The Commodore PET is a line of home/personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. The system combined a MOS 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read only memory, a keyboard, a computer monitor and a cassette deck for data and program storage in a single all-in-one case. Development of the system began in 1976 and first offered for sale in January 1977 at the Consumer Electronics Show. A series of problems meant that production versions did not begin to arrive until December 1977, by which time the TRS-80 and Apple II had begun deliveries; the close release dates of the three machines led Byte to refer to them collectively as the "1977 trinity". The original PET design underwent a series of significant updates, adding more memory, a better keyboard, larger screens and other modifications; the systems were a top-seller in the Canadian and United States educational markets, as well as European business uses. The PET formed the basis for Commodore's entire 8-bit product line, including the Commodore 64.
The name was suggested by Andre Souson after he saw the Pet Rock in Los Gatos, stated they were going to make the "pet computer". It was backronymed to Personal Electronic Transactor. In the 1970s, Commodore was one of many electronics companies selling calculators designed around Dallas-based Texas Instruments chips. TI faced increasing competition from Japanese vertically-integrated companies who were using new CMOS-based processes and had a lower total cost of production; these companies began to undercut TI business, so TI responded by entering the calculator market directly in 1975. As a result, TI was selling complete calculators at lower price points than they sold just the chipset to their former customers, the industry that had built up around it was frozen out of the market. Commodore responded by beginning their own attempt to form a vertically-integrated calculator line as well, purchasing a vendor in California, working on a competitive CMOS calculator chip and an LED production line.
They went looking for a company with an existing calculator chip line, something to tide them over in the immediate term, this led them to MOS Technology. MOS had been building calculator chips for some time, but more had begun to branch out into new markets with its 6502 microprocessor design, which they were trying to bring to market. Along with the 6502 came Chuck Peddle's KIM-1 design, a small computer kit based on the 6502. At Commodore, Peddle convinced Jack Tramiel that calculators were a dead-end and that Commodore should explore the burgeoning microcomputer market instead. At first, they considered purchasing an existing design, in September 1976 Peddle got a demonstration of Jobs and Wozniak's Apple II prototype. Jobs was offering to sell it to Commodore; the Commodore PET was announced in 1976 and Jack Tramiel gave Chuck Peddle six months to have the computer ready for the January 1977 Consumer Electronics Show, with his team including John Feagans, Bill Seiler, two Japanese engineers named Fujiyama and Aoji, Jack's son Leonard Tramiel who helped design the PETSCII graphic characters and acted as quality control.
The result was Commodore's first mass-market personal computer, the PET, the first model of, the PET 2001. Its 6502 processor controlled the screen, cassette tape recorders and any peripherals connected to one of the computer's several expansion ports; the PET 2001 included either 4 KB or 8 KB of 8-bit RAM, was a single-board computer with discrete logic driving a small built-in monochrome monitor with 40×25 character graphics, enclosed in a sheet metal case that reflected Commodore's background as a manufacturer of office equipment. The machine included a built-in Datasette for data storage located on the front of the case, which left little room for the keyboard; the data transfer rate to cassette tape was 1500 baud, but the data was recorded to tape twice for safety, giving an effective rate of 750 baud. The computer's main board carried four expansion ports: extra memory, a second cassette tape recorder interface, a parallel port which could be used for sound output or connection to "user" projects or non-Commodore devices and a parallel IEEE-488 port which allowed for daisy-chaining peripherals such as disk drives and printers.
A working PET 2001 prototype with wooden case was shown to the public at the Winter CES 1977 in January 1977 and the first 100 units were shipped in October going to magazines and software developers, while the machine was not available to consumers until December. However, the PET was back-ordered for months and to ease deliveries, early in 1978 Commodore decided to cancel the 4 KB version. Dan Fylstra of Byte Magazine received one of the initial PETs in October 1977, S/N 16, reported on the computer in the March 1978 issue. Fylstra praised its full-featured BASIC, lowercase letters, reliable cassette system, while disapproving of the keyboard, his machine had three faulty RAM chips and after some difficulty contacting Commodore, was mailed a set of replacement chips and installation instructions by John Feagans. Commodore was the first company to license Microsoft's 6502 BASIC, but the agreement nearly drove Microsoft into receivership as Commodore stipulated that they would only pay for it when the PET began shipping.
