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COMPLETE SAGA -12 Days Of Balls

Pinball Party Podcast·podcast_episode·5h 25m·held·Dec 26, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Pinball Party Podcast kicks off '12 Days of Balls' holiday series with Zach Manning and Jeff Teolis interviews.

Summary

Pinball Party Podcast launches '12 Days of Balls,' a holiday special featuring daily interviews with community members. The first episode features Zach Manning discussing his content creation work, design philosophy, grievances about community integrity, and personal insights; the second features Jeff Teolis discussing podcast history, 2023's manufacturing surge, and personal background.

Key Claims

  • 2023 saw an explosion in new game releases with seven games at TPF, four at Chicago Expo, and two more announced by Spooky, plus potential Stern announcements

    high confidence · Jeff Teolis discussing 2023 pinball manufacturing activity

  • Zach Manning created content for manufacturers including a Looney Tunes featurette/trailer under tight constraints from Warner Brothers with only 4-5 days to edit a 2-minute sizzle reel

    high confidence · Zach Manning describing his content creation work and time constraints

  • Zach Manning is a psychologist by training who values self-awareness and humility as core personal qualities

    high confidence · Zach Manning's direct statement about his background and values

  • Pinball Party Podcast was created because Jeff Teolis wanted more Final Round content and started the show himself when the hosts didn't record more episodes

    high confidence · Jeff Teolis explaining the origin story of Pinball Party Podcast

  • Jeff Teolis has been doing Pinball Profile podcast for eight years, featuring 10-45 minute interviews focused on people in pinball rather than news

    high confidence · Jeff Teolis describing his podcast work

Notable Quotes

  • “It was anytime I was able to create in pinball generally, that's number one...content that makes people happy, and it's something that I can be proud of and also cringe watching at the same time”

    Zach Manning — Reveals Manning's passion for content creation despite perfectionist concerns about execution quality under time constraints

  • “my grievance would be individuals...the lack of awareness that people have...They value the form of entertainment that they are consuming in media here in Pinball more so than the well-being of others”

    Zach Manning — Addresses a serious community concern about prioritizing entertainment over ethical accountability when creators have documented problematic behavior

  • “if there is knowledge that stuff out in our industry in our community is actually hurting people it's tough to see those people being like yeah but you know anyway but i'm still just consuming the entertainment life”

    Zach Manning — Directly critiques community complicity in supporting creators with documented harmful behavior

  • “The first thing I think of when I think of 2023 is just how many games came out. It's crazy. At TPF to see seven new games. In Chicago at Expo to see four new games”

    Jeff Teolis — Documents the significant manufacturing activity surge in 2023 across major trade shows

  • “I would say a pinball machine [for bench pressing]. Oh, nice. I don't know. Does that be too much?”

    Zach Manning — Humorous deflection showing Manning's self-deprecating personality and industry familiarity

  • “the name of Final Round should be called Zero Shits Given. We just – we're doing it for ourselves. You just happen to be listening”

    Jeff Teolis — Describes the philosophy behind Final Round podcast and why it evolved into Pinball Party Podcast

  • “I'm a psychologist by training, and I don't know if that has helped me learn self-awareness and humility more than it would otherwise”

    Zach Manning — Explains Manning's educational background and how it influences his approach to content creation and community engagement

Entities

Zach ManningpersonJeff TeolispersonFlip N Out PinballcompanyPinball Party PodcastorganizationFinal RoundorganizationPinball ProfileorganizationThe Pinball Network (TPN)organizationSpooky Pinballcompany

Signals

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: 2023 marked an exceptional year for game releases with seven new games at TPF, four at Chicago Expo, two announced by Spooky, and potential Stern announcements. Jeff Teolis expresses hope for manufacturer survival and credits recovery from COVID parts supply issues.

    high · Jeff Teolis: 'The first thing I think of when I think of 2023 is just how many games came out. It's crazy. At TPF to see seven new games. In Chicago at Expo to see four new games. Spooky just announced two more games...It was such a great year for manufacturers.'

  • ?

    content_signal: Zach Manning creates manufacturer content (featurettes, trailers, sizzle reels) under significant time constraints. Warner Brothers IP approval processes limit turnaround to 4-5 days for editing 2-minute trailers, causing Manning to cringe-watch his own work despite audience appreciation.

    high · Zach Manning describes creating Looney Tunes content: 'because of constraints with Warner Brothers and turnaround time on approval and stuff, I had like four or five days to edit an entire sizzle reel...the two-minute trailer.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Zach Manning articulates a grievance about community members prioritizing entertainment consumption over ethical accountability, specifically targeting those who support creators with documented histories of harmful behavior (robbery, threats, harassment) and excuse repeated apologies.

    high · Zach Manning: 'the lack of awareness that people have...if there is knowledge that stuff out in our industry in our community is actually hurting people it's tough to see those people being like yeah but you know anyway...I know that he robbed somebody and threatened and to harass someone but then again yeah now he speaks the truth'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Pinball Party Podcast was created as a direct response to insufficient Final Round content from Jeff Teolis and Marty. This origin story demonstrates how community demand for content inspired new show creation rather than manufacturer initiative.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.975

0:00
Ho, ho, ho, hoes! Merry Christmas! Um, we're gonna, we're gonna see if we can do this.
0:12
In the holiday spirit, we are going to release 12 Days of Balls. Yeah, you guessed it. For those who've listened to the show, we have a segment called Getting to Know Your Balls, and I want to get to know more balls.
0:32
Basically, bring people on we've had, maybe people we haven't, close friends of the show, friends of mine, just in the holiday spirit, talk, say hello, and we'll do this over the next 12 days. One episode every day, 12 days of Christmas, but in pinball party fashion, 12 days of balls. Wish us luck. We're going to need it more than ever. At the very end, I'll release this as one giant one. That's what she said. But Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, all that. Let's just get right into it.
1:14
Merry Christmas to one of my favorite pinball people of all time, Mr. Zach Manning. Thanks for joining, man. That's such a lie. A Christmas lie. Well, they can't see my fingers crossed. You can. Thanks for having me on, man. Yeah.
1:31
So we're doing this 12 Days of Balls, and we were just talking before I started. I don't know where I'm going to put you in your lineup, but I'm saying we're starting with you. I just pictured 12 testicles in one sack at that point. I don't know why. That's what we want people to picture. So, yeah, everyone out there, welcome to 12 Days of Balls. And our very first guest, Mr. Zach Manning. If you would, sit by your campfire, get your cookies and your milk, and picture a large scrotum with ten full testicles inside of it. Zach is the first one. So thanks for coming. There it is. Pun-filled episode. So what we're going to do is just, I don't know, man, talk, hang out, whatever, Christmas, at least 12 of these. Probably fuck up along the way because it's 12 days, 12 podcasts, 12 guests, 12 songs. I don't know why I'm doing this. I don't know why you're doing it. Because you like to be challenged and you're good at what you do. So thank you for doing it from everybody in the pinball community, even the little shitheads out there and the lovely people. Thank you from us to you. And happy holidays. Are you a big Christmas person? Yes. Are you festive? I am. Oh, nice. Yeah. I was going to wear a hat for you. It's in the other room, but I didn't wear a hat for you. I apologize. It's not a hat. But it is. You were almost worthy, but it is in the other room.

  • “I had one made from my good buddies at Ulix Store. They made me a Steve Austin and Bigfoot shirt from the $6 million man”

    Jeff Teolis — Shows Teolis's personal style philosophy and community connections through custom merchandise

    • Stern Pinballcompany
    Mabelperson
    Martyperson
    Looney Tunesgame
    [name withheld pending review]person

    high · Jason explains: 'I emailed you, and I was like...I like, hey, talk about this. And then I was like, yo, you should record more, or I'm going to just have to...And then I just did [create Pinball Party Podcast].'

  • ?

    content_signal: Multiple active pinball podcasts with distinct formats: Final Round (humor/irreverence), Pinball Profile (8-year history of personal interviews), Pinball Party Podcast (casual/celebrity interviews), and The Pinball Network competition coverage. This indicates a mature and diversified podcast ecosystem.

    high · Jeff Teolis discusses his multiple podcast efforts: 'Forever for eight years, I'm in my eighth year now of pinball profile...And they asked if I wanted to do one on competition pinball [for TPN].'

  • ?

    industry_signal: Zach Manning and Jeff Teolis have worked together on The Pinball Network and appear to have mutual respect. Manning cites Teolis's podcast as influential to his own content work, suggesting collaborative relationships between major podcast creators.

    high · Zach Manning: 'I gravitated towards the Straight Down the Middle videos...when it was before TPN, and then you asked me to be on TPN. It was a blast being on TPN.'

  • ?

    event_signal: Multiple significant pinball trade shows occurred in 2023: TPF (with seven new game reveals), Chicago Expo (four new games), and InDisc (upcoming event mentioned). These events serve as primary venues for manufacturer announcements.

    high · Jeff Teolis: 'At TPF to see seven new games. In Chicago at Expo to see four new games...As you may or may not see at the upcoming InDisc next week'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Zach Manning demonstrates high self-awareness and anxiety about his presentation, constantly monitoring how he appears to audiences. He balances between being entertainment-focused and authentic, aware of the tension between quality and time constraints.

    high · Zach Manning: 'I'm very conscientious about that and proud that I can turn around and be like, I can see myself presenting this way to someone that's consuming my content...but then those that don't, it's just, oh. It kills me.'

  • $

    market_signal: Jeff Teolis attributes the 2023 manufacturing surge to recovery from COVID-related parts supply chain issues. He expresses hope for manufacturer survival but notes uncertainty about whether similar output levels can be sustained in 2024.

    high · Jeff Teolis: 'I think COVID was a big thing in manufacturing the ability to get parts. But this year was just an explosion. I'd be shocked if we have something like this again in 2024.'

