March 2020 - vcf-midatlantic

On our hobby
by Adam Michlin 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Definition Federation: the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of separate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs. Thinking back, I started my involvement in this hobby around 1993. My computers weren't so vintage then, I had no idea what CP/M was or any awareness of machines prior to the Apple II. I had to give up that collection in 2004 to move to NJ. What I remember most of all was that it was a lonely hobby. My interest was rekindled when I started teaching Computer Science in FL around about 2008. I'm a huge believer in teaching history in any subject I teach and it seemed obvious to not only teach the history but to show the history. I had kept a Mac SE from my first collection that had traveled from CA to NJ to FL and used that as my first prop in teaching Computer Science and, by extension, Computer History. I was lucky that we had a district warehouse (that makes the VCF warehouse look small) where all the old tech went to rest (we couldn't recycle for complicated financial reasons). And thus began my second collection. Primarily Apple II.. because, well, schools and Apple II. I then left my job as a CS teacher and moved into the music retail industry. As such, I again had to give up my collection. Still the hobby was lonely. I moved to NJ to again teach CS in 2014. Kept only my one Apple IIc. But something different happened. I found you people. My classroom became stocked with machines donated by people like Tony Bogan, Dean Notaricola, Alex Jacocks (and I'm forgetting so many, sorry!).It would take me pages to list just the knowledge I've gained from everyone reading this very email. Thank you to each and everyone of you. The hobby wasn't lonely anymore. We are the Vintage Computer Federation. We are not just a museum and warehouse in Wall, NJ. We are not just an online forum or mailing list. We are people. We are people throughout the world. We are events throughout the world. We are growing and the nature of growing is that there will be conflicts. I, however, look at the conflicts as a good thing rather than a bad thing. It is easy to avoid conflicts... don't grow. I dream of a world where we have so many workshops that people have to choose. That people in Maryland have a Maryland workshop, NJ in NJ, NY in NY, and PA in PA all on the same day because there are too many events to avoid date conflicts. Heck, I'd love to see an Idaho workshop! And, of course, someone really needs to get going on that North NJ workshop less than 10 minutes from where I live. ;) As one the primary people responsible for the VCF Social Media, I have done my best to promote *every* organization that does anything at all to push our hobby in a positive direction. LCM, CHM, museums and other organizations in Holland, Finland, Russia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland.. on and on and on. As a Steering Committee member, I have pushed very hard to increase access to our collection to members and create a formal way for organizations to borrow our artifacts for display in their own museums. I do all this because I have a vision that VCF exists to promote the hobby. The entire hobby. This is what a Federation does. Yet the nature of a Federation is that independent entities (officially or unofficially) within it will sometimes have conflicts. But I don't see conflicts as a bad thing. I see conflicts as an amazing problem created by a growing hobby. No one is trying to create conflicts, but they will arise. We will, however, overcome them together to take this hobby to the next level (or four). I just can't imagine going back to that lonely hobby. -Adam

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Gosh, forgot about Pi Day!
by Jim Scheef 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Sorry, I really am a geek.

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Was Lemondae, bicycling NJ
by Neil Cherry 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

If you get to central Jersey again and don't mind riding the roads I know a lot of good areas to ride. What speed do you avg and how far do you like to ride? I usually do centuries during the summer and for some reason our speeds have dropped to just 15 - 16 mph avg over the entire ride. We ride the flat lands of NJ and I know a lot of Pine Barrens rides. Even if you can't ride with us I can toss together a route or two for the area of Spotswood/Monroe Twp to the shore, south or out to the Sourlands (almost the Delaware). -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Blantant Attack on Kennett Classic!
by Bill Degnan 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

To schedule vcf east less than a week before our event is a blantant and ignorant obnoxious affront to us! We consulted with vcfed so as not to infringe with the events and plans of the federation and this is what we get in return. How unprofessional. I ask everyone to stand behind us to protest this decision. Please be human and decent, we did everything to space our event. We offered to volunteer at vcfed! If you continue to pursue this, the working relationship between our two groups will be permanently damaged. Bill and Karen.

