February 2015
NEWSLETTER for February 2015
President’s Corner by Michael Current
The slowness of my 5-year-old laptop PC running Vista finally became unbearable, so I went and invested the time and money necessary for a replacement. This new one is outfitted with a 100% solid-state drive, abundant RAM, and the "free Windows 7 downgrade.” Much, much smoother operation, what a breath of fresh air! Other than that, it's very much just like the previous computer. Meanwhile my Atari runs at exactly the same speed that it always has, and it will never be obsolete! How many times have you had to replace your "modern" computer, while your Atari keeps running and running? Now, if I could only figure out (again) how to keep my wireless multi-function printer from disappearing from my new wireless network. Hmm. But wait, I just turned it back on as I wrote that, and now it's back! Double hmm. Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting, Friday February 13, 2015.
Thanks for all your support in 2014 and I hope it continues in 2015 as it should. We have a bunch of very committed Atari followers and we are extremely dedicated to keep Atari alive for many years to come. And with that said I will see you next month.
Treasurer's Report by Greg Leitner
Welcome to 2015 all you SPACE members. We started out the new year with five members in attendance and the night consisted of us talking mainly about the Affordable Care Act and how not affordable it is for a lot of us. I was very interested in the topic as I just turned 65 in January this year and had to choose a Medicare Advantage plan to supplement my Medicare. Social Security as you probably know takes the Medicare premium for Part A directly from your Social Security check, and now they also have a plan that adds your Medicare Advantage premium to the regular Part A premium and so they take both out of your check each month. I took a Ucare plan for $48.00 each month and that includes Part D drug coverage and also Part B health coverage that passes the ACA test. So I am covered for 2015. At least for me it's affordable but for Jackie when she turns 65 next year I am not so sure. She needs much more expensive prescriptions than I do and co-pays under Medicare can be very high. Not much happening in the Atari world right now but I guess this is the very slow time of the year with the weather being one of the big factors. It was a strange Christmas last year as we sometimes have a brown one but I sure didn't expect that we would have a green one as the lawns in our area were. I even saw a neighbor cutting his lawn just before the holiday. Then only one day after Christmas it snows and it's been white ever since. Go figure! Here is how our financial picture looks at the end of the last year and the beginning of 2015: Bank balance as of December 31, 2014 Sold 6 8-bit DOMs for
463.49 18.00
by Steve Peck
Well, Happy New Year, folks! I hope that 2015 is treating you well so far. Here is the first Secretary’s Report of this year… The meeting started off at 7:45 PM. There was a lot to catching up to do before the meeting, I guess. Anyway, it was a cozy meeting and it was nice to see that five people showed up. The membership count is currently at ten members. Rich Mier renewed his membership last year and that is always good news when one renews. It was a fun 8-bit DOM from Glen with lots of new demos from the Czech Republic and Poland. There was talk of more stuff coming from Video 61, but nothing to report on that as of yet. We will keep you posted if something comes up from V61 (like a new product that is given the approval to be announced) with Lance’s permission. Aside from that, there is not much going on in the Atari world at present. The meeting closed around 7:50 PM, so it was a fast meeting once it got going. However, we stayed until about 8:30 PM looking at the latest DOM for the 8-bit. I will be back later in this newsletter with the 8-bit DOM report. In Stan Lee’s famous closing salutation…
No expenses for January 2015 Bank balance for January 31, 2015
Secretary's Report
481.49
Looking good for the start of the new year. I just called Falcon Heights for the room rental bill for 2014 and I was told it would be in the mail very soon. That will reduce our balance by $300.00 but still give us $181.49 left for 2014 and that's a little better than where we were at this time last year.
EXCELSIOR!
CLUB OFFICIALS
Michael Current
President: (608) 787-8548 michael@mcurrent.name
Vice President / Webmaster / Newsletter Editor (763) 689-3737 Nolan Friedland ilmarinen1976@hotmail.com
Steve Peck
Secretary: (651) 408-1096 artisan213574@gmail.com
DOM Librarian / Membership Chairman: (763) 786-4790 Glen Kirschenmann kirsch@netzero.net
Greg Leitner
Treasurer: (651) 455-6550 greglites@hotmail.com
Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (SPACE) meets on the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM in the Falcon Heights Community Center at 2077 West Larpenteur Ave. Doors open at 7:00 PM.
S.P.A.C.E. c/o Gregory Leitner 3407 78th St E Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076-3037
DISCLAIMER Published by the Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (SPACE), an independent organization with no business affiliation with ATARI, Inc. Permission is granted to any similar organization with which SPACE exchanges newsletters to reprint material from this newsletter. We do however ask that credit be given to the authors and to SPACE. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SPACE, the club officers, club members or ATARI, Inc.
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