#TBT Retro Freak: Cyber Gadget’s Time Machine Console May Be Your New Best Buddy

Posted on June 25, 2015 by geelw

I’d heard of the Retro Freak console a little while back but paid it little mind thanks to all the hype over Hyperkin’s RetroN 5 as well as the fact that there are too many other hybrid consoles out there vying for your retro gaming dollars. Now that I’ve read a bit more about it thanks to an email alert from Play-Asia, my eyebrow is up in a very good way. I think I want one of these at some point because I have a ton of games here for nearly every console it can play. The RF isn’t inexpensive at all, but that’s a good thing provided it does everything it’s supposed to.

Releasing in September are two models, Standard and Premium with the latter coming with a controller adapter that allows for Famicom, Super Famicom, Sega Genesis, and TurboGrafx controllers to be used. The big draw for many will be not only the 11 consoles the RF plays games for (Famicom, Super Famicom/SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, PC Engine, TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, and Supergrafx), but the fact that the unit can rip and install all games from cartridges onto the console via SD card. In addition there’s an HDMI output, 720p upscaling, instant saving and even cheat codes for certain games.

I’d imagine those who can afford this will be snapping them up via pre-orders anywhere they’re going to be sold. Some will wait until the thing gets a few positive reviews though, but it’s all good at the end of the day for those with big collections who don’t want to keep too many consoles around their TV’s.

Yakuza 5: No Controversy Here, Just Sega Pleasing Some Fans

Posted on June 25, 2015 by geelw

Almost lost in all this noise on Shenmue III and its somewhat controversial (to some) Kickstarter campaign was the fact that Sega of America itself was going to be publishing Yakuza 5 in North America this fall. General Director Toshihiro Nagoshi, Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama and their talented dev team are clearly showing that the PlayStation 3 isn’t “dead” yet as a viable console and the game certainly looks like their best work yet. Even better, it’s an exclusive to Sony’s console so you can wave your system under the noses of any friend with a competing console who may be a bit jealous. However, expect that console to be used to gently bash you over the head with if you’re too braggy.

Unfortunately for you physical media collectors out there the game is only getting a digital release via the PlayStation Network. So you’ll either need to bite that bullet and download this one or take the harder road, learn Japanese and import that version from a nice import retailer like Play-Asia. Of course, by the time you’re through with those crash courses in the language the game will be out here in English. So yeah, go support Sega of America with a purchase because they don’t make a penny on anything you get directly from Japan or anywhere outside the U.S. of A., folks.

Yeah!

Put Up Your Dukes, Indeed

Posted on June 24, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, Brian Coltrane!)

There’s trouble in Hazzard County for sure this time. A few days ago I overheard two guys (one older, one younger, both black like moi) arguing over whether or not The Dukes of Hazzard was a “racist show” (in my opinion, it’s not). The conversation took a strangely surreal and slightly amusing turn because the guy defending the show also happened to have a load of Dukes collectibles thanks to relatives who bought all that merchandise back when the show originally aired and him holding onto most of it.

Now, there’s a deep fried dill pickle for you, ladies and gentlemen.

But not really. Although some major to minor retailers have been hastily yanking anything with a Confederate battle flag off their shelves, Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia seems to be one of the few exceptions. That said, one does have to wonder with an arched eyebrow how much of that stuff was not so ironically but somewhat ironically manufactured outside of the good ol’ U.S. of A. (by underpaid workers) and how much of it was bought over time for by folks who’d probably NOT want it because it wasn’t made here…
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Tuesday’s Off: Something Hot And Cheesy Today

Posted on June 23, 2015 by geelw

More not so hot pepper action today while I recuperate. Those sunny windows here come in handy for growing stuff and I like the size variations from the two plants producing these peppers. As with the last few I kept the simple recipe used: chop off the tops, remove the seeds and save them (More peppers? Sure!), add a filling of choice (crushed garlic and some spinach topped with mozzarella cheese) and bake for about 10 minutes or so in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Or something like that. I’ll try something different with the next few peppers as I’ve a few ideas floating in my head, a fresh bottle of vinegar and a ton of garlic and other stuff lying around of late.

On Watching Paint Dry And Fortune Telling That Works

Status

Well, the painter showed up this morning at 11:05, worked for eighteen minutes and left for lunch at 11:23 saying she’d be back to put down a second coat. That made me laugh because I was surprised the wall was even getting a second coat. I guess she had to put in those hours this week (or eighteen minutes followed by however long it took that second coat to be done. To my surprise, she actually did a decent above the call job for around here, covering much more than the area that was “repaired” on Friday. The whole wall and part of the other side was done (*shocking!*) and while that made me smile, I’m figuring it’ll be around three months or so when I’ll be having a serious case of deja vu.

You see, when I popped out of bed this morning I decided to carefully look at the plaster job from Friday that was now perfectly dry. Well, dry save for two streaks that signify water was still seeping into the wall. Argh. I have a photo here of the “vampire marks”, but can’t seem to locate my camera’s USB cable (all that moving stuff around and it’s been mislaid). My fortune telling skills (which aren’t real and not needed in any case) show that I’ll be placing a call soon to let the idiots in the office know that they’ve put another plastic bandage on a raging tumor. Fixing the root cause of all the trouble makes more sense (and costs less in the long run). But they prefer to think I’m a dope who doesn’t know and that them just showing up to do their minimalist wall-work on a semi-regular basis is all fine and dandy. You’d figure this would have happened some 20+ years back when there was a small flood here that required the first wall replacement, right?

