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******************************************
* *
* WHO THE HELL WOULD WRITE FOR STEN? *
* *
******************************************
One of the most popular features that we have run is the 'Who the Hell...'
series. I suspect that this was because we all like to know a bit about
what makes other people tick.
What I have done this time is ask everyone who has had an article appear
to answer a questionaire and if possible send a photograpgh for
digitising.
Most completed the questionaire and some sent photos. The answers make
very interesting reading and will maybe convince people that we're not all
computer genius's and that they too could sumbit something from time to
time. The mugshots are in the 'SCREENS' folder.
Throughout I have simply inserted each reply and left everything else as
sent except for those who used the block capitals. No wonder I'm going
blind.....
Anyway, read on and make whatever connections and trends you think fit. I
suppose they are there to be found, again there are a lot of exceptions
too!
Oh! and sincere apologies to Richard and Stefan for assuming that you
would know what 'turkeys' meant. You were absolutely correct in assuming
that it meant worthless/of no use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Mooney Mick Mclaughlin Raymond Mortimer
John Ash Dave Bryden Ian Hird
Richard Karsmakers Stefan Posthuma Harry Warren
Dave Cowling John Weller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE REPLIES
===========
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dave Mooney
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
36
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Morningside (not the Edinburgh one!) - 15 miles from Glasgow and
35 miles from Edinburgh.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
For almost 18 years I worked in the steel industry, but decided
to take my redundancy last year when it became obvious that the
government was determined to finish off the works despite it
being more cost effective than other steelworks in the
corporation. I applied for a place at Paisley College (now the
University of Paisley) to study for a degree in Software
Engineering.
I was accepted for a direct placement into the final year
pending my obtaining a years job experience in industry. For the
last 14 months I have been working with Royal Ordnance and will
be starting my studies come October.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Since starting STEN I don't have much free time for anything
else. I collect CDs, sample the odd bottle of beer and spend as
much time as possible with my family. I can build the Mr Men
jigsaws blindfold and re-enact all of the Winnie the Pooh videos
without stopping to draw breath.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I started with a ZX81 which got a real keyboard added and a 32K
rampack. Next came a 16K Spectrum from WH Smiths the day Menzies
dropped the price of the 48K version. A 128K Spectrum and a
couple of Opus Discovery disc drives were added to the stable
followed by an Atari 65XE.
Because of hardware hassles I sold the Spectrum/Opus units to
buy an ST. All this time I had an Amstrad PC which was ok as far
as PC clones went but came nowhere near the Spectrum for shear
enjoyment. I've now got a 386 based PC with VGA graphics and 80
Meg hard drive.
The 386 PC has since died in a big way and being typical PC crap
it will cost more to repair than it's worth so, I'm off to order
a 20 MHz 486 board with everything except monitor and hard disc
- all for under £300.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A 520 STFM which has been upgraded to 1 Meg and 1.4 TOS.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I added a second floppy drive which was a must considering how
easy it is to install and use, I wonder why the magazines seem
to think it needs three to four pages to describe.
I also have the Ultimate Ripper cartridge, the Mastersound
sampler, a new fax/modem (lookout world - once I get the hang of
the fax software) and Fred Flintstones old printer.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I spend a lot of my time programing, mostly the STEN shell.
Sometimes I will write my own versions of utilities that already
exist, mostly for the fun or to see if I could improve things.
Next is reading the other discs mags available or playing
an occassional role playing game or flight sim.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The interpreter and compiler for GFA BASIC 3.5. These programs
are unbelievably easy to use and can produce very fast code.
Hisofts' DEVPAC 1 for the odd bit of assembly coding.
Hisofts' C interpreter for learning C almost painlessly.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
It used to be Dungeon Master, Kick Off and Laser Squad but I
haven't played much on the ST for about a year now.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Chameleon by a mile!. This accessory must be the most useful
program ever made available for the ST.
Next, (but only in the VERY useful class), are Fastcopy III and
Vanterm.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The Ultimate Ripper cartridge. It is *BAD*.
All computers with surface mounted chips. IBM PS/2s they must be
the most incompatible PC clone around.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This list has *massive* potential, but only on hearsay and what
I read in the comics. What I've bought is F16 COMBAT PILOT and
PRINCE.
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
What I like about the ST scene is the PD/Shareware side of
things. There are some excellent pieces of software to be had
free, (or almost free).
I also enjoy reading other peoples disc mags almost as much as I
do puting STEN together.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The way Atari can devise brilliant computers and then shoot
themselves in the foot when it comes to the product launch,
customer support or anything to do with actually getting the
machines into the shops.
When games companies complain about no one buying ST games
anymore while releasing yet another clone of something that has
been thrashed to death a dozen times before.
So called computer magazines that cost far too much for too
little content.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Easy, the editorial in #0.
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Definately the largest hard disc that could be had.
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
It would be a 50 MHz, 486 PC with the ST emulator, CD rom and
V32bis modem built in. Throw in a laser printer, fax and
photocopier for good measure and I'll spend the change on
software to run it all.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, The Willing Flesh (Cross of Iron
in the cinemas), Chickenhawk, Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn,
anything by Harry Harrison and fantasy, sci-fi in general.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Almost any book that tries to dictate how people should live
their lives. These tend to be put out by the obscure and not so
obscure religious groups or non elected governments. They are
simply to brainwash the readers into obeying rules. As far as I
can see this is not for any greater good but make the 'flock'
easier to control.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Probably heavy rock (theres a clue to my age) more than anything
but there are just as many one-offs. Some examples: The Wall -
Pink Floyd, Deep and Meaningless - Wild Willy Barret & John
Ottway, Radio KAOS - Roger Waters, Bitter Tears - Johnny Cash,
City of Lights - Runrig, Led Zepelin, Thin Lizzy, Jim Steinman
songs, early Dire Straits, early Big Country, almost everything
from the seventies... the list goes on.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
As a rule, if my parents thought the singer was 'nice' I thought
they were the pits. Ok, I know it's a duff theory but it does
seem to work even now. Examples? *ANYTHING* produced by Sick,
Aikorn and Watermelon, *ANYONE* who doesn't shave yet and
*ANYTHING* that sings poncy songs.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV Red Dwarf, Black Adder, The Young Ones, Roseanne, Married with
Children, Steptoe and Son, Robin of Sherwood, The Beer Hunter...
FILM One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (pity they messed about with the
ending), Streets of Fire, The Hitcher, A Boy and His Dog, Dances
with Wolves, Aliens...
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Most peak-viewing sit comms with canned laughter. Most soap
operas, especially Neighbours, Eastenders and Take the High Road
as these are the ones my wife watches all the time.
There have been more than a few duff films. If they are
advertised on TV or the stars have to do loads of interviews
then it is almost certain that they are dross. Examples are
Batman, Hook, Close Encounters, Mosquito Coast... and these were
only the ones that I was expecting good things from!
