Introduce yourselves!

[Max_Chatsworth]

Give us a little background...when you first became an Atari home computer fan.  Where you are from..what you do for a living and for hobbies....you name it.  Hope to talk soon. 

[wwdkong]

Hi everybody, I was encouraged to post by Max.  I'm trying to latch on to AtariAge 'cause of a friend of mine, RogerPoco, would prefer to message here rather than on twinGalaxies.  I joined this group because I had an Atari400 when I was a kid, tho I didn't do much with it--in fact I never bought a storage device for it.  So the one time I programmed anything of length (a bit from a good Rachmaninoff piece), I couldn't keep it.  Also, I lived in Topeka 'til I graduated high school in 1986, then Lawrence, so I would've had to drive to KC, which I could start doing in May 1984.  Plus I was really not likeable back then, so I'm glad nobody here knew me, ha.  Anyway, if I could do it over again, I'd definitely be way more into it, & if I knew about the The Computer Room I would've tried to go there plenty.  I didn't catch where it was, I hope you could enlighten me.

 

So back in the day we used to go to KC pretty regularly, usually either for Royals games or 'cause the mom & sister wanted to shop, so I enjoyed checking stuff out at the Video Concepts stores as well, especially salivating over the VCRs & movie videotapes.  Tried to get mom to take us to Eddy's Loaf 'n Stein & Happy Joe's Pizza as much as possible.  Also had cousins in the Lenexa area I believe it was, they were into soccer themselves (since Max mentioned something about that).  Unfortunately, I was into gaming too much, buying records as well, playing piano, those had my attention more than computers, it's a shame.  We had a Computerland store in Topeka, but it was kinda isolated, so I barely ventured in there, only after they'd put a Golddigger's arcade in close-by.  At some point tho, a neighbor got an Apple ][, which I found wonderful & fascinating, tho apparently their dad didn't want me on it, pricey as it was.  So I accepted that, & watched what they did with it, including playing Castle Wolfenstein, I loved how jarring it seemed, probly my favorite Atari 8-bit bit now, I beat the final rank on it, yay!

 

So nowadays, I've been submitting some Atari 2600 & 8-bit scores on twinGalaxies, tho I've slowed down lately 'cause I've been messin' with a lot of old 8-bit software that doesn't involve scoring.  I'm generally going chronologically, with an occasional exception, so I'm mostly looking at 1980 and earlier right now.  LOVE messin' with the old cassette software, especially with the emulator, since you can throttle it w/ F1 and get that damn loading thing over with.  : P  That might've driven me nuts bitd, I dunno.  I love checking out the educational cassette stuff with the cassette audio--Auto Mechanics, Basic Psychology...and the languages, Conversational Spanish...  So hardware-wise I have an 800 w/ the full old standard memory modules, and a couple of 800XLs.  I keep buying joysticks & paddles in hopes of finding fully working ones, but ugh, ya know.  I also got an Uno Cart, which is wonderful, unfortunately the atarimax flash cart worked for less than half of the stuff I tried, but it was enough to get started with.  Recently picked up the S-drive Max, it looks promising.  Oh, I also have a 2600, a couple flashbacks, a Donkey Kong cab, a Power Putt pedestal / tv combo, a Flip Flop! pinball machine, & a couple cabs that don't work, Clowns & Looping.

 

I could use some help w/ a couple or more things, like trying to fix my slightly broken Uno Cart, trying to get some programs to run, I'll have to figure out where to post that stuff.  Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as technical as a LOT of you guys I see on here, so, noob alert!  Thanks, & thank you for the website guys, peace.
 

[Max_Chatsworth]

Hey, glad to make your acquaintance and thanks for posting all that. I love hearing about peoples old school memories with the machines that we all loved.

 

On 1/27/2023 at 4:41 PM, wwdkong said:

I'd definitely be way more into it, & if I knew about the The Computer Room I would've tried to go there plenty.  I didn't catch where it was, I hope you could enlighten me.

