Dear Readers,
I always like to hear from Tex. Tex Faucette has been a faithful supporter of TS Horizons from almost the beginning. Many of you know Tex as Oscar Sensabaugh from Computer Trader Magazine, where he writes a regular Timex, etc., column he calls “Computin’ in the Country.” Yes, I’m letting the cat out of the bag. They are one and the same. That must be a surprise to many of you who are familiar with his “country-style” reviews and discussions in CTM. While his CTM articles are full of Texas slang and humor, his TSH reviews are written in virtually perfect grammar and spelling. The one thing that ties Oscar and Tex together is the clarity and thoroughness of his reviews and the humor he brings to his writing.
Why have I let the secret out now? Actually he has dropped hints before, and I hope he does mind me doing this without asking, but Tex had an accident not too long ago. Nothing tragic, but he had a nasty fall from the back of a semi trailer and spent most of the summer recuperating. This kept him away from his computers and the Cincinnati Computer Fest. When he finally was able to compute again, he accidentally let a test prod slip during a hardware project and he blew up his 2068. Anyway he’s still taking physical therapy, but he’s a lot better. I’d like to suggest those of you who have come to appreciate his writing take a minute to jot down a note or send a nice get-well card and tell him you wish him and his family well. (He rambles on about his grandkids and his XYL- that’s “ex-young lady” or wife- endlessly in CTM). His address is:
Tex Faucette (or Oscar, whatever)
801 N. 7th St., Ballinger TX 76821
Thanks. (I hope he doesn’t kill me for this.)
Speaking of Computer Fests
Some people have written to say that they would have liked to see more on the Cincinnati in the last issue; Oscar/Tex being one in particular. For that reason, we pirated the following article from the latest LISTing, the Long Island User Group newsletter:
Review of A Happening in Ohio
by John Sampson
Well I finally got to go to an honest to goodness Timex/Sinclair Computer Fest. I missed the one they had in Boston in November of 1983, so when I heard about this affair, I said “Self–you better get to this one.”
I flew to the Cincinnati airport (which is in Kentucky by the way) early Saturday morning, stayed over night at the Ramada Inn where the ComputerFest was held, and flew back to New York late Sunday night, after two very nice days at the affair. Between plane fare, car rental, motel room, food, and miscellaneous expenses, it cost me about $250.00 not counting the little I spent for the goodies.
Well I wasn’t disappointed. I am told almost 300 people from all over the country attended, and they had a good showing of about 30 suppliers of TS products. I got to meet and talk with Tom Woods, Bill Russell, Jerry from Aerco and Tom Bent to name a few. They had a good array of T/S products on display. I would estimate that there was about 40% QL, 20% ZX81 and 40 % TS2068 and/or Spectrum.
In addition the people who ran the show scheduled ten hourly seminars, five on Saturday and five on Sunday. These seminars were free and covered such topics as Machine Code Programming, Forth, Using Data Bases to name a few, and were very interesting. I attended five of them, and I got a few answers to some questions. The only negative thing I could say about the Computer Fest is that the Ramada Inn was about 30 miles from the airport and they did not arrange inexpensive, reliable transportation for the incoming guests. I don’t know if it was the fault of Ramada or the organizers but I chose to rent a car so I was not inconveniencd at all.
Now that I look back on it, it was great. The weather was beautiful, everything went smoothly and I brought back some software I didn’t have before, a brand new 1500, some back issues of CTM and a new Aerco DOS. If there is another Computer Fest being held somewhere, I advise all of you to attend. You probably won’t regret it.
I don’t remember Mr. Sampson from the Fest but his reactions were very typical. No matter how far people came or how much money they had or how computer-proficient they were, A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL & that’s not just a cliche.
Speaking as a member of the Computer Fest Board, it was a success that exceeded our fondest hopes. Here was a group of regular guys, none of whom had ever attempted anything like this before, trying to pull off a major event based on a computer that is no longer being made, with no funds. It was really unprecedented. At the beginning we had no commitment from any TS-supporting companies. We were wondering if we could fill one meeting room (or if worse came to worse a large tent) and if we could pay for it. When the event finally came we had a hard time squeezing everything and everyone into two adjacent conference rooms, a separate room for seminars, and about 50 or 60 feet of adjacent hallway.
So how did we pull it off? First, we thought about what we’d like to see if we were going to a TS Fest; this involved a lot of brainstorming and then picking out what we were capable of. Second, we tapped into the already-existing TS network: newsletters, magazines, BBSs, user groups, word of mouth, mailing lists, and any thing else we could think of. The most important thing was organization: everyone had a job to do and everyone did his job.
Of course we made mistakes. We wanted a location that was easy to get to for people driving in and far enough from the city that costs were reasonable. Unfortunately, we underestimated the number of people who would be flying in and we got too far from the airport. Other mistakes were minor ones.
Future Fests
The point I am trying to make above is that user groups in other areas should consider trying the same thing. I know it’s being talked about for the New York area, Florida, and Texas, and when and if something definite is established you’ll read about it in TS Horizons. The Second Midwest TS Computer Fest is scheduled for the first weekend in May (in Indiananapolis, this time) and the money that is used to start it will come from the money left over from admissions and vendor fees from the ’86 in Cincinnati. For more information contact Frank Davis, see “In Spec” for his address.
This money is also available to help other reputable individuals and groups. Also our groups “acquired wisdom” has been collected and written down and should be available for others to use. The Milwaukee User Group made a video tape of the Fest and copies are available for a minimal fee ($2 postage and a blank tape, I think). All these things would be very valuable and are available. And you can be sure of vendor support after the response we received.
Think about it.
Apologies Are In Order
In certain letters I have mailed out soliciting companies for advertisements I made some claims that may have appeared in TS Horizons in the past, I can’t remember. One unfortunate claim I made was that TS Horizons is the oldest TS-specific magazine still being published. Not too long ago I received a very irate, but very justified letter from Fred Nachbaur of Syncware News. Among his other matters of concern, he rightly called me on the carpet for claiming implicitly that TSH is older than Syncware. To set the record straight, SWN was published nearly a year before the first issue of TS Horizons. Why the mistake? I wish I could plead senility, but I don’t think I could get away with it at 28. Actually, I didn’t hear of or see a copy of SWN until after the first issue of TS Horizons was published, and when I wrote the ad copy my memory failed me and I made a dumb mistake. That’s no excuse but it is a sincere apology. Another question Fred had was about an exchange advertising arrangement we apparently made way back in the old days. I had forgotten about it and they never sent me an ad to use anyway (unless my memory has failed me again). So anyway, Fred and everyone else at Syncware News, consider this an apology. You guys deserve a lot credit for a great publication (actually two, counting “Quantum Levels“) and for being the oldest surviving American TS magazine.
Computers for Convicts
We recently received the following notice from George Mockridge of the Peninsula user group in California. “If you were kind enough to send a copy of your newsletter to Robert Kelly in support of our Prisoner Timex/Sinclair Aid Program, you may have had recent copies returned with the message that Mr. Kelly is no longer there. We have just received word that he has finally been granted parole and we hope that our help may have played a small part in his release. There are still a number of inmates interested in T/S computing, and we ask that you please continue to send copies of your newsletter to these men. In the future send your newsletter to:
Mr. William Kassel
Pre-Release Supervisor
215 East Bonanza
Las Vegas NV 89158
Mr. Kassel will see to it that your N/L gets distributed to the inmates interested in T/S computing. THANKS FOR CARING.”