One of the super-useful bits of advice I picked up somewhere about writing and blogging goes like this: most people can't write for a book and a blog at the same time, because our brains get different kinds of feedback and rewards from each. For most of us, if we had to pick, we'll write in our blogs because the feedback and interaction is more immediate and rewarding, and it trains us to write short bursts instead of longer narrative pieces.
YMMV, of course, but I can't do both, and I'm having such a good time writing this thing that I'm writing, I really don't want to stop until it's done, so here's something that should be entertaining until I get back[1]:
Actual recordings of classic video games, digitized from the original cassette recordings.
We recorded our video game experiences from 1982 until 1988 in a variety of locations on the east coast. Most of the recordings come from Ithaca, NY, Albany, NY and Ocean City, MD. Other locations include Lancaster, PA, Falmouth, MA, Rehoboth Beach, DE and Key West, FL.
Luckily I stored all fourteen audio tapes in a safe place and rediscovered them when I moved the rest of my stuff out of my parents house in 1997. In the last several years I digitized these nostalgic recordings to preserve and share them.
This is the most wonderful thing, ever. You get the little kid commentary about games that suck, the occasional burst of excitement when a difficult level is cleared, and the pure unadulterated joy of hearing the other games around the one they were recording. For maximum fun, I suggest putting it in a tab you aren't looking at, and see how long it takes you to identify the sound clips once they start playing.
Man, I wish I had room and the money for a few arcade cabinets, or at least a MAME cabinet. I'm going to keep on reaching for that goal.
Hey, this'll be fun: you can have any four classic arcade games in the world. Maintenance and cost aren't a factor, and there's no ROM swapping. Which ones to you pick? It's really tough, but more fun if you don't spend a ton of time thinking about it, so it's right off the top of your head. Here are mine:
You also get one pinball machine. I pick Creature from the Black Lagoon.
When you get tired of riding the nostalgia train, you may want to unwind with the Cerebral or Medieval music collections from Magnatune.[1] I am well aware that you can all get along just fine without me, I just needed a segue and that was the best I could do on short notice.
