Back in 1999 I had found a Sega Nomad - a portable Sega Genesis that eats batteries like they were crack and it was one of those crack-eaters - new in its package at a local Toys R Us store for $50. I quickly snatched it up, bought a bunch of old games, and happily went about playing my favorite old games in portable fashion for 20-30 minutes at a time.

I was dating a girl at the time, and she had a young son, so I figured there was no harm in lending it to them for a road trip they were taking. Due to my own fickle nature, I soon broke up with the woman, completely forgetting to get my Nomad back from her before breaking the news.

This is where it gets complicated.

The woman I was dating moved on from me to my friend David, who also happened to be my ex-brother-in-law. Eventually the two of them got married, and my young nephew became the stepson of the woman I used to sleep with on a regular basis. For years this was a topic we never discussed. Nowadays I regular taunt him with the fact that I slept with his mom. Then I feel awkward and clarify which mom.

I digress!

For the past five years i have been training my nephew as a master thief, in order to steal back my Sega Nomad from my evil ex-girlfriend. He has failed on multiple occasions, failing to grasp the very basics of stealth. Once he was caught with it down his pants, as if no one would notice a then 13-year-old with a package shaped like a giant box. Sly Cooper he is not.

I had long since given up on getting it back. Sure, I could order one on eBay, but who knows where that one had been? Someone could have licked it or something. No, I wouldn't order one from some stranger. I needed a personal fix.

I found it in the very back of the convention floor at PAX 09. There, at the retro game store booth in its own little section of the glass case, was a Sega Nomad - soon MY Sega Nomad. $95 complete with all wires, a rechargeable battery pack, a Genesis controller, and the spiffy branded carrying case. Truly it is a thing of beauty.

This just goes to show that magical things happen when you get large numbers of gamers together in the same place. Now I can finally tell my nephew to stop trying to steal back my property from his stepmother. Now the healing can begin.

As you can plainly see, the pile has grown quite a bit since Thursday's post, but I can justify every purchase. Just not right now. Give me a couple of days to get my story straight.

Actually, here is what happened. I resigned myself to not getting into Hasbro's ridiculous line this weekend, so I decided to just pick up a few things that struck my fancy. Some Invaders Mini-Mates, and a Kotobukiya Bishoujo Rogue statue, plus the exclusive blue kitty looking thing figure from Seventh Kingdom. Seemed like neat things to have around the house.

Unfortunately I wandered past the Hasbro line yesterday afternoon to find it no longer wrapping around most of the show floor, which meant they were letting just anyone in. Being just anyone, I went in.

They give you an order form with little blank squares to fill in quantities, so I put a 1 in the Soundwave box. Then the other boxes looked lonely. I checked off the 12 inch GI Joe Baroness figure, and then for some odd reason the collectors My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop figures. Don't judge me! Next time someone claims I am sexist, I can point out that I own My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop dolls, after which they can call me even more sexist for assuming those two things are generally female-only toys.

I really cannot win.

So, after three days of Comic-Con, my grand total stands at...ouch. Ouch and a half. Luckily I will only be hitting the show floor one more day, and I'm so busy I couldn't possibly buy anything else.

McWhertor still has not bought anything. I hate him.

Or maybe I'll stick around. I still haven't decided. The point is now I have a great many more bags to carry around, and will need to borrow a great deal more money from my brother at the end of the month for rent.

Still, it's a triumph of the human spirit. Cue the Final Fantasy victory music while I pixel-dance.

It bears noting that A - I did not pick the still picture that accompanies this video...that was pure Adam, and B - I've got a recently emptied Hooters chicken wing box sitting next to me, a testament to the value of attending midnight launches.

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Yeah, good old GameStop made me feel right at home, and why shouldn't it? 50% of my time out of my apartment is spent at the video game retailer, and this one is really no different from any mall-based GS in the states, except that there are a few more German words and the prices are in Euros. I almost bought a copy of Doodle Hex for the DS until I realized that with current currency values I would be spending approximately $10 million on it.

I've managed to sample a few European exclusives in the first half of my 9-hour layover, including some coffee that has forever ruined American coffee for me and a Coke product I've never seen before that sublimely combines cola and orange - two of my favorite flavors - into a product that has me weighing my clothes to see what I have to leave behind in order to fill my suitcase with it. I suppose I could just visit the Coca-Cola Museum in my hometown to get my fix, but that would mean going outside, and outside is big and scary.

