Since I first heard that such a thing existed, I had wanted to visit the Pinball Cafe. However, living where I do and where it is located, I knew that finding the time to get out to the west end would require some compromise, hard work, and possibly even a scrapbooking party for Gabi. Hey, marriage is all about working on the relationship, right?
So you could have knocked me over with a feather when she offered to take me there as my Valentine's Gift. I have to admit - I feel bad - I just brought her a chicken shwarma after squash on Monday.
So we decided to go Friday afternoon, what with us having the lieu time for our late night at work the night before, one kid at my mom's and the other in daycare. We were thinking about grabbing lunch on the way down at my old haunt when I worked near Queen and Bathurst, the Prague Deli, but parking near Bathurst was near impossible, and I'd read on Twitter that the Cafe was now serving sandwiches, so we just went right there.
There's ample parking nearby, and relatively inexpensive - $4 got me the rest of the day, and the parking lot even has it's own couch and toilet, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend using them. Somehow or other I missed the Cafe on my quest for a parking spot, and we wound up walking the wrong way, but got things turned around pretty quick and found the place, once we'd looked up the address again. Being nearly one o'clock and well past our regular lunch time of 11:30, we were ravenous, so each ordered a sandwish combo. Gabi got the roasted chicken, and I went with the curried egg salad. I was delighted with my choice, as it was flavourful on a really fresh kaiser, and had lots of cucumber and lettuce on it as well. I sampled Gabi's and wasn't as thrilled, although I probably shouldn't be too critical, as alfafa sprouts and pesto NEVER make it on any sandwich that I'm making or even considering ordering. The combo included a bottle of soda from the Pop Shoppe, and I wound up having something I don't think I've had since I was a kid - a bottle of Black Cherry pop. It was awesome, and the sugar rush was perfect as I took my handful of quarters to the back of the cafe.
Since AC/DC, my main goal, was in use, I headed right over to Flash Gordon. I have one here, but it's a bit of a project, and I wanted to see what one properly tuned up felt like. I will be ordering the flipper rebuild kits when I'm done writing this, because a properly working right flipper makes all the difference. Their machine was missing the flasher, same as mine, so I still have no idea if I want to try and track that part down. It was fun, but since it's a machine I can play all I want for free, I didn't play again.
At this point, AC/DC was free, and I took it over. Three plays for two bucks. I have to say this - I've played a lot of Stern's latest titles, and I quickly loved this. I've read a lot of complaints about the face on the centre of the playfield, but trust me - this is such a fast game you don't have time to notice. The volume was turned way down, which I imagine is necessary for the sanity of the owners, but I could easily envision one of these in my basement with a subwoofer hooked up. I really enjoyed the game, it was a lot of fun, but the pop bumpers were drowning out what you could hear of the music. I also lost about 6-7 balls that drained right down the middle at the start of each ball - quite a few when you consider I played maybe 4 games. Other than that I loved it, and the multiball was crazy!
Gabi played a few other machines, and then joined me at AC/DC, and to my surprise and delight, she quite liked it too, although it's faster than anything we've got here. As we were taking turns playing, and I tried out Wild Fyre and Spacelab, we both noticed a rather large camera hovering around, filming us and the other players as we went at the machines.
After we'd hogged AC/DC for what felt like an appropriate amount of time, we went back to our table for the final element of our combo, the dessert. Rachel, one of the owners, said that this was her best brownie batch yet, so with a tip like that we both skipped the rice krispie squares. I'm pleased to report that the brownie was excellent - if you head down for some pinball, make sure you pick up one of those too.
I then struck up a conversation with the cameraman, and when I found out they were from Global, did a bit of name-dropping, since I know a few people there. They asked me if I'd answer a few questions, which I did, but I doubt any of it will make the story. I got interviewed so many times with my Scrabble Club kids last year that I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I started sweating and mumbling and got all nervous. If anything does make it, I'll come off like a bumbling idiot. Ah well. Jason, the other owner, got interviewed next, and I'm sure more of his stuff will make the story, from what I could overhear. Much smoother than I. Monday night on Global News, if you've got the time.
At this point, I ordered a hot chocolate for myself that quickly got taken over, and we both enjoyed it, then I headed back to the machines. I was dying to try Black Knight, as I'd almost had a deal in place for a trade for my Orbitor 1. I'm kind of glad it fell thru - I don't think I want one. It was all right, but I couldn't make the ramp shot to save my life - not sure if it was the flippers or me, but I got frustrated and moved on.
There were only two pins we hadn't tried, and since we couldn't get near Supersonic as a family had taken it over, Gabi and I headed to Comet. We both quite liked it, and stayed there until we ran out of quarters. In fact, she liked it so much that she's willing to let me pick one up. I wonder if the fact that she beat me on it has something to do with that. Now all I have to do is find one.
To sum up - food and ambience were very good. It's a bright space, comfy and welcoming, and Rachel was very friendly, although for some reason I introduced myself but never Gabi, a shortcoming I apologized for later. I loved my sandwich, my pop and my brownie, and the hot chocolate was ok, as was Gabi's sandwich, although I think that's my tastes, not necessarily the sandwich. I'm regretting not checking out the juke, something I'll be sure to do next time I pop by.
The pinballs were a nice collection. They're in good player condition, with the obvious exception of AC/DC, it being released just a few weeks ago, so it was near mint. Other than the BK flippers seemingly not being able to get the ball up the ramp (also could have been just my lack of skill, to be totally honest), everything that should work seemed to be working, which is always nice to find when you do go out to play pinball. Jason spent some time working on both Comet and AC/DC during our visit, so witnessing the maintenance going on usually indicates the machines are well cared for.
Both of us had a very good time, and Gabi is even willing to go back, which is nice for someone who more tolerates my pinball habits than truly enjoys them.
Basically, if you like pinball even a little bit, I think it'd be well worth your time to pay a visit.
Oh, and I imagine the sound on AC/DC rocks as much as the game. Next time I play one, I've got to figure out how to crank it.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Wisconsin-Illinois Road Trip Part Deux
When I left off my little narrative, we were on our way back to Uncle Steve for our 3rd visit to the nursing centre, this time armed with a little more information. We met Don this time, Steve's roommate, who apparently never met a conversation he couldn't insinuate himself into, which was a bit annoying, but what can you do.
