Monthly Archive for October, 2009

I loved Freeway

Published on October 27, 2009 in Random Thoughts. Closed Tags: , .

Freeway by Activision

My mom found this. It was somewhere in her house, probably in the basement with a bunch of other old mail. I definitely played Freeway, a lot. Like any good addictive game, it would still be there, long after I stopped playing, when I closed my eyes. Seeing the picture and screenshot in the “Summer 1982 Activision Video Game Cartridge Catalog” made the memories come flooding back. Now I have to figure out what I should put the patch on.

The text of the letter:

Dear Fan of FREEWAY™ by ACTIVISION:

Congratulations! You guided your chicken through traffic at least 20 times, which qualifies you as an official member of the Activision “Save the Chicken Foundation.”  We are pleased to reward your traffic dodging achievemets with the enclosed patch.

Your name has been added to our mailing list and we will keep you posted on new Activision game cartridges as they become available.

Thank you for sharing your accomplishment with us.  We hope you’ll try other video games by Activision and write us about your experiences with them.

Yours truly,

Jan Marsella
Customer Relations

JM
Enclosure

PS. Please read the enclosed Heat Seal Instructions carefully. Children should not attempt to heat seal the patch to clothing.  Improper use of an iron (or related appliance) may result in damage to clothing, or bodily harm.  This patch may also be sewn to any fabric.

Also be sure to check out the scans of the Activision catalog at flickr.

flights are booked… and I hate pdfs

Published on October 21, 2009 in Computers, Family & Friends and Work. Closed Tags: , , , .

So, I’ve had to create and send PDFs to coworkers this week. I hate PDFs. I believe that they are the devil’s file format. Why would I sink to such a level, you ask? Because my boss doesn’t have/can’t operate Excel (and doesn’t have the web savvy to use Google Docs). There’s lots of rumblings about our boss, but that’s really nothing new. I hate the feeling of instability it lends to my job, though. I’d totally go back to a tech job, if I could find one that was in a laid back environment and paid well… on the other hand, I’d really go for a position at a place with high ropes that had steady work for two or three seasons, even if it paid the same as I’m getting, now.

In other news, we’ll be back on the east coast, doing the family thing and trying to catch up with all the people who I’ve neglected to see on my last couple trips that way from the day after Christmas until about the 30th. Let me know if you have time in there and want to reserve a day or evening, now.