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Zagnorch Productions
in association with
[img width=234 height=60]http://www.rfgeneration.com/left.gif[/img]
presents
SEVEN-DAY SCORE CARD:
NINTY MEGA-HAULS
Week of 28 April to 3 May 2014
This week's episode sponsored by
Leon's Firewater and Boomstick Emporium
Now with two locations in downtown Cincinnati to serve you
Monday 28 April: The first day of this thrifting week commenced with the acquisition of a grape Game Boy Color with nine kiddie-game carts and carry case for $19.99 (the case's back zipper pocket stored a Disneyland autograph book for some reason). Then it was off to the local Savers, which yielded a loose GBA SP with F-Zero: GP Legend cart for $6.99. Rounding out the day's finds was a sealed box of ten 5.25" floppies for my C64 for $1.99.
[img width=700 height=552]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score4-28-2014_zpsfa7886f6.jpg[/img]
Tuesday 29 April: This day belonged to PlayStation, as I picked up three back issues of PlayStation: The Official Magazine for $0.29 each, as well as the CIB PS2 games Barbarian, Defender, Jumper: Griffin's Story, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX for $2.99 a pop.
[img width=700 height=517]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score4-29-2014_zps1b1beb75.jpg[/img]
Wednesday 30 April: "Hump day" was a fitting term for this day, as it plateaued with a mighty stack of Ninty goodness. The timing was absolutely perfect as I caught the Goodwill clerk rolling out a large assortment of N64 and Genesis carts on its way to the electronics showcase. From that assortment I dug out Super Smash Bros., GoldenEye, Pokemon Stadium, Yoshi's Story, Diddy Kong Racing, and Banjo-Kazooie, along with Out of This World and Earthworm Jim 2 for Genesis, all for $2.99 each. I also snapped up Pokemon Gold and Silver for $1.99 each, and a CIB Dream Pinball for $2.99.
[img width=569 height=498]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score4-30-2014_zps17ea52b2.jpg[/img]
Then it was off to Savers, where I discovered a complete hardcover Piggyback CE Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag strategy guide for $4.99 $3.49. This was a rather surprising find, considering how recently the game was released. Then there was the GameCube unit with memory card and WaveBird receiver that I grabbed for $6.99 $4.89. I'll take any and every opportunity to make sure WaveBird components don't fall into the hands of a certain deranged individual whose name rhymes with Gus Beeman.
[img width=640 height=478]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/23/a3y7unab.jpg[/img]
Force yourself to gaze upon the man's horrific handiwork, and be sickened.
[img width=110 height=96]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/BillSickGif_zps393cfd32.gif[/img]
Thursday 1 May: Starting this rather light day was a grab bag of video-game-related tchotchkes including several Skylanders dog tags and a couple Marioverse character dangly-charm thingies. Then there was the GameShark Game Codes for PS2 box that contained an odd assortment of code discs for both PS2 and PS1. Ending the day was a CIB Flashback and Techno Clash I spent some trade credit on... along with a pack of Chuckles. Which I didn't know they even made anymore.
[img width=648 height=480]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-1-2014_zpscf9db74e.jpg[/img]
Friday 2 May: Another light day as I managed to wrangle a CIB Medievil Resurrection and XBox Live Arcade Game Pack at one place for $4.99 each. Then it was off to Savers where I discovered a Skylanders Book of Elements: Magic and Tech for just $0.69.
[img width=573 height=428]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-2-2014_zpsb37afc0c.jpg[/img]
Then there's the showcase find of the day: a loose Tiger Mega Man 2 handheld for $2.99, a score that's likely bumming Crabby and RetroRage out something fierce right about now. Just wait 'til they see the next day's scores...
Saturday 3 May: The week concluded with the picking up of several NES carts at my workplace Goodwill for $4.99 each, including Donkey Kong Classics, Donkey Kong 3, Mario Bros., Xenophobe, Seicross, Kirby's Adventure,, a gold Legend of Zelda,...
[img width=469 height=501]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-3-2014_zpsd61a7b93.jpg[/img]
...aaand Mega Man 1,3,4,and 5. That's right, I got the first 5 Mega Mans (Mega Men?) in just two days!
[img width=645 height=478]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/MegaRun_zps0a90bf10.jpg[/img]
Whattaya have to say to that, Crabs and Rets? Hmmm?
Oh, I also grabbed a CIB Sega Superstars Tennis for DS... not that you care or anything.
NON-VIDYA BONANZA: Just the usual suspects, including a Yamaha YT-2200 Tuner device for $0.79, and a slipcased HP 15C calculator for $4.99.
[img width=586 height=368]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/NonVidya5-3-2014_zpsb745183b.jpg[/img]
The big number-crunching hit of the week however, was this HP 48G...
[img width=251 height=488]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/nupetease_zpsb2cc130b.jpg[/img]
...which came with all this other stuff...
[img width=401 height=573]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/NonV5-2-2014a_zps180ed446.jpg[/img]
...all for just $25.00.
