Oldest player contest!

[Luminara]

3 minutes ago, DoctorDitko said:

Tesla's AC won out over Edison's DC.

 

The war hasn't ended.  Edison envisioned locally generated DC serving small neighborhoods and/or individual homes.  Despite having been stalled and nearly defeated by AC's ability to transmit over very long distances, what Edison foresaw has recently begun to occur.  PV technology, charge controllers and batteries have become significantly more efficient in the last couple of decades, and the prices have declined drastically.  Small electric co-ops are setting up PV arrays all over the U.S., and larger companies have been investing in the technology as well, setting up their own arrays and paying individual homeowners who feed back into the grid.  We aren't far from exactly what Edison tried to create now, with the exception being, it's in the hands of the people, not one man or a handful of select firms.  If the trend continues, we could, in our lifetimes, see locally generated DC from solar panels becoming the default in suburban neighborhoods, solar panels in most rural back yards and panels on every high-rise and skyscraper.  There's even photovoltaic glass now, which, if the price falls enough and the efficiency is sufficient, could replace standard windows on skyscrapers and provide a means for every building to become completely grid-independent.

 

Again, we aren't quite at that point yet, but we're much closer, and it's not likely to be ten or twelve decades before DC becomes the standard.  We'll still be using AC, via inversion, in most homes and where power is shared amongst multiple people, but the generators, the solar panels, will be DC, and there's so much DC technology on the market now, it's not a stretch to say that homes of the near future could be DC-only.  No more AC plugs and sockets, just USB ports and car cigarette lighter sockets.  DC LEDs for lighting.  12/24/48v appliances.

 

The end result could, conceivably, be AC being phased out for all but single appliance usage and long distance transmission.  Which would make them both winners.  Local DC plants, AC transmission lines, both in homes.

[DoctorDitko]

Wow, Luminara, you sure live up to your name! Thanks for the enlightenment!

Just about anything better than our current coal-fired idiocy would be welcome.

[Yomo Kimyata]

So, almost 15 years ago, I went on a Match date with someone who was 8 years my younger, and went to the same college I did.  We met for coffee at a crowded Starbucks and got a table.  Since the main thing I knew about her was our mutual school, I asked her when the last time she was on campus.  She goes on this big tirade about how all these spoiled kids have cell phones, and *I* didn't have a cell phone, and blah blah blah.  I can appreciate a good rant, so I nodded and said, "If you think that was bad, we didn't have email when I was there."

 

By some strange coincidence, every conversation in the place had gone quiet just at the moment I said that, so my statement went out alone into the silence.  *record scratch*

 

She leans across the table slowly and whispers incredulously, "How old ARE you?!?"

[EmmySky]

3 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

So, almost 15 years ago, I went on a Match date with someone who was 8 years my younger, and went to the same college I did.  We met for coffee at a crowded Starbucks and got a table.  Since the main thing I knew about her was our mutual school, I asked her when the last time she was on campus.  She goes on this big tirade about how all these spoiled kids have cell phones, and *I* didn't have a cell phone, and blah blah blah.  I can appreciate a good rant, so I nodded and said, "If you think that was bad, we didn't have email when I was there."

 

By some strange coincidence, every conversation in the place had gone quiet just at the moment I said that, so my statement went out alone into the silence.  *record scratch*

 

She leans across the table slowly and whispers incredulously, "How old ARE you?!?"

Everyone tells me I dont look my age...I say the fat fills in the wrinkles...but I am VERY wary of meeting/dating someone younger.  My ex-husband was just 3 months younger and we all know how that turned out lol...I cannot imagine someone who basically grew up in a totally different world understanding me.

 

So cheers to the older but wiser(ish) folks...at least we all have each other!

[Sir Myshkin]

Quote

She leans across the table slowly and whispers incredulously, "How old ARE you?!?"

 

 

[Nemeroff]

9 hours ago, Techwright said:

... and the Magnavox Odyssey console at a kid's club I attended.

1st kid on the block to own an Atari 2600, which I still have with about 40 games, and it still works (though not currently hooked up)....

47

We had the Magnavox Odyssey (older brother's), and the Atari 2600.

 

Edit: Found where someone hid the old Atari and the games; still have them.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Nemeroff

[Frostbiter]

23 minutes ago, EmmySky said:

Everyone tells me I dont look my age...I say the fat fills in the wrinkles...but I am VERY wary of meeting/dating someone younger.  My ex-husband was just 3 months younger and we all know how that turned out lol...I cannot imagine someone who basically grew up in a totally different world understanding me.