    • 2:48
    That's great. But, I mean, honestly, same to you. You're one of the most talented people in this industry. I gravitated towards the Straight Down the Middle videos. I remember when you were on the Pinball Party podcast when it was before TPN, and then you asked me to be on TPN. It was a blast being on TPN. Your quality is the shit. You continue to do it. You're an awesome voice for the community. You're a very special sponsor of the show, Flippin' Out Pinball. Have you heard of them? Flippin' Out. Well, bye-bye, Pinball. Yes, there you go. Absolutely.
    3:34
    So there we go. This episode is also sponsored by Flippin' Up Pinball. My Christmas came early, you creating that. And then the video. Oh, gosh. Yeah, that was fun. Nicole even says thank you. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome. I didn't even think of it until we just did this. We also get 12 sponsored Flippin' Out episodes over the next 12 days. So hopefully these sales go through the roof. Oh, people love it. They'll love it. Yeah. Well, I do like Flippin' Out Bimble, and I buy my shit from there. Anyway, this isn't a shill show. I mean, it always is. Yeah. I mean, yeah. 12 Days of Balls. Zach Manning. Let's start out. I have some questions. For those who have listened in the past to getting to know your balls, this is kind of just a glorified segment of that with absolutely aimless, mind you. So please don't expect this to be well choreographed. It's going to be fucking messy as shit, but that's how we do it. It's kind of like getting to know your jingle balls. Oh, whoa.
    4:34
    Okay. Man, now you've got me. Now I've got to re-record it. No. I think it's too hokey. Go ahead. Getting to know your jingle balls. Okay. First question. Do you believe in aliens? What? That's hard. He's fucking Joe Rogan. No. Do I believe in aliens? I would first have to have you define what you mean by alien But for the most part yes I do Yeah I guess I mean beyond alien pinball machine Yes Some other life form in the galaxy that is not Earth yes Okay.
    5:11
    To answer your question, no, I'm not Joe Rogan. I have more hair. Skinnier? Shorter? Actually, no, he's short. We're both short. We're on less drugs. Less drugs. Do you believe in ghosts? Oh, my God. Here we go.
    5:30
    No. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Now, do I believe in like a multiverse type of things that sometimes may skew quantum physics wise into our possibly. But ghosts. Yeah. No, I don't. Right. Unless I've seen it and I haven't seen it. So if any ghosts are out there listening to this podcast, feel free. Don't scare the shit out of me, but feel free to get me. Give me a nice like, hey, I freaking told you so. Apologies. Apologies, ghosts. Yeah. And same for me. Like ghosts, if scare or come out like do the during the day, not at night during the day. I want myself like a day ghost. Right. I don't really into the waking up at midnight, taking a piss. Holy crap. Yeah. I want like a 2 p.m. I'm like, oh, just what am I doing? just walking across. Oh, it's a ghost. That's not really scary. Grandpa's severed head. No, I'm not looking for any of that. Happy holidays.
    6:29
    Okay. Well, yeah, we just want to start off with very Christmas things. A soft hero. Yeah, yeah. What is your favorite pinball thing to happen this year? It could be a game, could be an announcement, could be a beating, could be... Okay. I have many, but I would say – Do you have Zach many?
    6:54
    Sorry. Well, I would say that my favorite pinball thing selfishly probably would be – I'm not going to be hokey here like all your other guests are probably going to be. I'm going to be selfish. It was anytime I was able to create in pinball generally, that's number one. More specifically, it would be being able to create content for manufacturers for consumption of the populace whenever something is released, so like a featurette or a video trailer, sizzle reel. So something like that pushes the limits that I have and the resources and knowledge I have. So it's a great challenge for me, and it's content that makes people happy, and it's something that I can be proud of and also cringe watching at the same time given the time constraints around these things. So I love creating. Wait, did you say cringe watching at the same time? Your own? Oh, yeah. It's the worst. Worst watching any of the featurettes I've done, award shows I've done, any of that stuff is so hard for me to watch because I don't allocate enough time to do it adequately. So it is like we just did the Looney Tunes featurette and trailer. And I don't think they would mind me saying, but because of constraints with Warner Brothers and turnaround time on approval and stuff, I had like four or five days to edit an entire sizzle reel. And that's just – The 18-minute one? No, just the sizzle, the two-minute trailer. Okay.
    8:29
    And that sometimes takes more than just a featurette piece. So it's hard to watch back. but people like it and it and it presents the information uh in a concise format and it's pretty so it is pretty i love doing that stuff man looney tunes i would like to talk about looney tunes for a long time but let's move on uh maybe we'll come back up um it's too much pinball talk so what is your your favorite i'm using quotes um maybe real monster sasquatch lochness monster Yeti Chupacabra Do you have one that you just like Either A Think like oh that's totally real Or B I am legit worried About people who take that shit Too far and think That they're like vampires There's some bitches out there That are like Holding their nose and drinking blood Because they're like I swear I'm a vampire Like yeah because they think it's cool Yeah I wouldn't say that it's super cool it's pretty okay you're saying like Edward being afraid of garlic like sparkles yeah yeah there's people out there like that people freak me out how far they get on things I would say vampires if we surface level stuff I would say Bigfoot just because I think that legit could happen probably there people out there biting people and drinking blood man I don know if they get off on it I don know what it is but it a thing
    10:08
    Okay. Would you mind sharing or airing, in the spirit of Festivus, Seinfeld fans, airing a pinball grievance for the year? You talked about something favorite that you had. Is there – we don't have to ruin your – Gosh, man, you're talking to me. It's a loaded question. Think about it before you answer the conversation we had.
    10:32
    Maybe. Let's get back to that one. Don't answer it yet, but we're going to answer it. So a grievance being, just so I can think about it, a grievance being something that pissed me off this year in Temple. Yes. Oh, wow.
    10:44
    Let's table that. We'll come back to that in a minute so you don't destroy everything. What's your favorite curse word? And please pronounce it. Okay. It's easily fuck Okay thank you It's easily fuck Tell me about I think It's almost become mainstream now In a way that Other curse words have not been able to Jump as quickly Cursing market trends But I think Over the last 10 years fuck has really Grown a lot In normal language And speech Nothing emphasizes something like fuck I think it's the phonetics of like the And the k, it's harsh And it's got the Thick uh It's a very Prestigious word, but I fear it may Lose it's potency over time, like the word Ass is like What is that? Goofy ones too, like wiener and dick But the one I use I go with I love being cutesy in something and keeping it clean. And then if you really want to get that listener or the consumer, you fuck it. Yeah, you fuck them. You fuck the listener. Yeah, I fuck them. I see you now. I was just reaching out to you. You've met your limits. I see it. Yeah, I'm ruining the word as well on this podcast. So, like, it's a bummer. All right, tell me about – you did earlier, but let's try to gloat a little more. Tell me something about yourself you're proud of. It can't be about the spooky videos. Something that I'm proud of is that I'm really self-aware. It's one of the most beautiful qualities I have and I know in a human being is self-awareness and humility, and I try to uphold both of them. It's typically, and might be going back to the grievance, it is the lack of self-awareness that some people have in the world, much less pinball. But I'm a psychologist by training, and I don't know if that has helped me learn self-awareness and humility more than it would otherwise. But self-awareness and humility are, like, huge to me, and I am proud that I'm always overchecking myself, and I'm anxious. I'm looking at everything I say or do or how it's experienced from others, and I'm always taking inventory on everything. So I know how I present to public during certain times, whether it's being an entertainment source or whether it's being me being real. So I'm very conscientious about that and proud that I can turn around and be like, I can see myself presenting this way to someone that's consuming my content. It's weird, but I'm proud of that. It shows, and isn't it sometimes just mentally exhausting to do all that and take so much care of what you said? Because I can relate, but then those that don't, it's just, oh. It kills me. It really kills me, and it makes me cynical at times, and I get to pull my ass out of that little stage of cynicism and losing faith in. It's the holiday season. I can't lose faith in human beings. I love that humans always surprise me with the most beautiful things ever, and it's usually when I'm least expecting it. And it's wonderful. It's the greatest thing in life. From my experience, I can see that too. From you, like I've seen you be very grateful or like, yeah, not to bring this down like all people, but no, you also win things. Even things that I've shown you are done or you lift people up. You're very congratulatory. You're very, yeah, I mean, you just self-aware. All right, so how much you bench? Next question. I work out so – I don't work out, so I don't know. All right, so let's say 1,000. Okay, so I would say a pinball machine. Oh, nice. I don't know. Does that be too much? That would be too much For someone that doesn work out that probably too much Okay well how much what is a normal bench thing I don know It wasn supposed to be that much of a question
    15:05
    I don't know. It depends how bro you are because most of them just lie. I'm not bro. I am very not bro. I present to a lot of people in this industry as bro-like, being loud or being colorful, but I am very not. I'm introverted. I play an extrovert, but I'm very introverted, so I'm not bro at all. Unless you need me to be, and then I'll be a pro. I think the answer is how much do you bench is enough. I think that would be the correct answer. That's nice. Okay. So now, I know we just got away from this little negative thing, but we're at the pinnacle of here. We've got two more questions. You have me on. You know what you're getting, people. I need you to air a grievance, a pinball grievance. It can be.
    15:51
    No. I'll eat up. Are you good? I can eat up dead air until you got it. Let me have 20 seconds. Let me ramble while you got 20 seconds. Here's what I'm going to talk about. While you air Pinball Grievance, an update on Mabel for everyone else out there. She's doing great. Yeah, she's doing great. Still waiting on stuff, but she's pretty. She's very pretty. She's in the other room laying down. She just had food. She's one of the most food-motivated dogs ever. You can train her to do anything. You can speak in Canadian. I was going to say, speak Canadian? which is just a um wolf a um yeah uh you you good because eating up dead air unless i could grab the guitar no i'm going to i'm gonna i'm gonna air a grievance it's not my best interest to do so um it is the holiday season so i'll try to be try to be kind man i was wanted to think of something cutesy and witty for my grievance like everybody else is gonna do i'm just not in that space right Now, I would say my grievance would be individuals.
    16:59
    Oh, God, it's so easy to shit on podcasters and media people. Shit on me. Do me. Well, no, I'm saying it's easy to do that. If you go on Pinside or something, it's like consumers versus creators, and it's just like crap on the creators because they're singing and dancing for free kind of thing, and they don't work that hard, so whatever. But my grievance would be, holiday grievance would be the lack of awareness that people have, whether it's conscious or subconsciously. They value the form of entertainment that they are consuming in media here in Pimble more so than the well-being of others. and what I mean by that is sometimes it's not convenient to have integrity because when you're just enjoying this as a hobby as I do as well you're just like yeah I like listening to that or I like watching that just because it's fun right I don't want to get too serious this is my hobby I get that I understand that but if there is knowledge that stuff out in our industry in our community is actually hurting people it's tough to see those people being like yeah but you know anyway but i'm still just consuming the entertainment life i get i really don't care like that yeah that lack of aware like it's it's dirty and disgusting and it's it sucks to see people being like well i know that he robbed somebody and threatened and to harass someone but then again yeah now he speaks the truth Okay.
    18:33
    Yeah. Maybe that's still not okay, though. I don't know. So, yeah, that's my grievances. Come on, people. Just be normal. It's the holiday. Yeah, be good to one another. Come on. Give presents. Just be decent. Send us presents. Send me presents. And don't do real shitty things and think that an apology is going to fix it 40 times in a fucking year. I would love to go around and smack somebody in the face and be like oh sorry sorry sorry and that'd be okay for me to smack somebody a week from now if I wanted to that's not how life works and that's not how this hobby should work well having said that go play some pinball go have a let's play some pinball I haven't had a segue there but here's the segue that I don't have what do you want for Christmas this year oh my gosh yeah what do i want for i want my little din din that's what i want i want dennis creasel hanging out with me sitting in a rocking chair with greg bone on my other side in a rocking chair and us cracking walnuts talking stories and maybe me reading them a story on a blankie or something i don't know i just honestly what i want for christmas is just good people in my life and hanging out with my family and my friends and uh the people that i respect that's i just want everything for them. If it means me going out of my way to provide that for them, then I will do everything I can to do so because that's my life is providing for the people I love. So that's what I want. Yeah, very commendable and accurate answer.
    20:17
    When's the last time you had a walnut though? I mean legit. The last time you had to crack a walnut. Isn't that a holiday nut? It's a chestnut. Well, no, I'm not. Chestnut.
    20:28
    Or is it a walnut? It's a nut of some type. My son's allergic to some tree nuts, so I wouldn't want to rub it on his face.
    20:35
    Oh, wow. This is getting a lot of innuendo. I'm not nut racist. I'm just like an actual walnut taking the time to... A nutist. Yeah, I'm not a nutist. What does the nutcracker call for? Does that call for a chestnut or a walnut or a... A walnut. You got to crack that fucker. That's big. So nutcracker is... Is nutcracker... Is that just one type of nut that goes into the nutcracker? Oh, no. No, I mean, my grandmother would have a smorgasbord of various nuts that none are worth the crack, the effort. Cashews have a shell. Where do they come like that?
    21:10
    I've never seen a cashew in a shell. I'm not a nutist, as we already talked about. Pistachios are overrated. No.
    21:18
    Are you serious? You know, I think cashews are overrated. Waxy, oily, nasty old things. You know what nut I like the most? A salted peanut. I'm a taffy guy. Sure. Get rid of these fancy green nuts. I don't need oily sweet nuts. Just give me a salted peanut.
    21:35
    I mean, I get it. Like a nice, you know, sack of nuts, salty, great. Just run of the mill. But really, cashews, potashies, nah. Huh? No. No pecans, pecan. No. Oh. I don't need any of it. Don't put it in my cookies. No.
    21:52
    I mean, I do regret having you on. Get some beer. based on those I regret having you on as a first guest no offense yeah good well hey man thanks for being the first guest good morning happy holidays thanks for being the first of 12 testicles in a large scrotum sack on getting to know your balls Merry Christmas to you your family good to see you again it was a blast on TPN I hope we stay in contact let's keep doing this Stay in touch. Absolutely. And happy holidays. Thanks, everybody. All right. See you. Ho, ho, ho.
    22:31
    On the second day of fall, pinball gave to me one half of meth and the shoe man's at the knee. Well, speaking of pain in the dick, thanks for joining the show on such short notice. Jeff Teolis, welcome to the pinball party, 12 Days of Balls. Why did you invite me? You've already got meth. Like, that's way, way better than anything I could do or Marty. You're not wrong. Well, I mean, you're kind of his dad, so I owe you something. Okay. It's good to talk to you, Jason. I love your show. Yeah, hey, same. Your show, the final round for those uninitiated, I remember, I think it was the amount of times you've said the word cunt that really was like, all right, I'm on board. Sign me up.
    23:20
    This is my shit. But it was totally, I think you've mentioned it on your show in the past, and I have. It is no lie exactly how Pinball Party started. I usually listen to Final Round, Walking the Dog with Mabel, or Walking Mabel. And there started to become this lack of like, yo, what the fuck? I need some more Final Round in my ears. And I emailed you, and I was like, you know, a couple of jovial things back and forth. I'm like, hey, talk about this. And then I was like, yo, you should record more, or I'm going to just have to, and I don't want to. And then I just did. um and then what i'm understanding is if we recorded more final rounds pinball party podcast wouldn't exist correct that's the case i apologize to everyone yeah and same same z's like i'm kidding no i'm not well yeah so then um that's where meth came from if anyone doesn't know and a lot of people are a big fan of meth because he's such a piece of shit um it was a combination of jeff and marty from final round uh j and m you know meth that's you to so how how do you feel about being a i guess illegitimate father to a robot well i'm used to it let's be honest every time i drive by a school i honk the horn and wave just in case you just never know right yeah you don't you don't know you're right um no i do know because i'm a ginger and i'm lucky to have a wonderful wife and then and uh i i know i know my limitations i know I know what's out there, but it's very cute, the meth thing, and a lot of fun and everything you've done with the electric bat people.
    24:55
    It entertaining you know You got my vote for Twippy best new podcast Oh too soon Oh shit Well you have my vote for most pinball talk of any episode ever from your last episode on Fun with Marty. God, did that feel good. I thought from, like, reading it, like, oh, this might be a joke, but you had me for, like, the first 15 minutes. Like, oh, we'll get to it. But you didn't. the funniest part about that is Marty and I said, this is the podcast where we will not talk about pinball at all, but we keep teasing it and teasing it. And so if you listen carefully, Marty's like killing himself every time I say we're going to get to that, which is something we never did. And, uh, it's, why did we do it? Is it a real fuck you? Or is it a real, just, Hey, if you've ever listened to final round, all we're trying to do is make each other laugh and have fun and, and two good chums that live on total opposite sides of the world. Uh, just, you know, you're just, you just happen to be listening to it. That's all. Yeah. You just happen to turn it on. I love it. Uh, yeah. For those out there, go listen to final round. And don't you do other, like you and Marty both have like other podcasts on the side that you're like cheating on each other with or whatever. So forever for eight years, I'm in my eighth year now of pinball profile. And that's just a real, you know, always about positivity. Uh, We don't get into any negative stuff, no drama or anything like that. Just all different walks of life of people in pinball. And really short, kind of 10, 15 to maybe 45-minute max interviews.
    26:32
    And really not news of the week or anything like that. Just who are these people? Why are they in pinball? What's the common bond? What's something interesting outside of pinball? And I enjoy doing that a lot. So they, the wonderful Marty and Ryan C., years ago, created my favorite podcast ever. It was called Head-to-Head Pinball. And these two Aussies were just busting each other's balls. It just made me laugh out loud. I remember the first couple times I heard this, I'm like, oh, shit, that's the podcast. I wish I did. But not to take anything away from Pinball Profile. I love doing that. But to be able to crack jokes like that and just be so damn funny and honest to God, the name of that show, the name of Final Round should be called Zero Shits Given. We just – we're doing it for ourselves. You just happen to be listening. And so I loved that show. And then when the TPN and Zach Menny and Greg Bone and I think Jason Fowler at the time and all these other wonderful people put together the Pinball Network, They asked if I wanted to do one on competition pinball. And I thought, oh, I don't really want to do it by myself. The funny thing is one of the people they actually asked me to do it with was Josh Sharp. Oh. And I just didn't think Josh would do it. And I kind of really wanted to keep either Ryan and or Marty on air. Ryan was doing his own kind of thing at that point. So I'm like, this is perfect for Marty and I. Marty and I, we chat every week anyway. and slowly we kind of got away from competition pinball we get into it but covet happened so there was no competition so yeah i mean if you listen to some of those early on episodes you can hear me really not having a mental breakdown but just not doing well with covet and just giving less and less of a shit of what's going on and i mean there's one episode where we're absolutely hammered we've got a bunch of people on it was the year pinberg was canceled and we had a bunch of people on for a mock Pinberg trivia thing and basically it was just everybody that was on the show was pissed. It was awesome.
    28:44
    Well, you're in the wrong place because this show, we take things serious. All right? Yeah. No foolery. All right? Sorry. No, sorry. Yeah. Smart enough. It's as close as church as you can get in the pinball world. Well, this is bullshit, Jason. And you told me, hey, I'm doing 12 days of Festivus and 12 days of airing grievances. And it's not that. There hasn't been one grievance yet. It's 12 days of balls. We'll get to that. Yeah, so it's officially called 12 days of balls. And, again, very serious. You know, this is no time for jokes. We're going to have some questions. Let's get into the questions. You know, again, serious, please.
    29:21
    We'll start out soft with something pinball related, which is pretty stupid. What's your favorite pinball thing of the year? It could be game. It could be a rule change. It could be a tournament. It could be, you know, it could be me, you know. It could be, yeah, when someone says, what's your favorite pinball thing of 2023? What strikes you hot? The first thing I think of when I think of 2023 is just how many games came out. It's crazy. At TPF to see seven new games. In Chicago at Expo to see four new games. Spooky just announced two more games we probably I don want to say we might hear something from Stern very soon for another game And just you know Haggis with Centaur coming out And just, it was such a great year for manufacturers. And I hope they all survive and do well. And I hope there's that much need for pinball. I think the business models will dictate their survival. And I think for the most part, they've all got it under wraps. So that was the biggest thing in 2023. Just wow. I mean, we've had some kind of soft years over the last couple. And I think COVID was a big thing in manufacturing the ability to get parts. But this year was just an explosion. I'd be shocked if we have something like this again in 2024. But it felt good. Yeah, I don't disagree. And that is enough about pinball. I mean, so let's move on. Number two, very important. Do you believe in aliens? do i believe in aliens sure yeah i i i'm not passionate by any means and and like that but to think we're the only ones in the universe that doesn't make sense um similar but different do you believe in ghosts uh i don't know i probably not if i'm leaning towards one thing when i was a kid for sure and boogeymen and things in the closet and under the bed. Fuck yeah, those were all real. But as I got a little older and started to sleep with the lights off, you know, around 35, they went less and less away. Now, that being said, I'm an absolute chicken shit when it comes to watching any kind of horror movie. Oh, same. Yeah, like I will tell everybody, you have to watch The Exorcist. It's the scariest movie ever. Yet I won't watch it. I mean, if I do, I have a pillow in front of my face. I'm not even trying to be funny.
    31:52
    Even the sounds scare the shit out of me, and I just can't see it. But it's a masterpiece. Yeah. Do you have, you mentioned kind of as a kid, monsters and boogies and all that. Do you have a favorite, and I'm quoting here, maybe real monster, like a Sasquatch or Loch Ness or Chupacabra, any of those things that may or may not. Do you have a favorite that you are like, oh, that's my jam. Well, as you may or may not see at the upcoming InDisc next week, I've always been partial to Bigfoot. Bigfoot for sure.
    32:28
    Do I think it's all bullshit? Of course, but I like the myth of it. And I had a special shirt made for InDisc. I have a massive t-shirt collection.
    32:39
    It's the one thing that keeps me unique. I think, I'll get back to Bigfoot. But growing up, really, really poor.
    32:49
    And, you know, you were judged by what you were wearing and better been part of the uniform, whether it was whatever the top, whether it was Ralph Lauren, whether it was Nike, whatever the hell it was. And it really bothered me. Like, I have to fit in that way. Whereas, once I became older and certainly can have the affordability to do this kind of thing, I was adamant I will never wear anything that I think anyone else wears. So I go out of my way to make or find really bizarre t-shirts. So I had one made from my good buddies at Ulix Store. They made me a Steve Austin and Bigfoot shirt from the $6 million man.
    33:32
    So I think that's good for Indus. Where did you grow up? In Canada? Yep. I grew up in London, Ontario, Canada, so it's exactly halfway in between Detroit and Toronto. Okay. My only Canadian experience is flying in for fishing trips. North Ontario, probably. Yeah, going up through International Falls and then flying out Crooked Lake. You're in Wisconsin. Why do you have to come to Canada? You've got a billion lakes there, and you're so close to Minnesota. Oh, it was not my choice. It was like, you know, dad and friends and that, like, hey, do you want to do this? You don't really have a choice. Yeah, no, cool. Do it anyway. Here's a weed. Fuck. God damn it. Like winter fishing with frozen ice? No. Oh, I've never done that. No, you kill me. No, summer stuff, Crooked Lake. I actually, you know, won, unbeknownst to me, a contest for the biggest northern pike of like, I don't know, 2001. I don't know. I wasn't in a contest. I caught a big fish. What the fuck? And then like I got 150 bucks in the mail from Canada. It was like, hey, you got a big fish, eh? I didn't sign up for this and my dad was all happy I'm like I don't give a shit Sasquatch probably jealous of the big foot the big dick we surmise that what is your favorite curse word and please enunciate it I'm not stealing this from Ricky Gervais but he is a god to me and we have one thing in common and the word is cunt Now would I call a woman this Absolutely not But what I love about that word is that it gets people's backs up so much, when really, technically, you should be just offended if I called you a dick or an asshole. They're all the same thing. They're all referenced a body part, but it's just in Canada, in England, and in Australia, it's actually a term of endearment. Like, you're my good buddy. Yeah, Jason's a good cunt.
    35:36
    Yeah. And what it does is it takes away from any kind of vitriol meaning or anything like that. Like, it doesn't insult anybody. It's not like a horrible racist word or anything like that. And there are a bunch of those that are disgusting or derogatory to someone's religion, sexuality, any of those type of things. I have no time of day for those kind of things. Right. But the C-bomb is just, it's used in fun. In fact, we probably do drop a few on final round. I used to beat them out and now I'm like, you know what? Yeah. I think people get that it's not done as any type of a vicious remark. It's an endearing word. I agree. It is. It's great. Does my wife like it? Probably not.
    36:31
    My wife respects it. Like, it's not like I'm going to replace sweetheart with cunt. But she gets like, like you said, if you call a woman a cunt or a bitch, that's not a good idea. If you call a friend or a guy that, it's like, aw, you know. appreciate it that being said words are just words to me they don't have deep deep meaning right that being said and you the pinball party podcast gets this exclusive that nobody gives a shit about but my nickname for my wife and hers for my and hers for me is stupid wait hey stupid can you go get the dog stupid all the time and we and we do it in front of our parents and stuff and the parents are like oh my god they're in a fight no we do it as a joke just stupid we call each other stupid all the time and i love my wife more than you know as much as i love my kids and anything else in the world and i would like to think vice versa yeah but uh yeah stupid is just this so so think about think about how much words really mean to me so dropping a C-bomb, calling somebody stupid, it's not vicious at all. It may sound that to those others. We don't want them around anyway. Tell me something about yourself that you're proud of, please. I shouldn't demand that you tell me. I'm asking on behalf of the community, too. What am I proud of? Yeah.
    37:57
    Geez. That's a tough one. I know. Okay. I do a lot of pinball, and a lot of people will see me at events, and they say, do you not work? Well, I'm proud of the work I do, and I've been in radio for my 30th year of professional broadcasting, so I guess I'd say I'm proud of that. It's not the easiest industry to stick around in, and I see the back nine ahead of me, which is great, but it's been fun, and we've survived everything. Oh, TV's going to kill radio. Oh, digital's going to kill radio. The internet, Spotify, blah, blah, blah. No. As somebody who sells for a living, that's not the case. And I love my job, and I'm proud of being in radio for 30 years. There you go.
    38:46
    It's very selfish, I should say. I'm proud of my kids and everything like that. No, well, sure. Well, yeah. That's hokey. We've got three more. The last one I'm going to ask you now, but don't answer it yet, because when I asked Zach, Mr. Many, he was like, oh, he had to think about it for a second. So the last, the one I'm going to ask you in a second is for you to air a pinball grievance, a complaint about pinball, something that's already got it. Oh, shit. Let's just skip to that right now. In the in the holiday spirit of Festivus from Seinfeld fans, airing of grievances is one of the most important parts. So please air a pinball grievance.
    39:21
    How the fuck did you call Zach before me? Oh, why? Because he's the big of the pinball network and he's Mr. Flippin' Out Pinball. When I buy my pinball, Shane, I buy from Flippin' Out. Greatest distributor in North America.
    39:35
    I am hurt deeply, Jason. Hurt deeply. I kid. I love Zach. Let's move on. That's my grievance. Yeah. How much do you bench? How much do I bench?
    39:46
    I can't remember benching. It's been a long, long time. Okay, so Jeff says 1,030 pounds. That's pretty impressive. I can barely lift anything. My left arm. So think about, I have pinball machines that are on rubbers. So they don't move much. But, you know, I don't do death saves or anything like that. But sometimes you want to, on newer sterns, you certainly can give one big move with the debounce, and you get the double danger, and you're fine. Well, when they're on rubbers, it's really hard to move them. And I moved really hard left to right, and I did something to my left arm that I don't know if I could pick up a bag of groceries right now. How sad is that? It sucks getting old, Jason. Shoulders, man. It's my elbow. I don't know what I did. Okay. It's the – I mean, no one can see what I'm doing. No, no. That's my right hand. Oh, right, right, right. Yep. Okay. Put that down to a science.
    40:39
    Very efficient. Last question. What do you want for Christmas this year? The same thing I want every single year.
    40:51
    Nothing. Ann just asked me, you know, just a few days ago. Ann is stupid, right? That's what we're talking about? Stupid? My lovely wife, she isn't stupid. She's affectionately known as stupid to me. And I'd bust anybody in the mouth if they ever called her stupid.
    41:08
    Only I get to call Anne stupid and she calls me stupid. But anyway, no, nothing. I have such a blessed life. I can't think of – I need nothing. I want nothing.
    41:25
    Health, if I'm being selfish, but that's more for my family. Nothing. There's nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing.
    41:33
    Since that was too good of an answer, I'm going to ask one more. They probably should have asked her. I'm still filling this out. Your guest number two or three, I think you're two. And I'm doing this all last minute. And since we're right on the precipice of 2024, what are you looking forward to most in pinball in 2024?
    41:53
    Two things. I've been waiting for a long time for Mr. Elwin's next game so if Jaws is in fact that I'm looking forward to that first of all it's a theme I love and I just love playing Elwin's games I love that these companies and not just Stern but everybody has hired really good players and competitive players for not only design but also for rules and I think pinball has gotten a lot better especially in the home market. They're very valuable, and you can play for a long time. They're very deep. But Alan, he's the maestro. He really has figured it out. But the other big thing, too, and I don't know if you saw the teaser videos I did and got a little excited, there's a wonderful company that was known as Papa, and they had a teaser video coming soon in 2024. Does that mean Pinberg? Does that mean Papa? Does it mean one or the other or both? That I'm looking forward to finding out.
    42:59
    Because those are really what got me not only into competitive pinball, but got me to do pinball profile, my podcasting. Because I would go to these events and I would see, holy cow, there's, at the time, Lyman Sheets, there's Bowen Cairns, there's Keith Elwin. These are all these legends in pinball that I get to play with and play against. No matter how good I am at any other sport, whether it was baseball, golf, or anything else like that, I'd never get to play against the best in the world. But competition pinball, you get to do that, and you get to talk to these people. And that's what really fascinated me about pinball. As much as the games are fun, it was really the competition and the seeing people, whether it's once, twice, several times a year, from all different walks of life. And they all come together for these competitions. there's nothing more exciting in pinball for me than that side of competition pinball. Well, in the vein of doing stuff with people in a realm that are very impressive, thank you very much for joining. I look forward to the final round all the time. You are natural talent at this stuff, both from just like your intuitiveness, the humor. I mean, you've got a fucking silky smooth voice. You know what you're doing. And I don't know. I truly enjoy listening to everything you do and a little back and forth via email and all that. It was awesome to have an excuse to finally get you on. I know this was kind of last minute, so thank you very much.
    44:24
    Marty would be on too. It's just we're in a weird daytime. Right now it's three in the morning his time. When he's drunk, right? He's got to be hammered for sure.
    44:34
    Busting his nuts, working hard for Haggis. I know he loves the show just as much as I do. We get such a giggle out of it. Jason, you keep doing this. I know there was a little bit of a lull there, but I hope you have fun doing it. It's fun for us on the other end listening to it, so keep it up. All right. You too. Happy holidays. Thanks for joining. We'll see you later. See you Jason On the third day of balls divulging to me Joel from Triple Drain one half of meth, and the Shuman's at many.
    45:10
    Merry Christmas, Joel. Thanks for joining. I think this is the third day of balls. Sure, yeah. I bet the first two were so great. Yes.
    45:21
    You may or may not have listened to them. We'll just say you did. As of right now, I sure haven't, but future me will love them. Oh, I guarantee it. Well, yeah, we're doing 12 Days of Balls, and I'm just getting guests on that I've either had before I like. You fall into multiple categories. Someone in pinball I like, someone I've had on the podcast before, one of my favorite pinball media column personalities, if that's weird or not. You're one of my faves, man. Thanks for coming on. I really appreciate that. No, I got the text from you. You said you want to do it. It's like I don't even have to read it. I'm like, whatever, man, I'm in. Whatever you need. I know it will be a fun time. Yeah, I'm there. Thank you. Well, any big plans?
    46:05
    We'll see if you're day three. Any big plans in nine days, wink, wink? Oh, nine days, wink, wink. Sure, yeah. No, I mean, we got family, a lot of family Christmas. Luckily, family's in town, like relatively close. So I don't know how you talk past tense. But we would have already had my family's Christmas, and then we have my wife's family Christmas, and then our own. That'll be great. And, you know, when you have little kids, a three- and a five-year-old, they're just like, this is the best time of year for them. And they're just loving life. So it's pretty great. And in this family get-together that you previously had, how many golf carts were involved, roughly? Just because I have a golf cart doesn't mean it gets driven all year round. Things get cold in Indiana, yeah. It's true. Well, if you don't mind, that's how I like to picture your life. So let me have that, please. So let's say I edited it and Joel said four. Four golf carts. That's interesting. Wow. That's a lot of golf carts. None of my family actually drives a car anymore. It's just golf cart all the time, and that's just how we roll. Man, isn't life wonderful? Yeah. It's the best. Well, we've gotten to know your balls in the past, we as the audience and myself. This was a long time ago. I don't remember. You're on the pinball party. I think when I was still on TPN back in the 80s or whatever it was. So we're going to we're going to ask you some more questions in pinball party fashion. Rarely is this to do with pinball, but surprisingly, this first one is. So let's get to it. Third day of balls with with Joe Engelberth. Go check out just another. Do you even do sorry. Do you even do just another just realistically now? I basically, I was doing too many things. And so to focus, I do triple drain with, with Tom and Travis have a great time there. Um, and then I do the flipping out stream and then, um, on the flipping out YouTube channel. And then I also sometimes do one-on-one interviews and we just, we just post that on YouTube. It's just way easier for people to find interviews after the fact on YouTube than we found on SoundCloud or whatever. So we just, I've, if I'm going to do a one-on-one interview with somebody in the industry, I'd prefer to just keep it on YouTube. That way people can find it you know months and months or years later and um yeah so basically just flip it out on youtube and triple drain on the pinball network and speaking of tom travis i wanted to have all three of you on i was telling joel before we went on air here i just thought fuck that would that's gonna be hard to get all three people on once but honestly in spirit uh you're here so um joel's speaking on behalf of both tom and travis and one of my favorite well travis's travis's audio would cut out in about 30 seconds. It's basically the same. And Tom isn't really going to talk. You said 30 minutes, you're shooting for her. Tom, you would have pushed two hours easy with Tom. Yeah, that's true. All right. End of the year, what has been your favorite pinball thing this year, whether it's a game, a tournament?
    49:04