We then went back to the hotel, where we finally connected with Bill and Kay, who had Steve's keys. We wanted to get his mail, pick him up a few things from his apartment, and make sure everything there was good.
So we had a nice chat with Bill and Kay, and it was awfully nice to know that Steve has good friends to help him out when he needs it. From there it was off to the post office, where I found his mailbox, along with a notice of expiry. I paid for another 6 months for him, then we went hunting for his apartment, and hunting is the right word, because our information was wrong. So I'm trying to open what I thought was his apartment, and failing, when we hear noises inside. A bit alarming, so I ring the doorbell, and am surprised when someone answers.
Yes, I was trying to get into the wrong apartment and I think I might owe the guy some new underwear.
So we went to see Steve again, at least having accomplished getting the mail, and this time got a physical description of exactly where his apartment was. After going thru his mail with him and making sure there was nothing too urgent, we listened to a few more Don stories, then went apartment hunting again. With the right number and Steve's physical description, I found the place no problem this time, even in the dark of night (well after 8 by then).
Steve's apartment was nice, small and cozy, but comfortable, clean and very well organized. His big concern was whether or not he had made his bed, and I was happy to tell him that he had.
We then took the things he wanted, and headed back to the hotel for a hot tub, which was only very warm, but still quite nice, and even better, totally deserted. Of course, by then it was 11, and we hadn't really had dinner, so we found the one pub in walking distance serving food, and it was us and one other guy hitting on the waitress. The other guy, not us. We had dinner - we'll always wonder if he had dessert.
I then foolishly watched Avatar on HBO til the middle of the night, and as a result was pretty baked for the first leg of our return trip home. We went back to Steve's apartment to get the right jacket for him, then back for our final visit, which had to be fairly short as we had a tight timeline to get the keys back to bill and Kay. I got a bit emotional leaving, obvious reasons, right?
We then had to stop at Culver's, for our final lunch in Wisconsin, especially since Bill and Kay gave us some coupons. What an awesome place - I would say its a cant miss when in Wisconsin, or anywhere else that has one.
We then moseyed our way back down to Chicago and the Kindrachuk/Benoit household, stopping only to pick up some Wisconsin cheese for Bill, which was an experience in itself. Gabi thought we were going to be featured on a cheese based reality show.
We had a lovely time in Lisle, getting to visit with Bill, Janice, John, Alex and Charlie. It was nice getting to know the boys a bit better, and we were impressed by all of them. Charlie is particularly interested in cars, wants to open a shop working on high end cars, and needs money for parts for a Camaro he's rebuilding, so I got him to do a much needed oil change on the van. Win-win for both of us, I hope, although he had to get up early and it was freezing out while he was working.
Alex was already off skating (@6am!!!!), as was Janice, and we didn't see John or Dave, but it was particularly wonderful to visit with Uncle Bill. He took us all out for a nice Chinese buffet, which I never mind, and even gave me a piece of family history, which was a fur hat made by my Aunt Mary, which was cut from a fur coat that used to belong to my Baba Olga. We also really appreciated being put up for the night in a really comfortable guest bedroom - thanks, guys!
We're near Lansing Michigan right now, heading to Sarnia. I'm picking up a few replacement displays for Orbitor 1 from Corey, the Ontario Stern guru, and we should be home tonight.
Hasn't been an inexpensive trip, but it's been worth it in so many intangible ways, from catching up with family on Chicago, to Steve's jaw hitting the floor when he saw us, to the expected surprise on the girls faces when we bring their gifts. Gabi and I got a nice break from the routine and a chance to reconnect, which was really tremendous. All in all, a great trip.
Sent from an iPhone.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Neenah, Wisconsin
Well, I sit here in the American Girl outlet in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. We're going back to see Uncle Steve this afternoon, as he does his rehab in the mornings.
We left early New Years Day, not quite as early as planned, but we were on the road for good by 8, with only 1 return trip home for forgotten items. The Ontario portion of the drive was wet but uneventful, once again I picked the wrong border guard, although she went on break right before us and we wound up getting thru very quickly.
Michigan was notable for two things - high winds and road kill. We counted no fewer than 11 deer on the road between port Huron and Flint. A bit of gps time zone confusion, but we eventually made it into Chicago and our very nice hotel downtown. We had dinner at Due pizzeria, which was by far the best deep dish pizza I've ever had in my life. We'd go back in a heartbeat.
We then walked the Magnificent Mile until I thought I was gonna freeze to death, then back to the hotel.
All I'll say about Einstein Bros bagels is if you're considering eating there, don't. Craptastic. We then hit the American Girl store on the mile for the girls, then checked out of the hotel and headed north.
I programmed the gps with a stop in Milwaukee, and we hit Miller Park. For those who don't know, I play simulation baseball, and my team since 1987 has been the Milwaukee Brewers. The stadium, even with the snow-covered field, was awesome. I went a bit nuts in the team store, buying a bunch of shirts, a Brewers scarf (helps alleviate the freezing), and a nice wooden sign for the bar.
From there, it was straight to Uncle Steve. We found him in front of a TV watching the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl, and to say he was surprised to see us would be an understatement. We had a quick visit, then went out to try and find his friend who has his mailbox keys. That didn't work out, so we went back for another visit with Steve, then out to dinner and checked into our hotel.
I'm pleased to report that Steve is doing well, healing up nicely. He turned his bruised face away for the picture, and isn't tremendously mobile yet, but seemed in good spirits, and is certainly animated. I'm pretty sure he was happy to see us - I'm looking forward to going back - we're trying to arrive after his rehab and lunch.
We're having a great trip, and would be outright wonderful were it not for the news we got, which was that Mark Wright passed away suddenly on New Years day. We've been thinking about his family an awful lot, and the horrible start to their year. Our hearts go out to them - he was only 33.
We'll begin our return trip tomorrow, staying one more night in Appleton. Here's hoping the drive home is as smooth as the drive here was, and I'd really like to make Mark's funeral on Friday.
Will try to check in on the road home at some point.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
2011, looking back!
2011 was a good year for me in many ways!
First off, my family. Gabi and I continued to settle into and adjust to the lifestyle changes that came with the new house in 2010, and I've got a little story to reflect how that's going.
When we first started dating, I had a window in my classroom slip open over the Christmas break, the same year Mel Lastman called in the army. I returned to school to find a snow bank in the middle of my classroom, and all my carefully nurtured plants frozen like bricks.
