RickR

Look at this beauty of a stapler.  You can bet your buns I'm throwing out my modern plastic one.  "Woody" is now the designated stapler in this house.
 
 

That look is timeless. 

Check out this pong machine.  Dang it...someone scratched the woodgrain!  Look at what a nice match it is for the teak tabletop.  Sexy!

Post pics of your random items that inexplicably have woodgrain for no good reason.  GO!
 
I'll start with this....an electric pencil sharpener...with woodgrain.  A lovely dark, rich woodgrain.  And bonus -- the fake wooodgrain laminate table.  I inherited that from my parents, and it's probably 45 years old.  My family thinks that table could survive a nuclear blast. 
 
 

"Green River" has a very sinister connection here in the Pacific NW.  It's a site that one of our most notorious serial killers was named for.  I wouldn't drink that one! 

Today's finds:  Intellivision Defender (no end label) and 2600 Donkey Kong (I will clean it up and sell it along with the Coleco Gemini). 
 
I audibly gasped when I saw Defender.  A nice surprise. 
 
 

We need a "Regional Soda" Atari.io junk box.

"Green River" has a very sinister connection here in the Pacific NW.  It's a site that one of our most notorious serial killers was named for.  I wouldn't drink that one! 

MeTV has a nice blog post up right now about regional soft drinks. It was totally incidental that I saw this but it's exactly what we're talking about right now.
 
Regional Colas discussed in the article:
 
CHEERWINE - North Carolina MOXIE - New England BIG RED - Texas VERNORS - Michigan FAYGO - Michigan GREEN RIVER - Chicago SUN DROP - South VESS - St. Louis DR. BROWN'S - New York City / South Florida  
 
 
Until reading this I had no idea Sun Drop was a "Southern" regional cola. I swear I've seen them at Arco stations in California. Dr. Browns is also widely available in North Carolina. I think just as with craft beers, demand for regional and specialty colas have grown exceptionally in the past few years. As with most everything on MeTV, this blog post is worth a look:
 
 
 

 
 
From MeTV:
9 Delicious Regional Soft Drinks We Still Crave To This Day
We're talking favorites like Cheerwine, Big Red and Faygo.
http://www.metv.com/lists/9-delicious-regional-soft-drinks-we-still-crave-to-this-day
 
 
 

Spent some time playing the 3 CCW games (with Kid's Controller), and let me tell you...I'm impressed.  The games are very simple and meant for young kids.  But the graphics and sound are really great!  Cookie Monster munching cookies, for example, looks far better than I ever would have expected out of the 2600:
 

 
Would love to see an NSG review of these games!
 
 

I finally took the time to really clean up and repair the Stunt Cycle I got on Ebay.  It cleaned up really nicely and works perfectly.  The paddles all work jitter free, and look like pieces of art to me.  I love this thing.  I made a PDF copy of the manual -- if you need it, PM me.  Take a close look at the price sticker...someone got a great deal from the Sears Surplus Store!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

I finally took the time to really clean up and repair the Stunt Cycle I got on Ebay.  It cleaned up really nicely and works perfectly.  The paddles all work jitter free, and look like pieces of art to me.  I love this thing.  I made a PDF copy of the manual -- if you need it, PM me.  Take a close look at the price sticker...someone got a great deal from the Sears Surplus Store!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Are they wrapped?

Spent some time playing the 3 CCW games (with Kid's Controller), and let me tell you...I'm impressed.  The games are very simple and meant for young kids.  But the graphics and sound are really great!  Cookie Monster munching cookies, for example, looks far better than I ever would have expected out of the 2600:
 

 
Would love to see an NSG review of these games!
 
 

Are they wrapped?

I'm sure there are.  I read that there may be sound issues on Genesis games, and maybe some games that do not work.  However, I've noticed nothing like that so far.  The only real con I've noticed so far is that the included wireless controllers are just ok.  But no biggie, I intend to use real controllers. 

Spent some time playing the 3 CCW games (with Kid's Controller), and let me tell you...I'm impressed.  The games are very simple and meant for young kids.  But the graphics and sound are really great!  Cookie Monster munching cookies, for example, looks far better than I ever would have expected out of the 2600:
 

 
Would love to see an NSG review of these games!
 
