The Milwaukee Area T.I. User Group Newsletter
********* May 1999 **********

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Club Officers
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President - Ted Zychowicz - tedzychowicz@juno.com - 414-453-1034
Vice-President - Jonathon Johnson - johnsonn@milwaukee.tec.wi.us
Treasurer - Denis Dann - denisdann@yahoo.com - 414-545-5933
Newsletter - Gene Hitz - genehitz@juno.com - 414-535-0133
Geneve - Tim Tesch - ttesch@execpc.com

MAUG Web page - https://members.tripod.com/~genehitz/maug.html

*** Our Newsletters are available via E-Mail***

Mailing address - 4122 N. Glenway, Wauwatosa, WI 53222-1116

Main MAUG meeting - 3rd Saturdays - noon til 4PM
Mayfair Community Room, Mayfair Shopping Center, North Avenue & Hwy 100

PC Hocus meeting (PC SIG) - 3rd Thursday - 7PM til 10PM
Franklin State Bank, 7000 South 76st Street

Annual dues now only $5.00 with newsletters by email

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Index:

(01) Windows 2000
(02) The "Y1K Bug"
(03) The "Y10K Bug"
(04) A TIMUG99 Update - The Preconference Party Is On!
(05) Modem Times - Maxims for the Internet Age
(06) Questions For The Modern Age
(07) Making your own TI-99/4A Video Cable
(08) Modern Situations - No Existing Words
(09) Having a Bad Day?
(10) Downloading Files & Disks to V9T9 Using XMDM2TI
(11) Technology For Country Folk
(12) Interesting & Wierd Internet Sites
(13) More Free Stuff On The Net
(14) Answer to April Riddle
(15) Riddle for May

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(01) Windows 2000

Redmond, WA-Microsoft announced today that the official release date for the new operating system "Windows 2000" will be delayed until the second quarter of 1901

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(02) The "Y1K Bug"

Read thou and bewarest!

Canterbury, England. A.D. 999.

An atmosphere close to panic prevails today throughout Europe as the millennial year 1000 approaches, bringing with it the so-called "Y1K Bug," a menace which, until recently, hardly anyone had ever heard of.
Prophets of doom are warning that the entire fabric of Civilization, based as it now is upon monastic computations, could collapse, and that there is simply not enough time left to fix the problem.
Just how did this disaster-in-the-making ever arise? Why did no one anticipate that a change from a three-digit to a four-digit year would throw into total disarray all liturgical chants and all metrical verse in which any date is mentioned? Every formulaic hymn, prayer, ceremony and incantation dealing with dated events will have to be re-written to accommodate three extra syllables. All tabular chronologies with three-space year columns, maintained for generations by scribes using carefully hand-ruled lines on vellum sheets, will now have to be converted to four-space columns, at enormous cost. In the meantime, the validity of every official event, from baptisms to burials, from confirmations to coronations, may be called into question.

"We should have seen it coming ," says Brother Cedric of St. Michael's Abbey, here in Canterbury. "What worries me most is that 'THOUSAND' contains the word 'THOU,' which occurs in nearly all our prayers, and of course always refers to God. Using it now in the name of the year will seem almost blasphemous, and is bound to cause terrible confusion. Of course, we could always use Latin, but that might be even worse-The Latin word for 'Thousand' is 'Mille' which is the same as the Latin for 'mile.' We won't know whether we're talking about time or distance!" Stonemasons are already reported threatening to demand a proportional pay increase for having to carve an extra numeral in all dates on tombstones, cornerstones and monuments. Together with its inevitable ripple effects, this alone could plunge the whole medieval economy into chaos.

A conference of clerics has been called at Winchester to discuss the entire issue, but doomsayers are convinced that the matter is now one of personal survival. Many families, in expectation of the worst, are stocking up on holy water and indulgences.

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(03) The "Y10K Bug"

"Though the continued articles and related paranoia regarding the upcoming Y2K disaster are helpful to our society, I am truly amazed at the shortsightedness of everyone involved. We will spend billions of dollars to fix code to just four places, but what happens after December 31, 9999? Wake up, programmers; these quick fixes are what give you guys a bad name. Only 8,000 years to go, and the clock's running. Think Y10K !"

