Re: KansasFest 2012 Report

[Kirk Mitchell <kirkmitchell@gmail.com>]

Day 2, and I got 4 hrs of sleep.  Fortunately, the cafeteria has nice strong coffee and large cups.

Our first session was by Andy Molloy, where he presented some clips from the demoscene film Moleman 2, a documentary on the Demoscene, mostly focused on what was happening in the 80's and 90's with these wonderful new (then) computers, and explained the evolution of computer demos from the crack screens of pirated warez to the mind blowing graphics, animations and music that various groups were writing to show off the features of their favorite computers.  We also revisited some of the demos for IIgs and also watched and listened to the latest "Drift", recently mailed out to Juiced.GS subscribers and available online.  

Randy Brandt blew our minds with his story about his Apple II experience, from a small town in Canada, to the dream job of Beagle Bros programmer, to his experiences with AppleWorks and... well, lets just say he covered a LOT of territory, and no one fell asleep.  Great speaker!

After lunch, Jason Scott had a Skype presentation (he'd been signed up for KFest, but couldn't make it at the last moment) where he discussed his love, the preservation of everything!  Of course, he focused on everything Apple II, but also gave us some inside information on Archive.org and his responsibilities there.  No doubt most of you are familiar with his recent success with the source code for Prince of Persia and other efforts.  He of course remains very entertaining, even over Skype on a big screen.

Brian Wiser facilitated a session that continued the subject of archiving our digital treasures (ah, the flames that flew over this subject years ago), and we explored what we could do to make sure that Apple II computer history will continue another 30+ years.

Peter Neubauer's session was on the Solar Powered Apple II, and described his mobile setup and what was required.  Unfortunately,  I made the mistake of sitting down on my bed, which then wrestled and pinned me until shortly before Peter finished.  I suck.  

David Greelish presented an overview of electronic computing, from desktop PC's and before, to our current smartphones.  It just makes me feel old.  I started with a key punch, punchcards and Fortran myself.

After dinner, Geoff Weiss led us through the process of programming Classic Desk Accessories on the Apple IIgs using Orca/C.  This is certainly the route to take if you've had some text based programming skills, and don't feel ready to take on the GUI experience.  He'll be releasing several CDAs he used, so keep an eye open for them.

Vince Briel offered a workshop where at least 15 folks worked on a number of kits that Briel provides.  These ranged from simple projects like a IIgs 4MB RAM card, to  a Micro-KIM kit with others suitable for beginning solderers to experienced soldering iron artists.  They all certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves!

While they were doing that, my co-pilot, Loren Damewood,  and I made the trip to Krispy Kreme and brought back dozens of those yummy comestibles and milk.  Of course, I missed a turn and was headed for Oklahoma before Loren corrected my course.  Thanks to those who donated to the Ryan Suenaga Scholarship fund!

While we were munch down on donuts, Brian Wiser had another session, one not Apple II based, but still dear to my heart.  Brian was an extra in the movie, "Serenity", and a fan of that sadly departed TV show "Firefly", and I mean a SERIOUS fan, who's been involved in Browncoat Cruises, Fan films and documentaries on the series and movie.  He had pictures of the set, and pictures of him with the actors.  I enjoyed it, but I'm a fan as well.  My grand daughter is named "River".  I wasn't expecting that when I loaned my Firefly and Serenity DVD's to my daughter.  B-)

Being a KFest committee member, we had to sequester ourselves and talk business, but I can't spill any beans about it here.  Still, it was happy talk.

Randy Brandt returned with videos from his days at Beagle Bros, Quality Computers, assorted AppleFests and KansasFests.  Boy, we sure dressed funny back then!  They were a hoot!  Sadly, Randy will be leaving early tomorrow.  I'm glad to have met him!

It was a hella long and fruitful day.  Time now to get this posted and wander the halls until I collapse.

Why aren't you all here?  B)