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What do I teach my kids instead of line number BASIC?

majick — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:32:14 -0800

What's the modern day equivalent of old school "line number" BASIC as a tool for young children to play and learn with? As with many of us of a certain age, I spent a lot of time writing software in line number BASIC learning how to break problems down into component algorithms and generally getting a sense of how electronic computing works. The advantages of such a language as a learning tool are pretty well known: the constrained vocabulary and relatively powerful primitives make it fairly easy to learn, although obviously not the kind of thing you'd want to write production software with. I'd like to share at least a sliver of this experience with my own children, but the chances of getting them to sit down in front of a crumbling TRS-80 or Apple II in order to learn are slim.

So instead I'm looking at other options. Ideally I'd like a language and execution environment that is somewhat multiplatform, has graphics and sound support, uses a language I know or can learn relatively easily in order to teach, and most ideally is procedural rather than OO. A few I am considering are:

LÖVE - a Lua system for creating games. Lua looks fairly approachable although I don't know enough of it to teach, and I'm not entirely sure about making young children wrap their brains around the idea of callbacks in order to get anything done.

Pygame - a framework for Python game creation. I only speak a little Python but it's learnable, I suppose, and the presence of an "immediate mode" interpreter is compelling in terms of being able to learn the basics interactively. However, I'm not at all convinced I want my kids using an OO language before they understand procedural programming. That seems like putting the cart way out in front of the horse in terms of depth of learning.

Squeak - a Smalltalk implementation. Yet another OO language, although at least a fairly pure one, and I can probably dust off my long-rusted Smalltalk skills to teach it. But honestly, who even knows or cares about Smalltalk any more?

Scratch seems like a Squeak-derived project of some kind, and the visual programming approach seems aimed at very young or only partially-literate learners. I'm not sure this is the kind of thing I'm interested in at all.

Processing has some of the attributes I'm looking for, but may not be an ideal learning language due to being extremely visual in emphasis, the OO, and the Java syntax.

Visual Basic is really BASIC in name only; it's not a language I want to teach, nor one I'd want my children to bother with, and it's tied utterly to a platform I don't particularly care about.

So, folks, I'm not seeing a very attractive range of tools. What am I missing? Aren't there tools for kids to just sit down, play with, and make things? Or is the entire concept of teaching fundamental computer literacy an obsolete one in the modern age of children surrounded by closed, sealed, consumer-oriented devices that are made by distant wizards?

2up?

1f2frfbf — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:11:06 -0800

Recommend me some good head to head games for the NES (aka: Famicom or old-skool nintendo). My friends and I have had fun playing Dr. Mario head to head, and are looking for other games that let two players play at once, either in competition or cooperation. I like sports games okay, but some friends prefer otherwise, so help me build my library to keep everyone happy.

Kind of previously.

Merkur Safety Razor in DC?

phrontist — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:33:50 -0800

Can I buy a Merkur Safety Razor anywhere in (metro-accessible) DC?

Wooosh!

phrontist — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:08:58 -0800

I used to play an old DOS game in which you had to manuever a paper airplane through a house, with each room being a different level, each of which got progressively harder through the addition of obstacles. The plane, if I recall correctly, had a fixed rate of descent and could only rise by moving over a fan/vent. If you touched anything you died. It was an awesome combination of puzzle/action. Bonus points if you tell me how I can play it on a modern WinXP box.

No, I don't want to send a copy to Arnie, I just want to read it again

antifuse — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:26:05 -0800

Help me find this ANCIENT, early-internet Conan The Barbarian fanfic/spoof story! My google fu has failed me! When I was 15 or 16 years old (so, around 1993-1994 or so), I was working at my mom's company as a summer student. One of the other summer students was a year or two older than me, and I like to think of him as my first real geek mentor. He would get me copies of Doom add-ons, and various other things from this thing he called an "FTP". It was incredible, the amount of stuff he had access to. Any way, the only real gem (aside from the Aliens Doom game, which scared the bejesus out of me) that sticks out in my mind was a fairly long (could have been novella length) text file, which was in several parts, chronicling the adventures of Conak (I think?) the Barbarian. Obviously, Conak was based on Conan, but the story was humourous in nature. At the time, I was really into Douglas Adams style humour (well, still am, I guess, but I was just getting into it at the time) and I found this story to be somewhat similar to Adams' style. I really found it hilarious at the time, but I never got to finish it, because it was posted in parts, and the summer finished before the last part was posted (maybe it never was?). I'd really like to find it again, to a) see if it holds up to my memory if it being absolutely hilarious (it probably won't) and b) see how it ends!

