I'll give you a hint. It's not the power cable, because that's down there with the thing to hook it up to the TV [which is actually the same thing as the N64 and the Gamecube].

Also, it's not the games.

Figure it out yet?

And yes, I looked everywhere. Everywhere except in the wrapped presents. They're not in the chips. They're not in the clothes. They're not anywhere.

This is the closest I've been to this thing in I don't know how many years, and I CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH IT. This is almost as having to wait for the third box.

No, wait. This is even more unfair. This is cruel. I mean, look. There's Super Mario RPG, and Tetris Attack, and the original Mario Kart! And Zelda! And Super Mario World. And Super Mario All Stars. And I can't play a single one of them....

And I can't just run down to the game store to get controllers, because it's MIDNIGHT.

Stupid format wars.

I'm also not getting my NES, partly because my NES quit working years ago, and was replaced with a yard sale NES. My mom had the thing open and in pieces this morning, trying to get it to work right.

I guess I'll have to get one at gamexplosion, and I probably will if I get my old games back. I had a lovely, shiny Legend of Zelda....

I don't know why I want my NES, or even my SNES. I know I could probably get these games some other way, but...I don't know. Nostalgia, maybe? I want to play them the way I used to.

I'm kinda thinking about digging out the Atari and hooking it up, too.

Oh, in case you're wondering what a 'gamexplosion' is, it's this:

They have a lot of stuff.

So far, the store's been pretty good to me. We got a Genesis3 there, which had this little spontaneous reset issue, and they let us trade it for a Genesis2 that works wonderfully. The last time we were in there, we got a game that, well, I guess they forgot to give us the game part [happens a lot with used games], and we were able to get the problem fixed without any real problems.

...I guess that wasn't actually 'the last time we were in there', but 'the last time we bought stuff there'. The actual 'last time we were in there', they had five or six NESs on display.

Like any good thing existing in the modern world, gamexplosion has a website, and a forum.

And they make use of cute animal pictures to warn you that you're on camera.

They're kinda local, though. If you happen to be in the area, you can probably use them for your gaming needs. If not, maybe they'll get an online store up and running eventually.

I couldn't really get a good picture of the feather stylus. I don't really know why -- I can do ice, so why can't I do clear plastic in black foam?

There's also the AllPosters thing that's actually gone on for several posts now, and is still going on in that 'we've sent your complaint on to the proper individual' sort of way, because my damn Saw IV is still not double-sided.

Those of you who aren't very picky might not understand what's so upsetting about those two pictures. Those of you who've ever collected things might, however, feel a little sick just looking at it. Bent edges. The horror.

That'd be Saw IV, in all its Not Very Double-Sided glory. With a little Order of the Phoenix, being quite lovely with its double-sidedness as a contrast.

Yes. I bought a Harry Potter poster. It's got Voldemort on it. I couldn't resist.

That's most of the catch-up. I'll have to do a whole Sears thing later, and maybe a spaychul selection of some of the better pictures from the snow the other day, and the interesting sunset a few days before that.

It's really neat, though. It cost them $1.30 to ship, and came in this long slidey thing with a foam filled box inside. The stylus is all clear and neat, and probably completely useless.

But it was free, so yay.

Even better: when you register the game, you qualify for another one of nintendo's freebies-for-registering-your-products offers! Some sort of feather stylus thing. I wasn't really clear on what I was actually signing up for. I kinda missed the picture. But I'm pretty sure it's a feather stylus.

I can't wait to get more games that qualify for these strange free goodies. I hear Brain Age 2 has one. If I get that as a gift, I hope the offer is still going on. I love free stuff!

I'll have more to say about the Wario game eventually. I took pictures and everything....