iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 29/09/2026

I admit to being a hopelessly optimistic homer here

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 29/09/2026

Alcohol always works, but I am open to other ideas BTW: I'm the dummy who decided to teach in Paris this week, so all three games will be on at 2:00AM here. Feel free to taunt me while I sleep. I expect nothing less

330

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 24/09/2026

Ted missed three years during WWII, but so did Joe Dimaggio I'm sticking with Teddy Ballgame

When Baseball’s Best Hitter Went to War

Ted Williams, legendary slugger for the Boston Red Sox, served twice—in WWII and Korea. In the latter war, he barely escaped after a crash landing.

Ted Williams stands as perhaps the greatest hitter in all of baseball history. But his service as an aviator in two wars—including a harrowing crash landing he barely escaped—became a defining part of his legacy, proving he was more than just a warrior on the field.

While few professional athletes drafted into military service ever saw active duty, Williams served in both World War II and the Korean War, flying nearly 40 combat missions for the U.S. Marines in the latter conflict. “He flew dive-bombing missions over enemy lines…while the enemy threw everything they could against him,” writes Bill Nowlin, author of Ted Williams at War. “In all, Williams lost most of five baseball seasons as a hitter—prime years—while serving.”

Source: https://www.history.com/articles/ted-williams-fighter-pilot-korean-war

010

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 12/09/2026

Berzerk always ends this way, just like life Vectrex is famous for it's audio buzz (improper shielding of the audio amp, right next to the vector CRT yoke) My son and I recapped the Vectrex PCB and shielded the amp while we were at it. No more buzz 2/2 int03.co.uk/blog/2016/02...

Vectrex video game showing Berzerk's final message when you get killed: "GOT YOU HUMANOID"

030

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 12/09/2026

Happy National Video Games day, everyone! The Magnavox Odyssey was released 54 years ago today Here's me playing Berzerk on my Vectrex today. It remains the only home video game console with a vector display 1/x blog.adafruit.com/2026/09/12/h... @adafruit.com

1262

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 11/09/2026

TIL that Gentoo Linux was named after gentoo penguins

From the previously linked article:
---
Finalist, Conservation Impact. Three gentoo penguins stand beside the rusting remains of the former Hektor whaling station at Whalers Bay, Deception Island, Antarctica. Once a center for Antarctic whaling, the site is now being reclaimed by wildlife and the harsh polar environment.

151

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 09/09/2026

Happy 60th anniversary, Star Trek! If you are anywhere near Ticonderoga, New York: I cannot recommend this tour enough. Here's me in the captain's chair

Me in the captain's chair at the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, New York

051

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 01/09/2026

This is lovely (I'm having Activision Decathlon wrist pain flashbacks)

Screenshot of text that says:

So Dad swung by an electronics surplus shop one day, and picked up a joystick from an old video game. A single-axis, two-directional joystick. It only moved left and right.

It had been removed from the cabinet of whatever game it was for, with its surrounding panel still attached, including two large red plastic buttons. It was about 4 inches deep by about 14 inches long; the joystick itself topped by a red metal ball for grabbing it. And it was definitely industrial strength.

Dad finished building a little case around it, put rubber feet on all four corners, and then wired it to an Atari joystick plug.

We’d plug that thing in only for “Decathlon” (and, later, for “Summer Games”) No more trying to hold the Atari or Wico joystick between our legs for stability: We just placed that bad boy on the table in front of the monitor, and suddenly that 1,500 meter race could be finished without blisters.

https://www.goto10retro.com/p/dads-custom-atari-peripherals

041

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 28/08/2026

B Hey @khaxan.bsky.social - Red Sox play the Yankees four times this weekend. Buckle up!

Screenshot taken from: https://www.espn.com/mlb/standings

It shows that the Red Sox are two games behind the Yankees, and six behind the Rays

250

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 27/08/2026

Conrad's law is born. Suck it, losers!

130

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 23/08/2026

The pinball knocker isn't working at the moment (it should), so I need to chase that down. It's mounted to a metal plate behind the coin box and thwacks a metal plate when Q*Bert falls off the pyramid. Fun effect! 3/3 www.classicarcademuseum.org/q-bert

Warren: The game evolved one piece at a time. First I saw a screen filled with the Escher pattern and imagined it as a pyramid of cubes. I saw that as an opportunity to teach myself randomness and gravity, so I implemented the pyramid and falling balls. The feedback from people was good so I added a player character who hopped from cube to cube. People began to suggest ideas, many of which were never taken seriously. But every now and then an idea seemed perfect. Ron Waxman, VP of engineering suggested the tops of the cubes changing color. Jeff Lee was an invaluable sounding board and came up with some great ideas that made it into the game. Dave Thiel came up with the idea of Q*bert's voice being random phonemes. Rick Tighe, one of our techs, had the idea to put a pinball knocker in the bottom of the cabinet. I of course inserted my own ideas as the game progressed and acted as the filter. Since I was the only programmer, no idea got in the game unless I liked it.

