September 2018 - vcf-midatlantic

Questia access?
by Evan Koblentz 06 Sep '18

06 Sep '18

Does anyone have access to the Questia academic research database? I need an article.

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Dan's obituary / local gathering?
by Evan Koblentz 04 Sep '18

04 Sep '18

https://www.thomasmsmithfuneralhome.com/m/obituaries/Daniel-Roganti/Memories Two things stood out to me. 1. Danny? Who knew! Mindy said he was always "Uncle Danny" to her cousins. 2. It's very humbling that VCF is the preferred charity. I was surprised by that. Dan was and still is all about helping his friends and doing things that are awesome. Does anyone want to have a local (NJ) memorial gathering? (I know lots of us including me would like to be there on Saturday but cannot.) Or do you guys think keeping it up virtually is the better way, knowing that Dan would certainly understand? This weekend is tough for me other than perhaps Saturday brunch. I think we should schedule something for another time (farther down the road) so more people can attend. I also want to do something to more permanently honor his legacy. I don't know what. I have some ideas and will share them with the VCF board. On Sun, Sep 2, 2018, 7:34 PM Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > Dan asked me to share this after he passed. He said his sister took him > to see Stayin' Alive in 1977 and then his brother took him to see Star > Wars. He thought this mash-up was hysterical (via Jimmy Fallon show). > Per his request, here's a longer version thanks to editing from Amiga > Bill Winters. > > https://tinyurl.com/y74rbfet > >

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FYI, a new Facebook group re: vintage Lego robotics
by Evan Koblentz 03 Sep '18

03 Sep '18

I made a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindsbeforethestorm/ This accompanies my vintage Lego robotics web site, http://www.mindsbeforethestorm.com. All are welcome.

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MakerFaire 2018 Bus Trip from Allentown, PA
by Chris Fala 03 Sep '18

03 Sep '18

Make Lehigh Valley, my makerspace in Allentown, PA is again organizing a one-day bus trip to the New York World Maker Faire on Saturday, September 22. This is a stress-free trip on a comfortable, air conditioned bus. If you can get to Allentown, PA, we will get you to New York. I hope to see you! Chris ———————— It’s official, we’re running the bus trip to Maker Faire NYC again this year! The drive to Queens is no fun at all. The bus trip with Make Lehigh Valley? Lots of fun. Get your tickets now! https://mlvwmf2018.eventbrite.com/ —

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A video for Dan
by Evan Koblentz 03 Sep '18

03 Sep '18

Dan asked me to share this after he passed. He said his sister took him to see Stayin' Alive in 1977 and then his brother took him to see Star Wars. He thought this mash-up was hysterical (via Jimmy Fallon show). Per his request, here's a longer version thanks to editing from Amiga Bill Winters. https://tinyurl.com/y74rbfet

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Memorial for Dan - Sep. 8
by Evan Koblentz 03 Sep '18

03 Sep '18

There's going to be a memorial for Dan, Saturday Sep. 8 from 2-4pm in the Pittsburgh area. Details TBD. Unfortunately I cannot go. My dad is moving to Florida and there's a going-away dinner that night.

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WTB: Altair 680, Any Condition, Any Configuration
by systems_glitch 02 Sep '18

02 Sep '18

All, I'm looking for an Altair 680. I've been working with Jeff Albrecht's A680 during the RAM board design process, and would like to continue working on a few things for the 680, but I'd also like to send Jeff's machine back to him! Configuration is not particularly important to me. I'd like something with a non-rev 0 motherboard in it if possible -- the easiest way to tell is that there will be a slot for the expansion riser. Front panel vs. turnkey, branding, etc. are not important to me. I'd potentially be interested in even an empty case! Thanks, Jonathan

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Dan Roganti has logged off :(
by Evan Koblentz 01 Sep '18