    My favorite pinball thing honestly is probably my brother. now streaming with me. I can see that. Yeah, that was a complete surprise. He moved in, or not moved in. He moved down here last year from far away, and he's never been a pinball person. But at the time, he had accepted a new job, but his family had moved down. So he was actually living with my parents for a few months. And just as an offering of like, hey, I know you don't want to hang out with our folks every night. So like, hey, you should come stream with us or stream with me. And he's really having him a part of that has been really a ton of fun. So not only do I think it's it adds something to the stream, but obviously hanging out with him is really cool or having like a dedicated scheduled event you know with your brother once a week is a ton of fun and then pinball expo in chicago chicago pinball expo having people my brother jared came for a day and have people like yeah he came on saturday and to like have people come up to him and we're like excited to see him and and like i bet that felt good it was really cool it was really cool to see like he just thinks it's so strange you know just person streaming in their basement like why would anybody watch this, but then to actually be a part of it, see the fun of streaming and see the fun and the amazing people in the pinball community, and then to actually physically interact with them at Expo. And it's just, it was a blast. So I would say, yeah, probably overall, just having my brother involved. That's yeah, man, I'm jelly. Uh, one, I don't have a brother, but if I did, I might want to play, but I have a sister. She doesn't live close enough to play pinball, but I can see it, man. Like, I mean, seeing you two, it's, it's, it's, it's cool. Um, not to be corny, but like kind of the brotherly love it shows. And I think it's awesome. All right. Uh, this is a very similar question, but do you believe in aliens? Do I believe in aliens? Um, geez. Um, you know, apparently we're supposed to now with, uh, with some of the government stuff that's going on. Like I, there was a few days where I started diving into that and I'm like, what is going on and and um you know there i just get to some of those questions where i'm like this is is this really what i want to get locked into right now or think about so i still i think my my answer is still i'll pull a travis murray and i'll just sit on the fence and i'll go i have no idea i have no idea i do believe the galaxy is really freaking big so uh statistically there's got to be but um but yeah this government stuff coming out it's like oh yeah no we've we've done that it's like oh okay well apparently it's real so right i don't know i'm waiting for one of these balls of christmas someone's like oh yeah and they tell me like oh yeah you know i got anally probed and all that oh i definitely saw one yeah yeah like no i what what's weird to me is now a lot of these tougher questions it's like how do i explain this to my kids so honestly i don't i don't want my five-year-old to be like daddy is there aliens because i don't know i don't know the right answer for that because if i say yes i don't want her to freak out about it but if i say no i don't you know yeah it's it's all of a sudden some of these tougher life questions are uh like how do i filter it down to a five-year-old and santa is an alien uh easter bunny you know no we've had a lot of santa questions recently a lot of them uh how old is your uh five and a half and three and a half so okay like why is he living in the north pole like why doesn't he live somewhere nice i'm like don't bring up logic it's not i don't know yeah yeah it's where the aliens are okay um do you believe in ghosts um i don't know uh maybe it's it's not a i'm not worried like i do i expect to ever run into one in my life no but am i going to tell somebody who swears they have that they're wrong no yeah so which is also kind of what i'm looking for someone say yes and my mother in the middle of the night haunts me and I freak out. Got it. I've never experienced, no, I've yet to run into that.
    53:11
    If you do, shoot me a text. Oh, I will. You're the first person I'll tell. I can't wait. Yeah, 70 years old. Like, who the fuck is this? Why is this person? Jason, it happened. It happened. You were right. Pinball doesn't exist. We got computers in our head and what? Okay. What is your favorite, I'm quoting here, maybe real monster uh to think about or talk about sasquatch loch ness monster yeti do any of these tickle your fancy um i would i mean probably it would be it would be like bigfoot um and it's and it's solely because my nephew is obsessed with bigfoot like he loves bigfoot he loves the idea of bigfoot and yetis and and sasquatch or what is the koopa cobra or something like chupacabra Yeah, whatever that he's like, he like he's seven and he's that's he's all into it. So the idea that I also love the idea that there are grown men that are like in that go to the woods and listen for it. And they're like, I swear I've seen it. I just I think it's hilarious. So if there's any chance there's any truth to that, that would be absurd and crazy. But it's also I think it's the one monster that I think would be the funniest. I don't know why just a gorilla man there's no way until it mauls you it's pretty funny you're just like oh look at that funny thing oh shit it's killing me I didn't tell my nephew ghost I'll tell him he's a ghost Joel Bob the ghost your nephew will text you like yeah I saw this in my uncle's will who are you oh weird kid okay I tentatively excited to ask you specifically out of all 12 people that are tentatively scheduling is is fucking crazy by the way of of will this happen You actually the favorite person I going to ask this question. Um, what is, and for, and please pronounce your favorite curse word. Oh no. What is my favorite curse word?
    55:20
    I do not curse much at all. And it's just in my household growing up. I remember I said I was doing math homework one night. I think it was fifth or sixth grade. And I said out loud, I said, man, this sucks. And my mom was so pissed. My she was so pissed. Um, I don't, I would probably say either bitching because my dad will say that my dad doesn't curse much, but when he gets really fired up and he complained, that's his, that's his word. When somebody is complaining, he's like, oh, they're just bitching about this. And it's just like, when you get so fired up, I just think it's funny. Yeah. Or the other thing, and maybe some people don't think it's a curse word, but my father-in-law who passed, one of his favorite things, and it's the way he said it. He'd go, what the hell? And he'd say it like that. And it became like a joke in the family. Like a two-syllable hell? Yeah, what the hell? And it's just how he said it. And we'd hear him say it in the other room, whatever he's doing, and it almost just became a joke, and we'd mutter it.
    56:25
    But then a good quality like, shit. That's always good. I like a shiet with, yeah, a good accent on a swear word is fun. Oh, shiet. Ah, shiet. But, yeah. I don't know. Those are, yeah, I feel like I'm the, yeah, I stub my toe. It's just, you know, it's. Yeah, what happens when you stub your toe? You're like, oh, shiet. Oh, shiet, yep. Oh, what the hell? Oh, heck. No, I don't know. It just doesn't. It's just never been a habit of mine. No, that's awesome, man. All right. Tell me something or please I got to rephrase this like I'm demanding. Would you please tell me something about yourself that you're proud of?
    57:10
    It's a tough one. Humble Midwesterns. This is awful. But yeah. Oh, I. I like. I like being positive, but it's just to be. to know that I have been in, you know, my brother the other night made a joke. He's like, somebody on stream said something about like Joel being a bar brawl. And my brother's like, Joel, have you ever been in a brawl entire, like in general, like a brawl? And I'm like, I'm a larger man, larger dude. And I'm somewhat intimidating until you meet me. But I just don't, I would much rather deescalate the situation. And not a back down thing. It's more of just like, let's come to terms here or like, let's deescalate. And I don't know. I like that. I don't know. Would rather when I see whether it's in pinball, friends, family, whatever it is, to feel like I have the potential ability to step in and deescalate and show respect and communicate that. I don't know. Maybe that's a. I don't know if that's a proud thing, but it's a. I don't know why I resort to that, but I'm glad I can because it's there's just way too much anger and there's just way too much anger in the world. And you need some people that can calm things down a little bit. I guess I should have been texting you a couple of months ago and I was talking on the podcast. I was I was angry for a couple of months. I'm all for people being passionate. You know, if you're passionate about something and you get all worked up and you really get fired up about something, that's fine. But just don't take it out on other people. That's really. Yes, I agree. Yeah. A thousand percent. All right. Well, we need more like you for sure. I'm saying that. I know you laugh, but it's true. I am. The way you said it, like, you know, de-escalating like a confrontation or fight. It's not it's not a as you said, like, I'll say it in different way. It's not like you being a pussy. it's like the first thing you learn i think in really good martial arts schools i grew up in martial arts like 10 years and i taught it for a while of that of like they drill into you basically like the best way to fight is to never fight the best defense they just don't but yeah go ahead well i was just going to say that's that's what's tough with like online trolling right is you read comments whether it's on a on a youtube video you make or a podcast you release or on pin side you You know, somebody comment like saying, I mean, you get any content creator is going to get negative feedback. And the challenge there is how do you engage or do you even is it worth engaging? And if it is, how do you engage in a way where you voice your opinion without? them potentially feeling attacked by it because if they feel attacked, they're just going to ignore it. Yeah. And it's only going to make things worse. And just trying to find that balance is, is really freaking hard on to do that via the keyboard when nobody can see you or hear your tone. And, and yeah, it just, there are, yeah, it just comes down to so many people get so offended and mad and angry so quickly on the internet that yeah, sometimes not engaging is the smartest move. But if you're going to, How do you say in a respectful way, you know, so you don't look like you're backing down or hiding, but yet not making the situation worse? And I'm not perfect at it, but I try. At the same time, like the Internet does negative things that I've yeah, I've seen you get it experience. I've I've experienced some pretty nasty emails or responses to pinball party stuff of like I part of me also feels bad for how, you know, the people that will say negative things about me, either just directly via email, like, oh, your show sucks because of ABC or whatever. like the we're so disconnected now the world is flat or as they say so sociologically is the word sociologically you know what i mean uh that it it's so easy to be angry and we're just not socially connected and and so i kind of feel bad like i it's not like these these people at their heart i still they just want to be loved and have friends too the people are mad at you and it's like oh man like i so like to your point like if i ever engage or respond back of course initially I want to be like, well, fuck you and all this. You have no idea. And in so many words, but at the end of the day, I don't want to make these people feel bad, but yeah. Well, the last thing you want as a content creator, I mean, some content creators, they do want this, but as us, our content, like we're just trying to share fun. We're just trying to like, I love pinball is a blast. Every pinball machine I get to play, I find something about it to enjoy. And that's what I'm trying to share is like, if this is a theme that you love, here's something about the game you may love. That doesn't mean I absolutely love this game or love every game. Everybody takes it as shilling. But even on Triple Drain, Triple Drain honestly is just me, Travis, and Tom having a fun conversation together that we happen to be recording. Sometimes not Travis recording. Oh, true, true. It's more Tom and I. But if we for us to like share that with the world, we're hoping the laughter or the joy that we shared in that conversation is shared with the listener. And if the last thing we want is a negative feedback, like somebody that gets fired up by that because it's like, hey, my goal here was not to piss you off. And I'm sorry you are mad. Yeah. And, you know, we're not going to change our whole podcast or, you know, we're not. Some people think they're too long. Some people think they're too short. Some people think you should shut up about tournament talk. Other people want way more tournament talk. It's like you can't please everybody, and I would just love it if people realized, like, this is fun for us, and we're just trying to share that with you. And unfortunately, if it's not fun for you, I'm really sorry. That's not the goal. Yeah.
    63:00
    How much do you bench? I have no idea. I genuinely have no idea. I cannot tell you the last time I went into a weight room and benched something. Let's put you down for 400 pounds then. That's impressive. Yep. I weigh about 240 and I can do pushups. So at least 240 then. At least 240 would be my guess. Okay. You're doing great. What do you want for Christmas this year? What do I want for Christmas this year? The thing I'm most excited about is I'm getting this Spider-Man Lego. It's like a picture that you hang on the wall. It's pretty big. It's also pretty expensive. I think it's well over $100. My mom typically buys my brother and I each a Lego every year because she's like, you're adults, you can buy yourself whatever you want. But this is something I know you won't buy yourself. So the reason I'm excited about that is my son, three and a half, loves Spider-Man. So this is like a double whammy. I get a Lego that I get to put together for a few hours, and then the fact that I can hang it in his room and he's going to love it, that's a twofer. That is a twofer. That's a twofer. So I'm pretty pumped about that. The other thing I will say, this is not your question, but I have my brother in Secret Santa, and that's on Saturday. So it will already happen by the time this is out. My brother is obsessed with Magic the Gathering, obsessed with it. I can hang. He is obsessed with it. And so I actually went to a card shop with him, and he was geeking out. He plays these older style cards. And I paid enough attention that I got him a card from the series of what got him back into Magic. This was years and years and years ago. So it's an older card signed by the artist. Can you tell me which one? Or will he listen? It's a planes card. Jared, listen, yeah, but it'll have already happened.
    64:55
    Okay You sure When are you giving this to him Saturday So two days Oh we be cutting it close That fine I doubt he jump on it immediately What'd you get him? So it's signed by the artist. And then I also know his favorite card is Aether Vial.
    65:14
    And so there was this person on Etsy where they do these metal engraved cards. They're the size of a card. and I got him like this metal engraved Aether vial card. So it's just one of those like, in my eyes, like I crushed it. You know, like I understand for us pinball people, if people try to buy us stuff for Christmas, we're so into the hobby that if it's something easily or readily available, we either already own it or we probably don't want it. Yep. So to like get, you know, to get something very niche and very specific to a hobby you're super passionate about is a challenge. And I feel like I nailed it. So I'm, I'm, I'm like pumped to give them those in secret Santa. It sounds like now. Yeah. I think you did the right thing as someone who played a lot of magic growing up in star wars cards. Yeah. Nah, that's, that's some cool shit. Yeah. Uh, all right. I have two questions, but one, uh, it's another great Joel question. If you have to think about it, but here's the question in the, in the spirit of Festivus, which is, this was initially going to be as you saw on the text, it'd be a big long Festivus thing. And then a part of the Festivus is airing a grievance. do you have any get the pole I have feets of strength um honestly here's my idea when I first started texting you my thoughts with the feets of strength that was the part that kind of ruined this because I only thought of it for a couple people with Zach I was like alright for the whole chunk that you're on feets of strength it'll be like I Jason have to shill flipping out the whole time when I buy my pinball shit I buy from flipping out from toppers or free three meals I've got it figured out Zach has to only talk about other distributors and like shill like point taken either way and then for you i was going to be like i can't swear once you have to swear as much as you can to see who's stronger yeah shit hell anyway but it switched to something different so in the spirit of festivus i need you or i would like you to air a pinball grievance either if you need a second to think about it i'll ask you a different question first it could be a complaint about a game a rule something stupid in pinball whatever it may be do you have one to top your mind i mean yeah my i yeah my my only grievance is obviously this whole this last week last two weeks everything going on with the twippies um i see both sides of it i get it i get it um it's just it is it's frustrating you know when you when you see stuff um you know i'm part of tpn you used to be part of tpn um if people really knew what tpn is all about it's it's genuinely just a group of creators that have a discord and have fun together. Like there's no, there's no, um, everybody just assumes there's, there's something happening in the background, you know, like that, like, like Zach is, is pushing all of us to like, Hey guys, I have, I got too many venoms in stock. Like I need you guys to show venoms. And if, and if they buy them, if I see an increase in venoms, I'm going to give you X amount of money. Like it doesn't happen. There's no money. There's no money. And it's, it's, there's nothing, there's no priority. The reality is when, when either Jason or I submit a podcast, the only reason we're submitting a podcast is because there's only two people that actually have the abilities to upload it. And Zach happens to be one of them. He doesn't even listen to it before he uploads it. He just uploads it. There's no filtering. There's no editing. There's no critiquing like, Hey, don't say anything bad about Godfather. You know, it's just, it's, it's, it's really, I like being a part of TPN because it's a fun group of people. people, honestly, I don't have to pay to do podcasting because they pay the server fees and all that stuff. And that's it. There's no like, there's nothing else there. So, so I don't know, that would be my biggest grievance is there are people online that speak about the good old boys club or negativity or just assume, assume they assume people in media in general are getting kickbacks from, you know, like Stern or JJP. Like, no. No. I would love to. I would love to get a kickback from any of them, but we don't. Nobody does any of that. And it's just we do this because it's fun. And you don't have to assume it's more than that. Our official request, Joel and Jason, like, yeah, give us kickbacks, please. That'd be great. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I understand. Barrels of Fun, super awesome company. And the fact that Zach was able to, he's a distributor, and he was able to get a game from them that I was able to bring home from Chicago Pinball Expo. We have some awesome streams out there. Like, I know we've done well for Barrels of Fun. Good publicity, good marketing. You know, the kickback I got from that is they sent me a T-shirt. And I'm super appreciative. Like, I'm happy to have the T-shirt because I'm not doing it for any other reason. I doing it because it a brand new game that I excited to play Had a great time with it on stream with my brother you know and happy to help him out Like we found a few bugs that they fixed and cut Like that that why I do pinball I don't do it for you. Don't have to assume I do it for it's not sure not for financial gain. You and I both know how much time and energy this takes. And and I'm insane for doing this 12 days thing. I don't know why I'm doing this. So there's my grievance. A shit. A Joe grievance. She ran Ray Day. Ready. It sucks. oh dude yep true uh okay last question what are you looking forward to most in 2024 in the world of pinball um well honestly i'd probably say elwyn's next game that's the only game when i'm looking at the radar when i'm when i'm looking at the radar of what's coming out you know a lot of these themes that have come out recently have had been rumored and talked about for a while um I don't really know. I don't really know any other themes that are coming out. You know, I was super impressed with barrels of fun with their first game, but I doubt that their next game would be out next year. If not, I I'm excited. They were, I was really impressed with labyrinth. I'm excited to see what's coming out next. Um, but Ellen's next game, there's no way it's not good. No, so that'll be fun. That'll be really fun to play. Um, but yeah, besides that, um, I don't know. I mean, we've, there's been rumors, a lot of rumors that at some point in time, Spike 3 has to come out. And that's something that I don't, it's sad that like the operating system is something I'm excited about, but I'm more just like, what does that mean? What does that mean for future Stern games in potential, whether it's a cabinet, an audio, a video, whatever, like what's the potential of all games moving forward that I'm excited about? So probably those things. Yeah. Jaws. Oh, maybe Jaws, you should say. Maybe Jaws. Maybe Jaws and Spike 3. All right, Joel, we are doing this during work hours, as we should be doing. I got a meeting in a little bit. I really appreciate you joining on such short notice.
    71:58
    Happy holidays to you and your family. I always appreciate listening to what you're doing, watching what you're making, keep doing what you're doing, getting all those kickbacks from flipping out with pinball and all that stuff. And I'll enjoy my kickbacks that I get in my fucking mansion.
    72:13
    Anyways, thanks again. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Hey, keep doing what you're doing, man. I appreciate it. It's a lot of fun. All right. Talk to you later, man. See you, bud. Bye.
    72:26
    On the fourth day of balls, pinball game to me. Don's Pinball Podcast, Joe from Triple Drain. One half of meth and the shoe man, Jack Benny.
    72:37
    All right. Well, hey, Don. Welcome to the Pinball Party Podcast, 12 Days of Balls. I'm so excited to be here. I can't wait to meet meth. Hey, Don. lick my 12 days of balls you don't want to be careful what you wish for that dude is a prick eat shit i think he's like me just misunderstood is the thing yeah he's he's misunderstood yeah but the difference is you're like you seem at least from you know from what i can see from afar a nice guy uh that's a piece of shit so that's a big difference yeah my ruse is working though that's that's good feedback for me thanks yeah well yeah dude you are just taken off in the pinball media world and i you seem to be so enthusiastic and i don't know how you do it i can't i go like a week of like oh yeah and then i'm like how do you do it man i don't know yeah i mean everybody has their cycle right but um you know i don't record when i'm in a bad mood so i guess that helps you know but some news drops something's going on some kind of speculation and i'm like dude i want to talk to everybody about this so i just fire it up like so this you know i'm blessed this doesn't feel like work for me this is fun for me so i'll just i'll keep going i did a live stream last night i just did one this morning i just interrupted it yeah yeah um you know these these uh getting to know you well these 12 days of balls i should say are a little shorter than normal some other time let's let's get together more and and learn i want to learn a little bit more about you in depth some other time um but merry christmas to you and your family um i guess i don't know you have a family of a wife right you have kids yeah Wife and kid, 12-year-old, yeah, it's going to be great. Yeah, there's always this lead-up to Christmas, and we're like, oh, is it here yet? Is it here yet? Everything's great. Everything's white and frosty. Christmas happens, and it's like, hey, guess what the real gift was? Two more months of this cold nonsense with absolutely nothing to look forward to. Well, yesterday it was like 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I was in a t-shirt. It was great. Yeah, I didn't have pants on. I was outside taking a swim in the lake. That's Wisconsin for you. Whereabouts are you in Wisconsin? Right in the dead center. Like I'm adjacent to Stevens Point, Westford, Wisconsin. It's about 90 minutes upriver from Madison. Just right there, right there in the middle. 90 minutes from District 82 90 minutes from IORK to Madison you know three to MSP three to O Yeah you so I have family in Wausau and my parents went to college in Stevens Point U I went to college actually in Wausau for like a year All right. Yeah, just in Marathon County for like music theory, and I was like, I don't want that.
    75:14
    All right, let's get on to that some other time. This is the time to get to know your Christmas balls, if you will. So let's get right into it. I got them decked out and dipped in glitter, so let's go. I can see it. Everyone, yeah, if anyone wants to know, he has no pants on, balls dipped in glitter. It's disgusting, but I appreciate it. It fits the theme of this show. So do you believe in aliens? Absolutely, positively, lutely. Are you kidding? Of course. With an infinite amount of possibilities and an infinite amount of expanding expanse out there, of course there's something, whether it's fungus on a rock or some rock aliens chasing the Foo Fighters, totally.
    75:49
    Do you believe in ghosts? No, I believe in the band Ghost. I've seen them materialize in front of me a few times I believe in sweeping I believe in music So in that sense, yes In the sense, are there Metaphysical spirits around? No But are there things that people can't explain? Yes Do those things probably exist only within the minds of the observer? Probably So, right Depending on your definition of ghost Yeah I think any sort of Well, for me, it's like anything that will freak me the fuck out at night, which – what is that thing? Is it Wisconsin or Michigan? Maybe you'll know because you're a local. There's like the floating two lights thing. Do you know what I'm talking about? No, no, but I come from the land of Mothman in West Virginia, so there's local legends of these supernatural creatures. They take different forms, I guess, depending on your cheese intake level.
    76:45
    Meth, maybe. We don't know. Yeah, he came out of nowhere. Well, he didn't. He came out of Jeff and Marty. But so you're from West Virginia? Well, I'm from a small coastal city in California called Los Angeles. And then I, as a part of a social experiment, I moved to West Virginia in my 20s because houses there were free. And then I fell backwards into various professions and then ended up pursuing higher education as a hobby. And then I ended up moving all over the place. I've lived in the middle of Pennsylvania and Hershey. I lived in North Idaho. And right now I'm parked in the middle of Wisconsin. And it's awesome. I'm adjacent to Wisconsin Dells, man. I like roller coasters and theme parks. So this is not a bad place to be. No, it's not. And then you mentioned earlier, like, geographically, we're close, especially for pinball. You couldn't ask for a better spot. This is it, man. And we're not, like – And, like, I see the machines – yeah, I see the machines behind you in Wisconsin. Like, you could leave a pinball machine in my front yard. No one's going to take it. Right. Like, Chicago, like, they might shoot you in the head for it, but, yeah. Yeah. California, somebody would move into it and claim squatter's rights, and you'd never be able to get them from your coin box. and they would they'd piss on it they'd shit on it and it would be theirs yeah what is your favorite man i challenge yourself if you can answer just because you seem to you god you're all over the place with pinball this year in a good way i'm not it's not insulting what is your favorite pinball thing this year can you narrow it down to one thing oh gosh was it uh it's the people and the friends that we made along the way um but next to that it was it was chicago expo and then probably pinball olympics holy garbage that was amazing i went to that yeah i was told i should go and i said heck it let's let's waste part of a saturday and check this thing out and i'm still processing what exactly occurred while i was there but it was you know as somebody with a passion for the absurd it was it was right at my wheelhouse man what is uh speaking of absurd possibly do you have a favorite quote real monster uh lochmiss monster sasquatch yeti chupacabra now you know i mean off the cuff i would i would just go with mothman because you know from west virginia as i did for as long as i did long enough to pick up an appalachian accent that i can use when it suits me um yeah hop on the four-wheeler i'm gonna tell you what i did we're gonna go up to get some biscuits my mom's got the sugars she's gonna take a nap i'm gonna run the sleeper and wake her up later um man that kind of fits in wisconsin though too you just you know the hick life that we live yeah yeah you didn't want a bag oh that's pennsylvania man I'm a mix of everything that I've been drug through around the country. Yeah.
    79:19
    But supernatural creatures, let's go with mothman, man. Okay. Do you have, and please enunciate your favorite curse word.
    79:28
    Um, shit. Yeah. I actually get more traffic out of that, um, than any of the other ones, you know, uh, Foxtrot uniform, Charlie Kilo, of course is, is useful as a verb adjective and just about everything else. Um, but yeah, it's like, what the shit? Yeah. it rolls off so great. And shit really cuts through. Yeah, and you can have the same word. It can mean something great and mean something terrible and disgusting all at the same time.
    79:56
    That over there, that's shit. This right here. This is my shit. Completely different. Yeah. And where would you put Venom Pro? Which shit would you use for Venom Pro? That's underneath some drippy corn shit. Yeah. Venom Pro doesn't do it for me. Because the theme, like, I was excited for it. I think you were probably, too, when it first came out. Again, you know, things get announced. Like, hell yeah, this could be great. And I was like, yeah. And I ordered it, and then I canceled my order before it came out. Because I'm like, uh-oh. Yeah. I went through with my Venom Premium order, and I'm glad I did. I was mad at that game when I first got it, but it really grew on me, and it's really fun to play. I put as many games on Venom Premium in three months as I put on Foo Fighters all year. Oh, shit. I beat Null four times. I unlocked all the characters. I'm playing with Hulk. I'm doing the Hulk smash. Spider Cheeks flips out, and you can hit his little dangly bits. All of those things that I love about Venom Premium are not on the pro. You get a horseshoe, which is horseshit. And the only two interesting things in the pro are the longest captive ball in pinball, at least since Centaur, and the middle ramp from Mandalorian. And then a whole shoe, like doppelganger comes up, and it's just an insert light. What am I supposed to do with this? Change your character? Change the rules? What are you doing, Stern? Yeah, not great. Good attempt. They have it locally. I've played it twice. Each time I've played it. No, the first time I played it, I played it all the way through. Second time, second ball. I'm like, well, I don't need to keep doing this. I'm just going to walk away. I noticed all the powder coating back there. Do you get it done locally or do you send out for it? I do now. I started sending it out for multiple hundreds of dollars because I didn't know any better. And then I've since sourced the powder myself. I source a powder coater in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. And I do the coin doors, the shooter housing. I do the speaker panel. And I can do the whole thing for under $200. Yes. Yes, and that's partly why I was going to ask, just in case you didn't have one. Yeah, we have one local in Eau Claire. All those people on Pinside paying people like $500, $400. That was how it started. Yeah. Don't. Yeah. Pay me $500. Send me the stuff. I will do it. I'll do it for $400. Yes. Don and Jason from Pinball Party and Don's podcast, we will both charge you $200 to barely do any work. But yeah, if you just talk to someone locally under $200, it's easy. Locally, they do it for like $150. and all you need to do if it's stern people like just bring it there they can like basically blast it to get it ready for the powder quote no big deal if it's valley williams something you can't bring them chrome you have to bring something raw which you can get on like pinball life and all that just yeah i get the lollipop rails from pinball life the angled ones yeah and just bring in the bare metal or i got a guy i've sourced in barcelona that can laser cut anything you want so you like le armor you can get it do you have a pinball plating guy i don't i don't yeah like for chrome you mean yeah or for like lord of the rings brass pray that's the only oh right right yeah okay moving on to questions how much you bench uh 240 shit man nice yeah you know when i when i train up a bit you know um yeah i i can throw up uh you know 225 all day um yeah but you know max 240 245 is like the most i've got hell yeah man i'm trying to i'm i'm five foot seven, 140 pounds. So for me, like I'm, when I'm doing like three by eight, some bench, like 140, I'm trying to get to 200 in my small size, but I never push strength. I'm always doing volumes. So I'll do the, like, I'll try to do strength. And then I get like, Oh, I didn't do enough volume. Cause I don't know any, any, um, weightlifters or like gym rats out there. Like you get very hard on yourself when you do certain things. And I can't convince myself to sometimes do lower volume for strength. And I'm trying that now. So I want to get up there and even In high school, while everybody else was successful with or trying to be successful with women, I went to the gym during lunch. Did you? All day, all lunch. That's what I did. And then I started doing weightlifting competitions in high school, started getting medals with it. And so you get your routine, and then you get your buddies together because you need spotters. And then we would try to max out each day and just try to push forward another five pounds. And so I got up to 230 in high school as my max, which was dope. And then at 40-something years old, I went and beat that. So that was great. That's awesome. I'm jealous, and I wish I would have done that in high school. What I did in high school was smoke a lot of pot and cigarettes and skip class and play in punk bands.
    84:26
    You know, hindsight's 20-20. I don't regret a second of it, but now that I'm doing it. I think I would have swapped places if I could. I didn't have a choice, so there I was in the gym. Oh, dude. At least you got that. Then I got a skateboard, a set of drums, and some blue hair, and it picked up from there towards the end. There was an upward trend through high school. Okay, so I have a question on here. You can either answer it now or wait a couple. It's air a pinball grievance. If you got one, right. So when I asked possibly think about when I asked Zach many of this he was like oh shit that a loaded gun So he needed seconds uh so so if you want to think about it we can go back to it in a little bit or if you got one off the top of your head let go with just because i don want to rehash um you know zach's brilliant uh performance there uh let's go with uh demanding 16 to 17 thousand dollars for the gtf signature edition i'm grieving over that yeah pint glass that got me man slick marketing they're spending money for good costumes for good concepts and then somewhere along the line it's going sideways into here's a lunchbox and here's a refillable pint glass that floored me when I heard that 16 grand for the refillable pint glass on that same note how do you feel about the like Jurassic Park Super Ellie the Elvira new lipstick. I don't even remember what it's called.
    85:52
    Stern doing basically kicking the previous LE buyers in the balls, at least from secondhand market, as you and I both do quite frequently.
    86:02
    That would be my grievance. Of course, you have to make money. I think the Blood Red Edition looks awesome, and the Jurassic looks awesome. It just feels as the only thing. This hobby is expensive enough that really hurts the secondary value, but that's my opinion. What do you think of the whole... So let's say there's two groups of people, right? Those that had the Black Knight topper for resale and those that wanted it. And then they just announced that they're rerunning them for $1,500. And they were going listing for $3,000. So if you were holding on to one of those $3,000 ones and then they announced that, you think that sucks. If you were looking to buy one of the $3,000 ones and they announced it, you're like, this rules, right? So it's kind of equal across there. There's always this, I have this thing worth money. Should I list it now or should I try to hold it and get more later or whatever? That's the risk that you take.
    86:51
    The people that got the Jurassic Park LE initially, they've had it for years and have been able to enjoy it. So I guess you're saying if you would have just denied yourself that enjoyment for that many years, you could have got this other new edition. And I think that kind of goes for anything. If I didn't buy an Elvira 40th anniversary edition for $25,000 when they came out, I could have got one for $18,000 last year. So, yeah, I could have waited and got it cheaper. And now, you know, they came out with a 1299 black and white edition. That looks phenomenal. Gosh, so good. It's so good. You got to see it in person, man. The pictures don't do it. The sparkle on the red is amazing. So, you know, they're not going and rerunning. Well, they did with Jurassic Park. Well, it wasn't the same. They changed it a little bit. I don't think it was worth the price. I mean, you know, with the brown powder coat and some cabinet graphics that, you know, with some doing, you can get something similar to that anyway. I don't know. Again, $200. We didn't have to buy it. You know, they put it out there. They all sold. So, yeah. On that note, what is your, like, biggest loss on the secondary market? Like, something you bought, like, oh, shit, shouldn't have done that. Like an LE or, like, you pimped the shit out of something and then sold it too much. I know that your recent Foo Fighters was probably not the biggest, but, you know. It might actually be Foo Fighters. I sold that for $8. No shit. Bought it for the $9,600 or something, whatever it came out with. Paid Michigan Pinball Refinery $500 to ship everything back and forth and get the lollipop rails and stuff. Paid some guy $400 for a Led Zeppelin expression light kit and put it in there. Yeah. I had this game when it came out. I got it quick from Mad Pinball. I had expression lights in it, so I didn't have to wait on that. I put the glow rubbers in there and I put pin stadiums in there that I sold already separately. So I had killer Foo Fighters experience like from day one in my house, you know, and so maybe that cost me three thousand dollars, you know. But then I mean, I probably could have got another five or six hundred, but I would have had to wait. I just wanted it to go. It sold to a local guy in town. Him and his kid are like overjoyed that they're getting this game. I got to live stream it. So that was probably my biggest loss now that I've had. Um, but you know, it's kind of a cost of doing business. Um, we should, um, now that we kind of have each other's contact info, if, you know, selling games, all that kind of stuff, I'll keep you abreast of like, Oh, you know, this thing, or, you know, anyone, that kind of stuff doesn't happen often, but sometimes, you know, it's better to do. I'm with you. Like I rather price something rock bottom and just get it out of here and work with people I know instead of, you know, the game of like, just getting low balls or dealing with pricks or, and you know, I got a fair price for where the market is right now. And that's kind of what I wanted to get. I didn't want to get what I put into it. Whenever I sold it, I wanted to get a good price for the market. If the market was up, fantastic. If it's down, at least I still got a good price for the market where it is. Yes. Your point of view is too positive. We've got to move on. I can't have that. What do you want for – I can't control over the things I have control over, right? The things that are out of my reach I mean I could stress about them or drink a Diet Coke and go throw some balls at some dinosaurs or something God yeah Either in pinball or in real life Right, right. What do you want for Christmas this year? Ooh. Ooh, let's see. You have your two front teeth, so I don't think you need those. Probably a pizza oven, like a legit stone pizza oven, 500 degrees, throw some Neapolitan pies in the backyard. probably a piece in gaza but um also pizza no i would say pizza um i was gonna make some pizza today i think that's convinced me um all right 2024 i'm gonna ask you what you're looking forward to most in 2024 and please answer it but before you answer that let's just briefly talk about looney tunes because you've seen it in person and i'm just creaming over that from afar I just made the heck out of it. Yeah. How is it? Oh, man. No hyperbole. The flow is real with this game.
    90:54
    And I was really like, am I standing it spooky right now with the way this thing's flipping? The flippers are strong. The ramps are all reachable. I can't wait for other people to play it to see if I'm just completely in my own head with it. Sure. But this layout is great.
    91:09
    Upper right flipper into the inner loop, into a subway that goes to a VUC to the outer loop. orbit that goes right back to the same flipper so it's repeatable it's fun man it's fun they got the lock from shadow to throw the ball through the door yeah taz is right there and the whole when you start a mode it's they they couldn't haven't done any streams of this yet but the cartoon starts playing like well it seems like in its entirety the whole time you're playing whatever mode i like that so my wife was standing behind me and like you know like duck season rabbit season came on she's like don't train i want to watch this cartoon and you have okay so You have Scooby behind you. Yeah. And, you know, in a vacuum, I know you just played Looney Tunes once. I've played Scooby. I've dealt with some of the problems with it. I think it looks fantastic. I think it actually flows pretty well. It's a little floaty in the upper play field and whatever. I'm at heart rooting for Spooky as a company because, you know, Wisconsin and all that. Sure. I just want them to just smash it out of the park with this one. Looney Tunes versus Scooby-Doo. What's your gut reaction? uh looney tunes feels a lot more solid um just you know from from structure from getting your hands on it um you know it it didn't feel as like scooby's loaded with uh you know it's got the servos on the apron you know little things that i'm like that's cool but it may require more maintenance than you know a location would be rather you're ready to deal with um and i think their approach to this new layout is to look at what's worked for them in the past look at what's been problematic in the past and try to get rid of the problem things so they don't occur. The servos that do exist on the new layout, I've asked them this, they've gone for the more robust ones that they haven't had problems with with Polybean Ultraman. You know, those tiny little ones that are for model aircraft that are built to fail and be replaced are kind of left out. So it just feels like it's more solid, like the engineering is leveled up and every little tiny little bits, each thing leveled up with them for these new games is how they feel when I was playing them. And I've put a dozen games on each one. I'm just hopping back and forth, giggling to myself. What we don't know is what's going to happen to these games six months down the road of heavy play. We'll find that out with time. But from the jump, yeah, I was happy with these, man. I can't wait to get them. Okay. So what are you looking forward to most in 2024 in the world of pinball? So I was thinking about this in the shower today, lathered up, and everybody is looking forward to Jaws. Probably that's going to be released and in our home starting in January. but I'm liking this other rumor of them doing a new ground up Metallica game with expression lines, um, black album. Uh, I'm, I'm looking forward to see if that rumor is true. I would love that to be true. I, you know, it's like you have contacts, you hear things, you say things you don't want to say too much. Yeah. The, the rumor seems, you know, uh, but, um,
