Day 2--musings and free associations

So, on day 2 I discover that there is such a thing as Blog-spam. I guess I should have known. I was thinking I'd watch to see how long I go before someone comments on my Blog but this would have been an uninteresting number if Spam comes through. So I enabled the Spam blocker function--hope it works and doesn't annoy any potential commenters. (If any readers ever show up). Blogging would be the ultimate vanity press if I have to tell my family to get someone to read it.
Today I discovered a Blog by someone who referred to her early gaming experience. Although she did mention Lode Runner which was a great early game, she missed many of my favorites. We had an Apple II at home when I was a teenager--back in the 70's. This is due to my having a hi-tech parent. We logged uncounted hours by modem playing Adventure. I try to explain to teenagers these days what it was like playing a game that was entirely text-based. Part of the fun was hand drawing my own maps. Of course, no one could call us when we were on-line. Perhaps this was part of the appeal. The magic word was XYZZY. I thought some of the writing was great. I will never forget being in the "Maze of twisty little passages, all alike." We finished the game although we may have had to resort to an early "cheat"--I have no idea how we figured this one out pre-internet.
We also played games using our television as the monitor. Of course there was Pong. Everyone knows about Pong. But does anyone remember Dino Eggs? Seriously? It was sort of like Space Invaders if I remember correctly. All I know is the music used to haunt me. I'd have Dino Egg music dreams for days after playing. It would be fun to find out if anyone has converted it to any current game systems. My modern favorite is Civilization IV although I've been too busy doing other fun stuff to indulge for many weeks.
The challenge these days is keeping up with the kids. If you actually looked at my profile, I'm a mental health professional. So my patients Blog, IM, play Grand Theft Auto (my kids aren't allowed), and do things with cell phones that I cannot figure out. Sometimes I'm cool because I can speak fluent Yugioh, but other times I realize that I still haven't learned to program my cell phone which is not cool. One grandmother cannot believe that I know the difference between and RPG and an RTS. I think this impresses her more than where I went to college.
One of my fondest wishes is that when I am truly elderly (not just appearing it to the average kid) I will be able to keep up to date with the new technologies. My latest efforts to this effect are blogging, photoshopping (I love my digital camera) and I hope to download photos to Flickr (as soon as I can figure out how to copywrite them). Future goals may include learning Macromedia Flash and Fusion. I also am hoping to figure out how I can update my Blog while on vacation in Europe. Since I probably will not have a computer this should be fun.
Regards------