Author Archives: Ryan Markel

Masterpiece: Robotron 2084 (via Ars Technica)

Ben Kuchera on why Robotron 2084 is one of the great games:

The game popularized the twin-stick design, where one joystick moved your character and the other controlled your direction of fire. (You only had one weapon.) The joysticks were of course digital back then, so you could only move and shoot in eight directions. There was no scrolling and there were no surprises. The game showed you the entirety of the level for a second before play began; you had a tiny moment to see the four walls and to take in where the enemies were and in what numbers. This was the game’s way of bowing at you before the attack.

(via Masterpiece: Robotron 2084.)

Marinating

The brisket is going for a little swim for the next two days.

Audio Post

In Ordinary Lives, U.S. Sees the Work of Russian Agents (via New York Times)

An F.B.I. investigation that began at least seven years ago culminated with the arrest on Sunday of 10 people in Yonkers, Boston and northern Virginia. The documents detailed what the authorities called the “Illegals Program,” an ambitious, long-term effort by the S.V.R., the successor to the Soviet K.G.B., to plant Russian spies in the United States to gather information and recruit more agents.

Unreal.

(via In Ordinary Lives, U.S. Sees the Work of Russian Agents – NYTimes.com.)

Tee Ball Game

My parents came out for a surprise visit for one of Joshua’s last tee ball games, so we brought the camera along. He’s come a long way in terms of learning the game and how to do things just in the past two months.