Happy 30th Birthday to Pac-Man!

For a fan of retro video games, I'm surprised that I didn't know it was Pac-Man's 30th Birthday today! Of course, waking up at 6:30 AM for some work stuff probably didn't help as I was a zombie through most of the day today.

However, celebrations are due for the MOST iconic game of the 1980's. The 1980's were the golden age of arcade video games. You had Asteroids, and Space Invaders that all originated in the late 70's and games like Donkey Kong which originated a year after Pac-Man debuted. While Donkey Kong and other games were popular, Pac-Man was the most popular video game of the 1980's. This was for many reasons. The game play was very simple. The graphics were not high tech but were effective and the sound effects, music and other touches (the ghosts, the intermissions) all played a part in Pac-Man's popularity.

I don't recall my first introduction to Pac-Man but it had to be in the early 1980's. I remembered playing the game many times at the arcade but my best memory is from playing Pac-Man on my Atari 5200 with my mom and dad. Those were definitely some interesting times. I remembered excitedly getting my parents to buy Pac-Man for me and playing it for hours, even with the Atari 5200 joystick.

Pac-Man's popularity led to many video game sequels: Ms. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man. I played Ms. Pac-Man and Super Pac-Man a lot through Jr. Pac-Man not as much. There was even a Pac-Man cartoon for sometime that I watched as a youngster.

Today's video games are very technologically advanced and would blow Pac-Man away with their superior graphics and sounds. However, what many newer games today don't have is the simple game play that will allow anyone from kids to older people to get into the games. That is why the Nintendo Wii has gained popularity for it's ability to get many people to play games.

So happy birthday Pac-Man! Let it be a reminder to all the game developers that sometimes simple games can be just as fun as more complicated games.

For those who want to play Pac-Man, Google has a version on their main search page. Click the "Insert Coin" button to play. A special treat for the Google Pac-Man. Click the "Insert Coin" button TWICE and you can play with both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man at the same time. Good luck trying to play both at the same time. You're better off having another person with you! :)

There are also versions of Pac-Man that can be played on various current generation of video game systems for those so inclined.

YouTube celebrates it's 5th Anniversary

The SF Chronicle published this article on YouTube's fifth anniversary:

2 Billion daily views and growing

I posted this comment on the SFGate site and will expand on it later this week:

I remember when people questioned whether YouTube would last. YouTube means a lot of different things to different people. For some, it's about watching old videos they haven't seen in years. For others, it's about reaching out to an audience they otherwise wouldn't be able to reach easily (Indie artists, film makers). Yet, there's always mommy and daddy taking videos of their kid's basketball games and other events.

Youtube is all about the videos right? Well, in a sense, it's also (like someone else said) preserving many pieces of history. THe 9/11 attacks and news coverage? Michael Jackson videos? Little Johnny's videos? Check, Check, and Check.

YouTube has gone from a site about "You" or "Me" to what amounts to a digital archive of today's society and that is something to be celebrated!

Helping those who might need it......

A while ago, a thought crossed my mind that I should look up some information on mental illness. Why? There were two people that I had run into that either had come from tough family upbringings or perhaps had developed some sort of mental illness.

One guy (let's call him Guy #1) is someone that I played basketball with and against on a semi-regular basis. He has a habit of talking and mumbling to himself when he is alone. In addition, when he plays basketball, he gets very distracted and doesn't play defense. So, many of the guys get frustrated and so they don't pick him up to play.

I don't know if he necessarily had a mental illness but he is a very distracted individual. I understood the others frustrations on the court and I admit I got frustrated too. Off the court, I am a pretty easy going individual and tried to talk to Guy #1. I felt being friendly would be a good approach. After all, sometimes people just need someone to talk to. Alas, that didn't get me too far. Guy #1 is not the type to reflect and look at himself.

The second guy (Guy #2) is a former high school classmate of mine. I hadn't seen him in years but ran into him at the mall one day. Like Guy #1, Guy #2 tended to mumble to himself as well. When I talked to him, he stuttered a lot and was very high strung.

The interesting thing is that Guy #2 actually recognized me and we talked a bit. Unlike Guy #1, Guy #2 seemed to be a little more in touch with himself. However, I don't know what issues Guy #2 had in his life as he was working a part time job as a ticket taker at the local theater near the mall. There's absolutely nothing wrong with what he was doing. However, when I asked him what he has been doing since high school, he said had been going to school but never finished. I didn't mean to make him feel guilty but I was just curious.

All in all, I can't say for sure these two individuals had mental illness. They could have just come from some tough circumstances in their family lives. The one thing that does tie these two guys together is that they are drifting through life. Guy #1 indicated that his family had moved back to Asia leaving him and his sister here. Guy #1 is not working and I assume is living off his sister or something. Guy #2 is working a low level job and doesn't seem to have any plan for the future.

For myself, I see these guys and wonder "Why can't anyone help them?" or "Why don't they realize they might need some help?" I am seeing a lot of people these days that are like these two individuals. They wander around and drift through life aimlessly.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing more but I am but one individual and I'm not trained to help people in life matters. Plus, sometimes, friends and/or family need to step up and realize that these individuals need to get help.

My first impression of the Apple IPad

I'm back! I've been busy with work recently and writing the blog hasn't been the highest priority. However, today felt like a good day to get back to writing a bit.

This morning, I officiated a couple of youth basketball games. Afterward, I headed to the mall to grab some lunch (Spaghetti and Meatballs, bread stick, potatoes).

After stuffing my face, I decided to head to the Apple store located in the mall. It had been about a month since the Apple IPad had been released and I figured it would be a good time to check it out.

There were still quite a few people checking out the IPad's, but I got lucky. There was one available IPad that no one was using to I immediately swopped in and began to explore it's functions. Specifically, I used the IPad to check my email, go to Youtube, and browsed around Yahoo. All in all, I spent about 15 minutes or so using the IPad.

My impressions? I surprisingly liked the IPad but not for the reasons that Apple may want. Apple markets the IPad as a replacement for the netbook computers that have taken off in recent years. I don't think the IPad will replace netbooks due to the touch screen keyboard. I found it difficult to touch type. Perhaps I will get better with practice but that was a minus.

It should be mentioned that the IPad touch screen keyboard is better than the IPhone because the screen is bigger. I never liked the IPhone touch screen since it was too easy to hit the wrong key. That is less of a problem with the IPad. Also, there is an option keyboard that can be used though it wasn't demoed at the store.

On the positive side, being able to browse with Safari on a large sized mobile device was great. Watching YouTube videos and seeing websites in full size was definitely a bonus. The IPad's were using basic wireless to connect to the Internet and I had no complaints about the speed.

I believe the IPad is going to be a hit with the multimedia crowd. Lugging a laptop around to watch videos and listen to music is sometimes impractical. The IPad is hardly small BUT is portable enough to not get in the way. I believe tons of people are going to use the IPad to watch videos, listen to music and read a book, especially when they travel.

While the IPad is not great for email or other business applications that require a lot of typing, it's not impossible to use those applications. People will just have to get used to the touch screen keyboard.

Additionally, I saw other people playing with various applications such as games. I didn't get a chance to look at those applications but will try to do so in the future.

All in all, I liked the IPad and would consider getting one just for the multimedia aspects. I love watching YouTube videos and being a music guy, I would listen to tunes as well. However, I won't be getting one anytime soon as I want to see what Apple's future plans are with the IPad before plunking down money for one.