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The One-Eyed Pirate
Added on April 10th, 2004 (8786 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=126
Tell us something about yourself.
My name is George, I'm 33 and I was born in the USA. I work in the insurance industry and my hobbies include playing volleyball, playing consoles (Playstation 2, Xbox) and collecting old releases.
What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
My handle was/is The One-Eyed Pirate (OEP for short). I came up with that a long time ago after seeing handles like Capt. Crunch and other with "pirate" in them. It seems a bit corny now but it's what people know me as so I've stuck with it.
What group(s) were you in?
I never officially joined any groups but I ran my BBS for Sphinx, Bros, Scoopex, Hotline and Talent+Ikari. Although, I know The Shark always wanted me to join International Network of Chaos (INC).
What roles have you fulfilled?
My contribution to the scene was to run one of the best American boards ever, The Addiction. It was home to almost all the cool Euros and Americans. I also was a pretty prolific C/G artist. Almost every good BBS had a logon screen painted by me.
How long were you active for?
I started on the C64 about 1983 but didn't get into the scene until a couple years later. I left the scene in 1988/89'ish after AT&T got after me.
Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
I started out getting my C64 and 1541 for Christmas from my folks. I used to type in programs from magazines like Compute Gazette or I'd rent games and copy them with Mike J Henry's Fast Hack 'em. After a while I discovered people around town organized copy-parties, so I visited a few of them only to find out the people there were lame (like The Shark) and were trading PD stuff. After that I found a few people at school who had access to warez and I began to swap with them. I finally got a modem (300 baud) a Christmas or two later and started calling local boards. This opened up the world of trading to me and my collecting officially began.
Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
Get up, check my BBS to see what was new and who had called, go to school, come home, take the BBS down, play the new stuff people uploaded, make some copies for friends at school, put the board back up, chat with people who logged on if I was at home, go to sleep, repeat. If it was slow I'd call around to other boards to see what was up. Some of my favorites were Warez Galore, Wild Warez, Dream Factory, Destroy, Prowl's Place, Shake the Disease, Candyland, etc. Sometimes people would call me up on conference calls but I really never had anything interesting to add to the conversations and most of the time it was just Bod yelling at me to put the BBS back on-line. :)
Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
Nope, but I sure loved some of the tools I found. Ivory BBS, CCGMS, Fast Hack 'em, Epyx Fastload, the C/G paint program I used to use (I've forgotten the name).
When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
I love all the C/G screens I did. There were some pretty kick ass ones for The Addiction and others. I'd love to get my hands on some of my old work but I've lost my disks. I'm also proud of running one of the all-time best boards in the nation.
Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
Jimmy Z - probably the best sysop I know. The Shark - love INC, love his attittude. We fought sometimes but I think in the end we were friends. Bod - my favorite Englishman. Excellent cracker, good person. XXX, Doc and Fletch of Talent+Ikari (the greatest co-op). The Mind Slayer and Stormbringer - for NTSC fixing so many games! All the ASCii painters I've known and admired.
What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
The coolest thing was probably Ivory BBS. I loved that program!
Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
I went to a few copy-parties but they were pretty lame with some scary looking dudes walking around.
In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
The scene was all about making friends and making a name for yourself. I think I accomplished both.
What were the particular highlights for you?
I don't really have any personal highlights. I would say the cool people I met in the scene was a highlight.
Any cool stories to share with us?
Not really. I did enjoy OEP's Day Off that was released by The Shark.
Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
I don't really talk to any old-timers, I lost touch with Bod. I can still be found on IRC.
When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
I got it in 1983 and it may be in storage somewhere, or I gave it away.
Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
I think the C64 gave birth to most of the current scene. I know it's where I learned everything.
When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
Not applicable.
Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
Look me up on IRC, my nick is still OEP!
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