Video Games in 1983

I was poking around the internet today looking for apps for the new Android tab I bought a few weeks ago. One of the search terms I used was "Coleco," a company that made handheld video games when I was a kid in the early 1980s. A look at Wikipedia enlightened me to a few random and interesting facts:

  • Coleco was started as the Connecticut Leather Company, evolving to make video games AND Cabbage Patch Kids
  • In 1983, there was something called the North American Video Game Crash. Essentially a confluence of factors led to the industry imploding, including complete market saturation, crappy games, and retailers believing video games were a passing fad. Beyond that, there were also licensing issues that weren't worked out so anyone with some money and technical know how could reverse engineer systems, games, etc. In two years time, the industry lost 97% of its revenues.
Best of all it made me think about the Intellivision system we had as a kid. The disc was cool, but the ergonomics were awkward. After a long day of video gaming your thumbs would ache.

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I feel bad that my son will never know the joys of blowing in a game cartridge to get it to work...

Boredom=Creativity

This is what happens when you leave a kid to his own devices and give him the freedom to get bored and build stuff.

The next time you see a parent over-scheduling their kids, worrying about which pre-school they might get into, or doing everything for them just think of what this kid did with a bunch of old cardboard boxes, imagination, and time. Pretty awesome.

Nostalgia

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I found this picture on a Tumblr set up by the admissions department from my alma mater. The building it was taken from was where most of my classes were (I think the window is the classroom where I had one of my senior seminars). The building framed in the window is where I lived my senior year (2nd floor). I spent many a nights on that porch, drinking beer and discussing the world's problems.

Two Types of Failure

So I read an article headline this morning asking, "Is Wallet Google's Next Failure?" The title suggests that, as an organization, Google keeps missing the mark AND that the author is enjoying their failures. This made me think for a second about corporate America and it's fear of failure and mistakes. If you think about it, there are really two types of failure out there with companies: 
  1. BIG Failure: This is where an organization puts all of its eggs in one basket, releases something, and has it blow up in their face. 
  2. Little Failure: This is where an organization has a lot of smaller programs not work out.
There is a big difference between these two ideas. The BIG failure is potentially catastrophic. It means that the overriding strategy, related efforts, and major goals that likely ate up a lot of time and resources are not going to work out. A new direction is needed immediately. The little failure means that one idea didn't work and that there are likely other ideas behind it.

If Wallet ultimately fails, wouldn't that be a little failure for Google? Unlike an organization like Palm or Kodak, Google's failures seem to arise from trying many ideas out. Many, many ideas over the course of time. While I'm sure they don't want them all to fail, I'm sure they have a failure rate that is acceptable to them.

This leads to a bigger idea, if you want to innovate, failure is part of the game. Allowing many ideas to develop and fail allows you to see your mistakes, develop solutions, and come up with new ideas to try next time. If you're afraid of the little failure, aren't you just setting yourself up for the BIG failure? 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

It's hard to believe I haven't sent anything, not even a rant, to this blog in six weeks. I'll try to blog more. It also reminds me that maybe I should look at the myriad of blogs I have out there and try to hone them down into one or two, more liberal arts style blogs. Maybe one for the written word, one for photos, and one for something else.  I don't know. 

Until then, I hope everyone is enjoying a safe and happy holiday season. Here's a picture of Sean, pre-Christmas, looking exactly like his grandfather did in one from 40 years ago.

My Superpower

We all have ridiculous superpowers that are worth nothing. No practical value at all. One of mine, I apparently inherited from my father.  The power to spot minor celebrities every time I leave the house on a trip. I've seen Larry King, Lee Corso, Jon Gruden, etc. Today, I saw Newt Gingrich and his wife in Chicago's O'Hare airport.

I don't agree with him politically, but independent of that, I noticed a few things about the pair:

1) They travel light. There wasn't an entourage, they didn't have much luggage (I bet they checked it).

2) They're smaller than I thought. They're both about the same height and seemed much shorter than me (I'm six foot).

3) They're made for television. His hair was big. She was very bright (hair color). They both look severe in a way. Like they've been specifically built for the camera, but lose something in real life. 

A number of years ago, while he was still my Senator, I met John Edwards in the airport. The person I was with knew him (they lived in the same neighborhood). The difference was a bit startling. Edwards was charismatic from across the room. It felt like you wanted to be around him. He felt like a leader. Newt, on the other hand, did not. He and his wife had an air around them that said something else. Not quite, "go the hell away," but something like that. 

Manufacturing in the USA

We often hear that Made in the USA is a dying thing. Too often this is true, and we end up spending less but getting less. One place where that trend is being bucked is in small-scale manufacturing, especially for luggage and brief cases. In the search for an organizational tool, I found Rickshaw Bags. They have a video that shows what happens when you order a bag and how it gets made. It's worth a look:

They also have a fresh bag feed that lets you see photos of your new bag as it is made, by hand, for you. 