This was delayed by over six months, during which Microsoft lost money and had their cash reserves further depleted by a lawsuit over ownership of Altair BASIC. At the end of the year, Microsoft was saved by Apple's decision to license Microsoft BASIC for the Apple II line; the BASIC included on t
The 2009 World Series by Renault was the fifth season of Renault Sport's series of events, with three different championships racing under one banner. Consisting of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Eurocup Mégane Trophy, the World Series by Renault ran at seven different venues, where fans can get into the meetings for no cost whatsoever, such is the uniqueness of the series. The series began on 18 April at the Circuit de Catalunya, just outside Barcelona and finished on 25 October at the Ciudad del Motor de Aragón in Alcañiz; the 2009 calendar featured two changes to the calendar from 2008, with Monza and Estoril being replaced by two new circuits in the Algarve and the season-ending round in Aragón. Catalunya moved to the season-opening round; the series visited Belgium, Hungary and the United Kingdom during the season, while Formula Renault 3.5 had two extra races on its own, in support of the Monaco Grand Prix in May, the 1000 km of Algarve in August. The early pacesetter in the championship was Marcos Martínez of Pons Racing, scoring more points in the first two races than he did in the entire 2008 season.
Martínez won both races at the opening round in Barcelona, added a third in succession at Spa, opening up a fourteen-point lead over International DracoRacing's Bertrand Baguette. Baguette remained in contention with Martínez despite not winning a race in the first half of the season, finishing in the top three four times. Indeed, Martínez and Baguette were level on 56 points after the Hungaroring, which earned Martínez a chance to drive a Renault Formula One car at the Silverstone meeting. Martínez added his fourth win of the season at Silverstone, while P1 Motorsport's James Walker moved ahead of Baguette after a second place at Silverstone, to go along with an earlier win at Spa. However, Martínez's season hit the buffers after that, Baguette moved into the championship lead after a double win at Le Mans; this was a lead that he was not to lose. With Baguette uncatchable, the battle for second place in the championship started to heat up. After the Algarve round, six drivers were split by just fifteen points with Walker, Carlin Motorsport's Jaime Alguersuari, Martínez, Charles Pic of Tech 1 Racing, Alguersuari's team-mate Oliver Turvey and Ultimate Motorsport's Miguel Molina were all in the running for the honours.
Molina's season ended with Ultimate pulling out. Alguersuari had made his Formula One debut for Scuderia Toro Rosso the previous week at the Hungaroring, promptly recorded his best weekend of the season in the Algarve, amassing 27 points for the feature race pole, a win in the feature, a third-place finish in the sprint race. A third win for Baguette at the Nürburgring took him to within reach of the title, did so with a fifth in the feature race. Fairuz Fauzy, a winner in Hungary, moved into contention for second, with a second and a third in the same round. Pic's second win of the season, gave him the advantage heading to Alcañiz, leading Walker by seven, Alguersuari by nine, Fauzy and Turvey by seventeen. Martínez's challenge had faded to a distant memory, with four retirements in six races dropping him to seventh. Despite the pressure being off the Belgian, Baguette finished the season in style with a double win, but the main focus of the weekend was the battle for second in the championship.
Going into the final race of the season, it remain unresolved. Five drivers were separated by eight points; as it turned out, the driver furthest back going into the race came out in second place, as Fauzy finished second behind Baguette, with none of the other drivers in contention scoring more than six points, the Malaysian edged out Pic by just four points. That said, he was nearly 60 points behind the runaway champion Baguette, who amassed fifteen consecutive points-scoring finishes and 90 points in the final eight races of the season, including five wins. Other drivers to win races were Pasquale Di Sabatino of RC Motorsport and Jon Lancaster of Comtec Racing; the 2-litre Formula Renaults were dominated by just three drivers. The trio combined for thirteen of the fourteen pole positions, twelve fastest laps and twelve wins, with only Costa's team-mate Nathanaël Berthon and Félix da Costa's team-mate Adrian Quaife-Hobbs breaking the stranglehold. Costa dominated early in the season. However, he lost his first victory in Barcelona due a technical problem with the gearbox of his Epsilon Euskadi car, gifting victory to Berthon.
