This is actually a distorted memory of a game of chess I really did play with
Thinking on those days this morning has left me feeling strangely wistful for, of all things, "the old days" of personal computers, when games came on ten 5.25" disks, and every mall had a "Babbage's" and a "Software, Etc." PC games in particular have not really fared well in the time since then -- they've gotten very pretty with 3D rendering and high-res textures etc., but actual gameplay isn't actually any more fun and often is considerably less. When everything was new, people were more willing to try new and oddball ideas, like "Marble Madness," "Lemmings," or "Tetris" instead of the same ol' same ol' shooters, strategies, and sports sims we've got now. "DDR" was probably the last really innovative thing I can remember, and that has a minimal presence on the PC at best. I must admit that "Elite Beat Agents" looks like a lot of fun -- but it's not a PC game either.
But I don't want to digress about games; really that's just a tangent. What I miss is the "exciting new world" feeling of the time, when suddenly it was cool to be a nerd and there was always something new and nifty popping up out of nowhere. Composing in a word processor so you don't have to type, edit, re-type, re-edit, and re-type again? What bliss! An interactive murder-mystery game on your computer? What an awesome idea! Printed material right from your own desk? Amazing! That's the problem with living through a revolution, I suppose -- times that aren't revolutionary seem rather dull by comparison.
Probably the recent death of The Paper has something to do with it.
-The Gneech