On 9 Apr 2022, at 17:23, Clem Cole <clemc@ccc.com> wrote:

On Sat, Apr 9, 2022 at 5:29 AM Ron Natalie <ron@ronnatalie.com> wrote:

If I recall there was a GT40 up on the fourth floor of UMCP's CS
building.   I don't remember spacewar, but there was a luner lander game
where you tried to land near the lunar McDonalds (if you crashed in to
it, it chided you for destroying the only McDonalds on the moon).

That's Jack's Moonlander.

It is OK for you Americans.  We ran the GT40 in Scotland about 1974 (2nd year undergrad).  

When the astronaut got out and said “a big mac to go”  we had absolutely no idea what he was talking about!

“a big mac” meant nothing and “to go” was just bad grammar.  Worse grammar than the split infinitives in star trek.

I am sure we did not have a Macdonalds in Scotland at that time.  We did have KFC under the uni - many a late-night chew while solving programming problems …. 

But Macdonalds?  They were well into the 80s…...

It was years later before any of us actually understood what was being said, but yes, a great way to spend debugging hours in the early hours of the morning. 

I can only just remember the use of the light pen - was that for thrust?  I have no recollection of any keyboard inputs.

Iain