15 October 2002 - 12:19

I'm a real archivist at heart. One of my favorite parts of coming home is having access to my records of my history--carefully kept scrap books, journals, photo albums, all packed in neat little boxes.

After I stopped writing in the notebooks, I kept a diary on my computer. Unfortunately, it was an encrypted AmiPro (v. 3.0) file and I neither have much access to AmiPro nor remember the password nor know how to unencrypt the file. However, bits were printed out. Here's a young gamer's prayer, penned August 1995 in a letter to my best friend Jade (cleaned up minimally, complete with disclaimer):

O great God or Goddess of the all mighty Computer, let me regain my skill in its many myriad worlds of fantasy, overcome the challenges posed to me by those O holy creators of games, those extraordinary weavers of virtual worlds. Let my fingers not lose their paths, let me not press the wrong key at a critical moment. Let the random luck that is the mathematical basis of so many chances in Games and in Life that does determine whether I win or lose, come in my favor. Keep me from power surges, let my hard drive remain ever protected. Let the SysOps of the world not take dislikings to me, and let my mouse ball always remain clean. Let my friends be ever by my side both in the real world and in your own fantastic plane. Let me never fall to temptation, never peak at a hint book unless compelled by you and by those who stand by me. Let me remember by heart every obscure word in programming, every tricky routine in arcade games, every name of the characters, both real and virtual, that I meet on my travels, every exchange and the solution to all posed puzzles that ever have I completed. Let new technology always be discovered, and as well, the prices of the old continue to drop. Let the possibility of obsolescence come rapidly, but the fact itself come slowly, ever slowly. Let the names of all who craft in virtuality never be forgotten by mankind, let my monitor never burn out, let true Cyberspace come at last, and bring a golden age to our domain. And so I ask thee, O spirit of the mighty machine, so I ask thee, and let it be true. - [Disclaimer: the above paragraph was for your entertainment and enjoyment only, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the author in any way, shape or form. The author is not and can not be held responsible for any disputes, major changes of religion, large catastrophes, or any other anomalies resulting from this or any other writing.]

Don't worry, I'll return to the present eventually. It's very calm.