Category Archives: Joe’s Garage

The Greenstreet Mac Mini: Adding Another 2010 to the Cigar Box Fleet

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Joe_Williams

I wasn’t planning on building another cigar box mini-stack anytime soon, but eBay had other ideas. A very clean 2010 Mac mini popped up for auction so I took a shot. I threw in a maximum bid of $37 on … Continue reading →

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Reclaiming My Creative Life With Vintage Macs: The Cigar Box Mac Mini Stack

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Joe_Williams

After months of tinkering, I finally built the Murciélago Mini-Stack: a 2010 Mac mini sitting on top of a 2022 M1 Mac mini, all resting on a cigar box. Two Macs, one keyboard, and zero subscriptions. Here’s how I reclaimed my creative life with vintage hardware I already own. Continue reading →

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The End of the Adobe Era: Reclaiming My Creative Life with Vintage Macs

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Joe_Williams

After three decades with Photoshop — from floppy disks and beige Macs to monthly subscriptions — I finally hit cancel. Here’s why I’m happily back to my old software running on old hardware, and how I reclaimed my creative life. Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Computers, Curious Clutter, Joe's Garage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Digital Doodles

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Joe_Williams

I’ve mostly set aside my real world drawing tools as an obsession with old computers has been burning through me since around Halloween. I’m trying to frugally future-proof my family’s digital life by gutting and re-configuring computers that have long … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, Illustration, It Came From the Sketchbook, Joe's Garage, Monkey & Bird, Pixels Versus Pigment, Sketch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It Never Ends!

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Joe

Two Mac minis dating from 2012 are pictured above. The one on the left has an Intel i5 processor and it was running happily with an installation of Linux Mint. The machine on the right is a new acquisition. It … Continue reading →

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Forward to the PAST!

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Joe_Williams

When tech giants rely on subscription software and planned obsolescence, the only direction I can go in is Forward to the Past! Continue reading →

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Party Like It’s 2009!

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Joe

Last week I wrote about upgrading a Mac Pro tower with a Solid State Drive or SSD plugged into a Peripheral Component Interconnect express card which I placed into one of the PCIe slots within the Pro’s enormous aluminum chassis. … Continue reading →

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It Lives Again!

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Joe_Williams

Wherein I rummage through the graveyard of my old computers and try to cobble together a monster that will serve me in this modern age. Continue reading →

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A New Slipcase for my Sketchbook

Posted on January 6, 2026 by Joe

Never knowing when inspiration is going to strike, I always carry a sketchbook with me. I carry a few different cases of pens and pencils. I also carry hard drives and flash drives and cords and adapters and tools and … Continue reading →

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