So, to help me recover my plants, Gabi sent me a ficus, which I thought was the sweetest thing any girl had ever done for me. I never took it to school, because it quickly graced our apartment, then our first house. It did well, stayed healthy, and we named it the love tree, cheesy but highly accurate.
However, in the new house, this tree has doubled in size, an unbelievable growth spurt for a tree that had been slowly growing with us for a decade. An apt metaphor, I think! We love life in this new neighborhood!
The girls are doing good, as well, Maya thriving in Grade three, and Chloe thriving at being three. Maya's doing well in school and with her friends, and makes us very proud. Chloe, while a more challenging, stubborn child than Maya ever was by far, is showing some encouraging signs lately. Watching a Dolphins Tale with her this week was a revelation, she got so upset by Winter being hurt. Chloe is a very smart, chatty, confident child, and seems very popular at her daycare, with both students and teachers, which I'll take as a good sign.
Our trip to Orlando was a definite highlight, as well as our WDW moments, repeated Small World rides and heat related meltdowns notwithstanding. Hollywood Studios at night without the kids was fun, and the Aerosmith themed Rock and Rollercoaster was just as fun as Everest in Animal Kingdom. The absolute highlight of the trip for me was, surprisingly enough, our Princess lunch in Cinderella's castle. The girls and Gabi were enthralled, and I absolutely loved the pic of the four of us with Cinderella, sweaty though we were. I loved being down there with my parents and Ter and Jen and the boys, and all ten of us had a great time in our fantastic rental house, especially the pool.
The first part of July at the cottage was awesome - beautiful weather, and good times with family and friends. We're probably going to have to track down a new bunk bed for the 4 kids soon...
I took my first school trip as teacher in charge, and we had a fantastic time in Ottawa and Montreal, so good I'm repeating the experience. The ski trips were good too, although my first attempt at getting Maya on skis didnt work out so well. Hopefully this year will be better - we start lessons on the 16th!
Otherwise work was a mixed bag - I've had two fantastic groups of kids to work with, but admin changes are always interesting. I've wound up the year as co-chair, so we'll see how that goes.
Squash and baseball were good - another year with lots of minor injuries, including hamstrings, groin pulls and a mildly sprained ankle, as well as my current knee injury. I need to change something in my physical routine - to that end, I've joined both squash leagues to help me build up some strength Jan-April. That plus skiing on Sundays should really help...I hope. I struggled big time moving a pin into the house yesterday, and I'm a bit afraid of trying to get it into the basement. Haven't felt this weak in some time.
Cora's health finally improved, although she seems to have some kind of stomach bug right now, poor thing. 2011 was also the year we lost Jake, sadly. Probably the greatest catch and fetch dog ever, in his prime he probably could have played a mean centerfield, if you didn't mind a slobbery ball when he was done. He always loved to jump up on me and give me a big wet face wash. I'm going to miss those, but I sure love Lily, too, Ter and Jen's new pup.
I would be remiss without mentioning my new and rather obsessive hobby, pinball. However, I won't talk too much about it here, other than to say its something I enjoy very much, and have made some new friends through an awesome online community I've been made to feel at home in.
We're planning to possibly make 2012 the year of planning the kitchen, and hopefully make it a reality in 2013, although I think a vehicle purchase will probably be an inevitable budget line item in the next 2-3 years, and hopefully not sooner. I'm trying out Vera's Yaris now - we'll see what comes.
So, without any further rumblings, I'll sign off, hoping that everyone who takes the time to read this will have a good or better 2012!
First off, my family. Gabi and I continued to settle into and adjust to the lifestyle changes that came with the new house in 2010, and I've got a little story to reflect how that's going.
When we first started dating, I had a window in my classroom slip open over the Christmas break, the same year Mel Lastman called in the army. I returned to school to find a snow bank in the middle of my classroom, and all my carefully nurtured plants frozen like bricks.
So, to help me recover my plants, Gabi sent me a ficus, which I thought was the sweetest thing any girl had ever done for me. I never took it to school, because it quickly graced our apartment, then our first house. It did well, stayed healthy, and we named it the love tree, cheesy but highly accurate.
However, in the new house, this tree has doubled in size, an unbelievable growth spurt for a tree that had been slowly growing with us for a decade. An apt metaphor, I think! We love life in this new neighborhood!
The girls are doing good, as well, Maya thriving in Grade three, and Chloe thriving at being three. Maya's doing well in school and with her friends, and makes us very proud. Chloe, while a more challenging, stubborn child than Maya ever was by far, is showing some encouraging signs lately. Watching a Dolphins Tale with her this week was a revelation, she got so upset by Winter being hurt. Chloe is a very smart, chatty, confident child, and seems very popular at her daycare, with both students and teachers, which I'll take as a good sign.
Our trip to Orlando was a definite highlight, as well as our WDW moments, repeated Small World rides and heat related meltdowns notwithstanding. Hollywood Studios at night without the kids was fun, and the Aerosmith themed Rock and Rollercoaster was just as fun as Everest in Animal Kingdom. The absolute highlight of the trip for me was, surprisingly enough, our Princess lunch in Cinderella's castle. The girls and Gabi were enthralled, and I absolutely loved the pic of the four of us with Cinderella, sweaty though we were. I loved being down there with my parents and Ter and Jen and the boys, and all ten of us had a great time in our fantastic rental house, especially the pool.
The first part of July at the cottage was awesome - beautiful weather, and good times with family and friends. We're probably going to have to track down a new bunk bed for the 4 kids soon...
I took my first school trip as teacher in charge, and we had a fantastic time in Ottawa and Montreal, so good I'm repeating the experience. The ski trips were good too, although my first attempt at getting Maya on skis didnt work out so well. Hopefully this year will be better - we start lessons on the 16th!
Otherwise work was a mixed bag - I've had two fantastic groups of kids to work with, but admin changes are always interesting. I've wound up the year as co-chair, so we'll see how that goes.
Squash and baseball were good - another year with lots of minor injuries, including hamstrings, groin pulls and a mildly sprained ankle, as well as my current knee injury. I need to change something in my physical routine - to that end, I've joined both squash leagues to help me build up some strength Jan-April. That plus skiing on Sundays should really help...I hope. I struggled big time moving a pin into the house yesterday, and I'm a bit afraid of trying to get it into the basement. Haven't felt this weak in some time.
