"GLOBETROTTER" In South America! Next Stop: Brazil!

[hepcat]

Weston and I exchanged a couple of messages today. I got back home Monday night and hope to have some pictures ready in the next few days. The Philippines is not for everyone, but overall my trip was alot of fun and I'm glad I had the opportunity to travel there.

 

Jason

[Gateway]

Looking forward to your pics, hepcat.

 

I've updated the Thread title. Also, those are some nice pics from Atari Charles!

 

I've made some progress this week on the update to the website, but I still have a bunch of photos to scan/add , now including the photos from Charles and Jason.

 

I'll probably do the updates in phases, the first phase being getting all the new photos from hosts I have up to this point added to the site. Another phase will include a page of photos of events and shows Trotter has attended. Bear with me, my web skills suck!

 

@Inky: You asked earlier if Trotter had already visited Chicago. Technically, he has only been to Chicago's airport, and was with host gulag picture radio in Chicago briefly( again ) before going to the airport on his way to Europe back in October.

 

So, there are still many places you could take Trotter in the Chicago area, when the time comes.

 

Right now, Trotter and I are discussing where he will journey to next. The OVGE show in Oklahoma is coming up, so Trotter may make a stop there in June. I'm working out some details now to see if that can be done.

 

Now that my schedule has slowed down a bit this summer, my first Trotter priority is to get the new photos added and uploaded to the site. More soon,

 

Weston

[Gateway]

Trotter will be joining the fun at OVGE, in Tulsa, OK on Saturday, June 18th!

 

Globetrotter is excited to see the new homebrews and demos, tournaments, entertainment, and fellow classic gaming enthusiasts this weekend. It will be a blast!

 

If you will be attending the show, keep an eye open for Trotter and be sure to say "hello" if you see him.

 

Trotter is currently staying at the home of OVGE organizer and AA member -^Cro§Bow^-. Here's an excerpt from his message to me about Trotter's arrival:

 

Then finally towards the end of the day, I began to work on cleaning up a 5200 and a 2600 to be used at the show. Trotter began to get bored but noticed this little guy sitting on a shelf. After setting things up and Trotter selecting a few booster carts to stand on, he was good to go!

I am glad I had a game his size that he could play easily!

 

Along with the pic of Trotter practicing up for OVGE, I've also included one of the photos of Trotter with AA member hepcat on his recent trip to Hong Kong, China. Check out that skyline!

 

More pics and reporting of Trotter's adventures after the show...

 

[Gateway]

Trotter will be attending the vgXpo in Dallas, Texas this weekend!

 

August 20-21st

 

Albert has agreed to take Trotter along and let him hang out at the AtariAge tables at the show. Trotter is excited to meet some of the AA members he hasn't met yet who will be attending and wants to snap lots of photos of the people and new games there!

 

Trotter spent this weekend last year at CGE in San Jose. Now he wanted to check out the new show in Dallas this year. Be sure to say "Hi" if you see him this weekend.

 

I forgot to link to this earlier thread about Trotter's amusing, if not well-executed joke he tried to play on his fellow gamers:

 

April Fool's Joke thread

 

It was my fault if it didn't play out more smoothly. Atari Charles and I had fun setting it up.

 

Trotter is still accepting hosting assignments. If you are reading this and would like to participate or have questions, just send me a PM, or write an email to

 

trotter at packratvg dot com

 

Any place on the map you or somebody you know lives or has access to is welcome, especially places that have little or no representation currently. If it's not listed on the website, it probably doesn't have a host yet( I've been working on this page offline today ).

 

I had to move again recently, so I'm still unpacking some things and will be starting another semester of college soon, but the new stuff will be added before then.( It's taking me long enough! )

 

Here's a sample of the new map section. It's Trotter's start point in Utah:

 

Have fun at CGE and vgXpo, everybody!

[Gateway]

Sunday, September 18th!

 

Globetrotter will make an appearance at the East Coast Gaming Expo, held in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania!

