RickR

I'm just surprised you got an Amazon Echo. You've said you don't want a smart watch or security cam that connects to the internet, yet that thing is listening all the time 🙂 Anyway, is there a command to say to get it to fart? "Alexa, let loose from the caboose".

Narrower roads, very limited parking spaces, and lots of bicycles on the roads. Hood mirrors don't stick out at all.

There is (was) a real car called the "Wheego". Here's a playlist on it, and also sharing this youtube channel called "Aging Wheels", which covers old and strange cars with a lot of humor.

I don't know if this is nation-wide or what, but our local mall Macy's has a Toys R Us branded toy department. I can't decide if that's nice or sad. I mean I'd much rather prefer a stand-alone store, but I guess it is better than nothing.

I think I still have three VCR's in my stash. The one that is out and still in use occasionally is a DVD/VCR combo that I got for free on a "buy nothing" group. It needed a slight tune and deep clean, but works great now. I'll try to get pictures later.

The Atari 1200XL is the black sheep of the 8-bit lineup. Most folks believe it has some flaws. No BASIC built in, and some software compatibility issues. Heck, Atari pulled the machine off the market in less than a year to produce the "fixed" 800XL and 600XL instead. Still, the machine itself is beautiful. It looks and feels great. The cartridge slot is on the side, giving it a nice clean look. And the joystick ports are mounted diagonally, which is pretty cool. I've been playing around with the 1200XL I recently picked up and enjoying it a lot. I haven't found any software issues yet. I like that I don't have to hold down "option" to disable BASIC while loading games. I really like the way it looks and it makes me happy to have one. What do you all think of this model?

Wow! Beautiful.

And a gen1 Volkswagon GTI would be another one I'd probably buy if I could find one in decent shape.

It reminds me a lot of the 80's Volkswagon Scirocco....which is another sweet car that you just cannot find anymore.

Fascinating! ET as a hero! But I'm with you that ET and horror probably wouldn't have made a good legacy for the first film. I also learned just yesterday about Spielberg wanting badly to direct Superman, but the producers having no confidence in him (since Jaws hadn't been released yet). While I'm sure Spielberg Superman would have been pretty sweet, it sure feels like those producers would have made the same odd mistakes anyway (like paying Puzo a boatload for a script, giving in to all diva Brando's requests, cheaping out on paying Christopher Reeves, etc), so the film would probably be about the same.

Man, I am on a *roll* this year, because look at what I picked up on ebay. Atari 1200XL. Didn't I say I wanted one of these for a long time? Well, I took a gamble on this "as-is", "powers on but untested" model. And guess what? It is really dirty, but works! I had to provide my own power supply. And the keyboard is very spotty (some keys don't work, or you have to press them several times). I think that bad keyboard mylar is expected. Anyway, I'm happy to have this and I'll spend some time cleaning it up.

I think you understand my taste. I love this one.

I printed one out! And only screwed up once (hint: for two sided printing, do "flip on short edge", otherwise the back sides will be upside down!)

A 10 pack of the Atari box protectors 🙂 Thank you guys for the tips on where to get them.

That is my favorite of the ones you've posted so far. I also would LOVE one of those.

And THIS is why I've been collecting a few Hot Wheels I like instead. They have an 80's series that has been fun, and those cars are only $1 or so 🙂

PS - here's a really good YouTube series (7 parts) about upgrading a 78 Corolla. I would LOVE to have a car like that.

I am so drawn to those little vans and trucks for some reason. I had the chance to buy a really nice early 2000's Celica GT a couple of years ago, but decided not to (similar to the picture below). It was a color I wasn't fond of (white) and also an automatic (manual would be more idea). Honestly, I have trouble justifying a "play" car like that. But it was in great condition. I've also seen a few really nice older 70's and 80's Toyotas that I've given serious consideration to. But I really hesitate with anything that uses a carburator and vacuum hoses. My first car was a 77 Toyota, and I loved it. But I also must constantly remind myself how difficult it could be to keep it tuned well, and how difficult it could be to start in bad weather. I suppose if I had the time, it would be a lot of fun to do a fuel injection mod on an old Toyota.

I'm sure it is a requirement of getting them shipped over here. Minimal gas in the tank for fire prevention.

These cars are awesome and don't get me started. Once you start looking into the micro vans and trucks, your imagination will go wild. Example: Delica vans. Stout yet tiny and AWD, these things are really cool for off roading. Parts and enhancements are readily available too. The main issue for me with a lot of these Japanese origin cars is the right-hand drive. I think it would be really hard to live with.

Yes. Our country is BIG, and thus we tend to put a lot more miles on our cars. Add in the salted roads in winter that makes the bottom of most cars rust.

Get a Toyota Crown! I would absolutely get one of these if it came up for sale locally and I am not kidding.

I'm not stepping into that controversy, but you might find some interest in this youtube channel. He does reviews, bloopers, interesting facts on many old TV shows like Gilligan's Island, I Love Lucy, Munsters, Twilight Zone, etc. Here is the Gilligan playlist:

This looks good! I'm going to try that "print ready" option later today, as that looks like a fun challenge 🙂 PC LOAD LETTER! OH NO!