I visited my parents over the weekend, which also meant I had a chance to do a tiny bit of maintenance on my Mini Galaga MAME cabinet and wrap up / pack away the glass from my decommissioned Pole Position conversion. There was a large yard sale advertised for Saturday, one that sets up every few months, so my mom, uncle, brother and myself went to take a look. There wasn't much there so we decided to go out and hit all the yard sales in the paper and check out any others along the way. We had a really good time as it's something that only my uncle and myself used to do years ago, so it was nice to be with a larger group.
Not a lot of video games but I did buy what I came across, $1.00 complete copy of Resident Evil 2...
I also picked up a sealed copy of You Don't Know Jack Volume 2 for the PC for $0.50. Tossed the box since it was nasty, just disc in a sleeve inside anyway. I need to build a media center PC for these games one of these days.
However my biggest find, probably of the year, wasn't game related. At one huge yard sale I came across a clock of the classic regulator type. It was marked $15.00, and manufactured by Howard Miller. Not 15 seconds after lifting it up and sliding the back off to look at the movement, one of the people running the sale came up to me. Good, they're keeping an eye on it so no kids or morons have thrashed it. So I slid the back off - brass movement, German made, looked to be fine. I ask if they have the key and two people tell me they have it inside. Again, good, it's not out there so some idiot can screw up the movement winding like a madman. It had three winding arbors so that means timekeeping, striking on the hour, and a melody on the quarter hour. I've always wanted one of these clocks and clockmaking was, and always has been, my dream career choice. So upon paying the $15.00 the gentleman went inside and returned with the winding key. He said that the door to the pendulum doesn't open so he'd been tilting it to the side on the wall to get it to start. On these clocks the pendulum door slides up rather than opens out, not knowing this made me think it was more of an estate sale.
On the way out another guy working the sale asked me if I got a deal on it, I told him "no, I really want one of these so the modest full price was fine." My mom also bought a silver and crystal set of grape shaped hanging salt and pepper shakers, with a silver stand designed like that of a grape vine - same guy said it was $1.00. This yard sale would have been an antique resellers dream. Anyway, I get back to my parent's house and get to looking up the clock. It's a $715.00 clock, the Shelburne model from Howard Miller.
$15.00 for a $715.00 clock is good business.The bushing on the minute hand is a little worn but it's no big deal. The hand nut was a little stripped so I ordered a replacement one for $10.00. (and promptly SOMEHOW misplaced the worn one not but five minutes later) I had to tweak one of the chime hammers a tiny bit but it's now striking properly and keeping perfect time.
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