Cora's health finally improved, although she seems to have some kind of stomach bug right now, poor thing. 2011 was also the year we lost Jake, sadly. Probably the greatest catch and fetch dog ever, in his prime he probably could have played a mean centerfield, if you didn't mind a slobbery ball when he was done. He always loved to jump up on me and give me a big wet face wash. I'm going to miss those, but I sure love Lily, too, Ter and Jen's new pup.
I would be remiss without mentioning my new and rather obsessive hobby, pinball. However, I won't talk too much about it here, other than to say its something I enjoy very much, and have made some new friends through an awesome online community I've been made to feel at home in.
We're planning to possibly make 2012 the year of planning the kitchen, and hopefully make it a reality in 2013, although I think a vehicle purchase will probably be an inevitable budget line item in the next 2-3 years, and hopefully not sooner. I'm trying out Vera's Yaris now - we'll see what comes.
So, without any further rumblings, I'll sign off, hoping that everyone who takes the time to read this will have a good or better 2012!
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Fwd: Roberto Alomar (@Robbiealomar) replied to one of your Tweets!
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Date: 3 December, 2011 12:49:39 AM EST
Subject: Roberto Alomar (@Robbiealomar) replied to one of your Tweets
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Friday, December 02, 2011
Welcome to the Jungle!
Well, writing blogs is rapidly becoming a rarity in my life. At first I thought that Twitter was useless - who can express themselves in 140 character hits?
You know what? I can...I even like it. Twitter has also become a place where I've discovered a vast amount of information in things I'm interested in...mostly news, and of course, baseball. Doesn't seem to be much of a pinball presence out there, however. Maybe I should copy my tweets in here from time to time...
I've still been writing here occasionally, but really, it's been slipping for a number of years with the advance of Facebook and more recently, for me at least, Twitter.
Maya has been in Chile for just over a week now - missing her a lot, but her temporary absence has allowed us to really focus attention on Chloe in a way she's not used to. With two of us on her like Donkey Kong, we're definitely seeing an improvement in behaviour. She's not terrible or anything - just really stubborn and whiny...but what do we expect? She is still 3....
So I bought another pinball machine last weekend. Went to Chris Benn's and his friend Doug's place on a Saturday night a few weeks ago, and got to play 37 machines between the two houses. Some I liked, some I loathed, and one was so quirky and entertaining to play that it stuck in my head, so much so that I asked Doug if he ever sold his to let me know. He didn't want to currently, so I moved on...kind of. When Chris asked me which machines I liked, I told him, but mentioned how much I had liked this one really weird one. He mentioned to me that Sparky had one.
So I emailed Sparky to find out if he was planning to sell it at some point, and if so, to let me know. I got back a never say never, but probably not kind of email, forgot about it, and moved on.
About a week later, Sparky comes back to me, and has decided to sell. Now, a couple of things about this particular machine. 1. Very rare - Stern went bankrupt with it on the production line - only 889 were ever made, and it's very safe to say that fewer than that have survived. Some blame it for killing Stern, but to be honest, my research into the history indicates that Stern was on shaky ground anyways, and they had a lot more orders for it that they never fulfilled. 2. Sparky is the kind of guy where other people selling their machines use him as a selling point - this was once Sparky's game, so you know it's great. 3. I started the whole process, although I was thinking next year some time, maybe by summer. Sparky, however, was all about now, and I was thinking that if I really wanted to own this machine, and a great condition one at that, that I'd better pounce on this.
So I agreed to the deal, conditional on me selling Triple Strike first. I listed Triple Strike, and we waited a week, before Sparky agreed to do a trade&cash for the new one, which of course is worth way more than my relatively crappy Triple Strike, although it was completely working and looked worlds better than it did when I bought it. Of course, as soon as that happened all kind of potential buyers came out of the woodwork, all regretting not contacting me earlier when I told them it was sold. Never fails...
So last Sunday came, with my place being the hub of Wayne coming from Waterdown, and Sparky and Rob coming from Montreal. We moved machines around between the minivans in my driveway, played some pinball, had a good time chatting and in the end I had Orbitor 1 sitting in my basement beside what remains my pride and joy, my High Speed, which of course proved to have a weak upper flipper when they arrived. All 3 of them being pinball repair experts, they quickly showed me what needed to be fixed...and when they left after an excellent afternoon, I went to The Source and picked up my first soldering iron and some lead-based solder, watched a couple of youtube videos, and surprised myself mightily by repairing the flipper successfully - and a week later the repair is still holding.
Of course, that night Orbitor went all wonky...odds are I caused a short, which took four hours and many emails (and a phone call) to Sparky to diagnose. I felt bad - there's no warranty on 30 year old machines, for obvious reasons - caveat emptor clearly applies - but he was awesome - really helpful, even though I'm sure he had better things to do that listen to me (or read me) rambling endlessly without much clue what I'm doing.
By the end of the night, I'd learned a boatload about pinball machines. It took four hours to find the short, and by it's location made me realize that it'd probably been me that caused it in the first place, making me feel even worse about bugging Sparky.
In the process I'd made a few changes to the machine, some on purpose, some by accident (somehow I set it to 5 ball - something I'm going to be changing next time I'm in there - because it seemed to have changed the 60 second ruleset that is driving me nuts too with the machine.)
Slowly rewatching Star Trek:Voyager. In Season 5 now - you know, it really is too bad they're not making anymore Star Trek tv. Maybe if the next movie is as good as the last one...maybe.
Going to resume squash tomorrow after two weeks off with a really sore knee. It's only a slightly sore knee now - but the only way to heal it is probably to take some weight off, which I really can't do without playing squash. Irony sucks, doesn't it?
So - the title of this entry - I was driving to work this morning, and a GNR song came on with the iPhone on shuffle. My commute is such that I get two, and if I hit a couple of red lights, maybe three songs (I know I'm really lucky on that score) so I'd better pick some good ones. Despite Axl being a racist cracker, the band really kicked some ass - You Could Be Mine was blasting when I pulled into school, and I was having a grand old time. So I started writing this to Appetite for Destruction...didn't last long, some of it hasn't held up well...but c'mon - we've got fun and games.
You know what? I can...I even like it. Twitter has also become a place where I've discovered a vast amount of information in things I'm interested in...mostly news, and of course, baseball. Doesn't seem to be much of a pinball presence out there, however. Maybe I should copy my tweets in here from time to time...
