media archaeology lab

https://post.lurk.org/@mediaarchaeologylab

past solutions for present problems since 2009 // resting on traditional territories of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations

website: https://mediaarchaeologylab.com
Open House Hours & Calendars: https://mediaarchaeologylab.neocities.org/
Other Networks: https://othernetworks.net/
newsletter: https://mediaarchaeologylab.ghost.io/

Public Key

npub1vhpdkuyajuk0l88dla0ek4hnx3aa54nkx475npqmcaethkc7gxjs8tcqle

NIP-05 Address

mediaarchaeologylab_at_post.lurk.org@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsxtskmwzwewt8lnnkl7hum2meng7762emr2l2fssduwu4mmv0yrfgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsfhgfz9

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1vhpdkuyajuk0l88dla0ek4hnx3aa54nkx475npqmcaethkc7gxjs8tcqle

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Last Notes

2026-07-13 17:37:54 UTC

today on MALtv 😢
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/913/882/224/177/644/original/20ca4433d030d974.png

2026-07-09 20:35:54 UTC

today in things you didn't know you needed, a briefcase-style portable microfiche reader
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/891/929/092/675/600/original/6333029f3d8ccd5b.png

2026-06-25 18:45:01 UTC

We received a Kaypro II and all associated disks, plus some additional software. Most of it is identifiable, but one rubberbanded stack of floppies is obliquely labeled "Multi Function Radio Diagnostics mBasic" - anyone have a reference for that program?

2026-06-22 19:33:38 UTC

Our residency call for the 26/27 academic year is live! The theme this year is Creative Misuse - interpret as you will.
Read the full prompt: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16zB-7J4UoajGAooans30yEgQKlzys2hD/view
Fill out the application: https://forms.gle/KNfcAGBVCbyURiWJA
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/795/360/156/776/788/original/df551d6a2fa744c9.png

2026-05-22 18:31:30 UTC

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definitely gonna need to replace that cap though, it isn't happy.

2026-05-22 18:28:31 UTC

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look ma, no flames! and even a promising little crackle from the speaker... but oh boy it does get warm fast
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/633/698/769/090/original/cda0e79f04718b6e.png

2026-05-22 18:07:16 UTC

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some of this dust appears to be structural

2026-05-22 18:00:20 UTC

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ah there we go - July 2, 1946. maybe we can get them going again for their 80th birthday
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/526/298/127/651/original/dac93b18b3d94349.png

2026-05-22 17:58:54 UTC

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ignore the dust bunny just look at the fun branding
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/522/666/216/821/original/80c783b754e0453e.png

2026-05-22 17:57:52 UTC

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in case you were wondering no you are not supposed to air-gap your resistors
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/518/914/130/098/original/2128f2a95e2a82eb.png

2026-05-22 17:52:14 UTC

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we also got a single unit for a Teletalk system - presumably they communicate with eachother. this one appears to be missing a PTT button on the top?
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/488/331/500/825/original/2aa7c76e1763f808.png

2026-05-22 17:41:38 UTC

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it's one of 4 pieces in a 1940s Flash-A-Call intercom system... and they are gorgeous. anybody local up for a restoration project?
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/453/699/541/694/original/3e9c063e0bd789f2.png

2026-05-22 17:35:57 UTC

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our professional opinion is a solid "maybe it already did"

2026-05-22 17:30:22 UTC

hello and welcome to today's episode of "will this catch fire if we plug it in?"
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/619/410/918/853/979/original/ab064bff8832116b.png

2026-05-21 17:50:05 UTC

if you haven't seen the Virtual OS Museum yet - check it out, it's genuinely remarkable.
this is *not* the kind of work that is within our mission, but it is adjacent to what we do and we appreciate it so, so much. it's the combination of everyone doing their individual things that leads to an incredible variety of ways to understand and access this history https://virtualosmuseum.org/

2026-04-27 16:16:31 UTC

important info for Colorado folks: https://infosec.exchange/@threatresearch/116477454960438426i
#note13y0…fkcr

2026-03-26 20:43:25 UTC

(no)
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/413/858/537/805/original/41b2713895ecd40c.png

2026-01-28 18:36:56 UTC

If we made tarot cards (just the major arcana)... which machines would be what?

