I taught myself CS by reading, thinking, running debug to see x86 assembler in DOS, and programming for fun. All on an 8088 XT that my mom bought (with a bank loan) against my dad's wishes.

Then I got the degree. Worked a bit in industry; and presently, I am in academia.

This sounds awefully dry. I should mention some Sirens and Leviathans -- there certainly were some in that old XT.