Like many in Asheville, North Carolina, retro PC enthusiast Clint Basinger—better known by his handle on YouTube, LGR—was not expecting the catastrophic extent of Hurricane Helene's damage to the town and western North Carolina at large: "I thought I was decently prepared for what was to come!" Basinger told me via email. "We've had several tropical storm remnants pass through before, so it felt rather routine."
Through his channels, LGR and LGR Blerbs, Basinger has chronicled his extensive collection of retro PC games, hardware, and other paraphernalia to an audience of nearly two million subscribers. I previously wrote about his beige Pentium 3 tower stuffed inside a giant Ikea Teddy bear, while some of my other favorites include a PC built inside an evil glass pyramid, a 2003 PC with a faux fish tank viewing panel, and his long running series on goofy computer mice. The thing I've always appreciated is Basinger's infectious enthusiasm for the material: Rather than Wata ratings or NRFB value, he's always most interested in this stuff's history, context, and cool factor.
