Add me to the list of someone who didn't have a clue how much personal computers would take off. I wanted one from the start, of course (my wish list involved Cromemco machines that I could never have afforded), but that was just because I thought it was cool, not because I thought it would remake the world.

The first machine that was mine and mine alone was a classic Osborne, running Electric Pencil and a few other things.

Leter on, when I was "between jobs" for a time, I started doing patent drafting. I had done some of this when I was younger, and Silicon Valley seemed like a fertile place. Patent drafting, at that time, still had strict rules on paper, ink, and style, and handwork was the rule. I found out that a lot of my work involved circuit diagrams and logic charts, and realized that the new computer drafting systems like AutoCAD would be a way to save a LOT of time. I invested in a new PC-AT, the flatbed pen plotter that would allow me to keep within Patent Office rules, and the CAD software. This set me back well over ten thousand dollars, and I had to finance it like a new car over several years. I'm still not sure I made all that money back over time, but when new opportunities came up, I was a red-hot AutoCAD pilot, and pretty good at assembling my own computer systems.

But I digress.

The biggest tech surprises in recent years for me were the internet and the cell phone. I am hoping like hell for a surprise in energy generation, which is the major bottleneck for human civilization over the next century.