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

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(04) A TIMUG99 Update - The Preconference Party Is On!

From: GBBasics@aol.com
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 22:20:32 EDT

We are happy to announce today that we have secured Spang Mansion for Friday evening, June 11th from 7:00PM to 10:00PM for the preconference get together. If you are planning to arrive on Friday, June 11th for TIMUG99 or are a local TIer, why not come to the get together social at Spang Mansion?

This will give you a chance to have a good time renewing old acquaintances and swapping tales, ideas and information as well as finding out just where Spang Mansion is located before the conference on Saturday morning. Snacks and soft drinks will be served.

Please remember Spang Mansion is a Brookpark, Ohio NONSMOKING, public facility and this restriction is strictly enforced.

Also, DO NOT bring any equipment or valuables to the get together to be left over night at Spang Mansion. Over night security will NOT be provided.

Hope to see you there,
Glenn Bernasek -- GBBasics@aol.com
Secretary - TI-Chips
13246 Harper Road
Strongsville, Ohio 44136-3942

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(05) Modem Times - Maxims for the Internet Age


1. 'Ome is where you 'ang your @
2. The E-mail of the species is more deadly than the mail.
3. A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click.
4. You can't teach a new mouse old clicks.
5. Great groups from little icons grow.
6. Speak softly and carry a cellular phone.
7. C:\ is the root of all directories.
8. Don't put all your hypes in one home page.
9. Pentium wise; pen and paper foolish.
10. The modem is the message.
11. Too many clicks spoil the browse.
12. The geek shall inherit the earth.
13. A chat has nine lives.
14. Don't byte off more than you can view.
15. Fax is stranger than fiction.
16. What boots up must come down.
17. Windows will never cease.
18. In Gates we trust.
19. Virtual reality is its own reward.
20. Modulation in all things.
21. A user and his leisure time are soon parted.
22. The http://www.joker.org is on you.
23. Know what to expect before you connect.
24. Oh, what a tangled website we weave when first we practice.
25. Speed thrills.
26. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use the Net and he won't bother you for weeks.

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(06) Questions For The Modern Age

Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra?
Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
How do I set my laser printer on stun?
How is it possible to have a civil war?
If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?
If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?
If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?
If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay you to do it?
If you're born again, do you have two bellybuttons?
If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?
If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
Is a castrated pig disgruntled?
Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "asteroids"?
Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?
Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?
What happens when none of your bees wax?
Where are we going? And what's with this hand basket?
If the black box flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash,
why isn't the whole airplane made out of the stuff?
Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
If most car accidents occur within five miles of home, why doesn't everyone just move 10 miles away?

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(07) Making your own TI-99/4A Video Cable

Now that you have that old TI up and running, you might wish to connect it directly to a television monitor without the use of the RF modulator.
The problem has been finding the proper video cable to make this happen.
Well fret no more, I have put together the instructions on how to make one yourself! It is very easy and all you need are a few tools and parts. So If you are ready, Lets go!

PARTS LIST:
5-Pin DIN Plug (Radio Shack Cat No. 274-003A)
Set of RCA type connectors (one for video and one for audio)
Solder (use a fine electronics grade solder, NOT the plumbers type)
Soldering iron (30W seems to work well for me)
Wire strippers
Diagonal cutting pliers
Ohm Meter (for testing the cable)
Some type of clamping device (to hold the plug still while you solder it)

WHAT TO DO:
1. Cut the RCA connectors off of one end of the RCA cable. This will expose the wires for us to work with and leave a set of .RCA connectors on the opposite end.
2. Strip 1/2 inch of the outer casing away, exposing the center conductor surrounded by the grounding conductors.
3. Cut away about half of the grounding conductors so as to decrease their quantity and enable us to fit them in the DIN plug.
4. Strip away about 1/4 inch of the insulation on the center conductor.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 on the other cable.
6. Tin the center conductors of both cables (apply a thin covering of solder to the conductors). This will.make it easier to join the conductors to the plug.
7. Twist the ground wires from both cables together and tin them also.
8. You should have three wires to work with, a ground and two center conductors.
9. Cut the tips of all the wires to make a clean and even connection.

CONNECTING THE WIRES:
You must use caution when applying heat the the pins as the plastic holding the pin will melt if it gets too hot.