 

If you will be attending the show this weekend, be sure to look around for Trotter. He's currently enroute to PA and should arrive before the show.

 

Trotter has been planning his fall and winter schedule and has some exotic places to visit on his itinerary.

 

Recently, the little guy has been hanging out with Albert, visiting AtariAge HQ in Austin, Texas, and the vgXpo in Dallas. Also, he's been hiking the trails and peaks near San Diego, California!

 

More adventures await...

[keilbaca]

Hopefully, he'll make it to vgXpo in Philly in November. It would be good to see Globetrotter again.

[sku_u]

That reminds me. I signed up to host Globetrotter almost 2 years ago. In the interim, I's passed through my state a few times without stopping. What's going on with that

[Gateway]

...In the interim, I's passed through my state a few times without stopping.  What's going on with that 

933083[/snapback]

 

@ sku_u: Technically, Trotter went "around" your state.

 

Not to worry, I haven't forgottern about you or the other earlybird hosts who signed up from the start. Trotter is still interested in visiting your neck of the woods, as well as Greenland and Japan (If that can still be arranged at a future time).

 

@ Everybody: I appreciate the patience. I continue to get more done on the new maps and photos, etc. and I've run out of excuses for the website update delay. It's my only project right now and I work on it when not in school or my job. All I can say is, soon it will be enough info to upload, then more will follow.

 

As for the show in Philly: we'll see. Trotter is locking down dates for a trip to the South Pacific in Nov.-Dec., as well as a trip to Thailand and some other remote locations. But the Canadian provinces and each US state are still important destinations as well. Let's not forget central and South America. Trotter also has yet to set cart there.

 

Phew! All in good time. Trotter may indeed need changes to his journey-plan. Perhaps stopping at all hosts in one region before moving to another is in order. I'll give this some more thought.

 

Thanks for the input and continued support!

[Gateway]

One night in Bangkok makes an Atari cart humble...

 

Yes! Trotter is headed for a brief stay in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as a stop in Shanghai, China! The cart will be joining AA member YarsRevengeFan in the state of Iowa, and traveling with him this coming week to these two destinations in Asia!

 

Unfortunately, from what I understand, the post delivery guy didn't wait very long for somebody to come to the door, on the Friday before ECGexpo( Sunday, Sept. 18th, Wyomissing, PA ), so Trotter missed the show by one day! I don't know why the delivery didn't try again on Saturday.

 

Trotter will have to try again next year, if he's still on the move.

 

Meanwhile, I've made progress on the maps and am also working on the picture postcarts for the recent photos I've received. I'm helping my brother and his wife move this weekend, plus homework, but I can still get a bit more done. Here's a sampling of pics below for now. More soon:

 

 

* Trotter at the AA tables during the vgXpo, in Dallas, TX

 

* Curt Vendel poses with Trotter. Curt oversaw the design of the Flashback2.

 

* "All your Flashback2's are belong to Trotter"

 

* Albert Yarusso and Joe Grand take Trotter hiking to Iron Mountain Peak, near San Diego, CA

 

* Anybody for some DDR? Trotter visits Challenge Arcade, near Fleetwood, PA

 

* Trotter tries out an arcade classic at Challenge Arcade

Edited October 13, 2005 by Gateway

[keilbaca]

DDR

 

That's great that Globetrotter is still making its rounds around the world. I'm just glad I was able to bring Globetrotter to Japan!

 

P.S.: are my Tokyo Game Show mini cd of pictures still in the Globetrotter case?

[YarsRevengeFan]

"There and back again, a Trotter's tale"

-by YarsRevengeFan

 

"Day 1: Friday October 13th, 2005 – Totter and I traveled China this morning. I forgot that with it being fall and all that I wouldn’t be able to take Trotter’s picture in front of the Iowa State fair sign in Des Moines. So we boarded the flight to Chicago from Des Moines. We stopped in at the Chili’s restaurant in the airport in Chicago and ate a Cheesesteak. It was okay, I’ve had better. Then it was off to Shanghai. Trotter pretty much stayed asleep the whole flight! We arrived in Shanghai on Saturday, October 14th at 3:00 p.m. with no problem. From there we chekced in to the Holiday Inn, Pudong Shanghai hotel. I told Trotter I was tired since I stayed awake for the entire flight so that I would get on China time, and he let me crash. He’s good like that!"

