Andromeda Stardust Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I appreciate the comments and dont take them for granted. Believe me, no one wants to forget the past more than I. And you can be assured I wont be attempting any more gaming ventures. I woefully mismanaged things the past few years and paid the price, in more ways I can count. And, it will take a few more years for me to recover from that debacle financially. Its true that turning your hobby into even a part-time profession is a sure-fire way to enjoy your hobby less and stress yourself half to death. Especially, when you make the mistakes I did. I nearly lost all my love for gaming and regrettably did lose a handful of great friends in the hobby. Over the past year, I have played more video games than I have played probably in the past 9 years. Ive rebuilt a small collection of consoles that are all out and playable including an Atari 2600, 7800, PS1, Timex Sinclair 1000, Apple IIc and Commodore 64 -- oh, and my original Sega Genesis I had growing up and all my original games (I gave it to my cousin way back when, he kept it and recently found it and shipped it back to me). In any event, Ill take what I can get but dont expect anything when it comes to being completely forgiven for what I put everyone through the past few years. Parrothead, I tend to forgive and forget more than most. And we did have more than a few laughs at your expense. I even have a free "hater brigaders" button for participating in a certain secret thread. That said, we welcome you with open arms, and if all you want to do is discuss classic gaming and related items, you've come to the right place. But please, no more cash grabs or "get rich quick" schemes. I think the pacman suits were quite the icebreaker, assuming you have no financial interest in them. Even if so, kudos. It's a trendy item, if a bit flamboyant for my tastes. Take care and I look forward to your participation in future discussions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipercub Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I for one welcome Socal back to the community, surely he won't do the same thing again, for the 1st,2nd,3rd 4th,5th,6th time. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+x=usr(1536) Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 It was on one of the still remaining clearance X-Mas gift shelves. We scanned it at one of the scanners and it still said $120. Took it back to the layaway/cust service desk to question the scanned price and they marked it down 80%. Related to comments others have been making: please go back and re-read my response in PMs to you from a few weeks back. What I said then may be useful to you now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I can't speak for everyone, but I do think getting some full and honest answers to what happened might go a long way toward bringing your credibility out of the negative range. Over the past few years, you've been characterized as ducking any question you don't feel like answering. Now that you're not selling anything, you don't owe anyone any answers... but if you're wanting to be on good terms with the community, you will need to offer SOMETHING up. The truth, and I mean the ACTUAL truth, not the "Whatever makes me look better" spin, would be something of value you could extend. I don't hate you, Mike. But you've hurt a lot of my friends, and I do not take that lightly. Some of these people I know by reputation only, some I have literally broken bread with. Your lies and screwups affected them, and so I'm going to suggest the truth would go a long way toward building that bridge. On the other hand, if he is willing to admit that he screwed up but it being very hard to be honest to the extent of giving specific details then that could be taken as showing feelings of remorse and a guilty conscience. The truth hurts when you feel guilty. I mean, for how bad he screwed up if he was able to give a very detailed and specific mega post explaining everything he was thinking and feeling then it may be harder for me to believe he is sorry because that task would be hard for someone with a conscience but very easy for a psychopath. So, a simple sorry and showing signs of repentance are good enough for me. Signs like not trying to sell anything that the average retro gamer wouldn't, apologizing to friends he hurt and maybe doing random acts of kindness like mailing them games he knows they like as surprise gifts or something, participating in the community in ways that shows he changed, etc. Anyway, my advice to him is that even if he changes the old him will always stick so he should try to mix his new self with a parody of his old self. To use me as an example, one of the reasons I call myself Schizophretard is because shrinks have diagnosed me with practically everything and can't figure out what is wrong with me or even right with me. People in "real life" can't figure it out either and I seem weird to them in a way that is new to them. For an example, one of my old bosses once said,"When I first met you I thought you were retarded but after getting to know you I realized you are the smartest person I have met." I have been picked on for it my whole life. I used to let it stress me out and get to me. But now I embrace it and make a joke out of it by mixing in my real self with a parody of myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 