The Current State of Affairs

   I've been thinking a lot lately about the future and where my life is headed. I'm at the point where I feel like I really gotta start making some changes. Don't get me wrong, my life is good and I love it, and I love the people in it, but I'm tired of treading water. Every point of dissatisfaction keeps coming back to a basic lack of additional funds. I've got enough to get by but that's about it.
   I never feel like a can splurge and spend on something I want. The continuing cycle of bills and a mediocre pay level just repeats over and over, every month. I want more. I want to be able to spend money on holidays, vacations, or even just something nice for my wife every now and then. I can, and do, handle my responsibilities, but that's about it. And sometimes that just plain sucks.
   One of my biggest strengths and my utter weakness, is that I find it incredibly easy to be content with what I have. I feel fortunate to have people who care about me. I'm grateful I have a roof over my head and clothes on my back. But that simple contentment also means I rarely strive to get any further than my current position in life. I easily become complacent. And honestly this strategy could continue to work for another 10 or 15 years at least, but eventually I'm not gonna be able to work and then I'm gonna be in real trouble.
   I'm slowly trying to come up with a plan to fix this. I've got a few ideas already but I've never been good with implementation. I have however, found a few key things in my life that need to change in order to make any kind of meaningful advancement.

• I need a car. Most people might think this is a no brainer and can't imagine getting along without one. But it's surprisingly easier than you'd think. In my day to day life I really don't need one. I can walk everywhere I need to go. There's a grocery store two blocks from my apartment and walking to work is pretty easy as well. Not only that, but walking is basically the only exercise I get. The problem is, summertime is fast approaching and without a car, it's going to be another wasted summer. I'm tired of wasted summers. I wanna go to parks and go hiking. I wanna run off to the lake for the day. Plus if I get a car, my job market opens up immensely.
• I need to quit smoking. This is a purely financial decision. I love smoking, which is why every time I've tried to quit, I've failed. But it is seriously killing my wallet. Quitting would open up hundreds of dollars a month and it's just too much to ignore anymore. I'm planning on doing this in the very near future.
• I need to start saving some money and investing. If I want any chance of having a pleasant existence as a senior citizen this has to start soon. I've started reading up on my options and I'm working on figuring out how to make this happen.
• I need a better job. For as much as I complain about it, I really do love working in the hotel industry. The problem is, I'm not making enough and I'm almost at the pay ceiling for my current position. I've been trying to advance in the company but so far it hasn't happened. The possibility is there and my bosses like me but there are still a few things I need to work on before it happens. And if it doesn't, I need to accept it and move on.
• I need to focus more on my secondary lines of income. Online projects are pretty much my only hope here. But I need to stop getting derailed so easily. I take every little defeat to heart and give up, and that's just stupid.

   That's what I've got so far. It doesn't seem like much but it scares the hell out of me. It's all so entangled that I feel like I can't get a grip on it all. But if I can accomplish one piece of it, the other pieces will become easier to manage. And now is a good time to get the ball rolling. My students loans will finally be paid off in less than a year. This is a monstrous debt that has followed me around for most of my adult life, and with it gone  I'll have a lot more income at my disposal. Major changes are coming, they have to.

Parker Brothers Wildfire Pinball

   In 1979 Parker Brothers released Wildfire, The Electronic Pinball Game. It was created by the same gentleman who created the Merlin, Bob Doyle. Wildfire runs on a whopping 6 AA batteries or optionally on a 9v ac adapter that was not included, but could be ordered through a mail in coupon offer for about 10 dollars.
   Gameplay is pretty standard pinball action. You have four flippers controlled by two buttons on the sides of the game. The button on the lower right of the unit powers up and then launches the ball based on how long you hold it down. The score is kept on a red digital screen at the top of the game. The power switch on the right allows you to choose soft or loud sound effects, but no choice for silence. The game has 3 modes of difficulty which affect the speed of the ball. Up to 4 players can play the game together.

   This game and I go way back. I don't remember how old I was but I used to own it as a child and loved it. I'm guessing I had a later model because I was only two years old in 79, and this game would have obviously been to difficult to play. I recently purchased a used one(pictured) off ebay for a very fair price. I loved this game and used to play it nonstop. I'm not sure what happened to my original, it just sort of disappeared like all my favorite games. The fact that no sound is no option makes me suspect my mom may have made this one disappear in order to maintain her sanity.

