At 08:25 AM 1/5/2012, you wrote:
>I've never seen that "rule" and I've seen a lot of posts about retro,
>vintage, and classic, computers and such of all kinds.
>I suppose one person's definition of "extraordinary opportunities
>and very rare items of historic interest" is different from another's.

thus the rule...if you have to debate whether something is historic
and rare, it is probably not :-).

Our "Mid-Atlantic" is below New England and above North Carolina.  As
far west as Pittsburgh.  That said everyone world-wide is welcome and
encouraged to join.  Every so often we have the "what is vintage"
"what Ebay auction is worth posting to the entire group"  "What
Craigslist posting is worth posting" discussion.  The consensus has
been set already.  As one of the list moderators I am just helping
keep posts on topic.

'Nuf said?

Bill Degnan

Thats cool.


You spoke at VCF East 7


I assume you know about this page right?


http://www.monrobot.org/


________________________________
From: Donald Caselli <dorestec@...>
To: Lary Adkisson <lcadkisson@...>; M.A.R.C.H.
<midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com>; Peter L Maida <plmaida@...>; Peter
Hargrave <phargrave@...>; Pete Stemmer <petestemmer@...>; Geoff
<geoff@...>; John O'mara <eljohn@...>; John Yates
<john.yates@...>
Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2012 11:19 AM
Subject: [midatlanticretro] Monrobot Computer History



Greetings and Happy New Year to all of you.

I hope that in 2012 you will be able to continue to collect and preserve a
little bit of history in each area that strikes your fancy!

I have posted a few pictures and details at Picasa, about one aspect of my
personal life which I can now refer to as "history".

Take a look:

https://picasaweb.google.com/111066323220483303112/MonrobotComputers

Don Caselli


          

On Thu, 5 Jan 2012, Donald Caselli wrote:

> I have posted a few pictures and details at Picasa, about one aspect of my
personal life which I can now refer to as "history".
>
> Take a look:
>
> https://picasaweb.google.com/111066323220483303112/MonrobotComputers

     Interesting.  I'd never heard of sexadecimal notation before.  Why was
'S-X' chosen for 10-15?


Mike Loewen 		 mloewen@...
Old Technology       http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/

Mike Loewen <mloewen@...> writes:

>On Thu, 5 Jan 2012, Donald Caselli wrote:
>
>> I have posted a few pictures and details at Picasa, about one aspect
>of my personal life which I can now refer to as "history". > > Take a
>look: > >
>https://picasaweb.google.com/111066323220483303112/MonrobotComputers
>
>    Interesting.  I'd never heard of sexadecimal notation before.  Why
>was 'S-X' chosen for 10-15?

Because it was sex-ier!

A question for MARCHins who are parents ....

Even though we advertise the VCF as morning lectures and afternoon
exhibits, there are always some people who bring kids in the morning,
and they got very bored, very quickly.

Last year I thought that merely having our museum open (along with the
radio museum) would be enough. It wasn't.

What if we have a mornings-only "Kids Room" with some very simple
exhibits, a few BASIC stations, roving instructors, etc.? (Someday, when
we move our museum into one of the larger buildings, this kind of thing
could be a permanent exhibit. Right now our museum section has no space
for it.)

And/or, what else can we do to keep young'n's entertained in the mornings?

Things that are NOT up for discussion:
- Arcade room -- it becomes daycare
- Changing the morning/afternoon schedule

This "kids room" is not something that we're definitely going to do.
It's just an idea, and I'd like feedback before we decide whether to
pursue it.