 

So cheers to the older but wiser(ish) folks...at least we all have each other!i

Ex's right? Can't live with them, can't show anyone where the body is buried.  I'm kidding. I think my ex is still alive. We're not exactly on speaking terms anymore. If you can believe it  I left because she was the mean one.

[DoctorDitko]

My ex-wife and I remain friends. I consider that a point of pride.

My kids, on the other hand...

Ah, well. You can't have everything. Where would you put it?*

 

 

* Thanks, Stephen Wright!

[Coyotedancer]

2 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

Cats? OK, them too. But don't let them kill birds.

Seriously.

They kill all the birds.

 

That's why you keep them inside.

 

Well, that and protecting them from coyotes, dogs, cars, ticks, fleas, assholes and a host of diseases. Indoor cats tend to have longer, healthier lives for a reason.

[Frostbiter]

Sort of off-topic/on-topic but is it wrong for me to sneak onto my ex's Amazon Prime and watch The Boys after I changed all the passwords to my streaming accounts?

Edited September 5, 2020 by Frostbiter

[Argent Aegis]

1 minute ago, DoctorDitko said:

My ex-wife and I remain friends. I consider that a point of pride.

My kids, on the other hand...

Ah, well. You can't have everything. Where would you put it?*

 

 

* Thanks, Stephen Wright!

Stephen Wright......great stand up.  I remember him doing an episode of HBO's  "One Night Stand".  I still think of couple of his lines occasionally.

 

"Woke up today and found that everything has been replaced by an exact duplicate"

and

"I have instant water...I can't figure out what to add" ( I think of that sometimes with problems at work)

[Coyotedancer]

1 hour ago, Argent Aegis said:

Google "The Phoenix" for Benu. It's a niche show that was terribly cheesey and barely a season. But you can track the actor to the best OG "Star Trek" movie.

 

Hated the Wonder Twins. Despised that dang monkey too. 

 

That monkey was the pits.

 

Judson Scott was pretty darn foxy though, in an 80's surfer-boy kind of way. XD

[DoctorDitko]

Shocked to hear he was not originally credited for his role. Hope they fixed that in later releases!

 

Still trying to track down The Phoenix. No luck on the legit channels, may have to go redside for a bit...

[EmmySky]

35 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:

Ex's right? Can't live with them, can't show anyone where the body is buried.  I'm kidding. I think my ex is still alive. We're not exactly on speaking terms anymore. If you can believe it  I left because she was the mean one.

I am sure my ex would say the same of me...he is around here somewhere.  

[gamingglen]

10 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

 

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by gamingglen

[Frostbiter]

Just now, EmmySky said:

I am sure my ex would say the same of me...he is around here somewhere.  

It takes two to fight. Sometimes things don't work out and we all do things we regret later. God knows I could have behaved better myself at times.

[Argent Aegis]

39 minutes ago, DoctorDitko said:

Shocked to hear he was not originally credited for his role. Hope they fixed that in later releases!

 

Still trying to track down The Phoenix. No luck on the legit channels, may have to go redside for a bit...

Thought I saw that there was an episode or two on You Tube about a year or so ago. Not sure about all of them.  My memory of enjoying that show probably wouldn't survive seeing it again now.  Just as I don't want to re-watch "V" now.  Back then Marc Singer was so cool in my younger mind between that and "Beastmaster" so I want to try to preserve that.

[Sovera]

We're a lot older than I thought, but on hindsight it's not that weird since so many of us are here for the nostalgia angle of a 15 year old game.

 

I'm just glad I'm not the oldest ^^

[DoctorDitko]

Ah, give it a while. You'll catch up!

[Sovera]

2 minutes ago, DoctorDitko said:

Ah, give it a while. You'll catch up!

I'm nearly 44, so no doubt!

[Doomguide2005]

Good news!  Most of you make me feel old.  Of course that's cause all you except a select few can "get off my lawn".  I've broken the 6 decade mark.  Woot, woot and a Rawr. 🥳

[Techwright]

5 hours ago, Ura Hero said:

 

Hah.  Same age (53) and I used to have a 8 inch floppy with the original Star Trek game for IBM system 34/36/38 systems.  Just found my old Atari Computer in the basement.  Too bad I don't have any of the floppies or cartridges that go with it anymore.

I didn't encounter the original Star Trek game until my best friend got his Commodore 64.  5 minutes for the tape drive to load it up.