2026-01-15 20:41:41 UTC

Did You Know... we have a lot of stuff?
sometimes, we get things that are broken or un-usable. sometimes things break and are not fixable or not worth fixing.
those things go into the e-waste pile of doom, from whence they are eventually taken to the Colorado Hard to Recycle Materials Facility.
howEVER, this time around we decided to add another step in that process. we'll be doing a "Take Our Stuff, Please!" free rummage on the porch on January 31 from 2-4 PM.
everything from letterpress type to broken circuit boards to partially scavenged computer towers to textbooks from the 80s - all free, for whatever use you might have for it...
save the date! bring your own bag or box! take whatever you want!

2025-12-10 21:34:27 UTC

who needs a fresh copy of CP/M WordStar?
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/697/415/716/232/576/original/23c5449953f3fa52.jpg

2025-12-01 19:21:59 UTC

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oh awesome! we should do a sliderule photo thread...

2025-12-01 18:40:49 UTC

today's readings....
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/645/763/913/926/960/original/dae7994dea9f0308.png

2025-09-05 19:17:34 UTC

not nearly enough people make clothes for their computers anymore
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/153/293/240/748/783/original/996ccd514d9dc13e.jpg

2025-08-26 21:38:54 UTC

We recently got the sad news that our friend Harry passed away. He was in his 90s and lived quite the life, but at one point he was a mechanical calculator repairman for Friden, Inc. He refurbished and then donated a Friden STW-10 electromechanical calculator to us some years ago, along with the knowledge to keep it running, and stayed in touch with some of the MAL Pals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzAx9vtV-yc

2025-08-15 19:51:20 UTC

hey friends, our magazine collection is pretty great, but there is one title we have ZERO copies of... if you have copies of Mondo 2000 you'd like to give a new home, we will happily take them!

2025-08-15 19:15:36 UTC

Edward E. Harper, we have your (absolutely pristine) label maker...
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/034/375/605/751/099/original/6208be4bc3c0376e.jpg

2025-05-12 19:18:11 UTC

guess who has a working Lisa?
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/496/460/524/821/293/original/8c662c6861b400f5.jpg

2025-05-02 19:47:37 UTC

look at this beautiful pair of walkie-talkies we just got
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/439/960/200/839/929/original/c2b5898b89d63274.png

2025-04-09 17:44:47 UTC

The Media Archaeology Lab (MAL) Practitioner-In-Residence program is inviting applications for the 2025/2026 cohort!
The theme for our 2025/2026 residency is Counter Computing: Alternative Imaginaries. We would like to see your interpretation and exploration of this open brief. You may consider thinking about the following questions: What is computation? What is the role of the “counter” in artistic and technological practice? How can we imagine technology and society otherwise through such counter-acts? What are the poetics of techno-social relations?
We are interested in any form of artistic and/or scholarly practice that engages counter-computational practices, such as glitching, hacking, tinkering, queering, subverting, (un)making and (re)imagining. Through such experimentation, we encourage you to explore how our relation to (and imagination of) technology can be remade to envision alternative pasts, presents and futures.
Apply here: https://forms.gle/gFDaQKGJsb8APMGQ9

2025-04-04 17:08:31 UTC

we got a really pristine copy of Adam Osborne's "An Introduction to Microcomputers Volume 0: The Beginner's Book" today and it's really a treat
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/280/785/758/498/320/original/9bb295ef4e58e53e.png

2024-12-19 18:37:48 UTC

just in case you've got an excess of punch cards and a lack of Christmas decor...
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/680/932/049/166/836/original/4d8cca00e84dc1c9.png
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/680/934/435/943/441/original/ea34f66f43d31a5c.png

2024-11-07 17:23:48 UTC

anybody know this sad mac code offhand?
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/442/829/503/033/322/original/9fe26ca72103e485.png

2024-10-16 18:13:11 UTC

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the tone of some old documentation is just really delightful
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/318/444/728/473/539/original/427696d43fd8b5f2.png

2024-10-16 18:03:41 UTC

today in accessioning
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/318/415/265/096/788/original/b571c101b1ef7fed.png

2024-09-27 20:42:01 UTC

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photos!
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/211/306/063/385/337/original/9a662038a1adc129.png
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/211/306/510/021/173/original/070d8e7067b9175d.png
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/211/310/034/881/980/original/52d5c3d752ef9c9a.png

2024-09-27 20:03:00 UTC

@npub168z…pl86 brought in a Mac and an ImageWriter so now we're printing over barbed wire
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/211/299/785/565/542/original/dd5e4b62989084a0.mp4

