Jerry Stratton

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Jerry Stratton

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Born
in The United States
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Influences
Hunter S. Thompson, George Orwell, J.M. Barrie, Stephen King, Ray Brad ...more

Member Since
June 2013

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I write at Mimsy Were the Borogoves on politics, technology, and programming for all.

I studied Psychology at Cornell University and guitar at the Musicians Institute of Technology. I have appeared in at least one bad movie from the eighties and participated in at least one ill-fated pre-Internet hypermedia startup.

I am the author of The Dream of Poor Bazin and 42 Astoundingly Useful Scripts and Automations for the Macintosh. I’ve also collected the recipes of Chicago and IGA chef Eddie Doucette in Tempt Them with Tastier Foods.
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Jerry Stratton I’ve been researching computer culture in the late seventies/early eighties, and reading a lot of old BASIC books. There were so many collections like…moreI’ve been researching computer culture in the late seventies/early eighties, and reading a lot of old BASIC books. There were so many collections like “BASIC Computer Games” and “24 Tested, Ready-to-Run Programs in BASIC” and “57 Practical Programs & Games in BASIC”. I wanted to read such a book today, using modern scripting languages and the advanced abilities of the Macintosh. Since the book I wanted to read didn’t exist, I wrote it.(less)
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It Isn't Murder If They're ...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2002 — 2 editions
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The Missing Index: For the ...

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42 Astoundingly Useful Scri...

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SuperBASIC: The Manual

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The Dream of Poor Bazin

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Gods & Monsters

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Haunted Illustrious Castle

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Unofficial Index of the Sou...

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More books by Jerry Stratton…

Thoughts on typing 8-bit code

Using a modern computer to type retro code from old books and magazines opens up several possibilities for preflighting the code. This is a summary of what I do, along with two utilities to help when typing duplicative code.
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Published on March 18, 2026 04:00
Abraham Lincoln: ...
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Smith and Thompso...
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Jerry’s Recent Updates

Jerry Stratton wrote a new blog post

Thoughts on typing 8-bit code

Using a modern computer to type retro code from old books and magazines opens up several possibilities for preflighting the code. This is a summary of Read more of this blog post »
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A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
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For the entire time I was reading this book, I was in a house with this sign above the exit:


It’s Not Having What You Want, It’s Wanting What You Got.


This is a pop psychology summary of the Stoicism in this book. Irvine would probably add that it’s n
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Abraham Lincoln by Allen C. Guelzo
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The Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton
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One of the better excerpts in Brian Aldiss’s Space opera collection was from The Star of Life, and the full novel does not disappoint. This is space opera at its greatest, spanning time, space, and genetics. When the human race conquers space, space ...more
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The Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton
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Jerry is currently reading
A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
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"  comments"
Jerry and 16 other people liked Juho Pohjalainen's review of Fahrenheit 451:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
"Now, this may come as a surprise to some of you, but... Ray Bradbury didn't like television.

Not because the notion of moving pictures in a box was somehow inherently bad, just that it was so much more an effective way to draw people in with meaningle" Read more of this review »
Jerry joined the group Appendix N
1229969
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Ludwig von Mises
“The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals, but they are intent upon abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make the government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office. Every man but one a subordinate clerk in a bureau.”
Ludwig von Mises, Bureaucracy

“I love the early hours of the day. It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
James Lileks

Samuel G. Freedman
“A novelist who has to defend his creation by telling a reader *But that’s what really happened*, is a novelist who has failed.”
Samuel G. Freedman, Letters to a Young Journalist

Victor Davis Hanson
“The great hatred of capitalism in the hearts of the oppressed, ancient and modern, I think, stems not merely from the ensuing vast inequality in wealth, and the often unfair and arbitrary nature of who profits and who suffers, but from the silent acknowledgement that under a free market economy the many victims of the greed of the few are still better off than those under the utopian socialism of the well-intended. It is a hard thing for the poor to acknowledge benefits from their rich moral inferiors who never so intended it. (p.272)”
Victor Davis Hanson, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power

Victor Davis Hanson
“Victory may now require a level of force deemed objectionable by civilized peoples, meaning that some, for justifiable reasons, may be reluctant to pursue it. But victory has not become an ossified concept altogether.”
Victor Davis Hanson, The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern

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31471 THE Group for Authors! — 12998 members — last activity Mar 13, 2026 06:55PM
This is a group for authors to discuss their craft, as well as publishing and book marketing.
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We seek the Dark Tower, and will travel with Roland throughout the year, reading the Seven as well as Related Holy Texts.
5971 Classical (Laissez-Faire) Liberalism — 811 members — last activity Aug 24, 2025 10:15AM
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191713 Austin Fantasy and Science Fiction (Book) Club — 152 members — last activity Mar 08, 2026 08:13PM
A group for members of the AFSFBC Meetup group. https://www.meetup.com/austin-fantasy-and-science-fiction-book-club/
1229969 Appendix N — 13 members — last activity Jan 19, 2024 10:04AM
This book club, centered on the "Appendix N" of Gary Gygax's Dungeon Master Guide for Dungeons and Dragons, aims to engage the TTRPG community in expl ...more
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