This is my view as I write up this post. It's a dreary, rainy day in Frankfurt, and I would have probably been disappointed if it were anything but. In the "cool" Germany I see in the movies it's always raining, and every other person looks like they got their hairstyle directly from Second Life. Spikes, splashes of pinks, blues, purples...I see it around the U.S. as well, but here it just feels a bit more real.

I'd write more, but the airport internet is 8 euros for 60 minutes - roughly $12 - and I think we can all agree that me rambling on about the airport in Frankfurt isn't worth $24, especially with so many other neat things to spend my colorful fake money on. The newsstand across from me has a German-language Hello Kitty magazine in it. I must have it.

I've rested enough anyway. Time for me to get up and wander, trying my best to look meekly apologetic anytime anyone speaks to me in Klingon German.

Well, he said it was nice - he hasn't said much since the cremation, but I suppose that sort of thing would leave anyone speechless. The fact that he spoke at all after being born in Germany immediately following a rather nasty war is a comforting fact. If an infant can survive post World War II Germany relatively unscathed, I should have no problem surviving really really-post WWII Germany, what with my being a completely grown man perfectly capable of taking an infant in unarmed combat.

As you read this I am nervously sitting in an airport, preparing to take my first steps outside of the continental United States in order to aid Kotaku's Mike collective (McWhertor and I) in covering Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig. Soon my 6'6" frame will be crammed into a tiny seat in a metal tube shooting across the Atlantic towards my father's birth country, and while a great deal of this trip is for you people, I'm saving just a tiny bit of it for myself.

See you all in Germany!

Second Life is a world created from the undiluted dreams and desires of thousands of people. You can be anything or anyone you want.

Note: this is the second time Fahey popped up in a major news outline. Previously, he made a guest spot in Famitsu. We won't rest until the cover of Time has been Fahey'd!
SL Virtual Fun Fun [NY Daily News]

Georgia, home of Coca-Cola and media mogul Ted Turner, also boasts 50 video game companies. But Georgia ain't stopping there! The state is attempting to attract more developers by offering tax breaks and have even hired a liaison to the gaming industry. That person? Asante Bradford, who is described as a "digital entertainment guru." He says:

Basically, our sales pitch is Georgia.

Oh, good. I was worried that it would be Alabama or South Carolina. There are lots of big companies in Georgia, and Atlanta is growing super fast. Though, this Bradford guy? Never heard of him, but sounds like he's got a cushy gig. Brian Ashcraft

Georgia Wants Game Companies [Savannah Now via 1p Start]

No,. not the guy who does Mario's voice, though I'm sure that, much to Fahey's disappointment, he isn't for sale either.

Anytime we post about anything even slightly crafty, or cakeish or collectible, it seems we start a mini meme and over-sizeed Mario's are certainly not safe from the flood of emails and pictures that always proceed such a post.

So with that in mind (read not news), I give you Anthony's big-ass Mario, given to him by the manager of his Toys R Us after he helped reorganize the Rzone at the store. It's big, it's steel and it's totally not for sale. Brian Crecente

I believe this would be one of those posts that requires exactly zero comment. On a personal note: Fahey, I'm in your house stealing your pictures! Brian Crecente

Kitten Loves Zelda [VH1]

For some reason I can't get Highlander out of my head.

Thanks to the wonderful largess of Gawker Inc. all of Kotaku's writers will be descending on New York City next weekend. Yes, that includes Luke Plunkett from Sydney and Brian Ashcraft from Osaka.

This will be the first time I come face-to-face with many of these guys, which is really weird considering how much time I spend working with, and talking to them.

Since it has the feel of one of those things that doesn't happen very often, we've decided to host a little party. Or, as I am apt to call it, Par-Tey.

So we're going to be taking over the Barcade in Brooklyn next Friday night and paying for a considerable bar tab. Besides the drinking, retro gaming and chance to touch McWhertor's hair or call Brian Ashcraft, Briana (he loves that), we'll also be giving away a few bits and pieces to you our wondrous readers.

I've already started throwing crap into a pile and Ashcraft promises to fill his knapsack with tons of that priceless game toy minutia that the Japanese take for granted. I might even ask Luke to bring some Oz-themed gaming nik-knacks like, I don't know, Vegemite flavored Nintendo candy. So far I've rustled up a World of Warcraft Collector's Edition of Burning Crusade, an unbelievably cool Resistance Fall of Man winter jacket and some PS3 games.

If you're interested in joining us, just swing by the Barcade next Friday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. We'll be the ones grossly intoxicated. Oh, and make sure you are at least 21.

More to come. Brian Crecente