Monthly Archives: August 2017

A man was shopping at a thrift store in Oceanside, California last week when he came across a very strange Atari console. Some quick Googling told him it was a rare prototype for the Atari 2700, an un-produced wireless follow-up to the 2600. He bought it for $30. 

And then he sold it on eBay for $3,000.

Planned for release in 1981, the Atari 2700 was a new iteration of the popular early video game console. Compatible with all Atari 2600 games and accessories, the core difference between the 2700 and its predecessor was a pair of wireless controllers that combined a joystick with a paddle.

The Atari 2700 got as far as marketing planning, as evidenced by the 1981 magazine ad above. It was a sleek unit, with built-in storage for the controllers in the console housing.

We spoke to National Video Game Museum director John Hardie about why the system never made it to market.

“Those controllers were really the main reason the system was never released. They were radio controlled and the range of the controllers was said to be about 1,000 ft. which means you could easily affect your neighbors system with your joysticks,” said Hardie. “Imagine living in an apartment building where that 1,000 foot range could potentially affect 3 or 4 other systems. Since the controllers were only unique to left & right players and not to the system itself, it also meant that a large family that might want to purchase 2 units would have the same issues.”

The Atari 2700, apparently discovered at the Disabled Army Veterans thrift store in Oceanside, California, was missing the controllers, though it does have ports for standard Atari 2600 controllers. While he could not hook it to a modern television, it did power up when he plugged it in.

Controllers or no, it’s still a very rare console. It’s said that only around a dozen prototypes were created, though John Hardie suspects the number might be higher.

“Personally I think there are more. There have been several that have popped up over the years. In fact, in addition to the 3 that we have, we can probably account for another 5-6 out there. So, given the propensity of companies (especially Atari) to destroy/throw out products that were scrapped, it seems highly unlikely that 8-9 of the original 12 survived. In fact those would be amazing odds. But I suppose anything is possible.”

Like finding an incredibly rare Atari 2700 prototype at a thrift store, for instance.

Do Not Touch

16 Weeks

RIP Elvis (40th anniversary)

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)

Elvis Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is commonly known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll” or simply “the King”.

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954, working with Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was the most important popularizer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who went on to manage the singer for over two decades. Presley’s first RCA single, “Heartbreak Hotel”, released in January 1956, was a number-one hit. He became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs, many from African American sources, and his uninhibited performance style made him enormously popular—and controversial. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender.

Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He staged few concerts however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, after seven years away from the stage, he returned to live performance in a celebrated comeback television special that led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of profitable tours. In 1973 Presley staged the first concert broadcast globally via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 42.

Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.

Nothing Matters But The Weekend

From a Tuesday point of view!

Grammar Police

Airborne!

Petty Neighbor?

Some people like to develop close relationships with their neighbors so they can feel like they’re part of a tight knit community, others (like myself) will be very nice to their neighbors but don’t really feel the need to be friends.

And then there are those a-holes who pick fights with all of their neighbors, disrupt and disturb the neighborhood and give their neighbors hell until the situation turns into a full blown feud.

But in this case the feud all started because Cindy & Brian Zechenelly built a garage apartment on their Clallam County, Washington property then painted the garage purple, which their anal-retentive neighbors claim is lowering the value of their homes.

So rather than minding their own business and leaving the Zechenelly’s alone neighbor Brian Juel decided to mow the word “A-HOLE” into the grass so it could be seen and photographed by Google Earth.

So who’s the real a-hole here- the neighbor who dared to be free with color on their own property, or the neighbor so angry about a purple garage they had to resort to petty name calling via yard work?

Oh My

S&G

Watch a rope of molten steel barely miss a worker

 

In steelworker parlance, a cobble is a bit of steel that catches on a roller during manufacturing.

Cobbles cause the molten steel coming out of the furnace to back up and snake wildly around. This guy was lucky to be uninjured after a close call with a cobble.

Car Soccer Game

1976 Witchy Woman Jam!

Complaint Department

I Used to Talk to Myself

Don’t Worry

Assault

Albert Einstein

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Take a Horse

RIP Glen Campbell

Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, television host, and actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television, from January 1969 through June 1972.[2]

During his 50 years in show business, Campbell released more than 70 albums. He sold 45 million records and accumulated 12 RIAA gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album. He placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, or Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Campbell’s hits include his recordings of John Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind“; Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix“, “Wichita Lineman“, and “Galveston“; Larry Weiss’s “Rhinestone Cowboy“; and Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights“.

Campbell made history in 1967 by winning four Grammys in the country and pop categories. For “Gentle on My Mind”, he received two awards in country and western, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA’s top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. Campbell appeared as a supporting role in the film True Grit (1969), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. Campbell also sang the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Campbell died of Alzheimer’s disease in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 8, 2017, six years after his diagnosis.