I can help you with that!  I spent every spare dime from my paper route or fast food job I had that didn't go to going to movies or playing video games with my friends.  As I said before, I was in the KC-ACE who was sort of unofficially headquartered out of that place and the owner, Larry Copenhaver was the president or some other leader of the club.  

 

It was located just south of 75th and Wornall on the east side of Wornall. This was the exact location:  here

 

There is a tattoo parlor there now.  

 

This is where KC-ACE club met one Wendesday every month:  here  at this Jewish community center/temple of some kind. I want to say it was actually a church back in the day, I know we sat on pews at our meetings, but it might have been a Jewish place of worship back then as well.  

 

On 1/27/2023 at 4:41 PM, wwdkong said:

so I enjoyed checking stuff out at the Video Concepts stores as well, especially salivating over the VCRs & movie videotapes.

Funny you mention that. I was just like that. There was a Video Concepts at Oak Park Mall that we used to frequent. We bought our VCR there and my dad actually bought our first computer, our Atari 400 and 410 tape drive there for Christmas '77. 

 

Don't sell yourself short. I'm VERY noob level when it comes to 8 bit hardware. I basically like to find it/use it.  I can program it somewhat, but I know next to nothing to the hardware involved or repairing it/modding it, so you are not alone at all.

 

Are you still living in Lawrence?

 

 

 

[wwdkong]

On 1/29/2023 at 1:26 PM, Max_Chatsworth said:

Hey, glad to make your acquaintance and thanks for posting all that. I love hearing about peoples old school memories with the machines that we all loved.

 

Are you still living in Lawrence?

 

 

 

 

sorry for the slow response, long recovery from the football sunday night.

 

wow ok, 75th & wornall, i'm more familiar w/ 75th & metcalf, ks side obviously, peaches plus the old used record store, plus bk & a bbq place.  <thumbsUp>

 

yessir, i mentioned Video Concepts because you did, i def grew up comfortably but not like THAT.  was still fun to check that stuff out.  nice, are you sure it wasn't the vcr you got for xmas 77?  i thought the history said that commercial VCRs came out around october 77 & the atari 8-bits came out around november 79.

 

no, i'm not living in lawrence anymore, still like it but it's too crowded now for my tastes, i'm back in topeka & tho it's bigger, it's more spread out & i know people here, so it's my best situation.

 

hope you're doing well, wish i could be better-connected to the point of this club, but what can we do.  regards.
 

[Max_Chatsworth]

6 hours ago, wwdkong said:

 

sorry for the slow response, long recovery from the football sunday night.

 

wow ok, 75th & wornall, i'm more familiar w/ 75th & metcalf, ks side obviously, peaches plus the old used record store, plus bk & a bbq place.  <thumbsUp>

 

yessir, i mentioned Video Concepts because you did, i def grew up comfortably but not like THAT.  was still fun to check that stuff out.  nice, are you sure it wasn't the vcr you got for xmas 77?  i thought the history said that commercial VCRs came out around october 77 & the atari 8-bits came out around november 79.

 

no, i'm not living in lawrence anymore, still like it but it's too crowded now for my tastes, i'm back in topeka & tho it's bigger, it's more spread out & i know people here, so it's my best situation.

 

hope you're doing well, wish i could be better-connected to the point of this club, but what can we do.  regards.
 

You are correct!  We got the 400 for xmas '79. Don't know why I said 77...LOL. 

 

I am definitely more familiar with KS side too. I grew up in Shawnee/Lenexa and I know the EXACT Peaches record store at 75th and Metcalf you are talking about.  I am at the intersection ALL the time now a days now that I am living in OP. My gym is the Matt Ross Community Center which is just south up Metcalf by a half mile or so.  

 

I completely agree with about Lawrence.  Not only is it more crowded, but it has completely lost that independent Gen-X vibe that it had. Back in the day, Mass street was filled with little independent shops/bars/restaurants with people from ever stripe of life politically, socially, musically, artistically, you name it.  

