% geek

[denny]

96% GeekMingle2.com - Free Online Dating

And from IRC:

denny> How Geek Are You?
denny> Question 14 of 22
denny> When did you start playing video games?
denny> 1. 1980-1985
denny> 2. 1986-1990
denny> 3. 1990-1995
denny> 4. 1996-2000
denny> 5. 2000+
denny> 6. I don't really play video games
denny> where's the pre-80 option?
locutus> denny: if you where playing CCA on a pdp-10, you dont need that test
denny> I had an Atari console before 1980
denny> the 2600 or whatever it was called
denny> pretty sure I had that before the ZX81 anyway.
locutus> oh yes, those are from 77 to :)
denny> definitely had the paddle pong console before that
locutus> old bastard
denny> aye

In other news, just had breakfast. My stomach is doing slow rolls now. *sits very still*

Comments

[ev1ldonut.livejournal.com]

definitely had the paddle pong console before that
The grandstand I think it was called. My dad has always been a technology geek, so he had one of those before I was born. This meant that I began geek training playing with pong before I could even talk properly. Then I moved onto the ZX81 when I was around 5, etc. etc.

:D

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I've actually still got one - found it at a car boot sale a few years ago, clearly not in working order from the way the seller was behaving but I took the chance it might be something simple and offered the contents of my change pocket for it - just under 4 quid. Managed to get it working by bypassing the dodgy power switch when I got home :)

The picture quality is astoundingly bad - I can't believe I used to think that the thing was producing this razor-sharp black and white image! It's horrendously grainy white-with-flecks on a dirty green/grey background that's about half a notch above being static. :)

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

To be fair, time will have taken its toll on the connections and components (as well as being old tech) :)

[kissycat1000.livejournal.com]

We also had one of those, in fact it may well still be in the house somewhere. It got relegated when we got the Atari (yay for joysticks and paddles) which in turn got 'given' to us kids when Dad got himself a 'proper' compuetr (the C64).

OMG, I'm so old. :/

[ev1ldonut.livejournal.com]

Not at all. :)

I forgot I had the old Atari 2600 console (hooray for battlezone and zaxxon!! \o/) inbetween the grandstand and the ZX81. My dad and I have kept all the above, though the grandstand definitely doesn't work anymore as a capacitor blew and took half the board with it. :(

The Atari is still working though AFAIK, and we gave the ZX81 to my grandfather to play with so he could feel all 'modern' and stuff, bless. ;)

[deerfold.livejournal.com]

If your 2600 was old enough, it would have been called a VCS, like mine (I don't think they'd considered they might make any others). My wood-effect VCS is dead, but I now have a shiny black 7800. I have a grandstand multi-game pong thing somewhere. So far as I know, it still works. My sister still uses my original Atari paddles on her C64.

[deerfold.livejournal.com]

I had both the Atari VCS and grandstand pong - I just chose A.

[sevenhelz.livejournal.com]

That's so ageist.

[mr_magicfingers]

funny, I said exactly the same thing to romault last night when I did the quiz. Pong was the first game I played and it was definitely still in the 70's.