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Donner kebab, samosas, haggis, chicken curry, spagetti bolognese
fish and chips, broth, burgers, cheese burgers, rhubarb crumble
and custard, liver and onions, chicken and ham pie...
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There's not much... probably just what I think sounds gross, but
I'll give anything a go.
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Ok, let's try to be rational and keep things in perspective...
ALES: 80/-, 70/-, Export, Heavy, Newcastle Brown, Directors.
LAGERS: Heiniken, Tennants, Becks, Budwiesser, Castlemaine XXXX,
Schlitz... almost any continental lager beer especially the
German wheat beer.
STOUT: Guiness and Murphies.
SPIRITS: Whisky, vodka, brandy, Dutch gin (Genever?)...
WINES: Red wine from Rumania, Italy and Hungary. I'm not so keen
on white though.
NON ALCOHOLIC: Black tea without sugar - any temperature, milk,
Irn Bru, dandelion and burdock, coke.
But my favourite is one I get only very rarely. What is it?
Any of the above bought by Big Mick.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any 'foreign' beer brewed under license in England. Sorry guys
your waters absolutely dire and you should stick to your own
brands.
Coffee.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
If I had loads of cash I would buy a large, old house somewhere
on the Argyll coast, there would be an ocean-going boat, a Range
Rover and a Harley for fun. I'd have one large room for my
computer gear, music and books.
I would like to try to use renewable sources of energy, have a
workshop to restore old motor bikes. My wife would probably
keep loads of animals and horses.
And you are all welcome to come on weekend visits and PARTY!!!.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
When I left school it was still possible to go to the job centre
and more or less pick what you wanted to do. I decided that
working as an industrial chemist might be ok.
I was transfered to Ravenscraig when they shut my old works and
immediately hated the place. After a few years I got out to
become a 'gaffer' in the coke ovens and had the best time of my
working life. The work was hard and very dangerous but that
seemed to breed a special type of person and that is one aspect
that I miss now.
I'm married with one child who has just turned four and goes
into commentary mode from the minute he wakes up until he falls
asleep... Mum, dads drinking beer...mum, dads waving his fist at
me...mum, dads got another bottle...mum, dads turned on his
computer and won't let me play...mum,......
In my early days I was a 'filthy biker' running just about every
piece of British Iron that you could think of. My first bike was
a Triumph Cub and the last a Norton Commando which I've still
got.
Nowadays I drive cars which I hate and hopefully I'll have a
bike on the road again before too long.
I am into renewable energy sources and recycling, pity the
government wasn't a bit more like minded and maybe something
constructive could be done instead of token gestures. My house
is far enough into the country to be quiet, but I'd like to get
further out someday.
One of the benifits of compiling STEN is that you get to meet
the nicest nutters. Hello Mick, John, Dave.
~~~OOOO~~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Michael (The Doc) McLaughlin.
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Between 33'ish and 35'ish.
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Now, 152 Hapland Road, Pollok, Glasgow, G53 5PR.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
At the moment I am unemployed (ex-butcher), but with a little
bit of luck I will get a job working with computers soon, health
permitting.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Fishing, Drawing, Lawn Green Bowling and most of all my Family
whom I love very much.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Texas TI994A (a whole 16k), 48k rubber keyboard Spectrum, 128k
Spectrum with Disciple Interface and Mitsibushi 3.5" disk drive.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Atari STFM 520 upgraded to 1040.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Epson FX-80 printer, 5.25" second disk drive.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
At first for playing games, but now I am trying to make my own
demo's, also use it for Word Processing and some D.T.P.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Calligrapher, First Word Plus, Delux Paint and Degas Elite.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Heimdale, Formula One Grand Prix and Microprose Golf.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Supercard 2, Ani ST and Fastbase.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
That's a hard one, I reckon it must be the price of the hardware
that I want ie hard-drive, laser printer,...
There are quite a few I could mention, but here is my short list
Shadow of the beast 1 + 2.
Int. Ninja Rabbit.
Purple Saturn Day.
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The way that people are willing to try and help you as much as
possible, the amount of information you can get from diskzines,
the great turn around of the PD libraries with our orders (only
two days with some).
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Being given reviews of software that is not yet released or with
screen shots taken from the 'Amiga', this is a total p*ss-off.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
My first article(s) to appear in 'STEN', and still does by the
way was 'Doc's Demo Column' and 'trivia league/trivia cup'.
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Well, I would like to try my hand at making videos using my ST
so I would like to buy anything along those lines, ie Video ST,
Video Titler or any others that I have not mentioned.
Well the first thing I would buy would be an Atari Mega or TT,
a 200k hard drive, Laser Printer, coloured monitor, a modem and
the best Genlock money could buy and also a years supply of
Grolsch to keep my thirst at bay, it is hard work writing for
'STEN', if you don't believe me then ask Dave what happens at
our gatherings?
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Mysterious World by Arther C. Clarke.
The Hobbit by Tolkien.
National Geographic.
S.T.O.S. The Game creator.
The Pub League Quiz Book by Quiz Masters Great Britain.
Growing Herbs (Good reading) by Rosemary Titterington.
More than a way of life by Robert Cull.
The Rainbow Warrior by Greenpeace.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any of Daniel Steel
" " Agatha Christie
or any book about Killing the Earth or Animals.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
RunRig, Gun, Leonard Skinnard, Mott The Hoople, David Bowie.
Guns 'n' Roses, Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Queen, Jethro Tull.
The Doors, J.M.Jarre, Bruce Springsteen and anything classical.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any of that In House crap, Jason D, Kylie M, S.A and Waterpot.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV Hooked on Scotland (Paul Young), The Beachgrove Garden, Frank's
House, The Software Show (BBC Sunday), Take the High Road, MTV,
The Bill, Any David Attenbourgh.
FILM The Lost Boys, RunRig (City of Lights), Fantasia (Disney), Cape
Fear, any Zombie movie.
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Neighbours, Home and Away, Prisoners of Cell Block H and any
other Aussie rubbish.
Anything that makes me cry.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Home made curries (Indian), pakora (onion or chicken), Dave's
wife Margaret's home made soup (Hmmm, scrummy).
Deep based pizza (Pepperoni), steak with peppers and garlic.
Any Pasta meal.
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Big Mac's, fish fingers, fish cakes and stewed rhubarb.
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Straight Vodka, Grolsch, 70 Shillings or anything that gets you
drunk ?????. Coffee.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Peppermint tea, rosehip tea and Stryke lager.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I would buy some land up north in Uist and grow my own food, and
have a animal sanctuary.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I, Michael McLaughlin, have hereby given you a true list of my
likes and dislikes (with a few porky's thrown in), but if you
want to know the real me then here goes.
I like using my computer for doing my little bits of D.T.P and
when Dave asked me if I would like to write a column for 'STEN'
I jumped at the chance. Since I started with 'STEN' Dave has
taught me a few tricks and tips in programming and I am enjoying
working with him.