Evan Koblentz <evan@...> wrote:

>A question for MARCHins who are parents ....
>
>Even though we advertise the VCF as morning lectures and afternoon
>exhibits, there are always some people who bring kids in the morning,
>and they got very bored, very quickly.
>
>Last year I thought that merely having our museum open (along with the
>radio museum) would be enough. It wasn't.
>
>What if we have a mornings-only "Kids Room" with some very simple
>exhibits, a few BASIC stations, roving instructors, etc.? (Someday,
>when
>we move our museum into one of the larger buildings, this kind of thing
>
>could be a permanent exhibit. Right now our museum section has no space
>
>for it.)
>
>And/or, what else can we do to keep young'n's entertained in the
>mornings?
>
>Things that are NOT up for discussion:
>- Arcade room -- it becomes daycare
>- Changing the morning/afternoon schedule
>
>This "kids room" is not something that we're definitely going to do.
>It's just an idea, and I'd like feedback before we decide whether to
>pursue it.
>
>
>------------------------------------
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
I have think it's smart but I also don't think it's a bad idea to just show g
rated movies and/or documentaries for everyone who needs something to do in the
am...such as GET LAMP or Tron.  Something that will not divert resources.
--
Sent from my PDP 8/e.

>> I also don't think it's a bad idea to just show g rated movies and/or
documentaries for everyone who needs something to do in the am...such as GET
LAMP or Tron.  Something that will not divert resources.

Well, anything will divert some resources -- a room, a person or two, etc. --
but I think entertaining kids is worth some resources.  :)

(Legally) screening a commercial movie is a big PITA, or so I've heard. I'm sure
Jason would give us permission to show one of his, but they're still for adults
interest-wise.

However something we could do in a kid's room is play interesting / funny
Youtube videos.

On Fri, Jan 06, 2012 at 01:17:56AM -0500, Evan Koblentz wrote:
>
> Even though we advertise the VCF as morning lectures and afternoon
> exhibits, there are always some people who bring kids in the morning,
> and they got very bored, very quickly.
>
The website explains but the flyer didn't.
http://vintage.org/2011/east/vcfeast7flier.pdf.

I just remember how much scrambling there has been to get ready on Sat morning. 
Do something that does not require electricity.

I have taken my kids to the Hagley Museum science for kids events.  One very
popular event consisted of "disassemble electronics..radios, computers, vars,
etc.".  Kids would get a ticket or two when they enter at the door and with it
they will could "buy" a piece of electronic junk and a set of screwdrivers and
pliers to borrow.  The kids sit down at the table with the thing they picked
from the pile and are encouraged to disassemble their thing.  They could keep
the thing or parts from it.  Kids love this.  We still have these disassembly
parties at home.   You only need a pile of junk, a bunch if screwdrivers and two
or three adults to help with the tough screws.

Participants at the Hagley event were from all ages but mostly kids.  I admit
doing a little assembly myself to nab a part I needed.

We just have to sure not to give kids anything dangerous.

Bill
--
Sent from my PDP 8/e.

Evan Koblentz <evan@...> writes:

>A question for MARCHins who are parents ....
>
>Even though we advertise the VCF as morning lectures and afternoon
>exhibits, there are always some people who bring kids in the morning,
>and they got very bored, very quickly.
>
>Last year I thought that merely having our museum open (along with the
>radio museum) would be enough. It wasn't.
>
>What if we have a mornings-only "Kids Room" with some very simple
>exhibits, a few BASIC stations, roving instructors, etc.? (Someday, when
>we move our museum into one of the larger buildings, this kind of thing
>could be a permanent exhibit. Right now our museum section has no space
>for it.)
>
>And/or, what else can we do to keep young'n's entertained in the
>mornings?
>
>Things that are NOT up for discussion: - Arcade room -- it becomes
>daycare - Changing the morning/afternoon schedule
>
>This "kids room" is not something that we're definitely going to do.
>It's just an idea, and I'd like feedback before we decide whether to
>pursue it.

You could dress up in a Barney costume and sing "I love vintage computers;
vintage computers love me."  Perfect for the kiddies!

I will update it tonight.

Sellam has a simple CMS. He tells the site, "go live," and then I edit it. Kind
of backward, but that's how it is. The site was born two days ago; I haven't had
much time to work on it. But I am free tonight and tomorrow. If I have a few
minutes at work today then I might go in and temporarily change that link.