1. Apply a small amount of solder to the inside of pins 2, 3, and 4.
2. Heat pin-3 until the solder melts and insert one of the center conductors, remove the soldering iron and allow to cool.
3. Repeat step 2 for pin 4
4. When connecting to pin 2, you will use the ground wire not the center conductor


Pin-1: Unused
Pin-2: Ground Connection
Pin-3: Audio Connection
Pin-4: Video Connection
Pin-5: Unused

TESTING THE CONNECTIONS:
1. Use an Ohm meter to test the continuity between the pin and the other end of the cable. If you do not get a reading, then one of the connections is bad. Check the connection and reapply solder if needed.
2. The things to check for are that you have continuity between the grounds on both RCA cables and pin-2 and that the center conductors have continuity from pins 3 and 4 to the respective RCA pins. You also want to ensure that none of the pins are shorting to any of the pin.

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(08) Modern Situations - No Existing Words

Suggestions for some modern situations for which there are no existing words or phrases in the English language, in which we might all be able to relate

arachnoleptic fit, n:
The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

Beelzebug, n:
Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at 3 in the morning and cannot be cast out.

bozone, n:
The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down at any time in the future.

cashtration, n:
The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

caterpallor, n:
The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

dopelar effect, n:
The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

extraterrestaurant, n:
An eating place where you feel you've been abducted and experimented on. Also known as ETry.

foreploy, n:
Any misrepresentation or outright lie about yourself that leads to sex.

Grantartica, n:
The cold, isolated place where arts companies without funding dwell.

intaxication, n:
Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

kinstirpation, n:
A painful inability to get rid of relatives who come to visit.

lullabuoy, n:
An idea that keeps floating into your head and prevents you from drifting off to sleep.

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(09) Having a Bad Day?

Next time you think you're having a bad day, remember these real stories...

1. The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later they were both eaten by a killer whale.

2. A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a carpenter in order to nag him constantly and then study his reactions. After weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeatedly with an axe, leaving her mentally retarded.

3. In 1992, Frank Perkins of Los Angeles made an attempt on the world flagpole-sitting record. Suffering from the flu, he came down eight hours short of the 400 day record; his sponsor had gone bust; his girl friend had left him; and his phone and electricity had been cut off.

4. A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current she whacked him with a handy plank of wood by the back door, breaking his arm in two places. Till that moment, he had been happily listening to his walkman.

5. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughter house in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.

And the capper.......

6. Iraqi terrorist, Khay Rahnajet, didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with "Return To Sender" stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.

------------- http://www.newhumor.com -------------

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(10) Downloading Files & Disks to V9T9 Using XMDM2TI

By ROGER PRICE, MARION, pricerogerl@hotmail.com or bumblebe@comteck.com

Many people are trying to use xmodem file transfers to V9T9 without using xmdm2ti and are then getting header file errors. In trying to use the xmdm2ti utility many people are likely not using the correct command line to make the utility work. Cries that the program doesn't work are because they just don't do things right.

This only works if you have a fully configured working V9T9 program with all roms and groms.

First you need to prepare a blank disk (file on the hard drive) this is nothing more than an empty folder under the v6.0 folder or have plenty of space on an existing disk file. I then used hyperterminal with Windows 95 and Telco with the TI using xmodem to download program files to a real floppy. It seems that the single file transfers only work with program type files. I did not want intermediate files on my harddrive so I saved them to a 1.44 floppy. The one bugaboo about xmdm2ti was that Ed gave no example of the actual command line. So here is an example. Pinball is the name of the program and the target disk is Disk-12. Best to download Archiver first and then use that to do archived disks since that is faster than one file at a time. The single file downloading only seems to work with some file types. It will work with program type files. Archiver is a prog. type file so download it first and archive everything afterwards. This will download all types of files correctly.

Go to the V9t9\V6.0 directory with cd\v9t9\v6.0 now type the following: >UTILS\XMDM2TI.EXE A:\Pinball C:\V9T9\V6.0\DISK-12
This should put the file into the disk (Disk-12) as a subdirectory file. The filename does not have to be called disk, it could be as: D-pinbal, DPin12, etc. I like the D to remind me it is a disk file. Keeps the disk files all together. It is a rule of DOS that you should only use 8 characters for filenames.

