YouTuber LGR felt 'numbness at how powerless I was' as his one-of-a-kind retro PC collection took a direct hit from hurricane Helene, but seeing most of the trove survive now has him eager to share it with others
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.
I also did not expect them to fully cleave my roof and home right down the middle, front to back.
Given Asheville's previous resilience to storms—the town had been called a "climate haven"—and Basinger's archival care with his collection—humidity control and storage «on steel shelves elevated on casters or mounted on walls»—there didn't seem much cause for concern. Basinger even had the trees on his property inspected for structural integrity ahead of the storm.
But then Asheville weathered record rainfall before Helene even arrived, priming the area for the flooding to come. With no evacuation order, Basinger stayed put. «What I did not expect,» Basinger said, «were two of the healthiest, largest, heaviest oak trees right in front of my house falling at the same time. I also did not expect them to fully cleave my roof and home right down the middle, front to back.» In the face of such damage,
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