On the other hand, if he is willing to admit that he screwed up but it being very hard to be honest to the extent of giving specific details then that could be taken as showing feelings of remorse and a guilty conscience. The truth hurts when you feel guilty. I mean, for how bad he screwed up if he was able to give a very detailed and specific mega post explaining everything he was thinking and feeling then it may be harder for me to believe he is sorry because that task would be hard for someone with a conscience but very easy for a psychopath. So, a simple sorry and showing signs of repentance are good enough for me. Signs like not trying to sell anything that the average retro gamer wouldn't, apologizing to friends he hurt and maybe doing random acts of kindness like mailing them games he knows they like as surprise gifts or something, participating in the community in ways that shows he changed, etc. Anyway, my advice to him is that even if he changes the old him will always stick so he should try to mix his new self with a parody of his old self. To use me as an example, one of the reasons I call myself Schizophretard is because shrinks have diagnosed me with practically everything and can't figure out what is wrong with me or even right with me. People in "real life" can't figure it out either and I seem weird to them in a way that is new to them. For an example, one of my old bosses once said,"When I first met you I thought you were retarded but after getting to know you I realized you are the smartest person I have met." I have been picked on for it my whole life. I used to let it stress me out and get to me. But now I embrace it and make a joke out of it by mixing in my real self with a parody of myself. Mike is free to handle this however he likes. Hes never been banned, so AA has always been open to him. If Albert says he can come and go as he pleases, Im in no position to disagree. The no one wants to forget the past more than I comment was a bit oddly chosen, though. It might mean Mike sincerely regrets everything, or it might mean he wants to shed his reputation so that one day he can try again. If Mike is truly back then I will treat him with the same respect as any other poster. No vile, and no cheap jokes (trust me, I was sorely tempted just a moment ago). I take no pleasure in being mean to anyone. But if Mike wants genuine credibility, I thought it was a tough road ahead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Mike is free to handle this however he likes. Hes never been banned, so AA has always been open to him. If Albert says he can come and go as he pleases, Im in no position to disagree. The no one wants to forget the past more than I comment was a bit oddly chosen, though. It might mean Mike sincerely regrets everything, or it might mean he wants to shed his reputation so that one day he can try again. If Mike is truly back then I will treat him with the same respect as any other poster. No vile, and no cheap jokes (trust me, I was sorely tempted just a moment ago). I take no pleasure in being mean to anyone. But if Mike wants genuine credibility, I thought it was a tough road ahead. I sincerely DO regret how things were handled by me. One thing I'd like to explain is that I ended friendships with some great people in the hobby. I really did this as I didn't want their friendship with me to jeopardize their friendship with others and their reputations. I was (maybe still am) toxic and wanted to remove myself from their equations for that reason. Maybe it came across as I didn't like them anymore, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I really miss the gaming friends I had prior to that mess. Had some of my best times with them -- they all know who they are And, I will say again, I will not be starting any more gaming businesses personally. I will not overstay my welcome here but might post occasionally if I come across something cool in the hobby to share. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 What a cop out. You're a scam artist, no better than a common thief, and you deserve to be treated as such. And worse than that, you still won't even own up to what you did. Others here may be willing to mince words but I'll call a spade a spade. Or a lying, thieving, scamming scumbag as the case may be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thevnaguy Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I sincerely DO regret how things were handled by me. One thing I'd like to explain is that I ended friendships with some great people in the hobby. I really did this as I didn't want their friendship with me to jeopardize their friendship with others and their reputations. I was (maybe still am) toxic and wanted to remove myself from their equations for that reason. Maybe it came across as I didn't like them anymore, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I really miss the gaming friends I had prior to that mess. Had some of my best times with them -- they all know who they are And, I will say again, I will not be starting any more gaming businesses personally. I will not overstay my welcome here but might post occasionally if I come across something cool in the hobby to share. You're more than welcome here. Just please don't try and sell us the next Ataribox 2.0. