I was originally going to say that this is just wrong, but after a brief moment of thought I feel it is better instead to say that it is an inadequate sign of both nostalgia and the amazing progress made in solid-state electronics and integrated circuits.

Atari® Flashback™ 2 Classic Game Console

Overview: Flash back to the ’80s!

Atari Flashback 2 is modeled after the beloved Atari 2600 console, making it the ultimate re-creation of the classic gaming experience. Loaded with 40 classic games including Pong, Asteroids, Centipede, Millipede, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Combat, among others, as well as retro game and arcade classics that have never before been released for the home console, Atari Flashback 2 will feature the same wood grain paneling and look of the Atari 2600, and will capture the feel through two classic joysticks for multi-player competition and vintage controls.

I’m in the target market for this product.

I don’t know yet if I’m tempted. I’m in the midst of packing about 30 computer-based games released in the past 10 years that I brought with me to France, far more advanced games in terms of graphics that I haven’t yet played to the end, so why would 40 games using the technology of 20+ years ago be appealing above those?

I am forced to admit that because of the limitations of the technology of the time, the actual gameplay itself was remarkably compelling because they were forced to focus upon the actual playability and how compelling the game itself was instead of the eye-candy that is the prime mover of many recently released games.

Gameplay rules above eye-candy, at least for me.

…I suggest you read the response of the right-wing to recent news.

Seems to me that there is enough hypocrisy and hate to go around without flinging accusations of hate against your fellow Americans.

Do your own math, but my sums come up that naming and treating those who don’t agree with me as the enemy leads to negative numbers.

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I’ve quickly resized several photos of the 112 I took Sunday night so that I can post one a day for the next week using the scheduler so the blog doesn’t die while I’m too busy to even think. If anyone is interested in guest-posting, hit the “contact me” link in the sidebar and let me know.

The first photo is of colored lights on buildings. These are not special holiday decorations but the normal lighting. Also, notice the image outlined in a pale light on the bottom left. There are about 20 of these projected sketches on the wall lining the river.

As always, click on the photo for a larger image.

I’m not sure if the camera was having trouble with the focus (I couldn’t manually focus this particular camera) or if the exposure time was too long to avoid some camera-shake. It still came out reasonably OK, but not as good as if I had a tripod with my SLR, manual focus, and small aperture for a larger depth-of-field.

A short note on the language, the Cafe du Pont sign in the center is for the Cafe of the Bridge, named for the bridge you see on the right side of the photo. Bridges over rivers are key features of many cities in Europe, just as they are of older cities in America, although we have forgotten why in some cases because rivers no longer seem to be the obsticles they were for millenia before our time.

Technorati Tags: letters from Europe, photography, photos, photos of Europe, photos of Grenoble, pictures