FUBAR, FUBAR99, FUBARQ
My real name is Vincent Hadley. I was born Sept. 15,
1960 in Alta Loma, Texas which in now called Santa Fe, Tx.
Santa Fe is located about 30 miles south of Houston. I now
live in Texas City, Tx which is about 5 miles from Santa Fe
and its on the gulf coast just across the bay from Galveston
Island.
I am the price coordinator for the Kroger grocery store
in Galveston. My job is to make sure all items are in the
scanner computer and to make sure they scan correctly i.e.
priced correctly. (Yeah, I'm the one you silently curse
about when you thought you were paying $1.89 for those
prunes but you were actually charged $2.49)
I am married but separated and have a son, Christopher,
who is 4.
I purchased a Commodore 128 computer from my boss in Feb
of 1992. I paid $350 for the works: computer, monitor,
printer, computer desk and lots of software. I was in
heaven. I tinkered around with programming but only
produced a couple of programs that I would be embarrassed
for anyone to see. In July of 93, I was reading a book
that I had borrowed from the library and saw an article
about a telecommunications system called Quantum Link which
was designed exclusively for Commodore computers. I called
the phone number and then waited anxiously for two weeks for
my Q Link disk. When it arrived I plugged in my 300 baud
modem I had never used and signed on. I roamed around Q
link, checking out the different areas. I was hesitant to
try out the live chat areas so after about 30 minutes, I
screwed up my courage and went into the People Connection
area.
As I entered the Lobby, I was greeted with "Hi's" by
everyone in the room. I told them I was a newbie and they
were very friendly and helpful, explaining how to use the
system. After a bit, I looked up at the clock and three
hours had gone by. I was hooked! I had used the screen
name Vincent256 which Q link had randomly chosen for me, so
the next day I came up with a new one. I signed on that
night and Fubar99 was born.
I soon became "adopted" into one of Q Links biggest
online "families". I had Qbrothers, Qsisters, Qnieces and Q
newphews. I attended Q weddings and laughed until my side
hurt. I was a regular in the "Truth or Dare" game where the
victim er player had to choose to answer a question or do a
"Dare". When you did a dare, you had to go to a public room
and sing or dance or something silly and embarrassing. I
became famous for wearing my pink tutu into Bonnies Bar or
the music studio while doing a dare. I had a BLAST!
I spent 15 months on Q Link before it's untimely death
on Oct. 31, 1994. I had watched as system problems begin to
plague our system and not be fixed. I watched as areas were
slowly discontinued and subscribers declined. On August 1,
1994 we were greeted with a message from Steve Case, CEO of
AOL, Q Links parent company. Q Link will be shut down. We
were enraged. We were a family. How could they DO this to
us?
For the next three months, most of the online chat
discussions where about where to go when Q died. Postings
on public bulletin boards mentioned GEnie, Phoenix and
Delphi. The message from Case mentioned a sunset for Q link
and the Sunset Inn became a popular room. We talked about
the good times we had on Q link. We began to explore the
other systems still supporting our "Commies". One person
even began to compile our internet addresses so we could
keep in touch. I still get updated lists from him. The
Grafitti board began to fill up with heart-felt goodbyes. We
all agreed to be online on Oct 31 till the end.
Oct. 31, Halloween evening, one day shy of Q Link's 9th
anniversary and Q Link is packed! Three Lobbies are open
just like the old days. TOS (Terms of Service..no cursing
or vulgar language) does not apply on this night. A "Steve
Case Sucks" room opens and is immediately filled. A QGuide
is videotaping her Lobby. People are roaming around, saying
goodbyes. Bonnies Bar is open and drinks are "on the
house". We are having fun, again.
At 3:30 am a message appears: 30 minutes to system shut
down. We get quiet. Did y'all see that message, we ask each
other. Sadly we all had. This is it, its really happening.
Soon, more messages appear: 20 minutes to system shut down.
10 minutes. Q Link is dying like an old friend with a
terminal disease. I'm in a room with my closest Q friends
and Qfamily. I have tears in my eyes saying goodbye. Now
the message: 5 minutes to system shut down. Then 4. Then 3.
Then 2. Some leave, not wanting to see it happen. Then 1.
I am in the middle of a sentence when my screen freezes. It
is over. Q Link is dead.
But Fubar99 lives on. Delphi is now my home and I have
a 1200 baud modem. I joined Delphi in Sept. of 94. There
are other ex-linkers here with me and Internet mail keeps me
in touch with my friends on other systems. I noticed the
Trivia Club room back in Dec. of 94 and wondered why I had
not seen it before. I entered and the usual gang is there
to greet me. I had a blast. I'm not too good at the
questions but it doesn't seem to matter, everyone is so
friendly and funny that I know I like this room.
My Commie is now being threatened again with Delphi
converting to a graphical interface. I will just have to
plop down $2000. for a new puter but I'm looking forward to
it. My son will enjoy his new toy when I show him how to
play games on my trusty ole Commie.
Fubar99 a.k.a Vince Hadley
May 7, 1995
Bios - Update
From: VincentH5 May 9 [2007 5:16pm
To: ALL
Thanks to Bill for posting my bio from years ago. I was
not real surprised you still had it.
Let me pick up where that one ended:
In 1996, I got divorced. If you've gone through a divorce, you know
it totally disrupts your life. I was no different. I had to rearrange
my life and that meant sacrifices. So I left the online world for a
while. Beside, I only had the Commie and it was completely outdated by
then and it would be a while before I could afford a new one.
After the divorce was behind me, there was one thing more I needed to do.
I had been avoiding this for many, many years and now was the time.
I felt I had the guts to do this. It was time for me to come out of
the closet.
And I did it! I prefer not to go into details but it was one of the
hardest things I've ever had to do. But I did it and the world did not
come to an end.
Currently,I live on the north side of Houston. I still work for Kroger
but no longer in the store. I work at Kroger's Texas/Louisiana division
office here in Houston.
In February 2005, my Dad suffered a major heart attack and passed a few
days later. I mention this because I returned home several days later
and found a letter from Billp in my mail box. I read the letter and
truly intended to seek the online trivia games again but for some reason
I didnt. Instead I put the letter in my desk and forgot about it.
I just didnt feel like having fun at the time. The other day I was
cleaning out my desk and found Bill's letter. Oh I gotta do this!
So here I am.
You guys sound like fun bunch...lemming, skeeping, wb's, wtg's and
good natured razzing.
Just like the old times.
Vince