Headline: "Bowser to Take Over Nintendo’s U.S. Division"

After seeing this news, now I know for sure that we're living in a dystopia.

A Tetris-Themed Glass Window (and Other Nerd Furniture)

Take a look at this sweet nerd furniture!

Update (8/11/17): Initially I described the Tetris window as a "stained-glass window". As Aaron Clements pointed out on my Facebook post, a correct description is actually "colored glass blocks with mortar".

(Tip of the cap to Rachel Simmons Carter.)

Participating in Commencement Ceremonies: Be Prepared

When participating in a commencement ceremony, it is important to come prepared.

During the Faculty Recession of the commencement ceremony, as professors started marching off the stage, the organist started things off with the theme to Star Wars.

I contend, however, that the Imperial March would have been far more appropriate.

Donating my GameCube for a Good Cause

I just donated my GameCube and its controllers and games to the Somerville undergrads (aka: JCR), because apparently they were still mostly using a Nintendo 64 for their gaming.

I hadn't used my GameCube in many years (not since I bought a Wii when I was a postdoc at Caltech), and it hadn't occurred to me previously that they might want it.

I am happy to see it get used instead of it just sitting on my shelf and taking up space.

Some people donate money for buildings or scholarships; I donate video games. Somehow, it seems fitting.

RIP Hiroshi Yamauchi (1927-2013)

Hiroshi Yamauchi, who was the President of Nintendo from 1949 to 2002 (and oversaw Nintendo's transformation into the company we know today), has died.

(Tip of the cap to baseball writer Buster Olney, who wrote about Yamauchi's death in the context of the latter's never having attended a Mariners baseball game even though he was their majority owner.)

Yup. I've Done That. :)

Well, I didn't use experimental equipment---as depicted in this comic strip (well, comic panel)---but when I was in graduate school, I did take advantage of being a seminar-series organizer and thereby having access to a video projector by bringing my Nintendo 64 to campus for the purpose of playing big-screen Mario Kart. :) So I highly approve of this comic strip!

New "Quest Mode" in Google Maps

This appears to be an early April Fools joke, and it is an awesome one indeed! Check out quest mode in Google Maps. It's available in the upper right corner. That is just awesome. Now you can imagine your attempt to find directions just like back in the day on the NES.

(Tip of the cap to Louis Wang.)

Maybe they'll call it the Virtual Boy 2?

Isn't this the same kind of promise we heard back in the day with the Virtual Boy? I know the world is a little more ready for 3D gaming nowadays, and Nintendo has certainly done a lot better on the market than it was doing for many years, but it does admittedly feel like I've heard this before.