 

I finally took the time to really clean up and repair the Stunt Cycle I got on Ebay.  It cleaned up really nicely and works perfectly.  The paddles all work jitter free, and look like pieces of art to me.  I love this thing.  I made a PDF copy of the manual -- if you need it, PM me.  Take a close look at the price sticker...someone got a great deal from the Sears Surplus Store!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

I finally took the time to really clean up and repair the Stunt Cycle I got on Ebay.  It cleaned up really nicely and works perfectly.  The paddles all work jitter free, and look like pieces of art to me.  I love this thing.  I made a PDF copy of the manual -- if you need it, PM me.  Take a close look at the price sticker...someone got a great deal from the Sears Surplus Store!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

It definitely had a novelty aspect to it and was released in smaller numbers than Crystal Pepsi. Pepsi Perfect was available in small numbers in Wal-Mart, supposedly. I love that Pepsi gave us a tiny bit more to the story by differentiating Pepsi Perfect as something different from regular Pepsi by being made with real cane sugar.
 
 
 
I agree Rows! I used to love Dr. Pepper and was fortunate enough to enjoy a few cold brisk Dublin Dr. Peppers during my short time in Texas. It looks like Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is continuing to produce a version of Dr. Pepper made with real Imperial Cane Sugar for distribution in central Texas, more info and ordering found here: http://soda-emporium.com/FRESH-6-Pk-8oz-Dr-Pepper-with-IMPERIAL-PURE-CANE-SUGAR-P2356927.aspx
 
 
 
I love that story too!! Always love a good underdog story where the underdog comes out on top.
 
 
 
I had no idea either. It's been years since I've seen Double Cola! It's so awesome that it got to be part of your video. I wonder if there's a place to order regular 12-packs of Double Cola online?
 
Great to have you posting in the forums Weird Paul! The memories you share are awesome.
 
 
 
I love that idea!   

I finally took the time to really clean up and repair the Stunt Cycle I got on Ebay.  It cleaned up really nicely and works perfectly.  The paddles all work jitter free, and look like pieces of art to me.  I love this thing.  I made a PDF copy of the manual -- if you need it, PM me.  Take a close look at the price sticker...someone got a great deal from the Sears Surplus Store!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

I played a lot of "Malibu Beach Volleyball" today, and it's a great game.  It's challenging to learn to play, but not unfairly so.  Reminds me a lot of 2600 "Realsports Volleyball" only much more realistic.  I like that there is an option to slow the game down for beginners.  That helps a lot. 
 
I also played more Pinball Jam today, and I'm sticking with my original assessment.  It's too hard follow the ball due to the limitations of the Lynx screen.  They should have either not made it scroll, or used a plain black background and this would have been an "A" grade game. 

Spent some time playing the 3 CCW games (with Kid's Controller), and let me tell you...I'm impressed.  The games are very simple and meant for young kids.  But the graphics and sound are really great!  Cookie Monster munching cookies, for example, looks far better than I ever would have expected out of the 2600:
 

 
Would love to see an NSG review of these games!
 
 

Re-arranged my office shelf.  Books on the top shelf are being moved out...games moving in. 
 
 

Let's not get too sidetracked in this thread by my mention of Pepsi Perfect. Point is well-taken though. We're already discussing Crystal Pepsi in greater detail here, and Pepsi Perfect here and here.
 
I brought up Pepsi Perfect because it's the pure cane sugar formulation of Pepsi, comparable to Double-Cola and classic formula Coca-Cola.
 
The past few years have seen a resurgence in regional colas and specialty soft drinks! Pepsi Perfect, Crystal Pepsi and Surge certainly garnered the most media attention. Big soft drink companies like Coke and Pepsi have also given us other cool colas, like Pepsi Throwback.
 
There are many other "little guys" that have flown under the radar though! Many of these are classic regional colas that we grew up with, that are now making a resurgence as local flavors and premium soft drinks. Many of these inherently have a retro theme. This is what I'd like to delve into in this topic.
 
What I really LOVE about the story of Double-Cola is that it's the underdog that made it! It's one of those "what ifs" that actually came true! For all the discussions we have on "what if Atari did this one thing differently", "what if Atari had gotten the rights to the NES", "what if E.T. had been a successful game", this is one of those rare stories where a beloved brand fought to survive and came out even better than before. It's not often that we get a nice story like this. I love it!
 
There are many specialty soft drinks that come to mind. Jones Soda, Stewart's, Nehi, and others. There are also regional colas that have never really gone away, like Vernors, Schweppes, Faygo, and Cheerwine.