About
Why 404 and chill…?
First, let’s start with the obvious question: What does “404 and chill” mean? You’re not alone if you’ve never heard it - chances are, I’m the only one who’s ever said it. To me, it means this: get lost and relax. If someone’s in your face, it’s time to 404 and chill. If you’ve had a bad week, sometimes you just need to 404 and chill. This webzine? This is where I 404 and chill. No idea what 404 means? Read this.
A Tribute to a Time
404 and chill… is a love letter to the analog and early digital era that defined what it meant to grow up Gen X. As a 50-something who came of age in the days of modems and mixtapes, this is my way of preserving those moments. I’ve spent countless hours dialing into modems, blowing into NES cartridges, and perfecting the art of rewinding VHS tapes. Those experiences weren’t just chores - they were rites of passage. They taught us patience, creativity, and how to problem-solve with what we had.
This space dives into it all:
- Coding BASIC on the Atari 800XL and the hours spent debugging line-by-line.
- The creative chaos of Geocities, where blinking text and glittery GIFs were badges of honor.
- The romance of mixtapes and the slacker ethos that defined a generation more interested in authenticity than appearances.
More Than Nostalgia
This isn’t just about looking back - it’s about understanding how those moments continue to influence us today. The ways we communicated, created, and connected in the past have left their fingerprints on the present. This webzine is for anyone who wants to relive those days, or maybe just understand why some of us still say, “Be kind, rewind.”
So grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let’s rewind to a time when culture wasn’t just consumed - it was made by hand, pixel by pixel, and track by track. Welcome to 404 and chill… A place to relive, reconnect, and rediscover the magic of what made us, us.