This year's VCF East 8.0 keynoter is Tom Kurtz. Who, you ask.....?

Tom, while at Dartmouth in the mid-1960s, co-developed a little language called
BASIC.   :-)

He emailed me just now and confirmed.

There's a good chance that I will soon announced * another * awesome VCF
speaker. Stay tuned!!!

I will update the VCF site tonight.

Awesome!

Bill Degnan

-------- Original Message --------
> From: "Evan Koblentz" <evan@...>
> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 12:16 PM
> To: "MARCH Yahoo Midatlanticretro" <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [midatlanticretro] GREAT news - VCF keynote
>
> This year's VCF East 8.0 keynoter is Tom Kurtz. Who, you ask.....?
>
> Tom, while at Dartmouth in the mid-1960s, co-developed a little language
called BASIC.   :-)
>
> He emailed me just now and confirmed.
>
> There's a good chance that I will soon announced * another * awesome VCF
speaker. Stay tuned!!!
>
> I will update the VCF site tonight.
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

--- In midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com, "Evan Koblentz" <evan@...> wrote:
> This year's VCF East 8.0 keynoter is Tom Kurtz.

10 T$="AWESOME!"
20 FOR I=1 TO LEN(T$)
30  PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T$,I,1)
40 NEXT I

"ysgdhio" <ysgdhio@...> writes:

>10 T$="AWESOME!"
>20 FOR I=1 TO LEN(T$)
>30  PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T$,I,1)
>40 NEXT I

I didn't need all those lines or line numbers:

DECLARE STRING CONSTANT T="AWESOME!"
PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T,I,1) FOR I=1 TO LEN(T)

>
> "ysgdhio" <ysgdhio@...> writes:
>
> >10 T$="AWESOME!"
> >20 FOR I=1 TO LEN(T$)
> >30  PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T$,I,1)
> >40 NEXT I
>


A
  W
    E
     S
      O
        M
          E
            !

Dan,

Do you have a short list of exhibit candidates yet?  Or is it top secret?

Bill Degnan

-------- Original Message --------
> From: "Dan Roganti" <ragooman@...>
> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 4:55 PM
> To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] Re: GREAT news - VCF keynote
>
> Nice Work !!
> Yet another great addition to the VCF East Lineup
> =Dan
>
>  _  ____
> / \__/   Scotty, We Need More Power !!
> \_/ _\__ Aye, Cap'n, but we've only got 80 col's !
>
> >
> >

It has to be fun.

Bill Degnan

-------- Original Message --------
> From: "Dan Roganti" <ragooman@...>
> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 5:22 PM
> To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] VCF -- you know, for kids!
>
> You have to consider that some of the parents are probably there to sit
in
> on the lectures too. Probably their spouse is attending too so there's
one
> of them keep their kid[s] busy. You shouldn't need more than one person,
if
> any to attend to this, since the parent is their. Some activity like
Bill
> mentioned is sure to make a lasting impression - while keeping them
> preoccupied. Keep it  Lo-Tech, it will sure to last long enough to get
thru
> the morning.
>
> =Dan

"B. Degnan" <billdeg@...> writes:

>It has to be fun.

What is the age demographic you're looking at here?  Having raised 4 brats
and having 2 grandbrats with another on the way, there are attention spans
that correlate with age.  You need to have more activities for the younger
attendees due to their shorter attention span.

On a side note, I'm a bit miffed that this falls on the same weekend as an-
other festival I'm a party to.  I'll have miss VCF this year.

>> I'm a bit miffed that this falls on the same weekend as another festival I'm
a party to.  I'll have miss VCF this year.

Sorry to hear that. What other festival could be better than ours?

"Evan Koblentz" <evan@...> writes:

>>> I'm a bit miffed that this falls on the same weekend as another
>festival I'm a party to.  I'll have miss VCF this year.
>
>Sorry to hear that. What other festival could be better than ours?

