Bertonator's Blog with Johnny Techman

Yo Super Gabba!

2010-11-12T03:52:00.002-06:00

New bumper for the Bertonator's Videoation channel

2010-08-26T00:22:00.004-05:00

Bertonator's Tortilla Pizza Recipe

2010-05-03T13:30:00.003-05:00

This is a tasty recipe for you folks who want to eat low carb.

1 whole wheat tortilla, burrito size
2 tablespoons of pizza or pasta sauce
Shredded cheese to taste
Your favorite toppings

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. This works best on a pizza stone, make sure it is in the oven before you preheat it. On a pizza paddle, put the tortilla on it, spoon on the sauce and cover evenly, and sprinkle on the cheese. Then put on your favorite toppings. Put the pizza on the pizza stone using the pizza paddle and bake at 450 degrees for around 5-15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and edges are golden brown. Use pizza paddle to remove pizza, and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Slice into 4-6 wedges, and enjoy!

My Atari 7800

2010-04-28T01:51:00.010-05:00

A few years ago, my wife gave me something from her personal stuff that was really cool. It was her old Atari 7800 game system, cartridges, and controllers. It was in a bit of disrepair, but with the help of my dad, it's working good as new.

Ever since I been adding on to it, at least with game cartridges. Mostly Atari 2600 cartridges, getting them from my brother, my co-worker pal Wally, and what I can find in thrift stores and resale shops. And I do get the occasional extra joystick if it's cheap enough. So far I have 36 cartridges, 5 joysticks, a set of paddles, and a nifty cabinet with dust cover.

Whenever I can, I play some games on it, and most of the games still challenge yet. It's also a reminder of times when I was a lad, playing my Atari 2600. It's an antique that has play value, and nostalgia.

The Latest from Bertonator's Videoation!

2009-11-11T23:38:00.001-06:00

Newest Video On Bertonator's Videoation

2009-10-11T16:42:00.003-05:00

Doctor Who in "Fatal Curse of Death"

Bertonator's Logo Parodies

2009-08-17T22:49:00.001-05:00

Here's my latest video. Hope you like it!

Bertonator's Logo Parodies

A song that puts me back in a happy mood.

2009-08-12T13:53:00.003-05:00

Here's a video that always cheers me up when I'm feeling low and down. I hope it does for you too!

Billy Joel - Your'e Only Human (Second Wind)

As a side note, look out for a young Adam Savage from Mythbusters!

Art: A tribute to Frank Zappa

2009-08-12T00:01:00.002-05:00

A brief history of computers in my family

2009-08-01T23:52:00.011-05:00

I grew up with computers practically all my life. Which during the early part of my lifetime was not common. I would not be surprised if my family was the first one on the block to have a computer. This was back in 1977, the day we got out first home computer.

It was the Netronics ELF II kit computer. Initially it was a motherboard with a few other plugin boards, a 17 key keypad, and a LED numeric display, and you had to put it together yourself, hence the name "kit computer." When finally assembled, it had 2K of memory, and no OS. Later on, my dad salvaged some parts from his work to expand the computer to something closer to what we call a home computer, such as a keyboard. Then he adapted and old black & white TV to use as a monitor, adapted an old cassette tape recorder to use as data drive, and purchased a BASIC language ROM. Now we had a home computer!

A few years later, my dad decided to get a computer that was a little less primitive and a lot less hassle to use. He purchased the Commodore VIC-20. It had more than double the memory (5K,) it had color graphics, had sound, and could play video games! The first game we had was Cosmic Cruncher, a Pac-Man clone. Picture the Commodore logo eating dots, and that's the game. Best of all, it used the same joysticks as the Atari VCS game systems, so if you had an Atari VCS (which I did, but that's another blog,) you're covered!

But my dad wanted something more subtatial (and so did I,) so my dad purchased the Commodore 128. Yep, he didn't go to the Commodore 64, although I tried to persuade him. But the Commodore 128 had something for everyone. It could run in a Commodore 64 mode, so I can have my video game fun. And my dad can make his own programs in 80 column text in 128 mode.
And we had some nice hardware for it too: 2 floppy drives, cartridge port expander, dot matrix printer, an early OkiData color printer, and a video capture device.

But my dad wanted something more professional. So his next computer was the PC. At first, it was somewhat of a step backwards in some respects, but it had some good computing power. And it was upgradable. He upgraded the computer whenever he could. He went from monochrome to CGA to VGA. He went from 5 1/4" floppies to 3 1/2" floppies. He added a trackball device (he hates mice, as do I), better keyboard, better processors, expand the memory, and basically staying current with the technology. My dad is in his eighties, and he still has a computer to this day!

2-XL simulator

2009-07-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

Remember Mego's 2-XL? If not, let me refresh you memory. 2-XL was an educational toy that used the technology of 8-track tape cartridges to play games, test your knowledge, and also play standard audio 8-track cartridges. It was invented by Dr. Michael J. Freeman, Ph.D, an inventor with an interest in educational robots. For more information, check out www.2xlrobot.com .

But I digress.

On another site, Donation Coder, there is a 2-XL Simulator, that works like a virtual 2-XL, including plugging in the power cord and plugging in an 8-track cartridge to play a game. I'm partial to the Science Fiction tapes (no surprise there!) Check it out and test you mettle! One note, though, it helps if you know the knowledge to around the late 70's and early 80's!
2-XL Simulator

New to the Blog game.

2009-07-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

Greetings! This will be a forum for my random thoughts, ideas, and other brain droppings. I will post as often as the feeling comes to me. It will involve my favorite pastimes such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, superheroes, things of the strange, the bizzare, the unexpected, and some things that make you (or at least me) laugh, chuckle, or groan. Stay tuned!