I know I've a lot to learn in the computer programming bits 'n'
pieces but I am willing.
Since retiring from the butchery trade I took part in one of
'Maggie T's' restart training programs to get my City & Guilds
in Computing. The course is now completed after one year and the
qualifications I gained are as follows:-
Word Processing parts 1 & 2
Database III+ Parts 1 & 2
Spreadsheets Parts 1 & 2
N.V.Q. Levels 1 & 2
Computers and Computing Part 1
Basic Programming Part 1
Health and Safety Part 1
So if you are sitting out there and you are unemployed, why not
give it a try? If I can do it then anyone can.
To conclude, be green, re-use all your envelopes whenever
possible and save some trees. There's a competition for the most
used 'Jiffy' bag. At the moment it stands at 34 times by GBH of
STORM.
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Raymond Mortimer.
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
21.
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Camberley, Surrey.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Run a small distribution company. Previously a Computer Tech-
nician (that was a bit too boring really).
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Travel, Motoring, Video Photography.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Commodore 64, Spectrum 48k.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
STE with 2mb.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Colour monitor, Printer, Video Digitiser.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Graphics, Programming.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
GFA Basic 3, Vidichrome2, Spectrum 512, Deluxe Paint.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Parasol Stars, Vroom.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
12 PD Spectrum & ZX81 Emulators, Joust, Neochrome Master (withdrawn
from PD by Atari).
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Commode Amiga.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The vast majority of ST games.
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Availability and ease of use of good productivity software.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Not enough ST magazines and support in general seems to be
draining away slightly.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE A report on the 16 Bit Show (1991).
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Probably a base Atari TT2 (£995) but I would wait and see what
the 'ST Falcon' machine is like first.
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Wouldn't mind a colour laptop 386 PC. And a nice colour inkjet
printer to go with it.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Sorry, I don't read that much, amazing but true.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
See answer to 20.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Anything by Vivaldi.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 SCREAM 'Pop' music.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV/ Any 'Carry On' film.
FILM
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Most Hollywood Movies, American soaps.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Pizza.
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Chinese, Indian.
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Earl Grey Tea.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Lager.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Probably a round-the-world trip.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There is one observation that I have about games software and
software houses today - If your first concern it to produce
quality software you'll probably do just that, but if you are in
it for the money then quality really does come second. A number
of companies (unfortunately, the minority) are dedicated to
spending time producing original and highly playable games, but
too many don't seem to care.
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
John Ash.
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Er- very old nearer my bus pass than you are past your school
leaving party.
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dartford Kent - you know the address. From my den window, if I
turn from this box o' tricks, I can see Betty's Bridge (QE II
bridge - Dartford crossing - M25 and all that).
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
This is my pre-retirement wind-down job. I work for a Peugeot
dealership bringing in new laid motors from the compound,
getting 'em ready for the punters, swapping them between dealers
- You know, Mrs Brown insists on a lazer green 205 GTI, and the
only one in the country is in Scunthorpe. So, with my train fare
in my pocket, trade plates under my arm you can see me on the M1
thumbing my way north and/or running it in/out at 85 MPH on the
way back.
Before that, Operations Analyst with a mail order firm. Before
that, I ran my own little shop started with redundancy money
from my main work of life which was Industrial Editor/ Writer/PR
man/etc for firms and publishers, and for about 10 years my own
firm.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Alternative medcine (lecture on various aspects of this topic at
adult education establishments). Hill walking - done the Western
Highlands and Arran, off to the Lakes as you read this - just me
and my tent in the car to commune with nature. Leaving the
missus at home.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
None.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
STFM 1 MEG, shortly to be 2.5 when my SIMMS arrive from Evesham.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
SM124, BJ10 printer, 2nd floppy drive colour monitor promised
since six month ago from a guy who I did a favour for... You've
met 'em!
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Word processing is the main reason - I still freelance a bit and
have several short stories and longer works in different stages
of boil.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Calligrapher, Printing Press, 1st Word.
Currently playing with GFA Draft - the freebee from ST Doormat -
have designed the kitchen on it, looks like fun. Will the manual
at 25 notes tell me more than I can find out by playing - Sounds
like a rip off to me!
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Don't play games.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
So far Printing Press. So far a lot of these PD utilities seem
to be programmers indulgencies with limited real value to a
productivity user. Perhaps the right one has yet to come my way.
Manual Maker looked good until you come to load when it informs
you GDOS is needed. Now I've got to go looking for a GDOS thingy
to install. So far I've tried pinching G+ from my Calligrapher
set - that didn't work so now what? Read STA I guess.
Printing Press is the most used. I really would like to get to
grips with some of the others that I have taken from the STA
catalogue like various WP utilities but so far they elude me
because the doc is in German or Danish or I simply don't
understand what the author is on about.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Haven't had a bummer yet - but that SIMMS upgrade is coming...
Keep listening.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
See 12 - Turkeys because I haven't cottened onto them. They may
well be OK once I have found time to discover their little
secrets, some of these multiple utilities are not what they are
cracked up to be it seems to me.
You know ST Doormat and Abuser have given them away from time to
time like Mortimer and Harlekin. Very clever, just sitting
waiting to be called but I hardly ever do!
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
ST'ers seem to be folk that use computers for more than doing
more than what they have to do and going home. Most PC
professional users with their PC on the desk simply use the
machine as a work aid and so the device is a word processor or a
spreadsheet system or a stock control device or a CAD tool.
Each machine in the majority of the cases is 98% under used
simply being dedicated to a single operation a lot of the time,
am I right?
But a STer will use his machine for multiple tasks all at the
same sitting. Indeed having purchased this as a word processor
it has taken me over. Perhaps for my writings sake I should have
got that PCW after all.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A lot of people are always slagging off the Atari Corp. for
short comings, real or imagined. This firm is a marketing
organization - it designed a computing system, got the Pacific
Basin countries to make it and the flogged it to whomsoever
would take it on. End of Story.
It is up to us and the third party suppliers to make a go of it,
and to make Atari Corp. see by our dedication and continued
support that it is a worth while project.
If we moan a little too much they may just pack up and sell
something else. Like a compeditor for Ninetendo or Sega or
whatever else they can make a quick buck on and let computing
hang.
Then where would we be, back to Big Blue or dare I even say
Granny Smiths? No, er... Golden Delicious... you know, that
other lot.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE The INk Jet refill bit. Having real fun too with Degas, editing
them into colour files and printing. Just like four colour
printing.
Another reason I should have bought the PCW or Smith Corona.
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Well, I am upgrading now to 2.5 Meg, but what then? It would be
nice to go on-line I guess, but then - a hard disc or flatbed
scanner perhaps.
I know - a fax-modem then my pieces would be on the editors
desk double quick, and the rejections would be back on the same
day. Then I could be hopeful and suicidal all in the same day
and live with myself the rest of the week..