 

Was it an Atari 400 or 800?  I used to be a mall rat/arcade rat, and once I used up all my quarters at Aladdin's Castle, I'd head over to VideoConcepts in hopes some friendly store attendant would let me play the demo games on 400's and 800's when customers weren't shopping for them.

3 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

Oh, man.

 

I know what you mean. I'm hideously allergic to cats, but doglike cats sound amazing.

 

I had to bury two this year, in hard clay soil, and the effort was nothing compared to the grief.

 

Bad cat allergies, here too, but yeah, dog-like cats sound wonderful.

 

We raised many dogs, and SC soil is clay.  I never could seem to dig deep enough to satisfy Dad, even though I exhausted and trying to break through a lower layer of clay as hard as bedrock.  We eventually switched to cremating our dogs and burying the ashes.  Much easier on the back, and surprisingly, less grief since we were not struggling with the body.

3 hours ago, cranebump said:

Sounds like we need a new SG called "Geezers Unanimous." Anyone in?:-)

Depends.  And by that I mean we may need to pack some if we're on a long task force.

7 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

OK, I think I have a tongue-in-cheek test for antiquity:

2. Name Zeppo's brothers.

 

Now name all the Three Stooges.

3 hours ago, Argent Aegis said:

51 here.  Not the oldest, but apparently part of a larger age bracket than I thought.

 

So cheers to all of you who:

1) Looked forward to spending Saturday mornings with Blackstar and Thundarr.

2) Watched Superfriends before the Wonder Twins.

3) Thought finding the secret room in "Adventure" was the COOLEST THING EVER.

4) Listened to anything on 8 track...including playing with something called 2XL.

 

1)  Those were a bit late in my sugar cereal-overloaded Saturday mornings.  I'm remembering the premier of Scooby Doo, Where Are You!...the FIRST Scooby Doo (as I'm sure many others are). 

Saturday mornings were something like 50% Hanna-Barbera, 40% Krofft, and 10% Filmation. 

Want a trivia question?  What was the secret of "Big John, Little John"?

 

2)  Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog.  I didn't really care for either trio, but at least the Wonder Twins made a certain sense as to why they were hanging out at the Hall of Justice.  I really just wanted them to make The Flash a permanent character, rather than just a guest star.  I've never figured out why they never had Martian Manhunter, since he's considered critical to the team roster ever since (except the Joss Whedon movie)

 

3)  For us, it was the dragon.  My school had bought a Gimix mainframe to teach the first computer classes, and after we finished homework, 20 of the guys and I would all be playing Adventure.  We were stumped for 2 weeks on the trick of removing the sleeping dragon from on top of the Persian rug.  After so long, one of the guys cracked, and in rage typed, yelling "Kill Dragon!" The game got snippy with him, and when he retorted, it congratulated him on killing the dragon.  Everyone was in shock, and laughed about it for a very long time.

 

4) Dad had a very large 8-track, cassette, and record collection, maybe around 1200 pieces.  He even had reel-to-reel from the 60's, though I wasn't allowed to touch that.

2 hours ago, Argent Aegis said:

Google "The Phoenix" for Benu. It's a niche show that was terribly cheesey and barely a season. But you can track the actor to the best OG "Star Trek" movie.

 

Hated the Wonder Twins. Despised that dang monkey too. 

I remember The Phoenix.  Considering the show lasted 1 month, I'm kinda surprised I do.  Even Manimal the next year lasted longer.   When I saw Wrath of Khan, I remember thinking about Joaquim, "Hey, that's Phoenix!"

2 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

They did some sly parodies of all that stuff in the last season of Justice League Unlimited.

Watching the Wonder Twins get beat down was a treat!

There have also been references to the early Superfriends in the animated show Young Justice.  The gang have friendly classmates named Marvin and Wendy.  I think they had a dog, too, though I don't recall for sure.

[Doomguide2005]

Pong and a channel changer for the state of the art black and white that went kathunk when used.  And nightmares from "The Lights of Zetar"

[Techwright]

27 minutes ago, Doomguide2005 said:

nightmares from "The Lights of Zetar"

It was the "Devil in the Dark" episode that did it for me.

[DoctorDitko]

Oh, man, me too! That damn voice scared the sh*t out of 6? year old me. Talk about your behind-the-sofa moments!

 

And my aunt had the tuning-fork-esque clunk remote. Jiggling car keys would also set it off. Folks have started religions on less.