I've still been writing here occasionally, but really, it's been slipping for a number of years with the advance of Facebook and more recently, for me at least, Twitter.
Maya has been in Chile for just over a week now - missing her a lot, but her temporary absence has allowed us to really focus attention on Chloe in a way she's not used to. With two of us on her like Donkey Kong, we're definitely seeing an improvement in behaviour. She's not terrible or anything - just really stubborn and whiny...but what do we expect? She is still 3....
So I bought another pinball machine last weekend. Went to Chris Benn's and his friend Doug's place on a Saturday night a few weeks ago, and got to play 37 machines between the two houses. Some I liked, some I loathed, and one was so quirky and entertaining to play that it stuck in my head, so much so that I asked Doug if he ever sold his to let me know. He didn't want to currently, so I moved on...kind of. When Chris asked me which machines I liked, I told him, but mentioned how much I had liked this one really weird one. He mentioned to me that Sparky had one.
So I emailed Sparky to find out if he was planning to sell it at some point, and if so, to let me know. I got back a never say never, but probably not kind of email, forgot about it, and moved on.
About a week later, Sparky comes back to me, and has decided to sell. Now, a couple of things about this particular machine. 1. Very rare - Stern went bankrupt with it on the production line - only 889 were ever made, and it's very safe to say that fewer than that have survived. Some blame it for killing Stern, but to be honest, my research into the history indicates that Stern was on shaky ground anyways, and they had a lot more orders for it that they never fulfilled. 2. Sparky is the kind of guy where other people selling their machines use him as a selling point - this was once Sparky's game, so you know it's great. 3. I started the whole process, although I was thinking next year some time, maybe by summer. Sparky, however, was all about now, and I was thinking that if I really wanted to own this machine, and a great condition one at that, that I'd better pounce on this.
So I agreed to the deal, conditional on me selling Triple Strike first. I listed Triple Strike, and we waited a week, before Sparky agreed to do a trade&cash for the new one, which of course is worth way more than my relatively crappy Triple Strike, although it was completely working and looked worlds better than it did when I bought it. Of course, as soon as that happened all kind of potential buyers came out of the woodwork, all regretting not contacting me earlier when I told them it was sold. Never fails...
So last Sunday came, with my place being the hub of Wayne coming from Waterdown, and Sparky and Rob coming from Montreal. We moved machines around between the minivans in my driveway, played some pinball, had a good time chatting and in the end I had Orbitor 1 sitting in my basement beside what remains my pride and joy, my High Speed, which of course proved to have a weak upper flipper when they arrived. All 3 of them being pinball repair experts, they quickly showed me what needed to be fixed...and when they left after an excellent afternoon, I went to The Source and picked up my first soldering iron and some lead-based solder, watched a couple of youtube videos, and surprised myself mightily by repairing the flipper successfully - and a week later the repair is still holding.
Of course, that night Orbitor went all wonky...odds are I caused a short, which took four hours and many emails (and a phone call) to Sparky to diagnose. I felt bad - there's no warranty on 30 year old machines, for obvious reasons - caveat emptor clearly applies - but he was awesome - really helpful, even though I'm sure he had better things to do that listen to me (or read me) rambling endlessly without much clue what I'm doing.
By the end of the night, I'd learned a boatload about pinball machines. It took four hours to find the short, and by it's location made me realize that it'd probably been me that caused it in the first place, making me feel even worse about bugging Sparky.
In the process I'd made a few changes to the machine, some on purpose, some by accident (somehow I set it to 5 ball - something I'm going to be changing next time I'm in there - because it seemed to have changed the 60 second ruleset that is driving me nuts too with the machine.)
Slowly rewatching Star Trek:Voyager. In Season 5 now - you know, it really is too bad they're not making anymore Star Trek tv. Maybe if the next movie is as good as the last one...maybe.
Going to resume squash tomorrow after two weeks off with a really sore knee. It's only a slightly sore knee now - but the only way to heal it is probably to take some weight off, which I really can't do without playing squash. Irony sucks, doesn't it?
So - the title of this entry - I was driving to work this morning, and a GNR song came on with the iPhone on shuffle. My commute is such that I get two, and if I hit a couple of red lights, maybe three songs (I know I'm really lucky on that score) so I'd better pick some good ones. Despite Axl being a racist cracker, the band really kicked some ass - You Could Be Mine was blasting when I pulled into school, and I was having a grand old time. So I started writing this to Appetite for Destruction...didn't last long, some of it hasn't held up well...but c'mon - we've got fun and games.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Pinball Wizard
I'm not quite sure how I got here, to be honest.
Back when I was a kid, I loved PA days. Hey, I'm sure kids today still love them. Me, not so much, since I have to be P about the A now, no matter what kind of stuff they come up with for us.
From about Grade 7 on, whenever a PA day would come up, I'd set things up with a few buddies, sometimes even a small group. We'd meet somewhere on Lawrence, and catch the 54 westbound, nothing in my pocket but five bucks and some bus tickets. We'd ride that over to the SRT, and head up to the Scarborough Town Centre. Some kids would have shopping, clothing and checking out the opposite sex in mind, but my circle of friends (at the time, at least) was far more into more important things.
We'd head straight to the Cineplex Odeon, and pick out a movie to see. Child admission was only $2.50, which was half the budget for the day, so we had to choose films carefully. I clearly remember that Goonies was one of the films we hit - maybe Jedi as well at one point. No popcorn for us, however. We took the precious change we got back, and headed over to Wizard's Castle. Ten precious quarters, and sometimes hours to wait before our show.
I remember wandering aimlessly up and down the noisy, dark aisles, spending more time looking than playing - had to make it last. The Star Wars sit in cabinet was always a favourite, and Dragon's Lair was cool, but it was 50 cents and always far too quick a play for my limited skills. I was pretty good at Galaga, but it was when they put in a High Speed pinball machine that I found my mecca. That game was just damn cool.
Anyways, fast forwards a decade or three, my group all discovered the opposite (or the same) sex, some moved on, some moved up in the world, and I find myself in Orlando with the family this summer. We spend a day in the complex pool, and are sitting outside the snack bar having a quick bite to eat when nature calls for me. The bathroom is inside another building, and to get there, I have to walk thru...the arcade.