I saw my first concert there in 1984  Black Flag with Tom Tricoli's Dog's opening at the old Lawrence Opera House when I was in jr. high.  My buddies older brother was a DJ at the independent school radio station KJHK.  

Now the all that stuff is just one big monolithic group think corporate bullshit thing.  Everyone on campus and in town has their signs/banners "We support the current thing!". It's all bullshit and it's sad nowadays. Which sucks because Lawrence was completely awesome in my youth/high school.  

[wwdkong]

On 1/31/2023 at 7:30 AM, Max_Chatsworth said:

You are correct!  We got the 400 for xmas '79. Don't know why I said 77...LOL. 

 

I saw my first concert there in 1984  Black Flag with Tom Tricoli's Dog's opening at the old Lawrence Opera House when I was in jr. high.  My buddies older brother was a DJ at the independent school radio station KJHK.  

Now the all that stuff is just one big monolithic group think corporate bullshit thing.  Everyone on campus and in town has their signs/banners "We support the current thing!". It's all bullshit and it's sad nowadays. Which sucks because Lawrence was completely awesome in my youth/high school.  

 

ha, i looked up 75th & metcalf on google maps & i see there's presently 1 or 2 bbq places around there, good.

 

yeah, i dunno about how the people in lawrence have changed, i'm not there enough, but BITD you could definitely find just about any kind of person to hang out with.  i also enjoyed how you'd get a break from people over the summer, the place would empty out, then they'd come crashin' in again in august.  austin must be brutal fwiw, i remember being stuck in their interstate traffic for most of an hour, multiple times when i was truck-drivin', & it wasn't even rush hour.  i'm sure it's fun when ya get settled somewhere tho.

 

ha, like you i saw my first concert in lawrence, in 1973.  sonny & cher, lmao.  at allen fieldhouse, no less.  i was 5.  i went to the bottleneck a bunch in the early '90s, "quarter draws" woo, but i wasn't smart enough to figure out how to tip on those, i'd get 4 at a time & tip a buck, so i was tipping 100%.  my present house-mate did sound a few times BITD at the outhouse, they mentioned him in the documentary about that place, 'cause a band came to town & didn't believe the promoter when he told 'em the sound guy got beaten by cops & had his mouth wired shut at ku med center, so they drove all the way to see him.  he woke up & thought 'what are these guys doing in my room'.  it was bad brains.
 

[Max_Chatsworth]

On 2/4/2023 at 7:12 AM, wwdkong said:

 

ha, i looked up 75th & metcalf on google maps & i see there's presently 1 or 2 bbq places around there, good.

 

yeah, i dunno about how the people in lawrence have changed, i'm not there enough, but BITD you could definitely find just about any kind of person to hang out with.  i also enjoyed how you'd get a break from people over the summer, the place would empty out, then they'd come crashin' in again in august.  austin must be brutal fwiw, i remember being stuck in their interstate traffic for most of an hour, multiple times when i was truck-drivin', & it wasn't even rush hour.  i'm sure it's fun when ya get settled somewhere tho.

 

ha, like you i saw my first concert in lawrence, in 1973.  sonny & cher, lmao.  at allen fieldhouse, no less.  i was 5.  i went to the bottleneck a bunch in the early '90s, "quarter draws" woo, but i wasn't smart enough to figure out how to tip on those, i'd get 4 at a time & tip a buck, so i was tipping 100%.  my present house-mate did sound a few times BITD at the outhouse, they mentioned him in the documentary about that place, 'cause a band came to town & didn't believe the promoter when he told 'em the sound guy got beaten by cops & had his mouth wired shut at ku med center, so they drove all the way to see him.  he woke up & thought 'what are these guys doing in my room'.  it was bad brains.
 

If you are back near the old Peaches, do yourself a favor and eat at Wyandotte BBQ right across 75th (south side) from where Peaches was.  They were around and one of our family's regulars when I was a kid back in the 70's/80's, and they are still there. They recently shut down for about a year or so due to a bad kitchen fire, but they were actually able to make it back.