USPS

[reuben.ahmed]

The USPS said they delivered 3 packages today, except I only got 1, lol. Has this happened to anyone before? I've been ordering a lot of stuff, I don't know if they did this because they were getting annoyed (I'm talking about 2-3 packages a day). I doubt it, it's their job...

So I contacted the post office 20 minutes after it said it was "delivered", and said where my boxes yo.

She said they take a picture of where the boxes get delivered, and they track the GPS coordinates. So she looked it up, and said her "system" was down and they can't locate the GPS coordinates. So she said she'll call the carrier and get back to me ASAP.

It's been a few hours now since then and no call, so I asked if they had any update and they said they're "still working on it".

How much do you guys want to put down the mailman stole $300 worth of N64 games? LOL. Sigh. I really hate the USPS for so many reasons.

[fredtoast]

There were a lot of people arrested before Christmas for stealing packages off of people's porches.

I doubt a USPS worker would risk his job for a few video games. Doesn't seem like it would be worth it. It isn't that easy for them to steal stuff or else they would do it all then time.

Of course anything is possible. There are a lot of stupid people out there.

[reuben.ahmed]

Update: The neighbor's dog (german shepard) scared the mailman away from delivering the packages at the exact time he was marking them as being delivered.

Lol.

Yep, I called my mom and she informed me about all that Christmas junk. I told her but really, the MAILMAN? It was only 20 minutes after he delivered it.

I've been ordering too many retro games on Ebay lately. I'm starting ot not want to keep track of what's coming and what's came already/etc. and trust the delivery people, but I'm just not there yet with them. I find it hilarious that a dog scared him away. Dogs hate mailpeople.

That german shepard has bit me before though, long story short in between the legs, and it missed...

[XenoMorph]

(01-14-2016, 05:12 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: Update: The neighbor's dog (german shepard) scared the mailman away from delivering the packages at the exact time he was marking them as being delivered.

Lol.

i beleive they carry treats in their pockets now... The dog must have smelled them.

[reuben.ahmed]

Lol, that dog. I select that dog over my previous neighbors' kids.

I wonder if I should invest in a front porch/backyard security camera just for the heck of it, better to get it before something strange happens.

On a side note I have been on way too much of a retro gaming kick lately. I picked up the hi-def NES, but also an SNES modded with RGB to go into a Framemeister (to get HD upscaling), and I'm working on getting an N64 ultra hdmi modded. I also randomly bought some new gamecube controllers.

It looks like Nintendo started producing them again, new stock, smash brothers themed gamecube controllers. That hasn't brought the new old stock prices down on the rest though. One thing Ill say is new old stock OEM controllers for any console can be ridiculous expensive. The new N64 controllers are $100-150 a pop. The gamecube component cable is $250 right now (because of the custom DAC inside it). Things get out of control.

[magikod]

Ain't it a shame...I hear a lot more crimes actually happen around the holiday season.

[Au165]

(01-14-2016, 05:22 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: Lol, that dog. I select that dog over my previous neighbors' kids.

I wonder if I should invest in a front porch/backyard security camera just for the heck of it, better to get it before something strange happens.

On a side note I have been on way too much of a retro gaming kick lately. I picked up the hi-def NES, but also an SNES modded with RGB to go into a Framemeister (to get HD upscaling), and I'm working on getting an N64 ultra hdmi modded. I also randomly bought some new gamecube controllers.

It looks like Nintendo started producing them again, new stock, smash brothers themed gamecube controllers. That hasn't brought the new old stock prices down on the rest though. One thing Ill say is new old stock OEM controllers for any console can be ridiculous expensive. The new N64 controllers are $100-150 a pop. The gamecube component cable is $250 right now (because of the custom DAC inside it). Things get out of control.

A little off subject, but why don't you skip the cartridges and run an emulator and use a USB controller? You can get replica controllers of all the systems and run them through USB?

[reuben.ahmed]

You can. But there are a few problems, and I'm also a purist.

Emulators I've noticed are sometimes buggy, or don't emulate correctly. e.g. slowdown of the PPU chip when there are too many sprites on the screen.

I've also noticed the replica controllers are not the same as the originals, and some of the ones with integrated emulators are actually very laggy when connecting to modern devices (at 1080p). We're talking laggy enough that you can't beat the first level of Super mario Brothers 2!

When I first plugged Zelda 1 in on the hi-def NES, it was like I was taken back 25 years. It's really a treat to plug a game in, sit with an actual controller 5-7ft away from the TV. It makes you appreciate the game more that's for sure, when I ROM'd out dreamcast I didn't play any of the games. It's just a different feeling, and you know you're not cheating in any way when beating Megaman 2 or Ninja Gaiden now - it was as intended.

Lag is the biggest beast, basically NES, SNES, N64, etc. retro consoles had no idea about modern day TVs that introduced 50-150ms lag with all of their visual processing. ALl of the consoles that are 240p need upscaling done and modern TVs are more about making the picture look good vs. input lag. Most TVs have a  "game mode" nowadays that alleviates that, but they are still very slow at upscaling 240p. That's where the retro console mods come into play.

It's not for everyone, but there is a large community. Most play on their oldschool CRT sets, or professional video monitors (PVM) that old news stations got rid of.

It's a different experience to plug a cartridge in, power the console on, and play. Nowadays it's actually kind of annoying all of the menus/setup we do to start a game!

Once you fall intno the purist mindset you can't get out. I thought like you too, let me just get a low powered machine and a 3rd party controller. Once I started talking to people on Anandtech about the controllers vs. OEM controllers, it led me down the light (or dark) side.