Hey Nupes, whattaya think of that, huh? Pretty impressive, isn't-- whoah, what the hell are you-- oh, that is just disgusting! Stop that right now! What the hell is wrong with you?! G0dd@mn, get a room next time!
Until next week, this is your Thriftmaster Admiral signing off.
'Late
Hey now!
So, you think you're greener than I am when it comes to gaming?
Then you've got another think comin', mister!
I'm so green, I could run around in the nude on St. Patrick's Day, and be completely pinch proof!
Ummm...
Wow, sometimes I even creep myself out.
*Cough* Moving on: I'm a big proponent of the whole "Reduce-reuse-recycle" philosophy. The vast majority of my collection is second-hand, which means I'm REUSING stuff that others have, in a sense, RECYCLED by directly selling to me via yard sales or indirectly via thrift stores. And by selling or donating, they've REDUCED their stock of unwanted games. Heck, I do a little recycling of my own with some reselling here and there, which generates my favorite kind of greenery.
And need I point out that the whole reduce-reuse-recycle deal also lessens the impact of our carbon footprint on... something or other. Actually, I don't fully understand the mechanics of the whole "carbon footprint" deal, so I'm probably talking from where the sun doesn't shine in this instance. If only I hadn't lost the number to Al Gore's direct line; I'm sure he could explain it to me...
But, what about supporting local small businesses? Hey, you can't get a smaller, more local business than a weekend garage sale just down the road! Fortunately for me, I reside in a region that usually has decent weather year-round, with sprawling suburbs that range from lower-middle to upper-middle class. These conditions provide a lot of opportunities for good deals, and a wide range of selection on Saturday mornings! Which, sadly, I've been unable to take advantage of lately, 'cuz I work Saturday mornings... *SOB*
Hey, you know what? If I expand the scope of "local" to include the San Francisco bay area, and throw in a few BIG businesses-- because hey, why not?-- no one's closer to the action than I am! There's Namco Bandai Electronic Games Inc. in San Jose which, according to Google maps, is 15.9 miles away from my front door. Then there's Redwood City some thirty-odd miles up the peninsula, home of Electronic Arts Inc., Konami of America, and Capcom USA Inc. Just beyond Redwood City is Foster City, where Sony Computer Entertainment of America is based. Then it's on to the city itself, where Sega of America has called home for over a decade after moving from Redwood City. And we mustn't forget Atari, which came into existence just a few miles up the road forty years ago.
And while they're neither exclusively nor directly involved with gaming, I mustn't forget eBay and NetFlix, both of which are a mere eight-minute drive away from me. Speaking of driving: I've delivered pizzas to both of these places on several occasions back in the day, and neither of 'em were very big on tipping. Just an FYI...
And speaking of pizza: I am well aware that Chuck E. Cheese's was founded 'round my neck of the woods. Man, are you guys really so jealous of my greenness and locality that you'd throw that in my face? Sheesh-- grow up, willya!
In all seriousness, however, I really do support the reuse and recycling of game software and hardware, though not exactly for noble reasons. Basically, I'm a cheap@$$, and will add just about any game of interest to my collection if the price is right, regardless of its cosmetic condition. All that matters to me is that it plays properly. That isn't to say that I won't trade up-- or is it level up?-- for an item in better condition if the opportunity arises. I do have some vanity after all.
I also support a local business-- an e-waste recycler, no less-- also for less than noble reasons. Thanks to a conversation I struck up with one of the company's managers at a garage sale, I'm allowed to look through their stock of wasted stuff for spare parts... so long as I have e-waste of my own to, er, "exchange." haven't found much yet, but at least I have an avenue there.
Anyhoo, I wish you all a happy Earth Day. Stay green my long-haired tree-hugging compatriots!
Oh yeah, and keep it on channel 3.
'Late
Whew, it's a good thing I decided to save my blogs, just in case something like the Great RF Generation Outage of 2012 should ever happen.
I've even added a few "enhancements" to this particular entry. Whether or not they improve upon the original version is debatable.
Anyway, here we go: take two, aaaaand... ACTION!
(Originally posted on January 31, 2012)
Hey now!
Feeling like ripping off inspired by the Procopio Brothers' Game Hunt Chronicles blog series, I figured I'd do a little bragging of my own about my best Tuesday game hauls. And Tuesday, January 24, yielded the biggest single-day score of the year for me thus far.
Let me tell you all about it:
It all began at the Savers thrift store in Milpitas. I'd just discovered a bunch of White Dwarf and Dragon back issues in the magazine section which, at $0.29 each, were a far cry from their original 6-dollars-plus cover prices. However, I had yet to see anything really good in the way of video games aside from a couple old EGMs and a CIB copy of Zoom! for the Genesis. I figured it was worth dropping $1.99 plus tax on, even if it did look like some kind of Q-Bert wannabe.
I was milling around the jewelry & electronics showcase about ready to leave, when a Savers employee arrived with a box full of CIB GameCube and PS2 games for $3.99 a pop. I was only too happy to help lighten her burden by taking the following titles before she could shelve them:
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
- WarioWorld
- Pokemon: Gale of Darkness XD
- Resident Evil Zero
- WarioWare: Mega Party Games!