Félix da Costa was the only driver keeping up with the Spaniard, having finished the first four races on the podium, with three seconds and a third. Vergne was after a non-scoring weekend in Barcelona. Félix da Costa took over the championship lead at the Hungaroring, as Costa retired from the first race which Vergne won. One of Félix da Costa's endless teammates at Motopark, Marco Sørensen took his first win during the second Hungaroring race, but was latterly disqualified from the weekend a couple of weeks due to a non-compliance on his car during the Super Pole session. Motopark appealed but would lose their appeal, but was the start of things to come that would lead to their pulling out from the Eurocup and all other Formula Renault 2.0 series. Sørensen's loss was another Motopark driver's gain. Félix da Costa took his first Eurocup victory at Silverstone, to take a five-point lead at the halfway stage of the
Alexander Aaron Gordon is an American rugby union player who plays flanker for Shamrock RFC. He was one of the more recognizable players due to his small stature, he stands 5 ft 8 in tall and weighs in at 195 lb. Gordon made his Albany Bulldogs debut in March 2007, taking the field as the number 8 and leading the team to initial victory over their rival Saratoga Mustangs. While the team began to struggle over the course of the Capital District Youth Rugby season, Gordon flourished as the team's defensive stalwart and was named to the 2nd Team All-CDYR Team and was declared team MVP without scoring a single try. Gordon was named captain of the Bulldogs at the beginning of the 2008 season and continued to lead them throughout the 2009 season, sevens season, post-seasons, he submitted his greatest season during the Bulldog's 2009 season, scoring a league record 16 tries and bringing his career total to a record 22 tries. He was named 1st Team All-CDYR for the second consecutive year while earning League MVP honors.
The Bulldogs experienced similar success, taking a 5-1 record and the 1st seed into the CDYR Post-Season Tournament finishing second to the Berkshire United RFC after a controversial 12-12 overtime game went to sudden death kick rules. Gordon announced his decision at the conclusion of the 2009 CDYR Tournament that he would pursue an education from, continue his playing career at, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. While studying Safety and Environmental Management, he joined the local Shamrock RFC men's team. After an unsuccessful attempt at playing number eight again, Gordon changed positions to wing. A fruitful rookie year was derailed by a torn PCL due to an ill-advised backflip attempt, but Gordon continued playing through the injury, worsening the severity. Gordon continued playing until September 2011. After going through BCT in Fort Benning and completing a deployment to the Middle East, Gordon returned to the Shamrocks. During the Fall 2013 season, Gordon made the positional switch to Flanker.
It was a successful change, as Gordon led the Shamrocks in scoring with 7 tries and being voted team MVP. The next semester, Gordon was enjoyed another successful tournament season. Gordon is living in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania full-time, training for the upcoming 2014 rugby season
German submarine U-634 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 23 September 1941 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 610, launched on 10 June 1942 and commissioned on 6 August 1942 under Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Brosin. German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-634 had a displacement of 769 tonnes when at the 871 tonnes while submerged, she had a total length of 67.10 m, a pressure hull length of 50.50 m, a beam of 6.20 m, a height of 9.60 m, a draught of 4.74 m. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower for use while submerged, she had two 1.23 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres; the submarine had a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots.
When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles at 4 knots. U-634 was fitted with five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, one twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between sixty; the boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 6 August 1942, followed by active service on 1 February 1943 as part of the 9th Flotilla for the remainder of her service. In three patrols she sank one merchant ship, for a total of 7,176 gross register tons. U-634 took part in five wolfpacks, namely Westmark Amsel Amsel 2 Elbe Elbe 1 U-634 was sunk on 30 August 1943 in the North Atlantic in position 40°13′N 19°24′W, by depth charges from HMS Stork and HMS Stonecrop. All crew members died. Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-634". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014
Mpofu Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Amatole district of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, managed by Eastern Cape Parks. Mpofu is situated 25 km northwest of Fort Beaufort and 20 km west of Balfour, it lies on the escarpment and lower valleys of the Katberg Mountains and covers 7,500 ha with altitudes varying from 550 to 1,384 metres. The reserve was established in 1985 from land purchased from families who were descended from the 1820 settlers. Mpofu occupies the escarpments between the Katberg and Amatole mountain ranges; some areas of the reserve are on steep terrain as a result. The reserve experiences its rainy season between November and March and summers are hot and humid. Autumn and winter are dry and cool, snowfalls occur on the surrounding mountain ranges; the nature reserve, like the rest of the Eastern Cape, is a malaria-free zone. The vegetation of the reserve comprises Grassland and Albany Thicket biomes. Many species of flora found in these biomes are endemic to South Africa.