2024-09-27 17:53:55 UTC

hey rememeber that time we installed a barbed wire fence inside a building and then ran a telephone signal over it? well- you still have 'til 4 today to see it, and from 3-6 on Monday!
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/210/779/891/800/388/original/6dd76c1e7b468eec.jpg

2024-09-16 17:31:47 UTC

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On Monday (Sept. 23) we have the final talk of the speaker series that we are running in conversation with (and also literally in) the Barbed Wire Fence Telephone II exhibition.
Professor Sam Duwe from the University of Oklahoma will be giving his talk "Colonization at the Speed of Light" on Monday, Sept. 23 at noon our time (UTC-6).
This talk is online-only, so please RSVP to mediaarchaeology@colorado.edu for details.
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/148/393/471/964/568/original/b3817a6a8220c43d.png

2024-09-11 16:14:57 UTC

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If you aren't able to attend Cheryl's talk on Friday, maybe you can come to Nathan Schneider's @npub1csp…k7h4 talk next Wednesday!
He'll be giving a talk titled "Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life" as an introduction to his new book by the same title.
The question posed is: why does governance in our everyday online spaces matter? The book argues that we should turn the conversation about the internet and democracy upside-down.
Join us in CASE W250 or on Twitch at 12:30 PM our time (UTC-6)
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/119/788/426/608/842/original/f92d0fe708ea3642.png

2024-09-09 17:32:58 UTC

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on Friday Sept. 13 at 12 PM our time, professor Cheryl Higashida will give a talk titled "Radiotelephony, Race and Rights"
Beginning in the 1960s, the civil rights and farm workers movements developed their own radiotelephone systems, thereby challenging the whiteness of mobile telephony. This history of social movement telephony amplifies linkages between the civil rights and farm workers movements as well as crucial differences between their respective pursuits of political progress through technological projects.
This is a hybrid event: we'll be in person in CASE W250 and also streaming on our Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/mediaarchaeology
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/108/787/608/229/286/original/3b2e0a2b7db1383b.png

2024-09-09 17:27:12 UTC

we have 2 Barbed Wire Fence Telephone events this week!
first, if you are in Boulder or the surrounding area, this Wednesday from 1-4 we're hosting a "Snail Mail Party". bring the mailing address of someone you'd like to send something by post, we'll provide stamps, envelopes and writing/crafting supplies! in the CASE building on the CU Boulder campus, room W250

2024-08-21 19:06:31 UTC

they're so pretty 😍
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/113/001/570/223/546/853/original/dbd1f2704eb63ca7.png

2024-07-03 19:17:56 UTC

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OMG it's us but in Star Trek!!!
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/724/161/781/578/871/original/523b3cfb13faea5e.png

2024-07-03 19:01:04 UTC

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issue 6 is a little sillier
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/724/097/308/165/319/original/c809afce881d6683.png

2024-07-03 18:56:23 UTC

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this ad on the back cover of BYTE issue 2 is lovely
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/724/077/200/598/525/original/b2a86f90a8c956d3.png

2024-07-03 17:37:20 UTC

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MAL summer school here we come?
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/723/769/179/763/888/original/d9345e0d5a5244af.png

2024-07-03 17:36:18 UTC

if you're gonna learn C, might as well learn it from the source
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/723/763/666/976/872/original/a737abcba3f9c73d.png

2024-06-24 18:52:48 UTC

if anyone has access to closed-captioning software (of the type that can be used with a hardware encoder) we'd love to see documentation of it working

2024-06-12 17:34:12 UTC

today's oddity...
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/604/845/945/215/145/original/1ad53e7427c2ad33.png
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/604/846/945/704/456/original/888e58e072c22f78.png

2024-06-05 19:43:16 UTC

look at what we got!
https://post.lurk.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/565/716/696/295/864/original/4b92757d407c0c1b.png

2024-05-24 16:16:16 UTC

so if anyone has a soon to be bricked Spotify Car Thing... we will happily take one to add to our shelf of "hardware that would continue to work just fine if it weren't for capitalism being capitalism" (we're still working on the name)
edit: thanks to @npub1avw…gvnd and @npub1ptz…zfkp for getting us to Corporolized Hardware, as in "enshittification in it's final stage a fossilized piece of corporate shit"
feels like we should tag @npub1fdr…lvhs in on this one 🌈