[api]

Here's a few of mine:

* Learning BASIC and later 6502 ASM on a Commodore 64 when I was a kid... play, not work.

* Being a "hacker" (sense two) in the early 90s. While this was not legal, I learned more than I would have in probably anything else. This is particularly true because there just weren't the open resources available back then... how else would a suburban middle class 15 year old in the Midwest learn about applied cryptography, Unix C coding, or how IP routing works?

* Installing Linux in 1993 from floppies, learning C around the same time.

* Founding a failed startup years ago. This one was a mixed bag. It was a painful experience, but also hugely educational.

* Working for a business consulting firm that specialized in early stage companies.