The Ideas BBS: South Africa’s first private 24/7 dial up bulletin board …

The Ideas BBS was South Africa’s first private 24/7 dial up bulletin board. It ran out of my 10th floor apartment at 102 Maxwelton, 6 Goldreich Street, Hillbrow, Johannesburg. The number was +27-11-642-3724. My computer club buddy Steve Cilliers and I collaborated to develop this innovative piece of software in ways that are now considered to be agile.

The Ideas BBS took calls from all around South Africa and even a few from Zimbabwe, Canada and Britain. It connected me with people I might never otherwise have met: Michael Earl a design genius, Willie Esterhuizen the movie maker and Paul Everitt, my best friend.

Casting my vote, finally …

Like many before, I came to these shores on an H1B and, eventually, took up permanent residence. Winning “the Green Card Lottery” speeded up the process for us, which had slowed down after 9/11.

Later this year I am eligible for US citizenship through naturalisation. There’s a chance I may get to vote in this year’s election. Yay!