=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*¢¢ PRESIDENTS MESSAGE¢ by ALEX PIGNATO¢¢ M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S¢ AND A¢ H A P P Y N E W Y E A R!¢¢ When December rolls around we all¢think of a FUN time with lots of good¢things like seeing beautiful CHRISTMAS ¢decorations, buying and receiving gifts¢and visiting with family and friends.¢However, I also always think of ¢the fact that THE OL' HACKERS started¢in December of 1985, therefore we are¢going into our seventh year. For an¢8 BIT ATARI club, that's like a hundred¢years of a humans life. We have managed¢to stay afloat making new ATARI friends¢along the way.¢¢ Of course, we couldn't have gone¢this far without the support and hard¢work of our officers and members; so,¢at this time, I would like to thank¢each and every one of them so that they¢know how much I appreciate all their¢help and cooperation.¢¢ Our volume of mail continues to¢grow with news and disks from different¢parts of the world, giving us a great¢P.D. library and knowledge from other ¢ATARI users. We continue to plumb the¢depths of the 8 BIT without ever¢coming near the bottom.....Wonder of¢Wonders, is there no bottom level of¢knowledge for the little ol' 8 BIT? The¢deeper one goes, the more one realizes¢the mighty power of these little DUMB¢brutes. New programs are now coming out¢of individual programmers, like TOM¢ANDREWS, RON FETZER, BOB PUFF, JOHN¢McGOWAN, and so many more, I cant begin¢to name them.¢ I see a rebirth of the 8 BIT, but¢not in the normal way, but by a bunch¢of die hards, and the people who are¢getting second hand equipment from¢those that have upgraded for whatever¢reason. Our club had gone down from¢its high mark two years ago, but has¢since gone up 30% in membership just¢this past year. Many of our new members¢live out of the area, in other states,¢and countries. ¢Without sounding like a blowhard, I can¢proudly and honestly say we have been¢and are recognized as an active and¢productive club.¢¢ One problem should be mentioned¢here. The question is whether or not¢a spouse can get a divorce, naming¢the 8 BIT as a correspondent?? Another¢question, how can a small 8 BIT¢computer manage to swallow up a whole¢room in ones house? Anyone who has been¢to my house can attest to the fact that¢3 people in the room, eliminates all¢extra space. Also I must catalog all my¢disks which are spilling over onto the¢floor. Lucky for me-RON FETZER and STAN¢SCHENFELD must have sensed my problem,¢and have come to the rescue. They have¢collaborated on a 2 disk double sided¢set that will catalog and label (in 2¢sizes) and with the programs are all¢integrated and which are all documented¢for ease of use. They have donated the¢disks to our club and they are going on¢sale for $6.00 a set. ¢ Check the throwaway that came with¢this disk for more info. (Boy wasnt¢that a sneaky way to run a commercial?) ¢¢ Enough said, I hope you all have¢a HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON, and GOOD HEALTH¢all year through.¢¢ ()()() THATS ALL FOR NOW ()()()