 

(more to follow)

[Gateway]

Trotter is enroute to the VGEXPO in Philly this weekend, Nov. 12-13 to celebrate 2 YEARS on the road!

 

Yep, November 15th is is the 2 year milestone( or kilometerstone ) since Trotter started his journey! Everything is better in binary!

 

In honor of this achievement, Trotter will attend the VGexpo and will be hanging out at Rolenta Press, with Leonard and his guests, including the legendary inventor of the first home videogames, Mr. Ralph Baer!

 

The little guy is also excited to meet up and chat with fellow AA members who will be attending the show. Though, I'm uncertain at the moment how long Trotter will be hanging around, as he will be preparing to leave with his next host on a new adventure sometime Saturday. Not sure if he will still be around on Sunday.

 

Trotter will be getting in photos and meeting up with a few hosts who still need to add their names to his travelogue. Trotter's log and suitcase were seperated from the cart for a while but Trotter should be complete with all his luggage by showtime!

 

So look for Trotter hanging out at the Rolenta Press tables, or he may also move around to the AtariAge tables to meet up with friends and try out some of the exciting new homebrews on display! If you don't see him at one spot, he may have been moved to the other spot.

 

I've been bogged down by school projects lately, now that it's passed midterm, but I'm shooting for going online with the new website content sometime this weekend. We'll see how close I get. If not, I'll have some free time during the Thanksgiving break to wrap it up and get everything online for your enjoyment. I've got a bunch of ideas in the works for the 3rd year of Trotter's journey.

 

Happy Trails!

[keilbaca]

I hope everything gets there soon, my Tokyo Game Show pics from 2004 should be in there ^_^

[sku_u]

I heard Globetrotter was intercepted by the CIA and surgically implanted with sophistacted spyware that imprints itself in your brain through your ears at night as you sleep. They covered up the story by saying it was abducted by aliens to help explain its unexplained long absences.

[Albert]

I didn't actually see Trotter at the Philly vgXpo. Did he not make it?

 

..Al

[Gateway]

AtariAge Press

 

EDINBURGH, UK - Some of you have been asking for updates about Trotter's whereabouts the last few months. After a long talk with Trotter( which wasn't really that long since he communicates at the speed of binary ), He's decided to go public with this:

 

It seems to have started shortly after his stay with that troublemaker, Pac-Man( still trying to forget the stir he caused with that whole April Fool's Day "cartnapping" episode. ) Trotter admits he picked up some of that bigmouth's bad habits.

 

So, the East Coast Gaming Expo in September approaches, and I inform Trotter about the arrangements. The day of the show, he's nowhere to be seen!

 

The day after the show is over, he shows up at host Chuck Whitby's place, forgettful and onery. We decide to move on and arrangements are made for the next big trip, this time to China and Bangkok, Thailand.

 

Everything goes smoothly and Trotter even begs to stay longer in Bangkok, but we have to stay on schedule. The vgeXpo in Philly is next and Trotter is on his way. Plans are made to meet other AA members and former hosts so they can get Trotter's log of names updated. Trotter is to meet up with host cd-w for the planetrip to the UK. Also, Trotter will meet special guests at the Rolenta Press tables and mark his 2 years on the road!

 

The day of the show arrives. Again, Trotter is a "no-show".

 

The day after host rolenta returned home, Trotter showed up on his doorstep, looking like something the CAT5 cable dragged in!

 

This annoyed several people, myself included. One host even remarked about Trotter's visit with him as "something that has completely wasted my time".

