WRATH OF GOD STRIKES 2600 (November, 1986) ------------------------------------------ On July 26 of this year, 2600 came very close to being wiped out of existence. While we have taken extraordinary precautions to protect ourselves against any form of harassment from all kinds of authorities, there was one occurrence that we were almost completely unprepared for. We stress the word almost. On this fateful night, our offices took a direct hit from Mother Nature herself in the form of a lightning bolt. While nobody was injured and no fires were started, nearly every piece of electronic equipment was completely and irrevocably fried. Computers, modems, printers, tape machines all totally nonfunctional. We started sending equipment out for repairs the day after this horrible kick of fate, and even now we're still waiting for satisfaction on a number of them. We feel we must point out that two companies in particular - Epson and Zenith - seem very much bewildered as to how to fix their own machines. But there is a bright spot and that should be pointed out as well. Only a few months earlier, we had taken out a policy with Safeware, the computer insurance people. We don't mean for this to come off sounding like an advertisement, but these people were simply incredible. Immediately after we notified them of our problems, they sent us forms to fill out and were ready to answer any questions we had. And in less time than it took for any of our equipment to be fixed, they had a check sent to us for the entire amount, minus the fifty dollar deductible. We whole-heartedly recommend these folks for all computer users. They protect you against theft, fire, power surges, and in our case, lightning. Most users can be fully protected for well under $100 a year. Naturally, this incident and its aftermath have set us back a bit. You may have even noticed a slackening off from our usual efficiency. New subscribers were subjected to longer waits for their first issue and back-issue orders were delayed up to a couple of months! Our long-awaited expansion and format change had to be delayed. And all of our uninsured radios and monitoring equipment were destroyed. It's now November and we're about back to the point that we should have been at in August. Most of our equipment has either been replaced or repaired. We're better prepared for the next lightning hit, although little could have been done to ward off that last dagger of destruction. Our phones are in working order most of the time but occasionally you may get a busy signal, a reorder, or total silence that will last for days. This, according to New York Telephone, is not really happening. We'll see if the Public Service Commission agrees. We're back on track now. Many thanks to those who lent their time and support during this time of crisis.