit there in class and stew silently, thinking that this simply wouldn't do. Couldn't figure out how to manage files, the screen was ugly, and drawings took forever to render. I didn't like computers much because of that experience. One afternoon I stumbled across the Computer Lab in another building and saw these strange-looking computers that seemed to say "We understand. Come sit down, relax, and let your thoughts flow." And I did. I wasn't even registered with the lab, but I just had to obey, so I sat down and started using MacWrite and MacPaint right away, and I couldn't stop. The Macs were not only easy to use, they were somehow humorous and wry. Later, much later, I worked at an ad agency and we all used Macs. I would watch the artists work and think "how could anyone want to use another type of computer?" | |
| Status: | Well-wisher | |
First Mac:
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Mac SE, Bought from my old boss for $600. I immediately took it apart for no reason, just had to see what was inside. | |
Current Mac:
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PowerMac 6100 w/ G3 upgrade for most work and Internet access; PowerBook Duo 230 for mobile writing, IIci upgraded to PPC for music, Quadra 800 for CD burning, SE/30 running 6.0.8 for nostalgic purposes and as a shrine to earlier software. | |
| When did you get your first modem? | After I got the SE, I got a prometheus 2400 baud internal modem. This was around 1992. | |
| Who did you call first? | Got hooked up to CompuServe for eMail, chats, discussion boards. | |
| Present Occupation: | News Editor, MacHome | |
| Claim to Fame: | So many ... hmmm...Won $1,000 in California Lottery in 1985. Picked up Captain and Tennille from airport when working as a stagehand. Also auditioned for role as "gang member" for Kung Fu movie in Hong Kong (had to leave before I found out if they'd picked me.) | |
| Dream Job: | Soundtrack composer for film work. In the style of Bernard Herrmann, John Barry, Henry Mancini. |
| Not So Random Thoughts... | |||
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| Was there ever a time in your life that you had to "Think Different?" What was the situation and what did you do? | |||
| There came a time that I had to decide that I would pursue what I was best at (writing) rather than trying to force myself to work where I didn't fit in but was an easier way to exist. Doing that forced me to start at the bottom and prove myself repeatedly before I got to a level that I felt like I'd acheived something. | |||
| How has using the Macintosh computer changed your life? | |||
| They've helped me realize my creativity. I'd always felt creative, but sometimes pulling it off, changing from the concept to the finished piece, is the hard part. You need good tools to do it, ones that let you concentrate on the task and not the tool itself. Using Wintel-type computers, I found myself spending more time figuring out what was wrong instead of just letting the creativity flow. | |||
| What is the weirdest thing in your office right now? | |||
| A PXL 2000 video camera, the ones that Fisher Price made that recorded grainy B & W video on regular cassette tapes. Also a Santa Claus Pez dispenser and a "Madeline" doll suspended upside down from the desk lamp. | |||
| My Passions are: | |||
| Music, writing, film, salty snacks. | |||
| If you could have dinner with one person dead or alive who would that person be and what would you ask them? | |||
| Frank Zappa. "What's the key to self-education and carrying out your projects to the fullest?" | |||
| Do you play a musical instrument and/or are you in a band? | |||
| Yes, bass and guitar, sometimes drums. In a band called "Human Torches," which has recently finished recording second CD, "You may already be a Winner." See our web site. Sometimes the mail links are squirrely with that one though, so if you want a CD, email me at john@machome.com. | |||
| When I grow up I want to be: | |||
| No answer. | |||
| The question never asked: | |||
| Is that your hat? | |||
| Education: | |||
| Foster City Elementary School, Foster City, CA. 1968-73. Subjects studied: spelling, painting, touch football, crossword puzzles, addition, subtraction. Bowditch Middle School, Foster City CA. 1974-77. Experimental school with no windows; this was supposed to help kids concentrate more by minimizing distractions one could see through windows. Such as grass, trees and light. Subjects studied: geography, language arts (!), long division, social studies (I did a report on Prague *way* before it was trendy to move there and start a microbrewery), judo. San Mateo High School, San Mateo, CA 1978-82. The school's mascot was the Bearcat, which as far as I could tell did not exist as an actual animal. This may have contributed to my ongoing lack of interest in sports. Subjects studied: language arts (again!), spanish, algebra, creative writing, biology, auto shop (one of my few A+ classes, though I couldn't rebuild a carburetor and repeatedly spoke out of turn and made wiseacre commentary), electronics. College of San Mateo. San Mateo, CA 1982-85. CSM, also known as the College of Small Minds, College of Single Mothers, or High School with Ashtrays (I did not make up any of these). Subjects studied: journalism, algebra (again), spanish, poetry, chemistry, accounting, TV production. I was all over the map. Just a mess. Feh. San Francisco State University. San Francisco, CA 1985-88. UC Berkeley wouldn't take me so I went here. That was the case with most of us, I found out. Subjects studied: media communication, journalism. Discovered the Mac here. |
| Just The Facts, Please... | ||||
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| Biographical Tidbits: | Born 3/4/64 | Education: | See Above. | |
| Location at Birth: | San Francisco | Current Location: | San Francisco | |
| Where you've been in between: |
Portland, Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, Singapore, India, Nepal, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong | Astrological Sign: | Pisces. | |
| Available? | Not married. I'll get to it. | Chat Nick: | Varies, usually AbrahamLincoln. | |
| Favorite Books: | HP Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury | Favorite Music or Band: | Punk Rock, Soundtracks, Traditional Country. Faves in these categories: The Queers, Mancini/Herrmann, Jimmie Rodgers |
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| Favorite Food: | Thai and Indian. | Cat or Dog Person: | Both. Used to be more of a cat person, but now I like dogs just as much. | |
| Personal Web Site: None. I'll get to it. | |
| John's Professional Web Site and Sabot - John's Band (John didn't say this, I used editorial license - imh) |
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| Favorite Web Site: | APB Online: The Source for Police and Crime News and The Onion. |
| "Is the noise in my head bothering you?" | |
Created Tuesday, December 22, 1998; Edited: 1/17/99, 1/29/99