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I should say a TT'cos that is what is expected, in fact a 2.5
will do for word processing and I am not yet up to the heavy programming
scene. Probably won't be, it's the grey matter you see/. It's all gone.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
One of the lessons of a long life is - DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYTHING
AND DO NOT LISTEN IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO OR NOT TO DO.
Go find out for yourself or else you will learn nothing or all
the wrong things simply because you listened to some dick-head.
So live life and if you like it and it hurts no one, keep at it,
and if you don't like it shut the book/turn it off/spit it out.
Then folk cannot say you haven't tried.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
See 20.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
22 BURN See 20.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 BURN See 20.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 BURN See 20.
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
25 BURN See 20.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD There is only one thing I don't like, see 27.
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Tripe.
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Single malt, lapharage, guiness.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Jamaica rum, but Pussers rum is ok (ARRRR Jim Lad)
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Travel the world.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
What can I say at this stage of a life, I've done most of it,
said a lot of it. I've learned not to be taken in too often and
that the world is populated in the main with people who would
have you believe that unless you go their way you will go to the
Hell-fire. When, in fact, all they are in reality are self
seeking, out to further their own ends on your back. So there,
ain't I the old cynic?
I know nosey, you want my personal detail.
Married to Jean (35 years), 2 daughters
#1 daughter is a spinster school-marm. Lives in Watford, teaches
in North London (Brent) where she is year leader, special needs
tutor in an area loaded with migrant families. She is also a Tin
Snail lover (2CV to you).
#2 daughter is married to Chris, lives in Chatham with him and 4
cats (at the last count). Works for the British Library as
Exhibitions Technician.
I've said enough don't you think?
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
David Bryden
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Forty Eight
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Out of work for five months, then two jobs in two weeks during
May.
This explains the lack of "Well 'ard III" in this STEN, hope
to be back nex' munf. Currently Area Sales Manager (read this
as rep.) for electric geared motors and industrial electronics.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Windsurfing - I don't fall off THAT often.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Abacus - Remember those little things with beads.
Nascom - All me own work. (1300 solder joints, no less.)
Spectrum + Opus Disc Drive - Those were the days, weren't they?
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
STe 2Meg
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Do you want the lot??? OK then:-
105 Meg Evesham hard drive
Datalogic monitor
Golden Image hand scanner
Sound blaster
Panasonic 9 pin printer
Timeplex AIM2424 auto modem
2 x Midi keyboards
+ Ripper, Synchro, & Clock (dunno wot to get for me birfday now)
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The ultimate alarm clock!
(well if you will ask stupid questions etc. Look at Q8 and ask
what don't I use it for)
Seriously though, I use a data base for my business records,
a spreadsheet for budget analysis, DTP for voluntary work, plus
midi and games for fun.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Superbase - Fabulously easy to use and very powerful.
Protext
Sequencer One - Midi software - Is this in this section or
entertainment?
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Team Yankee
Flight of the Intruder - Yeah, I don't splash when I land on the
carrier.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Opus, Opus, Opus, OPUS. The best spreadsheet around. Others may
be more powerful but none are easier to use.
Superboot
Vanterm
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Contriver Track Ball - The mouse happily wanders off the screen!!!
PC Ditto II - Did anyone buy one?
Atari's new mono monitor - Ha Ha Ha
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Too many to mention, anyway I've just noticed that the damn
questions go over the page, I've obviously been too talkative,
verbose, or loquacious even (I'm using the Protext thesaurus).
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
You meet such NICE people
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Not enough of them are female.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE Well 'ard I (and the Dredd intro pic)
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Multisync monitor
Laser printer
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
486 desktop + 486 notebook and all the yuppie bells & whistles
to go with them.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Ian Flemings Bond books. They have a quaint atmosphere.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
John Gardeners Bond books. They have no atmosphere at all, ditto
plot.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Anything by Steppenwolf (who?), yes and Who.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 SCREAM Me trying to play my keyboards. Even with midi assistance.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV/ Dunno.
FILM
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Ditto.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Beef Stroganoff. (Would you believe that Stroganoff is in
Protext's dictionary?)
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Anything that follows my wife saying "I thought we'd try
something different tonight."
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Grecian 2000 ("in joke" - ask Dave Cowling to tell you the story
of Dockyard Doris)
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Frank Bruno's beer
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Build HOTOL for Britain. Patriotic, eh?
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Listen, if you've read this far you know that I'm middle aged,
grey haired, boring, and I don't get to bonk enough.
Any suggestions, or Miracle Cures, kindly accepted.
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Ian Hird ( Lozian ).
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Archive material.
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Keith, Grampian.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Employed by British Rail.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Cowboy Films, Electronic repairs.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
ZX81, Spectrum 16k and spectrum 48k.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Atari 520STFM to 1 meg and Atari 520STE to 2 meg.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Clockcard, Teletext adaptor and KXP 1124i printer.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Programming, W P, Some gameplay and to gain computer knowhow.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
'Write On' at the moment.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
'Falcon F15'.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
'St Cataloguer'.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dongles and Single sided drives.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Clock-set up progs.
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Plenty of variety in the software.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Difficulty getting any Technical information.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE STOS Tutorial. ( Check the review in July 'Atari St Review')
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Hard Disc. ( 200 Meg. )
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Rolls Royce.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Atari disk drives inside and out. ( Abacus)
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
War and Peace.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Paul Simon.
23 SCREAM Country and Western.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV/ 'Guns of Navarone'.
FILM
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
'White Xmas'.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD No particular favourite.
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Tomatoes.
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Malt whisky.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Tequila.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Stop working.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
From a computing point of view, I feel that there is plenty of
interest in what somebody else has done, but the users seem to
be very reluctant to air their views. Critisicm is the only way
to get anything improved. If you don't like it, say so.
(c) Lozian MCMXC11
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Richard Christiaan Karsmakers.
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 (unless published after November 3rd 1992).
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Utrecht, the Netherlands.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Full-time student, part-time employee at the Fast Food depart-
ment of McDonald's
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Books, films, music. Currently I'm also eagerly trying to find
the most effective method to suppress violent hayfever attacks.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Commodore 64. For a couple of weeks I also had a Sinclair QL,
and for about two hours I once owned a busted VIC-20.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Atari MEGA ST (4 meg with AT Speed), Megafile 60, 48 Meg TT hard
drive internal, color/mono monitor, The Arcade joystick. Also
have a Commodore 128D and a Cambridge Computers Z88 along the
side.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
See above. Do note the Arcade Joystick by Suzo - the best there
is!
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Writing (including corresponding), playing games, getting to
know people. It's vital for my letter-writing as my handwriting
is worse than ghastly.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Protext, 1st Word+ (though bad support), Superbase Professional,
Universal Item Selector III, NeoDesk.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
11 BEST Bubble Bobble, Super Sprint, Blood Money, Llamatron, Mudpies,
FUN. Lethal XCess, Time Bandit, Lemmings, Lode Runner (on C-64
though), Microprose Formula One Grand Prix.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Llamatron, Superboot.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Assuming that 'turkeys' means 'trash': The Ultimate Ripper, the
Atari Single Sided disk drive.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Again, assuming 'turkeys' is negative: Anarchy (and they even
did a bloody re-release!!), Shadow of the Beast (I, II,
III...etc.)
