About Justin

Stuff Online: early days to the present

-=[_ Technothrill _]=-

Justin’s been online since before the Internet was a thing, and he’s not even that old. Before obtaining an email address around 1995,

Justin operated a BBS (software that lets computers call other computers using a telephone and modem) which ran WWIV on MS-DOS, using a custom-built PC Clone assembled from spare parts, including a 16Mhz 286 processor and a 16-color EGA monitor (Chuck Yeager Air Combat, anyone?) The BBS software’s source code was made available either illicitly – and many variants of it were developed through ripped-off versions of the software – or if you paid the developer. The fee might have been $50? It was written in C, took several hours to compile, and “mods” or code amendments were traded via message forums, hosted on the same platform, or IRC, which one could adapt to customize the software. At this point, Justin referred to himself by the handle -=[Nova]=- (after the PBS series) and later Technothrill.

Because it required near constant use of the phone, Justin’s online activity produced tension in a household with 6 kids, two adults, and only one line. Whenever Justin’s computer was connected to another, to chat, exchange messages, play online ASCII-based games, or test out a new modification to his BBS, which was most evenings, no one else could get through or make a call, When they picked up the receiver they heard “$&^%()GH&#$!#*…. . .. … ..SQUELCH

No Carrier

And the call was dropped, ending whatever exchange Justin was engaged in.

“Why does Justin spend so much time on the computer???”, said some family member.

Justin had a normal social life at school but, at the time, had only one friend he knew in person who had a similar hobby. Justin was known among others to be “good at computers”, which, at the time, consisted of Apple IIe systems housed in trailers at the elementary. His 5th-grade graduation prediction read something like: “Justin, aka ‘The Wizard’, will have written the software that currently runs the Alaskan pipeline, and is the 7th richest person in the world.”

This site:

justinmorrison.net started in the early aughts primarily as a place to doodle with HTML and JavaScript, tweak CSS, and experiment with graphic design and various content management systems. It later grew as a repository for technical and artistic activities, including Justin’s dance performances, some proto-blog posts, photography, documentation of film-making endeavors, and blog posts of his travels abroad.

This present site has been running WordPress since around 2007-ish.

Justin maintains a presence on other platforms as well:

Facebook Profile
Instagram @justindances
Twitter Feed
LinkedIn Profile