Date: Wednesday, 02-Apr-97 11:30 PM
From: BlcCnc23@aol.com
Subject: Microboffed by Carrie Siegel


I just read with amusement "Microboffed" by Carrie Siegel. I like her sense of humor and writing style. Keep up the good work.

This letter is the only bright spot of hope on this page. You've been warned.

Occasionally, there's a bit of a slip-up when writing this stuff. Facts don't get double-checked, URLs point to never-never land, quotes from prominent public officials mysteriously morph from innocent comments to damning invective. What can I say? "Oops!"

From: Jim Davidson
Subject: "Overheard about ... Quake"

In this quote from a newsgroup, the author states:

"there will never be a Pong for Windows 95"

Bzzzzt. Check this out:

http://sliceoflife.com/official/action/

That's "Super Pong '95". Why? I don't know...

JimD

PS. Great site! I could go on but I wouldn't want you to get beat up at the Webby's again. ;)

That's okay, the bruises have mostly healed, although my psychiatrist says I shouldn't talk too much about the incident. Seems others have suffered similarly:

Date: Tuesday, 01-Apr-97 11:30 PM
From: hole@nfocomm.com
Subject: htp/2???

Sorry to hear about your fifteen minutes. I almost cried when you told me about the gorilla/bouncer hitting you. I really enjoy your Ad Nauseam, and have been reading it for over a year now.

Daniel M. Pomerantz

Thanks for your sympathy. The bruises may have healed, but the nightmare trapped in my id will never be forgotten ...

Date: Wednesday, 30-Apr-97 10:34 AM
From: Matthew D. Shadel
Subject: Nice story

I just read your web posting of your story of Quake obsession. Nice work. Is that whole 'mysterious-dream-foreshadows-the-future' thing for real? I mean, come on, it sounds pretty mystical. I'll bet yoda would have shown up too if you hadn't have woken up too soon... but really, nice work!

Matthew may have unlocked something very important here. Is Yoda a common figure in our sub-conscious? A child-like father figure? Or just a koan-spouting Muppet?

Maybe this writer has some insights, something to get in touch with the child inside:

Date: Friday, 04-Apr-97 01:08 AM
From: Ford
Subject: about the ultimate game

You compare Pac Man to the struggle in modern life. It is an interesting metaphor- one aspect that interests me is the one concerning self-help groups. Self-help groups are made up of self-help-people. These are people who are in one or more self-help groups. Ever seen that lame SNL movie- STEWART SAVES HIS FAMILY? Like that. To tie this back to PacMan: what is one of the most common stragegies? To wait by the "power ball" (what's that thing called?) until the ghost are close enough to devour easily. No hunt; no risk of them starting to flash and then munching you. A PacMan who applies this strategy is a self-help-person, who waits unti their personal demons are close enough to devour. They tempt the demons, and at the last moment turn the tables. Isn't it this that goes on in those meetings of 12 steps, each step coming closer to the table turning?

Alas, this may not be the correct way to gobble your demons. It's the quick and easy way- and didn't we all learn at some point in childhood that the easy way is not the best way? We need to remember the ancient hunt!

(When PacMan is not eating dots (i.e. he's between dots) the missing wedge in him is gone. He is a perfect circle again- united with the universe! When you HUNT a ghost, you cover ground you've covered before, in theory, you're not eating, and you are whole again!!)

As we waste away our life by waiting for the ghosts to come to us, or rather, the answer to come to us (being the answer of life) we could be reaching out for the answer, hunting for it, and reaching our goals the proper way.

-FORD http://www.hooked.net/~fuzzo/
"September 28 is Baloney Day"

Possibly, but does that really attack our personal problems head-on? Aren't we, by surgically analyzing a video game, also guilty of trying to run from real-world issues and escaping into an electronic dream? Or is PacMan an electronic nightmare?

Another concerned reader:

Date: Tuesday, 06-May-97 10:53 AM
From: Copy Chef - Kyle Albert
Subject: Talkin' about my generation

Sir:

I have been mucking about with the Inernet for several years now. Surfing for surfing's sake is no longer even a memory. In fact, I make my living crafting content for websites (among other things) -- so I'm bloody well inside the belly of the beast, spending the bulk of my working day with it in my face.

Funny thing, but when I go home at night, the LAST thing I want to do is turn on my home box and dial up. There are so many more challenging and satisfying things to do in the "real world" -- play with my son. Weed and water the garden. Or even just go for a walk in the neighborhood.

Television has gotten so weird lately that our household has elected to use the VCR to selectively capture the programs we want, and then set aside an evening at our convenience to view the ones we want. This lets us zap the commercials and avoid watching things we DON'T want in between shows we LIKE. The point here is that one CAN be responsible about how one uses any medium (WWW or TV). And, as with Demon Rum, MODERATION is the key.

If you or one of my fellow Internet denizens are getting to the point where you feel "plugged in" all the time, then I recommend simply unplugging yourself for a while. Go outside. Read a book. Call up a friend and talk about old times. Do this for a week and I guarantee you you'll have more energy. And then figure out how to MANAGE the beast so that it doesn't RULE you.

Cutting back on your caffiene intake at the same time helps, too.

Kyle Albert
kyle@copychef.com

Blasphemer! Heretic! To possibly suggest our psychological insecurites are rooted in this wonderful internetworked paradise is sheer folly. I love, I live, I cry, I worry on the Web -- how can it be such a encompassing medium and the source of our problems? Fool!

Date: Friday, 02-May-97 12:30 AM
From: Mike Long
Subject: just curious

Hey Jim,

I was just wondering were you're maintaining Ad Nauseam from. I couldn't find any indication in the pages (sorry if I just missed the info).

Mike

No problem, glad to answer. There's a mental institution not far off of highway 101 in Atascadero, California. Visiting hours recently expanded on the weekend, so come on down!