Taito's Wvern F-0: The Dogfighting of Gimmicks in Arcades by Leland Tursi
The seventh issue of Quarter Up, a newsletter about pinball and retro arcade gaming. Articles in this issue: Sonic Speed Cafe in Katy, Texas, the history of Wyvern F-0, two claw-machine arcades, and commentary from Buffalo on the rules-n-regs of pinball.
This article covers a rarely-seen but interesting arcade game: Wyvern F-0 by Taito. This game used a unique graphics system to produce a presudo-3D effect.
Has anyone else heard of this game?
You have my sword, babe.
IBM Model D Executive
I purchased this last week in Wellington, Colorado. The Model D Executive has an unusual feature for a typewriter: a proportionally-spaced font.
This typewriter still needs a lot of work, I plan to have it professionally serviced soon.
I look forward to using it for writing letters.
The typewriter is HEAVY. When you hit the carriage return and the platen snaps back, it shakes the whole desk.
That's a good point, thank you.
That's true. The video that this quote comes is actually about Ellison trolling someone (and in a pretty mean way, too).
I'm inclined toward your view on this.
Is Science Fiction Inherently Hopeful?
I read a lot of Harlan Ellison (worked on The Outer Limits, 80's Twilight Zone, Babylon 5), and I was wondering what people thought of this quote from him:
[S]cience fiction is the only 100% hopeful fiction. That is to say, inherent in the form is, "There will be a tomorrow". If you read a science fiction story, it says, "This will happen tomorrow". Now that’s very positive, that’s very pragmatic, "We’ll be here tomorrow. We may be unhappy, we may be all living like maggots, but we’ll be here." So that means it’s 100% positive.
Ellison has even said that his short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is optimistic, because in the climax, there is still room for self-sacrifice and defiance to authority.
I guess it comes down to whether you think a bleak future is better than no future at all.
Shameless plug for my work if you like Ellison or want to learn more: https://ndhfilms.com/ellison
Issue 6 of Quarter Up
The sixth issue of Quarter Up!, a newsletter about pinball and retro arcade gaming. Articles in this issue: In memory of Buffalo (1951-2014), coverage of ATG Expo 2024, reader responses to last issue’s Sinistar article, the history and legacy of Konami’s Roc’n Rope, and Buffalo asks…is pinball a spo...
Hi @retrogaming,
Here's our Spring issue for 2024.
Retro Gaming articles in this issue:
Cover art by Chris Bordenca
Thanks to DJ Greg at Radio 1190 for reading the piece on their show after I shared it with them. https://ndhfilms.com/hangmanshollow
Centuries before Samuel Johnson's "I refute it thus!" moment.
The only constant is change, remembering the old spots in Boulder at the Dark Horse saloon brings back memories
These were my reflections on the Dark Horse Saloon in Boulder. Roger Ebert, a writer who I admire and who influenced my life in a big way, would hold court at the Dark Horse when he was in town for the Conference on World Affairs. I will be sad to see it go, so I thought I'd put down a few words while I still had time.
'alloc magic is broken' on X60 Tablet when not plugged in?
I did an internal flash of the 20240225 version of Libreboot onto my X60 tablet (Core 2 Duo L7400, 64-bit). I'm using Trisquel 11 as my operating system.
If I turn on the laptop when it's plugged in, it boots up just fine. When I turn in on and it's unplugged, I get this message:
Welcome to GRUB!
alloc magic is broken at [memory address here]
Aborted. Press any key to exit.
Pressing any key doesn't do anything for me here, I have to hold down either power button to turn the laptop off.
Some other notes:
reboot, it will load fine. I can provide the memory address if it helps.
This gave a good laugh, thanks!
Traffic jam on E-470 this morning
Standstill on the toll road today between I-25 and Quebec. People were driving backwards on the shoulder to take the York exit.
Anyone else get caught in that this morning?
A shepherd is only your friend until you get to the killing floor.
The Chaos of Heat by Sefton Eisenhart (Crime story)
The only reason Dash was giving Vince a chance was because they were kind of friends growing up. These days they occupied distinctly opposite places when it came to supply and demand.
The Chaos of Heat is a crime story as unrelenting as the heat wave described in its vivid prose. It follows a man who, wracked by heroin addiction, finds himself at the front of a dangerous robbery spree. Will Vince survive long enough to get his next fix, or is he little more than shark bait, out of his depth?
The Chaos of Heat by Sefton Eisenhart
The only reason Dash was giving Vince a chance was because they were kind of friends growing up. These days they occupied distinctly opposite places when it came to supply and demand.
The Chaos of Heat is a crime story as unrelenting as the heat wave described in its vivid prose. It follows a man who, wracked by heroin addiction, finds himself at the front of a dangerous robbery spree. Will Vince survive long enough to get his next fix, or is he little more than shark bait, out of his depth?
Some words with the writer behind The Chaos of Heat
An interview with Sefton Eisenhart, author of the new crime story The Chaos of Heat I asked him about what he enjoys reading, his writing setup, fanzines, and the authors who inspire him.
My trick for Libreboot on the Macbook 2,1
First off, forgive the low quality of the picture, my digital camera has trouble with photos of computer screens.