Start v9t9 change your disk path with shift+ctrl+f9 to the new path, press Enter, then Escape key. If your program is an xbasic then use the usual commands and your program should be there.

The only difference between downloading a file and downloading a whole disk is that you need to archive your disk into a single archived file. When archiving, I answer the question "All files?" NO. If you say yes, the program saves the created file in the wrong type to use. You need the file in Dis/Fixed 128 format. Then use xmodem to download the file to a 1.44 floppy. Use the same command line except that you add /A on to the xmdm2ti part like so. XMDM2TI/A Now you will be putting the entire disk onto a V9T9 DISK as an archived file.

This will take awhile since it is a long file. When done just start up V9T9 and load Funnelweb, then Archiver, use extract files and convert your arc file back to a complete disk just as you would if you had real disks. Try planning ahead for the disks you are going to put the archived file on and the disk where you are going to unarc the files to. I would not use real floppies with V9t9 disks because my experience with PC99 and from what I have read, I would keep the files on the harddrive. Use floppies only for the intermediate transfer and erase them after done, so that they will not get mixed up later with the headerless files. You can copy a disk file onto a 1.44 floppy and if you direct the drive path to the floppy you can load a file from the floppy. This is also true of a Zip or SuperDisk LS-120 drive. Making a write to a floppy will likely corrupt the disk file.

My experience with the Transfer program and receive were not good. I do have the Transfer program as downloaded to my Ti if someone wants to experiment with it. It is on either 3.5 or 5.25 floppy. Took me several hours of tries to figure out how to download the transfer program. The files I downloaded with Transfer were not usable, seem to be mangled.

Someday I may figure out what I'm doing wrong, but really we do not need Transfer unless you are trying to download the groms from the console.

I have a 5 sector Basic catalog program that I made which I put on each disk. If you are not sure what is on a disk all you need to do is load catalog and whichever disk is in effect will load it and you can search out what disk and files are on each drive. It is a good idea to always have the catalog program on each disk.

If you don't have anything I will send you a copy of the Addatex version of V9t9 with 5 disks files and some programs, Funnelweb, catalog and 12 cartridges. For the disk send $10.00 for S&H downloading fee. U.S. For foreign estimate postage. For the disk send to: Roger Price, 1015 N. River Drive, Marion, In 46952-2607

Using V9T9 and the program Pagepro, Gifmania or Ti Artist, you can put a Ti GRAPHIC on the screen, then press CTRL+PRTSCN (printscreen key). This will put the graphic into the clipboard. Start PAINT or other graphics program, paste your graphic, then save the picture to a bitmap file. Load in a PHOTOWORKS, PHOTOSHOP or other program that will handle graphics. Clip the file to save only the good part then paste the graphic into a page. This only works running V9T9 or PC99 from Windows 95.

The Superspace memory is available in PC99 versions 3 and 4 for the operation of the Superspace program CVAC. It is true that Superspace does not show up anywhere in the Menu. You must have downloaded your own CVAC and your own or purchased programs to load into CVAC. I have in fact loaded Centipede and Defender many times into CVAC in the PC99 program and they both run. You must start by loading the E/A module and you must have only 1 module loaded. Then load the CVAC program into the E/A with #3 option. Program filename is CVAC.

Load the program that you must have saved from module to disk and downloaded to PC99. Select: Load a cartridge file. Then reset the computer and the Cartridge will be on the menu. I do not know if all of the features of SuperSpace work with v3 and v4 of PC99 but CVAC does. If using the OPA menu you can have the OPA as the first cartridge and E/A as #2. After loading the game it will appear on the OPA menu on the right side as:Basic, Centipede, Editor/Assembler.

Have a favorite disk you want downloaded to V9T9? Contact me.

