Joe Moody’s Web Adventures

There’s a renewed American confidence in bloom. Even John Hinkley’s bullet into Reagan himself could not stop this new world unfolding: a company called IBM rolls out personal computers, private companies are given the OK to fly satellites, and a brand new TV station debuted with Video Jockey’s playing music videos.

The first video MTV plays is “Video Killed the Radio Star” - a symbol of new ideas and technologies bringing a new world.

PacMan Fever enflamed young brains. Headin’ to the arcade with a “pocketfull of quarters” became a way of life. I’d walk a half dozen city blocks with my brother to a place where previously only an older crowd would smoke and shoot pool.

But suddenly there were shiny new video games flashing and beeping. Each revealing a new challenge to master. When a new game arrived at the arcade, it was like the premier of a long-awaited movie.

My brother and I arrive well-read on PacMan, learning how Shadow and his posse follow the same pattern during each quarter of play. We make PacMan live seemingly forever by learning the patterns.

Next to the PacMan machine, you can ward off a nuclear strike by shooting down the missiles as they drop toward you. Missile Command was simple but made sense. Why not shoot incoming missles before they hit you? It made so much sense that Reagan would try to make the idea a reality with his “Star Wars Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense” system unveiled a couple years later.