SUBSIM: 20 years on the web & still no gold watch!

[Johann Vilthomsen]

1997 was the best of my life. I met Esther, who became my wife and mother of my daughter.

Congratulations to you, Neal!

[Sapyhr]

I was born in 1998 so at the end of 1997 i was still growing in my mothers body, but i dont think thats what you wanted to hear so here is an interresting part of my live. The Story of "How i got used to Computers". It all started when i was around 6 years old and my daddy told me the basics of a computer and that you mostly need to double click something very fast in order to run it. A little bit later, when i was around 8 years old he showed me the first game i played, it was a top down car racing game but i dont know what its name was sadly, i would love to try it again after such a long time!In this time(me being 8 years old) my mother teached me some things too, for example that putting the desktop icon of something into the trashbin doesnt actually delete the whole application/programm/installation and she showed me how to properly install and deinstall things when i was older. It was such a different time back then for me i wish i could relive that time if its possible.

thank you and greetings out for everyone else ^^

[Onkel Neal]

I love stories like that, good job!

Only a couple more days to go.

[Marcantilan]

Back in 1997...

I was still in Law School (4th year, one more to come) and playing rugby there. Living la vida loca, without a girlfriend or stable couple (in fact I´ve been in NY with friends in New Year´s eve 1997).
On the computer side, I think I have the Pentium 233MMX, playing a lot of Harpoon´97 on Win 95.
I can´t believe all it was twenty years ago, but loss of hair is reminding me every time that it is true.

Regards!

[Buddyboy100]

I, like a few others I have seen reply, was not alive in 97. Anyway I thought I would talk about the first two game consoles I ever owned.

The first was actually a Nintendo Gameboy Color I had bought from my cousin. Sadly there wasn't any sub games at the time(or at least any I knew about) but I sunk many, many hours into Pokemon.

The Second was a Sony Playstation 2. I don't remember owning any sub games on the PS2 either, but I do remember a game involving jet fighters. The most memorable game as well as my favorite PS2 game of all time was Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis.

Last I wanted to mention the first sub game I remember playing. Which was Silent Hunter 5. Before SH5 I hadn't really even known there was a genre of sub games and sims out there. Also without SH5 I never would have found the Subsim forums, so thanks SH5.

P.S. Congrats on 20 years Subsim

[Aktungbby]

Sapyhr!

[Aries]

I'd been in the US Navy for four years already. Had just completed my second deployment to the 'Persian Gulf' as we called it back then. I was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan and was having the time of my life . About the only gaming I did on the computer at the time was playing Doom 2 and Tie Fighter on a cruddy little notebook that I'd bought from a friend for $100...

Aries

[Navelintel]

For me, 1997 commenced inauspiciously when I suddenly found out that the supervisor I had for the past six years had been dismissed of her duties and rightly so. I always believed management was as much an art as it is a science. And in the case of my ex-supervisor, her skill set was so limited, especially when it came to dealing with people, it began to impact our ability to carrying out our agency’s mission. My next supervisor wasn’t much better which always lead me to believe in the adage that people do seem to rise to the level of their own incompetence!

I then needed something positive to focus my energy, to save my sanity while others in my office feuded, sniped and bucked one another for favorable positions elsewhere in the organization. It was absolute chaos! Part of my mental therapy was to sometimes escape after work to play my first ‘nautically’ themed simulation games, Broderbund’s ‘Wolfpack’ and ‘The Ancient Art of War at Sea’ as a diversion on my Tandy TX which ran on MS DOS, with slots for a 3.5 diskette and 5.25 floppy, 19.6 MB of available storage on the HD, and a ‘dot matrix’ printer with no internet. But I needed something much more physical and substantial. What I really needed a ‘major-league’ stress reliever. And qualifying for the Boston Marathon met all the requisites.

The year before in 1996, the Boston Marathon had just celebrated its 100th anniversary with one of the largest field of competitors ever assembled (36,748 starters;35,868 official finishers), which stood as the record in the history of the sport until 2004 (New York City: 37,257 starters; 36,544 finishers). And ever since I first learned of the Boston Marathon from my earliest days as a schoolboy running cross country and track, I always dreamed of participating in the running world’s version of ’Wimbledon’! The only catch was it is an invitational race and you need to qualify along with some of the best runners in the world (unless you have a sponsor and are running for a charity) for a spot on the starting line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts on Patriot’s Day, which is usually the third Monday in April that commemorates the ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes in 1775. The Boston Marathon was inspired by the revival of the 1896 Olympic event in Greece that was the fabled route from the plains of Marathon to Athens run by Philippides, who told of the Greeks victory over the Persians in 490 B.C. before he collapsed!