 

Trotter's behavior was below par, but I decided to give him another chance to change his ways. Because he missed his planetrip to the UK, he would go by Global mail from the US. He was due to join another host on a trip to the Canary Island for the holidays. He would need to be in London by mid-December.

 

Mid-December came and went. Trotter was MIA.

 

He finally surfaced after host cd-w, in Edinburgh, received a phone call from the UK customs. Trotter had been impounded for almost a week, due to his rowdy antics and resistance to authority!

 

Fortunately, cd-w was willing to bail him out, on the condition that Trotter seek some "professional help". As a homebrew programmer and engineer, cd-w agreed to provide such help.

 

Trotter checked himself in to this "hospital", stating that he's been "suffering from exhaustion and battling an addiction to postage stamp adhesive" He agreed to undergo a diagnostic test and a rehabilitation program as well as get himself recharged for future travels.

 

After a short sabbatical, Trotter is reenergized and ready to face the music, so to speak. He asks for forgiveness for his unprofessional behavior as a guest and has agreed to a probationary period rather than the other option suggested which would be to be sent home right away. Trotter knows there are still many hosts waiting, some for over 2 years, and he wishes to make amends and eventually fulfill his duty to visit every host on the list!

 

Except for a few exceptions( for example the upcoming winter Olympics ), Trotter will stay in one area at a time, until he visits all hosts in the area before moving to the next( for example, all hosts within the UK ). His actions will be monitored more closely and his "jumps" will be shorter. This will hopefully improve Trotter arrival schedule so he doesn't miss any more special events that may take place in that area.

 

Trying to meet vacation schedules will be kept to a minimum. If you have an exotic place you would like to take Trotter, let me know and I will still take it into consideration, if I have plenty of notice ahead of time. Otherwise, Trotter will stick closely to one area at a time.

 

Trotter and I hope we have learned from our mistakes of the past 2 years to make this 3rd year more fun and efficient for everybody interested. Trotter is now enroute to a host in Warrington, England for Christmas and the New Year.

 

The website re-launch is planned for the end of this month to coincide with bringing in the new year and a fresh start for Trotter! Happy Holidays!

 

Weston Hilton

12-23-05

 

Photo: Trotter undergoes rehabilitation in cd-w's 2600jr.

[atwwong]

Hi Weston!

 

The new website looks terrific! Great job!

 

For more details on host location 32, see the Vancouver - Raw Version (shameless plug) link.

 

Cheers,

Tony

[Gateway]

The new Globetrotter World Tour website is now online!

 

 

Check out he new website here!

 

 

In other news... Hell freezes over!

 

Yes, it has been a loooong delay getting the new info up and current, but I re-designed the look for the site and the content for the postcarts and maps of regions Trotter has been to so far. I should be able to make small updates on the weekends starting next week. I've got another month of school to finish up my 3rd year of college, then the summertime will give me some more time to get additional maps and pages for extra photos, etc.

 

The website still needs some polish. Some of the things I still need to do include:

 

Adding the correct "distance traveled" mileage for each map page and fix the spacing of the text.

 

I'm not totally satisfied with some of the maps, specifically the ones that are getting crowded with path info and "To" and "From" boxes inside the state/nation/island being focused on in each map. Some of these maps will need to be re-centered and I can "gray-out" the surrounding land and put the "To"'s and "From"'sin the grayed areas.

 

I also plan to add a "Frequently Asked Questions" section to explain things like "Where do I sign up?" and "What is a homebrew?" for those unfamiliar with the hobby.

 

The map software I used draws the state/province borders for the Western Hemisphere, but not the rest of the world. I've added some of these, but there are still places in Europe, etc. that still need their state borders added.

 

Adding an "Events" page for the many photos that have been taken with Atari programmers and fans at expos, etc.

---

 

Trotter's original e-mail account keep getting flooded with SPAM mail, so I'll ask Jarett at Packrat Video Games to close that account soon. Trotter has new contact info, so if you have constructive comments about the website, or questions about hosting, you can send a message to this new account. I'll write it like this so those web spiders out there can't easily find it:

trotterjotter at gmail dot com

 

Or you can post comments to this thread.

