DIY Life

Whenever I think of my original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), I get a warm, glowing feeling inside. Growing up in the early 80s, I have such fond memories of all those classic games -- being the first kid in my class to beat level 8-1 on Super Mario Brothers, finally figuring out how to kill Ganon in The Legend of Zelda (gold cartridge, of course), becoming an accredited, Nintendo Power-certified Tetris master -- so you can imagine the great and profound sadness I felt when I finally had to put down my original NES console. I've since replaced her with a nearly-new model from eBay, but I keep my original system in the closet, and still pull her out from time to time just to reminisce.

As the years have gone by, I've begun to wonder if I could find another use for my old NES friend. I hate to have her sitting in the bottom of the closet, gathering dust and spiders, when she could be repurposed for a different, grander purpose. After looking around online, it's amazing just how many DIY projects exist for old NES units.

• I could restore my NES console back to its rightful place (under my tv) and use it as a DVD player, complete with an NES wireless controller TV remote.
• I can imagine worse things to wake up to than an NES alarm clock.
• I could've been the coolest kid in school had I had my own NES console lunchbox.
• If I'm ever in need of accessorizing my wardrobe, I could throw in an NES controller belt buckle OR wallet.
• Or maybe I could build a new NES-inspired computer, complete with an NES controller mouse and card reader, and maybe even a cartridge hard drive.
• I'm thinking instead of buying an iPhone, I might just convert my old NES controller into a cool looking phone.
• And who needs an iPod when you can build an NES controller MP3 player along with game cartridge speakers?!
• Or if you don't want to get rid of you iPod, control it with an NES controller!
• It might not fit in my pocket as well as my Palm Pilot, but a cartridge PDA does look pretty cool.
• An NES controller for an espresso machine might be pushing it a bit far (I don't even drink espresso!).
• An NES guitar, however, is right down my alley. Hogan's Alley, as it were!

With all these choices, it's going to be hard to narrow it down to just one project. Do you know of any more NES console or controller projects? If so, we'd love to hear about them. In the meantime, I think I'll keep my console hidden away until I figure out how to transform it into a Dr. Pepper-dispensing back massager... with HDTV capabilities.