In a time when a computer was a mechanical adding machine, with a crank like a one-armed bandit turned to tally keyed in figures, kids could take things apart and see how they worked. What passed for electric circuits often consisted of things like lights or bells wired together and powered by batteries. This talk will be a series of recollections from the days of electric telephones and vacuum tubes, to beyond the invention of the transistor. It will be a mixture of the technology and a few of the characters that have had a great influence on my life. PAUL BROKAW Mr. Brokaw holds a BS in Physics from Oklahoma State University. He has worked for Wells Surveys Inc, Authur D. Little Inc., Communication Technology Inc., Nova Devices, and Analog Devices where he is currently an Analog Fellow. He has designed a variety of products and holds upward of 100 U.S patents in areas including monolithic A/D and D/A converters, sensors, voltage references, amplifiers, power management circuits, and ASICs. He was selected in 1993 as "Innovator of the Year" by the readers of EDN magazine and more recently elected to the Electronic Design Magazine "Hall of Fame." Over his career he has presented and published papers at numerous technical conferences and in IEEE journals, served as guest editor of the JSSC, and is a life fellow of the IEEE.