# The universe has a cruel sense of humor



## skribs (Mar 9, 2020)

Last fall, when daylight savings time rolled around, I decided not to set my clocks back.  I figured I'd wait until March and then my clocks would be correct again.  I've been waiting 6 months for my clocks to go from being wrong to being right.

Sunday, at 1:00 in the morning, my power went out.  So those clocks never righted themselves.  I still had to set them when power was back in the morning.


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## JR 137 (Mar 10, 2020)

I know exactly where you’re coming from with not wanting to change the clock, but I have to as you and myself: are they really that difficult to change?

Except for the clocks on VCRs. Those were impossible. I never met anyone who actually set the time or had it set longer than the first unplug/power outage.


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## skribs (Mar 10, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> I know exactly where you’re coming from with not wanting to change the clock, but I have to as you and myself: are they really that difficult to change?
> 
> Except for the clocks on VCRs. Those were impossible. I never met anyone who actually set the time or had it set longer than the first unplug/power outage.



The clocks are ones I don't look at very much.  It was easy to remember they're an hour off.  The ones I use regularly either automatically update, or I made sure they were correct.


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## donald1 (Mar 10, 2020)

I like using my smart phone to tell the time... no resets needed... I have 2 clocks, a microwave, and an oven I reset. I don't bother messing with my VCR player time...


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## Buka (Mar 10, 2020)

Hawaii has it down right. We don't change clocks. They say out here "if you want more light, get up earlier."


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## Tez3 (Mar 10, 2020)

donald1 said:


> I don't bother messing with my VCR player time...




You still have a VCR?


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## donald1 (Mar 10, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> You still have a VCR?



I don't use it  cause I have a blue ray player ,yet I haven't thrown it in the trash... it sits there collecting dust... on rare occasions I like to turn it on just to know it still works ,but thats about it...


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## jobo (Mar 11, 2020)

donald1 said:


> I like using my smart phone to tell the time... no resets needed... I have 2 clocks, a microwave, and an oven I reset. I don't bother messing with my VCR player time...


you have a VCR player ? blue ray is very old tech, throw it out man


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## dvcochran (Mar 11, 2020)

donald1 said:


> I don't use it  cause I have a blue ray player ,yet I haven't thrown it in the trash... it sits there collecting dust... on rare occasions I like to turn it on just to know it still works ,but thats about it...


I suppose it would be a valid exercise to pop a VCR in and play it to remind yourself just how poorly they recorded video.

Everything that got recorded from my competition days was recorded on VCR and the playback is terrible. I have had it all converted to digital for posterity but that did nothing to improve the picture. Not much more than two grainy blobs moving around on the screen.


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## Tez3 (Mar 11, 2020)

dvcochran said:


> I suppose it would be a valid exercise to pop a VCR in and play it to remind yourself just how poorly they recorded video.
> 
> Everything that got recorded from my competition days was recorded on VCR and the playback is terrible. I have had it all converted to digital for posterity but that did nothing to improve the picture. Not much more than two grainy blobs moving around on the screen.




Are you sure that the recording isn't a good one and you weren't two grainy blobs?


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## dvcochran (Mar 11, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> Are you sure that the recording isn't a good one and you weren't two grainy blobs?


Well, anything is possible. I wish I had kept an old CRT TV. I think VCR quality imagery might playback better on them.


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## JR 137 (Mar 11, 2020)

dvcochran said:


> Well, anything is possible. I wish I had kept an old CRT TV. I think VCR quality imagery might playback better on them.


It’s quite possible. I have a Nintendo 64. I played Goldeneye 007 a few months ago on my current TV. It looked horrendous. It was hard to read some of the stuff on the screen. It looked much better on my old CRT back in the day. People have posted side by side pics showing the same thing. Quite possibly the same thing as your VCR.


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## Xue Sheng (Mar 11, 2020)

Buka said:


> Hawaii has it down right. We don't change clocks. They say out here "if you want more light, get up earlier."



Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Northern Marina Islands; the U.S. Virgin Islands; American Samoa; and Guam. none do the silly daylight savings thing.....and I like that....of course China does not do it ether....and they only have 1 time zone...so when it is 7:00am in Shanghai...it is also 7:00am in Chengdu....1,217 miles away


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## CB Jones (Mar 11, 2020)

I prefer daylight savings time and wish they would just keep it all year.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 11, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> It’s quite possible. I have a Nintendo 64. I played Goldeneye 007 a few months ago on my current TV. It looked horrendous. It was hard to read some of the stuff on the screen. It looked much better on my old CRT back in the day. People have posted side by side pics showing the same thing. Quite possibly the same thing as your VCR.


I always assumed it was more of a "back then, it looked better because I didn't know what better was". Never thought to compare it on an old tv vs. current tv.


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## donald1 (Mar 11, 2020)

jobo said:


> you have a VCR player ? blue ray is very old tech, throw it out man


Would mean having to carry it all the way to the trash can. Though if it must be done it must be done. 



dvcochran said:


> Not much more than two grainy blobs moving around on the screen.


That's "retro".


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## JR 137 (Mar 11, 2020)

kempodisciple said:


> I always assumed it was more of a "back then, it looked better because I didn't know what better was". Never thought to compare it on an old tv vs. current tv.


I thought the same thing. Then I noticed it was hard to read what was clear before. And everything was far darker.

I just read up about it a bit more. Evidently it depends on your specific TV and how it upscales. Some TVs just look more pixilated, while others look darker, blurrier, etc. It’s not a better vs worse/cheaper vs more expensive tv thing; it’s about what upscaling program the manufacturer used. Or something like that.

