The US Federal Communications Commission recently eliminated the 5 word-per-minute Morse Code requirement for ham radio licenses. The decision makes sense in many ways, but it also pulls amateur radio operators another step away from their roots.
Paul Saffo at Stanford University comments: "For all appearances, Morse Code is the dead language of the digital age
(it was in fact the first digital language) done in by computers,
satellites and the Internet. ... the ether still resonates with the conversations of ham operators
ditting and dahing over High Frequency airwaves around the planet.
Morse has even gained some new converts, including me. ... back in July, with
full knowledge of Morse’s obsolescence, I decided to learn it well
enough to be able to actually carry on a radio conversation.
To
celebrate my modest progress, I ordered a top-line GHD telegraph key
(the Rolls-Royce of keys) as an early Christmas present to myself. ... Freed
from all pretense of practical relevance in an age of digital
communications, Morse will now become the object of loving passion by
radioheads, much as another “dead” Language, Latin is kept alive today
by Latin-speaking enthusiasts around the world."
Morse Code - Dead Language, Bright Future [via Boing Boing]




The game brings together a collection of 20 Sega Game Gear and Master System titles. Present are Sega standards like Sonic, Ecco the dolphin, Alex Kidd, and Columns. There are also some more obscure titles that were never available on a portable. One special game is "Snail Maze" - if you wonder why you've never heard of it, it's because it was an easter egg in every original Sega Master System console.
I don’t
mean to seem indignant, but isn’t bowling already a rather sedentary
sport? You have to
concentrate while at the top of the alley surveying your ten pin quarry,
putting just the right spin on the ball takes focus - but
you get a chance to catch your breath in between throws, right? That’s what makes Bowling a great casual sport. Even in full game mode there’s
still time to have a few beers and chill. 


This holiday, give the gift of smoking! I've joked in past posts that our moonshot was more or less tobacco powered, and you can say the same about the film industry even today. Every film shoot I've ever been on (including a commercial shoot for one of Truth.org's anti-smoking campaigns) has had a high percentage of smokers,
so it makes perfect sense that back in the 60's a film supply company would give away fancy ashtrays. You can see the logo for the SOS Cinema Supply company in this rather ornate ashtray made in (you'll never guess...) Holland.
has a notepad, uses 8mm reels to support the penholder, but the main feature is an odd-looking Santa face made out of a film reel. This desk set originally came gift boxed!

While originally intended for the embedded device market, hobbyists soon took note of the tiny form factor and they started popping up in the craziest places.
Iain Sharp's
Retro Thing author Bohus Blahut is a TOMY Omnibot fan, so this next one is probably going to cause his blood pressure to skyrocket - It's