It was pretty simple, three or four vids, no pinball, and a first for me, a coin-operated Xbox in a console. They had Galaga in a multi, so I was kind of interested...but I had no time. I couldn't linger, and I never did make it back in there the entire trip.
It got me to thinking - when DO I have the time for this kind of thing? I used to love them, and still do, to be honest. I don't feel my age when I'm playing them - not a bit, not that I'm that old or anything - but it makes me feel young, gives me an adrenaline rush. The only time I really have to play them - is after bedtime. Since finding arcades is pretty much impossible these days, the only option I have for playing is to...buy my own.
My favourite video game of all time is called Elevator Action. I started out looking for that one. I'd nearly bought one five or six years ago, so this interest couldn't have been a total shock to Gabi - but if she had any idea how much time I spent surfing websites reading about arcade collecting, even while still in Florida, I think she'd be surprised. (not any more though).
At the end of August I actually found a few examples, and was willing to spend a couple of days on roadtrips to pick them up - but again, the time monster got in my way - I just couldn't pull it off, or justify ditching my girls for multiple days to pick up something as frivolous (yeah, right) as a video game.
Further to this, I made an interesting discovery. Video games, unless expertly restored (beyond my skill-set), seem to not really hold up in value. In short, they seem to be a bit like flushing a large part of any money invested down the toilet, unless they're Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga. Pinball machines, on the other hand, seem to mostly hold their value, and in some cases, are rapidly appreciating. They still make them, and once I found the website that seemed to have a lot of people doing a lot of talk about pinballs (and vids too, to be honest, but it seems to be mostly pinballs), I became enthralled at the idea of owning a High Speed pinball to be able to play after bedtime, or even, if the girls got into it, before bedtime.
I got so enthralled, that I made a rather impulsive move. I found an ad for a Triple Strike, relatively close by and within my budget range at the time. I'd been talking about it for a few weeks, so I took Maya with me after her squash lesson (I was still hurt, so wasn't playing) and we drove out to Burlington and Terrence Glover's place, and picked up Triple Strike. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have done it, although it's been a lot of fun shopping it out. It was working, but a mess overall. I've learned a ton on it, and I suppose in that regard $400 is a lot better than spending a lot more money and messing around with an even more expensive piece of machinery I had next to no clue about.
So I set it up in the garage, and we all played it, having some fun, and I slowly but surely learned how to take it apart to clean it, do what was necessary, and with the help of some fantastic people on Maaca, even solve the little credit switch problem I was having. I can't even begin to describe the sense of accomplishment I felt when I finally got it working, on free-play, 100%. While I'm very good at USING electronic equipment, changing the wiring setup and adjusting electrical switches was a new experience for me. Just today, I adjusted the switch on the right flipper, and it's working much better. Wouldn't have been able to do that two months ago, trust me.
So the plan all along was to finish it, and bring it into the basement to play over the winter. I'd never really stopped looking for a High Speed, and they kept popping up, but always in places like Green Bay or Boston...places I could dream about heading to over the weekend, but not realistically. So I decided to pick up, (after checking it out) a Rollergames, which looked both like an interesting game and a relatively kid friendly game. Then, on maaca again, someone who decided to part with their High Speed saw my quest, and I cancelled my Rollergames appt. I sold all the remaining Leaf tickets I had, and headed to Brockville to meet Bob, who was coming from near Montreal. We swapped some cash for the machine with the OPP watching us conduct our business the whole time (I was waiting for them to bring a canine unit over to sniff the machine).
At any rate, I now have two fully working machines in my basement, and a day where I don't spend at least a few minutes playing one of them is rare. They seem to require fairly constant tweaking, and the ramp is cracking pretty badly on High Speed, so I need to order a replacement, then figure out exactly how complicated the operation will be to put it in. Hopefully not too bad...but really, who cares? It's fun just working on them, if you can believe that.
And for a few minutes each game, I feel like I'm 14 again - without the acne and social awkwardness.
Back when I was a kid, I loved PA days. Hey, I'm sure kids today still love them. Me, not so much, since I have to be P about the A now, no matter what kind of stuff they come up with for us.
From about Grade 7 on, whenever a PA day would come up, I'd set things up with a few buddies, sometimes even a small group. We'd meet somewhere on Lawrence, and catch the 54 westbound, nothing in my pocket but five bucks and some bus tickets. We'd ride that over to the SRT, and head up to the Scarborough Town Centre. Some kids would have shopping, clothing and checking out the opposite sex in mind, but my circle of friends (at the time, at least) was far more into more important things.
We'd head straight to the Cineplex Odeon, and pick out a movie to see. Child admission was only $2.50, which was half the budget for the day, so we had to choose films carefully. I clearly remember that Goonies was one of the films we hit - maybe Jedi as well at one point. No popcorn for us, however. We took the precious change we got back, and headed over to Wizard's Castle. Ten precious quarters, and sometimes hours to wait before our show.
I remember wandering aimlessly up and down the noisy, dark aisles, spending more time looking than playing - had to make it last. The Star Wars sit in cabinet was always a favourite, and Dragon's Lair was cool, but it was 50 cents and always far too quick a play for my limited skills. I was pretty good at Galaga, but it was when they put in a High Speed pinball machine that I found my mecca. That game was just damn cool.
Anyways, fast forwards a decade or three, my group all discovered the opposite (or the same) sex, some moved on, some moved up in the world, and I find myself in Orlando with the family this summer. We spend a day in the complex pool, and are sitting outside the snack bar having a quick bite to eat when nature calls for me. The bathroom is inside another building, and to get there, I have to walk thru...the arcade.
It was pretty simple, three or four vids, no pinball, and a first for me, a coin-operated Xbox in a console. They had Galaga in a multi, so I was kind of interested...but I had no time. I couldn't linger, and I never did make it back in there the entire trip.
It got me to thinking - when DO I have the time for this kind of thing? I used to love them, and still do, to be honest. I don't feel my age when I'm playing them - not a bit, not that I'm that old or anything - but it makes me feel young, gives me an adrenaline rush. The only time I really have to play them - is after bedtime. Since finding arcades is pretty much impossible these days, the only option I have for playing is to...buy my own.
My favourite video game of all time is called Elevator Action. I started out looking for that one. I'd nearly bought one five or six years ago, so this interest couldn't have been a total shock to Gabi - but if she had any idea how much time I spent surfing websites reading about arcade collecting, even while still in Florida, I think she'd be surprised. (not any more though).
