by Richard H. Wagner / rwagne1@cugkc.cjb.net
Hello!!! from your Club President again. I know many of you are wondering why our newsletter is not getting out on time. I talked to John Heaton and he has his hands full since he will be retiring soon. I am appealing to our members that we will need someone to take over our publishing duties. John Heaton is thinking of making a video for every one to look at that will show what it takes to make a newsletter for the club. For someone who is interested we will have to show you how to use geos and properly equip you with the proper equipment.
I have news on Maurice Randall and "The Wave". Right now a beta copy of the Wave has been issued to some of Maurices top beta testers. From people I have talked to, say it works with websites quite well if one knows the proper commands. It is quite primitive but will be upgraded vith point and click stuff after beta testing. As for its completion date, I haven't a clue. The Wave is as big as a project as Wheels 128 was. We have to be patient.
Our Geos (S.I.G.) Special interest group vas mentioned at the meeting and the next meeting is at Richard H. Wagner's house which happens to be me at 10615 W. 97th Terrace Overland Park, KS 66214; it will be held if there is enough interest to see a demonstration of what Wheels 128 and Super128CPU can do for Geos. CALL (913)888-2465 for More INFO. HOPE to see you at our next S.I.G. meeting.
by Jack Kincaid / jkinca1@cugkc.cjb.net
IT is here!! The Great NEW MILLENNIUM!!
A big question in my mind is what will be the course of the CUGKC?? Same as the old one or maybe something better. (I hope) There may be some big changes in the coming year. If the library decides to tear down the old building and rebuild, we will have to find a new meeting place for who knows how long, probably for two to three years. We will need to find a place to meet, maybe another library or Civic Center that is free. There is NO way we will be able to pay anything for a place to meet.
We have already lost some members because they have not received the newsletter and I am afraid there will be more that will not renew their membership. Most of these people do not come to the meetings but pay their dues, which includes the newsletter.
As I alluded to in the last century, maybe we should drop our dues to $20.00 and not have a newsletter or not mail one out. That brings up another point, the Club has not been getting much mail from other clubs lately, some I know have gone, but others probably think we have folded because they do not get our newsletter.
Our BBS should be a means of communication for members of the Club, even if you only use it once a week to see if there are any changes to the meetings. There really isn't a good excuse for not having a modem and knowing how to use it.
Does anyone have anything to share? We ask that a lot and more often than not we get silence in return. The problems can be overcome with some help so - THINK NOT WHAT THE CLUB CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THE CLUB. Hey - does that sound familiar?
Is there anyone out there that would like to upgrade from a 64 to 128? 1 have two or maybe three 128s if someone wants them, call or see me at the meeting.
Financial Report
Balance Nov. 1999.................... $343.32
Income: Dec. 1999.................... $ 0.00
Expenses:
PO Box Fee (semiannual)..............-$ 32.00
Balance Dec. 1999.................... $310.32
by Scott Heider / sheide1@cugkc.cjb.net
Welcome to Y2K! Now that the big day has come and gone with nary a riot, I'm guessing that most of us will be getting rid of lots of canned goods throughout the winter. Oh well, at least our Commies are all Y2K-compliant!
The Group meeting for December was held on Wednesday, December 1st at the Plaza Library. The attendance was approximately 10 members.
Because of the annual goodie feast, there wasn't much business at the meeting. The highlight (besides the food) was the giveaways. Jack Kincaid brought in a variety of software and books that had been donated to the club throughout the year, and everyone present was able to take something home with them.
The 64 Disk of the Month was our annual holiday freebie. This year it contains Christmas music and lyrics. If you'd like to know more information or purchase any previous Disk of the Month, they will be available at the next Group meeting for the low price of $3 each.
Lenard Roach brought copies of the latest version (v1.5) of his Obligator Coordinator program. For those of you who haven't seen it, the program keeps track of bills and other financial obligations. Lenard was and still is looking for volunteers to beta test this newest release, so please help him out.
Finally, a reminder about the next Group meeting. See you at the Plaza Library at 7:00 on Wednesday, January 5th, 2000.
by John Heaton / jheato1@cugkc.cjb.net
My apologies are certainly insufficient to make up for my performence or lack of it as the publisher of this newsletter over the last five or six months.
Between Joyce's health, Yours Truly fighting a couple bad bugs, depression and just flat running out of steam. I don't feel that I can any longer do justice to the job or you all.
I'll certainly be glad to work with whoever you choose to take over the job. On average a four page issue will take about eight hours. Currently the newsletter is produced using GEOPublish and converted to GEOPaint pages, each one an 8" x 10" paint document. They are printed out on the club's Epson Stylus/color IIs ink jet printer, then reproduced through an OfficeMAX copy center. The copies are collated, stapled and folded by hand. It could be done by the copy center but it would quadruple the per issue cost of the newsletters.