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VCF East - New Dates Announced!
by Tony Bogan 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

VCF East 2020 Update What a difference 24 hours makes! Since last night's announcement, we have now seen various state governments recommend cancelling all large gatherings in light of the "continued outbreak and to aggressively mitigate the spread of the virus." in the words of the Governor of NJ. As such, VCF East 2020 will be POSTPONED (not cancelled) until October 10th through 12th, 2020. This is Saturday through Monday, Columbus Day. Over the past week we have been actively working on backup plans for VCF East in the event it had to be postponed, with several different contingencies planned based on different circumstances that might arise. While it is unfortunate that such a circumstance has occurred, the VCF Steering Committee is pleased to inform everyone that we have secured the dates mentioned above, along with the needed space at the Infoage Science and History Museums. Additionally, we have been reaching out to our Keynote Speakers and class proctors to lock in their availability. We have confirmed that Bill Mensch, Michael Tomczyk, Bil Herd and David Murray have all confirmed their availability as of today. We will update the website, class schedules, etc. over the coming week to reflect the changes in date as well as filling in who can and cannot attend based on the new days of the event. While prep for VCF East has continued in earnest over the past few weeks, a potential change of dates has always been on the list of items to deal with. It is unfortunate that the event needed to be rescheduled, but with the cooperation of our members, keynote speakers, exhibitors and attendees, along with the great coordination we've had with Infoage, we are confident we can help keep people safe and healthy and have a fantastic event, just a few months later than originally anticipated. Please stay tuned for more updates as the days and weeks go by, and please, stay safe and healthy! VCF Steering Committee

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Bob Flanders 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d… On Wed, Mar 11, 2020 at 10:48 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > VCF East 2020 Update > > In light of everything that is happening in the US and elsewhere with the > current Flu season and Coronavirus, the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee > wanted to update everyone on the current status of VCF East 2020. > > As it stands, VCF East 2020 is still scheduled to take place as planned on > April 24th, 25th and 26th. > > The Steering Committee is monitoring the situation daily and meets every > week for VCF East prep, which includes reassessing our situation for the > event as a whole on a weekly basis at minimum, more frequently if needed. > > At the Infoage Operations meeting on Wednesday, March 11th, Infoage > informed us that they have no plans to close or alter their operating > schedule at this time. Like us, they plan on watching the situation closely > and will update their plans if and when it is called for. Meanwhile, they > look forward to hosting VCF East once again. > > We understand that attendance will suffer as a result of the current > health situation as some people will choose not to travel or attend a > public event at this point in time. Prudence dictates that everyone, > especially people in the higher risk groups and those with certain health > issues, must do what's best for themselves, and we encourage people to do > just that! Meanwhile, we continue to plan on the event taking place on > schedule. > > In the event circumstances require us to reschedule the event, we will > notify all exhibitors, vendors, class proctors and advance ticket holders > directly, as well as announcing on our website and all social media. > > The VCF Steering Committee plans on hosting a fantastic show in April, but > plans sometimes change, and we will change ours if circumstances dictate a > change is needed, and make sure you are the first to know. > > VCF Steering Committee

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Neil Cherry 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

On 3/12/20 1:31 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > Has anyone seen the movie "Contagion" ? > > May seem a little far-fetched but not too far from the truth. ... so they're gonna drop a bomb on us? Great, now we're moving into (out?) to a Billy Joel song ... never could understand why they blew the Bronx away ... ;-) -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Alexander Pierson 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