    93:57
    yeah, uh, me too. I would say that, that possibility. And even if that rumor doesn't come out There's going to be two more games from Stern this year I can't wait to see what those are I can't wait to see what the December release next year From Spooky is going to be I can't wait to see if American Pinball Is hanging around this year Or if they hit a home run with Food Truck I'm looking forward to Going to Expo and TPF Let's go with TPF for now We're going to have a lot more information once we get there We'll all be together again TPF and a little sprinkle of Maybe Metallica on the side. Maybe. Wink, wink. Yeah. All right, man. I got to get to a meeting soon. Everyone out there, go check out Don's Pinball Podcast. You know how to get podcasts. Go check out his Facebook. You're always doing streams. Always. You're killing it. You're somehow like – I think you have a teleporter or transporter. You just show up in pinball places and you're doing awesome stuff for the community. You showing stuff early Yeah Check out the Facebook page Don Pinball Podcast Give me a follow so you don miss the live streams I giving away a Godzilla banner to a Patreon member today There still time to get in on that for five bucks Email me at donspinballpodcastgmail I got stickers. I got holiday t-shirts. I really want to have the best or most diverse gear in the game, even if the podcast is terrible. You're going to like my stuff. It's not terrible. Yeah, go get his stuff. Your art's awesome too as well. All right, dude, thanks for letting me get to know your holiday balls. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thanks for joining, and we'll talk to you later. Thanks, man. Appreciate it.
    95:48
    Don't you want this point at your mouth? It was a point at your neck. I like it. Oh, wow. Yeah. Welcome to the show Yeah, what they're talking about is what you think It's disturbing And we like it that way Welcome to the show, guys I talk out of my neck Hey, what's up? Merry Christmas Kale, no? No Merry Christmas on that end? Oh, absolutely, Merry Christmas We had a hell of a party last night Happy Hanukkah Yeah? What kind of party last night? It was Our friend Jarred threw his holiday bash, the Jarcade holiday special, and it was his first time running a pinball tournament. So he actually submitted it to the IFPA.
    96:45
    He set up the tournament match play. He had the microphone and did the announcements. He brought out an incredible spread of holiday-themed snacks and giveaways.
    97:02
    And what? There was like 50 people? 50 people, somewhere in the 50-people range, which is great because it's also league night at another arcade. So still 50 people showed up. Wow.
    97:15
    And there was 50 people in the tournament. He had a lot of other friends that I think were maybe too shy to play in a tournament. So there was another like 20 or so people there for that. But then on top of that, we had the old lady biker gang show up just randomly.
    97:33
    I'm not sure. It might have been the Scottsdale Lady Motorcycle Club. I don't know. But there was a lot of women older than me and chaps running around the arcade. and do they come sober or like on pcp i'm guessing what are we what are they on they were in a great mood yeah pcp oh yeah not only that so we also had there was a band playing on the stage and they did like some led zeppelin cover band uh cover songs got really funky with it it was good And then the funniest part is a very good live band opened the show. Yes. And it wasn't just like an opening act. They played for an hour and a half or a couple hours. And they were headlined by a guy with a keyboard and a laptop. You think I was having laptop problems? And he – I would say karaoke, but it wasn't karaoke because he lip synced Rage Against the Machine, but – It wasn't quite a lip sync. He was making noise.
    98:41
    Right. Well, he had a microphone that was live, right, going through the PA. and um and then he had it but there was a short in in his in in the eighth inch jack on his laptop so the music would go out every once in a while i have video of it it's great his girlfriend was sitting on stage laughing the whole time trying to put enough pressure on the mic on the microphone jack pinching oh yeah she was wearing heelys yeah she was wearing She was wearing Heelys and a swatch. Yeah. So, man, it was all incredible. And the staff from a local casino showed up and did their own pinball tournament after our pinball tournament. And then everybody stayed until 2 a.m., and we shut the place down. It was amazing. It was wild times. From what you describe, either all that is completely made up because it sounds like a fairy tale, or it happened. and that's also just fucked up. Old ladies on PCP, a guy covering Raging His Machine with a keyboard by himself, lip syncing, with a microphone that didn't... Yeah.
    99:52
    I've been there, I should say. We did a show once called Decadent Cabaret where they have bands do like a cover set only. Like you can't play originals. They've changed it these days, but that's how it was. So we chose to do Green Day. We were just going to cover the album Dookie straight through. And second song, my amp blew in the middle of it. So like, you know, that sounds great. You get a DI box, right? Yeah, well, we replaced it. Next amp blew the next amp. Next song. I'm like, cool, thanks, everyone. See ya. And it wasn't like clapping. It was just like that sad, like, yeah. But anyway, we're not here for sad. We're here for Christmas. We're here for balls. We're here for 12 days of balls. I believe you guys are five, but don't hold me to that. But thanks for joining.
    100:44
    A lot of people who listen to the show know you too, and if you don't, that's shame on you as a listener.
    100:52
    You can find these two on the Electric Bat Cast these days and also at the Electric Bat Arcade in Tempe, Arizona. Yeah. And you listen to them talk about stuff that they talk about, which is wonderful. There you go. What the fuck am I talking about? It's wonderful. Yeah, it's all wonderful. Merry Christmas. You've been on too much that it's just too casual. We could just sit here and hang out, but we have to be entertaining.
    101:17
    And let me ask you some questions. You both live pinball. You eat, breathe, and sex it. What is your thoughts on aliens? do you believe in them? Rachel? The beings or the game? The beings. Are they real? Oh, we're going like Art Bell on this. Okay.
    101:44
    I hold out hope. I wouldn't claim to know yes or no. Kale? Same. I wish they were real, but, I mean, it's just not enough hard, hard evidence. There are great stories, and I keep up with all of it. I love doing a deep dive into alien talk. I listen to old episodes of Art Bell every night, and I love the alien episodes. So it's – but I think what most people are seeing and you'll have – I don't know if we're getting too far into this. But if you follow – who's the guy from Blink-182 that's deep into it? Tom DeLonge. Yeah, to the stars or whatever. He's got all kind of good content and stuff. It's all rare. Yeah, yeah. So lots of military people have seen crazy stuff. And what's really cool, there seems to be an uptick in alien stories recently.
    102:54
    You know, it kind of reminds me of, like, high school days. But I really think most – all of what people are seeing is experimental craft. You know, I remember when I was a kid, and even on – you know, and Art Bell used to talk about it a lot, the black triangles out in the desert. And it seems like that was them testing stealth technology. Stealth. Sure. You know, if you've seen if you've been to a sporting event or anything and seen the stealth fighters or bombers fly over you, you're still like, even though you know what it is, you're like, whoa.
    103:33
    You know, if you were by yourself in the middle of the desert, you would think that was some some alien shit. So I think all of it's just technology that they're not telling us about, whether it's our own or another country. I was in high school for Phoenix Lights, and I was inside when it happened and was pissed that I missed it. Oh, okay. Rachel, do you believe in ghosts?
    103:59
    Like, hmm. Like dead. Like the little guys. see all these questions are like very very specific and i have a much more like nebulous view on all of the all of that stuff like i think it's all you know kind of real ask if you believe in it but if you don't believe like i just don't think anybody knows anything that yeah the the entirety of my belief is nobody knows shit so you might as well be open to everything. I very much fall in that camp. The ladies in the PCP definitely believe in both. They saw some ghosts. Let's get them on as well. To be fair, we didn't say they were on PCP. There's any number of substances they could have. They did have assless leather chaps on with tassels. That was great. It was man just another night at the bat Do they make ass chaps You only hear about the non chaps I think assless means you not wearing pants underneath Oh, thank you. So they actually, they did have on pants. You can't go into the bar just like barebacking. That's not the right word. Bare.
    105:17
    Well, in the canon of Pinball Party, they were on PCP, assless chaps. They had no pants underneath. It was a show with the guy in the Rage Against the Machine. Kale, ghosts?
    105:30
    Man, I wish. I've seen some weird stuff that makes me believe, but still no hard evidence anywhere. Can you share a thing, a weird thing?
    105:47
    So, man, I had some really good ones. I remember one time and back in the late 90s, early 2000s, I toured with a regional southern rock band out of South Carolina. And our manager booked us at this old hotel on the water in North Carolina. It was ancient, ancient. None of it had been updated. I mean, this was, you know, like really they had the hot and cold water coming out of different faucets, you know, in the hotel rooms and old rickety like Civil War era beds. It was really nutty and also cool at the same time.
    106:37
    So we played downstairs in this hotel. We performed. It was great. And, of course, they gave us a hotel room to stay in, and we're all up there. And my bass player wakes me up. He's like, dude, the bathroom.
    106:59
    And when I opened my eyes, the lights were on in the bathroom, and the water was running in the sink. And then it stopped. No. Yeah. And then so I was like, oh, dude, that's pretty crazy. And he was like, I saw it all happen. The light came on, and then the water started running. And I was like, that is trippy. I went back to sleep. But he stayed up and investigated it.
    107:31
    Yeah, but that was the only thing. I think that was the most notable thing I've experienced. You're the first one. who's had a thing. I don't think I could go to sleep if I saw that. I'd be like, well, fuck me, I guess. I'm just, this is now I live awake permanently. Well, that's what I was hoping for. From the stories, you fall asleep and then they fuck you. Yeah.
    107:53
    That's the aliens. Either or. We have weird stuff show up on our security cameras sometimes. That's fun.
    108:05
    Oh. I mean, like, things will move around on the security cameras. Yeah, we've caught in the studio, Rachel's painting studio. Is that what you call it? A painting studio? An artist studio? It's not attached to the house. And we'll see orbs. Natch. I mean, that's like dust reflections. But there's some stuff that, I mean, I say maybe it is, right? But there was one that was really, really bizarre. It was just things moving around. But again, I'm sure there's... Who knows? It's kind of more fun to not know. Yeah.
    108:41
    What is your favorite curse word, Rachel? And please enunciate it clearly for the audience. If you have a favorite.
    108:52
    Do you have one? What would I say the most? You know, you're not cussy. Not cussy. Yeah. Probably something along the lines of like, that stupid motherfucker. if I'm... I mean, it's not like a creative. I'm not talking about like... But if... That's the one that... Yeah.
    109:17
    Kale, you got a favorite curse word? I mean, I'm so vanilla. It's just fuck. Yeah. Tell me about something you're proud of. Please. I keep fucking this up. I keep demanding it. Would you please mind, or would you mind sharing with me something you're proud of, Rachel about yourself?
    109:40
    I'm pretty good at making the arts. I would say that I am a good painter. Yeah, I would too. RachelBestArt.com? What is it? RachelBest.com. That something that I really worked hard at I have worked hard at for kind of really my whole life and it paid off Yeah I good at it You are.
    110:07
    Kale, how about you? This has to be about myself, something I'm proud of. I know. Yeah. Well, I think it's just making connections, you know, making a connection with Rachel to, you know, create this group of wonderful friends and people that love this hobby and sport.
    110:29
    And, you know, that makes them all come back, you know, this very entertaining connection that is the electric bat, which is a huge part of the pinball community here in the Valley. and I love that I try to make it grow every single day make a new friend every day to bring into this cool group and I feel like I'm a cult leader I feel like you are too yesterday we were at a cheese shop a very small cheese shop just buying some little gifts for people for Christmas so we're in there I presume the owner was there and a guy walks in wearing a barcade shirt like barcade in brooklyn yeah so immediately you know kale's best friends with this dude he's gonna be coming over to the back then the owner of the cheese shop within within 15 minutes they're having their holiday party at the arcade like it's like we've all known each other forever and that's nothing that i would have ever been able to like pull off and it's not like he's trying it's just sort of like hey here's some people that i might have something in common with or they seem cool or whatever let's strike up an immediate best friendship yeah and yeah and you know it just happens like everywhere we go and it's i've never seen i've known a lot of people in my life and there's never been anyone like kale who like everybody knows him immediately they're friends yeah and i just thought this was normal i've been doing this my whole life i didn't know until recently rachel was like no what you're doing is very difficult for some people. Yes. And it has to be taught, like telemarketers, salespeople, the importance of networking. And it just seems to come natural to me. Yeah, you don't mean it in a salesy, greasy sort of way. No, I'm legitimately interested in everybody you meet. I don't want to make money. That's not what I'm looking to do. I just want everybody to get together. Have a good time. and focus on this really cool thing we call pinball. And not just we, everybody calls it pinball. Yeah, most. Overseas they call it flipper or something. Oh, yeah, flippin' spiels or something. No, do they? Flippin' spiel. Ah, when I buy my flippin' spiel shit, I buy from flippin' shit. Yeah, you got to do the German der flippers or something. God, I might. Oh, fuck. Damn it. Now it's in my head. I didn't know we were going to be quizzed. yeah sorry that's the best part about this yeah well i didn't know anything about what yeah this is great yeah all right so get out your pen two times five the derivative of six you're writing this down oh she can actually do this yeah oh shit when you say the derivative of six don't don't yeah no i know don't don't judge me on this uh i was good at math and algebra up until calculus i was like very good and then suddenly just well calculus is weird it's a whole other Yeah, I didn't wrap my shit around it. Yes. Okay.
    113:38
    Rachel, how much do you bench? You know, I was thinking about this the other day. You know, I used to be a gymnast. No. Well, when I was a gymnast and I weighed like 90 pounds, I mean, because I was younger and smaller.
    113:51
    Anyway, I could always bench significantly more than my weight because you have to be very strong. Yeah. And now I'm not. man when i was 13 i was so much stronger than when i'm 44 wow you were probably stronger at 13 than i am at 41 though too i mean i was a little i was a little powerhouse back then i also used to swim butterfly so i mean i i used to have a lot of um upper body well whole body strength i was strong and i'm just you know you get old and don't do those things anymore and it's it's hard yeah i was a competitive swimmer diver gymnast all those things butterfly stroke ain't no joke no that is not a joke in i was pretty beefy looking at the time uh so we'll say 400 i i would roughly 400 yes yes rachel has said 400 pounds kayle how much bench uh you're talking raw bench with no bench shirt or elbow support straps everything i mean a chalk on the hands you got a spotter one machine or like like No raw bench I don bench a lot I don really lift weights
    115:07
    Probably like 225, but like functional strength on the mat, I can hold down a 300-pound dude. Kill a guy. Yeah. What do you think kill a guy's strength is on the bench?
    115:21
    300? I don't even – it depends on who the guy. Big, strong guy. What is what now? It's like kill a wad, I guess. It's a unit of strength. At what point can you easily kill a man when you're benching? Let's move on.
    115:37
    I'm going to ask you guys to air a pinball grievance soon. A couple people have needed a moment because they're like, oh, either they got too much or they just, oh, I have nothing wrong with the world. Everything's perfect. So we're going to ask you that in a second. Think about a pinball grievance you must air. I could talk about that right now. In the spirit of Festivus, here we go. Air pinball grievance, please. Just people that think that they know everything on the Internet. Hmm. That's my, like, I ran into it this morning. Yeah. Some guy was like, had some thread, which, you know, I was tired and I mistakenly made a comment on the Internet. But some guy was whining about Bond 60th and what a waste of money it is. Sorry, where were you? This was on a Facebook thing. yeah it wasn't pinzide I mean I know better than to get involved in that negativity yeah so and so I just replied hey I really like playing it and it's consistently one of our top earners and then he wrote back like well just get back to me in 40 years if it's and let me know if it's paid off spoiler it won't be yeah burn listen here kiddo like you have no idea Like, just stop. Just be happy about stuff. Yeah.
    116:59
    Well, Cale, you got a grievance since we're on the grievance train? Yeah, well, I mean, it's that for me, too. Just people really thinking they are an expert at something.
    117:15
    But I don't think it's just the Internet. I think that's just those people. Oh, sure. They just aren't able to get away with it in real life. Yeah, because when they run into us in person, I will call them out. I think – I mean we just need to kill the internet except for if we need it to do podcasts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We need some of that, yeah.
    117:35
    Yeah, I mean like – and all this drama with Kaneda and the kineticist Colin and like I haven't paid attention to any of it. But Rachel just took a deep dive and updated me on all of it. Mistake. And I was like, just people, just stop. Just, you know, just stop. Yeah. Do an award show. Do an award show and commit to it. Let everybody be involved, you know.
    118:04
    And don't try to erase people from the Internet, you know. I don't think any of us like Hitler, but he was somebody, and he's in the history books, you know. I mean, it's just, you know, this is all meant to be a lot of fun and drama-free, and let's try to keep it that way. Good times. We're all here for good times. You're not here for very long. You should enjoy the time you have. Right. Well, but to be fair, it's hard to enjoy the time when it's shit, you know.
    118:43
    So I don't know. um that's just maybe i'm weird maybe i'm weird like that when everything's horrible i'm like you know not a huge fan uh but um yeah i guess a lot of you listening probably are aware of that drama and they're all like god they're feeding into it they're making articles about it oh fuck it's just so dumb the whole thing was a giant ended up and and chris is so fucking smart the whole thing ended up being a giant advertisement for him. Yeah. I mean, boom. You know, if you don't like the guy, don't talk about him. Yeah. He's entertaining. He knows what he's doing.
    119:24
    Whatever. Yeah. Pinball drama. Nonsense. What do you want for Christmas this year, Rachel?
    119:35
    Books. Nice. Just a stack? Specific ones. but I mean, it's a long, long list. Can you give me three?
    119:44
    Art books, occult books. I can give you just like general categories. Oh, occult books. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Science books.
    119:57
    Historic... Yeah. classical British literature. Jesus. Things in that vein. Just in that vein, the occult, the British literature, the art is a little bit of that. All very similar. I like reading books. I'm easy to shop for. So that's what that library's all about in your video. Mm-hmm.
    120:18
    Come on, dear. Kale, what do you want for Christmas? Aside from you can't say everyone to get together and be friends and do all that, the cult shit. Yeah, that would be no good.
    120:30
    uh uh for christmas i think i want i want jaws it's not it's supposed to be announced today you know it's today from what they say according to all my sources are telling me it's going to be announced today released january probably january That would make sense. But there are probably people out there who have played it, who have told other people that's the most amazing pinball machine they have ever played in their lives, and I want to see it. I can't wait. You're saying probably that happened. Yeah, probably. I mean, hypothetically. The aliens.
    121:14
    Are you guys going to get – I surmised on a previous episode, and please correct me. I feel like in my crystal ball, Electric Bat is going to get a pro and a premium of Jaws because it will be so popular. Or is that – are those days long gone? I don't know what we're going to get. So we're going to get the pro. We always get the pro since the pro is the first off the line. Then our wonderful distributor, Game Room Goodies, they allow us to turn the pro in for a premium once the premium comes in. And then sometimes we keep both. The only one we've ever kept both of is Godzilla. So we took the Godzilla Pro to our arcade in Flagstaff, kept the premium in Tempe, our flagship store. And that has been the biggest money earner we have ever had. We also kept Cornerstone Bond, both versions, for a while. And then we needed room, and so we just hung on to the premium. Yeah.
    122:21
    But it was very cool for a little while because at one point in Tempe, we had the Godzilla Pro and the premium right next to each other for, like, what, two weeks? Yeah, a few weeks. That was just a kind of cool sight, and people would play both of them. They're both great games and, you know, a little bit different.
    122:40
    I don't know. We're running out of room, so I don't even think keeping the pro and premium JAWS is even an option these days. Probably not. Wow. That's a good problem. We'll pick one. Yeah, we start with the pro, and then we keep the premium. I mean, that probably is what's going to happen. This may be a similar answer, but try to make it different if you can, please. looking forward to the most you're looking forward to in 2024 in the world of pinball I mean I'm really excited about Jaws but I'm also I'm very excited about our league nights and our tournaments they've been growing so much and we've been getting so many new and different people that those are just a blast we look forward to huge parties every Tuesday and that is what I'm looking forward to this year How about you, Kel? My turn? Sure I am looking forward To Looney Tunes Same, yeah And I am looking For, okay And I want it to be amazing I'm hoping These guys have learned a lot From the times of Halloween Because for us, and I know this isn't for everybody, for us, Scooby-Doo was a massive jump in quality. Just build quality. I'm not talking about rules and what have you. Just the machine actually functioning on the floor for 20 hours a day. It was a massive, massive jump and it really seemed like they learned something and i want to i want to see that you know even two four eight fold with with looney tunes and and of course texas chainsaw massacre but we're getting looney tunes are you also with um with scooby there were so it took a couple of months of us really working hard right to get it to where it's stable but now that it's stable it's great um so this one we're hoping out of the box maybe it works and we don have those months of heartache But it I actually yeah it weird that we not getting Texas Chainsaw Everyone assumes that that what we get Number one, it's our buddy Mark who buys all of the spookies. He let me know the other day he was their second, their second or the third customer ever. So when America's Most Haunted came out, he was the second or third person to send them a check. Right. For sure. Good memories.
    125:54
    I think Looney Tunes looks great, too. That might even be surpassing Labyrinth for me of looking forward to in 2024, but we'll see. Well, hey, Merry Christmas. Thanks for joining. I hope you guys both have a wonderful holiday. I hope everyone goes and listens to the Electric Bat cast, checks you out in person in Tempe, Arizona at the Electric Bat Arcade. Go check out Rachel's art at rachelbess.com. and if you see Kale, watch out because he's trying to get you into a cult.
    126:24
    All right. Merry Christmas, guys. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas. Thank you, Jason. Merry Christmas, everybody.
    126:48
    On the chin for good luck. Thank you. Teabag on the chin for good luck. Welcome to the show, David Dennis, on our 12 Dave's of Balls, the Pinball Party Podcast. Welcome. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I've heard that. Right. God, just today. God, I would have a car so fast. Yeah. Last time we were talking on Discord, I think we were talking cars.
    127:17
    Oh, yeah, we were. Totally. What were you showing me a pic of? I think it was a BMW MT Competition. God. And was that yours? No. God damn. What are you driving these days? Should we compare car boners? What are we doing? Okay. So I drive a VW GTI. Oh, okay. A 2021 Autobahn. Yeah. And my wife has an ID4. I owned a Gulf R, a 2023 Gulf R for three days about a month ago. Wow. Until it started to just totally glitch out. And on the highway going 75, the heat started to crank, the audio started to go up, and you couldn't do anything about it. So I'm on the highway in a brand new car, audio up, heat up. At this point, it's still like kind of summer in Wisconsin, and I couldn't do anything about it. And since it's all in the touch bar. That is absolute insanity. Yeah, it was insanity. So I couldn't turn it down. I had to pull over and be like, yo, so I'm going to return this, you know, because they have a five-day, like, whatever. Like, oh, well, yeah, we'll fix it in the warranty. I'm like, yeah, I'm just not going to bank on that because this was dangerous and weird. So anyway, I've been car shopping. You've literally had 48 hours to prove yourself and you failed. Yes. $50,000 doesn't quite work. Meh. Pass. Yeah. Well, hey, you haven't been on the show, but for those who are fans of yours, and if not, here, let me point you in the right direction. David Dennis hosts Silver Bowl Chronicles or sub-host, co-host, if you will. Also on the TPN, the Pinball Network, as I was a part of in the past. And you're on the board? Am I making this up? Yeah, yeah. So I'm one of the board folk who looks after sort of like some of the social media stuff, what we do. It sounds a lot like a bigger deal than it actually is. But people will ask, oh, I'd like to be a streamer or a podcaster. And we're like, does this person meet our goals or not? Or has this person been really mean in the community or really great? What do you think? Somebody would come to us and be like, what about Jason? And I'd be like, fuck that guy. Yeah, right. And then everybody else is like, no, we want Jason. I'm like, all right, damn it. Yeah. And in the end, you prevailed because then it was like, get the fuck off this network. Oh, my God. this guy is just um it was you know a lot of it was bittersweet and i know when we're we still stay in contact to you know no you're dead to me yep same that's why i had you on the show you know to just uh it all about keeping up appearances yeah hello we friends we you know but hey don fucking talk to me this guy in real life yeah i don want to hear your voice I mean the people do but I don So I have you on mute and I assuming what you saying I'm doing a pretty good job, I think. Well, I threatened that if you didn't let me on this podcast, I would give out your home phone number.
    130:13
    Man, that's original. Do people? No one would ever do that. No. No, I think that would be Satan's work. And this is the time for Jesus the Christ, because it's Christmas. and we are, you know, 12 days of balls. Really the goal is to bring people on here and then I'm going to make fun of you for 15 minutes straight. You're going to take it and at the end you say thank you. May I have another if you wish and then we'll move on. Do I get like a tear break?
    130:44
    No, because the harder you cry, the harder I get, etc. But you know how that goes. That's great. Camera's waist up. Perfect. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, but really, thanks for coming on. I know we tried to schedule this in the past, I believe, and this is a whole new kind of thing. It's 12 days, 12 guests.
    131:04
    This is wacky, and thanks for accommodating so soon. And let's get to it, man. Do you believe in aliens?
    131:13
    Absolutely. It would be a very lonely place here without some sort of company. and is that what is the very low i'm thinking of the movie contact is that what they say in contact very similar i think sci-fi movies yeah fucking phenomenal is that like jodie foster yeah so good what was that one with uh charlie sheen you remember that one no god it was terrible yeah the arrival oh yeah okay he had a goatee in that film oh yeah nah i won't watch it do you believe in ghosts no oh hardcore no huh nothing that's that's a flat out no that's just silly aliens no problem ghosts surely silly nothing at least on our plane in which we can see all right that's getting too smart for me so let's dumb it down and talk about pinball what is your favorite pinball thing of this year of of the lord's year 2023 aside from me leaving TPN, what is your favorite pinball thing? Could be a game, could be a person. You could say yourself, which would be egotistical. It's pretty simple. I bought my first new-in-box pinball machine this year. I bought an actual pinball machine. Any of the other ones I've always picked up and fixed, or have been in a decent shape, or been a collector pin like my Tron, but this was the first year I actually bought a very expensive pin. It was James Bond 007 Premium. Ah, yeah.
    132:44
    When I buy my pinball shift, I buy from Flippin' Out. From Toppaz Art Blade Premiums, I've got it figured out. Flippin' Out. Figured out.
    132:57
    When I think of pinball, I think Flippin' Out. Figured out. When I buy, buy, buy, I buy from Flippin' Out. and it's taken me 12 months to get some code where i'm not absolutely uh frustrated and it's come a long way some of it could be a little better but man i am a massive james bond fan so this year 2023 having this james bond premium is is awesome the i remember the build-up um in the tpn discord of it got announced and we were like almost going to open up a gofundme to get you this game and right that's true that's true and then and then somebody actually needed to go fund me and then they took that money no yeah yeah sickness you know and all that uh so you bought a bond man you dodged a bullet on the le though because that you know i i don't know i kind of like the le but the thing is one of my favorite james bond films so it's like thunderball and goldfinger get all of the they get all the love when it comes to connery my favorite connery uh bond films are from russia with love which is one of the best films like actually ever okay and then the other one with that is not necessarily one that people really like but i really love you only live twice that's the one with the secret volcano lair okay and the ninjas and stuff in it and that is the one that the premium is based on so i am super pleased with that i wish i could uh also something you have never heard before super pleased with that from a woman i should say has anyone oh um okay um uh bond i wish i could hang in the discussion because i have only seen pierce brosnan on that okay okay so you you enjoying some good films there But dude Connery got this like 1960s swagger
    135:07
    The world was very different back then, like, patting women on the butt and men only talking in the room kind of stuff. Isn't that an interview where he's like, oh, yeah, you know, he hits women or whatever? Oh, yeah, it's terrible. It's absolutely vomit-inducing. But when you think about it in the context of the time, you're like, man, that's crazy. And then when you get into Roger Moore, who's like the 70s, 80s Bond, it's like comedy Bond. There's a lot more ha-ha. Kind of like Austin Powers? It's an acquired taste. Yeah, it's like an acquired taste. Okay.
    135:45
    I may or may not acquire it. I wish I could. I don't know if I'll acquire it. I can barely acquire this podcast. Watch Goldfinger. Just watch that and be like, ah, I get it. What is your favorite, I'm quoting here, maybe real monster?
    136:00
    Sasquatch, Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, Chupacabra. Man-Bear Pig? Okay. Yeah, probably Man-Bear Pig. This seems right up your alley. What is your favorite, and please enunciate, what is your favorite curse word?
    136:16
    I'm a fuck kind of guy. and the reason I hesitated was because I knew everybody is going to pick that one it's like Godzilla and Pinball it's still great it's a classic go to you're happy you're sad, you stubbed your toe you saw somebody else stub their toe you know it's universally available in any type of situation I'm a big user of the F word particularly in the office amongst my staff and yeah they think that's funny but no canadians tend to actually swear quite a bit a yeah fuck a yeah a hockey a and we've got weird sayings up this way too right like i live in the maritimes which is sort of like on the east coast just above Maine over that way. So we have all these kind of odd sayings as well that we get into instead of swearing. Like you guys have those weird sayings I'm sure. Like please and thank you. Yeah, we say that stuff. We say horse a piece. Do you know what that means? You got that?
    137:29
    Horse a piece. I've heard it, but I don't know what it is. I have heard that. It's kind of like come see, come saw, either or. Same thing. Horse a piece. Makes no fucking sense to me, but I say it often. Tell me something, please. Would you mind providing me with something that you're proud of about yourself?
    137:52
    Something that I'm proud of? This is – wow, we're getting – It's nasty. It's a nasty one. Yeah, we're getting like a leather couch kind of situation here. Well, not that leather couch, but like a shrink. Something that I'm proud of? Geez, I'm really proud of my kids, but that's a cop-out. It is a cop-out. Well, I mean, you did something. And you gave the seed. You raised them. So great. Allegedly, I did. Allegedly.
    138:19
    Allegedly. Okay. For me particularly. Yes, please. So this year, I've been really working on getting my weight down, I guess. You look good to me. So I've been on this diet. Have you heard of this diet? It's called starving yourself.
    138:36
    No. Please tell me. It's all the rage. How does it work? Yeah, so what you do is it's primarily fork put-downs. So what you do is you take that fork and you put it down.
    138:50
    So help me in this scenario. I'm in front of a pepperoni pizza. There's eight slices. I grab one. We're talking 12 inches, 10 inches?
    139:01
    Me or the pizza? 16-inch extra-large pizza. I got one of the pieces in my hand. it's about to go in my mouth yeah what do i do in your diet uh think about heart disease okay um think about the other things you could eat instead of that pizza but you have to delay it for like 12 months wow okay i don't yeah it's terrible so what i do is i log everything that i eat literally everything i weigh everything do you try to stay within a certain range of protein fat and carb yes sir and overall calories and i've been doing that so i'm down 30 pounds since me fuck me yeah and i'm not a big guy but i'm i'm i'm i'm chubby but now i'm like look at this look at this not not anymore you're not chubby anymore i'm in his chin look at this i'm jiggling it on the camera people can't see that no we're each doing it i'm pinching See, but you go to the gym. You do those things, right? What I do is I'm not an active person. I can go to the gym. I get a lot of anxiety in the gym. I don't drink my – what do they call that? Urine.
    140:15
    You don't drink your urine? What's that green shit you and Kale drink? Oh, AG1? Sponsored by AG1? Yeah, what a bunch of shit that is. Here's a bunch of green shit that's going to make you pretend to be healthy. no what makes you healthy is because you're going to the fucking gym that's right you're healthy yeah and drinking urine so i i it's it's totally true though i mean you're gonna burn more calories by just eating less i do the same though i track um like five six years ago when i started getting into like severe gym health mode was really from yeah i mean i smoked cigarettes for 20 years and all that live that life which is great oh i want to go back to it so much cooler than me So much cool beauty to me. You're dressed in like a black button-down. You've got guitars in your background. I'm in my office wearing a stupid Christmas shirt. Yeah. Well, hey. Because I haven't gone home yet.
    141:05
    I started going to the gym, and then same thing when I finally was like, fuck it, I've got to do exactly what you did when I wanted to. I didn't have to lose a bunch, but I just wanted to lose some and do all that. I was like, yeah, you've got to get the scale. Just fucking watch what you eat. The diet is just eat what you should eat. You don't have to eat chicken and broccoli and rice every day. I choose to. People are surprised. Like literally this morning for breakfast, I had some of this – what they call – oh, geez. So on the East Coast, we have this thing called Donair.
    141:36
    What? Do you know what Donair – yeah, you don't. Do you know what shawarma is? Just from the Avengers at the end, it's like, oh, shawarma, but I don't know what it is. Yeah, it's like – so it's like a Lebanese-y kind of Middle Eastern thing where there's like a spit or a stick, and then there's meat around it that's flavored and then it kind of spins on the thing and then they shave it off and then they put it in like a pita thing yeah like a gyro or a gyro it's exactly like a gyro yeah so basically here on the east coast when those folk came uh from away and they arrived at sorry when those people came from their country to the maritimes we decided we didn't like tzatziki sauce as a society we all have meetings we're like too too much greeky whatever's going on there don't like that so they're like okay well we'll just add some more sugar and it created a donair sauce which is much more sweet and condensey milk and it is heaven okay and anyway long story short that's what i had for breakfast uh because i can and then for uh lunch i had a bunch of corn chips from Fritos. I just track it. I'm like, oh, that's a bunch of carbs and whatever. I got it. Now when I go home for supper, I have to have like a dozen eggs. Yeah. That's all I can eat because I've blown up the rest of my day from the beginning. But you know what? I've lost 30 pounds eating basically what I want. Dude, the key is finding whatever works for you and sticking with it long term. Because losing weight, as you've seen, it's just math. It's really not. It's not hard conceptually. conceptually it's hard the discipline can be difficult yeah it's really tough sometimes because you're like i kind of don't want to have 50 grams of this i want to have 100 grams of that so i drink a lot of tea the tea helps i do decaf coffee for the when i'm really like uh i need it um honestly for me it's something weird i chew gum and have coffee it's like a taste plus whatever but my thing is i've made sure like over time what i need to fit into my my calories diet or whatever is I, every night I have a giant bowl of air pot popcorn. I'm talking huge. It's about 437 calories, give or take the grams and weigh. And every night, but that's me. It's something I can eat while I'm watching TV, but I'm just spraying it with salt or sorry, like Crisco and then salt. And it's relatively low calorie for how I can eat for an hour straight, like a glutton.
    144:05
    And the volume is huge. Yes. Oh, that's what I need. Some people are more like, you know, and you're probably jealous of them. I am. We're like, oh, I just don't like to eat that much. So what are you fucking talking about? What the hell is wrong with you, you stupid piece of shit? Yeah, fuck you. Eat it. Eat the food.
    144:24
    Okay, so you mentioned you don't go to the gym. This follow-up question should be right up your alley. How much do you bench? Oh, that I do know. I want to say 180.
    144:34
    Does that seem right? Sure, man. Oh, wait. Kilograms, pounds? What are we talking here? That'd be pounds. Okay, yeah. I've got to dumb it down for you, Americans. Yeah, we are stupid. I don't like things divisible by 10. That's just too complicated for us Americans. 12, please. Let me convert it. Well, let's do... Sometimes it 12 but sometimes it actually 7 Yeah don ask us about it Don talk about it You can either answer this now or wait a couple questions We got three more Hang in there I know you trying to leave Sit down.
    145:06
    Air a pinball grievance. This was initially going to be a Festivus thing over these 12 days, but I changed it because – Legal reasons. And I thought, oh, do people want a three-hour podcast of people just talking shit about pinball? Airing grievances. That's dumb. So let's change it. But I want a little bit of Festivus still in here. Feats of strength we could do, but let's do this. So I would like you to air a pinball grievance. If you have one atop of mind, feel free. Otherwise, we can get back to it in a little bit.
    145:38