030

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 23/08/2026

Q*Bert's back! Recapped the monitor (plus a new flyback) and rewired the cabinet (the last arcade tech that worked on this was a hack) I have a Taito-badged coin door that I'll swap in and I need to get rid of the coin box lock bar. The original 80s fluorescent marquee light still works somehow 1/X

1121

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 14/08/2026

I'm guessing D. Bob Gibson was the reason the MLB decided to lower the mound. Here are two Topps Super Baseball Bob Gibson "cards" (more like postcards). 1970 and 1971. #cardsky

Two Bob Gibson baseball cards. 1970 Topps Super baseball #33 (left) and 1971 Topps Super baseball #48 (right)

030

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 08/08/2026

Don Zimmer vs. Pedro Martinez I hope we all have this charge-the-mound fight left in us when we're 72 years old

330

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 08/08/2026

I recapped the G07 PCB and replaced the dead flyback. Then I started the long journey of finding original QIX PCBs, control panel, glass marquee, etc. Thankfully: the glass bezel was original There are two incandescent blinker bulbs behind the marquee. The instruction card is backlit 3/3

170

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 08/08/2026

QIX was designed by the husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer. One of the few games released by Taito US (along with Zookeeper) Here's what it looked like when I got it. I planned to buy the DK Jr. next to it, but couldn't leave a $200 QIX cabinet behind dinogame.gg/blog/history... 2/X

Taito QIX converted to Terra Cresta. In the back of my pickup truck, next to a Donkey Kong Junior cabinet

170

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 08/08/2026

My Taito QIX (1981) restore/reconversion is done, minus clean-up work I bought this cabinet (DOA) for $200. It had been converted to Terra Cresta by some hack in the late 80s. The original boards, control panel, marquee, wiring harness, etc., were long gone Iconic and groundbreaking game 1/X

1100

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 06/08/2026

DCABE One day this will be the right answer Not today, but one day (I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy)

Bash command output from: shuf -e A B C D E

120

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 24/07/2026

This bad boy is going to be worth a fortune

Restored 1979 Atari Asteroids vector arcade game in my garage arcade on Peaks Island Maine

150

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 18/07/2026

I am down the Zeiss Ikon camera rabbit hole flynngraphics.ca/wp-content/u...

041

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 18/07/2026

Here's Cakewalk (not mine) I just checked: prices haver plummeted on this stuff. That same Cakewalk cartridge now sells for about $150 ($75 in 1998 dollars) And my wedding a blast (and is priceless to me) 3/3

Here's the transcription of this cartridge:

**Top edge label:** CAKEWALK

**Front label art:** An illustration (abstract/colorful geometric-style artwork) with text reading **"CommaVid"** (the publisher name, stylized) near the bottom of the label, along with small print (copyright/manufacturer text) that's too small to read reliably in this image.

**Spine/side (repeated):** CAKEWALK

This appears to be **"Cakewalk"**, a game published by **CommaVid** for the Atari 2600 — a much rarer, non-adult title from a different independent third-party publisher of that same era. The cartridge shell is the standard black CommaVid case with an orange-bordered label.

000

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 18/07/2026

Well, I thought I sold them all. These 2 survived I needed to come up with $10K for our wedding, and I sold my Atari horde for well over that. I paid a fraction of that to amass the horde. For example: I paid $.25 for Cakewalk by CommaVid and flipped it for $340 ($680 in 2026 $$) on eBay 2/X

210

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 18/07/2026

Going though a trunk of *old* stuff in my garage and found this sealed cartridge: BEAT'EM & EAT'EM Yes, they made pornographic games for the Atari 2600 I amassed a ton of rare 2600 games in the 90s, including prototypes and very rare games. I sold them all to pay for my wedding in 1998... 1/X

Here's the transcription of the back of the box:
BEAT'EM & EAT'EM™
(Image of Atari paddle controller)
USES PADDLE CONTROL
Left column:
You are a local leading-lady and all the up-town boys are standing in line for a date, but a savvy soda-slinger just around the corner is more down your alley and you just can't seem to get enough of his famous fountain treats.
Most evenings the joint's a jumpin', the city's clamoring for that counter-Casanova's premium hand-packed ice-cream, and to prove you are the only girl in town who can make his soda pop, you will have to apply
Right column (continued):
yourself to matters at hand and stay one jump ahead of the crowd. Demonstrate your heart is in the right place (at the right time) and you will be certain to get all that's comin' to you.

