I have a top secret project in the works that may see the light of day this week or the next but I didn't want too much dust to settle on this place before then. Unfortunately I don't have much to say other than exposing myself as a giant nerd. Not that I was kidding anyone with the site design around here.

I recently stumbled upon The Backloggery. The site tracks your video game collection and which games have been completed. Its goal is to make you feel guilty about spending money on something that was never even removed from its shrink wrap. It's probably meant to be used for games you have some intention of actually finishing but just for fun I entered everything I had laying around.

I've come to the conclusion that I own way too many games considering the list doesn't even cover my Atari 2600, NES and any floppy disk based PC games. What's even worse is that at least half of those games aren't even very good. Like movies, for the most part, games in a bargain bin are there as a warning, yet somehow a few managed to infiltrate my collection. Thankfully it seems that trend peaked a few years ago. I guess that's one good thing about having less free time.

cravipat escaped the blue labyrinth long enough to write this.

0 adventurers found their way to the golden castle.

Words uncovered in the catacombs : video games

Disclaimer: This article is filled with "facts" about state history and the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarter Program. If you write a research paper using the information provided here you're likely to get an F. Don't write an angry email just because you're even lazier than the author to look up the real information.

In 1999 the United States Mint unleashed their 50 State Quarter Program on a confused public wondering why there was a guy on a horse on the back of their quarters. Eventually people caught wind of the plan to release quarters celebrating each state over the next ten years. (That's five new quarter designs every year in case you're bad with math and it's late at night and your solar calculator won't work.) Each state's quarter has it's own unique design filled with images and text detailing that state's history and accomplishments. Unfortunately there isn't much room on the back of a quarter, so that history and accomplishments may seem a bit cryptic. That's where I hope these articles can help.

But before we get into all of that I'd like to take a look the program itself. How did it come about? You only need to look at the fads sweeping the nation only a few years earlier, Beanie Babies. Yes, it seems far fetched that small plush toys caused the US Government to redesign one of it coins but consider this. Beanie Babies ignited a huge following of investing collectors, people willing to spend large amounts of money to hoard things that may not even interest them in hopes that they can eventually cash in on a big profit. The government saw an opportunity.

This is the point where thinking about how money actually works makes my brain ache but stick with me anyway. The cost of the materials in a quarter is five cents. The public is willing to pay twenty-five cents to possess a quarter leaving Uncle Sam with twenty cents in profit. Most of the time this isn't a problem because the public is inclined to spent that twenty five cents on something useful, let's say a vending machine rubber ball. But with the state quarters, people aren't going to spend them. They'll "buy" one to keep and another to spend. The collectors are likely to keep even more.

So there you have it, the truth behind the 50 State Quarter Program. If you don't believe me spend the day in a bank lobby and watch how many people come in waving a ten dollar bill demanding to know if the new state quarter is out. I'd be willing to bet you see at least one before the cops are called and questions are asked about why you're loitering in the bank's lobby.

cravipat escaped the blue labyrinth long enough to write this.

1 adventurer found their way to the golden castle.

Words uncovered in the catacombs : quarters

It wouldn't be the start of a new year without some sort of list either marking the best things of the year past or the best to look forward to in the future year so here you go.

• stick of butter


• jug of milk


• carton of eggs


• loaf of bread

Don't ask me what it means. I found it lying on the sidewalk. It could be a grocery list or maybe a French Toast recipe. I figure I have all of 2008 to find out.

cravipat escaped the blue labyrinth long enough to write this.

2 adventurers found their way to the golden castle.

Words uncovered in the catacombs : oddities

It's hard to believe it has been over a year since I posted anything worth while. There were a lot of reasons why I stopped, but only one why I'm starting again. My brain is full. Full of stupid stories and strange questions that I need to get rid of. I tried standing on a street corner and shouting to passersby but my comments sheet would get soggy when it rained.

Hopefully things will a a bit better this time, especially after I've gone through the painstaking process of updating my template to use Blogger's navigation and label features without having to resort to using one of their "my blog looks like everyone else's" templates. So instead of admitting that I don't have the best track record and this place will be dead in a month let me distract you with this.



cravipat escaped the blue labyrinth long enough to write this.

0 adventurers found their way to the golden castle.

Words uncovered in the catacombs : announcements