 

I'm waiting for confirmation that Trotter made it to Freisen, Germany, to AA member gambler172's home. From there, Trotter will stay in Germany for a while. If you are in Germany( a lot of you reading this are ), now's a great time to sign up to represent your state or city.

 

Thanks to Albert for the news blurb on the front page! I will also mention the website in the forums at Digital Press.

 

The best for last:

 

I want to apologize for not posting about this earlier since I was deep in the website update process. I want to acknowledge Atari Charles and Greg for their efforts in posting Charles's Interview with Trotter on Atari Times done late last year. They deserve kudos for their support!

 

Also, here's Charles's topic here on AA about it.

 

 

The journey continues...

[doctorclu]

Hey look forward to meeting Trotter if he comes back through Dallas, TX!

[Shawn]

Maybe it won't be crushed in the mail this time before I get a chance to get it. I was on the list and everything. I have not been to the site yet but I'm wondering if I could be on the tour for the Canadian leg of the tour please??

[Gateway]

Okay, I got confirmation that Trotter is now in Friesen, Saarland, Germany( Deutschland ).

 

 

@ Shawn: No worries, I've still got you down for Brockville, Ontario. Fortunately Trotter is still in one piece. Trotter was in Canada, but, uh, got sidetracked... yeah, that's it!

 

@doctorclu: I'll add you for Dallas on my update next week.

 

Forgot to mention to everybody: Over the next several weeks, I'll be contacting hosts who already have or will host Trotter. I'll point them to the new site's location and also ask them for any corrections that need to be made to their contact info, maps, photos, etc. Then I'll be updating those elements accordingly in order to be more accurate where needed. If you want to contact me first, you can use the new e-mail. ( I've got to empty out my PM box since it is almost full of old messages. )

 

Later,

 

Weston

[Gateway]

Happy Birthday to Trotter! He turns 3 today!

 

Trotter has joined AA member and game archivist, Rom Hunter for a trip to Egypt! He should be back to the Netherlands in April with some cool photos to share!

 

Also, Trotter sends out a "Happy Birthday" to everybody who shares with him today as their birth/activation date.

 

I've added the first update to the website since the relaunch. Still a bunch of features I want to add over time, but for now you can check out the new photos from host gambler172 in Germany.

 

I've also added a bunch more names to the host list, including a host in Chile, which means I'll need to Add South America and Africa to the website menu soon. Also added names to Germany, Texas, South Carolina and Vermont, and Monterrey, Mexico.

 

I still need to write back to some of these new hosts and confirm their locations, etc. I'll send replies as soon as I can. Also, I've added a new link to AtariAge.

 

If you are residing in Germany or the Netherlands and want to participate, we can use you soon! Next on my agenda is a FAQ page so people will know what they are getting into when they sign up.

 

Thanks everybody for your support!

 

More soon,

 

Weston

[Gateway]

Quick note: Trotter is back from Egypt and has now made it to Oldenburg, Germany!

 

I need to double-check with my instructor, but it looks like he will give me permission to do an update to the website as my final project for the 2D Design class! This will give me a chance to add a few pages I've been wanting to get to, and make several modifications, but haven't had the time due to other class assignments. I was up for 36 hours straight the last two days, wrapping up my Philosophy class essay final, so now I can breathe easier( and I'm rested now ). So expect an update in the next week and a half or so. I'll also have to present in class the changes I've made to the site.

 

In the mean time, here's a pic from Trotter's stay with Rom Hunter in Egypt. Here they are viewing the solar eclipse on March 29th with shades.

 

I'm now working on Trotter's summer schedule and it keeps changing everyday. More soon,

 

Weston

[Zach]

Quick note: Trotter is back from Egypt and has now made it to Oldenburg, Germany!

Now Globetrotter has visited every continent but South America and Antarctica.

[Omegamatrix]

Sign me up to let him pass through Western Canada (if he hasn't already).