- Super Mario Strikers
- Mario Superstar Baseball
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (Player's Choice)
- Luigi's Mansion (Player's Choice)
- Rayman 2: Revolution (PS2)
- Warhammer 40K: Fire Warrior (PS2)
Now, that's timing!
Next stop on my trek was the San Jose Savers. Sadly, all it yielded were a couple Prima Tomb Raider guides for $1.99 each.
[img width=544 height=582]http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/a67b155c3026e7f924bd1d24211e68db67ae53d4107aa11762360f5e7fe719bc5g.jpg[/img]
Undaunted, I drove a couple miles south and arrived at the Rasputin used record store in Campbell just as it was opening. It has consistently yielded some good Tuesday game deals for me, and this day was no exception, as I grabbed the following CIB (unless noted otherwise) goodies:
- ModNation Racers (PSP) $1.95
- Chicken Blaster (Wii, disc in sleeve) $0.95
- Whacked! (XBox) $1.95
- Scarface: The World is Yours (Greatest Hits)(PS2) $0.95
- Dai Senryaku VII (XBox) $1.95
Sadly, I missed out on a CIB copy of What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?! 2 because it was missing its price tag, which meant it had to be sent back to the main store in Berserkely to be priced. In the weeks that followed, I never saw it at either the Campbell or Mountain View locations.
Speaking of which: I culminated my Tuesday crawl with a trip up to Rasputin's new Mountain View location, where I snapped up:
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) $5.95
- Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake (PSP) $5.95
- Gitaroo Man (PS2) $1.95
- Animal Crossing (Player's Choice)(NGC, no memory card) $0.95
[img width=465 height=569]http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/aa5baea758533e197bf5b08f00237c231cfe1c655b917d7e5c56a72c9ace413d5g.jpg[/img]
And that pretty much sums up one of the most successful Tuesday game hunts I've ever undertaken.
But wait, there's more!
It's...
...the TL;DR SIDEBAR!
- My best non-Tuesday gaming pickup for this week was a sealed copy of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the 3DS for $7.99.
- My best non-gaming score of the prior week: the aforementioned back issues of White Dwarf and Dragon.
Honorable mentions: a Rokenbok R/C toy controller for $1.50, and a Nerf Maverick for $0.99.
[img width=568 height=560]http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/b19ce71057faab0998003df82aabc4c901944505922a00cdedea84c91f5dfc505g.jpg[/img]
- I've apparently attained over 1000 pieces of game software and hardware. However, I decided to audit my collection to see if what I actually have matches up to what I've recorded. This process is gonna take me some time, but when it's all said and done, at least I'll know if I've really achieved the four-figure plateau. It's also a great opportunity to organize the collection, which has been getting unwieldy as of late.
- Sadly, tragedy struck in the midst of this amazing score. If you're not too squeamish or faint of heart, scroll down to see a pic of the gruesome scene:
[img width=372 height=545]http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/46089200d5e7ecd9b7b3626c92f1d91b66a320355f2be4050f519f8e7d203e675g.jpg[/img]
Oh the humanity!
Until next week (if not sooner)...
...'Late
Hey now!
Okay, this is for real: if I find out that any of you are acting like these guys...
See? You don't need XBox Live to experience angry teenagers spouting racial slurs.
...I'm gonna find out where you live, bust your front door down, back you into the far corner of your game room, and...
...give you a really stern talking to, and tell you to knock that $#!t off.
And if it happens a second time, I'm gonna return, confiscate your collection at gunpoint, keep for myself what I want, and distribute the remainder amongst my far-more-deserving fellow 'Generators.
(I'm sure The Maligned One would be willing to hook me up with some firepower if I toss him a chunk of the confiscated swag as a rental fee)
...
Oh, all right, I'll admit it: this isn't really for real; I'm just bein' an internet tough guy here. While the whole "warning/confiscation" deal is something I'd like to do--and really should be done--the travel expenses would be ridiculously high. Especially if I had to go abroad to bring great justice to the deserving party. Also, I enjoy being outside the walls of a federal or foreign prison far more than I do inside them.
It just saddens me to see visual evidence of such nonsense, you know?
And yet, I also find the whole deal somewhat amusing, and compelling. Now I understand why certain so-called reality shows--particularly the celebrity-rehab ones--are popular. It's because people love watching complete fukkk-ups engaging in heinously self-destructive behavior. It makes the viewer feel better about his / her own pathetic life. And the above video fits the bill perfectly.
'Course, it would've been sadder--and way more amusing--if they were carrying on that way over a NES. Or, better yet, an Atari Jaguar.
Hey, methinks I've got a great show idea for G4... Hollywood, here I come!
'Late
UPDATE: A few hours after I first submitted this blog, YouTube closed down the account the embedded video came from.
The story of my life, ya know?
Fortunately(?), I found the video elsewhere on the site, and slapped it over the spot where the old one used to be. Hopefully, this one will be a bit more permanent...
'Later
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