Video 61

Tempest Elite Commentary:
 

So who has what it takes to code the official Jag Bar video game? Let's give the nerd a run for his money

Really cool!  Looking forward to more titles to play on my 5200! 

Here is a vintage Caldor newspaper ad for Atari and ColecoVision games. This ran in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Friday, March 11, 1983. I think it's interesting that they're advertising Donkey Kong for Atari 2600 in the ColecoVision section. It was a Coleco product, but better suited in the Atari section, not mixed in with ColecoVision games. That seems like it would be confusing to some. My first thought was "Why would they be advertising Donkey Kong on its own if it came with every ColecoVision sold?" Then I saw it was for the 2600. Also notice that by March, 1983 E.T. was already marked down to $14.76. E.T. had retailed for around $40 during the 1982 Christmas shopping season only a few months earlier. That's quite a price drop!
 

 
Caldor was a discount retailer that was popular in the North East during the 1970s and 1980s. Caldor could best be explained as K-Mart dressed up to look like JCPenny. The interior of each Caldor store was designed to look more like a department store than a discounter, and many were even designed by the same firms used by more up-scale retail environments. They featured wide aisles, bright lighting, and large, colorful display treatment, and were typically remodeled every 6 years. They were best recognized for "The Caldor Rainbow" with a mix of brown, yellow, and orange. Caldor struggled to compete against Wal-Mart and filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in 1999. Here are some vintage pictures of Caldor:
 

 

Caldor was my go-to store here in CT for all things Atari & Star Wars. Lots & lots of memories shopping there.

That is cool.  I had never heard of this store chain. 

Vintage compact refrigerator from Montgomery Wards. Anything from Montgomery Wards I'm there.

Here's the stove in my Dad's house (from when he pasted away back in 2011) before my sister and I had the kitchen remodelled before we sold the house.

Here you go.  I purchased this fridge in 1986.  I think renting a fridge was $50 a year, and this one cost $99 brand new from Monkey Wards (if I recall correctly).  That's a solid financial decision right there.  Good job, me from the past! 
 
When I graduated, I gave it to my brother.  He used it for a few years.  It then was given to his wife, who used it as a classroom fridge for several years.  It came back to me about 12 years ago...once I had a house with a nice garage -- and it's been keeping my beverages ice cold ever since.  Over 30 years of continuous service!  Unbelievable.  Both sides are also covered in stickers. 

Here's a few pictures of our 1952 O'keefe & Merritt stove. O'keefe & Merritt were a Los Angeles based manufacturer and these stoves were fairly popular on the West Coast. They came in a range of models and colors. The cool thing about these is that the design was heavily inspired by the U.S. auto industry of the day with chrome, dials, ornate emblems and the like. This is a larger model. It looks like it has two ovens but the left side is actually something called a "Grillavator." It is a grill like contraption where you raise whatever you are cooking upward to a flame in the ceiling of the compartment. It also come fully featured with a light, outlet, integrated salt & pepper shakers and a griddle (center chrome piece).
 
We've had the stove - which we call "Babz" - for about five years. When we bought our house - a 1920s craftsman - it had an ugly stove that didn't fit the mostly original kitchen. My wife and I had always loved these and thought it would be a good fit. Unfortunately, they are usually either cheap and in bad condition or completely restored and more than a new stove. After some sticker shock at area vintage stops and a few WTF moments with private sellers from Craigslist we were about to give up when, finally, I found our stove on eBay from a local seller. The guy I bought it from was moving to a new build and this old gal wasn't going to fit in an ultra modern kitchen. It had been fully restored just five years prior with the receipts to back it up. After some back and forth, I went to meet him. He delisted it on eBay and we agreed on a very fair price. He even threw in his old white refrigerator, which we also needed.
 
Very few people restore/work on these old stoves. A few years ago we met someone who restores them at a swap meet and kept his card just in case. This week the oven quit heating. When the guy gets here, he took one look at the stove and says "I restored this 10 years ago. Rechrome and porcelain. It's a 1952 model." We talked about how we got it and he said he was glad to see it kept up, in use and in a good home. Anyway, he did a full service, replaced the thermal-coupler for the main oven and checked temperature. It's working again like a charm.
 
Do you have an old stove or oven? Did you grow up with something like it in your home? If so, post it here and share your story.
 
 

agreed. the game is not as smooth as defender on the 8-bit/5200, its a bit rugged and jerky.
 
 
you are welcome.
 
 
this problem goes back even further than the typical jack t. antics.
 
 
it should have been. it was a natural for the 5200 joysticks.
 

lance
www.atarisales.com

thats a cool idea justin i would put a quarter into space invaders for the red cross.

The 2600 version looks almost as good.

Why don't I have this?  Why don't you have this?  Why didn't Atari RELEASE this and so many others they had done for the 5200???  Why, why, why?  

That looks very nice!  Too bad it was not released.

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

cool, thanks for the feedback, that is what we want to hear.
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

thats a cool idea justin i would put a quarter into space invaders for the red cross.

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com