In order to install Libreboot, it helps to have GNU/Linux installed on the laptop first. This can be tricky with the MacBook 2,1. The official Libreboot docs (https://libreboot.org/docs/hardware/macbook21.html) offer two options: install from an external USB drive, which can be quite technical, or install from a DVD. The problem with the DVD option is that the optical drives on these MacBooks tend to fail (the optical drive on the one I bought today wasn't working).
Fortunately, there is a much easier way. If you have a 64-bit version of GNU/Linux already installed on an SSD from another laptop, just put it into the MacBook, and it should work. These MacBooks made it easy to upgrade the drive and RAM, by removing the battery, and then loosening three screws to remove a protective plate. When powering the laptop on, hold down the alt/option key. The drive you just put in
I have some sense of where you are coming from. I remember having mixed feelings when a friend of mine said they were trying to conceive with their partner: happy for them, but also sad knowing the friendship would probably change, and bad for feeling sad.
I also have to commend you for understanding that you need friends beyond your boyfriend/girlfriend. Not everyone understands this!
And then he doesn't even like Star Wars? What's up with that?
Inuyasha A Feudal Fairy Tale PS1 Review
A review by YouTube channel SoftwareAgentsHQ. I like the game's smooth sprite animation.
Why we need to stop letting businesses destroy art.
Harlan Ellison Directory
Hello,
I wanted to share one of my ongoing project. This is a directory of works by Harlan Ellison. Ellison was one of the most popular writers of science fiction in his time, but sadly most of his work is out of print. This directory includes summaries of his short stories, essays, book introductions, and teleplays.
Some of Ellison's best-known works include I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman (which influenced V for Vendetta), A Boy and His Dog, Dangerous Visions and the Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever.
So, far, 21 books have been added.
I hope this directory helps keep his work alive. If you're a fan and would like to contribute some write-ups of a book that's not been added yet, let me know.
The hunt for the anonymous cartoonist who transformed pop culture (YouTube Channel: matttt)
How did Disney hide the most popular comic artist in the world? *Carl Barks Reading Guide* While all of Barks’ work has merit, the peak period is generally considered from the late 40s through the early 50s. The key volumes are linked here. The first two are currently out of print, but still ava...
Enjoying my Sunday morning
I woke up this Sunday and the house was dead silent. I had time to lay in bed until 9:30 AM or so. I went downstairs, ground my coffee beans, made a pour-over for myself with some toast.
I wouldn't have it any other way. There's nothing better than having this time alone to just sit and think. On weekdays, I can come home from work and actually have time to decompress and do nothing. I have time for reading and hobbies.
I thought I'd take a moment and count my blessings for being childfree.
Sit down in a sauna, look around, and say, "Wow, it's like a sauna in here!"
They say eating at a Waffle House is trench warfare. I told a friend that, to the contrary, every time I've gone to Waffle House at 2 AM I've been treated Overheard Christmas Eve conversation at the Waffle House
Hopefully this isn't too far out of range. There's a special vibe to those Waffle Houses along I-25.
Booting up Libreboot T440p laptop with Windows 10 (No NVIDIA GPU Required)
YouTube channel Orwellian Penguin has caused a bit of a stir by demonstrating a Librebooted T440P running Windows 10.
Not that anyone asked for it, but here's my opinion: it's better for someone to use free-software browser like IceCat, even if they are going to websites that use non-free JavaScript. In the same way, it's better for someone to have a Libreboot BIOS, even if they are running a non-free operating system.
1960s Olympia DeLuxe ultra-portable
This is an Olympia DeLuxe ultra-portable mechanical typewriter. Ultra-portables are shorter than portable typewriters, I think the idea was that they could fit under an airplane seat. This one uses a cursive typeface, quite unique for the time. Also, the keyboard has a dedicated '1' key. Many typewr...
This Olympia has a cursive font, which would make it well-suited for writing letters.
I have a few questions about these videos. Are the soldiers aware of the drones above them? Are these drones small and quiet enough that you wouldn't notice them unless you were actively looking for them? Why are all these soldiers lying flat? It seems like that makes them much more exposed to these drone-grenade attacks.
Sorry if these questions have obvious answers. I am very ignorant about ground combat and drone warfare, just trying to learn.
"Hmmm, let's do a search to see if anyone else has this problem. This post on Reddit looks promising. This person has the exact same problem as me.
"Wait, it is me."
I've been interested in GNU Taler for anonymous online payments, but it has some problems, namely the documentation is a bit dodgy.
I was just thinking that: being on the spectrum means you've been both of these people, maybe even in the same day.
This is good to know. I've been having trouble getting Invidious to work, I'll have to check out Piped as a front-end.
Thank you for reading! Pencilforge is a talented artist, I have been wanting to work with her for a while.
Comedian Frank Caliendo used to do an impression of John Madden:
"You know what I'm thankful for? Kids who pay sixty bucks each year for what is basically the same video game. A-heh-heh-heh, cha-ching!"
Yes, the T60 is socketed, so I did upgrade mine to use the T7600. The X60 is soldered, though. The rare 64-bit X60 laptops do come with the T7200. There are some X60 tablets with a with a weird 64-bit CPU that's only 1.5 GHz or so.