01 Sep '18

Hey guys. I'm very sorry to announce that my good friend Ragooman took his last breath this morning. Dan was among the first wave of 10-15 people to join MARCH back in 2004-2005. AFAIK, in the many years since then, we never lost any core members until now. Dan was one of those people who everyone liked being around. He was friendly to all, wickedly funny, and sharp as a knife. He was a US Air Force veteran, an electronics technician, a proud native of Long Island, and become a proud resident of Pittsburgh -- he even switched allegiances from the Jets to the Steelers. He lost his wife several years ago and took great care of his daughters Mindy and Katie. He put them both through college, and they both share his technical aptitude. He had a shirt that says, "Every great father teaches his children the ways of the Force." Here's a picture: http://snarc.net/dan_kids.jpg Dan loved all aspects of vintage computing. He was equally passionate about Apple IIs and Commodore 64s as he was about Star Trek and Star Wars. He loved his IMSAI and was a perpetual tinkerer. He drew most of the VCF East t-shirt designs especially in the MARCH era. He often suffered from feature creep .... he was so obsessed with making things better than he rarely got anything actually done. :) He also individually mentored Jeff Brace and I with a lot of programming subjects. Dan got sick a year or two ago and fought the dreaded "C"-word bravely, but unfortunately there was only so much the doctors could do for him. I miss him already. Mindy will let me (and/or Dave McGuire) know soon about the arrangements. At the very least, VCF will follow Dan's (private) wishes regarding his collection. I hope we can do far more to honor him. He knew about our 2018 t-shirt design and loved it. In the past I've found it helpful to focus on happy memories of lost relatives/friends, rather than the sadness of their death. So let's all do something: please reply to this list message and share your favorite Dan story! I can't wait to hear them. I'll go first. The last group event Dan was able to attend, due to his health, was VCF East XII (2017). He arrived a day early to help set up. I didn't want to give him any real labor due to his condition. So I gave him busy work. I told him to go to the party store and get some helium balloons. We'd put them on the doors of the buildings being used for the show. He did as asked, but I was so busy that I forgot to put up the balloons. Dan wasn't amused, but he understood, so as pretend "revenge" he put the balloons on my car! At first he denied it because he thought I was mad. Then I said, "No, it's funny." While never formally confessing, he replied, "Other people helped." (Looking at you, Brace!) Here is a picture: http://snarc.net/dan_balloons.jpg

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Giving a talk at BSidesDC
by David Riley 01 Sep '18

01 Sep '18

Hi all, I don’t mean to take up space around the news about Dan, which is very sad indeed, but this is somewhat time sensitive: if anyone’s interested, I’m giving a more security-oriented version of my Reverse Engineering for Vintage Computers talk at the BSidesDC security conference in Washington, DC toward the end of October. If anyone’s interested in coming to see (it’s a great show if you’re into security in general), tickets are limited but can currently still be acquired here: https://bsidesdc2018.busyconf.com/bookings/new I don’t know what day I’ll be presenting yet, but let me know if you’re coming and I’ll be glad to try to meet up! If you’re unable to acquire a ticket but really want to go, let me know and I may be able to scare something up for you. - Dave

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Dan Roganti has logged off :(
by Bill Degnan 01 Sep '18

01 Sep '18

On Sat, Sep 1, 2018, 4:30 PM Bill Dromgoole via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Its funny , the things you remember. > I remember Dan testing my SD Sales Z80 card in his Imsaii for me at a > workshop held at Bill Degnans house. > He wasn’t afraid to plug it into his working computer. > Although he did use a meter to make sure it had no shorts first. > He was working on an Altair, I think a 680, putting wire jumpers on the > front panel with little pins so the panel could be removed. > He had also brought four or five large multi-drawer cabinets of parts to > help fix other peoples computers. > There were actual wheelbarrows full of TRS-80s there for some reason. > I gave him those trs80II's but they ended up at MARCH. There's a photo of me loading them into his minivan on my website from a wheelbarrow Also, that was my altair8800 that he added the white jumpers. I lent him my altair for a few years, he was working on a few projects with it. Maybe I'll exhibit that one again next year. We should all exhibit machines dan touched as a tribute, eh? B >

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