|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- OSOAWEEK--ISSUE 258--7/6/99 <-------  ||  OsoaWeek  ||  Issues  ||  Book 20  ||  -------> (Cup OWis258, Created v3 (10/3/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ------------------- OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 258, 7/6/99 by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- LORD OF OBLIVIANA ----------- Sunday, 7/4/99, 8:22 PM Hey. So I had this past week off. I was originally going to go to Shenandoah National Park with my wife, as we've done for three Fourth of July's in a row. But the tradition is broken now. In two months we're going to Newfoundland, and money was a factor in the decision not to go to Shenandoah this year. As well, I felt that I needed the time to sort out the stuff in my storage unit. Anyway, let me describe this week to you. It started on Saturday, June 26. I had a bunch of empty boxes I needed to take to my storage, and then I had to go to the NAVA video game collector's meeting in Howell, NJ. Well, I pretty much slept the day away, and once I got going it was nearly 9:00 PM, so instead of going to storage and one of the malls down there (Woodbridge or Menlo), I just went straight to Video Game Connections. I got there around 10:15 PM, and there were still a bunch of people there. I got to check out a number of Dreamcast games, and I was generally disappointed. Even "Sonic Adventure", the game I've most been looking forward to on Dreamcast, was somewhat disappointing. Dreamcast is coming out in the U.S. on September 9. On that day, I'm gonna be in the Labrador Straits, Canada, a very remote place. That day is also "mini-Y2K", when the date is "9/9/99". This is thought to be a date that might screw up some database programs. So I hung out at the video game meeting all night. The sun rose, and me and a few others went to a diner. Then I went to my friend Mike's house, then we went to a flea market. It was already oppressively hot and humid at 9:00 AM. I bought a Gnip-Gnop and 3 electronic blackjack games. Then I headed for storage. Inside the storage, it was incredibly hot. I unloaded the boxes, did a few things, and then went home. I took a shower and slept all afternoon and night, waking up once, I think. On Monday, I went to storage to work in earnest. I had to empty my main storage unit (5x10 feet) into a temporary unit across the hall (10x10 feet). It was madly hot and humid inside the storage, so I could only work for 15-30 minutes at a time before I got overwhelmed. On Monday and Tuesday, I went to the storage four times each day. On my breaks, I'd go to Toys'R'Us, Woodbridge Mall, Menlo Park Mall, CompUSA, and other places. My diet consisted primarily of spring water, coffee, popcorn, Cinnabons, and avacado roll sushi. I spent a long time wandering around the malls. I have been getting increasingly interested in the "Palm V" PDA. I have an emulator on my Mac that emulates the Palm OS. The thing is, the Palm V is $450. I've been thinking of trying to get the money through selling stuff on Ebay. And I could also get a cheaper Palm III or IIIx. I also checked out the Palm VII, with limited Internet access. But at $600 plus access fees, it's way too much. Maybe a Palm III would be the most realistic choice. But the Palm V is damn nice... Anyway, on Wednesday I went to storage later, and only went two times. Thursday I also went two times. Wednesday was much cooler than any of the other days. On Thursday, I finished up the project, and vacated the larger storage unit. During the week, I decided that I need to do a complete Obliviana Archive. The looming of Y2K is part of the reason, but I really need to get all my data together, in any case. Friday I went to a few more malls, Bergen and Riverside Square, just because I love going to malls on weekday afternoons, just because I don't get to do it that often, being that I have a job. Yesterday, Saturday, I was pretty drained, mentally and physically, and I didn't do much of anything. Today, I am similarly inactive, though I did go to the supermarket earlier in the oppressive heat and humidity. I have started organizing the stuff in my apartment, as a precursor to the Archive project. The Archive will contain not only data that is already on disk, but also material that can be digitized, specifically audio and graphic material. I hve set a two-month time-limit on the Archive. In that time, I want to have an Archive that has all major Obliviana files. Come Y2K, I will have a copy of this archive, and I will take it with me whatever happens. So this is where I am right now. Obliviana is not going to become a real thing in the Summer of '99. Obliviana has the slightest of presences online. And I can no longer focus on the website very much now that I have embarked on the Archive project. So basically, I have been striving for Obliviana to thrive. Now, I must strive to have it survive. Y2K is a fucking nightmare. I've been in denial about it for a long time. And of course nothing is definite. But there is great danger. So... Obliviana 2000? Get all Obliviana. ------------------- SONG OF THE WEEK ----------- Larry Holloway, "Going Up" (Album: "Strummin' Mental Part One") ------------------- END ----------- -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----