Back in the day when Chicago didn't resemble the arctic tundra, unitdaisy and I were so inspired by drunkgamers.com's garagesaling adventures that we went out about Chicago, scrounging for games. Often we returned home empty handed to post our experiences in the Drunkgamer's Message Forum. However, there were a few times we were lazy and never quite got around to posting them.

Oh, and for those unfamiliar with the term garagesaling it's simple: you wake up far too early in the morning on the weekend and go out to garage sales looking for something (preferably videogame related) while wishing you were still in bed. You can picture for yourself what drunksaling is. Or just see below.

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peccaui: After a very long hiatus, we finally made it back to the streets for some garage sales, and let me tell you - there were a lot of them this week. Must have either been something in the air or the impending threat of October but this week's write up is a long one so you might want to get a drink before diving in. Get me one too while you're at it.

unitdaisy: I like my wine sweet.

peccaui: First sale was a church rummage sale. I know - complete and utter waste of time, but it was along the way. However, you don't really expect to see traffic lights in the basement of a church do you?

unitdaisy: STOP the wickedness!

peccaui: Sexy describes the Voltron buckle to an extremely precise degree.

peccaui: The ladies will be hanging on my belt left & right now!

unitdaisy: Yeah you are going to be just fighting them off - once you buy a belt.

peccaui: This sale was a 'toy sampler' sale. I still have no idea what the difference was between it and the hundreds of other garages full of crap. I think I was peering at the 50th variety of 'Baby-Wets-Itself' in this picture.

unitdaisy: Difference is this crap comes in the original packaging.

peccaui: Perhaps the world isn't ready for Asimo-inspired ripoffs yet.

unitdaisy: What fun is a Program-a-BOT if you don't have to build him yourself? So much for educating the children.

peccaui: The next sale was labelled as the biggest sale in Bucktown. Then again, we hear that claim every week and the end result is four items and a litter box for sale. But, as evidenced by the picture, I was more interested in the pub up the road than a bunch of homemade jewelery-peddling housewives huddled underneath a makeshift tent.

unitdaisy: Despite Peccaui's feigned disinterest - the number of sellers in the park was quite impressive, not to mention convenient, certainly cut down on the walking, someday scooter, someday.

peccaui: This is not the first thing you want to see when visiting a seller's table.

unitdaisy: The seller tried to make it more appealing by telling us it had been made by a local artist - I think I should check the water.

pecaui: Little, yellow, intriguing.

unitdaisy: Legos aren't soft..

peccaui: See - I told you it was a big sale.

unitdaisy: eek!

peccaui: This man (yes, the one standing confidently next to his 'wares') wanted something like $90 for this Playstation with five horribly outdated sports games. Oh and a second controller! It's about time to start carrying around a recent Gamestop ad to enlighten these 'proprieters' as to just how little their banged up piece of crap Playstation 'classic' is worth.

unitdaisy: Maybe I should just give up trying to find a reasonably priced used one and just pay $50 for the new.

peccaui: Look! Dreamcast candles! And one of them is an UK import!

unitdaisy: Silly! Those aren't Dreamcast candles, those are Dreamcast soaps, use regularly to prevent dirty disc errors.

peccaui: Kibbles & bits.

unitdaisy: And I thought I had seen tasteless, but damn was this soft and fluffy.

peccaui: Sock Monkeys and an entire collection of original series Star Trek novels. Unitdaisy almost fainted.

unitdaisy: FINALLY I have all twelve James Blish books writing up the episodes of the original series, of course because she was selling it as a set I now have many duplicates, uh, and triplicates. If I had had more room those sock monkeys would be keeping me warm at night.

peccaui: What? Did you say something?

peccaui: Do not stare directly at the Zippo - it's for your own safety folks.

unitdaisy: Even the seller was perplexed by the clown-headed dog.

peccaui: Own a little piece of obsolete electronic history.

peccaui: We exited the massive flea market and decided to run the Chicago Thrift Store gamut. We found a few Genesis games worth noting:

peccaui: And ... err ... this.

unitdaisy: Someone donated Lopez's first warthog! He is gonna be pissed when he finds out.

peccaui: It's amazing how relevant decades-old issues of Popular Science can be.

unitdaisy: Why the heck do they stick stickey price tags on the covers of old magazines, thereby ruinning them? Aiee!

peccaui: I think the picture says it all.

unitdaisy: That shelf is exactly where we found a Genesis a while a go. Maybe it is a spawn point.

peccuai: Look - a heavily overpriced PSOne. How unusual!

peccaui: See, now this is a robot that screams out to do your bidding. Machineman, I need you to slaughter the screaming children in the playground right outside my window!

unitdaisy: I would reward Machineman heavily. First round of motor oil's on me.

peccuai: Oh ... my ... god. Undying possesed our camera! It's trying to tell us something ... I think it's saying ... 'don't buy used PC games.' That's a smart game right there.

peccaui: Who needs phpBB when you have this little gem?

unitdaisy: My monitor looks like a bulletin board.

peccaui: This game sure did find an afterlife - in a dollar bin!!!!1111!! I KILL me!!

peccaui: This is all Unitdaisy - I want nothing to do with space boots.

unitdaisy: MOON boots, MOON boots. I miss my moon boots. And my parachute pants.

peccaui: Unitdaisy's message to Lara Croft.

unitdaisy: Yeah, take that waterballoons!!

peccaui: This one thrift store has a huge cd rack where they toss anything that's in a jewel case. So unfortunately you have to scrounge through multiple copies of Bananarama and DJ HockeySTIX before you can find anything even remotely game related. It's an intense experience not suitable for just anyone to attempt.

peccaui: This was the reward for my half an hour of squiting at cd cases. A fucking 'Alice Fan Kit'. Piss off American McGee.

unitdaisy: Note - it's an unopened fan kit - If I were Mr. McGee that would make me sad.

peccaui: Right before checking out of our final thirft store we happend upon these sensibly placed Atari 2600 cartridges - placed on top of a box of silverware and to the right of a sizable crate brimming with gay porn. And so this week ends with despair and an increased lack of faith in humanity - just as it should.

Find of the Week: The Voltron belt buckle. A must have for any self-respectible geek.

Lesson of the Week: 'Toy Sample' garage sales are just as dull as the rest of the trash people advertise each week.