Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> On 9/24/19 1:32 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> > dick balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> >
> >> I wrote a maze generator for the Atari VCS / 6502 :)
> >> 1KB of ROM and 128 bytes of funky-RAM (read address was different than
> >> the write address)
> >>
https://archive.org/details/atari_2600_tunnel_runner_black_box_1983_cbs_electronics_richard_k._balaska_jr._an#
> >
> >
> > And exactly how old were you when you wrote THAT?
>
> 22.
>
> >
> > And how did you get it coded onto a commercial ROM cartridge for the Atari
> > system?
>
> A friend of a friend (who turned out to be the Stu in my musical) worked
> for CBS Video Games (CBS Electronics).  In 1982 they were desperate for
> game designers/6502 code monkeys.  HR was very concerned about hiring an
> engineer with no college, but I knew more about the 6502 than a handful
> of people.  So I got the job.  Got a patent for my wacky solution to the
> lack of expansion on the Atari 2600/VCS.
> http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=4485457
>
> One sad note, as a kid, this was my first engineering job.  We all had
> offices with doors and we had money to burn. "Look at these world's most
> expensive workstation/desks!  Let's buy a dozen!"  My next job I learned
> about cubicles and budgets ("maybe you two could *share* a computer?").
>
> >
> > I wanna hear this story   :)
>
> We had this 6 inch U-channel that ran around the whole office above
> everyone's door, for network cables and such.  One night at our 3am
> powwow in the hall, someone thought it'd be cool to have a train running
> on it.  So for $10 a share, I would run the train past your office.  I
> hot glued HO track to it and Stu made two bridges to cross hallways; one
> of Erector Set (a CBS property) and one of IC tubes and PC boards.  The
> train didn't run much because of too much RF interference on 1980s
> networking.
> My VP came back from Paris and was just livid that I'd wasted time from
> my 90 hour work week to do that.  Threatened my job, blah blah blah.
> Then, everytime he had a visitor, he would call me, "Balaska, turn on
> the train...  I don't care if Stu is trying to print something."
>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> dik
> Rendered 22,077,619,200 of 40,928,716,800 pixels (53%)

Great story, Dick, sorry Mr Balaska, from now on.
There are some clever people using Povray.
I always thought Erector was the American name for the British Meccano. Why CBS
property?

Cheers
Ton.

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