{"id":3359,"date":"2014-12-31T01:45:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-31T01:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=3359"},"modified":"2014-12-31T01:45:21","modified_gmt":"2014-12-31T01:45:21","slug":"a-ccan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=3359","title":{"rendered":"A:\\> CCan"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started the last post by saying I was a lucky kid, and I\u2019m more or less starting this one with the same sentiment.\u00a0 There were two pieces of technology I was lucky enough to use on a semi-regular basis, and I didn\u2019t know many others who had the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n

The first one is a VHS camera that my dad would borrow from his workplace from time to time.\u00a0 We were able to capture moments as early as when I was four months old, and as I got older, various moments of our lives were recorded on tape for us to cherish forever.\u00a0 I recently converted these tapes digitally, and I realized then just how lucky I am to have so much to look back on.<\/p>\n

On a few of the occasions the camera was in our house, I would use it for my own purposes!<\/p>\n

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\"We<\/a>

We still have that Mario\\Zelda blanket, my favourite NASCAR driver is still Jeff Gordon, and my favourite TV show is… not Friends or Boston Common, I know that much.\u00a0 The game collection (top-right) has grown, though!<\/p><\/div>\n

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The other device I am incredibly thankful to have used from time to time is a laptop computer.<\/p>\n

My sister had an electric typewriter for when she was in college, and I would often turn it on to type random things onto a sheet of paper.\u00a0 They were usually just lists of random stuff I was interested in \u2013 Ninja Turtles characters, video games I wanted, video games I owned, Toronto Blue Jays players, whatever came to mind. \u00a0I don\u2019t know why I had fun putting these things on paper, I just did!<\/p>\n

The typewriter was quite loud \u2013 especially when hitting backspace, which I did a fair amount.\u00a0 My sister didn\u2019t want to risk having me break it, and everyone around the house was probably sick and tired of hearing the grinding parts each time I hit a letter, so I wasn\u2019t always allowed to use it.<\/p>\n

I eventually lost interest in typing random stuff, but the day my dad brought a laptop home from work re-kindled that hobby.\u00a0 It was obviously for him to work on some sort of document, but I saw it as a flashy new toy.<\/p>\n

One I was extra careful with, but still a toy nonetheless.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t remember any brand names the laptops had, but I do know the first ones he brought home ran on DOS.\u00a0 Before too long, I was accustomed to all the commands you normally used. \u00a0\u201ccd a:\u201d, \u201ccd wordperfect\u201d and \u201cwp\u201d were the only ones I really needed at the time, however.<\/p>\n

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\"That<\/a>

That thing was HUGE, but awesome.\u00a0 (I was a blurry kid.)<\/p><\/div>\n

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I typed so much random stuff on the screen and played around with the keyboard\u2019s functionality.\u00a0 I even remember watching the Super Mario World<\/em> cartoon and trying to type the words to the theme song as it played.\u00a0 I couldn’t quite keep up, but I at least got the first part typed-out…<\/p>\n

Superrr Maaaa-rio, Super Mario, Superrr Maaaa-rio!\u00a0 (Wooorld!)<\/em><\/p>\n

I changed fonts (even though there weren\u2019t that many), wrote in\u00a0bold, italics and underlined, and just marveled at how easy all of it was.\u00a0 Everything was in black and white, but that was fine.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t in a position to be picky.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Dad brought home a laptop that ran on Windows.\u00a0 I\u2019m not entirely sure which version it would have been, but it was also the first time I ever saw a trackball mouse.\u00a0 If this was the direction computer mice were taking, I wasn\u2019t very happy about it – the old computers we had at school had mice that were clunky squares with three big buttons, but at least they were intuitive to use.<\/p>\n

The mouse Dad brought home was quite messed up.\u00a0 Your thumb moved the trackball, your index finger rested on a curved arch where the *tip* of your index finger pressed the left-click button, and the joint of your index finger rested on the right-click button.\u00a0 It made for a lot of accidental right-clicking, so I didn\u2019t play much Solitaire before moving onto something else.<\/p>\n

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\"Like<\/a>

Like this, except it was light gray in color;\u00a0 the “up and down” arrows seen here were where the main buttons were and ran the length of your finger.\u00a0 It was awful!<\/p><\/div>\n

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That “something else” I usually ended up playing was the edutainment classic, Cross Country Canada<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\"Such<\/a>

Such beautiful fields of blue grass and red lava.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

CCC<\/em> was a text-driven transport truck \u201csimulator\u201d set in Canada.\u00a0 The goal was to teach not only our great country\u2019s geography, but also the commodity each city and town was known for.<\/p>\n

For example, you\u2019d have to make a trip to Charlottetown, PEI or Edmundston, NB to pick up a load of potatoes, while Fort McMurray, AB was the place to go if you needed oil.\u00a0 Having to pick up stuff like Zinc, Sulfur or Nickel was a bit challenging to me at first, but the game taught me that I had to travel to Yellowknife, Grand Prairie and Sudbury (respectively).<\/p>\n

The animations you\u2019d see when you actually picked up the commodity varied from city to city, which was a nice touch.<\/p>\n

As you traveled the Trans-Canada highway, you\u2019d have to stop for food, sleep, gas, and whatever else you needed to survive the trip.\u00a0 You could risk an accident or a speeding ticket by typing \u201cSPEED\u201d, or even pick up a hitch-hiker if you were feeling generous enough\u2026\u00a0 you could never be sure if they’d leave peacefully or steal your commodity at knife-point, so I rarely stopped for them!<\/p>\n

The game\u2019s presentation is imprinted on my memory, and it\u2019s undoubtedly my favourite edutainment title of all time.\u00a0 Watching footage of it brings me right back to sitting on the living room floor, playing on that black and white laptop\u2026\u00a0 simpler times, man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Note – there is <\/em>sound in this video.*
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