Commodore 64 Tax Refund Revival

I am 32 years old at the time of writing this blog. I make my living as a computer programmer. I got my start at programming when my father purchased a C64 at a COMBS outlet store (COMBS became LeBelle's, which became Best Buy) after a coworker had informed him that their POS terminal was mismarking a full C64+Monitor+1571 Drive at $19.95. My best guess is that this was around 1982 or 1983. My C64 was my best friend from 1982 until 1992 when my family eventually got with the times and bought a PC.

Thanks to the 2008 IRS economic stimulus package, I've decided to whole heartedly reclaim my love for the c64. Here is what I have purchased over the week via the interwebs:

Books:
All About the Commodore 64 Volume 1
All About the Commodore 64 Volume 2

I also picked up THE c64 programming guide:

Media:
The C64 uses double-sided, double-density 5.25 " disks which aren't in production anymore, so I'll have to start stockpiling them. I've got my eyes on a large unopened stock on ebay, but here is what will get me by in the meantime:

Hardware:

Of course I'm going to need a C64 and Disk drive right? That being the case I picked up a classic C64

I was always jealous of my neighbor who eventually got the C64C with the improved ergonomics and sound chip, so I got one of those too, which happens to be a never used new in box find (oh yeah!!!):

And of course, there is the mandatory FastLoad cartridge:

Here's a little device that will allow me to hook the c64 drives up to my PC so I can transfer software I download from the internet to the c64 floppy drive:

Finally, a little something to turn my girlfriend's head: