[cpd2009]

Well, another road trip coming up Monday and Tuesday. It's mostly a Christmas shopping trip, but I plan on checking out a new pawn shop that just opened, Badlands Pawn. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.badlandspawn.com">http://www.badlandspawn.com</a><!-- m --> For those who don't know, a pawn shop is a place where you can get a cash loan by trading in valuable products as collateral. This could be a big screen HDTV or jewelry. Once you paid back your loan, you can get your items back. If you fail to pay back, or decide just to sell to the store, the items will be sold on the shelves of that pawn shop.

This particular pawn shop, however, is "an experience". It has a on-site rock radio station, a deli, a tatoo parlor, a gun range and gun store, and the place doubles as a concert venue. My first impression is that it's either a very fancy tourist trap, or a concert venue that masquerades as a pawn shop. The owner of the shop has been pushing this to no end since he announced it on Dec 26th of last year. Yeah, they built a massive pawn-concert-venue-thing in under a year. Amazing. But will the inside be just as amazing? I will find out on Monday.

There are some items I have been wanting to sell. One of them is my old Galaxy Tab 2, which my RCA Maven Pro replaced as my daily tablet. I plan on getting it appraised since it's name brand. I probably won't get much, but running Android 4.2 and being a dual core tablet, it's still capable of many games and general web browsing. I'm on the fence with Lilly, the Mac Mini. It's getting hard to find a place for her, but I now remember how I wanted to set her up. It's going to be cumbersome though as I lack a wireless keyboard for her, and I would have to switch to a DVI input for use. But, Mac OSX still has features that Windows lacks, such as MacinTalk voices which come in handy for my YTP videos.

You know... selling Lilly is a bad idea. It's hard to part with something as valuable as a Mac Mini.

[huckleberrypie]

I agree that 'tis hard to part with something near and dear to you, but there are times that you have no choice but to do so.

[cpd2009]

Ahh, the joys of finding out about new Famiclones. Yobo Gameware, one of the many companies offering cheap third-party game accessories and clone systems, has bestowed upon the world the "FC 2 Slim", which is an FC Twin in a smaller shell...

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dkoldies.com/blog/the-fc2-slim-is-here/">http://www.dkoldies.com/blog/the-fc2-slim-is-here/</a><!-- m -->

A video game store that I go to in Sioux Falls has this in stock for $50. I plan on getting it as my Retron2 is strange. I got the Retron2 in May, and while it's a fine system, it has a few quirks, such as not being able to use the superior SNES-style controller for both NES and SNES games. The console has ports for each individual slot. The purpose is to allow original accessories for both systems, The NES audio is also slightly off. It's not off enough to be unplayable, but for someone who is getting accustomed to how other clones can closely match real NES sound, it's tough to get used to.

I do have two other clones in storage... two FC Twin variations. The first I got back in 2008 and it's rather nice, though the NES audio is a bit rough. The second I got at a Seattle game store. That variation is basically the same... except that the Super Game Boy is unusable due to bad audio interference from the GB cart transferring data to the SGB. It's not being filtered out properly. The SGB runs perfect on my other two clones.

[cpd2009]

Hazel served me well for a little over two years, but in the face of evolving technology and not being eligible for an upgrade to Android 5.0, I had to move on to Pumpkin. Thus, I took off all my data and performed a factory reset.

The funds I get from selling her will go towards purchase of the new FC 2 Slim. I also plan on tacking on a couple other things such as a collectible pinball game and a rather new stereo system that had too bright blue LED lights for my needs.

[huckleberrypie]

Hazel served me well for a little over two years, but in the face of evolving technology and not being eligible for an upgrade to Android 5.0, I had to move on to Pumpkin. Thus, I took off all my data and performed a factory reset.

The funds I get from selling her will go towards purchase of the new FC 2 Slim. I also plan on tacking on a couple other things such as a collectible pinball game and a rather new stereo system that had too bright blue LED lights for my needs.

'Tis hard to let go of something that has served you well, but as I said earlier...

[cpd2009]

Hazel served me well for a little over two years, but in the face of evolving technology and not being eligible for an upgrade to Android 5.0, I had to move on to Pumpkin. Thus, I took off all my data and performed a factory reset.

The funds I get from selling her will go towards purchase of the new FC 2 Slim. I also plan on tacking on a couple other things such as a collectible pinball game and a rather new stereo system that had too bright blue LED lights for my needs.

'Tis hard to let go of something that has served you well, but as I said earlier...

I know. Part of it is also getting rid of stuff I likely won't ever use anymore. I would rather have the stuff go to someone else who could use a tablet or game system rather than have it collect dust in a closet or get thrown out.

[huckleberrypie]

Hazel served me well for a little over two years, but in the face of evolving technology and not being eligible for an upgrade to Android 5.0, I had to move on to Pumpkin. Thus, I took off all my data and performed a factory reset.

The funds I get from selling her will go towards purchase of the new FC 2 Slim. I also plan on tacking on a couple other things such as a collectible pinball game and a rather new stereo system that had too bright blue LED lights for my needs.

'Tis hard to let go of something that has served you well, but as I said earlier...

I know. Part of it is also getting rid of stuff I likely won't ever use anymore. I would rather have the stuff go to someone else who could use a tablet or game system rather than have it collect dust in a closet or get thrown out.

Indeed. I am not sure about my old tab either, other than using it for development or other risky stuff that I'd rather not perform on the new device.

[cpd2009]

Well, I have returned with Hazel now hopefully going to another person who needs a tablet. Interesting story..

So I go to the Badlands Pawn place and try to sell it there. They only said it was worth less than $10. So I went to my video game/media trading store that sells used tablets and buys them. I got way more money there than at the pawn. Go figure.

As for the pawn shop itself.... it's an interesting concept, and their deli has really great sandwiches. But, I feel it's a tad bit overhyped and their product selection could use a bit improvement. They just opened less than a month ago, so maybe in the future they will find their footing.

I was able to score a PS1 game.. "The Next Tetris" for only $3 along with a red Sony NWZ-E384 Walkman MP3 player for only $50. I found it interesting, but it lacks an FM record feature like my other MP4 players.

[huckleberrypie]

Well, I have returned with Hazel now hopefully going to another person who needs a tablet. Interesting story..

So I go to the Badlands Pawn place and try to sell it there. They only said it was worth less than $10. So I went to my video game/media trading store that sells used tablets and buys them. I got way more money there than at the pawn. Go figure.

As for the pawn shop itself.... it's an interesting concept, and their deli has really great sandwiches. But, I feel it's a tad bit overhyped and their product selection could use a bit improvement. They just opened less than a month ago, so maybe in the future they will find their footing.

I was able to score a PS1 game.. "The Next Tetris" for only $3 along with a red Sony NWZ-E384 Walkman MP3 player for only $50. I found it interesting, but it lacks an FM record feature like my other MP4 players.

I see the pawn shop could use a bit of catching up, but seeing they just set up shop and all... And I assume that Tetris game's one of those budget releases, eh?

[Blackberry Bun]

Merry Christmas 2015 =)