    You got one? Or are we coming back to it? God, we're whiny. We're whiny folk. We are. Yes. I don't know. Some of my other hobbies are whiny, but they're like classy whiny. Yeah. Like they're less they're less whiny and more like positive criticism. Yeah, you don't get that here. There's no positive. It's like it is something about pinball. I don't know if it's and like I have my podcast and that's and I see a lot. I don't know if it's because it's mom and pop and it's like informal and it's not corporate.
    146:18
    And it's small and it's catty. I don't know. It's very, very strange. And I don't get like I'm not that kind of guy. I'm a pretty easygoing kind of guy. And I just sort of just roll. I don't know if that's a Canadian thing or what. But it's like sometimes you're just like, man, you're whiny. What are you whining for? I'm whining because I want change. It's like, no, you're just trying to justify something. Yeah.
    146:42
    And I assume you're referring to the pinball party as a whole is kind of what you're discussing about the whining. Specifically. Yeah. No, I more more kale. yeah God Rachel too I mean no offense but they're two of the worst anybody who draws a bunch of dicks can't be that bad what do you want for Christmas this year aside from food yeah I don't you know like realistically what would I want yeah oh jeez I kind of I would really for some reason I really want a PlayStation 5 but I don't think I'm going to use it as much because it's so hard to find time now to game stuff. True.
    147:27
    Like it legitimately is. How much do you play? Tell me about the Christmas thing when you get it. How much do you play in pinball these days? Nightly, once a week? Yeah, every other day usually. So they just did the James Bond seven days of 007 or whatever, so you had to have like quests to play seven games within seven days and have two people play a score of 77 million plus. There was another badge for it play after 7 p.m. So I did a few of those, which I thought was kind of fun. And this is where Stern's getting in. They know. They know what's up. They're doing good. They're figuring it out. They are. Oh, man.
    148:08
    So what do you want for Christmas? World peace. Aw. You look serious, too. I don't like that. No, I really like a griddle. You know what? A griddle would be pretty great. So I have a smoker, a pellet smoker. I got a regular smoker. I got a grill, or as we call them here, barbecues. Mm-hmm.
    148:29
    And I would love a griddle. Yeah. So I could do like the breakfast eggs and the, oh, so good. And the breakfast eggs and the bacon, and you got the thing, and you got the big spatulas, and you're fucking swinging shit around. Uh-huh. You're like, tap the yaki. The white sauce you're talking, you're going to get in there too? What was that called? Donut sauce? Seamen. Yep. Donair sauce. That's what they call it. So you want a PS5 and a griddle. Yeah. Okay. What are you looking forward to most in 2024 in the world of pinball?
    149:08
    Oh, geez. I'm the most in the world of pinball. I'm most looking forward to the next release from American pinball so I can watch everybody just fucking just explode with whining and anger. And why aren't they doing Goonies? What is wrong with them? Why are they doing his original theme? And it's gonna be so much fun. It's gonna be so much fun because I know I'll join in on that. But it's just so much. and people say things like why doesn't the game work or why isn't it fun or where's my legends of Valhalla I'm still waiting for that awesome I bought it in 1976 and still hasn't arrived I get it alright Merry Christmas thanks for joining it was a long time coming man having you on here If nothing else it was worth just seeing the sweater you got on Oh, it's great. So it's funny because there's reindeer on the front here, but if you look carefully... For all the listeners out there, what I'm looking at is a classic, you know, ugly sweater, I would say, Christmas sweater. It's got the red on the top. Reindeer.
    150:21
    Snowflakes. Yeah, and then there's another white line below it with some reindeer in it. And before he lifted his shirt up, you just see the tops of reindeer. Like, oh, okay. Pulls it up. The reindeer are banging each other inside the rectum, it looks like.
    150:36
    That is hilarious. But the thing is, I'm wearing it at the office. And nobody, they don't notice, which makes it so funny. Because everybody's like, oh, I love your ugly sweater. It's so cute. And I'm like, take another look. Are they making intercourse with each other's holes? Yeah. Did that reindeer buy dinner for that other reindeer? All right. Thanks, man. Thanks for joining. Have a Merry Christmas. Everyone go check out the Silver Bowl Chronicles. You guys sending one? You releasing one soon? What are you doing? Yeah, so there should be one coming out within the next week or two, somewhere around the holidays. And then part two should release very shortly thereafter. I'm just putting the final touches on that one. I can't wait. So there should be two in December. That's too many. And if you've joined us at patreon.com slash silverballchronicles, you already have heard that episode.
    151:28
    Go check out Silverball on the Pinball Network. Go check out their Patreon. And don't check out your shirt. No. Don't look at it. Don't do it. And stop talking to me. We'll see you later. Great. Thanks. Yep. Never talk to me again.
    151:45
    I'm the seventh day of balls. Pinball game to me. Buffalo, Pinball, Kevin, Shippick, David, Dennis, Gil, and Rachel Bass Time's been a podcast show about simple trade, one half a man, and the show has that many Merry Christmas to Kevin from the, well, you know, Brody, you can talk Pinball, Buffalo, you've been on the show before. Hey man, how you doing? What's going on? Merry Christmas, happy holidays. Thank you. Not a lot going on other than doing these 12 Days of Balls, and thank you for being so accommodating. I know I reached out. I was like, hey, can you record now or very soon and do this? Because this is chaotic and dumb that I'm doing this. So thank you very much for joining. Sure. What the heck? Let's talk.
    152:32
    Some of this is pinball related, some of it not. But I have some questions. And to kick it off with a very specific pinball question, do you believe in aliens?
    152:44
    Yes. yeah you want yes or no answers do you want you can keep go either man you've got more to it yeah i just feel like the universe is so big there's got to be something out there yeah um do you believe in ghosts uh no yeah it's not the close the closest we're done it's over yeah that's it yeah thanks for the show i'll see you later um the the closest we had is like i i don't really either per se but i like hearing the stories of people like oh yeah i walked in the kitchen i saw this dead man floating like and i like to kind of get freaked out even though it's not whatever but um kayla had this really interesting story uh for anyone listening here to listen go back and listen to or wait are you after before scheduling wise hey whatever figure it out yeah it's in there he has a funny story about a hotel and some water um but on pinball uh and for those who don't know you guys do the buffalo um the whole i mean it's under the moniker buffalo pinball but bro do you talk pinball one of my favorite pinball podcasts in fact i just like paused it um i'm i'm like halfway through your last one to record this with you you were just talking about the gtf signature edition oh my good dude my goodness dude what a joke i saw that video and i just i was like they're trying to like sell this as an investment i can't even handle this i can't handle it so i was like we have to do a breakdown of this on the show so what all right so i got to the point where you were just they're just talking about the powder-coated armor and i mean the titan flipper bands and then the kid was saying something about some toy that light reflects off the field and i was just yeah so what they they're launching the signature edition pinball machine and uh like all the perks that they're giving are like things that you could just buy on their store for like 20 bucks it's like you get this glass for $20. You can buy a banner. That's $100. You can get powder-coated armor. Okay, that's cool. If you really like that color, just get your armor powder-coated. Powder-coated that color. I was like, but the signatures on the apron, I guess that's a thing you can't get somewhere else, but where's the value? And there's like a hologram sticker that they put on there I don see it What the price Do they say in there It a call for pricing price Oh Exactly I will give you for this Actually, that'd be a funny, I wonder if you'd have to get permission, but like record it and call them and just, yeah, off low ball them big time. I'll give you two grand. How many of these you got sitting in your warehouse? Yeah, I'll take them all. 50 bucks. I'll take them off your hand.
    155:21
    But in opposite of that, what was your favorite pinball thing this year? in 2023. Oh, man. Could be game rules. Personally, I got to go and hang with Scott Denisey at the Multimorphic headquarters and play Final Resistance, and that was pretty amazing. I saw one of your streams, and then that was, I think that was lead up to TPF. Is that right? Is that early in the year? Yeah, it was right before TPF. Yeah. Yeah, and I haven't played the game. You have a P3, right? Do you have the game? I don't even remember. Did they make it yet? Yeah, they're building them, shipping them. Yeah, lots of people have gotten them already. I got mine a couple months ago. That was one of the first on the line. so yeah it's awesome like it's everything i want in a scott denisi game and it's it's built by multimorphic which i appreciate right as opposed to his other pinball machines uh yeah uh spooky man and you guys were talking about that as well like the you know the themes are they're doing pretty good with the themes but like it's you know fool me once you know uh yeah it's like yeah i hate to like i understand there's a lot of effort and people put a lot of time and money and passionate of these pinball machines so it's hard to like crap on somebody's hard work like i don't want to you know you know what i mean but it's also like if there's a repeating pattern and there's an issue i think it's fair to call that out too you know what i mean right right like um you know they're doing something similar that they did with ultraman and uh halloween right where they're doing two pinball machines at the same time last time they did that the code was it took a lot of time for the code to get where it needed to be um i'll give credit like it looks like they're doing two different two separate uh development teams on these games and it sounds like um the texas chainsaw master has been in development for a long time so uh but it's with the market the way it is right now and right you know use machines you don't have to rush out and buy these games right away like play the game if it's great and you love it buy it but you know just we can take a Wednesday approach which i'm i'm glad about i'm glad the kind of like insanity of COVID is over where everybody was just buying everything that comes out before they had a chance to play it. And then the used games were more expensive than the new games. And that kind of like was just driving this insane cycle that was not sustainable. So I think it chilled out a little bit. We get a chance to enjoy the machines and see if it's for you and buy it. And then even if you didn't miss out on a brand new inbox, chances are you're going to be able to get a used one less than new inbox, which is awesome. Yeah. And for those who hopped during COVID, that's the norm of you should be able to get a used game cheaper than new. I mean, yes. And Fear Missing Out was a stranglehold for at least a year on everyone. People were spending three grand over MSRP on Stern premiums just to be able to play Deadpool. I remember Ghostbusters prices went through the roof. It was insane. When I had mine, people couldn't wait to get rid of that game. Everybody hated that game. And then everybody decided they loved it. So it was crazy. or like one of your games in the background tron um like during covid that was going for like 11 12 grand yeah for tron pro uh-huh uh and those new were what five four five ish yeah i bought my mine was home use only so i bought it second hand it was like 5500 as someone who's owned it that long does it hold up it does well it's like my dream theme like i'm a super nerd for tron so i'm never going to sell it, but it's also one of those games that's in the vein of Iron Man. I think you were a pastor at Iron Man. So it's in that same sort of rule set. So it's one of those things where it doesn't take a long time to get to the end, but it's always kind of like, it's got the carrot right out there, and every once in a while you can grab it, and otherwise it's just kicking your butt, which I appreciate. How often do you think you play Tron these days? Like, once a week? Yeah, a couple times a month probably. you know yeah i've got i think nine games so yeah it varies okay yeah um so your favorite thing this year was uh the kind of the whole final resistance thing with scott which was awesome um i gotta play that game i wish yeah that's the thing about p3 at least in wisconsin where i'm there's not a lot around a lot around and that's not something that i could like easily find on the used market especially because it's like a bundle thing you know you gotta get the p3 and then plus the game and then it seems like most people on pin side are trying to sell like the whole kit and caboodle at once for like 20 grand. I'm like, I just want final resistance and maybe cosmic cart, you know, I don't know. Yeah. That's a lot to shell out up front, but yeah, that's awesome. Like once you have it and then final resistance comes out, you could get it for a couple of grand, which is awesome. Right. Yeah. It's like that, that initial investment you got to jump in on. What's that one? Um, uh, I forget what it's called. It's, Kind of a more arcade-y one, like a roguelike, where I think you were streaming it. Oh, Dungeon Door Defender? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. What is the play field for that one? What is it? It works on Heist. Heist, okay. Because you're defending the dungeon door and Heist has the prison door. Sure. Yeah. And do you have Heist, the module? I do, yeah. I have them all except for Cannon Lagoon. out of all the games i've seen from them that has been the game that to me i don't know why that game specifically but that's exactly up my alley uh yeah that was the game that got me to buy it and i was like i had a loaner they sent me what was it like 2017 2016 something like that uh they sent me a loaner game to stream for a while and then i sent it back and then during COVID they released Heist and I was like man, I should just buy one of these. Because I knew from borrowing it I was like, this is really awesome. I need to just own one of these. And then Heist was the game where I was like, alright, I'm going to jump in because it looked really cool. And I'm glad I did because I've been all in since then. It's been great.
    161:08
    I have a few more questions but I've got to ask one more thing about the P3. When you're going to... Because you're one of the most... You just have a lot of experience with it. And I'll talk to people like when you are going to change a module, how long does it take? You think roughly. So there's a video of me doing this on our YouTube channel. So if you go to the Buffalo pinball YouTube channel and the video is like a minute and a half, and that includes me messing around with streaming gear because I was doing it during a stream. So a minute and a half. Yeah. And most of that time is taking the glass off and getting the game into service position. Once you have it in the service position, there's three connectors. You disconnect, pull the module out, Yeah. Three connectors and two little latches on the side. Pull it out. Dump the balls into the trough. Put the new thing in. Lock it down. Slide it back in and you're done.
    161:58
    OK. Yeah. I mean, I have so many questions. All right. So move on. What is your favorite, quote unquote, real world monster like Sasquatch, Loch Ness Monster, Chetty, Yeti, Chupacabra? No, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about monsters. Yeah, me neither. I guess the Yeti. Give me a good old Yeti. A good Yeti? Okay. Yeah. What is your favorite curse word, and could you please enunciate it clearly? Oh, there's so many to choose from. I know. A lot of good ones. I think if Nick were here, he would say fuck. He definitely would. I mean, you can't go wrong with that. it's context uh dependent for me like if i'm playing pinball and i get really mad you know a big old fuck's gonna come out but if it's uh you know if i'm less passionate and not feeling it as much there's a good shit in there too yeah you know so i like a good shit for more for more reasons than one yeah right man definitely everybody clipped that part yes yes there's a little pause for you too a little air on each side uh the the amount of terrible things i say when draining a ball. I'm thinking of Walking Dead, getting to the horde mode, where just one shot away, it's all blinking. You've got all the weapons except for one. It's loaded and you miss it. The things I say I should be arrested for when you drain. It just comes out. Walking Dead, if you want all the curse words to come out, just play Walking Dead. That'll make them all come out. Yep.
    163:36
    If you wouldn't mind, could you tell me something about yourself that you're proud of? That's a rough question.
    163:44
    I don't know. I'm a dad. I think my kid's pretty cool. Proud of my son. How about that? Hell yeah, man.
    163:51
    How much you bench? Oh, jeez. I don't. 450 is the default answer. We'll say 450 pounds. 8,000 pounds. That's impressive.
    164:05
    Initially, this 12 Days of Balls was going to be Pinball Party Festivus thing, and I was going to have... do this with you and everyone else, and then make one large two-and-a-half-hour episode and do grievance airs, feats of strength, all that. And I was like, well, that'll just be three hours of people bitching about Galactic Tank Force, Scooby-Doo. It'll just be negative. I don't think I want to listen to it. Bad vibes at the end of the year. Yeah, but I need to have a little sprinkle of it, so can you please... Either we can go to a couple questions and come back to this. um, air, a pinball grievance of 2023. If you have one at the top of your mind, feel free to shoot it out. Uh, yeah. Well, all the awards nonsense that's going on right now. Like the awards are like pinball awards are done to begin with. Like we we intentionally like we not going to waste our time on the podcast talking about this stuff So I talk about it on yours Yeah please So it like annual awards for an industry that produces like a handful of things every year And one company has far greater reach than everybody else, so chances are if it's like a popularity contest, that's going to get the most votes. Stern's probably going to get the most votes because most people have played Sterns, just out of sheer numbers. and then you've got one or two other games that are probably not going to make the cut and that's it so it's done to begin with and then you have all this dumb drama going on and people are, it's like, let's just get rid of it let's just be done with those, that would be my answer to that, no more awards everybody did great, high fives all around we don't need to have an award show yeah, here's my pinball awards probably Foo Fighters the best, favorite podcast actually, no offense to everyone else probably Buffalo, or Brody even talked, sorry, the branding.
    165:56
    And there we go. Award's over. So what do you want for Christmas this year? Oh, hmm. I like to travel. Travel's good. I've been thinking more about less about buying stuff and more about experience things. So let's put less stuff in landfills and just spend more time with our friends and family, traveling, doing cool stuff, having experiences versus buying stuff for each other. I agree, especially in pinball, when you think one machine is a vacation for your whole family, price-wise. Exactly. It's crazy. So if you had... If I just gave you $20,000, which I won't because I don't have it, where would you just suddenly, you and your family, go?
    166:43
    Probably Hawaii because my son has been, I don't know, for whatever reason, me it was like i always wanted to go hawaii i don't think it costs 20 grand to go to hawaii but it would be great we could like live it up and just you know stay in the best hotels and everything so yeah uh we'll do it someday um but yeah not not this year he's he's he's a junior in high school right now so we're we got college in our future and all that stuff so if i remember i think when we were getting to know your balls the last episode his favorite game was pirates who's that your favorite it's probably like it's hard to pick a favorite single pinball machine for me like i have different games i like for different reasons like like tron and pirates are probably up there uh but it's hard to deny godzilla is an amazing game and like i really like final resistance um dialed in is great adam's family's like my my nostalgic favorite so i have many many favorites for different reasons this year i guess it releases well i mean we had the beginning of the year crazy you know explosion of releases what's your favorite game you know of this year uh probably final resistance it's it's uh um like godfather is really good too but i think uh final resistance wins out on like the overall experience uh because i tend to um gravitate towards sci-fi themes and i really like the the cyberpunk theme and i've always like Total Nuclear Annihilation, but I felt like it was a little too linear for a home play keeper game. I love playing it competitively. I don't necessarily want to own it.
    168:20
    And Final Resistance kind of hits that vibe, but brings more stuff to do, different ways to approach it while you're playing. So I think that's going to be my pick for the year. Okay. Yeah, and TNA, I owned it twice for the same reason. You get bored with it fast, and I moved it on, and then I was like, well, I want to play it again, but whatever. But that's been the hardest game for me to sell ever, surprisingly. Because people don't want to buy it?
    168:47
    Yeah. Because I think the second time I had it was the newer version. But when it came out, they were asking something ridiculous like $9,000 or something. But I think I bought it on the used market or traded with a buddy for like $8,000. And even selling it like $1,500 below was, I think I ended up selling it for $7,500. half, but it took like two months to sell a perfect condition, like under 100 plays TNA, so it's a tough one to... I think they pushed the price up too much on that. That was like $5,500 when they launched the first one, right? Yeah, and that's what it... That game fits there. Right. It feels like the right price. Right. Not from a design or anything, like, I mean, it's... Or I should say, not from a build quality or what Scott put into it. It's phenomenal, but it is a very simple, fast Iron Man type of game. Right. Even more linear. Yeah, they put extras for the CE version, but not like double the price. No, no. Bonus. It's like GTF version of the Signature Edition. It's like, yeah, those things are nice. I'm not going to pay that much extra for it. Sorry. No. Powder coat and some plastics. And that's a discount. But I mean, yeah, when you're asking for four grand extra, nah, bruh. Yeah. Last question In 2024 what are you looking forward to the most in the world of pinball I would say like less drama but that never going to happen Right.
    170:09
    Hopefully this is the year that Mark Seiden's pinball machine comes out from JJP. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he's been working on. So a brand-new designer with the bill of materials that JJP allows their designers. and I was really curious to see what comes out of that. Hopefully this is the year. Is there any rumors on the theme for him? I have no idea. Everybody wants it to be Metroid because that was his homebrew. He used to build it on Twitch. I used to watch him make this game on Twitch. If there was nothing else going on, I was like, oh, let's see what's going on. Mark is building this game again. It was really cool and innovative.
    170:49
    Looking forward to what's coming out with him. if American Pinball is thinking that Cuphead somehow is a good enough theme then I think Metroid if it comes to video game themes would smash that but I mean Mario Nintendo is notoriously difficult to work with license wise so I doubt it's going to be that well I think Ken I'm going to have Ken Cromwell on tomorrow well whenever you're listening ask Ken what the theme is he'll tell you I'm going to I'm going to ask him on the air ask him how Mark Seiden's Metroid game is going along alright Ken get ready for the answer. If he's listening, I'm talking to him tomorrow. That might air before this or whatever. Time doesn't really matter. It's a good call. I really want J.J.P. to... I mean, they put their heart and soul into games, and the last two theme-wise... I mean, just for the masses, I don't think was the right call.
    171:41
    They're not like... They need to do The Matrix. Fucking A. Please, if they do The Matrix or Harry Potter or Star Wars. They're going to be making those for years. Printing money. They'll turn it around, but they have so much money to work with anyways. I think they're doing alright, but I just want them to have a runaway hit again like they had with Guns N' Roses. That and Wizard of Oz back then was... That game is still one of their most impressive. If not most, it could be. It was packed. Other games, people came around on the other games too. I feel like Dialed In obviously got slammed when it came out because people were hung up on the quote unquote mom jeans or the phone theme or whatever. Right. It's like, dude, this is a Pat Lawler disaster theme game. It's amazing. And I stand by that. I love that game. And so it's funny now. And like on Facebook, when people are like, what JJP should I get? Like nine out of the 10 comments are like, you should get dialed in. That's our best game. I was like, what am I telling you people? Yeah. Dialed in is probably the correct answer for sure. It's great. Well, Hey Kevin, Merry Christmas. Thanks for joining. Um, I hope you have a happy holidays with the family. hopefully you get to travel more um what do what do you guys got coming up soon on uh buffalo or brody even talk so i you'll get to this since you're about halfway through the episode um towards the end i talk about how we're shifting the channel a little bit so i had been you know for like the past nine years i've been doing monday nights on buffalo streaming i'm scaling that back a little bit between uh you know life and new job i got a new i got a promotion this year like i said nice going to college soon and we're looking at colleges so like time wise things don't work out as much and plus it's like you know after you do something for long enough it's like let's let's let's try something else yeah um so uh my it won't be on every monday night anymore but you know if i get a new game or whatever else i'll stream it and we're just still gonna do bro uh the uh podcast where we all get the or the the stream where we all get together and play different games we're still gonna do the the podcast every month uh we're also not doing the stream team thing anymore, so we had been doing, you know, for years we've had other, you know, non-local Buffalo folks on the stream sharing their gameplay with everybody, so we're scaling that back too. But we do have a vision for the future of the channel, so if you're not subscribed to Buffalo Pinball on Twitch, do that, and if you are, leave your notifications on, and when the new stuff happens, you'll be there. That's awesome. Yeah, and go check out Brody and Talk Pinball on your podcast thingy. It's phenomenal. Alright, Happy New Year's. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year On the eighth day of fall Pinball game to me I'm Craig, Bobby, Buffalo, Pinball Kevin, Shippin, David, Dennis Jill and Rachel Best Time's pinball podcast Show got simple trade One half a man's better shoe Man's that many
    174:41
    I'm Craig Bobby. Oh, good to meet you, man. Well, I guess I've met you, but virtually. Good to see you in person. Well, you know, camera. You know what I mean. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you Jason This is awesome to be here Awesome to be here Really really appreciate you having me on Thanks for coming on I mean this was short notice This is ridiculous and you are one of the 12 balls this year How does that feel? That is, I'm so honored, and I actually, you know, I decided to put some pants on today for this recording. Normally I don't do that, but today I thought, you know what, let's go the extra mile here for Jason. It's kind of like our first podcast date. It's like our first date in a lot of ways. Yeah. So next time, no pants, though. Got it. Right. I mean, I don't have pants, but hey, I'm the host. Why would I wear pants? That's right. What's new with you, man? I mean, the pinball show, for those who recognize your voice, you're on the pinball show a lot doing the production updates. Or no, what do they even call the segment anymore? So we call it our Top Stories News Segment. Right. And basically, yeah, I sum up sort of the main hot topics of the week in the pinball industry. And then Zach and Dennis elaborate on those. And, you know, it's a continuation of what we started with Ken Cromwell and Bill Webb back in the special win-lit days, if any of the viewers remember that. That was all the way back in 2019. Boy, it seems like a long time ago. but uh before covid and then and then you know that was sort of uh the show was kind of wrapping up as ken was moving on to jersey jack and didn't have the time anymore to do that and um and then yeah zach and dennis kind of took that idea and we sort of ported ported it over changed the name up a little bit and um and then we did have uh you know a number of correspondents as well back in special when there was about four or five of us um you know covering each of the manufacturers and then over time it was just getting harder and harder you know as covid ended with everybody to get their pieces in on time and it was just starting to get a lot so we just whittled it down and i ended up being the last the last man standing well no offense to the others and but it's not a slight but you do a fantastic job man oh thanks thank well it's taken a while i mean When I first did this with Ken and Bill, if you go back and listen, and of course you would, but when I go back and listen, there was a shakiness there. Certainly, after you've done them for three or four years, you do start to get a little more proficient.
    177:31
    If you play and listen to yourself, I learn a lot about how I sound, how I want to sound, how I project, just all that stuff. So over time, if you do things long enough, shockingly, you do start to get better at it. But I appreciate it.
    177:48
    Yeah, I don't do that. I should listen to myself because I've gotten comments that are like, oh, you sound like an ass. Like, oh, okay, maybe if I listen to myself, I'd pick that up. But I don't, and I won't, so deal with it. When you are giving away this gold on the pinball show, it's one of my favorite parts of the show. Of course, pinball, pinball, megatrends, all that. But you are so concise with your words.
    178:14
    And this is what I picture. Please correct me if I'm wrong. And maybe don't because this is what I like to picture. That you are like hidden at stern. I mean, J.J.P., pick one. You're like a little monkey in the corner. You're covered up by like a pinball box, something like a Metal Gear Solid. And you're just peeking out. You're just spying on everyone. How do you get all this info? Is that what's happening? well you just have to keep your ears to the ground and uh and you're right you have to be in the right place at the right time certainly showing up i wish i could show up to more of the of the in-person um you know expos and uh and pinball conventions because a lot of stuff as people get together gets sort of bantered about and uh not even through the employees but just through just through word of mouth, you know? Um, and, and it's, it's hilarious talking to people and interacting with people. And, uh, and that as much as anything has been the, the, the biggest bright spot I think in this hobby is just interacting with so many of the listeners and, and so many of the people out there and, and people that, that build the games and the designers and the owners and all, all that stuff. It's just, it's a fantastic community. one of my favorite parts of when you're giving the um top stories of the week is when you're saying a rumor about something that i know is not a rumor and it's totally true and you'll say like oh maybe you know and i'm like ah it's like oh you put that second or third did you um or sometimes you put it first and um that that's my favorite part but hey um oh go ahead no i was gonna say You get good, too, at weeding out what the bullshit is. And I've gotten good just because I've been listening for so long about what, when I hear something and get it right. Getting to know these companies and getting to know what could be real or is real versus people just making shit up. Yeah. Anyway.
    180:10
    Well, I'm about to make shit up for the next 15, 20 minutes. Feel free to do the same. I'm good at that too. Trust me. All right. Since you haven't been on here before, there's a question I haven't been asking people, but I kind of want to know. What's your favorite pinball machine? Do you have one? Well, you're looking at it right behind me there, Jason. It's Godzilla. I do think, and I've said this before on Joel's Flippin' Out With Friends YouTube stream, which I'm on periodically as well with him and other guests. And I do believe in being in this hobby in earnest for almost five years. I can't, damn, I don't have my five-year badge yet, Jason. But obviously, I've liked pinball since I was a kid, but only really been in the hobby for a solid, I'd say, four years. but I do believe, you know, courtesy of Keith Elwin and the folks at Stern, that Godzilla, you know, overall is the greatest game that has ever been made in a pinball, in pinball form. I know people will argue that all day long and theme is a big part for everybody, but in my opinion, everything they've done with this game from the layout to the code, to the artwork, the whole kit and caboodle, when you, when you put that up against, you know, all the other games that have come before it and that have come since, I still think this is the greatest game that's been made so far.
    181:33
    But not that there's not other fantastic games out there and not that other people, you know, don't have a strong opinion about that. But you can see it's right at the top of the Pinside Top 100 for what it's worth. And it's why they just continue to make the hell out of these and probably will to the end of time, you know. I think, well, we'll see what happens with the multi-toothed sea creature soon. Well, Owen can do wrong, you know, so, you know. What if it comes out and it's just dog shit? Like, it's just like one of the worst, and we're all wrong, and he just like, well, as a meme, he just releases a dog shit game.
    182:14
    Well, even Bowie made some bad albums. I mean, shit, you know. It's true. Yeah. uh well that was made a couple years ago but what in 2023 was your favorite pinball thing could be a game could be dennis creasel could be a a flipper mech i absolutely okay there's two things and they're kind of built both the same but i thought 2023 was a fantastic year for new releases. I was... So two things happened. One, I was super skeptical about Barrels of Fun, which is a brand new company, for those that don't know, with their new game, Labyrinth. I was super skeptical about this game when they were first announcing it and the marketing leading up to it I thought was horrific. So when I went to Expo, I was so shocked at how great this game was. it completely blew me away for a first effort from this company. So that was one thing that I was, you know, extremely excited about, that this company's come from nowhere and they've produced a game that I think is on par with any of the big hitters out there these days, including Stern. I mean, I think it's a fantastic, fantastic effort from them.
    183:31
    But the game of Expo, in my humble opinion, and, you know, again, And I know theme-wise people aren't going to be excited about this, but I do think Elton John is a fantastic shooting game. And overall, to me, that was the game of that Expo and of 2023. I just think it's a fantastic game. I think I haven't played it. I want to. It's always the price thing with J.J.P. I think if that was in line with the others, I think it would be much more in the contender to a lot of people. of but it's well yeah i mean it's like beating a dead horse um they're they're horrifically expensive and i would agree with that and pinball in general is horrifically expensive frankly um if i might say um if i must say but but um you know price price aside and we could argue that all day long about oh i paid you know three thousand dollars for my lord of the rings back in 1987 and you know like those aren't the days we live in try trying you know buying a new car I know you have recently too. It's a horror show of how much money they want you to spend. It is redonkulous. But anyway, all that being aside, I think it was a fantastic effort by Steve Ritchie. I think he put a lot of concerns to bed with this effort. I think theme-wise, you know, there a lot to ask for it It would have been my first choice with Elton John I sure it wasn Steve first choice but he really made Lemonade out of a lemon there I mean I think it a fantastic game It was super fun to play. I wish I could have played it more in Expo. Everyone that played it had a great time on it.
    185:15
    There's probably, like we've talked about, or like some other podcasts have talked about, there's like one bad shot in the game. Oh, well, you know. Yeah. What is the bad shot?
    185:26
    There's like a dead end shot up near the top, which I didn't really even notice. But now that it's been revealed, I kind of do notice it now. But that aside, it's just a fantastic, it's such a fun, well-shooting, high-flow game. I think it's fantastic with the sound effects and the lights and the artwork. Christopher Franchi did a bang-up job, as he always does. So, no, I thought it was a home run. If price wasn't an issue, I would be buying that game all day long.
    186:02
    Do you believe in aliens? I absolutely do. You know, Jason, I'm like, they've got to be fucking out there. They're fucking out there. They are. Yeah, no, I do. You know, like some of your other guests have said, the odds are that they're there. Now, the intelligence level, you know, that remains to be seen. And I'm not suggesting either that some of the things that we're witnessing, you know, people are witnessing on Earth about aliens are necessarily true. Because I do think there's a lot going on that we don't know about in terms of, you know, other government things going on that people don't want you to know about. Who knows, right? So it's a real – I try not to go down those rabbit holes too much, but it would not shock me in less than five years if there's a press conference and it's the government saying, yep, aliens are here. Here's Steve. This is his wife. They're both addicted to crack. They're aliens.
    187:05
    Going down further that rabbit hole, are you a ghost believer? I love fucking ghosts too. Bring them on. Yeah, I'm a believer in all that shit. you know again i i haven't really seen that much that would make me think you know that there there are ghosts like but i i'm a believer in the supernatural and all that shit i'm a sucker for all that stuff you know that's awesome without trying to get too uh again go down too many rabbit holes and get too obsessive about it but yeah i can believe it but but i do believe in all that stuff you know and and in spirituality and and all that you know like yeah yeah okay is there a favorite monster of yours aside from godzilla like a sasquatch or a yeti or a chupacabra i love this monster i love the i like i like the name sasquatch the best i don't know if you remember there was a a show back in the in the late 70s or early 80s um it was like called the croft super show and they had um it was kind of like around the time of steve austin six million Man, where Bigfoot was on that. Well, in the Croft Super Show, they had Bigfoot and Wild Boy, they called it. And as a kid, I fucking love that.
    188:17
    These were like 10 or 15 minute episodes in an hour and a half kind of show where they had all these wacky characters and kind of mini episodes of the series. And you can find them all on YouTube, and they're hilarious to watch. They're so badly acted, but they're so like set like typical 70s kind of like it was a total play on on on the six million dollar man with the slow motion stuff okay in the bad suit you know guy running around so uh what's your favorite curse word and please pronounce it clearly so i'm a big fan of motherfucker but you know i like i like putting curse words together with one another like can you believe this motherfucking shit and you gotta raise your voice i'm a big believer in like in that like enunciation or like if you you have to say it you can't just say oh motherfucker like you know like i really believe in kind of punching it up uh my my mom god rest her soul was the was the queen of of of the of the swear shock so she would never swear at all and then all of a sudden she'd throw out an f-bomb and just shock the shit out of everybody you know like no one thought she could swear and then but then sometimes she's like just just to like get attention or just to see if you're awake you know she'd throw in the f-bombs at you and it meant something more when she did it yeah i i i love swearing i think and that's one of the reasons why i love living you know listening to your show too because i think it's it's real i think it's a great um stress reliever and i think it hilarious like i love it using it in humor um yeah whenever my dad got mad he would be swearing like a truck driver and it was the funniest fucking thing because he was so emphatic about it And it was the more emphatic he got the funnier it became. And so I've, I've learned from all that and, and try and keep it, you know, funny and, uh, and amusing, I think. So if you're going to swear, just make it amusing. And all of a sudden people who you don't like swearing all of a sudden might. It brings us together. Would you mind sharing something about yourself that you're proud of, please? Well, I'm proud of all the shows that we do, you know, over on the pinball show. Not to toot our own horn over there, but what the fuck, we're the shilliest of shills.
    190:38
    But I also believe that we do a great job over there. And so I'm very proud of the work that gets done. I wouldn't continue to do it if I wasn't.
