Friday, June 17, 2005
midnight emulation
Written 2005-06-16 01:35
Reverend Tony commands, "should thou art awake at 1.30 in the eve, thou shalt blog till striketh 2 o'clock, after which thou shalt take rest and blogeth no more."
Its a cool enough verse, so let's give it a twirl...
I am awake at this wee hour having been playing the first "Sonic the Hedgehog" game for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive, using Gens. Incidentally while surfing I had discovered that Gens has gone open source and is available from Sourceforge since February 2005. I'm sure they'd have Linux RPMs of the things by now. So should households become the next target of Microsoft's raids here in Jakarta then I can take solace that at the very least the blue rodent shall keep me company, so long as those very nice ROM people keep being flighty enough to not be arrested but not be so flighty that the general 'Net populace cannot find them (if they've moved already try Googling Megadrive ROMs and clicking the fourth or fifth hit). But if those crackers could keep it up with ROM images of consoles past surely they can also keep moving around pirated bits of apps? No matter, Gens is still worthy in its rekindling of memories past.
The first game I ever finished was Sonic 1, I'm sure of it. I had played Karateka, the first Prince of Persia, that bartender thing, and also that black cat thing, Super Mario.... Oh! Carmen Sandiego for the Apple ][! I think I finished one or two Carmens on the ISM computer labs.
At ISM I also had my first encounter with CS Lewis' Narnia chronicles. I think almost every day on third grade, at around four o'clock I'd go to the library and read all seven books. Several pages at a time. Never bringing any home. I read the whole series twice.
The next Sunday after I was fired (I think) my brother took the family out for lunch at Bakmi Gajah Mada Sarinah. There was a QB bookstore at the ground floor, and there I found an omnibus edition of the Chronicles on paperback. All seven episodes of the Chronicles of Narnia, in a single volume sold for Rp 200.000. I doubt its still there, but if its there next time I'm at QB Sarinah I'm gonna buy it.
And I know I would be able to afford it.
I had been able to afford it then.
I don't remember why I decided not to buy it then. When I first came across it.
But I did decide to download the latest copy of Gens. Spent more than Rp 10 grand downloading all those ROMs. While waiting for any word on the translation gig I should be doing.
I think I've spent enough. Look! Its two already! [yawn] Yeah, I think I can sleep now.
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?