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 What a cop out. You're a scam artist, no better than a common thief, and you deserve to be treated as such. And worse than that, you still won't even own up to what you did. Others here may be willing to mince words but I'll call a spade a spade. Or a lying, thieving, scamming scumbag as the case may be. I can't say the man isn't trying. If you don't have something nice to say... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I can't say the man isn't trying. If you don't have something nice to say... I can say he isn't trying. It's obvious he isn't, because he's still not admitting what he did. He just tried to slink back into this community as if he didn't attempt to swindle thousands of dollars out of it, all the while lying through his teeth and refusing to accept responsibility for his actions. I don't have anything nice to say about him because there is nothing nice to be said. He's a scammer. Actually, he's worse. He's a failure at scamming. He's morally bankrupt AND incompetent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemanxp300 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I can say he isn't trying. It's obvious he isn't, because he's still not admitting what he did. He just tried to slink back into this community as if he didn't attempt to swindle thousands of dollars out of it, all the while lying through his teeth and refusing to accept responsibility for his actions. Did he? I did not follow all the coleco chameleon stuff. I know I paid the game gavel life time membership fee which turned out to be a waste but whatever I knew it was a gamble when I paid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Did he? I did not follow all the coleco chameleon stuff. I know I paid the game gavel life time membership fee which turned out to be a waste but whatever I knew it was a gamble when I paid it. Among a laundry list of other things, he tried to pass off a Super Nintendo crammed into a Jaguar case as a working prototype. And later an off the shelf PC capture card crammed into a Jaguar case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemanxp300 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Among a laundry list of other things, he tried to pass off a Super Nintendo crammed into a Jaguar case as a working prototype. And later an off the shelf PC capture card crammed into a Jaguar case. Ok so how much money did he take people for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) Ok so how much money did he take people for? He tried to get 2 million dollars, and may indeed have if not for the diligent detective work of other members of this forum and the community at large. He raised over $80,000 via crowdfunding. He said he would offer refunds, and may indeed have (I haven't heard either way). But the issue is he accepted people's money after knowingly deceiving them in the first place. Whether he refunded them or not, he knew he was lying to people when he started taking the money. And he has still not admitted this. He lied in his crowd funding pitches and when they failed he started trotting out fake protos. Edited January 17, 2018 by famicommander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 with all due respect, this is not the time nor place to discuss your grievances with Mike Kennedy. He needs encouragement right now more than anything. You are providing the exact opposite right now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepdreamin Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 with all due respect, this is not the time nor place to discuss your grievances with Mike Kennedy. He needs encouragement right now more than anything. You are providing the exact opposite right now. He needs encouragement from a community he tried to fool? Would you make a habit of letting a former acquaintance who was a compulsive liar back into your life, or would you sever ties? How many chances should one get before you say goodbye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 with all due respect, this is not the time nor place to discuss your grievances with Mike Kennedy. He needs encouragement right now more than anything. You are providing the exact opposite right now. Why would I care what he needs? He tried to rob us blind and you're telling me to consider his needs? He did something wrong and has made no effort to correct it. He hasn't even admitted it. He doesn't deserve encouragement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thevnaguy Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 He tried to get 2 million dollars, and may indeed have if not for the diligent detective work of other members of this forum and the community at large. He raised over $80,000 via crowdfunding. He said he would offer refunds, and may indeed have (I haven't heard either way). But the issue is he accepted people's money after knowingly deceiving them in the first place. Whether he refunded them or not, he knew he was lying to people when he started taking the money. And he has still not admitted this. He lied in his crowd funding pitches and when they failed he started trotting out fake protos. I was refunded by the campaign. Aside from kicking me to the curb, its all water under the bridge now. He did a lot of good before the CC situation. He was not always like he was during the CC situation. I agree with Pipercub, I welcome him back but in a guarded fashion I miss talking with him on our latest retro finds and talking about things like friends did back before the CC situation. