SPACE Newsletter

•SPECIAL 2019 ELECTION EDITION•

Time once again for your favorite Atari computer club’s Annual Meeting! We will have elections for one-year terms in all four of the positions that make up the Executive Board: president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

After finding out Lance, Steve, and Brian couldn’t make the October SPACE meeting I was thinking it was once again only going to be Glen and myself, but when I pulled into the parking lot there was Rich Mier waiting for me to open up.

We will also seek to reaffirm commitments for the roles of membership chairman, newsletter editor, DOM librarian, ST DOM librarian, website manager, and Facebook page manager.

Glen showed up a few minutes later, and then Rich said his son, Roger, would also be attending.

Typically few of these roles change from year to year, but is this your year to step up and be more active in SPACE? New blood, new energy, and new ideas would be great for the club!! Please consider! If that isn’t enough reason to come to SPACE this month, you’ll also want to come to help plan next month’s Christmas party! The party will be what we make it, so help us plan to make it great! Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your SPACE Annual Meeting, on Friday, November 8, 2019.

–TABLE OF CONTENTS– Page One: The President’s Corner Treasurer’s Report Secretary’s Report Page Two: SPACE Bylaws Page Four: SPACE Comics Section TRIVIA TIME! Counting homebrews and pirated games, the Atari 2600 VCS has a library of approximately 1,200 games. The Starpath Supercharger add-on for the Atari 2600 VCS added 6K of extra RAM to the iconic system. This allowed better-looking games with better gameplay and depth.

So we, the four of us, held an impromptu meeting that included watching the October 8-bit DOM, and then discussing many Atari related things which was mostly over my head. I still love hearing the many upgrades they talk about even though I can’t grasp all the terminology that goes into the discussions. Rich gave me the news that he will be heading for warmer climate starting next month, and won’t be back until the spring. He will surely be missed, but maybe we will see Roger some of those months that Rich is away. As for the treasury we started the month of October with a bank balance of $647.54. We added $24.00 with a sale of three 8-bit DOMs and one membership renewal. ($15.00 and $9.00) respectively. Funny thing is we ended the month of October with the same bank balance as November 2018 which happens to be $661.54. How odd is that?

HELLO WORLD! Sorry for not being at the last meeting, but I will be writing the Report anyway. I always have something to say. Anyway, I will be there for the Election in November. I feel privileged to be Secretary of the Club, and I wish to be again for 2020. So, I guess I am opening my bid for Secretary. Furthermore, I will also pay my dues for the year, which were due in October anyway. So, I am glad that the Meeting in October went so well. It is nice to have knowledgable people like Roger and Rich in the midst. Thanks, everybody, for your contributions to the Club, whether in knowledge or finances. I will see you next month for sure! In the words of the late, great action comics maestro, Stan Lee: EXCELSIOR!

Well, that’s all for this month. Don’t forget: November is voting month for our SPACE officers and chairmen. Please try to make the meeting and think about running for a position if you so choose. See you all next month on November 8. Message from Captain Irata: “Life’s like a video game. Without one, it’s GAME OVER!” HOO-RAH!

SPACE Bylaws As amended by the membership, September 13, 2002 BYLAWS FOR THE SAINT PAUL ATARI COMPUTER ENTHUSIASTS CLUB OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA ARTICLE I NAME AND OBJECT Section 1. The name of the Club shall be the Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts, or SPACE. Section 2. The object of the Club shall be to bring those with a common interest in Atari computers together for the purpose of sharing hardware, software and information related to Atari. ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP Section 1. The number of members of SPACE shall not be limited. Section 2. Any person or family interested in Atari computers shall be eligible for membership upon payment of the annual dues for the first year. Section 3. The annual dues shall be $15.00, payable on the anniversary month of the member’s joining date. Section 4. Unused portions of dues are not refundable. Section 5. Any member found to be in violation of the rules or spirit of the club may be expelled by a majority vote of the Executive Board. Section 6. The Membership Chairman shall be responsible for collecting membership dues and managing the current membership list. ARTICLE III MEETINGS Section 1. SPACE meetings shall be held at 7:30pm on the second Friday of each month, at the Falcon Heights Community Center, unless otherwise directed by the Executive Board. Section 2. Club business cannot be conducted without at least one Officer and one other member present. Section 3. All club meetings shall be open meetings. Section 4. Minutes of each club meeting shall be recorded by the Secretary and published in the club newsletter. Section 5. The Annual Meeting shall be held each November. At the Annual Meeting, Officers shall be elected and volunteers for other ongoing club duties shall be secured. Section 6. The President shall preside over club meetings. In the President’s absence, the VicePresident shall preside. In their absence, the Secretary shall preside. If the first three are all absent, the Treasurer shall preside. ARTICLE IV TREASURY Section 1. An accounting for all incomes and charges to the SPACE balance sheet shall be published in the newsletter each month. Section 2. Prior approval by the Executive Board is required if the club is to incur any expense. 3. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the duties of managing the club’s monetary assets. ARTICLE V NEWSLETTER

Section 1. The club shall publish the SPACE Newsletter on a monthly basis. Section 2. All currently paid club members shall receive a copy of the Newsletter by mail each month.

volunteers to fill the following positions: Membership Chairman, Newsletter Editor, DOM Librarian, BBS Operator, and Webmaster. These volunteers shall be subject to the approval of the club membership.

