Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 26th, 2013 in MainThree months ago, Mason joined our local YMCA’s 10-and-under winter basketball league. (He turned 11 just after the league’s cut off date.) I knew Mason liked shooting baskets, but before he signed up for the YMCA league none of us knew if he was any good at actually playing basketball. Turns out, he’s not half bad. His height (he’s tied for the tallest kid on the team) has given him an advantage when it comes to rebounding, and he’s become the team’s default tip-off artist. He’s got a knack for dropping three-point shots, and more importantly, he enjoys playing. We’ve… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 21st, 2013 in Apple II, Commodore 64Over the years I have set up and broken down my old gaming systems and computers many, many times. Sometimes — often times, actually — it seems like I spend more time connecting and configuring and reconnecting and reconfiguring them than I do actually playing games on them. When it comes to old hardware I have a softer spot in my heart for old computers than old console gaming systems, but the biggest problem with them is that they take up so much space. At one time in our old house I had over 20 video game consoles sitting on… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 20th, 2013 in MainAs some of you know, making cool Valentine’s Boxes has become a bit of a tradition around here. (Mason’s Angry Bird Valentine’s Box from last year has links to all of his other boxes as well.) 2013 was a bit different as both kids wanted to make their own boxes. I helped both kids from a design standpoint, but they did everything themselves this year. Morgan said she wanted to make a “happy face” this year, so I sketched this out on a piece of paper for her: A few hours later, she had created this. Not bad! I think… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 15th, 2013 in MainIf the Blair Witch Project didn’t mark the birth of internet viral marketing, it sure as hell perfected it. For months prior to the movie’s release, people were talking about the found footage of “those Blair Witch kids that got lost in the woods.” People argued whether or not the three kids actually disappeared or not, and people argued whether or not there even was a legend of the Blair Witch. Prior to the film’s release, a fake documentary titled The Curse of the Blair Witch ran on Sci-Fi which added fuel to the flames of the whole thing being… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 14th, 2013 in MainFor some reason I really got into the buzz surrounding 2007’s Cloverfield. The whole mystery surrounding the monster combined with the “reality” angle really hooked me. When the movie came out, Susan and I went on opening night. Despite all the film’s hype, we were one of only two couples in the entire theater. Most of Cloverfield was filmed using handheld cameras (“shaky-cam”). It doesn’t bother some people at all. To people who are prone to motion sickness, it can cause headaches or nausea. To the girl sitting two rows behind us in the theater-style seating, it caused her to… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 14th, 2013 in MainZombie love is the best kind of love.
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 13th, 2013 in MainWhen I was nine-years-old, my friend Andy’s grandpa took the two of us to go see Megaforce. If somehow you missed it, consider yourself lucky; Megaforce currently has a 2.9 rating on IMDB and a 0% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Five or ten minutes into the movie, I had to go to the bathroom. Not wanting to disturb anyone I sneaked out of my seat, made my way to the restroom, did my business, and returned to the theater. When I returned, I discovered the film had taken a dark turn. Gone were there bright colors and spandex… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 12th, 2013 in MainNot the old one. The new one. First, a bit of set up here. When I was a kid I saw a television special called “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Monsters… But Were Afraid to Ask!” That show introduced me to a whole world of monsters. It also introduced me to the world of movie special effects. One of the people interviewed in the show was Rick Baker. A big chunk of that same special was dedicated to stop motion animation. It was there that I first heard the names “Ray Harryhausen” and “Willis O’Brien.” (My friends had… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 11th, 2013 in Star WarsI was two or three months shy of turning four-years-old when my parents took me to see Star Wars for the first time. If I remember correctly they had already seen the movie once and decided to see it a second time, this time with me in tow. It’s funny the things a kid remembers. My Mom used to have photos of me taken at TG&Y. If you’re old enough you too may remember walking into department stores and being greeted by a photographer all set up, ready to take photos. That morning my Mom tried to get me to… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 11th, 2013 in Apple II, Console Video Games, PodcastLeaping from moderately mainstream to moderately obscure, Episode 123 of You Don’t Know Flack is dedicated to the CFFA 3000, a relatively new card that plugs into vintage Apple II computers and allows retro hobbyists to load virtual disk images and convert physical disks to virtual disk images (and back). I also coin the word “floppycentric” in this episode. Link: YDKF Episode 123: The CFFA 3000 Facebook: You Don’t Know Flack What on Earth would anyone use an Apple II for?
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