Playing Handheld Electronic Games in Late 1970s #SHORTS

Playing Handheld Electronic Games in Late 1970s #SHORTS

I had three handheld electronic games in the late 1970s.

The Mattel Football Game allowed you to score touchdowns and kick field goals against the opposing team. If you figured out the pattern for the opposing team, you can score 100 points to zero points for every game.

You couldn’t beat the Mattel Battlestar Galactica Space Alert. The game ended only when a Cylon Raider reaches the bottom of the screen to destroy the Galactica. Each wave of 20 Cylon Raiders kept coming down the screen in the same predictable pattern. That pattern allowed me to play the game for a very long time.

The Coleco Quiz Wiz was a bit different. The “computer” plugs into a cartridge with a booklet that had 1,001 trivia questions. Since I memorized the 1,001 answers for the first cartridge, I had the answers for the second and third cartridges. I gave up on buying any more cartridges after I discovered that pattern.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.

Playing Two Early Video Game Consoles in 1977 #SHORTS

Playing Two Early Video Game Consoles in 1977 #SHORTS

My parents got me two video game consoles that came out in 1977.

The Magnavox Odyssey 2000 was similar to the Atari Pong. Both Magnavox and Atari came out with their version of Pong in 1972. Magnavox sued Atari for patent infringement in 1974 and won their case in 1977. Atari paid $700,000 for a licensing agreement.

The Coleco Telstar Combat was a tank combat game. A pair of fixed joysticks controlled the movement of each tank and the button fires the gun. Players maneuvered their tank around the walls to shoot at each other.

Both consoles hooked up to the TV via the TV/game switch box. That switch box would hold a prominent place in my life for the next 15 years.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.

Playing The Atari Pong Arcade Machine in 1975 #SHORTS

Playing The Atari Pong Arcade Machine in 1975 #SHORTS

I was five years old when I first saw the Atari Pong arcade machine in 1975. My father and I were in the basement of the Sear’s store outside of downtown San Jose. Like many department stores in the area at that time, the return desk was in the basement. We waited while my mother returned something.

My father reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter, and dropped it into the coin slot. The black-and-white game started after a moment. We each turned a knob to control a paddle that bounced the ball across the screen. I don’t recall what the final score was when the game ended. No doubt that my father won since his hand-eye coordination was better than a five-year-old.

I wouldn’t play another arcade machine until the early 1980s.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.

Renfield (2023) Movie Review #SHORTS

Renfield (2023) Movie Review #SHORTS

“Renfield” opens with Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult, sitting in a therapy group at a church. He talks about his toxic relationship with his boss, Dracula, played by Nicolas Cage.

The movie rewinds to show how they first met in the “Dracula” movie in 1931. The faces of Hoult and Cage replacing Dwight Frye and Bela Lugosi in their respective roles. A clever way to tie back this movie to the original movie.

While battling a vampire hunter and a priest, Dracula gets burnt to a crisp from sunlight. Fast forward 90 years to modern-day New Orleans. Dracula is still recovering from his injuries. Renfield very much wants to live his own life.

The therapy group enables Renfield to get his own place and start a romantic relationship. When Dracula finds out that his needs were being neglected, he confronts Renfield and then the therapy group. When someone shouts out that he was Renfield’s boss, he kills them all.

That prompts Renfield to put an end to Dracula once and for all.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.

SiliCon With Adam Savage 2023 CANCELLED #SHORTS

SiliCon With Adam Savage 2023 CANCELLED #SHORTS

The organizers for SiliCon With Adam Savage had cancelled the 2023 show. The website’s F.A.Q. blames COVID-19 for the cancellation. Never mind that COVID-19 didn’t stop the show in 2021 and 2022.

“With Adam Savage” is no longer part of the “SiliCon” convention. Suggesting that Adam Savage was no longer the host for the show. Adam Savage’s own tweet noted that his “tenure as creative director” has ended.

Refunds for tickets will process in the next 14 days.

GOLD TICKET for Silicon with Adam Savage 2023 #SHORTS

GOLD TICKET for Silicon with Adam Savage 2023 #SHORTS

We are six months away from SiliCon With Adam Savage on October 14-15, 2023. Out of the three two-day ticket options, Gold might be the best bang for the buck.

SiliCon With Adam Savage 2023 will be at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Main panel room and dealer room could be in the exhibit halls at the far side. The panel rooms will be upstairs at the opposite side. If you’re going back and forth between the two, that’s a lot of walking.

For $26 more than the General Admission ticket, Gold ticket holders will have priority entry to panels and fast lines for autographs and photo ops. If you’re walking in from the opposite side of the center, you can still get a good seat behind the VIP Platinum ticket holders.

If you’re not into panels, autographs and photo-ops, get the General Admission ticket. If you want the extra perks and can spend the extra money, get the VIP Platinum ticket.