Mattel Electronics Baseball

   This is Mattel Electronics Baseball. The game was originally released in 1978. It runs on one 9 volt battery. When playing the game you assume the roll of the hitter. You press the red button for the pitch. When the ball enters the strike zone, you press the bottom right blue button to swing. If you connect, you press and hold the top right blue button to run the bases. The top left blue button is used to increment innings and check the score.
   The game has two modes of play, Pro 1 and Pro 2, you choose your game mode with the switch in the middle of the unit. Pro 2 is the more difficult of the two. On the right hand side of the game there is some kind of port, I'm not sure if it's a headphone jack or a power port for an ac adapter.

   I'm not sure why but this particular model is different than most that can be found online. It's possible that this is an 80's model and not an original 70's model. This specific unit belonged to my wife's father who has passed away. She thinks it was purchased in 1981 or 1982. 

   The major differences are the port on the right hand side, and the red button. Most models I've seen online show the red button on the right hand side of the unit, this one is on the left. I haven't found any others online like this. 

   This one has seen a lot of action and has some pretty major signs of use. The button labels are all worn off, the sides have cracks, and the case is kind of loose where the front and back face connect. However, after 30 years, this game still works and is very much playable!

SongHao LCD Game Soccer

This is SongHao LCD Game Soccer. It was made in 2011 according to the engraving on the back of the case. You play a goalie and have to block the soccerballs from entering your net. After blocking enough shots you move to the next level. This repeats 4 times before you are declared the winner.

This game shares the same case style as many others in the series that was released. The two buttons on the left side actually do the same thing, move the player left, while the large button on the right move the player to the right. I'm guessing it was cheaper to make them this way. This game was purchased at Wal-Mart for a 1.00$. 

SongHao LCD Game Basketball

This is a very simplistic and small game made by SongHao Electronic. It was made in 2011 according to an engraving on the back of the game. The object is to shoot the basketball while avoiding the opponents who have their hands in the air. After getting a certain amount of shots you proceed to the next level. After four successful rounds you win the game.  

 

This game is one of many that I found at Wal-Mart for 1.00$, They all share very similar casings and button configurations but have different stickers on the front depending on what game they are. 

Mattel Electronics Classic Football

Front facing view.

Classic Football by Mattel Electronics is a replica made in 2000 of the Football handheld electronic game originally made in 1977. The screen uses red blips to represent players. The goal is to move the ball down field while avoiding the opposing teams players in order to score a touchdown. This game was hugely popular when it originally came out and is still held in high regard by many.

Back facing view.

Year 2000 C-date

There are only a few differences between the 2000 replica and the original 1977 model. Notably the 2000 model has the words Classic Football where it originally said Mattel Electronics, And the word Football was replaced with the word Mattel under the image of the football player. The original also ran on one 9volt battery, the replica requires two AA batteries. The last significant difference is the addition of a Sound on/off switch located above the directional buttons.

The Collection Has Begun.

   Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved handheld electronic games. My dad died when I was young and one of the few things I remember about him was his love of video games. This was back in the late 70's to about the mid 80's, so his console gaming system was intellivision. He also had a few of the old Mattel Electronics handheld sports games. Baseball and Football are the two I remember him owning. This is probably why I love these kinds of games so much. I personally owned a Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch by Nintendo and a game called Go Sprout that was released as a promotional item for Green Giant vegetables. I had others but I can't really remember them.
   I've thought about collecting handhelds many times over the years but I never actually got around to doing it, until now. I don't know why now exactly, but I figure this is as good a time as any to start. I'll be using this blog to document and display the games I get my hands on. I'm thinking pictures, a short write up and maybe some videos of each game in action. I'll start with the few games that I already have in my possession, a replica Mattel football game and some really cheap games I found at Wal-Mart.
   I really like the Nintendo Game & Watch series but they tend to be pretty expensive, so I'm not gonna be picking any of them up anytime time soon. But I do plan on seeking them out when I have a little more cash flow or if I can get a crazy good deal. Another game I really wanna get my hands on is the Dungeons & Dragons handheld. I like the style of the late 70's early 80's games the most. Tomy Tronic and Mattel Electronics both have some really cool stuff floating around.
   So that's the basic game plan, hopefully I'll stick with it long enough to get a nice collection going. Or the A D D could kick in and I'll be on to the next project. We'll see what happens.