Returning Zork | ruk.ca
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Returning Zork
Matt Webb mentioned Zork in a recent post:<br>Back in the day, text adventures were games with a natural language interface.<br>Zork (1977) was the first well-known one.
This surfaced a long-forgetten memory from when I was a teenager, likely about 17: I had read about Zork, and desperately wanted to try it out on my computer. I bought a copy from a computer shop—it was in Oakville, Ontario, if memory serves—and installed it on my Commodore 64.<br>Then I played it for awhile, wasn’t impressed, and packed it up and returned it (for some reason this was allowed).<br>The memory remains because I remember my father being quite angry at me for doing this: he thought the idea of buying something, using it and then returning it was fundamentally dishonest.<br>To this day, as Lisa will attest, that’s a deeply-imprinted value of mine, and it’s rare if ever that I’ll return something to a store simply because I didn’t like it.
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at 7:51 am
Peter Rukavina
Zork
Dad
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Hi from Powell River BC..as…
Hi from Powell River BC..as I read your today's entry on my emails, it occurred to me that I would Love to meet you two this time HOME/PEI. You have introduced me to so much in this web age. Your art and prints..and 1 Prince St..I have some form of envy as I now think maybe I should move HOME? I tried to convince my husband for most of our 50 years out here. He would agree but did nothing to motivate it..and then life pressed on out here with many visits to keep in touch on The Island. I am now on my own and as my son said, I can go home now. Guess he won't miss me. I am coming back driving in my fancy van to see if I can maybe invest in a summer place? but age is a factor tho only 74..only ha..So I'd like to have a coffee with you two sometime but if you were ready for a stranger to enter your abode, I'd love to see the hall of art..ok you should hear from me..I'll be there after 7000km drive starting July 27th, that I attempt again. Tried last summer but got injured by a mad dog in South Ontario so had to come home to heal. See you in September as the song goes..Hope so..Debbie StOnge Joslin..
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About This Blog<br>I am Peter Rukavina and this is my blog. I am a writer, letterpress printer, and a curious person.<br>To learn more about me, read my /now, look at my bio, listen to audio I’ve posted, read presentations and speeches I’ve written, see things I’ve favourited elsewhere, or get in touch (peter@rukavina.net is the quickest way).<br>I have been writing here since May 1999: you can explore the 25+ years of blog posts in the archive.<br>You can subscribe to an RSS feed of posts, an RSS feed of comments, an RSS feed of favourites elsewhere, or a podcast RSS feed that just contains audio posts. You can also receive a daily digests of posts by email. I also publish an OPML blogroll.<br>Instagram • YouTube • Vimeo • ORCID • OpenStreetMap • Internet Archive • PEI.art • Drupal • Github.