Have You Played Atari Today?

For his 9th birthday, Zach is having a sleepover with four of his friends from the neighborhood. We did the usual birthday party stuff earlier in the evening: we had the organized games, the singing of Happy Birthday, the cake and ice cream, and the opening of the gifts. We figured that as the night went on, they would probably end up spending a good amount of time on multiplayer videogames for the Wii.

But so far tonight, the big winner has been the old Atari 2600, which we dusted off and set up the other night. It has kept them entertained for over three hours so far.

Apparently, Guitar Hero and Super Smash Brothers are no substitute for 25-year-old classics like Ms. Pac-Man, Combat, Megamania, and Outlaw.

Go, Sharks, go!

Regardless of whether or not the Phillies are able to make the post-season, there is playoff baseball in Philadelphia this year.

OK, well, not in Philadelphia exactly, but rather across the river in Camden, NJ, where I took the kids last night to see the Camden Riversharks play the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League semifinals.

As an aside, if you're a baseball fan in the Philly area, a Riversharks game is a Must See. Games are (relatively) cheap, and Campbell's Field offers a gorgeous view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and the Philly skyline.

The Sharks played the Pats to a 2-2 stalemate through 10 innings, at which time Phoebe had fallen asleep and Ben was about to do the same. We weren't around to see the Patriots score in the 11th to force the series to a 3rd and deciding game, to be played tonight at Campbell's field.

But in the end, I got to see 10 innings of minor-league baseball, and the kids got to eat hot dogs and ice cream and stay up until 10:30 on a school night. Everybody went home happy.