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The mentality SOME people have.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Too much piracy. Too many truly lame demo groups.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE God knows (or, rather, Dave). I believe "Oh Yeah"...
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
None within that price range, as I believe Steve Jobs' NeXT
costs a tad more. My only hardware wish at the moment is a
Fender Stratocaster plus amp. Although... perhaps the Jaguar
and/or Falcon?
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Er... the NeXT. The whole shebang attached to it as well.
Perhaps the Falcon.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Hickman/Weis: Dragonlance Chronicles, Dragonlance Legends.
Tolkien: Lord of the Rings. Douglas Adams: Everything.
Grant/Naylor: Red Dwarf series. Terry Pratchett: Discworld
novels.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Craig Shaw Gardner: The second Ebenezum trilogy. Anne McCaffrey:
Dinosaur World novels.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Metallica "Metallica", Paradise Lost "Gothic" (though their new
"Shades of God" is very good, too), Faith no More "The Real
Thing", Fear of God "Within the Veil", Jason Becker "Perpetual
Burn", WCW "Whistler Courbois Whistler", Joe Satriani "Flying in
a Blue Dream", That's more than enough.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 SCREAM Yngwie Malmsteen "Fire & Ice", Megadeth any album before "Rust
in Piece".
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV "Married with Children", "Let the Blood Run Free", "Red Dwarf"
(any series), Monty Python stuff.
FILM "Terminator II", "Abyss", "Total Recall", "Fletch", I'm unsure
about "Basic Instinct".
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Can't remember much. 75% of what is on TV. 99% of what is on MTV
(even about 75% of what's on "Headbangers Ball"). Anything
starring David Hasslehoff. Any German dubbed stuff.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Anything Chinese or involving pasta!
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Schaslick. Olives. Pure ginger (though I like ginger sauce). The
'delicacies' you can see in "Faces of Death".
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A typically Dutch drink called vieux - and a particular brand
called Plantiac (no other stuff will really do).
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The liquid that's left in a jar that used to contain that liquid
with olives in it. I've never drunk it but the sheer thought
makes my stomach go haywire!
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Buy myself a nice place on the Dutch island Schiermonnikoog.
It's just about the most isolated place in Holland where they
still have a mail service, telephone and electricity - which is
basically everything I need! Of course I would then also buy the
guitar I mentioned above, and all instructional videos ever made
by Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman and Chris Impellitteri. I
might become a rock star yet...
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I live and breathe "ST NEWS". I've got very short hair. I desire
24 hours of continuous menage-a-trois intercourse with Kristina
Applegate and my girlfriend. I don't believe in God, but I
believe even less in Allah and everything he stands for. I hate
mess but my room constantly is one. I love collecting viruses to
keep my virus killer on the cutting edge of things (the
"Ultimate Virus Killer" that is).
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Stefan Posthuma.
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Twenty five.
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A place called 'Oss' somewhere in the south of Holland.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Software developer for a nice little company from Oss. I work
with Unix machines as well as DOS machines and program stuff
from financial stockmarket to CD-I's for games. Good fun
sometimes.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Primary non-computer passion: MUSIC - be it loud, be it not so
loud, be it heavy, be it strange, be it totally insane, music is
essential for my existence. Films and books also manage to
attract some of my attention.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Started out with a Philips Videopac games console, got a VIC20
after that and a CBM 64 after the wonderful VIC. Brief owner of
a Philips :YES PC, but quickly swapped it against an Atari ST.
Have been stuck with that for a while now.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Atari MEGA ST 2.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Megafile 30, printer, extra drive, mono and color monitors, a
couple of joysticks.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Writing mostly. Stuff for ST NEWS, letters to people. Used to do
lots of programming, not anymore, got a bit boring.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The application I use the most is "First Word Plus". "GfA Basic"
and "Devpac" when I do programming, for ST NEWS.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
11 BEST Have no particular fave game, hardly ever play games.
FUN.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Shareware: anything by Jeff Minter. "Llamatron" and "Revenge of
the Mutant Camels" are the games I play the most on the ST if I
ever play.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Have no idea, and I am not totally sure what 'turkey' is
supposed to mean either.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Let's assume 'turkey' is negative then there are so many bad
games and other products that I can't even start to mention
them.
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Some pretty cool people around, have lots of fun at conventions
and parties. Most of these people are completely mad, I like
that.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Too many crews and little software houses. Gets swamped in stuff
that is utterly bad. Piracy is too big, commercialism rules. But
I guess that happens to all big home computers.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE Never wrote anything really.
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A nice 386 PC with some stuff. Totally stupid I know, but has
its advantages.
19 If you had unlimited funds, what computer/peripherals would you buy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
One of these Silicon Graphics dedicated workstations with
billions of colors and blitters that are totally mad. Make my
own T-1000 so to speak.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Ah, now you're talking. Let's see... "Vampire Cronicles" by Anne
Rice, anything by Douglas Adams (especially the "Hitchhicker's
Guide" trilogy), Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, Tolkien
stuff, Shanarra novels by Terry Brooks and Tom Sharpe books.
This list could go on for a few pages, but let's keep it under
control...
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I tried reading a Baghwan book once, seriously atypical stuff.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Here we go again... My all time favourite is Fields of the
Nephilim. Totally brilliant. Listen to Elizium and you'll know
what I mean. But I also kinda like The Sisters of Mercy, The
Cranes, The Cure, The Mission, Metallica, Metal Church,
Entombed, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, MC 900 ft Jesus, Vangelis,
Tangerine Dream, Gandalf and Jean Michel Jarre. Plus of course
countless others that I will not mention for the sake of keeping
this rational.
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 SCREAM Fake commercial stuff like New Kids on the Block, Kyli (or
however you spell her name) Minogue, Jason Donovan and other
hype. Too many of them for my liking. The latest thing that
gives me the spasms is those two kids that wear their clothes
inside out or something and have this rap. Sad.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV The only TV show I really, really liked was "Twin Peaks". But
stuff like "Red Dwarf" and "Married with Children" is fun to
watch. Plus English comedy like "Blackadder", "Monthy Python",
"Mr. Bean", "Fawlty Towers" and the likes are good.
FILM Ah well... Anything by James Cameron ("Aliens", "Abyss",
Terminator I&II"), David Lynch ("Blue Velvet", my all time
favourite, and "Wild at Heart"), weird/bizarre/funny/gory films
like "Repo Man", "Raising Arizona", "The Naked Lunch", "The Cook
The Thief His Wife and her Lover", "Millers Crossing",
"Videodrome", "Texas Chainsaw", "Reanimator", "Lethal Weapon"
series, "Bad Taste", "Edward Scissorhands", "Barton Fink" etc., etc.
