Memory Management for Older Hardware

As I get closer to 40, I've noticed some changes in my abilities and thus how I approach things. The change that made me write this article is my short-term memory. I noticed that when measuring scoops of powder into a cup to make a drink, the smallest interruption makes me forget how many scoops I put in. This was never a problem before, so obviously my short term memory is either more scarce or overloaded. In either case, I have a new approach: I say the number out loud as I do each scoop. I did this because I remembered reading that your auditory short-term term memory is separate from your regular short-term memory - and so far it works!

This scenario made me think of the old days of working with limited hardware. You had to know exactly how many registers you could use (and for what), how many CPU cycles were required for each operation, and so on. Mastering these is what allowed old hardware to play games and run programs ahead of their time. Now that I'm dealing with older hardware, I have some optimizing to do to keep running the same programs every day.