iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Benson @bensontheradio.com · 04/10/2026

Oh yeah, scooped up the GBC! Thank you!

Benson @bensontheradio.com · 17/09/2026

VCF Midwest was pretty neat. Saw some neat tech things. Finally got to meet @lgr-yt.bsky.social. Ben Heck gave me a Commodore 64. Plus so much more!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 25/08/2026

Fun Fact: Every single State, District, and Canadian Province I’ve visited, I’ve ridden there on Amtrak.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 26/07/2026

Yoooo a Sega Saturn was featured in Malcolm in the Middle.

Malcolm and his friend are playing a Sega Saturn on an old television.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 14/05/2026

WHAT DO YOU MEAN TENTACOOL CAN WALK?!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 18/04/2026

Here’s my little demo corner!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 17/04/2026

The car has been loaded up for VCF East. We’ll see you soon!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 13/04/2026

Sonic Mania as god intended.

Sonic Mania being played on a CRT computer monitor.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 08/04/2026

This Dell Latitude D530 is a Windows XP champion. DOOOOOOOM!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 08/04/2026

Windows Media Center was the coolest thing to me when I was younger, but that may just be because of the Aquarium screensaver. This Dell Inspiron 9300 is a fun beast from 2005.

Dell Inspiron 9300 with the Aquarium screensaver from Windows XP Media Center Edition.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 08/04/2026

I’m pretty proud of this Dell Latitude D620. I have it configured to do a quad-boot between Windows 2000, XP, 7, and 10. With an Intel Core 2 Duo, it gives you an incredibly wide range of software support for both old and new stuff.

Dell Latitude D620 booting Windows 2000.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 08/04/2026

I got this Tandy 1000 HX all cleaned up yesterday, pretty neat and convenient system to use for dabbling around with DOS. It has a version of DOS on ROM so you don’t need to worry about having a boot disk, and it has a composite video output for easy hookup.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 29/03/2026

Love spending time with old friends.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 27/03/2026

Thanks for the heads up! Just processed a retroactive price match for the Psyduck I purchased as an anniversary gift this week.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 24/03/2026

9 year anniversary today. Came up with this cute little display.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 04/03/2026

Time to move onto the next ROM hack!

Pokemon Polished Crystal played on an Analogue Pocket.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 28/02/2026

Happy Pokémon Day! Just used this team to defeat the Pokémon League in Pokémon Pure Green. I’ve been trying to use different Pokémon on my latest play throughs of the games, and it’s fascinating what Pokémon are better than you expect! Dodrio was a champ for this run. Time to fill the dex…

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 24/02/2026

Finally. A good game on the 3DS.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 20/02/2026

Also the openFPGA support makes it possible to play all of my other retro favorites on the go with 100% accuracy. I love it.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 20/02/2026

Oh yeah, I FINALLY got my hands on an Analogue Pocket. This is the coolest thing I’ve gotten my hands on in ages, and has sharply reduced how much time I waste doom-scrolling. The screen simulation modes are so FUN to use. My favorite is GameBoy Color mode.

Pokemon Blue with the GameBoy Light screen simulation.

Pokemon Blue with the Pinball Dot Matrix screen simulation.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 20/02/2026

Meh. I’ll just keep playing my Pokémon games on handhelds where it feels right.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 14/02/2026

Having a blast today chasing the Reading T1!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 13/02/2026

The XL is such a great system. I’ve started keeping a homebrewed one with me to play instead of doom scrolling.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 04/02/2026

May have found the holy grail computer monitor. Look at all of the inputs! I think the only thing missing is SCART 😅

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 01/02/2026

Pardon the dustiness of the consoles since they just came out of storage. Here are some more shots.

Sega Saturn showing Sonic 3D Blast on a Sony LCD display.

Sega CD showing its boot screen on a Sony display.

Sega Genesis with Sonic 3 and Knuckles displayed on a Sony LCD display.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 30/01/2026

Not my pictures. It has Composite, S-Video, Component, analog RF, VGA, and DVI (which of course is easy to use for HDMI). So it gives me a single device I can use to test just about any video device, while having that 2000s Sony aesthetic.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 30/01/2026

Spending some time with some old friends this evening. I’m also in love with this Sony TV/Computer Monitor hybrid I thrifted this week. It has ALL the connections!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 19/01/2026

Friends, if you haven’t done it in a while, please take a look through your gadget drawer or box, and check your batteries out. Found this very spicy pillow bulging out of my PSP.

A PSP battery that is swollen beyond its casing

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 19/01/2026

Keep tabs on that battery… was going through my gadget drawer a while back and something looked off on my PSP. Turned out the battery has become quite the spicy pillow.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 18/01/2026

2016 vs 2026. I used to be so handsome.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 14/01/2026

Pennsylvania has one too!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 14/01/2026

Here are the ones I have from working in the rental world… From looking through what I have, the following states don’t seem to have special plates for rentals: SC RI PA ME MD TX NJ MA NY MI NH CT KY NM DE VA TN WV MN MS VT

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 13/01/2026

Oh dear. I quite literally didn’t play any games last year… at least on my Switch. I’ve mostly been back to playing Pokémon games on my older handheld systems. I guess this sorta proves I’m not really into video games anymore lol.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 11/01/2026

Wow. I forgot the Elite Four in Gen 1 just used the regular Trainer Battle theme.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 25/12/2025

World’s best power bank.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 24/12/2025

You stay up late on New Year’s Eve to see the ball drop. I stay up late on Christmas Eve to watch Hans Gruber drop. We are not the same.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 19/12/2025

the #1 movie from when you were 10 years old is how your 2026 will go I guess I’m gonna learn about loving myself as I am.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 03/12/2025

My usual Mania tracks didn’t crack the top 10 this year. A bit of a surprise.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 18/11/2025

Trying a new brine for the Thanksgiving turkey this year.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 28/10/2025

Having a bowl of the best monster cereal. Booberry!

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 22/10/2025

If it isn’t Jaleel White… I don’t want it.

Sonic the hedgehog is an available voice in the Wawa GPS application.

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 21/10/2025

Announcement regarding the future of Extra Life.

Hello all.

It is with extreme difficulty that I am announcing that I have decided to step away from producing the annual Extra Life streams.

Foremost, I’d like to make it clear that this is NOT due to any sort of interpersonal conflict or anything like that.

The past few years have brought some pretty dramatic changes to my life that were beyond my control, and it’s been quite the challenge to face them and rebuild my new life.

Things are looking promising as my career is developing, but my current work commitments have made it difficult to continue my duties as the producer of this event.

These streams have been some of the most rewarding and fun things I’ve ever had the privilege to be involved with, and I thank each and every single person who has helped to make them as great as they can be. I also extend the greatest thank you to everybody who has contributed to the cause since we’ve been doing this. Your generosity has truly helped so many children through their most challenging days.

I may return to the event someday, but I wish Johnny and everybody else in the collective the best of luck with future events!

Never forget… FOR THE KIDS!

-Benson

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Benson @bensontheradio.com · 16/10/2025

I just realized the Sony Mavica camera I picked up this week has been through the thrift store circuit at least two times. It’s okay little guy, you’ll have a safe home with me for many years to come.

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