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"Steel magnolias", "Not without my daughter", and any other
Hollywood tear-jerkers. Make me wanna barf all over the place.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Chinese with lots of spicy stuff. Or my own Savage Spaghetti
with red chili peppers, garlic, tabasco, mushrooms, peppers and
sweetcorn. My mouth waters at the mere thought...
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Lamb with mint sauce and parsnips. Totally grosses me out.
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Coliac, a Norwegian-invented term that stands for Plantiac mixed
with Coca Cola. But Glenlivet Whisky is nice too. Or how about a
nice shot of Tequila-orange? Or a Tia Maria on ice? Or some
Vodka? Jack Daniels goes down smoothly too....I'm a hopeless
alcoholic.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Plain water. Especially in the morning.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dump this life and take off. Travel the great big wide world
before its too late. Buy a calculator in Tokyo, have lunch in
Bombay and a nice bite of dinner in Los Angeles (and spend three
days recovering from jetlag). Buy an island in the Pacific, a
few wives, pools and cars. Get stupid basically. Make my own
film too, could be a laugh.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I always find it hard to talk about myself. I am one of these
typical sixties-born post-modern neo-yuppie kindof persons. You
know, a somewhat sluggish dude with eternal Levis jeans with
battered sneakers and T-shirts. The sneaks and the T-shirt get
replaced by brown italians and shirts when he has to work. Lives
by himself in a nice appartment with loads of comfortable
appliances (most important ones are the microwave and the
stereo) and an eternal mess of clothes, magazines, newspapers,
CDs etc. Drives a company car but listens to death metal on the
CD player while driving to clients.
I have no pets but live together with two hamsters. Have no real
girlfriend but know a few neat girls here and there. Work takes
up most of the time and spare time is spent being lazy or doing
useless things. Travel quite a lot, that's good fun too.
I am not interested in politics, religion or whatever. The fact
that this makes me an nihilistic atheist doesn't really bother
me. I believe in personal freedom and self-control. What other
people do I don't really care about. I am attracted however to
the stranger side of things, the occult even. Gothic music comes
in handy here.
I get extremely silly when I am drunk, which is most of the time
given half the chance, tend to abuse towels a lot when I am
pissed out of my face. Ah well, as long as we have fun.
Desires? Ambitions? Have one everlasting desire and that is to
find enough excuses to justify the routine that life really is.
Am not very ambitious, just wanna make enough money to live
comfortably.
Right, that's me in a nutshell. Take it or leave it.
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Harry Warren.
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
33 years biologically!! (intellectually?????)
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dublind, Ireland.
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Telecommunications technician/ digital exchange programmer.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Making whoopee!, music ie going to gigs, listening.
Shortwave radio, astronomy, paranormanl phenomema, photography,
hill climbing, reading techno stuff, wing chun kung fu,
attaining peace of mind... etc.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
UK101. Built it myself! 8K RAM and 6502 'processor.
ZX80, COMMODORE 64, SPECTRUM 48.(never did get to control the
power station!!!)
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1040STFM and 386PC laptop.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Set of gardening tools, screw nails etc. Ooops! err! How about a
modem, joystick and printer.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Drawing sprites, doodling, some W/P and playing sims.
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Cyberpaint, 1st Word, QuickST.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
11 BEST Falcon F16, Sim City, Dungeon Master, Most flight sims.
FUN.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Neochrome Master, Synthy, all "QUICK" utilities.
For games: anything by ROBERT LEONG on the Budgie label.
13 Hardware Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dragon 32. Amstrads 464 and 6128 plus.
ICL'S "One per desk" the Sinclair QL derivative. They probably
only ever sold one and that was spotted in an undertakers office
in Cork.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
All film tie-ins!, Deluxe Paint on price!, A320 Airbus.
Hyped up selections on allegedly free discs on Atari mags.
Anything by Mirrorsoft R.I.P.
Amiga Workbench.
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
GEM, even though it was never developed fully. Disc mags.
Talking bullsh!t with 10 minute ST owners who think they know it
all.
Rowing with Amiga owners.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Incredible lack of support from Tramiel and Co.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE Paranormal and computing.
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
FALCON??? or CD-ROM.
Reddifusions flight simulator complete with hydraulic cabin and
main frame computer, or better still, 'HAL 9000'.
LEISURE
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Fortean Times!... A.C.Clarkes 2001 a Space Odyssey and his RAMA
books...anything by Jung...
Colin Wilson THE OCCULT... Robert Heinlein's STRANGER IN A
STRANGE LAND... Paul Davies GOD AND THE NEW PHYSICS...
Lyall Watson SUPERNATURE...
John Sladek THE NEW APOCRYPHA...
Richard Cavendish A HISTORY OF MAGIC.&.THE BLACK ARTS...
ST.Mark's Gospel... Stephen King's short stories...
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
99% of books about the "New Age"... The Tabloids - not exactly
books but the only reading material some people ever read...
Mein Kampf by A.Hitler - lousy storyline...
Tolkeins twaddle - the originals he ripped off are so much
better...
Ron Hubbard's pulp sci-fi - though much better than the pseudo
religion he founded... ASTROBIOLOGY by Thorsteinn Gudjonsson...
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Little Wing by JIMI HENDRIX... Pretty Vacant by THE SEX
PISTOLS... Knocking on Heavens Door i.e. The BOB DYLAN
version...
Lots of Bowie... The Waterboys... ENYA when you are
feeling mystical... Kate Bush when she isn't squeaking...
for feeling sombre but not suicidal Beethoven's Moonlight
Sonata...
Iggy Pop singing China Girl...
Lou Reed being poetic... U2 when they are not preaching and
anything by Bizet...
B.B. King Albert Collins Rory Gallagher for the best in
R'n'B...
Prince...
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 SCREAM Rap and House since the time of the Beastie Boys... most Heavy
Metal, Bryan Adams, AbbA, C&W... Micheal Jackson's last two
albums... Pink Floyd since Roger Water's exited stage left...
Elgar... Mormon Tabernacle Choir...
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV/ Arnie movies (ie Terminator), Close Encounters, 2001 A Space
FILM Odyssey, On the Waterfront, The Way of the Dragon, Horizon, The
Sky at Night, Thunderbirds, Zig and Zag, Batman (old and new),
Hellraiser, Evil Dead, Trek, Cape Fear, Brazil, Monty Python,
Basic Instinct,...
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Sky television (SIC), My Girl, Soaps, BBC1 test card, Breakfast
T.V., Hear My Song, Top Gun
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Cyanobalamin, chicken and brown rice with a selection of
Chinese veg and broccoli, fresh fish grilled, sardine sandwich
with salad - no dressings.
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Halibut!
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Bewleys coffe blend, Southern Comfort with lots of lots of ice,
Bottle of red wine... HIC!