    190:53
    And certainly working with guys like Dennis and Zach, who are at the top of their game right now, are just fantastic and super supportive. They let me do whatever I want. It doesn't matter. I'll send them stuff and I'm like, I don't know. They're like, it's fantastic. I'm like, let's do it. So they're very open to ideas and what we're doing. So stay tuned is all I can say to the listeners because we're going to try to change. I like changing it up every year. And I think 2024 is kind of the year of change for me. So stay tuned. I don't know. I have no fucking clue what that means, by the way. I'm excited. All right.
    191:31
    How much do you bench? Well, before COVID, I was benching probably about 180. That's my weight. Nice. I'm 5'11". So my goal when I was working out for a bunch of years before COVID was to be able to bench my weight. and so i was able to do that um and and then covet hit and i literally have not been back to the gym since jason i mean you know at 500 pounds later uh you know yeah you're taking up the whole screen um can you uh am i this timing is so good or bad however you look at it airing a pinball grievance in the um in the spirit of seinfeld's festivus uh we're airing a grievance do you have a pinball I love this. I actually love this question. And my grievance, beyond some of the other stuff that people have already said, I'm going to take my aim, though, at some of the pinball manufacturers. And my big grievance is with folks like American Pinball and Chicago Pinball. God damn it, guys. Step it the fuck up. And I love David Fix. I actually really like him. I met him at Expo this year again. I really like it. But the company itself frustrates the shit out of me because these companies should be like, I know they have slightly different feels from people like Stern, but I want them to be like kind of what Barrels of Fun did with us this year. I want them to produce a game where it's like, holy shit, this is amazing. And I still feel like American Pinball, for all that they've produced, still hasn't done that. We still haven't seen, I don't think, the best that that company has to offer yet. I thought Galactic Tame Force could have been something. Although, again, this obsession with original themes fucking drives me insane as well. Like, I can't. I just can't. I can't. So that's one of my grievances is like the people that are original themes can be great, but not in comparison to an established license that's done well. So why go down that path in my mind? Sure. What's on your Christmas list this year? What are you hoping to get from Santy Claus? Well, I'm going to really excite everybody with this one. Okay. I really want a high-powered flashlight, Jason. No shit.
    194:06
    Like, it's just your standard flashlight? Or you got something special? So I've been doing, like, a handheld, you know, but, like, it's super bright. So either for security or just, like, one of my big, big things as I get a little older here is I can't stand being in the fucking dark, especially when I'm trying to work or find shit. And I'm forever going to my phone for a fight. But I want something big. Like I want to light up the side of a house and, but I want to also be able to hold onto it or be able to put it in my pocket. So God damn it. Amazon is so good that way. And so there are some, you know, with led technology, there are some super bright lights that are like a couple hundred bucks, but you can like, you know, literally they'll, they'll blast, you know, 600 yards or more. And it looks like, you know, speaking of aliens, like there a fucking flying saucer coming down So anyway that what I getting for Christmas So we see you coming from a mile away there comes craig bobby and the other thing i going to tell you what i want to before i get a heated vest so i i i getting i so tired of the cold now i going to a heated same heated vest dude and it is going to be life-changing for me it is going to be fucking i'm so fucking excited for those two things light and heat when you when you get the Invest. Send me a Discord on how you like it. Yes. I want to know how that works out. What are you looking forward to the most in 2024 in the world of pinball? Well, two things. The first thing is Keith Ellwin's next thing. And it's been a while since we've seen anything from him because we got a little held up there with James Bond. And not everybody could get access or has had access to that game. But everything he touches is frigging coming up gold for him. So I have no doubt. it doesn't even matter to me what the fucking theme is. It could be the Brady Bunch. It is going to be spectacular, whatever it is. And it's always an event when the greatest designer in the hobby today, and that's no offense to the other designers that are out there because there are some fantastic new games that are coming out. But Keith, much like his pinball playing, has taken the design of these games to a whole new level. So when he puts his mind to something, he's just on a different level. He's on a different level. So I'm super excited to see what he's going to come up with this year. I am fearful for my bank account for that reason as well, because it's almost a take my money or buy without even seeing it deal with him.
    196:41
    And, of course, the Pinball Expo, which is such a fun thing. Jason, you've got to come, dude, to the Pinball Expo. It's so fucking fun. You'll love it. I'll try. I was going to last year, and then stuff came up, and life happens. But, yeah, I want to this year. Well, aside from doing the top stories on the pinball show and flipping out with friends with Joel a lot, what else you got going on in your world of pinball coming up soon? That is it. Okay. No, it's like that's enough. And I wish I could do more. Like when before the pandemic, I had a I had a pinball show, what I called a midweek edition, you know, so the idea behind that was I would there was so much stuff going on and we all had so much time on our hands. And in retrospect that we thought, you know, why not have another show in the same week as the pinball show just to keep on talking and get into more detail or go down different paths that that Zach and Dennis couldn't go down. but it just got to be too much in terms of the amount of time that it takes even even the three to five minute show i do right now takes me hours literally to write it like when you're talking about the words and stuff because i fucking sit there and write the fucking shit out of this thing so i'm thinking about every sentence what am i going to say what am i not going to say how can i make this better how can i make this funny like so you know it does take it takes way more time than you than you think it does to have it look and i'm a perfectionist a little bit too So it's like, I can't, I can't, I have a hard time releasing something where I, it sounds like shit. And when I was doing my own show too, I was spending so much fucking time editing because I can't stand something going out in the world that sounds like shit. You know what I mean? Or it doesn't come across the way I hear it in my head. Um, and that just means a lot of editing, fortunately. Yeah. Well, Hey man, it's been a pleasure. Thanks for finally joining the pinball party and letting us get to know you a little more. Jason, this is so fun. Thank you so much for having me on this is so cool and uh hey let's do it again let's not stop here let's just all right man you asked for it and until then merry christmas happy new year i hope you get your flashlight and your vest and i'll talk to you later thanks jason talk to you soon merry christmas on the ninth day of fall's pinball game to me erica's pinball journey i'm craig bobby buffalo Pinball Kevin, Shippick David, Dennis Gill and Rachel Best Ties, pinball pockets, showbiz, pinball train, one half a fan And the showbiz at many Merry Christmas, Erica, from Erica's Pinball Journeys. How are you doing? Doing good. Thanks so much and Merry Christmas to you too. I was on YouTube or Facebook or Instagram. I don't know. I started seeing your logo pop up and I was very impressed by the art. And I recently watched the interview you did with kind of the making of the Aliens pinball machine, and that was off the charts. How long have you been doing this, as you call it, the pinball journey?
    199:43
    Well, my pinball journey kind of started in February of 2022. I had a friend that bought a Jurassic Park Data East, and he's like, yo, Erica, you need to get a pinball machine. And I had started a new corporate job, and... Not traveling as much. And then I was like, yeah, I think I want a pinball machine and bought a Lord of the Rings. And I haven't looked back since. I saw your like-minded souls, your top five video, you know, the kineticist had us doing Lord of the Rings as your number one, right? Yeah, it is. I love that game and movie, like all of it. and as a filmmaker, right. Or, um, you, the way you described it in your video, I watched like three times cause you were getting into, you know, the fellowship and the two towers and turn the king. I could see the enthusiasm. Um, and honestly, that video is one of the reasons like you should totally come on here. We haven't talked before. Spoiler alert to all the listeners. We've never talked. Um, so thank you very much for joining and just going through the circus with us. Um, yeah, definitely. I enjoy the show from what I've seen. Your stuff is just top notch. So please keep doing what you're doing. Were you at Expo this year, I think? I did. I did go to Expo. I have a recap video I'm working on.
    201:04
    Yeah, it's just tough. You know, like life, like I have like a job that takes a lot of my time. And I sit on a computer working at my job. So it's just been hard to like, you know, keep going. And video editing takes a lot. And I don't know, I'm put like a standard for myself and felt a lot of pressure. honestly people really liked my videos and i just want to make sure that i continue with that you know i really enjoy doing it i'm not an editor by any means i used to edit um back back in the day a bit when i was working freelance on film stuff but now i'm mostly like a supervisor coordinator um i've done ad work and did was a pa for many years or production assistant for those of you that don't know the film terms and stuff yeah yeah i've been in the film industry since like 2015 I think wow and uh been in corporate now for almost two years but before this I was working on movies and tv shows and I was on sets and working on movies and yeah I was no shit last yeah do you have a favorite one of those that you can talk about I don't know what what I don't I've never talked to anyone who's worked in film or any of that stuff any like awesome memories from you want to share um yeah I mean I've worked on some pretty cool stuff uh I am on imdb so you can find me on the international movie database or imdb usually yeah i'd say like my coolest project i mean i worked on matrix 4 fuck off are you serious yeah what yeah i worked on that okay i gotta show you something i'm not taking my clothes off i'm just taking my arm out of the sleeve okay so this this tattoo oh yo let's see it i know white rabbit yeah so i got i got that in anticipation for matrix 4 because growing up well so i'm 41 but when you know the first matrix came out you know i was like what the hell was that and then like a week later i'm like that's the best thing i've ever seen and then got really into it enough to where when it got announced that they're making matrix 4 i was like i've always thought of getting the white rabbit tattoo with the red the red and blue pill and then that one i just i just got in the hype and i was like yeah exactly what you said let's go so i got it and um i i love it i mean i think there's some naysayers out there about the movie but you worked what yeah oh my god let's just talk about matrix instead of pinball but oh wow i don't i honestly don't think you could have said a different a better movie truly uh it's probably the coolest one oh i did a really fun one called uh black bear uh it's a movie with aubrey plaza christopher abbott and oh shit um and whatnot so that one was really fun and i like lived at the house we filmed that so what crazy times yeah so would you um like a rumored matrix pinball machine oh would that be up here hell yeah i heard like somebody was telling me i don't tell a lot of people that i like i tell people i've worked on movies and tv shows but i don't really say what like my last name i'm i don't really like put it out there same a lot like people people ask it but like you know it's not something i'm like oh yeah my last name is blah blah blah you know um so your pinball stuff um i mean it's called erica's pinball journey is kind of the the overall thing i mean that is that the youtube right it's It's called, yeah, Erica's Pinball Team. Yeah, YouTube, Instagram. I post more on Instagram at the moment. It's a bit easier, right? Like just photos and some small silly videos I have every once in a while. I plan to ramp up a lot more in the coming year. It's just been, you know, like life. It's been hard. But my job either kind of maybe lucky for me, just went part-time. So I now only work three days a week. So I now really wanting to dedicate those two extra days now to actually work on my content work with local arcades and just really share with people what I learning Because I just I just have all these questions My like non pinball friends ask and I like Oh I just want to like go to my YouTube channel Like that was really the reason why I wanted to start my channel was cause I, I got into pinball and like, everyone's like, what are you doing? Like, what is this pinball that you're like super into? Right. And I'm like, Oh, it's this and it's this. And then like, it would just take so long. Like people would, but they would just keep asking me these questions. I'm like, I can't keep spending my day repeating the same story. So I'm just going to make a YouTube channel to direct my friends to, Oh, you want to know about tournaments? Oh, go check out my YouTube channel. You want to know what it's like to join a league? Go check out my YouTube channel. You know? Well, so you get bit by the pinball bug. You start using your talents to, to make these videos and share with. And I love that it comes out of a place of necessity. If your friends asking, it's very similar. Why I started the pinball party. Well, not very similar reason, but a reason of like, I kept getting grief for people on Pinside. I'd buy a game, play it, sell it, and people were like, what is wrong with you? What do you mean what's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? I don't know. And then to a point, I'm like, I guess I'll just tell you all what's going on because you won't stop asking it. So, yeah, same thing. Similar. Yeah. Out of a need. You don't get too many questions. You just got to fill up the gap, you know? And it's just so cool. I've met so many amazing people, and they just want to share, like, oh, do you know about this? I'm like, no, tell me more. And I feel like I definitely need to, I want to ramp up what I've been doing and, and make sharing my journey more because I'm learning a lot and I'm not sharing all of it yet. So I need to start sharing more of it. So give the people what they want. I get what you're saying, though. When life gets in the way and it becomes like, it's a lot to do this. And the quality you're putting into your videos, I respect it big time. And I can empathize with like, I'm the same way. And I made the mistake recently of putting out a couple podcasts when I was just in a bad mood and didn't care. Didn't do any editing, didn't do anything. I gotta stop doing that. Anyway, speaking of pinball, what is Erica's favorite pinball thing of 2023? three? Well, I got to go to Expo this year and that was really awesome. I had heard about it last year when I got into it and getting to go and meet people and see people like listen to their podcast, watch their YouTube channels. Like it was really just like really inspiring and really pushed me to like want to keep making more. And the fact that some people recognize me too, I was like wow i don't even have that many people right now like on instagram i'd say i have more uh but uh yeah i think that once i start ramping up more content more people will be interested did you meet rachel best there rachel from electric bat yeah yeah i briefly saw them they were doing like a live stream and i was like interviewing someone and they're like oh and there's erica from erica's pinball journey i was like oh hey and then they like kept going it's just like a a fun little thing but yeah i saw them for a little bit said hi well she's a fan of yours as well i was talking with her when we were just doing this and how i brought it up i was like i should bring on erica what do you think and she's like yes i'm like all right sold so that was it yeah i really want to go to their arcade so bad like i'm i'm putting it on my list of arcades to see in 2024 bring a video camera and make a video please so i can watch it yes oh definitely i don't go and i mean i don't go anywhere without it i mean yeah i don't have my expo video up yet and that was back in october but i have uh some break now during the holidays and i'm just gonna really hash through it do you believe in aliens uh yeah i do uh i feel like watching all those science videos and things i have i'm like there's no way man we're so small this universe is huge so i wouldn't be surprised yeah how about ghosts yeah sure supernatural um I feel like things happen to people and there's just like a weird sixth sense sometimes. And I don't know. I'm not going to. Yeah. Sure. Ghosts are real. Yeah. Yes, they are. Confirmed. Do you have a favorite made-up monster? Or maybe not made-up. Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, Yeti, Chupacabra. Favorite made-up monster. You know, I like a unicorn or a mermaid. Those sound pretty cool. Nice. Yeah. I got a fathom, so mermaids. Oh, do you really? Yeah. One of the new ones? I have to fix it. No, I have a classic Fathom. Somebody had it in their storage for like 20 years, and me and my dad were like, that's a pretty fun game. So I'm actually fixing it this Christmas. I'm really excited. Me and him are going to work on it. Your friend got you into it, but your dad is also now into pinball? Or did you get him into it, or was he kind of into it as well, or how'd that? He played pinball before. Like as a kid, he talked about it. And then it's funny, I got my dad back into pinball. like he played when he was younger but not a lot you know he told me stories like oh yeah i remember i'd spend all my quarters over at this one place and uh we play at he grew up in sweden so they'd have them at the ski lodges or something like that and uh he would play and uh then uh i was like dad i want to buy a pinball machine And he like what are you talking about Pinball I like played that as a kid You want to play that now And I like yeah dad this is what I want to do And now he and I, he's a, he's an engineer. So, uh, it's been really fun for me and him to like work on this and it's like, got his like creativeness sparked back and he just retired. So it's kind of nice because it's something me and my dad get to do together and I can spend time with him. Yeah. Do you have and would you please enunciate your favorite curse word?
    210:34
    Oh, yeah. I like saying. Jesus, that that might even be too bad for this show. Can you tell me something aside from Matrix 4 set, which I would that can also be the answer. but can you tell me something about yourself that you're proud of uh something i'm proud of for myself um i think putting myself out there and finally making this channel i shot like a episode back in september of 2022 and i like hated it did you and i decided yeah i i could probably share with you my awful takes it's it's not out there it's definitely not out there but you know maybe i make a patreon and people can watch me struggle um yes see the erica's pinball struggles journey yeah um yeah because i mean my first episode even i did three takes of that i did it's like three hours of footage of me trying to talk on camera and i really sympathize for the actors I've worked with over the years. I'm like, holy moly, this is hard. And figuring out my style, you know, like I like to think I'm a very funny, positive, happy person. And sometimes when I'm recording, though, I feel like it's pretty late at night and I have roommates. So I wonder, I'm like, just almost feel embarrassed, like with, I'm like, hey, everybody today. Like, you know, it's like talking really loud and, but no, they're, they're, they're like gamers too. so they probably have their headphones on and don't even know. Or they're streaming on Twitch. Yeah.
    212:13
    It is hard though, right? The like, hey everybody, what's up? And I, like when I'm doing a podcast or, I mean it's much easier like talking with someone like you to actually be excited, but when you're by yourself and you're just like, what's up everybody? I'm so pumped. And you're just, it's hard. And then like for me, I'm starting to have to get used to recording myself in public. like facing the camera towards me and being like hey everybody i'm here at expo and i want to share with like that feels like it's so hard for me like i'm not that person i feel like i've faked it before like i've i've played around with friends like went to the santa monica pier with some friends and we took our phones and we're pretending that we were youtubers like what's up by two million subscribers like me and my friends just like joking around being all silly yeah but when I actually have to do it like for this channel I'm like oh wow like this is hard so um I'm I'm proud that I'm building up to being more confident of like just being on camera in person and like going out there and just like allowing myself to be silly and making this content because I just pinball's fun I want to have fun and um I don't want my videos to be like and so um pinball is great. You get a ball and... Well, from what I've seen, I'd say keep going. Keep doing what you're doing. It comes across, the enthusiasm, the joy. Even the outtakes on the... I think it was your favorite five? Is that where you had some outtakes on? I watched them. Yeah, it was good. I like that stuff. People have told me they really like the outtakes, so I think I'm just going to keep them. And I have so many.
    213:52
    Yeah. Sign up for your Patreon. on you'll get to see three hours of them yeah god yeah um how much you bench how much do i bench oh man i haven't been hitting the gym much lately because i have a torn tendon in my foot but when i was benching i think i was at 85 pounds but my max before oh man i used to be able to do 135 i think that was what i did before 135 hell yeah at the moment maybe like 85 was maybe right now you give me some weights probably i'm gonna do like 70 i thought when you were when you were walking down the stairs uh peek behind the scenes everyone listening we had she had to switch rooms to the internet i i didn't want to say i was like are you hobbling a little bit but that is it yeah yeah okay your tendon here's my foot whoa it's in a bag because we don't wear shoes in our house and i only have one boot so i wearing one of those like medical slipper things to keep my boot clean i i just gonna ask this question uh you can answer it now or if you want to wait a little bit um do you have a in the spirit of seinfeld festivus where you air grievances of each other do you have a pinball grievance of 2023 that you could share something that you were disappointed with a game you didn't like a something aside from obviously your tendon is probably not a joyful part my foot has been a hindrance on my life uh for like two months now actually a bit longer but um i didn't know it was torn for a long time but really uh yeah i've been walking around with it like for like six months and didn't know it ah but that's a that's a whole story but now i'm uh on the way to recovery and i think that's uh really great um but like a grievance i'd say like i really wish that i i put out more content um like i have so many videos um and i just i just need to put in the time and i need to stop being in my head so much i think and just like put it out there i think um you know people are gonna love it or hate it and um i'm just yeah i want to just share this newfound love i have and just like educate people about things and sure tell me my top five are wrong i think that was pretty funny um some people messaging you telling me you have the wrong top five games and i'm like right like you have yeah sure from my experience i mean from what i've seen you're good at it no matter i would say put it out because you're going to get people who may say anyways no matter what the bigger the better you do you're going to get more i've gotten plenty of just hurtful like a couple that are just like wow you took your time out of your life to message someone that just to make them feel bad luckily i have my wife's and we just you know we've ripped them a new asshole on our side just like wow fuck you what a piece of shit you know and friends and kale and rachel we all sympathize and i mean it happens but i get it like there's stuff i don't want to put out because i'm afraid of the backlash but it's going to come even the better you do the more you're going to get i think that's a new like mindset. I, like, I didn't think of it. Like, I'm just like sharing some things I think that are interesting. And if you don't like it, you know, like, like some people have told me that I've taught the wrong thing on like how to get into pinball. Like, I'm like, okay, like, thank you for your feedback. You know, like I do, you know, I'm happy to take it, uh, like constructive criticism and, you know, I know I'm not going to please everybody. Like, uh, I'm doing it how, like in my mindset, like from what I've seen and how I've experienced, it's like literally erica's pinball journey if you don't like erica's pinball right then like you know but i want it to be like everyone's journey in a way too it's like i want to bring other people in and um whatnot and share with my friends and collaborate with others and um yeah it's like a whole journey for everybody like you're on your pinball journey like you've you know kind of yeah well keep doing yours though I mean, it's working. I mean, I saw it. I liked it. I'm like, hell yeah. Let's talk. Just keep going.
    218:05
    What do you want for Christmas this year? Anything specific? Ooh, you know, I would love an Elton John. Yeah.
    218:15
    If I could afford that for Christmas this year, that would have been amazing. My dad and I would have, yeah, he would have absolutely loved going to Expo to play it. I just kept thinking of him and how he'd work on the games.
    218:30
    You want to bring him next year? Bring him next year. Yeah, I'm going to try. He's got a thing with his back right now, so the flight was going to be too hard on him. I was trying to bring him. I was going to be like, Dad, come on. You're going to be a part of the show now, and everyone wants to see you.
    218:45
    People that know me in person see him. I have a good back, and flights hurt, so I can't imagine. Yeah, no thanks. No, yeah. it's a from california it's a little bit of a it's about five hours i think oh yeah yeah for me it's just a it's a actually for me it's a five hour drive four and a half but flight about 30 minutes what are you looking forward to the most in 2024 in the world of pinball yeah i'm always excited for new games uh i'm excited to play what's come out and um somewhere nearby me got a elton john so I'm excited to go to their place a lot and play. And then I saw Spooky's new release. I'm excited to play. I'm not a big horror fan, so probably I'll play Texas Chainsaw, but I'm such a baby when it comes to scary movies, so I've never seen it. But, yeah, definitely excited for Looney Tunes when it comes up at some local location. And, yeah, whatever new games. Insider Connected has been really great. I want to do a little bit better at that. and get my badges. That's pretty fun and interactive. And just make more content and be more consistent.
    219:57
    Speaking of, what's next on your docket for... Erica's Pinball Journey on YouTube. Is it the Expo video or you got something else coming up? Yeah, I have a video for an arcade that I love, Lynn's Arcade down in Seaside. I absolutely adore those people there and I have an interview I did with them a few months ago, so it's actually I'm re-editing it now and I'm like, oh man, this came out before Venom, so they're talking about all this stuff here. We talked about the future of pinball and stuff. But yeah, I have Lynn's Arcade episode is next. And then I do have an expo recap. And then I have a Gottlieb prototype video that I'm really excited about. So for the people that want to see your stuff and follow Erica's Pinball Journey, where can they find you? They can find me on YouTube and Instagram at Erica's Pinball Journey. I'm on every social media platform, wherever you get your stuff. I'm more active, I'd say, on Instagram, but I'm working on my Facebook and my TikTok and all the social type things. But yeah, it's Erica's pinball journey across the board on everything. Okay. Luckily, it wasn't taken. Yeah, yeah. Well, hey, Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Thanks for joining. I know it was short notice, and I really appreciate you hopping on out of nowhere and doing this with me. Yeah, no, thanks for having me. I really enjoy listening to your podcast. It's one of my favorites. It's always a party. And, yeah, it's just really enjoyable. So thanks for even reaching out. It was really cool. Of course. Well, keep doing what you're doing. And everyone, go check out Erica's Pinball Journey on everything she mentioned. Specifically, I mean, the untold story behind Pinball Brothers' new Ripley version on YouTube is awesome. It's worth the channel in and of itself. So thanks again. We'll talk to you later. Have a good night. On the tenth day of fall Pinball gave to me Jason and Bacchus Here comes Pinball Journey On Craig, Bobby, Buffalo Pinball, Kevin, Chip, Mick, David, Dennis Bill and Rachel Best Time's been the market Show got simple drain One half a man That was you, man that many is saying Planetary Pinball may still be working with CGC on this. I know you can't say more, but that's something. Well, yeah, Planetary chimed in when I mentioned that there was a new manufacturer coming, and they kind of reiterated that they were still working with CGC, I guess. That was the update to it. I guess the most recent rumors that I've heard around that kind of remake stuff was Twilight Zone, and I've heard some stuff behind the scenes, some stuff I will and won't say. But, yeah, I hope they keep remaking some of these games. I love it. I say the more the merrier out there as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. I can't buy everything, but I'd like to go play them on location for sure. 100%. Well, for those, we kind of went right into it. For those who don't know who you are, Jason Knapp runs the website Knapp Arcade. In my opinion, in a lot of people's opinion, the best site for pinball news out there. I get email notifications. So, like, I will get your email notifications. This is usually what happens. I'll get an email notification of some news thing, and then I read it. And while that's happening, I'll get a text from someone else in the – I'll say in the know who's not referencing your site telling me the same thing. Like, that's – wow, the timing on this stuff is just odd. It's a small hobby. That's a good way to win, then. Yeah, you do win.
    223:57
    And what do you – yeah, so you have up-to-date pinball news. You do arcade stuff as well. Yeah. When did that start? Was it always a pinball thing, or is that new to the arcade? Because it's called Nap Arcade. What's the – Right. Yeah, no, I started the Facebook. It was actually just a Facebook page for a long time. And I started it. It was 2015, I think. I forget. It's buried in my logo as an Easter egg. If you look at the logo and you look on the pinball machines, there's like a score. Like that was the exact date of the Facebook page that it started. My Fiverr artist in Transylvania suggested I put it in there. I was like, oh. Is that what it was? Yeah. That's fantastic. Yeah. It's funny. I got that made. I felt so bad. Fiverr was so cheap. I got the ultra deluxe package and tipped them 100%. It was still cheap I was like what the Wow But anyways so yeah it started out as a Facebook page and it wasn Really intended to be a news site or anything like that what I did was I
    225:08
    I had bought one of those arachnid, you know, industrial dart machines, you know, the commercial dart machines that you see in a bar and you can go and it's got a video screen on it. and you can play darts against your friends with the soft tip darts. Okay. So I bought one of those, and my kids and I were going to do a charity tournament with all their friends and, like, all the people in town to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital. So I wanted to put up something just so, you know, we could invite people to it and they could say whether they're coming or not and when it is and everything. So that was the Facebook page was originally, like, the NAP Arcade Charity Dart Tournament. And then about, I don't know how much longer after that, six months or a year after that, I was sharing a bunch of good Craigslist deals with people on the New Jersey Arcade Collectors Facebook page. And all the people that had been hoarding all the games were getting pissed off at me for sharing all the good deals with everyone else. That was back when Craigslist actually had deals. Now it's like, so they were all giving me a hard time and getting, they're like, oh, what are you doing? And so I was like, well, screw you. I'll just go post it on my own page. So I changed the name to Nap Arcade. And it was good anyways because I was starting to share a lot of, like, arcade and pinball news just on my regular site. And, like, all the people I know in regular life are like, I don't care about this. You know?
    226:35
    Like all people, like, you know, like in town or from work or whatever, they're like, why do I care that this is happening? So it gave me a good place to talk about all the stuff I wanted to talk about anyways. And it kind of just grew.
    226:47
    It was there, and then I started really getting into taking pictures. So I started sharing the pictures on Instagram in there. You know, I share a lot of pinball machine pictures. And then it kind of expanded to the website because I was taking a lot of, like, arcade road trips and stuff with my kids and sharing pictures and details of locations there. And they were just kind of disappearing on Facebook after a while. I mean, stuff just gets buried and kind of just disappears into the ether. So I was like, well, I'll put it up on a website. That way I always have it. I always have the memories of going to these places with my family and the pictures and just stuff. So stuff doesn't generally disappear into the Facebook quagmire or whatever you want to call it. Sure. So it still existed. That's kind of how it all came about. Kind of by accident, I guess. I use it especially in my droughts when I, you know, I'm on a pinball for a while and I don't like you get access to Discord or Pinside or Facebook or all these things. And when I just want the cobwebs gone or the negativity, I just wait for my email notifications. I'm like, I'll wait for the stuff from NAP Arcade. For those who don't go to it, it is actually K-N-A-P-P, not N-A-P.
    228:01
    And I don't know. For me, it's the only place to go for news. And I'm wondering, how are you getting all this stuff? I know you can't share all these secrets, but do you have a magnifying glass and a microscope and you're just scouring or do you got trolls that are feeding you this info or I assume it's like a mix of all that stuff? Yeah, I mean, I honestly don't go out like pumping people for information and like trying to develop moles and all this stuff. I mean, it all really. The backbone of the whole thing is that I've always been in competitive intelligence as a career. Oh, in the auto industry. So manufacturers want to know what one one manufacturer wants to know, what the other one's doing and one wants to know what sort of deals the other is offering. So I guess from doing that for a couple of decades, I've gotten the ability to sift through a lot of garbage really fast. And are you still doing that? Yeah. Man, I am. Oh, that's dangerous. When I took a break from PIM, I still kind of am. I don't own any machines right now, so I kind of monetarily took a break. I started getting into cars for the first time in my life. I have a couple of friends who are just gearheads. I don't know what the term is for people who are obsessed with cars. Yeah, it's definitely a fun top. I wouldn't call it a hobby necessarily area to be involved in. It's close. Yeah. I realized that quickly, like for it to be a hobby, it's even though pinball is expensive. Talk about car. Yeah. Pinball, at least a car, a car is, especially nowadays after COVID, everything shot up like a rocket. I think incentives are going to continue to increase as we, so the prices will normalize somewhat in 24, but still. Yeah. And when I got, you know, I'm still in the process of possibly buying a Subaru STI, and I almost bought a launch edition just because they discontinued them in 2021. And because it couldn't pass the emissions or whatever it was for the new WRXs.
    229:54
    I just for my personal fun I keep Googling STI 2025 or 2020 It going to be a hybrid So I waiting for that So please if you ever find anything out shoot me a note on the side because I want whatever next version of STI they make if they make one Yeah, I can look into that. I mean, there's so many things. It's funny. I mean, not to go off on an auto tangent on a pinball podcast.
    230:19
    Hey, do it. But, yeah, but I mean, the future product plans for every manufacturer had been slowly, slowly turning into almost all electric vehicles. And when I was looking at the market, I was like, man, they should be paying me for my opinion on this part, because I was like, there's such a massive disconnect between consumer demand for EVs and what the future product plans were. I knew it was not going to end well. And, you know, we're starting to see them starting to pull back on the EV, you know, the future EV plans a little bit now because they're realizing it's just a huge disconnect between what consumers are willing to purchase at this point, whether it's because of the range anxiety or the cost. I mean, it's both. Sure. EVs are cost prohibitive compared to, you know, conventional gasoline vehicles at this point. So there was a major disconnect between product plans and the market, I thought. The most recent – I almost bought a Tesla Model 3 Performance because I'm – pinball money, like whatever. I'll do something stupid with it for a while. And now I'm kind of waiting for whatever they do in 2024 with the Highland refresh of the Performance. But I – so I test drove a couple Mach-Es. And it's funny that – I mean I liked it, but same thing. If I was currently going to do an electric, it would probably be Tesla just for the infrastructure and the whatever. Even though it's not perfect, it's just – Well, so I drive it, realize the price of a Mach-E. I get home a couple weeks later. They're like, hey, they send me a follow-up like, oh, we're doing incentives now or this and that, 0% financing. At the same time, I see the news that Mach-E is just not selling well at all. And Ford is saying, go ahead, discount the shit out of it. We cannot move these things. And that's probably to your point. Yeah, that's what's coming. I think especially on electric vehicles, if you look at the incentives on electric vehicles versus ICE, conventional internal combustion vehicles, the incentives on EVs are just skyrocketing. okay well conversation for some other time or off you can edit that part out I think I'm going to leave it man so speaking of pinball some questions I've been asking people on this 12 days of balls thanks again for joining and doing it in such short notice you were one of the people I thought of immediately so I really appreciate it we've been talking about doing something for a while yeah it's a good excuse to do it so you have all this pinball knowledge all the time what was your favorite pinball thing of 2023 could be a game could be news could be relationship anything yeah i think it was actually just two time periods really and that's kind of a strange answer but i'll explain like back in march we had like six launches within like a month yeah if you remember and in the you know i just i love it when uh something new comes out that we can talk about you know i mean i love it there's not a lot of pinball machines i hate anyways but it's just when there's when there's so much that we can talk about like happened in March and then also happened again in the fall. I mean, there was two like big spikes and I mean, you can see the site, the site traffic really spiked too. I mean, I think I hit 50,000 monthly views for the first time in March and then over a hundred thousand during the second really uptick in the fall. So, but I mean, it's, so I think we've established 50 60 is like the baseline now and we're kind of spiking to over 100 if a lot of stuff's going on, you know. So just the fact that there's that many people that want to talk, and I try to keep it to be a very positive place and kind of nip anything bad in the blood if possible. So, you know, it's just exciting for me to be able to talk about new launches and new games with that many people, you know, because there's some comments on the site, and then on the Facebook page we talk a lot. But it's just, you know, that's kind of why I started it was just to meet and talk with people in the hobby. So whenever there's a lot going on, that makes me happy. Yeah.
    234:11
    Do you believe in aliens? That's a nuanced question. Yes, but I don't necessarily know that they're here. It's almost impossible, I would think, statistically, for there not to be something. Sure. given an infinite number of stars and an infinite number of galaxies and everything else but i don't i have not met one yet personally how about ghosts do you believe in ghosts have you met any ghosts i have not met any ghosts i would say i am highly skeptical of ghosts i think aliens are more likely than ghosts sure yeah um i would personally be more afraid if i saw a ghost than an alien an alien I be like alright because I could kind of understand that I could wrap my head around it seeing a ghost I be like well okay You could wrap your cool with an alien i be like all right because i could kind of understand that i could wrap my head around it seeing a ghost i be like well okay you you can write your you cool with an alien yeah i would think a ghost would be less dangerous than an alien oh yeah to each their own if i saw a ghost and i i'm a giant child i would freak the fuck out i would just be i would immediately piss my pants uh it's definitely creepy i i definitely let would let that creep me out but But I'm very skeptical of it. Having said that, I still watch all those shows like Expedition Unknown and Expedition X and all that stuff. It's so good. I love that stuff. I have like a Bigfoot on my shirt right now.