Maybe if we were all willing to spend a little more on good quality stuff, we could make things a little better around here.

I also forgot to mention, that they use a reusable mailing pouch (that your mail back to them) instead of a lot of packaging.

What Have You Done for ME?

I've recently noticed a strong sense of selfishness in America. I understand that when the economy gets bad, people naturally turn to their own self-interests. It's shown up often in the political discourse and how individual citizens talk about the direction our economy and our country is headed. What have you done for me, what will you do for me, and why are you helping those people seem to be more and more common attitudes (though not necessarily in that order all the time). The one place it is popping up and I don't understand it it the case of the freed American hikers, Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd. 

If you read comments on stories covering their long overdue release, people are actually saying they got what they deserved. I'm seeing comments like:

another prime example of people demanding freedom without accountability and or suffering the consequences of their actions

or

Dear government of Iran, we would really appreciate it if you kept idiots like these.  We don't want them back.  We are more than happy to have you feed, clothe and house them for the rest of their lives.

While likely not the safest activity in the world, those who attempt to climb Everest or engage in other, similar activities, don't receive this type of scorn. Other comments are unhappy with their criticism of any US policies (which so far have been very soft) and strike a definite love it or leave it tone. These attitudes seem to be a reflection and extension of the economic, what have you done for me lately idea permeating policy discussions. The idea that young Americans might go to a strange part of the world to experience culture and nature is so foreign to some people, that it's wrong. 

As Americans we should be happy that US citizens are home. We should be happy that our government cared about them enough to work for over two years to bring them home. This is exactly what our government is for. To protect the rights of the individuals, to work on behalf of its citizens. These young people don't deserve our scorn because they now criticize a corrupt Iranian regime that holds political prisoners for speaking out and asking for the same rights protected by our Constitution. 

Too many Americans seem to have forgotten what Democracy means. It doesn't mean we live in a society where we say all the time, "there oughta be a law..." it means we should be looking for opportunities to say, "there shouldn't be a law." It also means that our government doesn't imprison people and strip them of their rights (like we do in Cuba to many young people who are not terrorists), it means that it should be protecting rights of citizens against larger interests be they corporations, those who would impose a theocracy, or countries like Iran.

Regardless of how you feel about these young people and their comments since coming home, our protection of free speech means that we as a society need to tolerate these ideas. These young people went through a horrible ordeal that is not due to them being reckless or irresponsibility. They're out there experiencing the world before they have responsibilities or expectations on our society (mortgage, social security, Medicare, etc.) and really represent the best of our youth.  Why? Because they want to understand how the world works and make it and the United States better despite living through a horrible experience. 

There is nothing wrong with seeing the world. There is nothing wrong with being young and having a sense of adventure. There is nothing wrong with speaking out against an injustice (be it in a foreign country or here at home). But there is a lot wrong with having a closed mind that only thinks of one's self and thinks that if others receive help it means that they're losing something. 

Why I Changed My TV

For years and years I have loved television.  I mean adored it in a way that is probably not healthy. In 1995 and 1996 I can safely say that I watched at least one episode of each and every network show. When I started working I realized that instead of majoring in history and political science, I probably should have gone to school for communications and media studies. I should be the guy they ask about television shows in interviews on television. 

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I think my parents owned this exact 1974 Zenith Console TV

That being said, I recently said good bye to Directv. I did not add cable. I found that overall television has descended into a black hole absent of creativity. For every 30 Rock there are plenty of shows I will never, ever watch. Too much of cable has become a wasteland of reality shows: dangerous jobs, people hoarding piles and piles of junk, vapid idiots trying to be the dumbest person to every walk the face of the Earth. Outside of HBO and a handful of shows on other networks (30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, How I Met Your Mother) there is absolutely nothing to watch on pay television.  Nothing.

So after some investigation, I discovered I could stream two of the three sports I love (NHL and MLB), use an over-the-air antenna to get HD network programming, and stream the rest via Netflix and Hulu (though the verdict is still out on Hulu as it doesn't seem to have much content). As a result, our cable bill that was once around $105 per month is now replaced by $24 in streaming and DVD services. That's about $1,000 a year in savings.  The best part? I don't miss a thing (except Larry David which I'll get on DVD as soon as it comes out).

Actually, I've been watching shows and movies I always meant to try or watch again like Sports Night or Starblazers or Louie (from FX). Instead of wading through crap, I'm doing the programming and finding good stuff. Plus, by going OTA I get three PBS stations. So I now get more nature and history shows than on satellite.

You can do it too.  There is absolutely no reason to keep paying for cable. They gave up trying to really entertain you. They don't produce anything worth watching. If you're happy to pay $100+ a month so you don't miss an episode of Alaskan State Troopers or Frightening Old Ladies who Hoard Piles of Shit and Cats then by all means feel free. But, if like me, you miss the glory days of television and would rather not participate in the corporate sham that exists today, then join me. You won't miss a thing.