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 The "retro Chameleon" provided me with hilarious entertainment for several months. It was always pretty clear that they lacked the competence to deliver on their poorly-conceived dream. It was always fun to watch. No one did it better (worse) than Mike, and we've seen several people try. He didn't say it in the most articulate way, but it's true that Mike himself was hurt a lot more than anyone else, except perhaps the Coleco brand. He lost money, friends, reputation, and dignity. What did we lose? Time spent on a message board? Speaking for myself, that was mine to waste, and a moment enjoyed is not wasted. I believe in forgiveness. Why should he serve a life sentence for attempted tomfoolery? It's been two years. His reputation is in the toilet and no one with two brain cells to rub together would give him any money. I'd love to see him back in the community so long as he gives up any ideas about trying to make money from us. We don't need a confession. We all know what he did. Hate the sin, love the sinner. Then again, maybe he should be forced to wear that ridiculous Pac-Man suit, all the time, wherever he goes, as long as he lives, forever walking the earth as a Shatnerian parody of himself, cornering the market on retro gaming. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I think a punishment should fit the crime. Does him losing GameGavel, Retro Magazine, the Jag shells, etc. along with our trust with future attempts at similar things fit? Yes. Does him getting a life sentence away from the hobby and community to an extent that he isn't even welcome to discuss a Pac-Man suit fit? No. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I think a punishment should fit the crime. Does him losing GameGavel, Retro Magazine, the Jag shells, etc. along with our trust with future attempts at similar things fit? Yes. Does him getting a life sentence away from the hobby and community to an extent that he isn't even welcome to discuss a Pac-Man suit fit? No.Amen brotherWell said Take away the "businessman" nonsense and he's just another game dork like us. Well, maybe he talks a lot more than some of us, but it takes all kinds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoshiChiri Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 My reactions to this thread: You have a lot to answer for, Mike. If you're going to want to join the social circles of the hobby, you'll need to answer a lot of questions you don't really want to answer. "Huh? Who is Mike, and what did he do?" Mike, If you are really trying to come back to the community, I would take GoldLeader's advice. Probably best not to try to explain your way out of past mistakes at this point. Certainly, don't start another pie in the sky endeavor and try to sell something. No one is going to trust it, and we will just end up with another 400+ page thread. "400 page thre... OH! THAT Mike! Got it! Where's my popcorn?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Amen brother Well said Take away the "businessman" nonsense and he's just another game dork like us. Well, maybe he talks a lot more than some of us, but it takes all kinds. Simple as that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Amen brother Well said Take away the "businessman" nonsense and he's just another game dork like us. Well, maybe he talks a lot more than some of us, but it takes all kinds. How many other people on this forum tried to steal from the rest of us and then lied about it and continues to lie about it? I'll wait. I was refunded by the campaign. Aside from kicking me to the curb, its all water under the bridge now. He did a lot of good before the CC situation. He was not always like he was during the CC situation. I agree with Pipercub, I welcome him back but in a guarded fashion I miss talking with him on our latest retro finds and talking about things like friends did back before the CC situation. By all accounts, OJ Simpson was a nice guy before he killed those people. And no, I am absolutely not saying that what Mike did was anywhere near as bad as what OJ did. But the point is, the bad things you do in life can't always be eclipsed by whatever nice things you did beforehand. OJ was a great football player and he was in some awesome movies, but so what? All that good will is gone forever. I think a punishment should fit the crime. Does him losing GameGavel, Retro Magazine, the Jag shells, etc. along with our trust with future attempts at similar things fit? Yes. Does him getting a life sentence away from the hobby and community to an extent that he isn't even welcome to discuss a Pac-Man suit fit? No. He lost all of his businesses because he is incompetent. That wasn't a punishment for his attempted thievery. Once you try to steal from me or my community, that's it. You only get one chance. I don't care where else he goes or what else he does but if he is going to show his face around here, especially without admitting what he did and sincerely apologizing rather than deflecting blame and changing the subject, then he is going to hear about it. I'm not suggesting we cut the man's hand off or lock him up for the rest of his life. But he doesn't deserve to interact on level ground with members who didn't try to run a million dollar scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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