Pffffsh. It's raining. Might as well stop putting it off, get out in the garage and have a play with my newest acquisition. I always avoid these moments for as long as possible. It's like Schrödinger's cat. Right now it both works and doesn't work. In that huge cabinet is a specific part that I can't possibly tell whether it is alive or dead. I'm happy with that though. I look at all the cabs for their design and most spend their time in a semi-working state at best. But I know people will start bending my ear to get out there, man up and see what's what.
So with tea in one hand, extinguisher in the other, out i went to face my destiny. Started well! We had lights
We had picture (albeit greenish)
We had a working scoreboard!
No sound, but not to worried. Game coined up, car responded to steering nicely. Acceleration and gear shift felt like they weren't responding but the cars were flying by and the score was ticking up.
So far, so good!
I had clocked that we had some nasty lines on the screen but was not too fussed ("board probably just needs a looking at" I thought, "my go-to guys can help with that")
Then came the almost inevitable moment...the picture started to squeeze down on the vertical edges. Smaller, smaller, then just a white line across the horizontal as I dived for the power cable. Something fizzed, watched the last 35 years flash past its eyes and then let go. The nasty, acrid smell of burnt plastic/rubber filled the air.
But you know what? It's cool. I thought I would freak out like the last time something like this happened. Nope. This is okay, cos it is still mine, my grail and I know it (like all others) just had an off day. I now know there are so many positives to be had from that brief 5 minutes we spent together that this is not a lost cause, just a setback that will be overcome like the many others that will occur in the future. So I tidied up, pushed everything back against the wall and fired up something else for a while. Happiness restored!Milky2015-08-23 16:52:49
So with tea in one hand, extinguisher in the other, out i went to face my destiny. Started well! We had lights
We had picture (albeit greenish)
We had a working scoreboard!
No sound, but not to worried. Game coined up, car responded to steering nicely. Acceleration and gear shift felt like they weren't responding but the cars were flying by and the score was ticking up.
So far, so good!
I had clocked that we had some nasty lines on the screen but was not too fussed ("board probably just needs a looking at" I thought, "my go-to guys can help with that")
Then came the almost inevitable moment...the picture started to squeeze down on the vertical edges. Smaller, smaller, then just a white line across the horizontal as I dived for the power cable. Something fizzed, watched the last 35 years flash past its eyes and then let go. The nasty, acrid smell of burnt plastic/rubber filled the air.
But you know what? It's cool. I thought I would freak out like the last time something like this happened. Nope. This is okay, cos it is still mine, my grail and I know it (like all others) just had an off day. I now know there are so many positives to be had from that brief 5 minutes we spent together that this is not a lost cause, just a setback that will be overcome like the many others that will occur in the future. So I tidied up, pushed everything back against the wall and fired up something else for a while. Happiness restored!Milky2015-08-23 16:52:49