On January 12, 1997, I turned 43 and had already run eight marathons (four of which were the New York City Marathon) that included a PR of 3 hours, 6 minutes that I ran in San Diego in 1983, when I was much younger but not as wise as I had trained alone. Boston was always on my radar. This time, I came upon a training group of very talented and gifted athletes. And later that spring, we broke up into smaller training units based on our individual goals. At that time, I needed to run at least a 3 hour and 20-minute marathon to qualify for my age group and gender. So, through the rain, the heat, and humidity of the next few months, we trained and competed like a well-oiled machine, race after race in distances ranging from an 8K to a 10 miler, to a half marathon then finally our individual qualifying races, a full marathon (26 miles, 385 yards for those of you who may not be sport enthusiasts or runners). And I chose the New York City Marathon, not because it was an easy course (it's one of the toughest marathons to run to qualify for Boston due to the five bridges that separate the five boroughs and subsequent hills in Central Park) I chose it because of familiarity; I knew the course like the back of my hand. I wanted to finally conquer the beast on my own terms. Call it unfinished business.

On November 2, 1997, the morning of the race began with a light drizzle then it rained the entire day. Also, there was no ‘chip' timing back then (a 'chip' is a device tied to your shoelaces that triggers an electronic sensor at specific checkpoints along the race course, especially at the start and finish so that everyone has an accurate record of their overall time) which meant I needed to get as close to the starting line as possible before the beginning of the race so I wouldn’t lose valuable time getting stuck behind 30,000 other runners in front of me, preventing a ‘clean’ and precise start. However, I found I always had to ‘pee’ right before most of my races due to nerves so this time when I lined up, I got as close to the starting line as I could, to clearly see the mayor who would start the event. And after all the many hours of effort and miles of training, I wasn’t taking anything for granted. So, I wore a plastic garbage bag holding a large plastic cup underneath, discreetly peeing in the cup as needed then I discarded the plastic garbage bag and carefully placed the cup off to the side when I began my journey. And it worked alike a charm. I was only 20 seconds behind the starting line when the starting cannon went off!

After crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, a span of over 2.5 miles and a height of 693 feet (the tops of the towers were not visible that day due to the low overcast and photographers usually positioned there at the start of the marathon were banned from using the perch that day), at 6.2 miles into race, deep within the borough of Brooklyn, I hit my stride as I was right on pace and it never changed for the next 20 miles!

By mile 17, later in the race, I was in Harlem heading north on 1st Avenue toward the Bronx with the rain beginning to come down ‘sideways’, when I came upon a black man who was cheering us on. He kept on chanting, ‘Let’s give it up for these dudes, cause they’re all meat, no potatoes.’ At this point, I had been nursing a blister on my left foot since my socks were thoroughly soaked which felt like it was the size of Buick! After hearing the cheer repeatedly, I laughed so damn hard I never gave the rain or my foot a second throughout the rest of the race.

As I rounded the corner, coming out of the south end of Central Park onto Central Park South, heading west with a little under a mile to go, it began to thunder as I passed a Japanese percussionist bashing away on a huge ceremonial Taiko drum. I then began to wonder when the ‘fat lady’ would sing as it seemed like more of a ‘Wagnerian Opera’ than a sporting event!

When I hit the finish line near ‘Tavern on the Green’ in Central Park, it was mission complete, I had qualified for Boston by running 3 hours, 18 minutes, 10 seconds! I believe this to this day, the strategy of using the 'plastic garbage bag' ploy was so invaluable, it probably enabled me to conserve the energy needed throughout the race that produced my successful outcome. And it was wise advice due to the fact I had been working with three experienced coaches who were all accomplished athletes themselves, who acted as my attentive mentors. However, the sweetest moment after qualifying for Boston came when I attended my 25th high school reunion later that month, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and I bumped into an old classmate who ran with me on the cross country and track team always beating me in our races (and it seemed that he hadn’t laced up a pair of running shoes since we graduated), I couldn’t help myself from letting him know I would be running the Boston Marathon in the spring!

Incidentally, when Patriots Day, April 20th, 1998 finally rolled around, I made it to Boston to compete in the 102nd Boston Marathon, finishing in 3 hours, 13 minutes, 45 seconds. I was 2,306 out of 10,289 men (the top 22 percent) and 2664 out of 20,344 overall (the top 13 percent). Personally, qualifying for the Boston Marathon was an effort never soon to be replicated but an accomplishment I will nonetheless, always treasure!

William Faulkner once wrote, 'Man, will not merely endure, he will prevail . . . he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.'