TWO DIFFERENT GAMES
CHOICE OF 2 SKILL LEVELS PER PLAYER
SUPERB COLOR GRAPHICS
SONGS & REALISTIC SOUND EFFECTS
1-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

Legal text:
This cartridge is manufactured for the ATARI® Video Computer System Model 2600 by Mystique™. ATARI, Video Computer System, and 2600 are trademarks of Atari, Inc. Mystique and Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em are trademarks of J.H.M. Limited, Hong Kong, assigned to American Multiple Industries, Inc. Swedish Erotica is a trademark of Caballero Control Corporation and is used under license agreement to American Multiple Industries, Inc., assignable to J.H.M. Limited, Hong Kong. ©1982, AMI, INC. & J.H.M., LTD. AMERICAN MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
MYSTIQUE™ ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION
AMERICAN MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES, INC.
NORTHRIDGE, CA 91324. MADE IN HONG KONG.
MYSTIQUE™ IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH ATARI, INC.

120

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 01/07/2026

Had a blast at the Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga New York I'm going to hack my IDS console to show the fourth image for critical alerts www.startrek.com/news/visitin...

The bridge of the Enterprise at the Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga New York

A corridor of the Enterprise at the Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga New York

Fun fact: they reused this corridor for every corridor scene in TOS. This was the only one on set

McCoy's office on the Enterprise at the Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga New York

Condition Alert sign on the Enterprise at the Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga New York

060

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 30/06/2026

I haven't seen one of these in the wild in a long time. Super Chexx USA vs USSR Miracle on Ice bubble hockey

Super Chexx USA vs USSR 1980 Miracle on Ice. Spotted at the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Chexx

370

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 27/06/2026

Natalie Merchant showed up!!! She sang way over Yonder in the Minor Key and Birds and Ships She also came back for the encore. They ended with California Stars and This Land is your Land, with three generations of Guthries on stage singing along

240

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 27/06/2026

Here's a downy woodpecker going to town on a suet ball in my backyard bird feeder In the background you can hear wood frogs partying in the vernal pool behind my house

030

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 26/06/2026

Third time's the charm There's a reason Sebadoh released Harmacy youtu.be/HUm-dHAslmY?... 3/3

Other side of the previous sign that reads: Elava rs

Another sign (inside the building) that reads: Elevator

Album cover of Sebadoh's Harmacy, showing a Pharmacy sign with a missing "P".

010

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 26/06/2026

I've been visiting Western Mass for a long time, and it's wild here. It feels like the Leftovers had a Twilight Zone crossover episode. It's half empty and wonderfully weird Why does this poster at Patrick's Pub in Pittsfield look like WWII Soviet propaganda? 2/X

A poster that says:

Ireland

The land of eternal youth

110

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 26/06/2026

We're in Western Mass and head to Solid Sound shortly. It's at Mass MOCA in North Adams I never thought I'd get to hear Wilco and Billy Bragg sing Mermaid Avenue live, but here I am. I can't wait I'm hoping Natalie Merchant shows up, which would be epic solidsoundfestival.com 1/X

**Solid Sound — Wilco's Music and Arts Festival**
**June 26–28 | MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts**

---

**Performers:**

- **wilco**
- Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key: Wilco and Billy Bragg Perform Mermaid Avenue
- The Breeders
- **Gang of Four**
- Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band
- Jeff Tweedy & Friends
- Rich(ard) Dawson
- Billy Bragg
- S.G. Goodman
- John Hodgman's Comedy Cabaret: Emmy Blotnick, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Demi Adejuyigbe
- **l'rain**
- The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
- Mini-Mekons
- Living Hour
- **Sharp Pins**
- Respira (Eucademix, Azumi O E, Waldo Walle)
- Elizabeth Moen
- Setting
- Nels Cline's Consentrik Quartet
- **Prewn**
- The Autumn Defense
- Official Claire
- George
- Hannah Cohen
- **Souled American**
- …and more!
- Expandards
- Sam & Louise Sullivan
- Story Pirates

290

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 23/06/2026

Tom Seaver and Rollie Fingers

A 1969 Topps Tom Seaver baseball card to the left of a 1973 Topps Rollie Fingers card

010

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 21/06/2026

The bartender of the 4th Wall displayed this to the Tartan army fans during the Scotland World Cup match That's a bold move, in Boston of all places maps.app.goo.gl/hmeMnhqyTtcc...

