By Glenn Bernasek
Secretary
TI-Chips of Greater Cleveland
It was a very warm and humid summer Saturday in Lorain, Ohio. The Classic Computer And Game show (CCAG 2001), we had been told so much about, was presented on the drill floor of the 112th Engineers Battalion home, the Ohio Army National Guard Armory in Lorain, Ohio.
When I arrived that morning, I couldnt help but be impressed with how many tables were set up for the show. It was apparent that this years event was going to be much larger than the inaugural show of 2000. It certainly looked as though the classic computer and gaming user groups and collectors had accepted the CCAG as their base to show off their collections.
Jim Krych, along with the members of his local Atari User Group, worked very hard in setting up this years event, and they continued to put forth every effort to keep everything moving as smoothly as possible. Jim never stopped making the rounds to make sure everything was going as expected. Like the Energizer Bunny, Jim just kept on going and going.
The participation was impressive and the visiting crowd was plentiful throughout the day.
The CCAG had vendors (e.g., Ron and Ada Markus' RamCharged Computers) and collector displays as well as presentations put on by visiting user groups.
Our TI-99/4A user group from the greater Cleveland area, The TI-Chips, was represented, and we had a working TI-99/4A system which showed two routines during the show, Bonkers and TI-Bingo, both written by yours truly.
It was an enjoyable and wonderful experience for Harry Hoffman and I to talk to so many people and to take the opportunity to hand out information to our visitors about the TI-Chips and our web site. (http://members.core.com/~haryhofy/tichips/newsletter/)
Charlie Good, of the Lima, Ohio TI-99/4A User Group, came in and set up his CC-40 and TI-74 systems. The historical part about these computers is that they were the precursors to today's popular laptop/notebook computers. Charlie's demonstrations drew a good crowd throughout the day.
I was thrilled to find out that I hadn't forgotten the proper syntax required to edit, write and save code for the TI-99/4A when I modified TI-Bingo at the show. The fruits of my labor are seen in this screen shot.
Enthusiastic Atari group member, Alan Hewston, paraded around the show, much to the amusement and interest of everyone, in a homemade Atari game box costume called PITFALL!. Much to the pleasant surprise of yours truly, Alan decided to become a member of the TI-Chips also. Welcome aboard, Alan.
CCAG 2001 was a wonderful show organized and hosted by the Cleveland Atari User Group. Thanks so much from TI'ers and all the classic computer and game buffs for a job well done in our behalf. We're most certainly looking forward to next year's event.