At the end of August I actually found a few examples, and was willing to spend a couple of days on roadtrips to pick them up - but again, the time monster got in my way - I just couldn't pull it off, or justify ditching my girls for multiple days to pick up something as frivolous (yeah, right) as a video game.
Further to this, I made an interesting discovery. Video games, unless expertly restored (beyond my skill-set), seem to not really hold up in value. In short, they seem to be a bit like flushing a large part of any money invested down the toilet, unless they're Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga. Pinball machines, on the other hand, seem to mostly hold their value, and in some cases, are rapidly appreciating. They still make them, and once I found the website that seemed to have a lot of people doing a lot of talk about pinballs (and vids too, to be honest, but it seems to be mostly pinballs), I became enthralled at the idea of owning a High Speed pinball to be able to play after bedtime, or even, if the girls got into it, before bedtime.
I got so enthralled, that I made a rather impulsive move. I found an ad for a Triple Strike, relatively close by and within my budget range at the time. I'd been talking about it for a few weeks, so I took Maya with me after her squash lesson (I was still hurt, so wasn't playing) and we drove out to Burlington and Terrence Glover's place, and picked up Triple Strike. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have done it, although it's been a lot of fun shopping it out. It was working, but a mess overall. I've learned a ton on it, and I suppose in that regard $400 is a lot better than spending a lot more money and messing around with an even more expensive piece of machinery I had next to no clue about.
So I set it up in the garage, and we all played it, having some fun, and I slowly but surely learned how to take it apart to clean it, do what was necessary, and with the help of some fantastic people on Maaca, even solve the little credit switch problem I was having. I can't even begin to describe the sense of accomplishment I felt when I finally got it working, on free-play, 100%. While I'm very good at USING electronic equipment, changing the wiring setup and adjusting electrical switches was a new experience for me. Just today, I adjusted the switch on the right flipper, and it's working much better. Wouldn't have been able to do that two months ago, trust me.
So the plan all along was to finish it, and bring it into the basement to play over the winter. I'd never really stopped looking for a High Speed, and they kept popping up, but always in places like Green Bay or Boston...places I could dream about heading to over the weekend, but not realistically. So I decided to pick up, (after checking it out) a Rollergames, which looked both like an interesting game and a relatively kid friendly game. Then, on maaca again, someone who decided to part with their High Speed saw my quest, and I cancelled my Rollergames appt. I sold all the remaining Leaf tickets I had, and headed to Brockville to meet Bob, who was coming from near Montreal. We swapped some cash for the machine with the OPP watching us conduct our business the whole time (I was waiting for them to bring a canine unit over to sniff the machine).
At any rate, I now have two fully working machines in my basement, and a day where I don't spend at least a few minutes playing one of them is rare. They seem to require fairly constant tweaking, and the ramp is cracking pretty badly on High Speed, so I need to order a replacement, then figure out exactly how complicated the operation will be to put it in. Hopefully not too bad...but really, who cares? It's fun just working on them, if you can believe that.
And for a few minutes each game, I feel like I'm 14 again - without the acne and social awkwardness.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Last cottage morning
Its a bit after 9 am on a Saturday morning in October at the cottage, and the only thing stirring here besides me is the fridge motor and a couple of clocks.
Terry put together a boys weekend, and George and I came up to join him, along with Tony Pipilas, Chris Evanoff, and Mark, whose last name I don't have the slightest clue about.
George and I left a bit after seven, and with the heavy constant rain, took about 3 hours to get here. We played some cards, had a good time, and stayed up way too late, especially considering how our drive up had been spent comparing notes on exhaustion. I happily managed to split the pot on the 2nd poker game, which finally ended my losing streak of nearly a year since I'd won anything - although to be fair I hadn't been playing much.
I spent the night (some of it at least) on the leather couch, and surprisingly the phone only woke me up when Ter lost the "first wife to call" pool. It's a decent day right now - wet, but I see patches of blue out there. I kind of want to get the work done and get home, but I don't want to be pulling a jerk move and wake eveybody up myself.
Hmm...maybe I'll go run the chainsaw for a few minutes.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Paranoid Android
Man...Radiohead...this song. I could listen to it a million times and still find new ways to appreciate it.
School is off to a busy start, but as expected, that double math load is a lot to handle. I find myself staying after school quite a bit longer than usual to get things done - unfortunately the daycare pickups and making dinner are just gonna have to be a bit later - cause I don't see how we could do any better in the mornings than we have been.
Quite a week for sleeping drama around here. On Wednesday night, the power went out around 11, and the lack of a nightlight woke up Chloe, who then went into a full-fledged night terror. Maya used to have them too - but I don't remember them being violent. More scary and detached. Chloe can be screaming that she wants Mommy - while Mommy is trying to hold her. I use the word trying because while this is happening, she's kicking, slapping, punching...and at one particular bad point, when I was trying to hold her arms, she reared back and headbutted me in the boys. Not fun at all. Got even better when the power went out for good at 3:30. Didn't feel like it, but apparently after awakening gasping for air and tearing off my CPAP mask, I did get some more sleep - but that sleep was rather noisy and didn't help Gabi sleep at all.
So Chloe was in bed early last night (thanks Nonna!), and we thought all was good for a quiet night - when, out of the blue, Chloe comes in complaining both of being hungry and having a hurting tummy. Then - I have to go Blah (our current word for puke in the house). We got her out of our bed in a hurry, and to the bathroom, but just beside the toilet, some projectiles were launched. It was impressive - all over the toilet, wall, carpet, and you just don't even want to know what happened to the magazine rack. A second bout later in our bed, and then general restlessness and wakefulness until 3 am - the fact that I'm coherent enough to write currently is suprising to me - but perhaps when I re-read it later I'll find I actually wasn't.
Went family veggie picking last weekend. Great idea in principle, and we had a great time with Vicki and Phillip, although Chloe, who loved it last year, was more difficult to manage. Should have thought a little more about how insanely busy the week was gonna be before starting all that. My birthday and squash finals (not that I was in them - not this summer - but I wanted the meal and a bit of a run) on Monday, Gabi's fair meeting on Tuesday, my curriculum night on Wednesday, Gabi's on Thursday (which I took Maya to, to meet her teacher), and then tonight, blissfully, nothing. In fact, tonight I finally canned the mild (practically flavorless, in my opinion) salsa I made on Sunday, and am now working on another fresh batch (which is aiming for medium, but since I'm not sure about the hot peppers I bought, could be anywhere from mild to suicide), but I'm starting to lose some of the tomatoes and peppers. Whatever I don't cook tonight I might have to dispose of gently. We'll see.
