When Expensive Things Become Worthless: My Sony DVD Burner

Recently while digging through a pile of old electronics in my workshop I stumbled across this, my old Sony DVD/CD burner. I began purchasing audio CDs in the early 90s, and bought completely into the format in 1993 when my car was broken into and all of my favorite cassettes were stolen. I never thought people would be able to burn CDs on their home computers; if such devices were ever produced, I reasoned, they would be much to expensive for the average person to afford. We got our first CD-ROM burner at work in 1995, a clunky external device… (read more)

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More Monsters in WV: The Flatwoods Monster Museum

Mothman is not the only unusual creature associated with West Virginia. Less than two hours east of Point Pleasant lies the town of Sutton, home of the Flatwoods Monster Museum. Incidentally, the Flatwoods Monster Museum sits just around the corner from the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum. West Virginia is home to a lot of monsters. Unlike Mothman and Bigfoot, both of whom have been seen on many occasions, the Flatwoods Monster was seen exactly once. On September 12, 1952, a group of young boys saw an object streaking across the evening sky, followed by a tail of fire. The boys… (read more)

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Mothman’s Legacy and Museum Tour

Mothman, according to legend, is a black humanoid creature with red eyes and large wings who was first spotted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia back in the late 1960s. The first official Mothman sighting was reported in 1966 by two couples who were chased by the flying monster, and the creature gained national attention after the book The Mothman Prophecies was published, which was eventually made into a movie. So when you’re visiting West Virginia and a friend invites you to go on a Mothman tour, you say yes. While I in town, my friend Aaron and his family graciously… (read more)

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I Fell Down in Washington DC

This is a story about how I fell down last week in Washington DC — not figuratively, but literally. Like, face down, inside a restaurant. While explaining the logistics of last week’s trip to friends and family, I feel like I am telling one of those math word problems with two trains headed toward one another at different speeds. On June 22 Susan and I hopped in my car headed for West Virginia, on June 27 I drove from West Virginia to Washington DC, and on July 1 the two of us hopped in my car headed back to Oklahoma.… (read more)

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Buying People’s Stuff at the Unclaimed Baggage Store

If you are a frequent flyer, chances are you have had the unfortunate experience of an airline losing your luggage. In fact, just last month after a direct flight from Washington DC to Oklahoma City, Susan’s suitcase was lost. Fortunately, as is typically the case, her baggage was quickly located and personally delivered to our home the following day. Statistically, 99.5% of all luggage arrives at its intended destination, and of the remaining .5%, .2% of those are eventually reunited with their owners. But, what happens to the remaining .3% of suitcases, packages, and lost items that never find their… (read more)

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Boatfest 2022

I met John “Boatofcar” Shawler online twenty years ago on the Digital Press forums. Although “Boat” is nearly a decade younger than I am, the two of us share a a common love of old computers, games, and arcade machines. Boat has been a fan and supporter of my podcasts from the very beginning, and several years ago he, along with his pal Amigo Aaron, started their own show about Amiga computers, titled “Amigos”. Boat has expanded their show to a small network which includes, among other shows, a couple of my podcasts including Sprite Castle and Like a DOS.… (read more)

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I Just Bought Something I Thought I Would Never Buy Again… a Trashcan

Back in what feels like a former life, I used to buy and sell (mostly buy) arcade machines. Some of these machines were purchased through individuals, but most of my collection came from arcade auctions. Most of the auctions I attended were specifically for selling arcade games (with the occasional slot machine thrown in for good measure), but a few of them were held after arcades, restaurants, or other businesses had permanently closed their doors. These auctions were always interesting because along with arcade cabinets they would auction off other random items like kitchen appliances and dining room chairs. Because… (read more)

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I Watched All 79 Episodes of Star Trek So You Don’t Have To… But You Should

Star Trek the Original Series with Captain Kirk, Dr. Bones McCoy, and Spock

Because I didn’t watch Star Trek as a child, a few months ago I decided to binge every episode of the show. Star Trek (today referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series or simply ST:TOS) originally aired on NBC from September 1966 through June 1969, and consisted of 79 episodes. When I say I didn’t watch the show, I don’t mean to imply I had never seen it. It was nearly impossible to grow up in the 70s/80s without at least some exposure to the show. Although I grew up a Star Wars kid, I definitely remember the McDonald’s… (read more)

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Vanlife, Here I Come!

Last October, I wrote a blog post about #vanlife, those people who convert vans into miniature living spaces and travel the countryside in them. It is not uncommon for my brain to wrap around a topic and not let go until its tentacles have crawled every crevasse for information. I’ve been obsessed with this van thing for over six months now (trust me — everyone around me is sick of hearing about it) and can’t seem to let it go, so I figure the only way to truly get it out of my system is to do it. So, I… (read more)

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A Half-Hearted Trip to the Onion Burger Festival

Any review I write of last weekend’s Onion Burger Festival in El Reno wouldn’t be fair to the fine people who worked hard to put on a great event. There was nothing wrong with this year’s festival, nor was it significantly different from any other Onion Burger Festival I’ve ever attended. It wasn’t you this year, Onion Burger Festival. It was me. Dad and I arrived at the 34th annual onion burger festival shortly before lunch, with the smell of caramelized onions already wafting through the streets of El Reno. We parked where I always park, a secret spot just… (read more)

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