And so, in observance of both anniversaries (Subsim’s and mine), I offer the following toast to all the captains who are members of this ‘distinguished’ body:

May the wind be always at your back, and the sea gentle on your craft, with the sun ever shining upon you, wherever your voyage may take you in the next 20 years, and beyond!


Best wishes again,

Rich M.
(a.k.a., ‘Navelintel’)

[filboid42]

Living in Dallas Texas working at the Dallas Sound Lab.
Worked on the Movie "Titanic" won an Oscar
Woked with "U2" and a bunch of other bands.

[Aktungbby]

viribus! @ filboid42: U2 too?!!...that shines!

[Polak]

Back in 97 I was still in elementary school in Sweden - not the best time period in my life. Me and another kid where the only foreign kids in our class, him being from Chile and me from Poland. Sweden looks way different today...

[Onkel Neal]

All righty! Contest is closed, I will sort and assemble the entries and post the next step here.

[Onkel Neal]

Here are the names of Subsimmers who entered the contest. Check this contest roster, if you feel you are not on the list and you did post a 1997 story either here or on FB Subsim, post a reply and be sure to include the link to the 1997 story post you made.

People who made a post both in this thread and on Subsim FB are allowed.

The winner will be chosen on Monday, after the Dow Jones stock market closes. Beside each name is a three digit number, and the winner for the grand prize will be matched against the last three digits of the Dow close as listed here on WSJ.



If the closing number does not have a match in the contest roster, there is no winner that day and we will roll over to the next day and do it again.

Once a winner is made, the next prize level will be done. So, Monday, grand prize (first place), if a number matches, we go to 2nd place on Tuesday, etc.

Once a winner is announced, he must reply to this thread and PM me with information to receive his prize within 5 days.

I reserve the right to make adjustments as necessary to fix any mistakes or oversights.

good luck!

