Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

I bought an Atari flashback portable at a dollar general store (no it wasn't one dollar 😒) and it's weird because I can't find this particular model on Amazon to compare the prices... Well not that I matters much now that bought it but still...

It's pretty cute, and it comes with namco games so that kinda adds value. Feels pretty cheap though.

@Zuljaras I'll post the pictures in the artist thread this week, promise...

@Eel Atari Flashback portable? Is that like a Lynx, with a screen?

@ThanosReXXX "Blandly flavored wax candy straws" might be a better description for the licorice I've had. I had a fully- braided, non-hollow kind several years ago that wasn't too bad, but it still didn't thrill me.

My bucket list keeps growing, too. Other than that one time, I haven't been to the West Coast here at all. I'd like to get up into Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in Canada at some point too. Mainly to see the natural landscape (Random Tyranexx fact: I find volcanoes fascinating but have seen few volcanic features in my life), but also to experience a little of the more famous cities like Portland, OR, Vancouver, BC, and Seattle, WA.

I've seen the occasional complaint online that some Americans don't get out of our own country very much. Besides the travel costs to get much of anywhere across the pond (and believe me, many of us want to), we have a LOT to see and do within our own massive space. Besides most of the West Coast in general, I haven't been to the Northeastern part of the country at all.

I read yesterday that the Super Bowl was watched live by just under 100 million people. Just curious if anyone here tuned in who otherwise doesn’t really pay attention to the NFL? I still find it amazing when so many people tune in to the same thing at the same time. Live sports is really the only thing left we’ll allow to dictate when and how we consume it.

@ThanosReXXX - I have plenty of time to plan it all out. I’d say it’ll be a play/art & craft room for the next six to eight years, then we’ll probably replace the flooring and make it a couch and TV room when the kids are older, and then years later... maaaaybe I’ll be able to start in making it what I envisioned many, many years ago when we got the place, before my kids started dominating my life: an at home basement barcade.

I’d love a generator, it’s in the long term plans. We get random outages living in a wooded area. While we don’t have water issues in the basement (knocking furiously on wood it stays that way), I don’t think I could get it water tight as there are ground level windows, and a walkout door out to the back with sidelight windows. I have had multiple water related problems down there, but they’ve all been from water lines, drains, and the water heater.

@Tyranexx And don't forget Iowa. Speckle on the map, small as it is, compared to other states, it has a significant importance both historically and politically, AND it has a traditional Dutch bakery, actually run by people with ties to this little country, so if you're ever curious about what kinds of bread, pastries and cookies we eat over here, then that's the only place to go in the entire US of A. There are other "Dutch" shops, but those are more of a gimmick than an actually Dutch shop, run by people that are of actual Dutch heritage, and that still makes bread in the classical, artisan way.

@ThanosReXXX this thingy

https://www.atgames.us/products/atari-flashback-portable-2019

It was 40 bucks at the dollar store. Which is still kinda expensive for what it is. I picked it over the Play Station mini. Which was not tagged so I don't know how much that one was.

@bimmy-lee Well, couldn't you add/install/adapt those windows to get some rubber lining or whatever, making the space water proof when closed? Piping/tubing/drains causing problems sounds more like an insulation/sealing problem to me. Then again: what do I know? Other than being good with a paint brush or roller, and being able to do some basic woodwork, I'm not really a handy man by nature, unless it concerns building/repairing PC's, so I always hire or find someone to do that kind of stuff for me.

Far as the NFL/Superbowl goes, that's only a limited fanbase over here for the sport itself, but the Superbowl concerts and all the crazy commercials are always welcomed with open arms over here.

Seen most of it yesterday, in short flashes, so I got the general gist of it. Not from the match itself, mind you.

@Eel Ah, yes. That thing. I do believe that NLife did a review or preview of it once. I'd be interested to know your personal verdict on it, so once you've had the chance to really put it through its paces, I hope you might be persuaded to make a mini review on it.

As for the PS1 Mini: that's probably around the same price by now. I've seen it go for even cheaper, because it obviously didn't do all that well, but the average price will probably also be around 40 in most cases.