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Warm Guiness...YEUCCHHH!!!!!!
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Educate people and personally take a rocket trip!
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Be honest time!... I am a sceptical believer in the
paranormal... Most Faiths have elements of truth including
secular ones...I am anti racist and totally intolerant of any
intolerence against any belief race colour or sexual leanings...
relatively fit and value life more after life threatening
illness... hate the use of the word "GREEN" but it applies to
me... ambitions---to own Falcon, grow old gracefully, keep
listening to very loud music... Buy software which is compatible
with the promises in the ad... family means all to me... to do
hand brake turn in my turbo diesel in the centre of town and not
get nicked... to see a solar eclipse... to have true peace of
mind... to read next copy of STEN!!!
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dave Cowling
2 Age:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Over 21
and Over 31
and Over 41
OK Over 45 but I still have my hair and its the right colour !
(see section 31 .......)
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
LEEDS - West Yorkshire
4 Job:
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Technical Sales Engineer for an Italian Gearbox Manufacturer.
5 Non-computing interests:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Aircraft spotting - Photography and I have recently bought a
Video Camera and have fun with that.
COMPUTERS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6 Previous computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Several Speckies with Discovery Disk Drives which is where I
first came across Dave Mooney.
7 Current computer/s:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
STe with 4Megs RAM.
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
AT Speed C16 / Protar 80 Meg Hard Disk / SM124 & Fidelity RGB
Monitor / Fujitsu 24 Pin Printer / Vidi ST Digitiser / Forget Me
Clock / Cumana 2nd Drive / and a dish of Pot Pourri on top of
the monitor.
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Writing for STEN !
10 Top application software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Calamus
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
11 BEST F19 Stealth Fighter or maybe Lemmings
FUN no! lets be positive.
Lemmings but F19 is pretty good.
time for a decision.....
Wings of Death but only 'cause of the music.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
OPUS V 2.2 - the best spreadsheet ever.
13 Hardware turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Blitz Turbo from Power Computing.
14 Software Turkeys:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
ST Basic (Metacomco Basic)
15 What do you like about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Loads of PD and some very good: still a few serious mags which
have a bit worth reading: the ability of the ST to emulate other
machines: and finally the overall compatibility of the ST to
the industry standard PC.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Lack of support from Atari which has to include lack of invest-
ment in promotion and development for the best machine this side
of a 33 Mhz 386 running windows 3.1.
Absence of Basic in ROM as was the norm on the range of 8 Bit
machines.
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
17 ARTICLE A discussion of the Format options available and the resulting
Read/Write speeds.
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
18 <$1000 A 386 running at 33Mhz with an SVGA Colour Monitor with 100 Meg
Hard Disk - should just squeeze in at the price.
A 50Mhz 486, Windows 3.1, Aldus Pagemaker, Corel Draw, Wordstar
6, Foxpro, a good Laser Printer - all housed in a magnificent
Yacht moored at Marbella.
LEISURE
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20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any by Dick Francis.
21 Books to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any by Barbara Cartland.
22 Recommended music:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Chris de Burgh - Spark to a flame
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
23 SCREAM Any 'Rappin'.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
24 TV/ Close Encounters is still my favourite.
FILM
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any Police Academy higher than II
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
26 FOOD Duck in Orange Sauce although a Hot Chile or Spaghetti Bolog-
naise always go down well as did the Curry I recently ate pre-
pared by Kath, the long suffering wife of Dave Bryden (can't
understand why Kath isn't as grey as David).
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Always is a long time, however I cannot imagine the revolting
French habit of consuming Snails or Frogs Legs but you never
know!
28 Favourite drink:
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Has to be a good Yorkshire Beer with a creamy head.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Flamboyant Cocktails - Ovaltine - Coffee.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Very large House - well Mansion as a cushion / investment,
Flying Lessons in my own Biz Jet, Yacht as mentioned earlier and
definitely see the World including African Wild Life Safari's.
31 Free for all - talk about yourself:
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Love things technical / scientific but wish I had more artistic
flair, particularly in the realms of programming and writing. I
enjoy college where I sat City & Guilds - Computers & Computing
- lots of fun and it gives me chance to 'play' on other machines
My full time occupation involves technical selling of Power
Transmission equipment and for many years was involved with
Dave Bryden who was then, a member of the same company.
I remember one night we were staying at Whitley Bay in the north
east and we happened upon this pub, which happened to have the
star turn 'Dockyard Doris', a drag act who really stretched the
imagination. Well to cut a long story short, 'D.D.' spotted
Bryden with his mass of Grey hair and spent the night refering
to Grecian 2000 which is why, for many years after that, if I
wanted to make contact with Dave on the 'CB' radio, I just had
to call out Dockyard Doris or Grecian 2000 and he would answer.
~~~OOOO~~~
GENERAL
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1 Name:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
John Weller
2 Age:
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38 by the calendar, 25 by my internal clock, and 13 according to
Liz.
3 Town:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Kingston, Surrey.
4 Job:
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Telephone Enquiries clerk for British Rail. It's a dirty job
but someone's got to do it....
5 Non-computing interests:
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Where do I start? Photography, ferrets (keeping, breeding,
showing, and working), writing (technical and 'creative'),
learning falconry from Liz, reading, graphic design, music,
eroticism, travel (one of the few benefits of working for BR),
and mind-enhancing chemicals (feed your head).
COMPUTERS
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6 Previous computer/s:
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48K Spectrum and Opus disc drive.
7 Current computer/s:
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4 Meg STE
8 Additional hardware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
SM 124 mono monitor, colour TV connected via the SCART socket
(almost as good as a colour monitor), 2nd drive, Hewlett Packard
Deskjet 500+ (yeah!), Golden Image Mouse Brush and Zydec hand
scanner (a re-badged Daatascan, same software and hardware, but
£20 cheaper).
9 What do you use your computer for:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Mainly for writing and word-processing, but also for mono
graphics and creating and manipulating clip art. I see it as a
learning tool that enables you to experiment with tools and
techniques outside of your usual experience.
10 Top application software:
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1st Word Plus for straight text entry, Script for word-
processing, HyperPaint 2 and Megapaint II for mono graphics and
cleaning-up clip art, GFA BASIC for programming.
11 Top entertainment software:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I very rarely play games, but my favourites are Dungeon Master,
Flight Simulator II, and Jeff Minter's frantic Llamatron.
12 Top PD/Shareware:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Where do I begin? Fast Mouse (mouse accelerator), Les
Kneeling's DosAcc (THE desktop accessory), the Starstruck screen
saver (blacks out the screen and throws a starburst onto it if
you haven't moved the mouse or pressed a key for 5 minutes),
Intersect RAMbaby (set-up and take down a RAMdisc or print
spooler while you're working), the Revenge Document Displayer
(for scrolling back and forth through text, searching, or
printing from it), Quick ST 2 (speeds up all GEM operations),
IMG Show (for displaying IMG pix as a sideshow), Dslide II (for
displaying virtually any pix), Picswitch (for displaying and
converting pic formats), Fast Copy 3, TXTLAT (for translating
text from German to English), and, last but not least, Dave
Henniker's Kozmic 2 (a psychedelic screen generator).