Every issue is backed up in an archive of 3.5" 2DD (16 of them at this point) disks. I also have a half dozen loose leaf binder, hard copies, going back over the last five plus years.
The mailing list is maintained using GEOFile in several formats for envelopes, labels and post cards along with member profile information. I also keep a GEODex file of all our members past and present.
Because of all the personal problems I've encountered, this issue has turned into an omnibus.
I'm sure that my successor will be far more able to produce better results than I have recently.
Again my apologies, and thanks to all of you for your kindness and understanding.
John H. former editor
by Lenard R Roach / lroach1@cugkc.cjb.net
The one in yellow goes first. He quickly but stealthly climbs up the nearby gray colored structure and balances himself on its top. Looking at the expanse between himself and his destination, he, for a moment, ponders the times that he has missed this vault before him and plummeted to the floor below, but he sees no other alternative. He must traverse this expanse to make his intended destination.
He looks back. His white clad compatriot joins him on the structure and she awaits his next move. Cautiously he takes a few steps backwards to grant himself running room. Then, in starting position, he focuses his attention on his target and at the sounding of an imaginary starting gun, he lunges forward quickly, speeding to the edge of the ediface. Upon reaching the edge, with a final burst of energy, he bounds off the construction and finds himself for a moment, airborne.
His mind and eyes are fixed fast upon his landing site knowing perfectly well that there is no backing out at this point, but his vision soon sways as he notices himself dipping far sooner than his strategically calculated leap was intended. He stretches out, hoping to grab the top ledge of his target structure as he passes.
Over on the former complex, his white clad cohort steps to the edge and watches in horror as her yellow draped friend begins to drop to the floor below. But his fall is short lived as he successfully but painfully makes contact with the top ledge of the ediface across the way. She grimaces as she hears his legs and chest slam against the high wall, but she quickly breathes a sigh of relief as she notes that he, for the most part, is all right. She watches in charged anticipation as he struggles to lift himself onto the top of his landing place.
He pulls his pelted personage onto the framework of wood and screws and in his newly weakened state, steps sluggishly away from the border. He turns and looks across the way back at his comrade, giving her a confident glance that he is all right and everything is going as planned. "I'm getting too old for this," he thinks to himself.
"He's getting too old for this," she thinks to herself as she begins to prepare to make the same leap. But out of the corner of her eye, illuminated by a glimmer of moonlight was a route that would take her out of harm's way. She strides to the west to where she sees a narrow balcony like protrusion coming from a wall; a plank that traverses the chasm. The old timer across the way watches as she walks up to the railless bridge. Glancing past the walkway, she sees the blackened abyss that almost claimed her partner. Even though this looks safer, she still holds reservations of its stability. Placing one foot carefully on this bannisterless protrusion, she tests its sturdiness. It's strong, She places another foot on it; soon she is walking balanced and poised across the bridge and effortlessly steps off when she reaches the other side. She joins her yellow attired ally, who stares in disbelief at her smirk, then shakes his head.
They both turn together to face the object of their affections, the reason why they are taking such risks, the cause of their night assault -- The Commodore 128 computer.
They stride towards the keyboard, the face of which is dimly lit by the moon making an endeavor to shine despite the trees wrestling to snuff out its luminance. Stepping up, they stride gracefully across this classic ciphering machine, making sure their combined weight does not crush the casing. They pass over without incident, stepping down to browse this new land they have uncovered.
Now the ancient one in yellow glances at something from the corner of his eye. His head snaps to the left, waiting wide-eyed for the moon to reveal to him what he is sure he sees. He stares intently, crouching down in case he is identified, waiting for the lesser light of the night to shine once again. Impatience begins to set in. The element of surprise is on his side. He should be able to take down whatever is lurking in the dark. He digs into the surface, hoping to get a grip on the ground to make a speedy lunge towards this new invader. The trees outside divide at the wind's command to flash a glimmer of moonlight once again. And the ancient one leaps.
The younger, white clad lady is having her own set of troubles. Before her lies a flat square object that is protected by two silver snakes. Even without light she can see that the snakes are possibly in hibernation, so if she wants the contents which are in the plastic bag she will have to strike before the argent serpents awaken. She also poises herself like her mentor, digs in and without waiting for light, vaults into action.
The reptiles don't know what hit them. Upon contact with her foes, the snakes recoil at the pounce. The agile lass then grasps them tightly and rolls on her back and using her legs, kicks her adversaries over the east ledge and into the murky blackness, the plastic bag going with them. She rolls to her feet, hurrying to the ledge to see if they were truly gone, but there is nothing but pitch darkness.
