Searching for Paul C. Pratt
Paul C. Pratt is the man behind the Gryphel Project, an ambitious software and documentation effort to preserve and extend classic 68000-based Macintosh computers. He’s the author of the wildly-popular Mini vMac emulator, as well as other great tools like disassemblers and ROM utilities. Paul’s been a pillar of the classic Macintosh community for decades. Although I’ve never met him, I’ve exchanged many emails with Paul over the years, and he’s always been helpful.
Paul has gone missing. Not missing in the sense of a family emergency and police search, but missing for over two years from the classic Macintosh community where he’s been an active member for so long. His Gryphel Project site is still up, but there have been no new posts there since April 2021. He hasn’t appeared anywhere else online either, and he’s not responding to emails, nor to messages sent through community forums where he’s a member. Paul doesn’t have much social media presence, and nobody’s sure of his real-world address or phone number.
Maybe some family emergency or health crisis has demanded Paul’s attention since 2021? Maybe he simply got burned out on classic Macintosh topics, and decided to abandon his online identity and walk away from it all? For the past year, concerned members of the community have attempted to get in touch with Paul through various ways online and real-world to confirm he’s OK, or to ascertain what might have happened to him. They’ve not been successful, which is frustrating and sad.
I sincerely hope that Paul’s sitting in a sunny meadow somewhere, enjoying a lovely day and not giving any thought to crusty old Macintosh computers. But with every passing day that he’s not heard from, we all fear the worst. If he’s died, it’s entirely possible that Paul’s heirs might not think or care to tell anybody outside of his immediate family and friends. From his bio we know that Paul was born in 1969 or 1970, which makes him about 52, and the same age as me. That’s not old, but it’s a cautionary reminder that none of us live forever.
Hearing Paul’s story has motivated me to draft a continuity plan for BMOW, in case of my sudden unexpected disability or death. I’ve made arrangements to ensure the blog and the store would be gracefully wound down, and product designs would be transferred to responsible hands to make sure that nothing important is lost.
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We are all mortal. Hope you can keep knowledge of early tech alive and available. Sometimes I imagine a future world where we have lost access to most industrial capacity and our ability to do things will depend on what we can do with what we have or can locate. History teaches us nations and societies are also mortal. Knowledge of older tech is a good and useful thing. In the future, it might be a critical skill. Don’t stop. Carry on. Best wishes.
I couldn’t find a email to reaching you. I couldnt find details except their age, address and phone number.
Phone Number: 607-273-1845
Address: Po Box 6845, Ithaca, NY
According to that discussion at emaculation’s web site, the Ithaca phone number was disconnected as of May 2022 (assuming it’s the same number mentioned there). Other people have tried to contact Paul’s siblings and parents, but not been able to reach them either.
I didn’t want to share too much detail here, since it begins to feel like stalking, but anyone who’s interested can read more about the search for Paul in the linked discussion at emaculation.
I’m sorry to hear this. I hope Paul is, in fact, okay.
A few years ago, I finalized my will and advance directives, and I switched to a password manager with an “emergency access” feature. A lot of us think about what will happen to our physical property, but we neglect to consider our intellectual property. Ensuring a deliberate fate for our digital assets is just as important. I’m glad you’ve taken those steps for BMOW.
Paul is alive and well. I can’t speak to his extended absence from the Gryphel Project website nor (for reasons of privacy) offer any assurance other than this statement. But for what it’s worth, he is fine.