I feel this to my core. 🤣

I've got far too many games I really want to play, but just haven't yet.

I've got several projects sitting here, some just started, others in various levels of completion. Like my own custom PicoNES build. A new design I came up with for a second Z80-MBC2 build. A new case design for my wife's REMPOD and various other "ghost hunting" devices I've built for her that need to be completed. A proper DIY bench power supply.

I really need to clean out our on site storage unit...

My problem is time. Like so many others, I just never seem to have enough of it. 😀

Funny how we all have that invisible list sitting somewhere in our heads. Mine's been the same for years — rebuild an old Pentium rig, finish Chrono Trigger properly, and maybe code a little something of my own. Still waiting on the motivation patch.

I cleared a lot of the physical items off my list when I relocated back to Australia few years ago.
No point paying to send it half way around the world just to go back into storage and honestly it felt like a weight off my shoulders.
(I've since picked up more redundant hardware, so I still haven't learnt my lesson)

I've stopped buying games as have a back catalogue I want to finish but as you say I end up re-playing the same few over and over.

"projects" Like running up a mini clint/server network with some old version of Windows or Netware. I'll start, loose interest for years on end but do come back eventually, get a bit more done then, loose interest again.

Upgrading or solving issues with existing builds, I do think part of my problem is I have too many builds so even with all the time in the woold I'd be going round and round making constant repairs.
So I doubt I'll ever have all my machines running at any one point. But that's also partly the reason of having multiple PC's. If I'm in the mood for a certain game and that PC isn't working I'll just move onto another.

One thing I don't pretend is component level repairs, I'd love to but lack the time, skill and tools so no longer have a "repair" box. Still take me ages to put on ebay/marketplace to pass it on to someone who might though

Boy does this strike a chord with me. So many things.
I think first and foremost, as you get older, your life is monopolized by this thing called a J-O-B. By the time you get home you are just spent.
And then maybe also, as time goes on maybe you realize you were smart not to. Or it becomes irrelevant.

StriderTR wrote on 2025-10-09, 16:01:

I've got far too many games I really want to play, but just haven't yet.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-10-09, 23:26:

I've stopped buying games as have a back catalogue I want to finish but as you say I end up re-playing the same few over and over.

This thing with games is odd, i really do want to experience some of these older games, at times I've even set out the list and I've actually enjoyed playing some, but then something interrupts soon enough and i then drift away and come back to familiar games that i play multiple times - and i like those familiar games, its not a waste... but still

kevin223 wrote on 2025-10-09, 22:38:

finish Chrono Trigger properly,

that's on my list too, i started it a few times. Something about that era of top down rpg and the story telling really appeals, but i recognise there are hours of grinding and that some sections just aren't going to be that great. Yet if I were to hack/cheat to skip that i doubt i'd appreciate it the same way. It would be like speeding up parts of a movie or just watching highlights.

One thing with games on emulation, or generally the ease with which old games can be collected and played (DOS too) is that you can end up just skipping from one to another like some tik-tok level attention span gamer. To appreciate a game you have to give it time, just tell yourself its this game for 20 mins no matter what!

Maybe that's why we go back to some games, we already gave them time and know how good they are

StriderTR wrote on 2025-10-09, 16:01:

I've got several projects sitting here, some just started, others in various levels of completion. Like my own custom PicoNES build. A new design I came up with for a second Z80-MBC2 build. A new case design for my wife's REMPOD and various other "ghost hunting" devices I've built for her that need to be completed. A proper DIY bench power supply.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-10-09, 23:26:

"projects" Like running up a mini clint/server network with some old version of Windows or Netware. I'll start, loose interest for years on end but do come back eventually, get a bit more done then, loose interest again.

You see those sound cool! its interesting when projects go dormant and the suddenly become possible again, i've had some like that - even some programs i'd started then return to (and relearn what i'd written!). I think sometimes the idea might be better than the activity required to make it happen, then other times you get into a 'problem loop' - like layers of an onion you just get drawn into solving lots of problems / dependencies, even silly ones like "where did i put that toolset" "its in the garage" "but where, maybe under here" "oh, that shouldn't be there, I'll put that on the shelf" "dang, the shelf is loose, need to fix that..." "now where is that toolset"

ncmark wrote on Yesterday, 00:04:

Or it becomes irrelevant.

and that's the sad part, sometimes it just doesnt seem worth it, one cannot conjure the motivation or enthusiasm of the past for something. There's little point faking it, but i dont want to lose motivation for things! thankfully, thus far, there's always been something else motivating

Well, not that long ago I had a hankering to set back up a windows 95 (now I would use 98) network I used ti have. Back them I had 10base2 cards., now I have 10baset. I got the card set up, and now see the network neighborhood icon, but that was as far as I got. Will have to get a hub or switch and some cables to make it work. I had visions of setting up samba on old linux.

