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Happy Friday the 13th!
Happy Friday the 13th from Othello!
Category: Critters
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Cold snap
I guess I really haven’t been paying attention to the forecast (amazing how my concentration on such matters slips when I’m not actively working around it), so stupid me, this cold snap caught me completely by surprise (and here I was thinking my friend Kevin was crazy for complaining about where spring went on the DP forums). To give you an idea: it’s already close to freezing outside, the wind is blowing ferociously outside, and Xena’s in for the night, something which hasn’t happened much recently. I’ve also got the game room lights on to warm the place up, and it’s time to play!
Or at least it was after I rewired the RF output for the Colecovision. A couple of nice trades have recently brought some Colecovision goodness into my collection that I haven’t gotten to try before, including working Super Action and Roller controllers, and a few games I hadn’t really expected to acquire anytime soon. But the console itself was out of commission…because I’ve got kittens who like to grab dangly cables and pull. One new RCA cable later, I’m basking in the 8-bit goodness (and badness – one game which shall remain nameless until the review pops up was a real stinker!). It’s becoming clear that, in light of the next new addition to the family, the current system is going to have to be rethought rather drastically, and rewired rather drastically too. One possibility I’m looking at is taking some more-or-less briefcase-sized plastic tubs with hinged lids that I already have, and setting things up so consoles or computers can be stored that way, and (barring adding on something like an expansion or voice module) left in the tubs and plugged into some kind of patch bay in the game room. Machines that get the least play will be stowed away like this, and only a few frequent flyers will be left out on the shelves as they are now.
It’s a sad day when even the game room’s gotta grow up a bit, but just think, I’ll eventually have someone else who might want to play a round or two with the old man. 😀… Read more
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In slightly less melancholy news…
To offset yesterday’s melancholy-fest a bit, some slightly lighter-hearted news…
Oberon is home from the vet and recovering nicely. If there’s anything that poses even the slightest threat to his speedy recovery from being declawed, it’s…Olivia. Her buddy is back and she wants to play! Thus far he’s taken to curling up on a sofa and going to sleep to avoid having to run from her. Olivia’s been locked up in a bedroom a couple of times too, to keep her from annoying the poor little guy – from birthday girl to bad girl in just one week! Oberon is slow to pick up on a couple of other hints though – he’s run outside twice, though I’ve recovered him both times. I don’t know at what point it’s going to occur to him that he is now more or less completely defenseless. Looks like we need to invest in those expandable “baby barriers” now. 🙄
Also, in PDF DVD news: the recently-rediscovered widescreen theatrical Dig Dug commercial will be making an appearance. It’s going to need a little bit of cleaning up on the visual end, but I’m really jazzed about being able to include it. Just one more nifty item to add to the already insane amount of stuff that’s going to be crowding this project.
While we’re talking PDF DVD, let me ask you (since, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re one of the target audience for this thing) – how much dividing up is too much dividing up? The organizational structure of something like this can get to be overwhelming. How I’m looking at it right now is that there’ll be a main menu from which you’ll pick a year from which to start (1971-1986). Within each year will be a menu that lets you look for a specific item within that – i.e. you’d be able to browse a submenu within each year to go directly to whichever clip you want to see. The problem there is that, once you get into years like 1982 that are absolutely drenched with products, you’re potentially talking about a single-year menu with 100 items on it (spread mercifully over several menu “pages,” with likely 8-12 items per page). I wouldn’t normally even contemplate that, except for two things:
- We’re talking about marketing something to a hobby where people obsess over typefaces and catalog numbers on cart labels and release dates and creases in shrinkwrap. Yes, I can see that there would be a call for instant access to a specific game’s entry.
- I’m a big fan of random access media – it’s why we went from cassette tape to CD, after all. If we’re not going to use that, this whole thing might as well be on VHS tape.
Let me know what you think there. I can’t guarantee it’ll change my mind on what I’ve outlined above, but I can’t guarantee that it won’t either.
Since there’s no OVGE show in Tulsa this year (a more detailed announcement should be forthcoming from the show’s organizers in the weeks ahead), I’m aiming for the PDF DVD to debut at CGE 2007, where it’ll be available from the Packrat Video Games booth. Whether or not the ones sold there will have any kind of special packaging or other whatsits, I simply haven’t decided yet – I’m more concerned with getting the editing finished at the moment.