    235:37
    He's carrying a case of beer, but he is a Bigfoot. I shit you not. The next question I was going to ask you is what is your favorite maybe real monster? Sasquatch? My favorite Christmas? Yeah. You're wearing a shirt. Sure. I'll go with Bigfoot because this one was from a brewery I stumbled upon. I was driving to my cabin in Wyoming and we found this like random brewery in this small town. So I went in. I was like, I got to get a shirt and some beer. And this so this is a Yeti carrying a fly rod in one hand and a six pack of craft beer in the other hand. I bet it would take a lot more than a six pack for a Yeti to get a buzz because they're pretty big. He is big, but he doesn't drink a lot, I would assume. You're not wrong. Like an alcoholic Yeti could finish everything, but like a Yeti having beer for the first time, I think, would probably take less than you'd think. Yeah, good point.
    236:31
    What is and would you mind enunciating your favorite curse word? Probably shit, just because it's so much more mainstream. If you drop an F-bomb, people are like, oh.
    236:45
    Tell me about it. I get emails all the time. so shit is not quite mainstream but almost overlooked by people who don't like cursing in general i would say yeah it's like the new the new ass where ass is just like not even a swear word i would say shit is the new crap ah yep shit is the new crap if i wasn't labeling all these like 12 days of balls that would be the episode title but alas um it's the new crap would you mind telling me something of telling me and the audience something about yourself that you're proud of? Uh, I mean, always, definitely. I mean, for me, the number one priority is always my family and my son, my sons are doing well, knock on wood. So I would say raising, you know, healthy, happy sons would be something I'm most proud of, but it like in real life, but to relate it more to this, I think I'm pretty proud that, you know, the website and the Facebook page have taken off like they have. I mean, I, I'm not deriving anything from it monetarily, but I mean, anyone who's somewhat competitive in life wants to succeed at what they're doing. And I think that, I think it's gone pretty well. So that, that would be something I'm definitely proud of how it's turned out. I'm, I'm equally impressed with the live. I don't know your sons or you say, but your website. Yeah. I'm equally proud of your website. Um, how much you bench?
    238:09
    Well, given the fact I've had three heart bypasses, not as much as I used to. Fuck man. Well, I'm glad you're still ticking. Still kicking. They frown upon that.
    238:21
    Yeah, I bet. I bet they frown upon that. We'll just say a lot. It's probably a lot, though. Oh, yeah. I'm guessing easily like 250. Nice.
    238:35
    Would you mind... We were initially going to do a Festivus thing. Seinfeld Festivus special. I was. So a lot of it was going to be airing. Air my grievances? Exactly. So we have one grievance, if you mind, in the world of pinball for 2023. Is there a pinball grievance you mind airing? Oh, man, I try to stay out of the negativity, if at all possible. Yeah, I don't know. I think I'm going to pass. Enough of it comes my way without any solicitation that I can kind of sidestep that one. Probably you have the best answer so far. Thank you for passing. What do you want for Christmas this year? uh it just came in the mail today actually the uh new atari 2600 plus oh yeah so that is it is it emulating or is it um i assume it's an emulator it uses the og cartridges okay i went to uh i went to visit my parents and my parents moved to memphis like decades ago and i went to go visit them for christmas i don't know how many years ago it was probably five six years ago at least maybe more. And I went through their attic and I found my OG Atari 2600 and all the cartridges. So I've had them for a while and I haven't been able to really play the cartridges. And a lot of the cartridges, some of my favorite Atari games were like Activision. So they're not on the new Atari 50. steam uh game which is uh came out from a digital eclipse it's phenomenal but it doesn't have any of the activision stuff in it so like pitfall river raids stuff like that some of my favorite atari cartridges have been sitting in my basement with nothing to plug them into because i i don't have a coaxial tv anymore i probably should have kept them all now in retrospect but we got rid of them so uh i ordered the 2600 plus the other day i was just like ah screw it i'm just gonna get that and play so i'm going to try to open it up later tonight and see if i can play some of like pitfall and see if they even work after sitting in a memphis attic for for a couple of decades do you have et i mean i actually do have et in that pile yeah i think it's a pile of like 20 cartridges maybe and one of them is et the rest of them are in a garbage dump somewhere apparently yeah exactly i still have one atari 2600 game uh superman just because i'm a superman fan so i have it somewhere and like actually i think it's in my christmas ornament box for some reason you can hang it on a tree i know it doesn't hang well but i like the art on the uh and the spider-man art on the old atari atari art is so fantastic i mean i've been really on a big atari kick lately there's a book called the art of atari if you haven't seen it you should look it up it's super thick like coffee table book but it's got all the details of like all the art from the boxes and how like you know people would look at the art on the boxes and be like this is the most amazing thing i've ever seen and then plug in the cartridge and be like what the f is this what is this they fooled me this shit did you was that your like most nostalgic growing up console the atari 2600 for sure was i remember my dad wasn't like super into video games or like super like you guys should play video games he wanted us outside more so when he brought home the 2600 And I was like, holy shit. I still remember one day there was some sort of clearance sale at Sears. And my dad brought home a bunch of like one dollar and two dollar Atari cartridges. And I was just like blown away by like that. We had so many games to play. I think even originally one of the TVs we played it on was still black and white. Oh, yeah. Just, you know, I'm not that old, but we just had a lot of freaking old TVs. You know, the first Atari game, actually the first video game memory I have. As you get older, you lose some of them, but I still think this is my earliest memory of video games. It was at my cousin's house in Neenah, Wisconsin. I guess there's a lot of Wisconsin people here. I think it's called either Power Battles or Jedi Power Battles. I don't know if that's – it's like a lightsaber on top and bottom, and it's almost like a kind of pong where you shoot a thing and you have to deflect. I mean, there's a billion Atari games. But that's the one I remember, and that's the one that got me into all games forever was that was the first thing I was just blown away. And then, you know, I remember all those. I remember like adventure and combat. I used to play my little brother at combat and we would play Surround and Outlaw and all those games. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's good stuff. I have a lot of nostalgia for Atari. Well, I'm glad you got it for Nintendo, too, for sure. Oh, that's my baby. I was the most selfish, shitty six-year-old, or maybe that's just the average six-year-old boy. I remember Christmas that year when I wanted the Nintendo Power Pack or whatever it was. It comes with the light gun and Mario and Duck Hunt and everything. I told my parents, I knew about returning things to Target or Best Buy or whatever exists back then. I'm just going to add up whatever I get, and I'll return everything I get from my grandparents to my parents because I don't give a shit. I just want a Nintendo. and so like while i was opening up presents i was like writing down what i thought the value was it's like the price is right for christmas returns and then at the very yeah i was such a garbage person and then at the very end they pulled out the nintendo and i still got it and it was yeah oh that's a good memory yeah you need to have a picture of you holding it over your head i do have one it's me and my sister i'll try to find it and uh post on facebook but yeah that should be that should definitely be the cover for this episode all right if i can find it Yep. The shit is the new crap with that picture.
    244:17
    Last question. 2024. From what you can say publicly, what are you looking forward to the most in pinball in 2024?
    244:26
    I think it's one that's pretty widely known at this point already. I want to see Jaws, man. I don't think we're going to see it until the Consumer Electronic Expo in January. You know, every Tuesday and Wednesday at like 10, 11 o'clock in the morning, I'm sweating it because I said I didn't think we were going to see it this year. So I'm going to Stern's page looking to make sure I wasn't wrong.
    244:49
    But I mean, I want to see, I mean, every Elwynn game is amazing. And you know it such an interesting theme It so different than what a lot of the themes that Stern has done really lately So I just really curious to see what they do with it That would be one that super high on my list It's a pretty obvious one. It's not like I'm breaking any news with it. But, you know, I'm just really curious to see, you know, what it's like. Yep. Aside from, like, the rumors of whatever and what you've shared and all that kind of stuff, I mean, the only scuttlebutt I've heard is that, yeah, it's legit awesome.
    245:23
    Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I've heard good things. Well, you had the one time you played that game, the two lies and a truth. You had the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in there. Yeah, and then when we were – yeah, we had it planned out for a few of them, and we still might. You've got to bring that back. I like it when you have Cale and Rachel on. Those are good shows too. Yeah, me too. We'll probably still keep doing it here and there. Do two lies and a truth, then you give me more stuff to write about. Yeah. Well, sometimes I might need the truth and I might have to hit you up and be like, hey, I need something, man. I need like crap. Oh, yeah.
    246:00
    Well, hey, man. Thanks. You got anything coming up? Anything you want to point people to or just go to the website? Yeah. I mean, naparcade.org because some rando stole naparcade.com. So I have to – I don't know who took it. I'm still hunting for them. If you know, send me an email.
    246:16
    So naparcade.org is out there. And then Facebook and Instagram are the pages. I talk about this stuff pretty much every day, and I share pictures of the rare games that I've seen. I like to talk about everything. So, yeah, stop by. Okay. Well, man, keep it up. I love the site. I'll still be checking it daily. Thanks, man. And have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays, and I hope everything goes well for you in the near future. Yeah, thanks. You too. All right. Talk to you later. Bye-bye.
    246:51
    to me. Kevin, JJP, Jason, F-R-K, Erica's pinball journey. Oh, I'm Craig, Bobby, Buffalo, pinball, Kevin, Stiffy, David, Turner, Bill, and Rachel Bass.
    247:07
    I'm the pinball podcast show about pinball training. One half a half a half Merry Christmas to one of my favorites, Ken Cromwell from Jersey Jack Pinball. How are you doing? Jason, good to be back. Thanks for having me back on the Pinball Party. Yeah, you were one of the first on the Pinball Party, I'll say back in the day, but it was really like a year ago. It doesn't seem like a long time ago. I remember I wrote you an email and you hit me up and got back to me and then invited me on, so it was fun. It might have been the last time I went on a podcast, actually, so I'm two for two with you this year. Yeah, I can't recall being on another show. Well, you were doing Special Unlit still for a while. Is that kind of on a hiatus, or where's that at? Yeah, so Special Unlit, I mean, we still jump on from time to time. I think we maybe have seven or eight episodes this year that we kind of just put out. But there's not anything that's on a regular cadence or schedule, which is kind of nice. But other than Special Unlit, I think the only other podcast that I've been on this year is The Pinball Party. And this would be part two. Yes. And for those who don't know your name or what you do, Ken Cromwell, what is your title at Jersey Jack Pinball? My official title at JJP is Marketing and Communications Specialist. Yeah, specializing in this shit. That's right. Sounds important over there.
    248:24
    Doing what I can. Honestly, you've been one of the most supportive of this show since I started, or I should just say of even me, which sounds weird to say, but it's true. You reached out early on. You've always been a friend. we've kept in contact via text and all the stuff. I've been meaning to come down to JJP to get a tour and all that, but just like you, like driving over two hours these days, I'm like, oh, kill me. Yeah, I get it. But I want to come down there, man. We used to have flights out of Eau Claire into Chicago that was 25 minutes, but they stopped doing that. How long is your drive in from Eau Claire? Like, is it like two, three hours? Four and a half. Oh, okay. So, yeah, it's pretty significant. That's about right at the threshold of where I don't want to drive. Four and a half, five hours is about as far as I'll go. Yeah.
    249:10
    So we've been doing these 12 Days of Balls. Thank you. You were one of the first people I texted. Thank you for being so accommodating and just jumping on right away and doing this. No, thanks for having me on, man. Appreciate it. Yeah, for sure. And I've been asking people basically the same questions, but there was one special question for you that came out of Kevin Mann from Buffalo Pinball. I was doing this. I don't remember when this is going to air, so if his hasn't aired yet, he's going to be on one of these. She mentioned what he was saying for, spoiler, one of the last questions is what are you looking forward to in 2024 in pinball, but his was whatever Mark Seiden's next pinball game is, and can you ask Ken what game that is?
    249:50
    Yeah, you can certainly ask me. So Mark Seiden is next in the queue, so we excited to kind of debut that game in 2024 He is I can confirm or deny what the theme is but it something that I think people will find popular and fun to play
    250:08
    And, you know, I don't want to get too far into the weeds on it. I mean, there's a lot of things I'd love to tease. Oh, I would love it if you did. I know, but I think, you know, especially, I think that's something that the designer and his team or her team, depending on who's building, that's for them to kind of share that kind of information with. And when it comes time for me to market, you know, I'm ready to go. But I'm anxiously awaiting that title because it's going to be fun. We've got Elton John that's out right now. And those games are shipping. When people get a chance to play it, I think they're going to have a real positive experience. And, you know, I'm looking forward to that, too. Everything's kind of trending up at Jersey Jack Pinball from, you know, pinball standpoint, from a positive team standpoint. And, of course, I'm towing the company line here, but I definitely believe it. Yeah, I unfortunately have not played Elton John yet. And I have wanted, there has not been a JJP release recently that I've wanted to play more than Elton John. The four and a half hour drive is the only sticking point. If it was local, like, you know, a music fan, probably not surprised to some people listening to this, but I love Steve Ritchie's layouts. I'm, my first, you know, cherry popping game was Star Trek, which, you know, this looks similar. And, you know, I think a lot of these designers, when they have something that works, do it. You know, keep doing it. Make variations. Like, I do the same thing. When I make a song, I'm not like, well, now let me try rap. Now let me try country. You know, find something that works and just do it. And, man, that thing looks fun. How much have you played it? Probably a little bit. I've played it a ton. And the thing is, I've played it for so long that I still – look, it's just a fun game. It's what pinball should be. It just makes you feel good when you're playing it. Like you want to step up and the game presents so well. Elton John is a powerhouse in the music industry as a recording artist. And so everything that that you're familiar with with Elton John is there. You know, Jack Winery says that the game is kind of like it's a love letter to Elton John, but it really just kind of celebrates his career. But it's got all the familiarities of like a Steve Ritchie kind of design that you would expect. It's very flowy. It's very fast. um i i from all of the feedback that i've received um for the most part and i would say 99 just going from pinball shows um everybody that plays it really really likes it i mean we had super long lines at expo and people would get back in after waiting 40 45 minutes and play it again we have people that played it four or five times you know i wish we had more games that we had brought out but you know the feedback is positive and when you think about jersey jack and i don't you know edit this out if you want to, but I mean, 90% of our, uh, you know, of our buyers, they are people that are home owners. They're owning games within the home, right? So we don't really have, when a game comes out, it's not out at 500 locations. So for us, a lot of, you know, being able to kind of drive, uh, you know, interest in a game after the initial launch is getting the game in front of people and letting people play it and then having that positive experience. So, you know, right now we're in a transition of, of we've launched the game and it's been out and now it's starting the ship and we get that second wave of uh you know momentum and it's exciting it's going to be fun what i'm like about that um i mean again the problem of driving four and a half hours ago i don't have one at home i i wish i did um the i see some other manufacturers kind of trying to do the trying to be everything to everyone and it sounds like again correct me if i'm wrong that you're you are concentrating on some of that home market or at least it's a major point you're thinking of while designing and doing it because i see others were So you've got to pick something or lean into something. Is Jersey Jack machines being a home game one of the main points you're making? I don't know that we're making the point. It's just kind of a matter of circumstance. Right now where we're coming in at, more people are buying into homes than on location. And that's not to say that we're not trying to pay attention to locations. In fact, we've got a couple of things in the works that we think may make it more appealing for additional locations to kind of get more of our games at their locations, so to speak. and I'll have more news about that I think a little bit later. But obviously it's advantageous to have your games in bars and restaurants and arcades, and we do have some of that, but it's something that I would like to focus on, increasing the amount of games that we have out in those locations, and I think the company does too. Are we going to change the whole way that we approach things? Absolutely not, but there are some things that we can do to kind of switch that into another direction I think. Sure. All right. Well, since this is the 12 Days of Balls, it's very much a Christmas and getting to know you a little more thing. Let's get to that. But I think we should do this again sometime, maybe when you're closer to a release or doing a marketing campaign. Let's talk more about what's coming up in JJP. Yeah, you got it, man. All right. What is your favorite pinball thing from 2023? Could be a game. Could be a person. Could be a thing. Could be an event I think we kind of touched on it And that was just Steve Ritchie being able to launch a game with Jersey Jack Pinball for the first time that first reveal I known Steve for a long time for years prior to him coming over to Jersey Jack Pinball. So I didn't really know what to expect when he had come in and to kind of see all of his hard work with his team kind of come to fruition. And now he's got this game that he's bringing to Pinball Expo in Chicago, was an important thing for Steve, but it was fun for me to watch, and it was a thrilling experience to kind of see the reaction people that had on the game, to see Steve's reaction. And, you know, some of it was personal for Steve. You know, I think that he had some things that he wanted to prove to some people, and including himself, and I think that he had done that. And I know that he's proud of what he accomplished, and I'm proud to have been working in a small capacity with getting that game out. But that was the most exciting thing pinball wise that happened for me personally in 2023, just kind of experiencing that being along for the ride.
    255:58
    And I don't know if this is something you can share or not. So, you know, I can I can edit this out. But is Steve's not done at Jersey Jack. Was that a one off or is he? No, he's not done at Jersey Jack. No. Yeah. Good. Yeah. Do you believe in aliens?
    256:13
    But what's your definition of an alien? Like, what are we talking about? anything that's not from planet Earth is alive. Sure, yeah, without a doubt. I think that there are aliens. There may be aliens here. When I look at, and it's interesting that you said that, I was having this conversation with somebody a couple weeks ago. The amount of disclosure that's going on with the U.S. government right now, where they're dropping these bombs with UFOs and UAPs and alien technology. If you would have dropped this information maybe 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, I think it would have been a huge topic of public conversation. People would be buzzing about it. There'd be concerns. But it's like we've been so desensitized as a nation to shocking things that it's like you could literally say, hey, by the way, there are aliens here and we're kind of under their control and we're part of like this little zoo exhibit. And I don't think that it would shock too many people, honestly. I think it'd be like, OK, whatever. We'll go with the flow. The other way to look at it is, you know, is it is this closing this stuff a distraction for something else that's coming down the pipeline? I wouldn't rule anything out. But if I had to guess, I would I would say that mathematically speaking, there has to be intelligent life somewhere else. And and I wouldn't be shocked if it's here or it has been here in the past. So I guess the answer to aliens would be absolutely yes. One hundred percent. Does Jersey Jack employ any aliens or is that something you can't discuss? Yeah, no, I could not because of confidentiality. Right. Okay. Do you believe in ghosts? Oh, wow. Okay. So we're way out in the weeds here. Oh, yeah. There's nothing. This is not pinball stuff.
    257:54
    Do I believe in ghosts? Yeah. My first inclination is to say, yeah, I do believe in ghosts. I think some of like paranormal activity is stuff that's kind of like memories that are on the ether, you know, that are running at a different wavelength that might interdimensionally slip in and slip out. And you're kind of seeing some of that in real time. And I think that's why sometimes when you hear about hauntings, it's like a repeat. It's a loop. And I think sometimes there are just things that are caught in that instance. But, you know, I also believe I believe in angels. I believe in demons. And I think there are demonic things that can take the form of like an apparition, like a typical ghost. And I think could probably scare the hell out of you if it wanted to or whatever. I did grow up for a few years in a house that we lived in in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, that I was pretty convinced as somebody that was in like fourth, third, fourth grade, that there was some paranormal activity going on there. It wasn't any, I never saw like a headless person or a bent neck lady or anything like that. But I mean, there were some strange unsettling happenings where you would hear, you know, clear as day, hear somebody humming, you know, in a corner or whistling, or you would see out of the corner of your eye something that definitely moved and you couldn't figure out why. And then when I was younger, I didn't realize it, but there was a tragic incident at that house where somebody had taken their own life in the garage. So again, are these memories on the ether, just somebody that's living their life somehow that's just kind of ingrained and burned and I'm just kind of hearing residuals of that? I don't know. It's a fascinating question, but again, I would probably say that, yeah, I do absolutely believe in ghosts. I'm not scared of ghosts, but I do believe in them. The things that freak me out about it, I don't know. And I'm more like you. If I'm going to believe, it's more that kind of like the in-between or whatever. But for me, it's that sometimes I feel like I'm playing tricks on myself. If I think of something and I start to think of fear, the thinking of it possibly being like a demonic ghost or something like that, it's like, I don't know, maybe it's my... I should be talking to a therapist about this, but, you know, that stuff is well, welcome to my couch here, Jason. We can talk this out, but you make a lot of sense. I think there's very few things that are more powerful than the feeling of fear. And when you start thinking something and you probably are a lot like me, you can be very over analytical on things. And the mind is such a powerful thing that it can create, you know. Sense of fear or even make you believe that you're seeing something or experiencing something. But, you know, sometimes there's there's another sense that we have. We as humans, we have that fight or flight kind of, you know, mentality that's ingrained. And if something's off, I think that we can tell. And and obviously, if there's a ghost or you have something going on in your house or do you have something that happened where you're kind of like, no, I don't even like question about it is interesting. No, it's it's just something that honestly I've been. So these questions on here, maybe it's a good time to talk about it. I put these questions on here not for some like big reason of like all deep thinking. But when I look back at the questions I have, it's only six or seven. It's things that I just am either into subconsciously or whatever. Aliens, pinball, obviously talked about that. But the ghosts, like I've always had this slight fear of just that, the kind of the dark, the unknown, even as a 41 year old. Like I'm not always super comfortable by myself alone in the woods, in the dark, like something like that. Well, the woods are a creepy place to be in general because, I mean, you're off the grid. And if something's going to happen to you, it's probably going to be in the woods. It's just like it's horrific out there.
    261:31
    I remember when Blair Witch hit, and you're like, oh, my gosh, what if I walk up into the woods, and I just keep circling, and I can't get out? And, yeah, you're doomed. It's a bad place. And then I run into a witch in the basement. Yeah. It's more the psychological horror of it that really just – Oh, it's something I think I'm just maybe working on. Could you imagine like you're going to bed at nighttime, and you pull the covers up, and you're kind of sleeping. and 3 o'clock in the morning wakes up and the covers just get whipped off you and they land on the floor? How do you react to something like that? If something's out the window probably, if something's there, you're not getting away. You're not going to fight or shoot a ghost. It's there. It's going to get you. No. Creepy. And the more real it is, the more creepy it is to me.
    262:16
    The worst thing to ever happen for me, not in real life, I didn't see a thing, but the most creeped I ever got was, what was the movie called? Paranormal Activity, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. That came out the same time the game Borderlands came out. I remember that because my wife and daughter were out of town. I was playing Borderlands on Xbox Live with one of my friends who was in a different city, you know, and we were Halo friends, so we were playing Borderlands. I had watched that movie, and it freaked me out so much because it's just very much like you're in your house, your house is haunted, and it's like a demonic who knows what it is, and it's like the fear itself. for anybody at any time in their life, in their house. Yes. Yeah, for sure. So I'm playing Borderlands with him and I'm probably 25 at this age or something. And I remember playing and I just asked him like, dude, can we just keep playing? Like I made something up, but I ended up playing the game with him online all the way until the sunrise because I just couldn't even like, I couldn't. For the protection. I was, it was straight fear and I made shit up because I want to be like, I'm a guy, I'm not scared, like whatever. But it terrified me to the bone of, and yeah, some of that stuff still does. You know, it's the worst. like you see something that kind of creeps you out right before you go to sleep and then you wake up in the middle of the night you got to go to the bathroom and you're like do i really want to go across the hall and try to use the restroom and what could possibly happen to me at this time again your mind plays tricks on you but uh yeah yeah i'm glad i'm not alone man well hopefully the listeners out there yes a 41 year old male still somewhat afraid of some of the unknown spiritual stuff uh you know hey you're better off being a little bit concerned i mean i would rather or think the worst and hope for the best and be unprepared. So I think you're okay. I got a proton pack as well. I got Ghostbusters and I. That's right. You're ready to go. Would you mind telling me something that you're proud of about yourself? Oh, something I'm proud of about myself.
    264:06
    It's tough for us humble Midwesterners sometimes, but I guess what I would say, and some people, I would consider this a strength and something that I'm proud about. Maybe some people think it's a weakness, but when I consider myself as a person, I consider myself to be very, very genuine.
    264:23
    And and I'm trying to think how to put this into words, like, for instance, if I'll never assume something about somebody when I meet them, I kind of let them.
    264:33
    Go through the beginning of a relationship or whether it's business or professional and kind of show me who they are as a person before I cast judgment. And I think I'm a very good judgment of character. But I also, you know, I'll treat somebody very genuine. I try not to be fake to people And you know there a there a quote that kind of a favorite of mine And it plays well for me And I kind of paraphrase it And it it something along the lines of you might meet somebody who met me and they say that I a great person And you meet somebody else that says like I a big jerk And I would encourage you to believe them both because I don't treat people poorly. I just treat them accordingly. So I feel like if we're clicking because we are respectful to one another, I'm good with it. but if I find that we're not clicking because there are things that I don't agree with you about, and it's not like petty things. It would be more like moral issues and things like that. Don't be surprised if I'm not as willing to engage or to act fake, so to speak, with quotes.
    265:39
    At this point in my life, in my 40s also, I'm looking to kind of surround myself with people that do practice, that have good morals and good hearts and really challenged to make me a better person both professionally and personally. And those are the people I tend to keep close knit. I've got a lot of acquaintances, but, you know, for the people that are close to me, that's something that's important.
    266:03
    How much do you bench? Like weightlifting? Yeah. Did you know I used to work at Bally? No. Yeah. Bally Total Fitness. Oh. Ah, yeah. Back in the day, I was hired at Bally Total Fitness as a, like just membership sales. And then eventually I ended up running health clubs. So, yeah, I mean, working out and living a healthy lifestyle is huge for me. It waxes and wanes based on what's going on a lot with personal life. Yeah. You know, just like any, you know, workout routine. But I would say like back in the day when I was lifting, I might have I never really went for like the huge one rep max. But I was probably like right around, I would say, 315. I think for like a one rep max. And then nowadays, you know, with my age and just general condition, I go more for repetitions than I do for heavier weights. So I'll probably go anywhere between like 135 to maybe 225 if I'm on like a heavy day. Like, yeah. Yeah. Man, that's awesome. I had no idea you worked at. I thought you said Valley Williams for a second. A lot of people thought that. Valley Williams. Yeah. Health club days. Those were those are crazy days. But for sure. You're a big health guy. Because I remember listening to you and Cale, you guys were talking about athletic greens all the time. And there were times I was driving into work eating my sausage egg McMuffin, and I was like, I should just put this down and eat a protein bar. Yeah. No, that's become my life now since quitting smoking after 20 years. And it was the easiest way for me to just change it.
    267:38
    When did you quit smoking? Six years ago. Nicotine. There's a slow burn to go to nicotine gum and vaping and all that. And finally, so I have to get my dopamine the healthy way, which takes more work, but it's more sustainable. It's more fulfilling too, man, honestly. So much more. Yep. Yeah. Instead of killing yourself and feeling like these highs, you get to build yourself up and feel these more steady highs and be proud of yourself. Good for you, man. Yeah.
    268:03
    You're probably one of the worst people to ask this question because you're in marketing for a pinball machine company. but maybe this initially was going to be a play on Festivus, this show. It was going to be a Festivus special. I was going to do what I'm doing now, but tie it all together. But then it turns out, well, if we do Seinfeld's Festivus, it's airing grievances, the battle of strength, and it's a bunch of negativity. But I still do have one kind of slightly negative question in here. Feel free to pass since you're in marketing. But do you have a pinball grievance you could air for 2023? Is there anything in the world of pinball that you're just like, oh, all right, hold my beer, Jason. Let's go.
    268:45
    So I don't know if you would consider it a pinball grievance. I mean, industry-wise, there's not anything that, like, sticks out where I would be negative or encouraged to talk poorly about. It's really not. But being in marketing and kind of overseeing social media and having to be online a lot, I would say like my biggest pinball grievance is the Mr. Pinball Negative Nancy, the guy that, you know, pinball machines are made to create enjoyment for people. These are fun things, supposed to give you an escape, supposed to make you, you know, smile, have fun. But I think there's a very select few that will get up on any particular morning, make themselves a cup of coffee, jump on the computer and see how they can make everybody's, you know, life miserable when they're trying to have a good time. and that's unfortunate because that has a tendency to catch on in a certain extent or a certain way. And it's like pinball is not perfect, and the people that are working in pinball aren't perfect.
    269:46
    But when you're just kind of like never really looking at concepts or looking at the positives and you just kind of always concentrating on calling out failures or perceived failures that tends to get a little disappointing and that would be kind of my grievance I guess for pinball What do you want for Christmas this year
    270:07
    I like to give gifts. And, you know what, for whatever reason, maybe because I'm bad, I don't really get a lot of gifts in return. You know, from family we exchange gifts and whatnot, but it's like, I guess just because it's on the tip of my tongue, lately we've been talking at work about you know different ways to make smash burgers right where you kind of roll the meat you get the presser you smash them on the but you can't do that on the grill because you smash them in in between the grill grates and you can't really use an electric skillet inside it doesn't get hot enough to kind of put the sear on the burger so okay yeah i think do you know what the blackstone grill is like the outside kind of um griddle where you can kind of you can make burgers or you can throw 40 eggs on there and and it's kind of like it's an outdoor grilling experience. Okay. All right. Well, I mean, if anyone's looking for some last minute Christmas ideas, Ken Cromwell, Jersey Jack Pinball with like a Blackstone grill. Last question. What are you looking forward to most in the world of pinball in 2024?
    271:08
    What I'm looking forward to most, and I hope this doesn't come across as controversial. Obviously, I'm a Jersey Jack pinball guy, and I believe that we make the best machines in the industry. I do look forward to healthy competition in 2024 because the way that I look at it there are more pinball companies now that are making games than any time I can remember being part of the hobby and when I look back in the past I don't know that there have any ever been this many there's like 9 10 11 companies that are you know that have either teased the game or shown a game or shown some type of a concept of a game and to me like to have that competition it's good for the entire industry. You don't want to become complacent. You don't want to feel like you've done all that you can do. You want to constantly be pushing. And yeah, I mean, that's super exciting to me. Every game that I've played over this past year, and they've been from several different manufacturers, I've found redeeming qualities and things that I enjoyed in every single one of them. Again, I think ours are the best, but I do enjoy legitimately playing all these companies' games. So 2024, if it's shaping up like I think it will be, it'll be interesting. And I'm looking forward to some competitive rivalry for sure. Similar to last time you and I were chatting on the podcast, I just you don't have to respond. I just need to tell Jersey Jack, please make Matrix. Please make Harry Potter. Please make a Lord of the Rings. Could be anything. Could be another Hobbit. Could be anything in that universe. please make a Star Wars take my favorite themes and just do what you do which is make incredible games well you know Jack Ornery he's the guy that gets the themes over at Jersey Jack Pinball and if I had to guess I think people will be pleased on what we have coming next year god that's a tease god damn that's a good tease I like that tease I'm not trying to it's legit I'm looking forward to it because I can see your face and I know it's not BS that's why I'm like that's a good tease it's not like you're loading that up that seems genuine Oh god damn it what is it Well man I really appreciate you joining Last minute honestly let's do this again And when you get closer to a game release Or when I get a chance to play Elton John Which I'm trying to I really am Let's talk more about that I want to hear more about the world of Jersey Jack Yeah man get through the holidays And if you get a chance you want to make that four and a half hour trek Come on up and get you to the factory Play a bunch of games we'll get out And I don't know spend the night and go back home the next day It'll be a good time Yeah yeah if that Blackstone grill comes in, I'll make them from home and I'll bring them in. You can just come over here and party. It's fine. Okay. Appreciate it, man. Well, good to see you. Happy holidays to you and your family. Yeah, brother. Merry Christmas. I appreciate it, man. Merry Christmas.
    273:53
    On the 12th day of fall, pinball came to me. Took my base and punch. Cat run, J.J.P. Jason and Arcade. Erica's pinball journey. I'm Craig Bobby. Buffalo pinball, Kevin Shippey, David Turner. Bill and Rachel Best It will drain one half of them And the shoe bags and many And the 12 days it falls with me And a Merry Christmas everyone Merry Christmas Matt Merry Christmas
    274:37
    I can tell, dude, you lost weight. Yeah, thanks, man. Fuck. I'm down like 40 pounds right now. I just want to keep going.
    274:46
    Yeah, man. Yeah. No homo, you know? Yeah, thank you. I'm taking a page out of your and Kale's book for sure, dude. It like you really realize like especially for me I 39 now and I just about to head into my 40s It like shit gets real and it not just like sort of like it not like vanity or anything Right. You just want to be able to, like, grow old and like have all your shit kind of work. And so your arms. Exactly. Like so it's like you got to work out. You got to not eat junk all the time. So it's a bummer because I loved I mean, let's see, 16. Let's be fair, 16 to 34. I loved just waking up first thing, lighten them our bread. I didn't eat breakfast because I had cigarettes. Then like a diet Mountain Dew. And then what am I going to eat? It doesn't matter. Whatever.
    275:43
    Taco Bell, probably pizza. Yeah. Why the fuck? why wouldn't I? And then, or I wouldn't eat that day. Cause I'm just doing so many other things like mushrooms or whatever. And then, and then, yeah, like one day like, Oh, Whoa, I'm all fucked. Yeah. You just realize the choices you make actually have repercussions, I guess. So dumb. Yeah. It's like, it seems, it seems like, holy shit, you went this long without realizing that. But yeah, I think just like, dude, I bet I was so lucky because I think when a lot of people get a diabetes diagnosis, they like have already done terrible things to their body. And it was like readily apparent for me. I was really lucky because I got super sick right away. And so once I basically got the sickness under control and started losing weight, my blood sugar went to like non-diabetic levels without insulin or anything. And I'm just like, thank God this is like a check engine light and not a like you've been driving on a flat tire for five miles and people are like honking behind you, you know? So, um, I've been recording. Should we just use this? I mean, I don't sure. Yeah. Yeah. We can talk about it for sure. Okay. Yeah. I mean, hello. Merry Christmas.
    276:54
    Merry Christmas. This is, this is the last day of balls. It is December 25th for all those listeners. Um, you know, the magic of show business as it were, it's not really the 25th, but it is. So Merry Christmas. I hope you got Merry Christmas. Yeah. What did you get for Christmas? Do you remember? I do know what I got for Christmas because I asked for it. I got a new air fryer. That's nice. When you're old, you ask for stuff like that. My mom was like, do you want anything? And I'm trying to think what's in their price range that's not like, I don't know. Sometimes I'll ask for comic books, and as a 39-year-old man, you're like, Jesus.