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(11) Technology For Country Folk

LOG ON: Making a wood stove more hotter.
LOG OFF: Don't add no more wood.
MONITOR: Keeping an eye on the woodstove.
DOWNLOAD: Gettin the farwood off the truk
MEGAHERTZ: When yer not keerful gettin the farwood
FLOPPY DISK: Whatcha git from tryin to carry too much farwood
RAM: That thar thing whut splits the farwood
HARD DRIVE: Gettin home in the winter time
PROMPT: Whut the mail ain't in the winter time
WINDOWS: Whut to shut when it's cold outside
SCREEN: Whut to shut when it's blak fly season
BYTE: Whut dem dang flys do
CHIP: Munchies fer the TV
MICROCHIP: Whut's in the bottom of the munchie bag
MODEM: Whacha did to the hay fields
DOT MATRIX: Old Dan Matrix's wife
LAPTOP: Whar the kitty sleeps
KEYBOARD: Whar ya hang the dang truck keys
SOFTWARE: Them dang plastic forks and knifs
MOUSE: What eats the grain in the barn
MOUSE PAD: That's hippie talk fer the mouse hole
MAINFRAME: Holds up the barn ruf
PORT: Fancy Flatlander wine
ENTER: Northerner talk fer, C'Mon in y'all
RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY: When ya cain't 'member whut ya paid fer the rifle

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(12) Interesting & Wierd Internet Sites
(from the ICON user group newsletter)

This month I've got some really strange sites for you to visit, along with some pretty neat ones. Of course, what I think is weird, you may think is neat, and vice versa. That's one of the fabulous things about the 'net. No matter what your interests are, you can find lots to do and learn.

Are you thinking about summer vacations?
Visit http://www.gorp.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/main.htm for lots of info about our national parks. Even if you aren't planning a trip, visit here just to look at the pretty pictures. It'll make you want to travel.

Another good place to go for vacation planning is http://www.festivals.com
You can learn in advance when various places are having special events so you can go to -- or avoid -- them.

Another travel related site with a twist is http://www.trueamerica.com On this site you'll find a travel diary from a guy who took a year and a half to travel over the entire country on a motorcycle, visiting all sorts of places and interviewing interesting people. The articles are beautifully written.

Don't take it personally, but visit http://www.justmorons.com when you've got some time to kill. It's a strange place, but I found some of it quite funny.

http://www.hitachi.co.jp/Div/keisokuki/english/nano/arte.html is another weird site but on a much higher plane! You'll see pictures taken through electron microscopes. These are contest winners and are pretty, but wait 'til you learn what you're actually looking at!

If you're really killing time, try http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/namesearch.html. It lists the frequency with which names appear in the census records. My granddaughter's is number 2100, but my daughter's is number five! This is really important to know! There are more useful purposes for this, I'm sure, but it's fascinating just to browse.

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(13) More Free Stuff On The Net

Want to set up your own FREE email mailing list?
Visit http://www.topica.com and set your own up. I'll be using it to send out our newsletters.

How about getting your own free FAX number? Get it at http:\\www.yahoo.com
I got mine. Just send me a fax at 1-209-828-3065, naturally using a free fax send on the net.
I'll get an email message with the fax as an attachment.

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(14) Answer to April Riddle

Alicia, Samantha and Kaitlyn are wearing purple ribbons.
Jennifer and Jamie are wearing teal ribbons.

(How to get the answer)

If Kaitlyn's statement was true, then everyone would have said the same thing. (The teal ribbon girls always tell the truth.) So Kaitlyn's statement wasn't true, which means she is wearing a purple ribbon.

This makes Samantha's statement so she is also wearing a purple ribbon.

Knowing that Kaitlyn and Samantha are wearing purple ribbons, makes Alicia's statement false, because she says she sees only one purple ribbon. Alicia is wearing a purple ribbon.

If Jennifer's statement was false, then Jamie's ribbon would be purple, because we know three of the girls are wearing purple ribbons. However, if Jennifer's statement is false, then Jennifer herself would be wearing a purple ribbon, but that would make Samantha's statement true, which was already determined to be false. Therefore Jennifer's statement is true, because she says she sees three purple ribbons and one teal ribbon.

Jennifer is wearing a teal ribbon. The other teal ribbon is the one she sees which is worn by Jamie.

http://www.riddleaday.com

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(15) Riddle for May

George is married to Melinda who was an only child. Much to Melinda's chagrin, George is always challenging their dinner guests to identify various members of his family. At a party, George makes the following statement: "Steve is a nephew of the father of the only cousin of the uncle of the only grandson of the only brother and only sibling of my only cousin's mother. What relation is Steve to me?"

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