13 Hardware turkeys:
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The Atari mouse.
14 Software Turkeys:
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Virtually any mass production games, Flair Paint (nice features,
but unuseable), Wordup (crash!), and any of Kuma's 'business'
software (they were selling a bog-standard RAM disc for £30
until very recently...).
15 What do you like about the ST world:
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Its friendliness, and the number of interesting people out
there. Its saneness, compared to the PC (deep breath) Power
Users, and the chance to do serious work at a fraction of the
price that you'd pay on other machines.
16 What do you dislike about the ST world:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The number of games players who never use their machines for
anything else, Atari U.K for its total lack of encouragement for
the serious side of the ST ("Hell, it's *easy* to sell them as
kiddy machines - you don't want us to do some *work*, do you?"),
not enough programmers pushing the machine to its limits (and I
don't mean for boring demos...), the paper mags that pander to
the kiddies (half page reviews: "Wow, Gizmo Professional has got
to be the most awesome ever!!!" You can virtually hear the
bubblegum hitting the floor), the lack of response and feedback
to STEN (and that means *you*!).
17 What was your first article to appear in STEN:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Cybernetic Serendipity in #0 (the trial issue).
18 What computer/peripherals would you buy (to a maximum of £1000):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
An accelerator board (£400) for the ST, and a cheap portable
computer to use on the train.
An easy one! A Quantel Paintbox video/still image digitiser and
manipulator (not much change out of £250,000), the new Canon
colour photocopier/scanner (uses bubblejet technology and can be
connected to a Mac or PC and used as an A4 colour scanner or
printer - they're currently giving them away at £4000), and a
colour Mac system. I'd still keep the ST for word-processing.
LEISURE
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20 Recommended books:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Where do I start? Nabakov's "Lolita" for the style, anything by
Evelyn Waugh or Richard Brautigan, Alex Trochi's "Cain's Book",
anything by William Burroughs, early Len Deighton, George Orwell
for the cleanness and 'transparancy' of his writing, John
Keegan's "The Face of War" for its humanity, Ursula le Guin's
"The Lathe of Heaven" for its warmth and craziness ("I'll get by
with a little help from my friends..."), Art Speigelman's "Maus"
comic (About Auschwitz. It works), Tom Keneally's "Schindler's
Ark", and J.G Ballard's "Empire of the Sun" and "The Kindness of
Women" (the transforming power of Love), Paul Theroux's "Saint
Jack", Apocalypse, Psalms and Genesis from the King James Bible,
anything by Raymond Chandler ("The Big Sleep"), Ted Nelson's
"Computer Lib!", Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey and Maturin series
("Master and Commander" onwards) for the beauty and humanity of
the writing.
21 Books to avoid:
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Anything written for money rather than out of love or obsession.
22 Recommended music:
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Grateful Dead, The Doors (been overplayed recently tho'), early
Nick Lowe, Jefferson Airplane (*not* Starship), Bob Dylan, Ry
Cooder, Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, early John
Martyn ("Solid Air" is a classic), Van Morrison, Robyn Archer
singing Brecht, early Wailers (before they became Bob Marley and
the Wailers and it went to his head), Dr John, medieval and
renaissance dance music, Shostakovitch's string quartets,
Moroccan drumming, Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier".
23 Music to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Commercial pop, macho rap, anything in the charts, (except for
the KLF) anything written for money rather than love.
24 Recommended Films/TV:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"Casablanca" (now showing in London), "Repo Man", "Paris Texas",
anything by Francois Truffaut (especially "The Man Who Loved
Women"), "Heimat". TV? What's that? O.K then, Betty Boop
cartoons, C4 animations and videos, Arena, wildlife
documentaries. (I wouldn't say he really liked it, but he no
longer leaves the room when I watch "Coronation Street"....Liz)
25 Films/TV to avoid:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Any Hollywood 'product', 99% of anything on TV.
26 Favourite food:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Calzone at Liz's mother's restaurant, prawn, apple and celery
sandwiches, Loseley ice cream, rabbit casserole (first catch
your rabbit...).
27 Eat *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Most recycled burgers (tho' Burger King's are pretty damn good),
factory-farmed animals (de-clawed, de-beaked, penned-in, loaded
with drugs - buy organic and let the beasts have a good life!).
28 Favourite drink:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
No contest; lots of black, sweet coffee (feel the caffeine!) in
the morning, mahogany-stain tea later. Alcohol rots your brain.
Gusto's good tho'; a good dose of guarana for Zzzaaaapiness.
29 Drink *what*?!:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Sweet fizzy kiddy cans.
30 What would you do if you had unlimited funds (no 'pooter stuff):
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Buy a small farm in North Wales and breed polecats. (The man
said UNLIMITED funds, John! Buy North Wales and breed polecats,
red kites, ospreys, llamas....Liz)
Try stopping me Dave! You've probably gathered by now that I'm
something of an egotist and an elitist. I don't apologise for
that as we're only here for a very short time and it's up to us
to make the best of our lives and try and influence things for
the better. If we don't stretch ourselves then we vegetate. A
long, long time ago I used to be an idealistic anarchist (this
was before anarchism became linked in the popular imagination
with brain-dead glue-sniffers) who believed that people were
perfectable. Ha! The sad truth is that most people trudge
along without thinking - it'll take a very radical change to
alter that. Perhaps the best that we can aim for is decency and
empathy in our dealings with other people. That, and a constant
awareness of the suffering that the world runs on; we
northerners forget that our comfort and well-being depends on
other peoples' starvation and hardship. So much for personal
beliefs. I'm of average height (whatever that might mean) with
shoulder-length hair and large brown eyes. Jeans and check
shirts are the order of the day. I fall about laughing at bad
puns. I'm married to a very beautiful and intelligent woman
called Liz, who keeps me sane ("What is more you saved my life;
Eye for eye and tooth for tooth your love cuts like a knife...")
and cares for our animals. The animals: I've always lived in
flats, and never had room for them before, but now we have Liz's
red-tailed hawk (Camilla), eleven ferrets (and more to come if
Sophie's pregnant), four lizards, and the care of Liz's mother's
Great Dane. We're hoping to get a pointer in the next year.
Camilla and the ferrets are working animals who pay for
themselves by hunting rabbits. A life without animals would be
unendurable; we love them and respect their prey.
I live in South London at the moment, but will be moving to
Bournemouth just as soon as I can get a transfer. Liz and
myself's long-term plans are to buy a house and some land in
North Wales and support ourselves by breeding rare animals and
hawks, with bread-and-butter income from the computer and
writing. And that's about it.
~~~~~eof~~~~~