There is a large variety of mammals found in the reserve including the endangered White Rhino. Other species include Burchell's zebra, Bushbuck, African Buffalo and Black-backed jackal; the bird life is diverse, there are many insect and reptile species found in the reserve. The reserve hosts several walking trails, including the Katberg hiking trail. There is bird watching, educational tours and game drives available. Nearby attractions include the mountain village and Khoisan rock art in Waylands. There are three passes which traverse between the Mpofu Nature reserve and the Fort Fordyce Nature Reserves: The Blinkwater Pass is a 19 kilometre gravel pass which goes northward up the Amathola escarpment across the reserve; the entrance to this pass is free, there are gated control points. This is the longest of the three local passes that traverse the Mpofu and Fort Fordyce Nature Reserves. Fuller's Hoek Pass lies off the R67 northwest of Fort Beaufort within the Fort Fordyce Nature Reserve, it has many curves and bends.
The road passes rare afromontane forest. Snow falls in this area during the winter; the Bosnek pass is a 9 km gravel pass. The altitude variance is 418 metres and the summit is at a height of 1121 metres; the road is engineered with a 1:8 gradient. The road is subject to washaways and corrugation; the Blinkwater Monster is said to visit the reserve regularly. The Blinkwater Monster refers to a fossil of Pareiasaurus serridens, a mammal-like reptile, named and discovered by Andrew Geddes Bain, a geologist and palaeontologist who discovered many fossils in the areas surrounding the reserve, he was awarded £200 by the British government in 1845 for his research. Maria Moroka Nature Reserve QwaQwa National Park South African National Parks Protected areas of South Africa "About Mpofu Nature Reserve". Eastern Cape Parks. 1 March 2007. Archived from the original on 8 July 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2009. Eastern Cape Parks https://plak.co.za/moreinfo/414/mpofu-nature-reserve http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/1997/84.html
The Collins Kids were an American rockabilly duo featuring Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins. Their hits in the 1950s as youngsters, such as "Hop and Jump", "Beetle Bug Bop" and "Hoy Hoy", were geared towards children, but their infectious singing and playing crossed over generations. Larry, a lightning-fingered guitar whiz at age 10, was known for playing a double-neck Mosrite guitar like his mentor, Joe Maphis; the Collins Kids became regular performers on Town Hall Party in 1954 and on the syndicated for television version of the show, Tex Ritter's Ranch Party, which ran from 1957 to 1959. It was on Town Hall Party that Ricky Nelson first saw Lorrie Collins, soon after they began dating. In a 1958 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Lorrie played both Ricky's girlfriend - and that girlfriend's identical twin; the Collins siblings continued to perform together in the mid-1960s, appearing as regulars on the Canadian music program Star Route and making a guest appearance on the 8 September 1965, edition of Shindig!.
Larry wrote a number of well-known songs including "Delta Dawn", "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma", "Tulsa Turnaround". The duo reunited for a rockabilly revival concert in England in 1993 and performed together until Lorrie's death in 2018, they appeared at Deke Dickerson's Guitar Geek Festival in Anaheim, California, on January 19, 2008, with their nephew, Dakota Collins, playing upright bass as a new addition to the Collins band. The Fabulous Collins Kids. on Facebook Recordings "Collins Kids Lorrie Larry Collins page in Classic Movie Kids". 12 May 2006. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2018. L. A. RECORD interview with The Collins Kids Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Collins Kids The Collins Kids discography at Discogs The Collins Kids at AllMusic