Section 3. Newsletters shall also be sent free of charge each month to other Atari clubs which are able to return the favor.

Section 5. The Executive Board shall also seek volunteers for other ongoing administrative duties, such as meeting location arrangements and post office box maintenance.

Section 4. The Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for the duties of collecting articles from the membership, publishing, and distributing the Newsletter.

Section 6. Officers shall be subject to a Recall Vote if a majority of the membership so decries. The Recall Vote shall not take place until it has been announced in the newsletter.

ARTICLE VI DISK OF THE MONTH

Section 7. The rules contained in the current edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall govern the club unless they are in conflict with the bylaws, in which case the bylaws shall take precedence.

Section 1. A new SPACE Disk Of the Month (DOM), readable by a standard Atari 1050 disk drive, shall be produced on a monthly basis. This is for the purpose of raising funds for the club. Section 2. DOMs shall include shareware, freeware, or public domain software or other files for the Atari. DOMs shall not include pirated commercial software. Section 3. The price of the DOM shall be $3.00. Section 4. DOMs shall be available for sale at each club meeting, and may be sold to members and non-members. Section 5. Other clubs may trade DOMs with SPACE on a one-for-one basis. Section 6. The DOM Librarian shall be responsible for the production and sales of the DOM. ARTICLE VII BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM

ARTICLE X AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS Section 1. A Quorum shall be defined as either a minimum of 50% of the entire membership, or 10, whichever is smaller. Section 2. Provided that a quorum is present, and provided that the amendment proposal has been communicated to the entire membership in writing in advance, the Bylaws may be amended at any meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present. Section 3. Voting shall be by consenting AYE or NAY if a two-thirds vote can be confirmed, or by a show of hands for a precise tally. Section 4. Proxy voting is not permitted for Bylaws amendment votes. ARTICLE XI CLUB DISSOLUTION

Section 1. A Bulletin Board System (BBS) supporting Atari computers shall be made available by the club. The BBS provides an online forum for Atari discussions, and an optional communications medium for club matters.

Section 1. The club may elect to disband itself by a majority vote of the current membership, provided the proposal has been printed in at least one issue of the newsletter.

Section 2. The BBS System Operator shall be responsible for maintaining a friendly and welcoming environment on the BBS. Illegal software or offensive language shall not be tolerated.

Section 2. In such an event, the Executive Board members shall be responsible for the proper and orderly closing of accounts, arrangements, and all normally ongoing club activities.

ARTICLE VIII WEB SITE

Section 3. Any remaining material assets of the club shall be distributed evenly among the membership, as best as this is possible. Historical club materials shall be preserved if possible.

Section 1. The club shall maintain a home page on the World Wide Web. The site shall be primarily designed to attract new club members, and provide online access to club information. Section 2. The Webmaster shall be responsible for maintaining the web site, and keeping the information presented there current. ARTICLE IX OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD Section 1. The Officers of the club shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and shall be referred to collectively as the Executive Board. Section 2. The Executive Board shall collectively supervise the affairs of the club, shall be responsible for proper and orderly club operations, shall be responsible for upholding the rules of the bylaws, and shall at all times make decisions with the best interests of the membership in mind. Section 3. The officers shall be elected by a majority vote of those present, or by acclamation if only one person is running. The term shall be for one year, or until a successor is elected. The term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting at which the officer is elected. Section 4. The Executive Board shall actively seek

Section 4. When all outstanding charges are paid, the Treasurer shall distribute any remaining club funds evenly among the final group of club members.

NOTE: There will be no DOM Review for the Atari 8-bit computer this month. There will be a double-DOM Review for December. Stay tuned! ELECTION TIME! By Steven Peck Now is the time to elect the Officers of the SPACE Club! As you know, the seats up for grabs are as follows: • President (currently Michael Current) • Vice-President (currently Brian Little) • Treasurer (currently Greg Leitner) • Secretary (currently Steve Peck) So, if you want to run for any of these positions, please feel free to attend the next SPACE Meeting, on Friday, November 8, 2019. Thanks for your attendance and votes!

The next SPACE meeting will commence on Friday, November 8, 2019, at 7:30 PM. We hope to see you there! Thanks and good luck at the Election!

SPACE COMICS SECTION! By Steve Peck The Misadventures of A-Man and C.D. By Steve Peck

Angel, Bandit, and Their Ferret Fracas By Steve Peck

I WANT YOU FOR THE SPACE ELECTION! Friday, November 8, 2019 Starting at 7:30 PM

President & Web Page Manager:

895-2223