But then it hits me - why. I no longer have a need for it. So it would be pure nostalgia. Even with 98, I have some USB sticks that came with win98 drivers so that is how I get things on and off the computer.

I seem to be stuck in a loop of ideas and creation, but struggling to find the time (and sometimes the motivation) to actually make them a reality. These sorts of projects are fun to me. I enjoy them, I find it relaxing, but lack of time seems to lead to lack of motivation. Well, if I don't have time, I'll just get to it whenever. So, while time is a real factor, I need to change my way of thinking to better work with the time I do have.

I've sat here and designed the cases and other things. I've got most, if not all, the parts on hand. I took the time to create the 3D designs, but haven't printed them yet to see if they'll work. Though, I just bought a new Flashforge AD5X multi-color printer and it's out for delivery as I type this. I'm hoping its superior speed and ease of use will help me break through this project barrier.

The other problem is I sometimes also go down "rabbit holes" that suck up a lot of the free time I do have. Like researching things I don't have, but just want to know. I'll go on hunts to look for old games and software I may have forgotten, don't have, and would like to have on my DOS and/or Win98 systems. Or spend hours looking for specific images, creating images, and re-reading my own blog posts over and over until I'm happy with them.

This is my long-winded way of saying... the struggle is real! 🤣

ncmark wrote on Yesterday, 11:33:

Well, not that long ago I had a hankering to set back up a windows 95 (now I would use 98) network I used ti have. Back them I had 10base2 cards., now I have 10baset. I got the card set up, and now see the network neighborhood icon, but that was as far as I got. Will have to get a hub or switch and some cables to make it work. I had visions of setting up samba on old linux.

But then it hits me - why. I no longer have a need for it. So it would be pure nostalgia. Even with 98, I have some USB sticks that came with win98 drivers so that is how I get things on and off the computer.

I ran into this problem. I made myself a mini Win95 system. Loved it. Worked great! Then, I built my Win98 system. Guess what one I use all time and what one collected dust?

I did the Win95 build out of pure curiosity, to test the EPIA-800 for that specific use, and for my nostalgic feelings for 95. Where as my 98 build is vastly more practical. So, I actually just sold off my Win95 build. I've decided to try and keep my "just curious" and "nostalgia" builds small and simple. Spend more time on my more practical builds I'll actually use.

Though, I do have one extra EPIA-800 board I kept, just becasue I love it. One of the very first mini-ITX boards to ever hit the market. 😀

ncmark wrote on Yesterday, 00:04:

I think first and foremost, as you get older, your life is monopolized by this thing called a J-O-B. By the time you get home you are just spent.

And then at some point, your soul is gone and even if you won a lottery, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself. 😖

I have too many games on Steam I never get around to playing.

I wanted to publish fixed XUL ColorfulTabs extension for current day UXP browsers, never got around it, translated another extension Stylem to Slovenian, while published, didn't get around to submitting corrected one or two strings, which sound weird in original, along with another fix for SeaMonkey compatibility. I wanted to do some minor updates to XUL fork of uBlock Origin, just don't feel like doing it and serious updates are way over my head. Started making compatibility fixes at some point for DownThemAll! extension to work with SeaMonkey, then dropped that too.

Many years ago I published a fork of Berserker@Quake2 that kinda works on Linux. The author of the original published another version at some point, I never updated my version. And I could add back some WIN32 specific code for which there was no reason for deletion rather than just #ifdefing it, but...

Then I don't like the way I did some things in some patches I made for older games, another thing on the endless TODO.

Finally, the disorganization on my disks. From things that need to be organized into folders to many gigabytes of virtual machines' snapshots that I'll never really need that should be deleted.

Or making a Windows 7 like theme for a more recent version of Windows 11.