02.02.06
The real reason I went to MIT…
When I was growing up, we had an Apple IIe computer. (Actually, we still do. It’s sitting in my closet at this very moment. And it still works) I loved it. I used it to write the little reports you have to write in elementary school, like about a president (James K. Polk) or a planet (Neptune). I also used it to write my very first short story. (It involved a boy who wanted a dog. And then got one.) But my most favorite thing ever was playing games on it. And my most favorite game was Rocky’s Boots. Oh, man. I spent hours and hours playing this game.
What is Rocky’s Boots, you ask?
It was a game designed to teach kids about logic gates and circuits. You learned about AND, OR, and NOT gates. It even taught you about timing and flipflops. Of course, I didn’t realize it was teaching me about these things until I started learning about logic gates in college. In the game, you have to build a circuit that will kick out certain shapes based on a particular rule. (Okay, that probably doesn’t make too much sense. There’s a better description of it at everything2.) If you kicked all the right shapes and didn’t kick any of the wrong shapes, Rocky the Raccoon would appear and do a dance for you.
Hmm…perhaps a picture would help:
Don’t you just love the giant pixels? And how can you go wrong with a dancing raccoon?
arkah beer said,
February 3, 2006 at 1:19 am
you should play this game on an emu
evelyn said,
February 3, 2006 at 4:27 pm
I showed this post to Josh.
He was so impressed and amused.
He was like, ‘I thought I was hardcore using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing when I was 8!’
Then we checked out the vintage AppleIIe ad and had fun making fun of the ‘typewriter hooked up to the 1970s TV’ and the guy in the kitchen with his coffee analyzing data while talking to his wife.
Josh said,
February 8, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Evelyn showed this post to me.
I was so impressed and amused.
I was like, ‘I thought I was hardcore using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing when I was 8!’
Then we checked out the vintage AppleIIe ad and had fun making fun of the ‘typewriter hooked up to the 1970s TV’ and the guy in the kitchen with his coffee analyzing data while talking to his wife.