- Minnesota (Wikipedia)
Minnesota (/ˌmɪnɪˈsoʊtə/ (listen)) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to intensive agriculture; deciduous forests in the southeast, now partially cleared, farmed, and settled; and the less populated North Woods, used for mining, forestry, and recreation. Roughly a third of the state is covered in forests, and it is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” for having over 14,000 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each. More than 60% of Minnesotans live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the “Twin Cities”, the state’s main political, economic, and cultural hub. With a population of about 3.7 million, the Twin Cities is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the state include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.
- Hastings, Minnesota (Wikipedia)
Hastings (/ˈheɪstɪŋz/ HAY-stingz) is a city mostly in Dakota County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat, with a portion in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is near the confluence of the Mississippi, Vermillion, and St. Croix Rivers. The population was 22,154 at the 2020 census. It is named for the first elected governor of Minnesota, Henry Hastings Sibley.
- Dakota County is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota, located in the east central portion of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 439,882. The population of Dakota County was estimated to be 447,440 in 2023. The county seat is Hastings. Dakota County is named for the Dakota Sioux tribal bands who inhabited the area.
- Pac-Man Arcade Enhanced (Atari 2600) (Internet Archive)
Everyone’s familiar with the now infamous version of Pac-Man that Atari unleashed to its legions of 2600 fans. If you’ve ever wished for a version of Pac-Man truer to the original, Rob Kudla has modified the much better Ms. Pac-Man and turned it into the Pac-Man Atari should have released. This is a fairly significant hack, and here are the changes Rob made to Ms. Pac-Man: Changed the graphics Altered the theme music Changed audio code to improve authenticity Changed playfield color and layout Got rid of extra tunnel and three extra mazes Made fruit sit in the middle of the screen without moving Added the siren If you’re a Pac-Man fan, you owe it to yourself to get this version!