Image on a TV screen in the Fourth Wall restaurant in Boston:

"This is an English bar fuck off"

361

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 21/06/2026

Post one (1) photo of a painting that you took with your very own hands.

The Seven Sisters 2018

Tjungkara Ken, Sandra Ken, Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Maringka Tunkin, Pitjantjatjara people, National Gallery of Australia

150

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 20/06/2026

Das ist eine Clownfrage, Bruder (I was in Munich when I sent this one)

Bryce Harper in clown makeup, with Gritty the mascot behind his left shoulder, Duracel batteries flying towards his head, and a cold german lager between him and Gritty.

540

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 19/06/2026

Munich's BMW museum kicks ass. Here's Elvis' BMW 507 www.bmw-welt.com/en/ausstellu...

Text from the included link:

The Elvis BMW lives on.

At the House of Technology in the BMW Museum in Munich, discover how vivid science can be. In the lightweight construction area you will find a chassis that can be lifted by one person. In the BMW engine gallery you will encounter some real horsepower units. And finally, we have even made Elvis` legendary BMW 507 available to the public again. Long thought to be lost, it was rediscovered and faithfully restored by BMW Group Classic specialists. You really should see this!

110

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 19/06/2026

I think this means that I can pilot a blimp now. Only one way to find out kojira.github.io/bluesky-lice...

My Bluesky License, which describes the following metrics:

Web of Trust: Mutual follows — people you follow who also follow you back.
Engagement: Total likes + reposts + replies your recent posts received.
Generosity: Total likes you've given to others.
Velocity: Posts per day (total posts ÷ account age).
Streak: Your longest run of consecutive days with at least one post.
Veteran: How long your account has existed.
Mileage: Your total number of posts — like an odometer.
Peak (UTC): The 2-hour window, in UTC, when you post the most.
DID: Your decentralized identifier (did:plc:…) — the permanent ID behind your handle.
Handle ✓: Your @handle. A green ✓ means verified: a custom-domain handle, or Bluesky verified / trusted-verifier status.
License Class: A rank from your stats: Newcomer → Explorer → Citizen → Veteran.
Valid Thru: A playful "expiry": last activity + 3 years.
Sampling: Analysis covers up to your most recent ~1000 posts/likes and up to 2500 follows (for mutuals). Bigger accounts show "+".

110

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 16/06/2026

Got our first pine warbler of the year at our bird feeder

040

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 15/06/2026

Mickey Mouse would like you to punch a Nazi today

Germans are protesting the surge of far-right AfD by raising their middle finger

By Alexandra Ma
Sep 25, 2017, 1:34 PM GMT+2

Anti-AfD protesters in Berlin on Sunday night. Maja Hitij/Getty
After the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party surged to third place in Germany's election on Sunday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Berlin to voice their dismay.

The nationalist, anti-same-sex marriage, and anti-euro party won about 13% of the national vote in Sunday's election, marking the first time a far-right party has sat in the German parliament's lower house since the collapse of the Nazi party in World War II.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) came in first with about 33% of the vote — down from 41.5% in the last election four years ago.

Demonstrators fashioned creative signs — including some of Mickey Mouse's hand with the middle finger up — to stand up against AfD.

Other signs said:

"Refugees welcome."

"Nazis out."

"Never again."

Text from: https://www.businessinsider.com/german-election-protesters-raise-middle-finger-after-afd-wins-seats-2017-9#on-sunday-night-protesters-brought-out-signs-championing-refugees-and-lgbt-rights-issues-that-afd-has-stood-against-1

081

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 15/06/2026

Hamburg Punk Rock City Moin moin! (I'm in Munich and this rocks)

A collection of Punk Rock band stickers outside, centered on "Hamburg Punk Rock City"

030

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 14/06/2026

I still have it. You keep the important things The best $1.65 my parents ever spent

The mid/late -1970s Ballantine/Fantasy paperback edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien,:

The Enchanting Prelude to 'The Lord of the Rings.'" (Price: $1.65)

0110

Conrad @ericconrad.com · 14/06/2026

Same with me with Miss Gilmore when I reread The Hobbit (which I've done at least eight times) She owned multiple years of J.R.R. Tolkien Calendars with artwork by the The Brothers Hildebrandt (this was in the mid/late 1970s) to illustrate that story as she read tolkiengateway.net/wiki/1976_J....

"Éowyn & The Nazgûl" - Artwork by The Brothers Hildebrandt, first published in the 1976 J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar

Image source: https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/File:The_Brothers_Hildenbrandt_-_%C3%89owyn_%26_The_Nazg%C3%BBl.jpg

131