JORDAN'S JOURNAL: My Wonderful C-64: How Do I Use Thee?

by Mark Jordan

(copyright 1990 LOADSTAR/Softdisk Publishing; reprinted by permission)


There comes a day in the life of a home computer owner that is traumatic to the uttermost. That is the
day when he realizes that the computer is not going to change his life, save his soul, or make him
ultimately and completely happy. Or even get him dates.

For some, this realization results in panic. Looking at $1000 worth of equipment paralyzes them. For
others, depression is the outcome. Somehow, they blame themselves for their loss of interest. Others
get mad: I thought this thing was supposed to be so great, they rage. And for the poor computers
involved, it often means a trip to the closet, attic, or...the unspeakable--the want ads.

It's all so unnecessary. Nobody goes raving mad when they discover their microwave was over-hyped.
As a matter of fact, I don't know of a single person who, upon buying one and discovering its limited
use, sold it and went back to a microwave-less state. It just doesn't happen, because even if all you use
your microwave for is warming donuts, you aren't about to give up that simple pleasure.

The problem with computers is that we believed all the hype (and there was plenty of it), even our own.
I know I'm guilty. We expected a miracle machine but the computer isn't a miracle machine. It's time to
put into a realistic perspective just exactly what a computer is. We'll do it the way Elizabeth Browning
put her love into perspective when she wrote, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Except,
instead of "love," we'll count "uses"--we wouldn't want this to get mushy.

Allow me the honors, please, to start counting. And be thinking...because you're next.

How do I use thee, O Commodore? Mainly for word processing, that's how. I write a lot. I have disks
of articles, essays, and letters I wrote over seven years ago. I have a friend in Ohio who I haven't
written to in years, but when I do, I'll load in my last correspondence with him, reread it to refresh
myself on our last communication, and start typing.

Occasionally I'll be forced to type something on a typewriter instead of with my computer (forms
mandate this). I hate it. I am constantly trying to do a block move or wish I could go back up to the top
to rewrite that introductory paragraph. If my computer did nothing else but process words, I'd still have
no regrets.

The second main use I get out of my computer is for programming. I've had lots of hobbies in my life:
photography, woodworking, house construction, writing, guitar and piano playing, magic, ventriloquism,
baseball card collecting, and about every sport invented. None--make that NONE--offers the same
type of diversion that programming does. It allows me to exercise my artistic talents (if any) in designing
sprites and screens, my logic capabilities (if any) in tracking down bugs, my intuition (if any) in setting up
a user interface. Just as two sets of tennis stimulate my physical being, an evening of programming gives
my intellectual being an enjoyable workout.

The use of other programs (besides word processing) is a distant third. No false claims here, folks. I
admit I don't do much databasing, spread-sheeting, or game-playing. In fact, (and this is embarrassing
to admit as a teacher), I don't even use a computer to figure my grades. I do them by hand because it's
less hassle. But sometimes I do use programs and when I do, I'm very glad to have my computer. Let
me give you some f'rinstances.

Sub-point 1 of Use #3) Recently I was in charge of creating a goodbye video for a retiring fellow
teacher. I used my C128 and GEOS to draw a likeness of the man. Then, using a program I wrote
several years ago for Commodore Magazine, I created a hand writing in cursive around the picture I
had drawn. I routed the whole thing through the VCR and had an animated title screen which gave the
entire video a special appeal.

Subpoint 2) When my weight edged upward a while back, I decided something had to be done. I got
out FOODCALC, a program I wrote for LOADSTAR 128 and started using it nightly. I kept it up for
two months and during that time I actually lost weight. Of course, FOODCALC was only one factor
that helped. But I think it was instrumental because using the program made me more conscious of my
eating habits.

Sub-point 3) A great idea occurred to me just the other night: categorizing the nuggets of wisdom in the
book of Proverbs might reveal startling insight into life. What better way to do that than with a
computer and database? And so I have begun.

Sub-point 4) When I wrote a column on GEOS for Commodore Magazine (Pumping GEOS), I used
GEOS a lot. But the real test of the value of GEOS came when Commodore Magazine went down
(thus taking my column with it). I've used geoPaint to draw maps, geoPublish to create handbills,
geoWrite (with unusual fonts) to make cryptograms. I seldom use GeoCalc and geoFile because they're
too slow.

Sub-point 5) I don't know how many times I've booted up my financial calculator so I can figure loan
payments in an attempt to solve, once and for all, my financial problems. (Please note the ironic tone
here. Do not mistake it for hype.)

These three main uses--word processing, programming, and program-using--are MY main computing
activities. But the 128 in my house runs a whole lot more than the hours I spend at it. I have three kids,
all proficient game-loaders (freeloaders too, but that's another article). I roughly calculate that my
Commodores over the years (I've had four different machines) have had over 5400 hours of
game-playing done on them. Since the four machines (and their peripherals) cost me about $2000 all
told, that's a measly 37 cents an hours for entertainment alone. A TV is probably cheaper, but still, 37
cents an hour ain't bad. In fact, I'd gladly pay my kids that much NOT to watch Brady Bunch reruns.

Just considering these points makes me appreciate my computer anew. And now, as promised, it's your
turn. I have no doubt that you could add a few uses to the list. Perhaps you have a modem and
telecommunicate, a big use missing from my list.

But that's okay; I personally feel no great need to force my computer to do more than it does already.
At our house the computer, like the microwave, has a niche. We don't spend time analyzing the niche
much. We just pop in the disks, or as the case may be, donuts, and turn it on.

If I go a week or a month without turning it on, I don't panic, get depressed, or rage. I don't ask
existential questions or write abject poetry. I just go about my life and when the need arises--or when
the next LOADSTAR disk arrives in the mail--I turn 'er on.

(Comment from the editor of LOADSTAR: I wholeheartedly agree, Mark....I still get more enjoyment
out of my computer than any other gadget in the house. One point I would like to add is
companionship. I've lived alone a lot in my life, and I firmly believe it is healthier to babble and curse at
a machine than at yourself. Or at your cat.)

(Via the Commodore Information Center http://home.att.net/~rmestel/commodore.html)