My google(yahoo, askjeeves, msn, any search engine I could find)-fu has yielded no results! Certainly, *somebody* must have been in that scene at the time. I'm 99% positive that he wasn't accessing internet directly, as I don't recall ISPs being available then, but rather through a local BBS (using FidoNet? Is that even what FidoNet was for?) or something. This would have been in the Greater Toronto Area. I *would* try and track down the dude himself, but I can't remember his name.

Oldschool vert skateboard decks?

loquacious — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:48:20 -0800

Old school vert skateboards for fat old nerds. Any adult riders out there? I'm having a hell of a time finding sources for suitable vert, ramp or pool boards and gear for adults and larger people. I figured by now, nearly 10 years into the new wave of public/municipal and private vert skateparks it there would be a resurgence in old school or new school vert skateboard decks and hardware.

All the boards I'm finding are tiny little cookie-cutter twin-tip boards better suited for 50 pound kids that would rather bust nothing but kickflips in their driveway rather than rocking smith grinds in a pool or doing power carves in a bowl.

I need a big, beefy board, as I'm a big heavy nerd. 30-32-34 inches long, 9-10+ inches wide. Hopefully oldschool single-tip spoon nosed with a more modern but easy concave, but hybrids or workable vert-riding twin tips are ok. 7 ply hard maple. Big old plastic slide/grab rails. Etc.

Independent Truck Co still makes the 215 truck, which is something like 10" wide, but I can't even find boards that fit this kind of width.

I have a 28-30" x 8.5" twin tip, and it's just too damn small. The wheels are too small, trucks too narrow, etc. My center of gravity is kind of high on that size of deck, and my stance is too narrow, and I've got huge feet. It's frankly a pain in the ass to ride in concrete bowls, halfpipes and parks, and it just feels too light and squirrelly.

Does anyone have any first hand (or second hand, or third hand) knowledge of quality modern manufacturers of real vert riding boards?

I'm just about to give up and go scrounge some 7-ply hardwood up to shape and press my own deck. Which, frankly, might not be that bad of an idea. It might be the start of a business. I know how boards are made in theory, and while I don't have a hydraulic press or mill, I could do a steam+weight jig.

However, I know the boards exist out there. Some where. I've seen people riding them. Where did they get them? Who's making them?

Song identification please...

Ziggy Zaga — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 20:56:40 -0800

Song identification please. This song is heard briefly in "American Psycho" when Patrick and Courtney enter Barcadia, and Snoop Dogg raps over it during the party scene in the movie "Old School." Beyond the above description, I have no further detail because I could not make out any lyrics. It's an ethnic-sounding song.

Any leads are appreciated, thanks.

Recommend old-school companies.

cribcage — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:00:07 -0800

What other brands would appeal to a Filson man? Pendleton shirts, Timberland boots, et cetera. Feel free to derail into Waterman pens and Breitling watches, but I'm specifically interested in the Foxfire angle: What sleeping bag would be recommended for an Arctic team? What brand of life preserver would be favored aboard a trans-Atlantic sailboat? Think Shackleton. Think Patton. What companies would they endorse?

Old school preferred. Gold stars for companies that have existed for more than a century.

Seeking recommendations: video games for old-school computers? (400Mz Win2K)

five fresh fish — Thu, 20 Jan 2005 10:12:28 -0800

Games for a 400MHz PII Rage Pro Win2k boxen? Kids I know would like some video games (especially LANable ones), but their computers aren't so hot. Enemy Territory, BZFlag, and the like have hefty video requirements. Various "free game" resources aren't proving helpful; they're all about the latest&greatest. What's available for old-school systems?