November 22, 2004
What I want for Christmas
My high school buds and I always coveted those cocktail table coin-op video games--wouldn't it be great to have one in your rec room? we always thought.
Nowadays, you can get the same games we plunked $100s of quarters into (Asteroids, Defender, Battlezone) on your Palm Pilot, or you can play free Flash versions on the Web.
And then there's those cheap all-inside-the-joystick versions that you just plug directly into the TV.
But Costco has done this one better, with this Multi-Game Table:
Now if they could only get the price point down a bit.
Or maybe the folks at hacks.oreilly.com will figure out a way to construct a table out of MDF, with a Tap Plastics top and some cheapo controllers, housing a Linux box with all the coin-op emulators you can find, for about a tenth of this baby's cost...
November 19, 2004
Cheap Every Day Carry, Part 1
So I ordered a bunch of cheapo knives to replace the Spyderco Delica I lost while on vacation. Here's what I got:
CRKT small Crawford/Kasper, $19.99
Winchester rip-off of the Spyderco Endura, $5.99
Kabar International linerlock, $3.99
What is the saying, "you get what you pay for"? The Winchester and Kabar knives were just a notch above the flea market crap. The Winchester is such a blatant rip-off of the Endura that it's not really funny. See for yourself:
I didn't even bother carrying the Kabar and Winchester around. The CRKT rode in my pocket for a few days, but it's too heavy for carrying in dressy clothes. My Delica was with me through at least five rental tuxedos over its lifetime.
So I caved in and bought a new Delica. Broke the tip already. :-(