Mastodawn

Kris Howard 18h ago

itgrrl

18h ago

OK #RetroComputing fans, I was gifted an #Atari 2600+ & have finally gotten around to unboxing & connecting…

Pros:

looks cool
… 🤔

Cons:

only includes 1 joystick 🤪
1.5m joystick cable means sitting close to the big-arse TV with old knees & crook’d neck
crappy selection of games in included cartridge (IMO)
cartridge label faces away from you (WTF? is this how the original cartridges were designed? it’s been so long I forget…)
additional cartridges are bananapants expensive & they don’t seem to do many multi-game cartridges? way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory, Atari! 🤦‍♀️

so… I’m looking for #recs for not-ridiculously-expensive options for

adding a second joystickadding 1-2 wireless joysticks

connecting 1-2 modern controller(s) either wired or wirelessly (powered DB9 - USB adapter? 🤔)

sourcing 2 x 3m+ DB9 extension leads

best additional games to get?

I’m sure I could figure out how to get hold of a cartridge with 3,275 games on it were I so inclined (I’m not, Your Honour) so no need for recs in that area, thx 🙃

#boost4reach pls 🙏

Kris Howard 19h ago

Random links - Clearing out the open tabs…

- How to keep sea-monkeys alive (https://buttondown.com/monteiro/archive/how-to-keep-sea-monkeys-alive/) – Mike Monteiro slays me again with his take on AI. “AI is Sea-Monkeys. AI is hope in exchange for something that’s dead.”
- Netflix Is Adapting Miles Franklin’s ‘My Brilliant Career’ Into Its Next Big Australian Drama Series (https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/arts-entertainment/my-brilliant-career-netflix-series) – I listened to the audiobook last year and loved it, except for the ending which enraged me (https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/70736). Now another generation of women can be likewise annoyed.
- Did you know that Mariska Hargitay is Jayne Mansfield’s daughter (https://tomandlorenzo.com/2025/06/red-carpet-rundown-mariska-hargitays-my-mom-jayne-tribeca-festival-premiere/)? I did not. #nepobaby
- In ‘Office Space,’ Texas’ suburban hellscape is a character all its own (https://www.chron.com/culture/tv/article/office-space-mike-judge-texas-20323063.php) – I also didn’t know Office Space was set in Texas. Between that article and the stapler meme (https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/78768), I think the universe is telling me I need to rewatch this movie. (It did prompt me to listen to “Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuDMg9-LZRk))
- Frank Reynolds Joins the Fellowship of the Ring (https://www.neatorama.com/2025/06/17/Frank-Reynolds-Joins-the-Fellowship-of-the-Ring/) – This so stupid, and so well done, and it made us laugh and laugh. https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/78975

How to keep sea-monkeys alive

Little painting I did a couple of weeks ago. There’s a stick so it looks like a protest sign, but I cropped it out. Enjoying the newsletter? Gimme $2 for...

Mike Monteiro’s Good News

Kris Howard 19h ago

Dahl items auctioned this week - I’ve had a couple people reach out to alert me to this news: Roald Dahl’s original sketches to be auctioned (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr585q56qplo). These are drawings that Dahl himself made prior to publication of his memoir Boy – Tales of Childhood (https://www.roalddahlfans.com/dahls-work/books/boy-tales-of-childhood/). Apparently Quentin Blake was booked up, so Ian Craig from the publishing house Jonathan Cape did the final artwork and even suggested the title of the book.

The auction actually happened a couple days ago, and it looks like the lot went for £23,940. There were a couple other Dahl-related lots sold as well, and you can find out more over at my Dahl site (https://www.roalddahlfans.com/dahl-items-at-auction-this-week/). https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/78973

Roald Dahl original sketches for memoir to be auctioned

In Roald Dahl's five-decade long career, these were the only sketches he ever created for his books.

Kris Howard 19h ago

Ladderback Jacquard - This is a new-to-me technique (https://ysolda.com/blogs/journal/ladderback-jacquard-tutorial) I’ve just discovered for handling long floats in fairisle knitting. Seems super useful! https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/78971

Ladderback Jacquard Tutorial

Ladderback jacquard is a knitting technique used in machine knitting, that can also be adapted for hand knitting colourwork and Fair Isle. It’s a neat way to handle longer floats of non-working yarn across the back of the work.

Ysolda

Kris Howard 1d ago

The Purls of Wisdom were triumphant with a depleted team (no Snook!) and now have $1000 in the bar tab kitty. AND I GOT THE MATH QUESTION RIGHT! 🏆

Kris Howard 1d ago

He’s a good robot dog, Brent - It took me a while, but I finally managed to unlock my little robot dog in Palia. Isn’t he cute?? He follows me everywhere, and he can take stuff home if my backpack is too full. https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/78922

Kris Howard 1d ago

Christine Lemmer-Webber 1d ago

I don't regret not having kids, it was the right choice for us

But not having them, you find out suddenly how old OTHER peoples' kids are and you're like what the fuck they're how old???? How old am *I* now????

Kris Howard 2d ago

Oh, did you think I just did one event today? I just went to the launch of the new “The Australian Dream?” exhibition at the State Library of NSW, where I got to meet one of the curators - Tim Ross himself. 🤯 (The exhibition is excellent AND FREE. You should go.) #architecture

Kris Howard 2d ago

And last but certainly not least - Michelle @mishmanners.tech Duke teaching everyone to deliver more effective pitches. We’ve all learned new ideas today; attendees will need to pitch to their leaders and teams to effect change. #YOWTLS25

Kris Howard 2d ago

Next is Sarah Taraporewalla talking about AI-first software delivery beyond just coding assistants. Higher coding throughout puts pressure on the system. Engineering practices still matter, if not more than they did before. #YOWTLS25

Blog	https://www.web-goddess.org/
Location	Sydney / Warrane, Australia
Pronouns	she/her