RickR

You think so?  Let me consider that. 

@RickR Absolutely! Maybe even a multi-part blog entry 🙂

One of my favorite games ever! I usually play trough it at least one time a year. 

HAPPY HSW DAY!! 

You are so right, @MaximumRD.  There are so many games on this system that aren't perfect, but really do bring back the best memories.  Donkey Kong plays kind of slow now, but I remember how amazed all the kids were when the CV came out and this was the game they demoed in the store.  Incredible!  Zaxxon is another.  It's clunky, but still the best home version there is. 

Absolutely. So many greats, Venture, Ladybug, MouseTrap ! And though I own a Atarimax cart (sadly the original USB type) I gave away most of my original carts but I could not part with one loose cart that was in amazing shape as well my all time favorite Mr. Do! 

It is well built.  It's not a heavy weighted dial like the arcade version, and you'd think the shape would make it uncomfortable to hold.  But it fits nicely in the hand and it works well without any jitters. 

@Justin, we need to do an NES Arkanoid high score challenge!  I will kick everyone who uses a gamepad's butt!  LOL. 

I never could find that set to buy anywhere.  And that is one setup I rented that I had a blast with.  Awesome find, RickR.

Cool pickups @RickR! I've never seen a boxed Racquetball in person.

The Apollo boxes don't have screen shots on them!  It's weird. 

Happy Father's Day @RickR!! 🙌

And a bonus too -- the Magnum PI Ferrari. 

lol no atonement necessary. It was sad to see somebody's dream in melted ruins. Way cool Magnum P.I. Ferrari 308! 

On the tour at Universal, they mentioned that they leave the top off the 308 because Tom Selleck would not fit with the roof on. 

How awful. Poor little thing.

Honest this ruined my night.

Oh man, I apologize. 

There's a youtube channel called "Hoovie's Garage".  It's a guy that buys cars and talks about them and fixes them, etc.  Anyhoo, he bought a Ferrari, and it ended up completely burning to the ground due to a badly placed hose clamp!  Very sad, but he took it well.  Hoovie also has a DeLorean that took a ton of time and money to get fixed.

Also, having been collecting Atari since 1993 I was used to hunting down and collecting NOS / MIB games still sealed. I usually got these at Kay-Bee Toys, Sears Outlet, @Video 61 or ordering from Atari directly. Lynx games came from Toys R Us and Babbage's. I treated games the same way I did baseball cards, I'd always try to buy TWO of everything, if not three. One new one to open, one new one to put away and keep sealed. If I bought a third, that would always be to put away sealed to save for a potential trade someday in the future. I'm still that way. I DO open brand new Atari games if it's the first in my collection and I'm going to be playing it for the rest of my life. Once I have duplicates, I ENJOY having them sit on the shelf. I love pulling them out and looking at them, looking at the box, looking through catalogs, appreciating the artwork and feeling the original retail experience that we used to feel buying these games. And of course I put a few away for future giveaways. This works for me and this is the approach that brings me happiness. Whatever makes you HAPPY is what I recommend, other people's ideas of what you should be doing don't really matter as long as you love what you're doing and enjoy your collection to the max.

Right on, brother. 

I got these sets for a song on ebay and let them sit in the garage for a week while I thought about it.  This little shelf is right above my main desk.  Now that I work from home, I look at it every day.  Seeing these little ships will bring happiness for sure. 

I have that same issue with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.  Some of them you just have to open.

Wife and I been watching these, they are great! Really brings back some faith in humanity. 

This made me laugh 🙂

What would be cool is if O'Reilly actually stocked the replicas so you could complete your order. I remember this going around like 5 years ago and thinking you could actually order a replica and being disappointed when you couldn't. I'm sure they'd sell plenty.

I smell a business opportunity.  How hard would it be to create one with LED lights and a simple power connector?  We could call it a "Clux Fapacitor" to avoid litigation issues.  🙂  

Diamond Select makes them https://shop.diamondselecttoys.com/back-to-the-future-prop-replicas-unlimited-edition-flux-capacitor-replica 

It's a harmless hobby really.  They don't take up much room, and only $1 if you find something you like.  I also am one that opens the packaging and puts the cars on the shelf. 

I will open duplicates sometimes.  And I already see an unopened case of HW cars in my future Wife found a 24-car case cheap she's been hounding me about.

I agree about it being a harmless hobby.  When I was working in at a die casting plant making good money I would actually buy a case of HW cars from Wal-Mart with every pay check.  I only had to give a small portion to my grandmother for bills the rest was free game.  I spent more on HW than video games and any duplicates I held on to for trade or selling to other collectors.

I'm once again finding myself hitting the HW section every time I go to Wal-Mart.  We don't have a Target locally so it's either Dollar General, Dollartree, Walgreens (over a $1 per car there, though), or Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart has the biggest pile of course but they also poured them in a metal bin.  Next time we go I'm going to have to take two carts with me.  One to hold the cars we want, the other just to move the other cars out of the way.

Happy holidays, Rick! 

Good luck with the new job! Savor that honeymoon period!!

Yes Rick rest assured, when your time comes, I WILL BE THERE !!!!!!! Mwahahahahahah......er.......😜

NICE CAR ! 😎

Congrats on the new job!

That same mode is native to the 5200 with 5200 standard joysticks or the 5200's Trak-Ball controller.  It was one of my favorite setups.  Centipede took advantage of the 5200's setup as well.  And that setup is how I play Missile Command on my XEGS.  Pretty sweet playing that way, right?  Diggin' that XL.

Just so anyone else knows, you must press ctrl-T on Missile Command to activate the analog trak-ball mode.  It makes it as close to the arcade version as I've experienced.  Actually, a little easier since you don't have to decide which missile base to fire from. 

I’ve never played one. I thought it was Professor Layton at first. 😀

Hmm.  A CAPCOM game.  Those guys have been known to make some of the best "odd" games around.  It's not like CAPCOM to release something that is total crap.  Personally...I never knew about it.

I played the first "case" last night.  It's fun!  Such a unique game.  Feels very "Japanese". 

WOW!  Now that's cool.  

I agree with StormSurge.  Normally I'd say not to because of value later but...it needs air.  Also...I didn't know HW made those.

It has been opened!  Looks good, although they should have made it BIGGER than the Enterprise, right?

 

You even have an arcade in there  

HEY that looks SUPER nice @RickR! That looks so bright and clean!

Here's the fascinating part.  He had exactly ONE game.  That's it.  Never bought any others.  Mario Bros/Duck Hunt.  My friend kept it all these years, shared it with his kids, and only had one game.  Granted, it is a great game.  I am not poking fun or anything like that, I just find it to be so interesting. 

I think because of that, the NES is in pristine condition.  It does not need the pin comb cleaned or replaced (the carts go in and come out easily), like-new controllers, etc.  I'm just going to wipe everything down to get the dust off and make this my main NES rig (I've been using a retron 3). 

Just one part was missing, and that was the power adapter.  I had an extra, so no problem there.  The ultimate dad-move -- keep a box of miscellaneous power adapters in the garage for an occasion like this. 

Thanks, J.  You know, sometimes it helps just to type it out to friends. 

My wife says I should quit.  But I don't want to do that.  It would let down too many people, including me. 

I agree with you. Don't quit unless it's what you really want to do. Do you feel this is a current project that has driven things to become more difficult? Or have things changed in your work environment in general which have made things more of a challenge?

My main issue is that I find myself with zero support from above.  My supervisors are all very busy on other important things (I guess they are overwhelmed too), and I feel too much pressure to make decisions that feel way above my pay grade.  At the same time, I work in an area of business that is shrinking.