New OEM controllers per console:
NES - $50, games are affordable ($10-20 depending)
SNES - $100, games are a little more expensive ($10-35). Some rare games are way more, Chrono Trigger is $110, Final Fantasies are $60. These are without manual/box!
N64 - $150, games are also reasonable.
PS1 - $40
PS2 - $30

New controllers are required, it's disgusting playing with sanitized old controllers, most of them are loose to the point they've lost their affect, lol.

[*michaelsean*]

How would you like to steal a package only to fund N64 games?

Our dog likes to bark at the mailman through the window when he comes up on the porch, and I guess he scared a guy filling in so he didn't deliver the mail that day. The funny thing is he scribbled a note saying this on a post it and left it on the mailbox.

[CageTheBengal]

If you ever get into ATARI or Intellivision I've got a setup with tons of games Ive been trying to sell.

[reuben.ahmed]

I may be interested in the Atari! I've been trying to find an OEM new Atari controller first, though. I will probably get the Atari modded for RGB. Is it an Atari 2600?

[Bengalzona]

I get my neighbors mail all of the time. I'm sure they get mine. I've had bills never arrive. Probably went to the neighbors house and got thrown in the trash. And it keeps getting worse it seems. I've had to set up a P.O. box at the post office for anything important.

[reuben.ahmed]

(01-21-2016, 08:48 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: I get my neighbors mail all of the time. I'm sure they get mine. I've had bills never arrive. Probably went to the neighbors house and got thrown in the trash. And it keeps getting worse it seems. I've had to set up a P.O. box at the post office for anything important.

One day, I got my neighbor's mail, but I didn't realize it and opened it. It was a bill from the hospital. At that point I didn't know how to give it back to my neighbor. I should have just been honest...

[Bengalzona]

(01-21-2016, 08:52 AM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: One day, I got my neighbor's mail, but I didn't realize it and opened it. It was a bill from the hospital. At that point I didn't know how to give it back to my neighbor. I should have just been honest...

If I get the guy next door's mail, I'll walk it over to him. Otherwise, I write something on the envelope like "Delivered to wrong address" and drop it off in the mailbox for them to redeliver.

[reuben.ahmed]

(01-21-2016, 09:01 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: If I get the guy next door's mail, I'll walk it over to him. Otherwise, I write something on the envelope like "Delivered to wrong address" and drop it off in the mailbox for them to redeliver.

I probably would have walked it over but I had opened it and saw the bill (which wasn't minor). At that point it was a little embarrassing. 

[BengalHawk62]

Huh, funny I just saw this post today as the local news has a big article about this very topic. 

http://www.kcci.com/news/customers-frustrated-with-delayed-mail-noshow-packages/37545548


I feel all of your frustrations, just from the other end.  I work in the Outbound Mail department for my company and I send stuff out every day.  Our call centers are always loaded with complaints about not getting their bills or letters or etc.  So of course this leads to heat on my boss who shares that heat with me, even though I know for a fact that print file sent to the mailroom is sent out that day.   What's a guy to do?

[CageTheBengal]

(01-21-2016, 08:37 AM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: I may be interested in the Atari! I've been trying to find an OEM new Atari controller first, though. I will probably get the Atari modded for RGB. Is it an Atari 2600?

Nope it's an Atari 7800 Pro I've got 40+ games with their manuals if you want I can post some pics.

[*Awful Llama*]

(01-21-2016, 08:52 AM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: One day, I got my neighbor's mail, but I didn't realize it and opened it. It was a bill from the hospital. At that point I didn't know how to give it back to my neighbor. I should have just been honest...

I can top that.

When the geniuses who numbered our development set about thier task, they inexplicably decided to number my street and the next street over the same exact way. In other words, there's (making up numbers) a house numbered 1144 on my street and an 1144 on the next street. Sheer brilliance.

One day I'm opening the mail and see what appears to be some sort of medical results. Concerned I read it over and realized it was an STD test result. The specifics excape me now, but the result was Negative. Yay! And, not my name at the top. But, the street name in the address was a dead giveaway.

Opening the letter, I had pretty much destroyed the envelope. There was no discreet re-sealing to be done. I folded the envelope and the letter, shoved them both into another envelope, hastily addressed it and drove it to the nearest mail box and shoved it in the slot, the whole time thinking everyone knew exactly what I had done.

A year or two goes by. I was dating Mrs. Llama but not yet married. We came back to the house one day and found a package on the doorstep. It belonged to, you guessed it, the non-STD lady on the next street in the similarly numbered house. I told Mrs. Llama the story as we walked to the house. The lady answered the door, mid-late 30s, attractive. I thrust the package at her like she was a leper, stepping backward as she thanked me for delivering her nephews' books to her.

Can't say I blame the mailman as much as the Rhodes Scholars that numbered the joint.

[*michaelsean*]

(01-23-2016, 12:19 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote: Nope it's an Atari 7800 Pro I've got 40+ games with their manuals if you want I can post some pics.

Sweet!  Vintage game porn.

[StLucieBengal]

reuben.ahm Wrote:Lol, that dog. I select that dog over my previous neighbors' kids.

I wonder if I should invest in a front porch/backyard security camera just for the heck of it, better to get it before something strange happens.

On a side note I have been on way too much of a retro gaming kick lately. I picked up the hi-def NES, but also an SNES modded with RGB to go into a Framemeister (to get HD upscaling), and I'm working on getting an N64 ultra hdmi modded. I also randomly bought some new gamecube controllers.

It looks like Nintendo started producing them again, new stock, smash brothers themed gamecube controllers. That hasn't brought the new old stock prices down on the rest though. One thing Ill say is new old stock OEM controllers for any console can be ridiculous expensive. The new N64 controllers are $100-150 a pop. The gamecube component cable is $250 right now (because of the custom DAC inside it). Things get out of control.

You can just get a ring video doorbell.

I would put the video up but I can't find the button to embed it. http://youtu.be/3RIVK7Dd2fY