Kids

The Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego, and the Apple II

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When I was in middle school, I loved going to the library. I’d volunteer there, and they had computers. Lots of them.

They were mostly Apple IIs, but there was one Apple IIGS, the “fancy” modern one. Looking back, it’s funny to think how high tech that seemed at the time.

The library had games, and the two I remember most were The Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (or one of the other Carmen Sandiego versions). I can’t remember exactly which ran on which machine, probably both on the Apple II at some point, but I do remember how much fun they were.

The graphics were awful by today’s standards, but that didn’t matter. The gameplay and the stories were great. Oregon Trail had those wonderfully stick figure graphics, and Carmen Sandiego was all text and deduction, but both were surprisingly immersive. They pulled you in.

Fast forward to now: there’s an Oregon Trail game on the Apple TV. My kids have played it. It’s wild to see something that defined a tiny part of my childhood sitting there as an app on the TV. And it’s actually hard, way harder than I remember. Maybe 11 year old me was terrible at it, or maybe I’ve just gotten soft.

The kids haven’t played Carmen Sandiego, but they’ve watched the Netflix animated version. So somehow it all comes full circle, a game I played in a school library on a beige plastic Apple II in Queens has become a glossy cartoon they stream in 4K.

It’s funny how that works. I can still picture that room at IS 227, the horse shoe setup of old Apple IIs humming away, green screens flickering, and me trying to ford a river without losing half my wagon party.

Some memories just stick.

W Sisters and Watching Space Chris

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When the girls were really little—the still-talking-funny, wide-eyed-about-everything little—we kept screen time on a tight leash. No endless YouTube spirals, no algorithm babysitting. Just carefully chosen things that felt worth their attention.

One of those things turned out to be the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

At first, I thought it would be a novelty, a quick peek at floating hair and zero-gravity toothpaste. But they loved it. They really loved it. Especially Commander Chris Hadfield, or as he became known in our house: Space Chris.

They’d watch him make a sandwich in microgravity or explain why you can’t cry in space. The girls giggled through every video, fascinated not just by the floating things but by the idea that people actually live up there.

Chris was such a natural communicator. He didn’t just talk science; he made space feel human. That kind of thing sticks with kids. It stuck with me too.

When his autobiography came out, I didn’t read it right away, but because of those videos, I wanted to. And when I finally did, I enjoyed it. Later I read two of his novels—the first one was pretty good, the second one not so much, but still worth the read.

Even now, when I come across something about him or the space station, I think back to those days when the W Sisters were small and completely captivated by Space Chris. Watching them watch him was just as much fun as the videos themselves.

I like to think those moments gave them something lasting—maybe not a love of space exactly, but at least a curiosity that lifts off now and then. And that’s enough for me.

W Sisters and The Minecraft Experience

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Over the term break before school started, I did a bunch of day trips with the girls. One they were especially excited about was the Minecraft Experience.

They both play Minecraft on their iPads, and one even shares a realm with the other so they can build together. Most of what they do is in creative mode, so this experience was right up their alley. I was curious too. I’ve played Minecraft, but not often. The motion and movement on screen usually gives me a headache, the same way first-person shooters like Halo used to. That’s a whole other story for another time.

The Experience itself is near Canada Water on the Jubilee line. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty cool. You’re given these glowing orbs (Bluetooth or NFC, I assume) and as a group you complete tasks to save your village. The first couple of rooms ease you into how the mechanics work. From there, you move through different spaces where the walls and floors themselves are interactive, with lots of projectors, sensors, and some interactive tables thrown in. You use the orb to trigger actions, and it changes colours as you go. The whole thing felt very Minecraft in style.

The girls loved it. It lasted about an hour, which felt a little short given the price, but the experience itself was worth it. The only disappointment was the merchandise shop at the end. Everything was overpriced and nothing really stood out as worth buying. We skipped it and went on to do some shopping, grab lunch, and make a day of it.

Overall, it was a fun trip, something different, and it definitely delivered the Minecraft vibe the girls had hoped for.

