CE Wills

    The elderly among you will get a kick out of this picture. Yes, those are Intellivision Games, made by Mattel, back in the 1970's (?) or 1980's. Yes, I was an adult at that time. Yes, this was Atari's competitor, which never really seemed to catch on, though it was a better gaming system, in my opinion.      The graphics were simplistic by today's standards, but the games were a lot of fun and I played them for untold hours. They provided a welcome diversion from studying Nuclear Theory. My favorite games were Space Armada, Nightstalker and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.       Space Armada was like Space Invaders , but much cooler. The farther you went, the cooler it got. There were invisible creatures that you could only locate by watching them eat your defenses. There were flying saucers that went back and forth at the top of the screen and later in the game would descend to the bottom and apply the killing blow. If you shot ...

    Hey, everyone. It is a beautiful morning with temperatures in the upper fifties and sunshine. I have been reading an ebook by William Wayne Dickson called Sagebrush. It was featured on Apple's promotional page for Indie authors, which they call Breakout Books.     Sagebrush is a free book, about the youngster called Sage. His real name is Michael. He was left alone on the Great Plains of America, shortly after the Civil War. He was part of a wagon train that was attacked by Indians. Michael escaped, but his parents were murdered. So, at the tender age of 12, he was alone on the vast prairie. His story of survival and the quest to avenge his parents, is a top-notch book that you will doubtless enjoy.     Michael spends six years alone, living in a cave and evading Indians. He learns from the animals how to survive. He develops skills that will serve him in good stead his whole life.     Not only does Michael have to av...

   Hey, everyone. I thought I'd burn the midnight oil and talk about football. In a matter of hours, the Super Bowl will be played and some dreams will be crushed and some fulfilled. It will be a sweet game for some, with their legendary status newly minted and their ticket punched to the Hall of Fame in Canton.     I expect that Baltimore will win the game; no particular reason, just a feeling. I do however, hope that the 49'ers win and I will be pulling for them. That brings me to the 'sour grapes' section of this post. After my team, the Atlanta Falcons, completed their epic choke two weeks ago, I intended to quit watching football. I have had a hard time watching the last two weeks of hype because I was imagining all the cool shows I could have watched about the Falcons during this time, rather than about San Francisco. They would have probably interviewed some of the older guys like Steve Bartkowsky and William Andrews. Yes, I would have probably bought ...

    On Wednesday night at ten o'clock, a new series started on FX Channel. I watched the premiere and really enjoyed it. It is a spy story, told without qualms, told in a gritty, dark manner that spares no feelings.     A Russian couple, Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, played by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, come to the United States to begin deep-cover espionage activities. They are forbidden to even speak their mother tongue, once in America. They are married and living in D.C. They have two children, a boy and a girl. They go to the malls, eat ice cream and do all the mundane things that Americans do. They also compromise men and women who are involved in government offices. The lady seduces intelligence people to reap a treasure trove of intel. The man pretends to be an investigator who is tasked with keeping tabs on the CIA and FBI. They have a clandestine relationship with their 'handler' through the Soviet embassy.      The gu...

    Hey, everyone. I have had a bit of fun with a free game called Zombie Road Trip. It is a zombie apocalypse and you are tasked with surviving a harsh environment. You are being chased by a motley aggregation of zombies who are certainly portrayed in a cute manner. You can outfit your vehicle with weapons and fire them by tapping on the right side of the screen, above the flip button.     You can flip your car in mid-air, either forward or backward. As if the horde that is on your heels is not pressure enough, there are brave zombie dudes who rush at you from in front. Their selfless task is to slow you enough, with their dying breath, to allow the horde to overwhelm you. I admire their grit. Ha, ha.     You, on the other hand, must shoot these chivalrous undead so that they cannot slow you down. As you progress from level to level, the scenery changes, transporting you from green hills to a rock quarry. At times you advance to a point ...