Meanwhile, for those still toiling in the pixel mines…I couldn’t help but notice that the credibility of the Arkansas TV News Blog took a big hit, and right out in the open too. I visit it about once a week or so, but I’ve never felt compelled to post a comment there, because so much of the discussion there seems to descend into a pissing match between employees of rival TV stations, with just a dash of slander for extra flavor. Though I’ll admit that the World Of Warcraft spam right in the middle of this particular entry (in case it’s deleted: there’s a comment right in the midst of all the debunking that basically says “world of warcraft world of warcraft” over and over again, each iteration being a link to something different) adds a surreal bit of “calm the beef min” style comedy to the proceedings. There was a time when the ARTVNB was a useful, if slightly testy, way to keep one’s finger on the pulse of the industry; now I’m not even sure it’s good for much more than reminding me a little bit of the environment that I left behind.… Read more
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Bacon
I’m sitting here watching a nail-biter shaping up between the Hogs and USC at the NCAA Tournament. Well, okay, it’d really be more of a genuine nail-biter if, oh, say, the score was a little bit closer. I’m not sure if this has really gotten outside of the state, but the rumor has it that coach Stan Heath is out of a job if he loses tonight’s game. A local TV sports commentator said it best tonight: every time that rumors have flown around that Arkansas football coach Houston Nutt is considering another job, the school has issued copious denials that Nutt is leaving, as well as bending over backward to let everyone know how much they love Nutt and don’t want him to go anywhere but wish him well anyway. Now we have the rumor train rolling, saying that the school itself is going to nix Heath five years after he took over during the firestorm of the Nolan Richardson controversy…and not a single official denial from the University of Arkansas. Now, on the one hand, I can understand not dignifying an outrageous rumor with a response, but this kinda demands on – this could do some very real damage to the school (and I’m sure it’s helping the team play a better game to have this crap hanging over their heads). For the sake of argument, let’s say that Heath is indeed out (I guess we’ll know in about five and a half minutes as I write this)…what the hell kind of coaching talent can the school attract when the scuttlebutt is that you’ll be fired for not bringing home a solid wall of conference or national titles? I didn’t entirely buy Richardson’s accusations a few years ago that the school didn’t seem kindly disposed toward having a black coach on staff, but you know, I find myself re-assessing that now.
The wife and I went out tonight and blew some money. There, I’m not even gonna try to sugarcoat that. But we both kinda needed to. Got some baby books, and I raided the bargain section: a collectibles/price guide to Star Wars merchandise (slightly outdated with its circa-Attack Of The Clones publication date), a book on storm chasing (and chasers), and a biography of Neil Armstrong. (There, you now know what to expect in the book review section for the rest of this year – that, and whatever Dave, Philip and Rob happen to be reading! 😆 ) A visit to a store that I don’t normally frequent also got me very nearly completely caught on classic series Doctor Who DVDs. I’m still missing The Web Planet (and I know folks who argue that this isn’t really missing much) and The Hand Of Fear, but that’s it. (I blew Amazon UK store credit – thank you, dear readers – on the recent UK New Beginnings box set release, so when I say caught up, I mean caught up. I also spent a few minutes today entering every online contest I could find for a giveaway copy of the next release, Survival, which promises some killer bonus features, and of course it’s Othello’s favorite Doctor Who, with its killer black cats.)
Speaking of cats, Oberon is at the vet’s office overnight tonight after having his claws removed. Poor little guy. You know, it’s strange. So many cats have come through the door of this house that we’ve gotten attached to (i.e. Sampson or Gabby) or that I’ve taken one look at and said “Not the one, no, no, not the one…and this…is the wrong kitten” (i.e. Obsidian). But somehow, Obi has been the one just about from the moment I set eyes on him. Maybe it’s because the poor little guy’s such a dimwit that this automatic instinct to protect the slowest of the herd kicks in. But for whatever reason, I love the little guy and miss him pretty badly now that he’s not here for a night. He really is the Derek Zoolander of the cat world – pretty, but not exactly touched by brilliance. I’ll be happy to see his cat carrier come back through the door with him in it.
Well, the Hogs lost by nearly 20 points. I guess we’ll see what kind of mess comes with the Heath rumors.… Read more
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Boy’s hand will squeeze the giant’s heart
Before I forget:
Happy birthday Olivia! The cuddly kitten is a year old today, and she’s got a brand new puffball to play with to prove it.
