Requiem for a Palm IIIe

Sometimes it's hard to get nostalgic about electronics.  I've been going through my old gear and I found a refurbished Palm IIIe.  It has feeble capabilities compared to modern smartphones.  I'd look like a geek if I ever used it.  It doesn't even appear to have any value on ebay.

Palm III Personal Data Assistant (PDA).  Photo by Nzeemin at ru.wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

This was a neat little find, but it ended up being donated to Goodwill.  A neat find, but I just didn't have a practical use for it.  Use Palm III devices are available used for about $10 on Amazon.com.  I wouldn't buy this overpriced model.

Retro Gaming Systems - Atari Flashback and Sega Genesis

If you grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, you probably spent plenty of time playing video games on the early video game console systems.  The games were simple, classic, and dare I say timeless.

The games were addictive and rewarding. Amazingly many of the games are still available today. They have been distilled down to console games that have most of the popular video games for a given game system.  These new consoles are much more convenient than finding and reviving the original consoles and finding working game cartridges.  The games I played in my younger days were primarily the Atari games and then Sega Genesis games.  Today, I can easily get these games from Amazon.

Atari Flashback.  The retro gaming revolution was kicked off by Atari Flashback consoles.  Several versions have been created over the years and I've enjoyed a couple of them.  The latest version is the Atari Flashback 6.  The deluxe edition shown below has two extra controllers and reviewers say that it is well worth the investment to get the extras.


Sega Genesis.  Somewhere in a closet, I have an original Sega Genesis from a thrift store.  But, I could just go get the Sega Genesis Deluxe console and have 85 built in games including Sonic the Hedgehog I & II and the Mortal Combat series.

Retro Gift Idea - A Royal Epoch Portable Typewriter

Did you know that you can still buy a brand new typewriter?  A classically retro manual typewriter from a name that many have heard of before -- Royal!


If you need to be away from the internet in order to write your novel, this might be a great choice.  It's also helpful for filling out forms and addressing envelopes without fussing with label software.

Remember the Bentley Television

In today's era of cell phones, laptops, and tablets, video is literally eveywhere.  But, if you grew up in the 1970s and 80s, truly portable television that could go anywhere was a high tech novelty.  By today's standards, this old Bentley portable TV would be ridiculous.

Bentley Portable TV

Believe it or not, you can still buy a used Bentley Portable TV on Amazon.  But, now this, you'll need a converter box to take in today's HDTV television signals.  All of a sudden, this little TV with a 5-inch screen isn't nearly as portable!  But, the ad, well it's still worth checking out just to get an idea of the specs and see the original packaging.

Goodwill in Sandy Springs Georgia Closing to Move

Today, my wife and I wandered around the Goodwill thrift store on Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It's closing soon and a new Goodwill location will be opening nearby on January 4th, 2015. I liked the old store. It used to be a Kroger grocery store and it had tall ceilings and arched windows. For some reason, this location always had a plethora of good books and lots of used stereo equipment. Once the store closes, the city of Sandy Springs will demolish it and build a new city government center. It will be the end of an era. The new Goodwill store will also be in Sandy Springs. It will be located just down the road at the corner of Abernathy Road and Roswell Road. The old Goodwill is offering their remaining merchandise at 50 percent off. But, you've got to act fast because it will be closed soon!

Retro Gift Ideas

As the fast pace of technological change continues, there is a longing for many of the basic, familiar, and comfortable technologies of days gone by. For this reason, vinyl record linger in an era of streaming music and computer programmers still love to play the Atari video games of their youth. If you need to buy a gift for someone who is nostalgic for the days of his youth, here are five retro gift ideas:

1. Die-cast Cars. Everyone remembers their first car with fondness. If you can find out what a person's first car or favorite car was, you can always try to get them a 1/24 or 1/18-scale die-cast version of that car. The nice thing about die-cast cars is that there is a car model to fit every budget from makers like Maisto, Burago, Action, and Replicarz.

2. Retro Radios. The Crosley Audiophile AM/FM Radio delivers great sound and has an auxiliary input so that it can serve as a speaker for an MP3 player or computer. Target recently had some models for as low as $49. These radios may well be the poor man's alternative to the Bose Wave Radio. However, if you'd like to get even more retro, there are several sites dedicated to selling vintage radios and high end radio kits.

3. Vinyl Record Player. Many audiophiles believe that vinyl records have a "warmer" sound. Other music aficionados enjoy the larger album covers and art that come with a vinyl record album. If you need a gift for someone who has a secret stash of vinyl albums and nothing to play them on, get them a turntable. They may have gone out of style, but they are back and very cool.

4. Retro Game Consoles. Vintage video games are back in a big way. While it's still fun to hunt down genuine vintage game units like the Atari 2600, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or Sega Genesis, some of these systems and their games have been consolidated into plug-and-play units like the Atari Flashback 4.

5. Film Cameras. Despite the dominance of digital photography, film photography is resurgent as a niche hobby. Film enthusiasts can now enjoy a wide variety of used film cameras for a fraction of what they once cost. It's a lot of fun to take pictures with a vintage film camera like the Kodak Retinette 1A. If someone is nostalgic for Polaroid pictures, you can still take them with cameras like the Polaroid 300. If someone enjoys the vintage effects of instagram, they might enjoy creating similar photos in the moment with a hip Lomography camera.

As technology advances and new products supplant old products, it becomes expensive to keep up. If someone on your list is more comfortable with old instead of new, you can support them with lots of great old-fangled products.

De-Militarizing The Police Through Old TV Shows

There has been a lot in the news lately about the militarization of state and local police forces in the United States.  It seems like every local police force has a Special Weapons and Tactics team and armored personnel carriers now.  They use them to serve no-knock warrants on drug houses.

There's no doubt that there are many bad actors in society today.  Active shooter situations obviously call for more firepower.  But, I think police departments should watch a little more Retro TV.  They could learn something from Sheriff Andy Taylor from Mayberry.  

Shows like Chips show police officers who place helping people first and foremost in their consciousness.  ADAM-12 portrays serious cops who were incorruptible and well balanced.  Bubba Skinner managed to take down plenty of criminals with his hunting rifle.  But, In The Heat of The Night's Chief Gillespie resolved more cases by talking to suspects and de-escalating violent situations.

If today's police officers would spend less time watching shoes like The Shield and reading gun magazines, we might all be better served.  We can't turn back time in a world filled with sinister criminals, but we can dial back attitudes just a bit.