by Leslie Lacy / llacy1@cugkc.cjb.net
At the September 9th meeting we will be celebrating our Scribe's birthday. Everyone try and come out to the Waldo Library at 7:00 Thursday evening to wish him a happy birthday.
We at the CUGKC are also thankful that our prayers concerning Gabe are being heard and he is coming along well. We also know that a great deal of credit for this goes to his mother Alana. Only God himself can be giving her the strength to deal with all that comes along dealing with a child that is being threatened by such an awful disease. God bless them both!
by Jack Kincaid / jkinca1@cugkc.cjb.net
Well, it looks like the Club will be looking for another place to meet. Tom Moloney, who was checking the times for the coming meetings, was told that the library will be closing on Thursdays starting in October. Tom called Leslie Lacy and Les called me. The next meeting will be at the Waldo Library.
It keeps getting better and better. Our economy is so good that President Bush said that there should not be overtime pay if you make 23k to 100k! Bush is making a list and checking it twice to see who has been naughty and nice! You'd better check the list to see if your overtime has been cut!
We had seven members at the August meeting. Not too bad. There were no renewals or new members and the Club is still solvent which is good news. Valoris Strenge updated the Club's incorporation status with the state of Missouri. Thanks, Valoris!
Be sure to check out our website (http://cugkc.cjb.net) and check out the Forum. New things are added from time to time, so check it out!
NEXT MONTH: September 9, 2004 at the Waldo Library. Remember, this will be the last time we will be meeting here. I hope to see you there.
I still to this day have 64s and 128s with 1541 and 1571 disk drives. I also have monitors and printers just sitting in my basement doing nothing. For a tiny fee they can be in your home doing something! Call or see me at the next meeting. My phone number in the United States is 816-761-4777. I am home most days after 4:00 pm.
Financial
Report
Balance July 2004 ................... $340.20
Income: Aug. 2004 ...................
$ 0.00
Expenses: Aug. 2004
Cost of newsletter copying ........-$ 8.95
Stamps ............................-$ 11.10
Incorporation fee
.................-$ 15.00
Total Expenses: Aug. 2004 ...........-$ 35.05
Closing Balance Aug. 2004 ........... $305.15
by Scott Heider / sheide1@cugkc.cjb.net
The Group meeting for August was held Thursday, August 12th at the Waldo branch of the Kansas City Public Library. 6 members attended.
Last month, I mentioned that I received Issue #229 of Loadstar in May, but nothing since. Shortly thereafter, LS publisher Dave Moorman read my comment, and he promptly emailed me with the admission that he had lost our subscription info. However, he promised to "make it right", which I can now happily report he has done. On Saturday, August 28th, I received LS #230, 231, and 232 in my snail mailbox. I will bring them to the September meeting for your viewing pleasure.
Speaking of Loadstar, our subscription is due to expire in a couple of months with LS #234... Do we wish to renew our subscription? Let's discuss at the September meeting.
Helen Lacy brought another Get Well card that everyone signed for Lenard Roach's son Gabe. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Roach family as Gabe's treatment continues.
You may recall that a couple of years ago, John and Valoris Strenge were the driving forces behind the CUGKC's registration as a Missouri corporation. At the August meeting, the Lacys reported that Valoris has just renewed our registration with Missouri for 2004-5. Thank you, Valoris!
Finally, a reminder about the next Group meeting. It will be held at the usual place, the Waldo Library, on the usual day, Thursday, September 9th at 7:00pm. Hope to see you there!
by Lenard Roach / lroach1@cugkc.cjb.net
Not too many people notice, but when it comes to communicating one must first be willing to listen, just as in Commodore BASIC one must OPEN a channel of communication in order to get the device accessed to listen and follow instructions. It makes one wonder if the men and women who programmed the 1541 disk drive's microprocessor were giving subliminal messages in a major how-to in relationships. Don't count me off as crazy just yet but follow my insanity for a moment and see if you agree with me when this little tour is over.
OPEN - Well, duh! Everyone with half a brain knows that a conversation needs to be opened with... something! Otherwise the meeting is no more than a mime convention.
15,8,15 - Here we see an example of two people (15) discussing the subject at hand (8). Small talk is nice for an ice breaker, but to get to deep conversation one must have a solid subject.
PRINT #15 - The main speaker now imprints his thoughts, ideas, or convictions onto the listener. At this point the listener can respond in a number of ways:
(1) NEW - The listener now gives her feedback to whatever the speaker is saying by interjecting a new idea to the formula of the conversation, or the listener could be adding extra input to the original thought (save with replace (@)).
(2) SCRATCH - The listener totally rejects the information given by the speaker and makes a way for fresh, new ideas that will fit into the same genre.
(3) RENAME - The listener takes all the information given by the speaker and makes it her own.
(4) VALIDATE - Ladies, there's nothing, in my opinion, that the listener can do to make the speaker more confident than to truthfully agree with every word he says. Validation is a power to men and a reward for women that is all its own. 'Nuff said.
(5) INITIALIZE - Ladies, again, for the more stubborn speaker, he often needs this Commodore command executed to keep his head on straight and his mind thinking clearly. A large, heavy object with a handle for a firm grip serves in many instances as a great initializer.
CLOSE 15 - Finally, now that one (or more) or the above methods of response to the communicator has been executed, the conversation can be considered closed. Whatever results were gained for the future will be based on how masterfully these commands were used.
Okay, maybe I've spent too many hours in the dark staring at BASIC 2.0 code, but it honestly seems to me there are life lessons embedded in those 1541 DOS commands and line structure. It makes me curious to see what secret messages are hidden in the C64's BASIC 2.0. Hmmm...
by Jon Searle / jsearl1@cugkc.cjb.net
Electronics Arts took over the realm of exploration game programs with its "Seven Cities Of Gold", and in "Heart Of Africa" they continued their reputation for creating great games.
This time though the player is a 19th century explorer who must also solve a crime and play the part of rescuer as well, and in 19th century Africa, that isn't easy. Besides equipping himself with food supplies, he must also prepare for the often dangerous creatures inhabiting the land, as well as the often dangerous natives. Simply carrying a knife will not do the job at all!
Other dangers abound as the player moves into vast jungles, searching deserts, and corrupt towns. Villagers may be helpful and can be often won over as friends if the player has the right gifts and enough of them. Then they may supply the player with canoes, provisions, and even a place to rest, be cured, or healed of injuries.
Challenges occur everywhere. Threats can pop up without warning and your quest may end shortly after it begins. Foolish decisions can create disastrous consequences. For example, don't try to face a lion with just a whip. That only works in the circus, not in the jungle.
Though this game is a worthy successor to "Seven Cities Of Gold", I, however, consider "Seven Cities" the better of the two. The challenges in "Heart Of Africa" are much more numerous and considerably harder to avoid or conquer. In fact, I have never beaten this game whereas I have had frequent successful visits to "Seven Cities" New World and created lots of other "new worlds" for my explorer to discover.
"Heart Of Africa" shouldn't be passed over, though. Give this game a try. You might find yourself, like the heroic Indiana Jones, more than able.
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 library of over 1000 public domain and shareware disks.
Dues are $15 the first year, $10 annually thereafter. Disks of the month and library disks cost $3 each for members.
Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month at the Waldo branch of the Kansas City Public Library, located at the corner of 75th and Oak Streets, 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
6025 Corona Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66102