The old timer has himself occupied with more then he bargained for. What started out as a fat, brown creature with small rounded ears and a black bow tie as shown by the moonlight, shed this exterior to reveal a hideous, cold, inflexible monster with a slender tail that runs for what appears to be miles. This camouflaged creature has its elongated appendage wrapped several times around the ancient one's pudgy body and despite all his biting and clawing, he can't get the creature to let go. In a last act of desperation, the seasoned veteran of these midnight raids rotates to the left in hopes of getting the coily creature to release him. But the monster is too smart for him and mimics his twists and turns. Tumbling and tumbling they go, across the wooden planks and headlong toward the east edge. The lady sees the danger and springs to help her instructor, but even with youth on her side, she is too slow to assist him and she watches in terror as both he and the leviathan twist a final time, then tumble off the east ledge and plummet into the darkness, still locked in mortal combat. They both fade into obscurity.
Panic and anxiety flows through the veins of this espionage debutante as she contemplates the worst. Her hero, her coach, is gone. But she has to know, could he have survived? Despite his age, he is resilient especially in a crisis. She decides to find out. Retracing her steps, she hastens back across the Commodore 128, traverses the chasm again via the railless bridge, and descends the gray structure which led them into this fiasco. In the darkness she stands, waiting for her eyes to adjust as much as possible to the deep murkiness, but the uneasiness in her breast forces her to press on. Feeling around with each step, she, as rapidly as she can, begins the search for her elder nurturer. Slowly her eyes adjust to the night, just enough for her to see the final resting place of her senior.
He is sprawled out on his right side, his legs extended forward from his body. The hydra he battled lies motionless underneath him, apparently exterminated by the fall. The white garbed pupil presupposes that the monster released him upon its demise, but all too late for him. She steps forward to get a closer look at his carcass, checking his face for any signs of life. From what she could tell in the darkness, his gaze is fixed forward, devoid of any signs of life. She hangs her head low in mourning, then turns slowly to leave.
The aged one sits up with a start and shakes his head to clear the cobwebs. The young one spins on her heels at the sound of stirring behind her. Cautiously, she steps up to him in disbelief. She saw him dead, or so she thought. She thought wrong, for there he is, alive but a little shaken. He turns his head to gaze at her with the same look he gave her upon the platform just a few minutes earlier. She brightens, happy that her colleague has survived this ordeal.
Suddenly, a flash of white light cleaves the darkness from the east. So bright this aurora that it brings temporary blindness to the both of them. Then from behind this artificial sun comes thunder. An echo that penetrates every fiber of their beings. A resonance that, to the acoustics, appears to be forming words.
"WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE?"
Both the yellow one and the white one know that they have been caught. The elder leaps to his feet and makes a break for it, darting away from the scene. Following quickly behind him is his associate, scrambling through area after area until they reach their hideaway. They both duck, lumbering into the aperture and going deeply into the complex in hopes to escape the booming sonance.
"OH, MAN! WHAT A MESS!" comes the rumble again. "MY SOFTWARE POUCH AND 1351 MOUSE ARE ON THE FLOOR!" it continued. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU CATS FOR THIS!"
The felines lick their paws, ever content in the outcome of the nocturnal accomplishment. They give each other a fleet, satisfying glance then return to their ritualistic cleansing. "Tomorrow," they each think, "is another night."
- DA DE LUM DUMB -
- DA DE LUM DUM DUMB! -
Thor, the ancient feline and Puff his white haired accomplice were found guilty of attempted sabotage of a Commodore 128. They were sentenced to expulsion from their domicile for a night, but allowed to return by the next morning and are reported to be behaving well after this experience.
The preceding story was true. No names were changed because -- hey -- they're stupid cats! Sheesh!
This material copyright 1999 by Lenard R Roach
The Commodore Users Group of Kansas City is a not-for-profit educational support group for persons using Commodore computers.
Membership benefits include a monthly newsletter as well as access to CUGKC's Bulletin Board System (BBS) open 23.5 hours every day, with upload and download privileges, plus electronic mail, and access to over 500 doors of the FidoNet (part of a world-wide network). Also, members receive access to a library of over 1000 public domain and shareware disks.
Dues are $30 the first year, $25 annually thereafter. Disks of the month and library disks cost $3 each for members.
Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month in the Lower Level Meeting Room of the Plaza branch of the Kansas City Public Library, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Visitors are welcome to attend any meeting. For more information, contact any officer:
Email us at cugkc@cugkc.cjb.net
or visit our web site at http://cugkc.cjb.net.
Our snail-mail address is:
CUGKC
PO Box 36034
Kansas City, Missouri 64111