[Silicon Classics]

In the summer of 1995, as a high school student, I did an internship at Brookhaven National Labs on Long Island. One day SGI pulled up with an 18-wheeler full of their computers - it was a promotional cross-country tour they called the "Magic Bus" that ran for years, showcasing their newest hardware & software. I spent my lunch break playing with realtime 3D models on Indy & Indigo2 workstations, then waited in line to pilot a high-resolution F/A-18 simulator running on a rackmount Onyx supercomputer. It was displayed on a large projection screen and controlled by the beefiest joystick I've ever seen, with a metal base the size of a shoebox. Needless to say, I was fascinated. I still have the brochures I picked up in that trailer 23 years ago.