I'm going to have to concur. My love for this event is on record, and I've joked with some of you that it would take something significant to stop me from attending VCF East. With that in mind, I think it is wise to cancel and avoid undue risk to people's health. I don't see much of a point for an event that champions hands-on exhibits in the middle of a pandemic. There is always next year. -Alexander 'Z' Pierson On Thursday, March 12, 2020, 03:54:36 PM EDT, Peter Fletcher via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: I’d say that is it then for me. If the State of NJ doesn’t want events of size being held we ought listen to that. I know this is going to be inconvenient, and frankly I have no idea if I’ll get the money I’ve paid for my hotel stay refunded or not, but I really don’t want to feel responsible for spreading a disease because people are touching my old keyboards and joysticks. The VCF demographic is solidly middle age and older, exactly the people this is affecting most. Not that I get a vote, but if I do have one, I vote to cancel and find a date later in the year. -Pete > On Mar 12, 2020, at 3:40 PM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > Looks like NJ is recommending all gatherings of >250 be cancelled. > > https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200312a.shtml > > > > On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 3:12 PM Martin Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >> Google “project cautery” >> >>> On Mar 12, 2020, at 2:36 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>> >>>> On 3/12/20 1:31 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>>> Has anyone seen the movie "Contagion" ? >>>> >>>> May seem a little far-fetched but not too far from the truth. >>> >>> ... so they're gonna drop a bomb on us? >>> >>> Great, now we're moving into (out?) to a Billy Joel song ... never could >> understand >>> why they blew the Bronx away ... ;-) >>> >>> -- >>> Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com >>> http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site >>> http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog >>> Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies >>> >> >> > > -- > Jason Perkins > 313 355 0085

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Jonathan Gevaryahu 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

I'm in complete agreement. What I'm hearing in the news by epidemiologists implies this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Based on some estimates I've seen *I think* it may peak sometime in May, June or even later. I'm personally fine having VCFE in the fall sometime, or even possibly deferring it to next year (not the first time this has happened). On 3/12/2020 3:54 PM, Peter Fletcher via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > > I’d say that is it then for me. If the State of NJ doesn’t want events of size being held we ought listen to that. > > I know this is going to be inconvenient, and frankly I have no idea if I’ll get the money I’ve paid for my hotel stay refunded or not, but I really don’t want to feel responsible for spreading a disease because people are touching my old keyboards and joysticks. > > The VCF demographic is solidly middle age and older, exactly the people this is affecting most. > > Not that I get a vote, but if I do have one, I vote to cancel and find a date later in the year. > > -Pete > > > >> On Mar 12, 2020, at 3:40 PM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic<vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >> Looks like NJ is recommending all gatherings of >250 be cancelled. >> >> https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200312a.shtml >> >> >> >> On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 3:12 PM Martin Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < >> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >> >>> Google “project cautery” >>> >>>> On Mar 12, 2020, at 2:36 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < >>> vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: >>>>> On 3/12/20 1:31 PM, Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic wrote: >>>>> Has anyone seen the movie "Contagion" ? >>>>> >>>>> May seem a little far-fetched but not too far from the truth. >>>> ... so they're gonna drop a bomb on us? >>>> >>>> Great, now we're moving into (out?) to a Billy Joel song ... never could >>> understand >>>> why they blew the Bronx away ...;-) >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Linux Home Automation Neil Cherryncherry(a)linuxha.com >>>> http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site >>>> http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog >>>> Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies >>>> >> -- >> Jason Perkins >> 313 355 0085 -- Jonathan Gevaryahu jgevaryahu(a)gmail.com jgevaryahu(a)hotmail.com

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] VCF East 2020 Update
by Mike Loewen 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

On Thu Mar 12 00:22:27 EDT 2020, Kyle Own wrote: > Since the WHO has upgraded this to a pandemic, I am very surprised to see > VCF E as a possibility for late April. Current trends show that we may have > close to 1 million cases in the US by then. By continuing planning VCF E for > April, I believe the steering committee is doing a disservice to the > community, both among vintage computer enthusiasts and members of Wall > Township and surrounding areas. Why not postpone for a future date? > > I'd be very curious to see a show of hands who would currently plan to be in > attendance in April. > > Kyle I'm not one to panic, but given the current state of affairs I am considering withdrawing my exhibit from VCF East this. I realize that scheduling is tight for Infoage, but if at all possible I would also urge that the SC consider reschduling the event. Remember some years back when one member infected several of the exhibitors? Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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