Evidently, the hardcore retro gamers own CRT tvs because they look better than any other TVs with these type games. At least that’s what I’ve gathered from seeing a ton of posts on forums when I googled how to get it to look better.


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## _Simon_ (Mar 11, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> It’s quite possible. I have a Nintendo 64. I played Goldeneye 007 a few months ago on my current TV. It looked horrendous. It was hard to read some of the stuff on the screen. It looked much better on my old CRT back in the day. People have posted side by side pics showing the same thing. Quite possibly the same thing as your VCR.


(Best game... the multiplayer matches we had were epic... remote mines everywhere, the race to get the golden gun... ahhh good fun)


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## Yokozuna514 (Mar 12, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> It’s quite possible. I have a Nintendo 64. I played Goldeneye 007 a few months ago on my current TV. It looked horrendous. It was hard to read some of the stuff on the screen. It looked much better on my old CRT back in the day. People have posted side by side pics showing the same thing. Quite possibly the same thing as your VCR.


Slappers with health settings to simulate one shot kills, now THAT was a game of skill and reflexes.


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## _Simon_ (Mar 12, 2020)

Yokozuna514 said:


> Slappers with health settings to simulate one shot kills, now THAT was a game of skill and reflexes.


I remember doing that too! It was a real test of timing, in and out was crucial, or else a double kill was imminent!


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## JR 137 (Mar 13, 2020)

_Simon_ said:


> I remember doing that too! It was a real test of timing, in and out was crucial, or else a double kill was imminent!



We had a guy in my fraternity who memorized the pattern of where you re-spawned after you were killed for every board. He’d kill you and immediately run to that spot and get you again as you were blinking and coming back to life. Or he’d set up proximity mines to all those spots. You had zero chance once he killed you for the first time. And this was before the whole internet era where it was easy to google this kind of stuff. Worst guy ever to play any game against.

We banned him from playing. It just wasn’t fun. He was only allowed to play against the pledges who didn’t know his tactics.


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## _Simon_ (Mar 13, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> We had a guy in my fraternity who memorized the pattern of where you re-spawned after you were killed for every board. He’d kill you and immediately run to that spot and get you again as you were blinking and coming back to life. Or he’d set up proximity mines to all those spots. You had zero chance once he killed you for the first time. And this was before the whole internet era where it was easy to google this kind of stuff. Worst guy ever to play any game against.
> 
> We banned him from playing. It just wasn’t fun. He was only allowed to play against the pledges who didn’t know his tactics.


Wow, that is sneaky as.... and would just be annoying haha.

I remember in that level where you respawn in the vents that lead to the toilets, you basically had to SPRINT straight away to get out, because if someone was near there, they'd just hover in the toilets and wait for you to drop out of the vent hahaha. You of course didn't have any decent weapons so you had to hurry!


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## isshinryuronin (Mar 13, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> I have a Nintendo 64. I played Goldeneye 007 a few months ago


I remember "Pong."  A total trip.  Then "Asteroids" came out.  Totally blew my mind.  Then, Karate-do replaced Ni Ten-Do.  I liked that even more.  Shortly after that, I discovered sex (and girls).  Life kept getting better and better.


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## dvcochran (Mar 13, 2020)

isshinryuronin said:


> I remember "Pong."  A total trip.  Then "Asteroids" came out.  Totally blew my mind.  Then, Karate-do replaced Ni Ten-Do.  I liked that even more.  Shortly after that, I discovered sex (and girls).  Life kept getting better and better.


That was great. Hilarious. 
I discovered sex long before the personal gaming industry had found traction. I grew up in the large console gaming era. I blew a lot of coin playing Asteroids on one of those machines.


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## Xue Sheng (Mar 13, 2020)

dvcochran said:


> That was great. Hilarious.
> I discovered sex long before the personal gaming industry had found traction. I grew up in the large console gaming era. I blew a lot of coin playing Asteroids on one of those machines.



I had the asteroids arcade game in my house...and I am not talking gaming console


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## Tez3 (Mar 13, 2020)

Xue Sheng said:


> I had the asteroids arcade game in my house...and I am not talking gaming console




Don't you get cream to put on asteroids?


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## Xue Sheng (Mar 13, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> Don't you get cream to put on asteroids?



Nope, you just have to man up and break them up with you laser all by yourself


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## Yokozuna514 (Mar 13, 2020)

JR 137 said:


> We had a guy in my fraternity who memorized the pattern of where you re-spawned after you were killed for every board. He’d kill you and immediately run to that spot and get you again as you were blinking and coming back to life. Or he’d set up proximity mines to all those spots. You had zero chance once he killed you for the first time. And this was before the whole internet era where it was easy to google this kind of stuff. Worst guy ever to play any game against.
> 
> We banned him from playing. It just wasn’t fun. He was only allowed to play against the pledges who didn’t know his tactics.


Ha, ha, I was the first guy in our group to figure out the respawn points and the respawn pattern in each arena.   I kept this info to myself for two weeks until it got kind of boring to watch my friends implode because they didn't even have time to get to the first gun before they would see the red screen .


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## Yokozuna514 (Mar 13, 2020)

isshinryuronin said:


> I remember "Pong."  A total trip.  Then "Asteroids" came out.  Totally blew my mind.  Then, Karate-do replaced Ni Ten-Do.  I liked that even more.  Shortly after that, I discovered sex (and girls).  Life kept getting better and better.


Asteroids !  That brings back memories.   I remember hunting saucers by flying left to right at first.  Then someone figured out that flying from the bottom to the top was more efficient.   Ultimately, sitting at a corner was the best tactic but it got kind of boring after that.   One quarter would last for hours.


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