Retro Gaming

I'm a sucker for retro gaming systems.  When I grew up I remember going to a flea market at school and my sister and I begged our Mom to let us get a Nintendo system.  

Eventually my parents caved, and for part of the deal we had to keep it in their room.  Meaning we had to play it on a little 13 inch television.  When the Nintendo system died soon after, my Mom took pity on my sister and I and we got a Sega Genesis for getting good grades on our report cards at the end of the school year.  I remember we would spend hours playing Sonic 1 and 2, and how you couldn't save the game so if we had to go somewhere, we would pause the game and turn off the tv.  When we would come back we could pick up the game again right where we left off.

As I was getting ready to go into my sophomore year of college, I came across an amazing deal at a local video game store for a Super Nintendo and I had to jump on it.  I still have it to this day and play it on a regular basis.  I remember playing it for hours while I was in college, and before I was married I would play it to unwind after work and on weekends.

Now that I've started thrifting again, I've found all the systems that I always dreamed about owning as a kid, and have bought those systems over again (with the exception of the SNES.) Recently I picked up a Sega Genesis that was in great working condition and just needed the cables which I could easily buy on Amazon, then I found a Nintendo, and a Nintendo 64!  

Neither the Nintendo nor the N64 were functional, which is something you risk buying a system from a thrift store.  Fortunately, Nintendo built the systems like tanks so with some very easy repairs (thanks to some Nintendo proprietary screw bits I found on Amazon) I was able to get them up and running in no time after some quick research.  The N64 just needed to have some dust blown out and a better set of a/v cables!  The Nintendo though was harder.  The system wasn't staying on and the power light was blinking and the screen was blinking green.  The solution?  Opening it up, taking off the 72 pin connector (the piece the game goes into) and cleaning the connectors with some metal cleaner (like brasso, which is about $3 in Home Depot) and isopropyl alcohol to be sure all the cleaner was off!  It's been working fantastic ever since and I didn't even need to buy a new 72 pin connector (which would have been the next step.)  If you've done any sort of computer repair, a Nintendo system is VERY easy.

The 72 pin connector is the line of silver specks towards the back of the big black piece.  

This is the video that helped me the most.  If you came here looking for NES repair tips, I would recommend watching the video for specifics :)

When to start buying winter running gear?

NOW!  Start stocking up on "new" winter running gear asap!  Thrift stores are starting to put out cold weather gear--sweatshirts, sweatpants, leggings, etc.  Today I managed to find this fantastic Patagonia Capilene base layer hoodie for $7!  (And as an added bonus, the color is a pretty shade of blue.)  

Essentially, it's an older version of this hoody (so it doesn't have a breast pocket.)  The jacket is actually about 6 years old, but since it's Patagonia it's still in fantastic shape!  (Their products are expensive new, but totally worth it because they generally hold up for a long time to a lot of wear and tear!)  I've already got it earmarked for at least one of my upcoming fall races.  I can't wait for a cool morning run with little to no humidity.  (Yay/boo for being so close to the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean!)