Anyway, the painter popped back around 12:35 or so and I lost a bet with myself that she’d take lunch until 1pm. Anyway, a few minutes of mucking around outside the door and she came in to finish the job. That second coat went up in much less time and I was signing some paperwork by 12:55 with full realization that she or someone else would be back here before summer was over. Well, the ceilings here still need to be busted into for repairs in a few places so it may be a case of planned serendipity when all is said and done. Back in a bit. I woke up too early thinking the painter would be here at 8am and I need to get out of here and get some air, smacking myself in the forehead as i stroll around outside. Fresh coat of paint aside, it’s still a Monday to deal with (and a busy week ahead)…

Some Father’s Day Memories (Sort Of…)

Posted on June 21, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, Star Wars Malaysia!)

Sadly, my own daddy-o is no longer with us, so I’m having a quieter day of no celebration or awful hastily bought ties, cheap cologne and overpriced restaurant suppers here. Instead, you get a bit of my oddball humor with a few movie clips of some memorable and not so good dads you may or may not remember.

)thanks, Movieclips!)

Before you get the wrong idea, I’ve certainly got fonder memories of my father, folks. I just prefer to keep them to myself. That is all. Back in a bit and I do hope your own Father’s Day was excellent and happier.

(thanks, glows!)

@E3, Sometimes The Treehouse Hides All The Cool Stuff

Posted on June 20, 2015 by geelw

If you had the time and bandwidth this week you could have spend the better part of a few days watching Nintendo employees play a bunch of upcoming games at E3 that were part of their big puppet show press event. You also could have gotten to see at least one game not part of that family-friendly briefing that NEEDED to be given some mention outside the Treehouse Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is coming this year, but you’d never know this if you only watched the main event. Anyway, the trailer is above and some 25 minutes of gameplay from the Treehouse trio is below. Listen for the warnings about the game’s content and prepare to chuckle a bit as the gameplay is a bit over-described yet is still unsettling. “Wetness Gauge” and all the uses of the word “creepy” made me crack up, but the game looks nice and scary where it counts and it’s absolutely not for the kids.

Metal Gear Solid V: Konami In Stealth Mode, Dodging Bullets

Posted on June 19, 2015 by geelw

While this demo of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is incredible, not seeing “A Hideo Kojima Production” or his name (or his studio’s name) anywhere on the demo is a bit heartbreaking. Granted, Kojima does get credit for directing and editing the also great E3 trailer (which also has him properly credited as designer at the end):

But for some gamers the upcoming PS4/Xbox One/PC release itself may as well have “Alan Smithee” in the credits at this point. If you want a real laugh, watch the trailer with YouTube’s closed caption option set to ON. The messed up English that results is pretty damn funny considering the language being captioned in such a wacky manner IS English. Anyway, the game looks great and should sell quite well. But for some fans it’ll be a bittersweet play through with its creator ousted from what could be his best work.

When They Gave My Wall A Hip (And Other Not Tall At All Tales)

Posted on June 19, 2015 by geelw

Well, at least I got to have a decent breakfast today. To wit:

Repair-wise, it was the predictable comedy of errors without the Greek chorus. Two plumbers (well, one plumber and one assistant) popped up at about 8:15 to reattach the legs to the sink and did so in a speedy six minutes. The not so funny thing was they were also supposed to fix the loose faucet that the previous plumbers removed and put back badly when they took the entire sink out and replaced it, “forgetting” to reattach the legs in the process. They were in the process of scooting away down the hall when I decided to check their work and found the faucet still loose. When they popped back in, one of them showed me the work order that only mentioned the leg job, which definitely didn’t make me feel any better. I noted that the inspector who was here two days back said the loose faucet would also be fixed and that years back the plumbers and other maintenance guys would go out of their way to double check what they worked on and would often mention they did a bit of extra work since they were already tinkering away down there. Not that this was “extra” work, mind you.

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Moving Day Is Not Much Fun At All…

Posted on June 18, 2015 by geelw

Well, I’m supposed to be downtown peeking at some fine tech products and such as I type this. Instead, after spending most of today moving a LOT of stuff around I’m about to go up a ladder and spend some time strategically taping a drop cloth from the ceiling around a bunch of stuff so it’s not covered in dust early tomorrow morning.

Whee. But at least another segment of this long apartment nightmare is getting taken care of. Of course, my somewhat limited enthusiasm about this will only last until I see that they didn’t do everything that actually needed to get done (as usual). If that leaky drainpipe isn’t finally yanked out and replaced (something the last few maintenance guys have said needs to happen), all the work they’ll do tomorrow will be a temporary and useless outside of some temporary visual appeal. It’s certainly not a pretty sight now, that’s for damn sure:

Yuck. it actually looks worse in person and there’s another section of the wall with a series of cracks in it I can’t seem to get a good angle on to photograph. It’s supposed to be a two day job (not counting the repainting part), but we shall see. In better news, those windowsill-grown mild peppers have been doing quite well, thanks for asking. The garlic bulb is just for size comparison because that pepper turned out larger that I thought and there are a few more that size that haven’t yet ripened.

Alrighty, then. Back to work here. I do wish I were somewhere else a lot more fun, but this crap needs to get taken care of so I actually have a place to come back to that’s actually fun to live in.