Subsim 20th Contest Roster


100 --> _Seth_
101 --> 3catcircus
102 --> 44m44m
103 --> Aaron Cecil
104 --> ABBAFAN
105 --> Admiral Halsey
106 --> Admiral8Q
107 --> Ajax6
108 --> Aktungbby
109 --> Akula4745
110 --> Alex N Lissette Aguila
111 --> Allan Jenkins
112 --> AllenZ1Sgt
113 --> aLowSimmer
114 --> Alstack
115 --> Anarchy
116 --> Andrakis
117 --> Andrei Agafonov
118 --> andurilmat
119 --> Angry Viking
120 --> AnimeHair
121 --> Anthony Wood
122 --> Anvar1061
123 --> APFSDS
124 --> Aries
125 --> audiopathik
126 --> AVGWarhawk
127 --> Barrie Parker
128 --> bart
129 --> blkdimnd
130 --> bracer
131 --> Bret Culpepper
132 --> Brian M. Schnell
133 --> bsachems
134 --> bstanko6
135 --> Buddyboy100
136 --> calvindmah
137 --> CapnScurvy
138 --> CaptBones
139 --> Carlos Jimenez
140 --> Castout
141 --> catbloc
142 --> Catfish
143 --> cdrsubron7
144 --> Chad McRae
145 --> Charles Aviles
146 --> Charles DeBault
147 --> charlesb6462
148 --> Chisum
149 --> Chowhound
150 --> Chris Hale
151 --> Chris Maillet
152 --> Chromatix
153 --> Chuck Thornton
154 --> Claudius Stute
155 --> codefool
156 --> Colonel Klink
157 --> Commander Wallace
158 --> connor3213
159 --> corporalspiffy
160 --> cyberangel
161 --> Cy-Fox
162 --> daft
163 --> Dan Dimitrescu
164 --> Daniel Santos
165 --> DaveMM2SS
166 --> David Stevens
167 --> De Ruyter
168 --> DemairPlane Pilot
169 --> digital_pariah
170 --> dodie23
171 --> Doggie
172 --> Dominatus
173 --> donath
174 --> donde
175 --> Dowly
176 --> dy88jr
177 --> Edward Reilly
178 --> Einhanded
179 --> Eric Baumann
180 --> ericlea
181 --> escalaris
182 --> Evans1492
183 --> Factor
184 --> Farinhir
185 --> Fernando De Cicco
186 --> FightingSteel1
187 --> filboid42
188 --> fireftr18
189 --> fitzcarraldo
190 --> Frank Mucci
191 --> Frank Taylor
192 --> frankiekam
193 --> Fubar2Niner
194 --> fumo30
195 --> G97_BoKeRoN
196 --> Gargamel
197 --> gmccabe01
198 --> granger44
199 --> GT182
200 --> Guineo
201 --> Gunthar
202 --> gutted
203 --> HamrHedZ
204 --> harag
205 --> Herman
206 --> Hinrich Schwab
207 --> Hitman
208 --> HW3
209 --> IceMike
210 --> Icewarp
211 --> J0313
212 --> Jack Frost
213 --> Jake Adryanski
214 --> Jason Jara
215 --> Jean Led
216 --> JesterV2
217 --> jimbob
218 --> Jimbuna
219 --> Joe Apostolidis
220 --> Johann Vilthomsen
221 --> John Sealey
222 --> Jon Readman
223 --> Jonathan Beck Jørgensen
224 --> Jonesy
225 --> Josh Valentine
226 --> julimrs
227 --> jwilliams
228 --> Kaye T. Bai
229 --> keltos01
230 --> Ken Henke
231 --> Kixa
232 --> kobiwaldi
233 --> Kota Fox
234 --> Krieg Francis
235 --> Kristensen
236 --> Lane
237 --> Larrywb57
238 --> Leandros
239 --> Les Robertson
240 --> Lewis Wingerter
241 --> Lialah Rose Barrer
242 --> liljoentx
243 --> limkol
244 --> LordCucumber
245 --> Lt commander lare
246 --> Lt. Staumeier
247 --> mapuc
248 --> Marcantilan
249 --> Marcel Lougheed
250 --> mark bonamer
251 --> Mark Renier
252 --> MatijaGeic
253 --> Matt Keyes
254 --> Matt Michaelson
255 --> Matthew Wagner
256 --> Miguel Gordo
257 --> Mike Abberton
258 --> Mischa
259 --> mjhjr
260 --> mookiemookie
261 --> Moz of Oz
262 --> Navelintel
263 --> Navigator857
264 --> NightFromTheWest12
265 --> nikimcbee
266 --> Nippelspanner
267 --> nosferato
268 --> Nufsed
269 --> Nuppie
270 --> Oberon
271 --> OddBallCHMC
272 --> Owen Myers
273 --> Patrick Girard
274 --> Paul-Patrick Schröder
275 --> PhantomLord
276 --> Polak
277 --> Pompiliu-Ion Popescu
278 --> propbeanie
279 --> rangingwarr
280 --> Raptor1
281 --> raymond6751
282 --> rdop
283 --> Red Devil
284 --> Red October1984
285 --> redbranchwarrior
286 --> regicide76
287 --> rHagen12
288 --> Rhodes
289 --> Richard Phillips
290 --> rickidoo
291 --> riddler1506
292 --> Rippersport
293 --> Rockin Robbins
294 --> rtp89
295 --> Ryan Lare
296 --> ryoga_77
297 --> Sailor Steve
298 --> Sapyhr
299 --> Sashbro2
300 --> Savvas Mavridis
301 --> Schöneboom
302 --> Schroeder
303 --> Scott Gregory
304 --> Sidekikd34
305 --> Silverleaf
306 --> Simon Mountford
307 --> skin-nl
308 --> Skipbo
309 --> Skreezilla
310 --> Skybird
311 --> Slammer597
312 --> slyjac
313 --> SmithN23
314 --> Specbass
315 --> STEED
316 --> Steven Sheldon
317 --> SubSimTrooper
318 --> supcapn
319 --> Tac-Addict
320 --> Te Kaha
321 --> THEBERBSTER
322 --> Theodor Christensen
323 --> thewison
324 --> Tobar
325 --> Tony McDonald
326 --> Tony Smith
327 --> torpedobait
328 --> traner2
329 --> Tuilalcaron
330 --> Tycho
331 --> u crank
332 --> U-5
333 --> Underbank
334 --> USS Lionfish
335 --> Vannevar
336 --> v-i-c-
337 --> viper1
338 --> viribus
339 --> VONHARRIS
340 --> Westbroek
341 --> White Elf
342 --> winslynn
343 --> Wolfpack345
344 --> xatharas
345 --> Xurf
346 --> zorilya

[jayv2251]

It's hard to remember what was going that far back I've been through so much. I was working for a bank at the time doing check encoding. During my off time I was playing Silent Hunter 1, with all of it's errors. Harpoon, Doom, or what ever I could get to work with Windows 95. Christmas of '97 I proposed to my girlfriend at the time and she said yes. It took use several years, before we did get married and we'll be celebrating our anniversary this August for 6 years now.

My wife is just as much a gamer as I am. We played countless hours of Risk, and when we were done with that we'd get on my computer and play Doom, and our favorite game at the time had to be Sim Theme Park.

[Dominatus]

Thanks for doing this Neal, what a lot of fun. I especially like the "interesting" winner selection method. Although, in the spirit of things, perhaps you should have run those dow numbers through a few Enigma cycles too, just to make sure no Allieds get their hands on the prizes...