The Rites Of Spring festival.  It's a music festival held at the Majestic
Theater in Gettysburg, Pa.  I'm on staff as photographer and I'll have a
number of European and India guests attending the festival in my home for
the week prior too.  Sadly, I can't blow this off for VCF.

--- In midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com, system@... wrote:
> I didn't need all those lines or line numbers:
>
> DECLARE STRING CONSTANT T="AWESOME!"
> PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T,I,1) FOR I=1 TO LEN(T)

A>mbasic
BASIC-80 Rev. 5.21
[CP/M Version]
Copyright 1977-1981 (C) by Microsoft
Created: 28-Jul-81
34872 Bytes free
Ok
DECLARE STRING CONSTANT T="AWESOME!"
Syntax error
Ok
PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T,I,1) FOR I=1 TO LEN(T)
Type mismatch
Ok


I guess that's FORTRAN.

"ysgdhio" <ysgdhio@...> writes:

>--- In midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com, system@... wrote: > I didn't
>need all those lines or line numbers: >=20 > DECLARE STRING CONSTANT
>T=3D"AWESOME!" > PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T,I,1) FOR I=3D1 TO LEN(T)
>
>A>mbasic
>BASIC-80 Rev. 5.21
>[CP/M Version] Copyright 1977-1981 (C) by Microsoft
----------------------------------------^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Created: 28-Jul-81 34872 Bytes free Ok
>DECLARE STRING CONSTANT="AWESOME!"
>Syntax error Ok
>PRINT SPACE$(I);MID$(T,I,1) FOR I=1 TO LEN(T)
>Type mismatch
>Ok

You missed the fatal error message above. ;) :P :)


>I guess that's FORTRAN.

No, it's definitely BASIC but it's compiled, not interpreted, BASIC.
Declaring the string constant removes the copy of the literal string
into the variable; thus, making it more efficient since there is no
write or update to the string variable and therefore, no need for a
string variable.  It's all just read.  Doing so trimmed abotu 50 in-
structions from the original posted code.

FWIW, the original doesn't run on my Sharp EL-5500.

>> Even though we advertise the VCF as morning lectures and afternoon exhibits,
there are always some people who bring kids in the morning, and they got very
bored, very quickly.
>>
> The website explains but the flyer didn't.
> http://vintage.org/2011/east/vcfeast7flier.pdf.

I misread your message on my phone this morning. Now I'm re-reading it
on the computer and it makes a lot more sense. Yes, I did a poor job on
the flier last year. Note to self, don't do that again.  :)

I have no idea how most people hear about the event. We advertise as
widely as possible and people magically show up.

On 01/06/2012 12:16 PM, Evan Koblentz wrote:
> This year's VCF East 8.0 keynoter is Tom Kurtz. Who, you ask.....?
>
> Tom, while at Dartmouth in the mid-1960s, co-developed a little language
called BASIC.   :-)
>
> He emailed me just now and confirmed.
>
> There's a good chance that I will soon announced * another * awesome VCF
speaker. Stay tuned!!!
>
> I will update the VCF site tonight.

    This.  Is.  AWESOME.

    Thank you for making this happen!

             -Dave

--
Dave McGuire
New Kensington, PA

Evan Koblentz <evan@...> writes:

>I have no idea how most people hear about the event. We advertise as
>widely as possible and people magically show up.

I found out about VCF and MARCH when you posted a message to some of
the usenet computer related newsgroups.  I don't recall if I saw any
postings there in recent years.  Perhaps, you should consider that as
one of the advertising venues again.

It seems to me that the under-40 crowd are more geared to the social
media sites.  Are there computer related group or discussion lists on
Facebook where you could announce VCF?  I don't Facebook, so I may be
far off base here.

Send copies of VCF flier to the science, math and computer departments
c/o local area schools and colleges.  I know, postage costs money, but
that might open up more possibiities.

Autowrap that Miata with an advertisement people will see and read as
you trek back and forth on the GSP. ;) ;)