In other news, I just got back from hearing the baby’s heartbeat. Turns out we’re still six weeks away at least from knowing a gender (the suspense, and not knowing what to buy just yet, is killing us), but either way, the little one’s already got a new nickname: THUMPER.… Read more
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Reality keeps calling me away from my dreams
Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I’ve been a little bit busy.
Now that we’re running up on three months since Oberon came into our lives, one thing is becoming quite dense: our Obi is denser than a neutron star. I love the little fuzzy guy, but by having him neutered, we’ve automatically raised the collective IQ of future generations of cats in this area by default. He’s fiercely loyal and lovable, and loves everyone who lives under this roof with him, but somehow he’s just missing some vital feline survival instincts, and I really question whether or not he’d still be alive if we hadn’t taken him in. Poor little furry doofus.
To make sure he does stay around, though, we’ve made an appointment to have him declawed next week. He’s a great cat to just pick up and cuddle, and he never bites or scratches unless something catches him completely off-guard. My youngest niece has a cat named “Spaz” who she hauls around like a sack of potatoes and plays with, and gives her no problems at all. Obi has great potential to be my kid’s “Spaz” – he’s got that same lovable, luggable and harmless thing going for him, and we want to keep it that way. The other kitties have taken him on board completely (though Othello still gets a bit irritated with him if the young’un is being a bit too playful). … Read more
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The Catboy Chronicles and more
It’s time for eight feet of adventure! Not meaning eight feet tall, mind you – just two little sets of four little fuzzy feet each getting into way more trouble than you’d really think them capable of. (Olivia just watched.) And just what kind of trouble did we find ourselves in? Tune in next time, true believers – same cat time, same cat station. … Read more
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Horsing around
From today’s farm festivities…
At least until I have a kid around to hug me, horsie hugs are the best.
“Mini Whinny” is most appreciative that I shoveled poop out of her stall this morning. … Read more
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Random ramblings of minimal importance
Sam ‘n’ Ella better keep away from my peanut butter cookies. I’m a mongrel for crunchy peanut butter, so this news is rather alarming. In other news, to make a completely bizarre segue into another topic, someone’s finally cracked the Tagalong Code: if you’re craving that most delicious variety of Girl Scout Cookies during those times of the year when Girl Scout Cookies aren’t available, try out Keebler’s new peanut-butter-filled fudge cookies. I forget what they’re actually called, but OMG they’re delicious. They’re still not quite perfect – Tagalongs are thinner and I like the chocolate coating better on them – but they’re as close as anyone’s gotten. (And they’re about a buck cheaper.) That said, I’m still craving genuine Tagalongs, but it looks like I missed the bus for this year’s order. 🙁
Robin Hood: Cats On Printers. The funny picture yesterday of Obi standing proudly atop my PC is not an isolated incident, so my game room has become Off Limits To Kitties While Daddy’s Away. Sad, really, because the window in there, which is all overgrown with brush, is teeming with birds year-round – it’s like Cat TV. You can find one or both of the kittens sitting in there on top of the scanner, watching the window all glossy-eyed. But when Obi jumps on top of the printer, decides that it’s a good idea to jump up and try to tag either an arcade marquee (which is damn close to the ceiling) or the Doctor Who pinball backglass (perched in the upper pane of the window in a way that isn’t precarious until someone starts screwing with it), and then all that jumping threatens to dislodge both printer and Vectrex from their slots on the shelf…well…I suppose this is just a sneak preview of things to come. 😆 My game room is going to need quite a bit of work to make it kid-friendly. Fortunately, I already have some ideas on that front, ideas which I’ll share shortly. Gaming folks with limited space and/or concerns about keeping their consoles clean of dust and other things may want to pay close attention… … Read more
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Sad Claude
This is Claude the mouse.
Every kid has a favorite toy that they don’t go anywhere without, and kitty kids are no exception. Claude is Olivia’s buddy. In his younger days, Claude was full of catnip and he was Iago’s buddy. Even without catnip though, Claude has made lots of friends in our house – Olivia picks him up in her mouth by one well-worn ear or the other and carries him around with her, like a teddy bear. Oberon likes Claude too – so much that he jumped up on top of my PC while I was trying to get a picture of Claude in a rare peaceful moment. Obviously, there’s no peace for Claude.
Why Claude? Because he’s almost been Claude to pieces between the two kittens.
Oberon really shouldn’t be up there, by the way. Bad kitty! 😯
… Read more