Now another all-time favourite - Hummer, by the Pumpkins. Why can't Billy Corgan make music like this any more?
I've got another new obsession. I'm starting to wonder about myself - do I just need to have an obsession? What would happen to me if I didn't? I started off thinking about standup, full-sized video games, but after some research I realized that they're a money pit that stands virtually no chance of being an investment of any kind, or at least holding they're value. Exceptions are out there (Galaga, MS. Pacman), but the machine I would want (Elevator Action) has next to no cachet, therefore no chance of being more valuable.
So thru this research, I discovered a website called maaca.org, or Montreal arcade and amusement collectors association, and got kind of fascinated by the pinball collectors. I always enjoyed pinball, but gravitated towards certain machines over others, to be sure. In fact, there's one in particular I'd love to get my hands on. In 1986, Williams manufactured a game called High Speed - if you were ever in the arcade, you'd remember it as the one with the police siren on top. If I was to get a game, I'm 99% sure that's the one I'd want. I even almost bought one off ebay - but it was in Cleveland, and Gabi wasn't too wild about me taking a couple of days to pick up a pinball machine. It also went over my limit, but in retrospect perhaps not as big an issue as the Cleveland thing.
At any rate, I haven't decided what to do. My quest for a working Elevator Action machine did lead me to locate the glass marquee from the game, which is arriving on Tuesday (don't worry honey - it was only $15). I'm either going to just mount it on the wall, or get really optimistic and build a little lightbox for it. Or find someone to build it for me, since I'm ok at big stuff (decks and fences) but not really good at fine woodworking.
I found a beautiful edition of High Speed - but it's expensive, and in Green Bay,Wisconsin. Every time I bring it up, Gabi hip checks me into the cupboards in the kitchen. Subliminal communication?
Maybe she really wants new cupboards first.
School is off to a busy start, but as expected, that double math load is a lot to handle. I find myself staying after school quite a bit longer than usual to get things done - unfortunately the daycare pickups and making dinner are just gonna have to be a bit later - cause I don't see how we could do any better in the mornings than we have been.
Quite a week for sleeping drama around here. On Wednesday night, the power went out around 11, and the lack of a nightlight woke up Chloe, who then went into a full-fledged night terror. Maya used to have them too - but I don't remember them being violent. More scary and detached. Chloe can be screaming that she wants Mommy - while Mommy is trying to hold her. I use the word trying because while this is happening, she's kicking, slapping, punching...and at one particular bad point, when I was trying to hold her arms, she reared back and headbutted me in the boys. Not fun at all. Got even better when the power went out for good at 3:30. Didn't feel like it, but apparently after awakening gasping for air and tearing off my CPAP mask, I did get some more sleep - but that sleep was rather noisy and didn't help Gabi sleep at all.
So Chloe was in bed early last night (thanks Nonna!), and we thought all was good for a quiet night - when, out of the blue, Chloe comes in complaining both of being hungry and having a hurting tummy. Then - I have to go Blah (our current word for puke in the house). We got her out of our bed in a hurry, and to the bathroom, but just beside the toilet, some projectiles were launched. It was impressive - all over the toilet, wall, carpet, and you just don't even want to know what happened to the magazine rack. A second bout later in our bed, and then general restlessness and wakefulness until 3 am - the fact that I'm coherent enough to write currently is suprising to me - but perhaps when I re-read it later I'll find I actually wasn't.
Went family veggie picking last weekend. Great idea in principle, and we had a great time with Vicki and Phillip, although Chloe, who loved it last year, was more difficult to manage. Should have thought a little more about how insanely busy the week was gonna be before starting all that. My birthday and squash finals (not that I was in them - not this summer - but I wanted the meal and a bit of a run) on Monday, Gabi's fair meeting on Tuesday, my curriculum night on Wednesday, Gabi's on Thursday (which I took Maya to, to meet her teacher), and then tonight, blissfully, nothing. In fact, tonight I finally canned the mild (practically flavorless, in my opinion) salsa I made on Sunday, and am now working on another fresh batch (which is aiming for medium, but since I'm not sure about the hot peppers I bought, could be anywhere from mild to suicide), but I'm starting to lose some of the tomatoes and peppers. Whatever I don't cook tonight I might have to dispose of gently. We'll see.
Now another all-time favourite - Hummer, by the Pumpkins. Why can't Billy Corgan make music like this any more?
I've got another new obsession. I'm starting to wonder about myself - do I just need to have an obsession? What would happen to me if I didn't? I started off thinking about standup, full-sized video games, but after some research I realized that they're a money pit that stands virtually no chance of being an investment of any kind, or at least holding they're value. Exceptions are out there (Galaga, MS. Pacman), but the machine I would want (Elevator Action) has next to no cachet, therefore no chance of being more valuable.
So thru this research, I discovered a website called maaca.org, or Montreal arcade and amusement collectors association, and got kind of fascinated by the pinball collectors. I always enjoyed pinball, but gravitated towards certain machines over others, to be sure. In fact, there's one in particular I'd love to get my hands on. In 1986, Williams manufactured a game called High Speed - if you were ever in the arcade, you'd remember it as the one with the police siren on top. If I was to get a game, I'm 99% sure that's the one I'd want. I even almost bought one off ebay - but it was in Cleveland, and Gabi wasn't too wild about me taking a couple of days to pick up a pinball machine. It also went over my limit, but in retrospect perhaps not as big an issue as the Cleveland thing.
At any rate, I haven't decided what to do. My quest for a working Elevator Action machine did lead me to locate the glass marquee from the game, which is arriving on Tuesday (don't worry honey - it was only $15). I'm either going to just mount it on the wall, or get really optimistic and build a little lightbox for it. Or find someone to build it for me, since I'm ok at big stuff (decks and fences) but not really good at fine woodworking.
I found a beautiful edition of High Speed - but it's expensive, and in Green Bay,Wisconsin. Every time I bring it up, Gabi hip checks me into the cupboards in the kitchen. Subliminal communication?
Maybe she really wants new cupboards first.
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