<><><><>¢ PRESIDENTS MESSAGE¢ by ALEX PIGNATO¢ I hope you all enjoyed a HAPPY¢ HOLIDAY SEASON!¢¢ As you probably noticed in the¢ menu, we are into our 9th year as an¢ ALL 8 BIT club, with a worldwide¢ membership of 73 at last count! Wow,¢ its incredible that the 8 BIT that¢ was deserted by so many, remains so¢ strong, with a cadre of staunch 8¢ BIT'ters. I can't tell you how many¢ messages on BBS's I have read where¢ the individual bewails the fact that¢ they got rid of their 8 BITs, or they¢ are still using the 8 BIT alongside¢ their clones. A raging battle is¢ being waged everyday by both sides¢ claiming theirs is better, while in¢ truth, if the micro you are now using¢ fits your needs, then that is the¢ best one for YOU!¢¢ Yes the 64 BIT JAUGUAR is now in¢ the hands of a limited number of¢ people. Our own JOHN HARDIE purchased¢ three of them. One for himself and¢ two others for friends/relatives in¢ TEXAS. The machine were to be demo'ed¢ at the December meeting, but JOHN had¢ ordered furniture which was being¢ delivered that same day, so he could¢ not come. However I have seen a demo¢ and I can tell you first hand that¢ it is an amazing machine. The colors,¢ the scrolling, the 3D effects, and¢ the music have to be seen/heard to¢ be appreciated, 'cause no words can¢ adequetly describe them. As some of¢ you know, in November 1992, I and RON¢ FETZER decided to take a flyer on the¢ ATARI stock. Ron bought in at $1.50 a¢ share, while I paid $1.75. After a¢ couple months of decline, the stock¢ hit a low of about .60 cents, and I¢ felt that ATARI was DOING it to me¢ again. Setting me up for high hopes,¢ and then dashing me down. As the¢ shares slowly climbed to $3.00, RON¢ put in a sell order, while greedy me¢ told everyone, that I would hold¢ until it reached $10.00. Of course, I¢ didn't really believe it would, but I¢ put on a bravado act for all to see¢ my courage in not selling, make my¢ profit, and be happy. No, I held on,¢ hoping it would $10.00 by Christmas.¢ When in early November 1993, the¢ stock hit $12.3/4, I decided to¢ protect some of the gain, and put in¢ a sell order if it went down to¢ $10.00, which it very shortly did.¢ So, I was sold out at $10.00, and I¢ feel I did the right thing. This is¢ the first time I was so smart (LUCKY¢ is more like it [grin]) with a stock.¢ Wish I could repeat the process a few¢ times. Its a NICE FEELING and I wish¢ it for all of YOU! By the way, it is¢ now down around $6.00. I'm glad I'm¢ out.¢ Club membership renewals have¢ been coming in steadily, and by¢ February we will know how many¢ members stayed with us. Please read¢ "LETTERS" on side 2 for some member¢ comments.¢¢ I hope we meet again in January¢ and every other month in 1994!¢ <><><>¢