u/countingrings

What are some good retro games for children 7 years old and younger?

I'm particularly looking right now for legal games I can run with an emulator. Free is better while we experiment. So far the MAME games I've tried seem hard for me let alone a younger child.

I've got an old RPi set up with RetroPie (batocera wouldn't work), but if we get more into this I can see about getting a more capable machine or even a console (old or new) that can play cartridges.

Bonus points for anything intellivision which was a system I had.

When I go to conferences for work every vendor has pens to give away. Some are terrible and some would be nice (at least if they didn't have a logo on them). Some have pen brand names on them (e.g. Pilot) and others are unmarked. I never recall seeing a mechanical pencil at one.

Have you ever come across mechanical pencil swag? Are there any historical examples of it? I'm curious what type of events would have given out mechanical pencil swag and what companies put their logos on pencils. What brand of pencil did they use? Anyone have a collection of them?

Before I buy a Nero, would another Orenz give me a better idea of whether I'll like the mechanism? Or is it refined more in the Nero where the less expensive models don't give it justice?

I use a pencil mostly for long writing sessions and todo lists.

Before I bought a nicer Kuru Toga, I used less expensive versions to make sure I liked it. I didn't want to spend the money on the nicer pencil if I didn't know if I'd like the main differentiating feature. I liked it enough that it lead me to buy the KT metal in the end anyways. I like the KTs I've tried, but now I see the benefits I might get with the metal. (Still awaiting delivery of the metal.)

So I could think I'm going to cheap out and buy a less expensive Orenz to try it out, but if I don't like it maybe it would just be because the cheaper versions aren't as good and solid as the Nero? What's your experience been with this with trying new pencils with new features?

What habits are you mindful to maintain so that it won't be awkward or strange when you have guests? Living alone you don't need to lock, or even close, the bathroom door, but I can see if you get out of the habit of closing the door it might lead to an awkward situation with a guest.

Please only reply if you actually do sometimes have or would like to have visitors in your home.

I was hoping to get a brushless Redcat Ascent-18 in the power wagon style for me and my son to go out together with the Scout. Thing is he wants a color other than the ones that come with the brushless version. What are my best options to source a replacement stock body in the desired color? Alternatively I could buy the brushed version in the color he wants, but if we ever go brushless that seems more expensive than just swapping the body on the brushless. I suppose I could pick up a clear body and cut and paint it, but that seems like a hassle. I'm relatively new to this so don't know where all I can source parts.

We got a couple of SCX30s which have been great inside when it's cold or a rainy day. Now I want to try something that gets us out and walking some local trails. I expect some gravel trails and roots. It would be nice to do some rock crawling too, but I don't know if we'd find much of that around.

Some scale realism is preferred but doesn't need to be a licensed model. I need it to be capable enough but comp style looks won't work.

Main thing is it needs to fit in a small backpack, like the Osprey Daylite, with snacks and other essentials in case I need to carry it out.

I was looking at the SCX24 because we've liked the other Horizon brand cars we have like bashers, but maybe the SCX24 is too small for keeping up with us walking?

That led me to the 18th scale but I don't see an Axial offering in that scale. So I'm casting about for other options and feeling lost.

Otherwise cost and parts availability will be factors. I was hoping for a first trail crawler to stay under $150 US. And we don't want the toy grade experience with any more RC cars again where something breaks and we can't fix it or have a hard time figuring out what to get to fix it.

I see the brushed Redcat Scout II is on sale. It appears to bridge the difference between scale looks and performance well enough on both accounts. Would this work? Other options I should or shouldn't consider for my use case?