W Sister Short on Queen

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Paddington Bear Goggles

A while back, probably just a few years ago, A was in the middle of a tantrum. For reasons only she can explain, M decided the right response was to blast Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Not only that, she sang along at full volume. Somewhere between the guitar and the operatic breakdown, A’s tantrum fizzled out.

Say what you will about parenting techniques, but apparently Freddie Mercury trumps a tantrum. At least A’s taste in music held strong even then.

The Story of T Turning 13

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Today is T’s 13th birthday. She asked for a video from the time she was born. I wasn’t really sure why, but M remembered and we both took videos today at the time that corresponded to when she was born in New York, accounting for the five-hour time difference.

I am not at all ready to be the parent of a teenager. Over the weekend T baked chocolate chip cookies, and as a small reward for making it through the first morning of having a teenager in the house, I had one with my coffee.

W Sister Short and The TV Time Out

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I wrote this one over a year ago in July 2024, however still super cute.

The other day when walking home from school, I reminded the girls that they had less screen time today due to timeout from yesterday. I told them I couldn’t recall the exact quantities so I said let’s call it 10 minutes and 20 minutes respectively. A’s response was yes let’s, and she smiled. She and I both knew that she probably had more time than that, but I didn’t want to guess a much higher number so I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Goodbye Primary, Hello Blazer’s

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Today was A’s first day of Year Seven. For her, it’s the start of high school, and she’s been excited about it for weeks. For M and me, it’s also a milestone: our youngest is now in high school.

For Americans, the translation is that “high school” here is closer to what would be middle school in the States. But regardless of labels, the feeling is the same. When T started last year, or whenever she reached some other milestone, my quiet consolation was always that A was still little. She hadn’t crossed that threshold yet, so I could still tell myself I had one more kid who wasn’t quite there.

Now that A has made the leap, that excuse is gone. My little baby is officially in high school. It’s a strange mix of pride, nostalgia, and the creeping realization that time really does move too fast.

Hopefully she had a good first day. She certainly looked adorable in the uniform, which feels like its own rite of passage.

Today’s musing is just me trying to catch up emotionally to where she already is: ready, eager, and growing up faster than I’d like.

The Story of Screen Savers and Burn In History

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The other day my oldest daughter asked me about the screensaver on my computer. Mine is set to a retro alarm clock face. I like having the clock there, and I like the old-school look of it. She wanted to know why I picked it and what other options there were.

That kicked off a conversation about what screensavers actually were for. I explained that once upon a time you really needed them. The name wasn’t just decorative—it literally saved your screen. CRT monitors could burn in if the same image stayed on too long, and screensavers kept things moving. Back then, you could download or buy screensavers of just about anything: flying toasters, bouncing logos, underwater fish tanks. It was an entire genre of computing culture.

I tried to find her a YouTube video of CRT burn-in to make the point, but all I could dig up were examples from plasma or LCD screens. To her, CRTs are just ancient history. I explained that even early LCD and plasma panels had the same issue, and together we managed to find an example or two of that on YouTube.

Of course, I didn’t help myself when I mentioned that my old iMac had a burn-in issue around 17 years ago. That was all she needed. She laughed and said something along the lines of, “Well, you experienced that because you’re old.” That’s the price of trying to explain vintage tech to a modern kid you end up becoming the vintage part of the story.

A North London Derby

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Yesterday the girls and I headed back to the Eremites Stadium to watch Arsenal Women’s take on Tottenham in our first Derby. I never have been to a Subway series in New York so i can only imagine this is the similar vibe.

The stadium was packed with over 55,000 people. It was an exciting first half even if it was cold. The 2nd half was less interesting since Arsenal was already well ahead and it didn’t look like Tottenham was going to be a challenge.

It was a fun day out with the ladies.

I am in Denial About Having Another Tween

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All day today I told A she is still not yet 11 since the time she was born was late in the day UK time. She would argue with me about it. Then midway through the day I said ok I accept you are 11. She said no, don’t. She wanted to continue to argue with me. So I said “so you want me to continue to say I do not accept you are yet 11? She said yes”

So yes I am still not ready for another tween, but she refuses to listen. The fact that she enjoyed the arguing is an interesting tell for the future.