there's treasure everywhere

On a routine stop at the local thrifty store, I ususally find something awesome.

At the electronics section(ha. I have to stop there. I sometimes laugh even considering some of that crap electronic), I saw the usual pile of Nintendo Gamecubes and like twelve Playstations, and a N64.

Sidenote: I pretty much abandoned Nintendo and jumped on the Playstation bandwagon in the late 90's. The games were better in my opinion. I never really played N64, but they had some nice enough games. If I could, I would probably get one, just for the cartridge nostalgia. All the abandoned Gamecubes are a result of everyone getting a Wii, which also plays Gamecube games.

But then I saw something incredibly rare: three NES's sitting there. After some scrutiny I picked the one that looked the least beat up, found some power cords and TV connectors and took it home.

So the NES needs some TLC. I cleaned it up, and powered it on. The red light blinked so that's a good sign. A lot of old consoles have faded or yellowing plastics from UV exposure. The NES I picked up has some UV fading on the front and left side of the unit, which is pretty awesome considering how old it probably is. Who ever owned it probably just left it on the shelf. My SNES looks terrible, almost like it was baked in the sun. It has something to do with the cheap plastics that were used in Japan, and after 10 years or so, most of them deteriorate. The 72 pin connector inside the unit is probably dirty and corroded like most Nintendos. I'm going to have to open it up and replace it with a better one, or try and clean the contacts on the games I have. An old NES is a temperamental beast, but I think I can resuscitate this one.

Now I just need some controllers and games. That shouldn't be too hard. I've looked for my old NES at my parent's house, but it was probably lost when we moved to UT. All the cords and connectors were probably lost too. I did manage to find four cartridges though, and with some cleaning, I can probably get them playing soon.

post 555

My brother has been running. He even attempted his first Ultramarathon last month, completing 30 miles before he had to DNF. He finished the half marathon that Halloween and even got a medal. I do not run. I prefer to walk/jog to the pantry to eat Oreo cookies like they're going out of style. I hate running, and I don't think that I'll be finishing an ultarmarathon anytime soon. I've got other plans.

This weekend is the El Tour de Tucson bike race. The 109 mile race circles the perimeter of my old hometown. It actually passes by close to where I used to live. My dad rode the El Tour a long long time ago on a crappy mountain bike, and I think there's an embarrassing photo of him from the early 90's somewhere. My goal is to be ready for next year's race, and I think I can do it. I just need to keep riding.

I'd like to try the Utah Lake Century before I go down to Tucson next year. I guess my real goal is to try and finish a century next year. That'll show my stupid running family.

the ride there (again)

I had a hard time riding into work this morning. I don't know if it was breakfast or if I just didn't get enough sleep. I made it into work ok, but felt really tired. Here's a song that I had in my head this morning, and the video works because it got me pumped up for my ride.

Remember Nada Surf? They had a hit or two in the late 90's and then fading away like everything else. This song "Whose Authority" came out a couple of years ago and features Michael Moronna of Pete of Pete fame riding his bike throughout NYC as a bike messenger. Enjoy.



(edit: on the ride back I saw two girls smoking pot and walking a goat. It was crazy. I found out that my rear wheel was rubbing on my frame or brake pad... That's why I had a hard time this morning. I was flying on the way home. Whoa.)