Anyone got a ATARI VCS

@Anti-Matter I have a cat like that he's always fighting. There's lumps of hair missing from he's neck🐱

@ThanosReXXX Hmm, I'll have to look that place up. Iowa is within a reasonable distance; it's a bit of a drive still, but I can be within its confines in about 4 hours depending on the route. I really wish you'd mentioned that before when I last passed through a couple years ago! XD My family was in the Des Moines area for a couple of days in 2018.

@ThanosReXXX I played with it for a bit, so let's say these are my initial impressions. It's honestly not bad at all, cheap feeling, but very competent compared to other AtGames products I've tried. It also supports save states, and rewinding. Though I haven't tried those.

Being Atari games, I mostly have no idea what's happening in a large majority of them. But the few games I'm familiar with are perfectly fine.

Dig dug is surprisingly close to the arcade game. Frogger is literally frogger. Pacman is pretty good outside of the sprite flickering which makes it harder than usual. Etc.

It seems you can also load extra games with an SD card. So I'll look into that when I'm back home. Though that SD card slot is a big gaping hole with no way to cover it. So that's kinda worrying.

@ThanosReXXX - Yeah, frozen lines from temperature exposure is a big problem, and a cause of leaks, but my basement (and crawlspace) are the same temp as the rest of the house. My problem is the age of the original copper lines. I have issues with the long, horizontal runs and 90 degree elbows in the basement where water tends to pool and sit at all times as opposed to the long vertical lines up the walls that feed the water rooms, though one of those did break in the wall in the entry. I finally figured out my drain issues last spring after a long, expensive battle. It was infuriating, and I still can’t allow my washing machine and dishwasher to drain at the same time.

I hope you saw the halftime performance. I think it almost made me pregnant. The commercials were pretty good from what I saw, but I tend to use them for game breaks. The game was good, not great. All in all, a fun evening around my place.

Did anyone else have problems commenting on the site about 12 hours ago? When I visited the site last night (my time) I couldn't comment on anything. The button just did nothing. Everything else seemed to work fine however and it seems okay now.

@Heavyarms55 my mobile session timed out quicker than normal before I pressed the post button. But it worked once I logged back in. Edit: maybe I was on a fire hours after the time you're citing.

@Heavyarms55
Mine was okay.
But i realized some of my posts on PS1 vs N64 article has deleted. 🤨
I didn't even post any negative comments.
Just only shared my opinion about PS1 over N64 by my comparison.
Then, user named SwitchForce copycat my post and made his own version.
And both of our posts has been deleted.

@Woomy_NNYes Perhaps my internet was being derp last night or something. I had no other issues, just an inability to leave comment. Weird.

@Anti-Matter Perhaps you or him had some bad word in your comment, unintentionally. If I remember right neither of you has English as a first language right? English does have a decent handful of words that are considered rude but not obviously unless you're familiar with the issue.

Could you please write the comment here again? Just to see what it was.

@Eel
It has been deleted two days ago. 😕
I didn't really remember the words I posted on.
I posted my comment about PS1 vs N64 by using my PS1 games references as comparison. I wrote I choose PS1 because it has a lot of DDR games on PS1. Second, I said PS1 has more games library diversity than N64. Also, I said PS1 machines model looked more beautiful than N64, PS1 game box looks more appealing than N64, PS1 controller design looks more comfortable than N64.
Then an user named Carlos82 if i remembered, questioning my opinion because of saying Pepsiman / DDR was more appealing than Zelda Ocarina / Mario 64 / Goldeneye N64. Then, i explained if i was a DDR player and have been playing DDR Arcade for almost 17 years. And i showed him my DDR 3rd Mix PS1 picture as the proof. I explained to him also about Pepsiman and other quirky PS1 games that more appealing than majority of N64 games.

I didn't put any rude or inappropriate words in my post. I have typed very carefully.

Thinking about it, technology was already really advanced by 2001.
There were already DVDs, MGS2 and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie!
Not to mention the GameCube and GBA.