    277:41
    What have I done? Like, I don't want to make eye contact with anyone while I'm opening the present because I feel shame.
    277:49
    So an air fryer at least, like, felt, like, kind of dignified, even if it's not at all. But I was like, I just want a way to cook Brussels sprouts better.
    278:00
    Yeah, goddamn, this is, like, the lamest Christmas of all time. So I can, well, I cooked Brussels sprouts last night. I'll cook them again. oh wait before I get to comic books anyone Doc Monday from Nudge Magazine hey you've been on the show before hello that's who's voice you're listening to yeah but I remember Christmas I think I was in high school we both went to the same high school but I was I think 17-ish I can see the shame in my face of like I love I'm opening a box of magic cards Magic the Gathering I don't remember what's set but you know I'm fucking A and you can see the red on my cheeks like please don't show any girls i was wearing a foo fighters color in the shape color in the shape shirt so you know monkey wrench era um and why i thought of that you mentioned the comics my daughter's current boyfriend who is well they're both the same age 20 ish she's like um or dana was like i don't feel weird i got him a box of pokemon cards for christmas and like she wasn't making fun of him but she's kind of like well i'm like that's fucking awesome like yeah yeah dude's probably legit no i mean you would rather have i mean And thank God he has nerdy – like I don't have a daughter, but if I did, I'd want her to be going out with someone who had like nerdy hobbies and wasn't like – yeah, all he wanted was – we talked about like a pack of Marb Reds and like a 24-pack of Diet Mountain Dew. You're like, that guy's trouble. Like he's putting fireworks in windows and probably going to get arrested for like tagging stuff. I've done all of that. Holy shit. Except for getting arrested. I tagged our middle school. I put firecrackers inside of someone's car and yeah. Wow. So don't date me 20 years ago. Well, yeah, maybe, you know, it's good. It's like that generational trauma isn't continuing to your daughter. So there you go. You've healed. I have.
    279:56
    Well, good to see you, man. We haven't talked in a while. And I, I've, I've been reading your stuff and, uh, nudge again out there, go check out nudge magazine, but I did this 12 days of balls thing. And I was texting you earlier, like you were one of the first, if not first names I thought of. Uh, and, um, yeah, without getting into it, thanks for coming on. I really appreciate it. Of course. Yeah. It's, it's been a while. It's good to see your face. We've been like, I think we've both been on journeys this year with like our relationship to pinball content specifically where um it can feel really when you're when you're in it too much and you're not like enjoying it that's the time to like stop and reassess and i think we both had that same feeling i won't put words in your mouth but i definitely felt that way um and yeah i i think like for a little while especially i mean dude i was so sick so um like for the listeners we were kind of talking about this at the beginning i was uh diagnosed with type two diabetes in the fall. But I mean, I was so sick for, I had a headache for like three months, um, basically all of the summer time. Um, and so like, it was that plus just, I felt like whenever we post something on Reddit, you know, Reddit success pool. And I was reading, I was reading the comments, which you shouldn't do. And I think I was just feeling kind of like isolated and worn down and that's definitely like not the case now which is great um awesome kind of like able to reassess and uh we had a bunch of like nudge people really helped me out um eric frick especially he's like rick brewster uh yeah hey eric yeah and uh all and so i i just feel like way um more energized on the hobby and like i'm coming back at it like kind of just starting last month in November with like, I feel like kind of we're doing content that we've never tried before. And I think it's kind of working. I, uh, I will never be like a hard news source like nap arcade or even Don's or, or the pinball show. Um, but it was fun to like, like we did it, we interviewed spooky last week, you know? Um, and I went down there and took pictures with those guys and that was super fun. And, um, Just as long as I think we're kind of covering the pinball element of – or the human element of pinball. That's kind of like our lane. So, yeah. Sorry. A long answer for a short question. No. I literally haven't talked to you that much. I wanted all that. Same thing. You didn't put words in my mouth. It was exactly like – I was just getting – I mean, yeah, personal stuff aside. I mean, I talked about it on the show, like going off some edification for headaches and stuff like that. And I was like, oh, let me just keep recording while I'm angry. and just like then i started just like just talking shit about pinball and like i i truly didn't like it though for a good few months and it wasn't um and it was like figuring out why you know it was a combination of the market for what i was doing as you know you know buying and selling just to like be able to play um going so down so i couldn't enjoy it without losing a fuck load of money which like i'm i'm an adult and i have to not do that and um and then yeah i made the mistake of reading some comments um and then some stuff of like assumptions of like why i got off tpn all this stuff and it you know for those people out there who do leave negative comments for people i get it like have your opinion like i think a lot of things suck in pinball or whatever and and but just know like when you are trying to personally attack someone and you want them to know that like you're still a human and it's still like it fucking hurts um yeah yeah dude and And I think it's really good that you say that just to know, I think if there's one thing, like I know everyone has different opinions on the Twippies. I don't want to bring it up for the 8 millionth time. I just listened to the team up podcast with triple drain and loser kids and they were talking about it again. And like, no matter how you feel about it, it's like, dude, Colin and will are people and they don't deserve to like,
    284:00
    yeah, like have it like saying that you're going to like stab them in the head. Like, it's just whether it's legal or not or whether it's whatever, it's just like, dude, like, let's again, like, maybe let's all take a step back and assess where we're at with this hobby that you're like, God, I'm going to make a Al Qaeda video with Colin in it. You know, God, well, yeah, either go full stupid like this show, go full retard on it. Exactly. Yeah. Be insane. But don't act like this matters. I mean, the pinball does. 100%. But honestly, again, the 12 Days of Balls was really just to reconnect with people I've talked to. Rarely is this about pinball. And yeah, pinball is fun, and I was not having fun with it. Again, I even went to Reboot. Reboot is an Eau Claire place to play pinball, whatever. And I went there a few weeks ago while I was not enjoying pinball I like I going to go there And I played two balls of I don know Venom or something And that all I had I just left I was like I just I don care Man I don blame you for that Well that game specifically too Well I did to be fair, I did play Jurassic Park. I was like, okay, my favorite game. And I still was like, I don't even want to play this game. And I don't know what has brought me back into it. I don't know. To your point and saying like finding that balance is hard and I'm trying to, and I'll make mistakes again and and so will you but um i have to kind of forgive myself and forgive others and i don't forgive others um here's the one i don't forget so if anyone out there made this comment eat my shit but it's it's something on uh i don't remember what video either mine or electric bad or whatever that said something like i'm glad jason is not on here playing his music in quotes if that's what you call it it's like oh bro like i get it yeah like i was like oh man right in the dick you just kicked me in the sack i have enough confidence dude you well here's the thing like you know that person is like 50 years old and like still like listening to the one like best of motley crew in their car like and like more power to you but also motley motley crew is pretty good i know but what you see what i'm saying is like like you're not creating music for that person so fuck them but also yes I mean that is about the rudest like it would be like if someone for me was like you know photography if that's what you call it and we've had that before I think my favorite one recently was someone was like Nudge Magazine just reads like bad chat GPT and I was like damn bad chat GPT if I could just use chat I should do it I mean, I have access to it. I'm like, that would make my life so much easier than like having to sit here and try to be like funny. That's a it's a pretty good burn because that would sting like to a writer. It's it's a very good like, yeah, this is bad chat GPT. And then they kind of would like give examples. You're like, damn, I guess it is kind of like bad chat GPT. Oh, God. Yeah. But yeah, for real. Like that shit hurts. And like if you want people to be really sad, like good work. we're probably giving them now it's like this is actually the thing you absolutely shouldn't do because they're like oh nice this is how i get attention right this is how i but yeah whatever fuck them dude if they want to come at us like it's one thing to pick on colin uh because he's such a nice guy and won't fight back i always used to say this because i had a friend who would um like heckle at shows and he would heckle our mutual friends who were like christian singer songwriters i'm like that's lame i'm like you come for me bro i'm emptying the clip on you like and I got the microphone. Right.
    287:45
    You come at me, you come correct. Yep. So I think like me and you, it's like I welcome the challenge. Please. Yeah, so anyway. Say something, yeah, for sure. So I've been doing these questions with a lot of people. You're a closer friend than a lot of these, no offense to the others. So a couple of them, I'm not going to go through this like very, hello, welcome to the show. No, it's all good. yeah um what what uh it's been a while what have you been up to pinball wise what have you been playing playing a lot of jurassic park i know that's a favorite of yours um the one at reboot is in great shape they recently um changed uh my buddy ben granger was working on their games for a long time but he's uh more based out of starcade now which is in st paul and so they got our mutual friend john who is the shit i think you have his lord of the rings right now i do and i just left his house yeah right on yeah and so he's he's become a local tech and he's awesome like yeah dude he's the only tech i've ever worked with when i say work with i mean i go down to reboot stoned as hell play all their games and then like report back uh but he's the only he's the only person who's ever asked me for letter grades of his work and then been like yeah thanks man i'm like what the hell is going on so so but he's got he's got that jurassic park playing really good right now um i i just think it's clean uh the flippers are working like everything is working on it and the code is updated like it takes very little to to make me happy um is what i've realized with pinball but definitely a lot of jurassic park and then honestly if this is like kind of embarrassing but i really have not liked deadpool uh for a while and i'm trying to get back into it because i did like it for a while but i'm just like having bad games and it feels like kind of like a clunk fest to me right now but i know that's like a lot of people's favorite but those are the two that stand out that's a i think clunk is right i've been playing the same deadpool you've been playing and it shoots well and i agree like john has been uh those games are much easier I asked him literally like a half hour ago like hey next time you there will you please just let me clean the Star Trek I don even have to play it I just want to clean it And he like oh it actually busted He fixing it up But yeah we were talking about some of that stuff And I've been meaning to, part of my 2024, again, subject to change. I do want to maybe get in contact with those people and try to help a little bit. Not be a tech, but, you know, help with the reboot people. That would be so awesome. I think like between you and John in the area is like we have and like my goal for you. And I know Cale and Rachel have asked you to do this, too. But I think you would be such a good operator because you really care. I know you don't want to get into it. I know it's like a whole bunch of headaches. But I know. But I do. I want to probably the same way you do. Like, I want to be a part of it. I got to find the balance, though, of like. So, well, you're smart. You're smarter than me when it comes to pinball. like solving pinball problems. And so that's like, and I, I just think like that would be a, I don't know. I would love that. Like, dude, we would run nudge tournaments with any of your, any of your machines for sure. So, um, uh, yeah. Zach at flipping out pinballs. Let's talk about that.
    291:18
    See it out when I buy, buy, buy, I buy from flipping out. Buy, buy, buy. What was I going to say? Oh, yeah, two things. Jurassic Park, I think I saw your score because I was looking at – that's probably the game there I can get the highest score on aside from Rush. Well, Rush, whatever. That game is just like do you want to do math for a while. But Jurassic Park, I think you had like up in the 700s or something. Yeah, 700 or 800, yeah. That's pretty good. I think I scored a billion on it once, but yeah. I've had a couple good games on that one for sure someone knocked me off of Mando which I had you had like everything on Mando all the high scores and then I got the grand when I got stupid into it for like a few days I was there like hours and I got it it's like one of those games where suddenly I played for an hour how did I fucking everything's lit it just exponentially goes up but then whoever is that MJT who is that person So it wasn't Ben, right? Or was it? I think it might have been Ben. Ben Granger, the guy who used to be the tech there, is an amazing competitive pinball player. And it's really annoying because he will just come in. Like, I'll be kind of bragging to him. Like, I used to have the high score on Star Wars that was like 6.5 billion. And then he just comes in and drops like a casual 8 billion on it in like one or two plays. And so he's got a lot of them. And now he doesn't even like he doesn't come to Eau Claire anymore. So I'm like, damn you, man. Like put them way up high on the shelf where none of us can reach them. And, you know, but I guess steel sharpens steel. Right. Well, we'll get up there again. Yeah. Thank you for thank you for mentioning my good scores. That's very nice of you. That's a spirit. When every score on there is Ian is like, well, fuck, I got to get on there. Do you believe in aliens? I do believe in aliens. And I've been in on that train since, I mean, we grew up in the same time. We had the same interests. X-Files was a huge show for me, both because I wanted to be David Duchovny. And I just had, even probably before I realized, oh, yeah. I mean, just he's so cool, dude. And he's like good looking, but in a way that he doesn't seem like he's good looking. And then obviously, like, wanted to date Dana Scully. So like that was like the thing. But yeah, absolutely. I believe in aliens. The UFO thing is like hard for me because I don't know. Like it's been really funny. I've listened to I think all your 12 Days of Balls to this point. I'm sorry. No, it's great. I love it. I told you like I think short form content like this is so fun. Like even if you do longer stuff moving forward, it'll be fun to mix in some like 25 minute, 20 minute interviews. Sure. But, yeah, I think, like, listening to everyone kind of rationalize, like, the universe is so big. It's like, yeah, but also, like, we're not talking about, like, all the government. Like, basically we're having, like, seven UFO sightings a week now. Right. Which is wild. And I don't know that those are aliens. They could be whatever. But obviously something's going on. So, yes, I do believe in aliens.
    294:29
    Ghosts? I worked at the University of San Francisco and it was a very haunted campus I had one mild experience that I would consider potentially paranormal where one of my first nights working there I would work overnights as the librarian and so my shift was like midnight to 8am and I was pretty much it was me and a student employee and there was a little room off to the right of us and And this alarm started going off and so I called campus security because oh the alarm went off and I could hear people talking on the other side it sounded kind of echoey like it was like a bathroom situation but I didn't have a key for this room the alarm was going off so I called public security and they're like we don't see an alarm going off here like on our end but we can hear it in the background so we'll send a guy down and sometime between when they said they were going to send them down and they're like the alarm stopped but i could still hear people talking and then eventually that kind of faded away and the guy showed up you know a couple minutes later and he opens this door he had a key for it and there was nothing inside uh it was just a stack of phone books um which was really weird and maybe that could have been like dude there could have been grates that were like pumping in noise but i made the joke to him i was like oh man i guess i guess this place is haunted and he's like don't say that i was like why and and you know like a lot of people it's like a lot of hispanic people who work um at university of san francisco and so culturally like mexicans are very catholic and they're very superstitious and so like there were all kinds of stories with like the cleaning staff and like security people about like seeing little kids walking around the education building at night. And so, um, long, long answer. I kind of do. I don't know like what that stuff means. I mean, I hate that wishy-washy stuff, but I, it was a real experience that I had that I legitimately can't really explain other than, like I said, saying maybe it was just noises or something that I was hearing, but man, it was very, it was very creepy in the moment i will tell you that since this is the last episode i don't have um a story nearly as good as that mine is about four seconds long this was only like uh six months ago i was standing doing dishes and i heard again like when this happens just like if you were in the room and said hey jason what's up or whatever it was as clear as that a woman behind me said hey jason what are you doing and i just i was i thought it was like you know dana or her mom or something but a slightly different voice like i know dana of course i know my wife's voice but i was doing dishes so like the noise of like the water and i was like oh i turned around and nothing i was like it was the first time in my life where i was just like okay so yeah like all the hair stands up dude my all of it and yeah you're just saying up just right now like yeah yeah it's it's it's so weird and it was during the day which i would think would make it better but it almost made it worse because i was like 100% makes it worse like oh this just not like lights playing or sounds playing tricks on me it's just like that just happened i wasn't expecting just like okay you're not stoned at one in the morning like me where i'm like this is definitely real there's someone in my house right it was like a normal you're just like washing dishes sober and that yeah yeah it's pretty wild fuck me i didn't i don't like that um could you share something with the listeners and myself something about yourself that you're proud of yeah um i've just like i said this year was about reassessing um why i do nudge in the first place and what i've really come to realize is like i'm proud of the fact that we're an outlet for so many cool writers and photographers and i think that even if i have no ambition to be the biggest anything but i think what i've been really proud of is that we've been able to grow our audience in a way that like stays true to the aesthetics and art of nudge and maybe that sounds so fucking pretentious that's another thing that people say about us a lot on red is that i'm really pretentious which is true um but but uh i i've been really proud of that like i love gina Kaletia's work. I love Ida Krutz's work. I love it. Like we talked about Eric. Like I think that those people I would read that shit. Like if I didn't like pinball, I would think the pictures were cool. If I didn't like pinball, like I'm just really I'm proud of that part of what we do. So yeah, I will say that this timing let's let's let's discount if we can. I know this is slightly unfair discount the twippy shit is there a pinball grievance you can air for 2023 yeah and like to be honest i didn't have a grievance with the twippy stuff uh i am fine with everyone's opinion of it the people who are like they want to cancel it because it's ridiculous that is a very reasonable response so uh a pinball grievance for me is god damn are these prices too high still correct even yeah um And like, I know that that's like a cop out, but damn, it is like, I've never wanted some pinball machines more and I've never felt less confident in my ability to generate the funds to get them.
    300:14
    So that, that, that is a cop out for me, but I'm just like, dude, I would love for us to get back to the days where you can find a quality pin for like four or 5,000 bucks. That would be, you know, amazing. but i don't think that's a cop-out man that's that's probably what if i had one that'd be the that's the best answer uh yeah i know i'm just like not throwing anyone under the bus like people wise i should be like don't no but like bug i'm coming for you you yeah get some more shit yeah uh no but yeah prices hey well no speaking of i mean spooky technically lowered prices a couple hundred bucks yeah for their like lower tier stuff right yeah or yeah or their higher tier higher tier yeah yep and they that yeah okay got it i mean the used market prices are at least going down they're still too expensive but i mean totally oh god yeah right now the prices are only going down that hurt you guys like that hurt like secondary yeah those are the only people getting kind of squeezed on this thing unfortunately which i think is a lot of the hobbyists i mean if you want stuff fuck um what do you want for christmas this year aside from uh the air fryer yeah i want i want another so the best christmas present i've gotten in the last couple years was my ex's dad for Christmas just handed me a Crown Royal bag full of like $50 in quarters and was like, go nuts. That is a great present. I think like if anyone's listening to this and it's Christmas day and you're like, I'm fucked, just find a shitty Crown Royal bag and go get a bunch of quarters from somewhere. Just find them and give that to the pinball person in your life. like that they'll be cool with it so uh i would love this i would love if someone would fill up my crown royal bag with quarters i would actually to be more specific that if it was filled with 50 worth of reboot tokens because if i gotta take 50 a quarters and convert them but i just don't like pain in the ass yeah i don't like driving anymore well i mean i love driving honestly driving's one of my favorite things to do but i don't want to drive two hours anymore just to play an hour of pinball um i think i burned myself out on it so much of where again why 2024 one of my little mini things subject to change because i change all the time is to yeah help reboot out like what would i want to do you know if if when i'm going on location the games that i want to play in the past i'm like i gotta find a way to buy them and do that now i kind of can't because of the market like if there's a way to get more you know high quality stern premiums in there keep them running perfect at reboot or stuff like that then i don't have to go crazy and buy and sell and do all that stuff and you know get a stranger things premium in there get a godzilla premium in there dude that is jaws to hear you say that yeah because i think that's that's your playground to like or your sandbox to like make what you want to see because what's cool about reboot is i think the owners are really great guys they're willing to put money into it and they are totally open to, you know, they're not like hardened operators that have like, this is the way that we do things and this is how we make money. So I know that they're just very open to those ideas. And I think like that would be, that's such a good, like, I hope that is like a new year's resolution for you because, um, a, you are so literate in like how to find the best like deals for that stuff too. It was like, if you even just pass along stuff that you see on the secondary market that you're like you guys should pull the trigger on this like i i feel like they listen to me on some of that stuff and i don't know anything so like that would be that would be rad like i would love that i mean i want a pulp fiction in there for sure whatever those will everyone does like i know yeah yeah i actually just messaged mikey who i think you maybe know he run co-runs bad penny with ben granger and i was like dreadlocks yep dreadlocks yep okay uh and he i was like when is when are they coming because he'll help out at the marco booth and stuff like that he's pretty connected he's bought like hundreds of thousands of dollars of pins the last couple years maybe i shouldn't say that i shouldn't be like out in what his but like just just crazy like so i was like if anyone knows he knows and he just wrote soon and i'm like uh okay fine i guess soon if you don't know then whatever but yeah speaking of soon what are you looking forward to the most in 2024 for pinball I know it cliche but jaws like I love I know like it funny to see now that we getting closer to it there starting to be some backlash about the theme it like dude i love that movie i think it's i know like backlash well like reddit or pinsight or garbage mostly on facebook like pinball degenerates facebook i'll see people being like this theme was before i was born and i don't care i'm like it was before i was born too but like that's one of the best summer movies like i think it's like that and sandlot are like my two that i watch every year you know um and i just like dude how do you not just say what the next elwynn pin like i mean right they're they're they're pretty much always hits so i'm i'm excited for that if i if i may i want to also air a grievance of just social media in general that's another thing that got burnt out because doing this like it requires you to use social media and before doing this podcast i never had a facebook account i never had an instagram account i never had all that because like i i hate it i i really don't like it i saw what it did to my daughter's mental health and truly like i i just fucking hate it so now that i have to do it to even get listeners it feels like gross yeah yeah and i mean i get it and no knock against anyone out there that uses it but i mean it's just a boys club on Facebook of like, what are we fooling ourselves? Like vote this, do that.
    306:21
    It's, it's obvious having the kind of like, you're right. I think in general, Facebook, especially leads to like one person, like everyone's trying to get likes, right? So you're going to say the thing that's either the most inflammatory, like crazy thing, or you're going to say something that's so innocuous and like, like, Hey, great. We're all feeling good. Like either way it it feels like false and lame uh and i think you're a guy it seems like you really values like truth and like honesty with your opinions like you pretty much like people know where you stand on stuff yeah and and so like yeah i think facebook is just like not a good place for that we've been able to find a good in roads with i think we're just like in general built for like instagram like we get a lot of follows on instagram and our shit like especially is very visual uh so that that's been a better place for us but i agree with you like in general like those kind of spaces are just usually pretty bad no matter what your fandom is if it's pinball if it's star wars if it's whatever so well no matter how good i am at editing nothing got us out of a tangent we went on here so let's pick back up when we were uh talking about kale and rachel guys saw them uh at expo and it was really fun to see him and kale looks like he can beat me up now which is scary uh he's like yeah i don't know if he's taken any testosterone or hgh but man he's like i don't think so he's just jacked and tough yeah he's jacked he can put on muscle like really uh really well so i can't i can lose muscle that's what i'm learning weight, so I do push-ups, and I know one of your questions is going to be about benching stuff. Oh, shit. How much do you bench? Historically, I did bench 240 in high school because I was playing on the line.
    308:18
    I was one of those guys who hated the weight room, but I was just my great-grandpa was a lumberjack, and I always say I have lumberjack DNA because I'm just tall and can put on muscle pretty easily. But what I'm realizing now is when you lose weight, the first thing you're losing is muscle because now I'm doing I'm trying to do like 60 pushups a day is usually my goal. And like just like a 20 and then another 20 throughout the day and another 20, you know, at some point.
    308:45
    And damn, I'm like, OK, this is this is quite a challenge. So I don't think I could do 240 anymore. But but God willing, in the next year, I'll I'll be back there. So I got to I got to hit the gym with you like Jim. Yeah, let's go. it's uh it's fun sometimes i lose motivation there too because it's it's a lonely thing but at least that you're building yourself up and over time like it pays dividends and you feel good dude that's been the biggest thing for me is like losing weight i have energy now i have like desire like for things you know like to accomplish things that i didn't have when i was like just sitting around so isn't it weird how it's it's really weird and it takes a while to like get it even though you know it but like once it happens it's like you want to tell other people like no it really is it's hard but it's that simple like it you just have to do it the doing it part is a bitch and like you don't always have the motivation you have to force yourself but i've never once left the gym and been like i feel worse than when i got totally i wish i wouldn't have done that yeah exactly zero times yeah a hundred percent and it's like it's funny because i see myself becoming the person that i fucking hated which is like yeah being like food is medicine Food is your medicine But it like food is actually your medicine Like I hate the hippie dippy like culture of that But also like those people are right And when I put like when I could polish off like two frozen pizzas at some point and there's like three slices left of the second one and I'm already just like in a world of hurt and just like just like finish them because I don't want them to sit there. This is the best they'll ever be. It's like, bro, no wonder your body is screaming like stop. Like no wonder you want to take three naps a day. Your body is just like tired from being alive and like putting sludge in it. So, yeah, I miss finishing a pizza and like feeling how full it is. Like, oh, I can't move. And then like I got to wash it down with a cigarette. Otherwise, like I'll feel too sick. And then after that, like out of breath and like full and out of breath. and then like within five minutes like all right how many of the things do i hate about myself currently well i just did this i just did that i just did this and i'm and i'm sitting here just um we used to do buffet arm in lark says in this band for a long time and when we tour you know you're eating at shitty you're eating like one time we weren't even sponsored by taco bell but our drummer's other band was sponsored by taco bell and they had too much like self-respect to use like they got hundreds of dollars of like uh free taco bell gift cards and they had too much self-respect to like use them because they were like i don't know real musicians and so like we were just using them on our tour and like we would do this thing called buffet arm where we would just like you put your left arm over and then you just start burping and it'd like open up space for like Jesus Christ.
    311:43
    Bean burritos is just like the most disgusting. I know, dude. It's like, how did you even make it to 39, to be honest? Yeah, I'm surprised you had diabetes from that lifestyle. It doesn't seem like it would. I can't connect the dots. Yeah, no, me neither. But I miss eating.
    312:04
    Yeah, and I think it's just like everything in moderation, man. Pinball in moderation. even if i don't i don't know that social media lends itself to moderation but i think you know i'm looking forward to the day after i like cut all this weight that it's like i don't have to be in calorie deficit and i can just eat a whole grain bread sandwich you know like that's what i'm excited about so are you doing are you doing the uh counting weighing your food counting calories doing all that yeah yep all the macro stuff um kind of hell yeah dennis was talking about yeah i mentioned that to you that it was like that was very familiar to me um it's funny because he's like, he uses that as an excuse that he'll eat whatever he wants. For me, I usually eat things that aren't as tasty, but I can just eat more of them. Hell yeah, bro. When you talk about the popcorn, that's my shit. That's what I want to be doing. Yep, feed me. I'll take low-calorie and just huge quantities. Give me a bucket of just some sort of seed that is no-calorie.
    313:04
    That sounds... Don't give me a bucket of seed. just give me a bucket of seed and let me slurp it down let me eat that gross yeah again it is again that simple uh this is not a fucking it sucks when you say this it's not a body shaming thing it's not a thing but like anyone out there like losing weight or trying like it sucks because it is that simple it's just hard to do like yeah yeah it's it's fucking hard but once you do it for a while it it like this engine that just keeps going and going and you get you get to be proud of yourself every day for shit 100 dude that is every day yeah that is exactly what i was going to say is that the hardest part for me was starting it the easiest part is keeping it going um yeah i don't i don't want to stop right now like everyone's like oh like maybe and like i hope some people are hearing this right now because like famously there are a lot of out of shape people in pinball no like and i'm i've been one of them i'm still kind of one of them like i'm i'm still on that journey but like uh i just don't want people to feel discouraged especially around the holidays when you're just like dude like 80 you know 80 of things at a grocery store are kind of like designed to kill you and get you addicted to sugar like it i get that it's hard but just like the things that you gain from doing it are so much better than the shit that you lose from not doing it. Like, don't be afraid to give up some stuff because you're not just giving it up. You're like getting a whole bunch of your life back, you know? So, and it's hard in America where this country is just full of fucking wrong information, terrible habits of the hardest thing to give up over time of doing this.
    314:52
    It like you get comments all the time from people who are like oh that all you going to eat Oh you doing that Oh Mr Healthy They start giving you insults because they can They see it foreign and think it incorrect Or like oh what you not going to stay out all night and drink Oh, it's crazy. I have to give up a lot of times by choice on Thanksgiving or things. Where's your five plates of mashed potatoes and gravy? Well, I don't want to because I want to feel good all the time now. It's not just once in a while.
    315:20
    And that will happen. And that's one of the hardest parts of like the social pressure to like, hey, it's America. Eat more. Come on. Let's do this. Fucking eat all this. Like, yeah, totally. And there's just like all kinds of shame in that shit for people. Like, I think a lot of times people will say that stuff when they're feeling weird about themselves, like not just for eating, for like for anything.
    315:40
    So, yeah, it's just like, fuck that noise. Just like do your own thing. Try to be as healthy as possible. And, dude, it does. I'll say this. It actually for me personally, it helped my pinball. Like this is going to sound really weird, but during diabetes, your eyes start to change shape because of all the fluid that you're retaining. So like I actually sometimes now don't need my glasses at all when I play pinball because my like within 20 yards eyesight got way better. Whoa, really weird. So so I'm just saying if you're out there and you're struggling with your weight and you're struggling with pinball, that might be something you want to try. it might be easier to track the ball I had no clue and when you don't have to share if you don't want to but when you found out so you had the headache, you were feeling sick and then they said that how did it feel hearing that news was it a shock it was scary my blood sugar level and it's like god damn all these people are like we did not sign up for a health podcast Oh, they stopped listening a long time ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, good. So we can just talk about it. Yeah, it was really scary. My blood sugar level is at 450. So like for normal, for reference, like normal is between like 50 and 100. Pre-diabetic is like under 130. So it's like I was eight or nine times higher than what you're supposed to be, which that was really scary. Yeah, and to hear my brother, who's an internal medicine doctor, be just like, should we get him in the hospital right now?
    317:19
    Was he with you or something? So I had been feeling so bad for so long, and we couldn't figure it out, that he was like, just do this panel of tests. And I did them, and I sent him the results. And it was funny because the blood sugar thing was circled like twice by the guy who did the test because he's like, I reran this three or four times because I did not believe that it was this high. And I was like, damn, when you hear that from a medical professional, you're just like, OK. And I guess like, yeah, in the moment, it was really scary. It was like, I mean, great motivation, right? Like you're just like, well, because people ask me because I'm a famous like stoner guy. Like they're like, what about the munchies? I'm like, you know, it's really easy to not have the munchies. Like if you think you're going to lose a toe, if you like eat stuff, like, which can happen, right. He's like, Oh yeah, I'm good on that shit. Like I would rather be able to walk around and you know, I don't eat Butterfinger BBs all day or something like, uh, I don't know. I picked that, but I just used to love those at the movie theater. I like them. Fuck me. I don't think they even make them anymore, but thank, thank God for me. but yeah so so that was really scary but then i think eventually you're just kind of like well what i was eating before was killing me with or without a formal diagnosis so this is actually kind of a good thing because it forces you i'm a very goal or goal-oriented person which i think you are as well yeah and when i have goals to shoot for and like okay you want to get like i track my blood sugar level every day you know it's like i want to get that shit as low as possible You have to – I'm ignorant on this. Do you have to like prick your finger, blood? Yeah, yep. So there are different – they have like 24-hour monitoring stuff now too where it's just like a patch that you kind of put on. But those are usually expensive and it's kind of more for – I was really – when it turns out, even though my blood sugar was so high that day, I was really pretty – more close to like pre-diabetic than diabetic. I was diabetic because you can't get your blood sugar that high without your pancreas basically not working.
    319:31
    But the fact that I can get it down into the 70s without really, really major medication or anything, that I was just able to kind of reverse it through diet and exercise, leads me to believe that I actually had pretty high pancreas function. So, yeah, so, I mean, long answer long, like I prick my finger like every morning and then you do it kind of before you eat or right after. you eat because usually your blood sugar will spike like an hour or two after you get done eating.
    320:06
    Yeah, it's just like whatever. Thanks for sharing. Honestly, I'm going to leave all that in if you don't mind. Sure. Yeah, no, of course. All right. Merry Christmas. I'm glad we're starting to connect more on pinball. In the same vein, I'm not going to be as hardcore. I'm going to try not to. Honestly, keep me honest. I'll do the same. If I see you, I'll shoot you a text It's okay. Watch it, man. Do the same. If I'm going fucking full stupid on this, check me. Cause like, I'll go, if not, I'll burn out and I'll do something, not do something stupid, but like, I, it's hard for me to find balance and something maybe just for you too. But, uh, you know, if we have some support locally, it helps both of us. So so much better And like dude I think we have enough like I mean you a friend of mine Like I think we have enough trust built up in the bank like enough equity like that where you trust like I trust what you say you know what I mean And I think vice versa like that that it not coming from a place of like you want to and this is something that like I had to learn with people is like just because someone has some criticism for you doesn mean that it personal like for that stuff Like you don always have to take it you know personally That always like a work in progress for me But yeah man I mean I it's been really good to see you and I can't, you know, I can't believe it's Christmas, you know, it's here today. It's Christmas. It is here. It's Jesus's birthday, our Lord and savior. And he looks good, dude. That guy is like on hole 30 or something. like he he's cut he's got that swimmer's body so i bet he can't bench much though i mean he probably can do like definitely not high rep shit um let me see let me go through this what would jesus's favorite pinball thing be this year what do you think um his favorite his favorite thing would be elton john okay because it has sort of like immaculate flow on it so that's That's his vibes. Just like silky smooth.
    322:10
    I don't think he would believe in aliens. He would definitely believe in ghosts. I mean, he basically invented them. He pretty much is a ghost. Right. Holy ghost. His favorite curse word is a combination. It's God damn it. I know that's his favorite.
    322:26
    I was going to say that is that my favorite curse word is God damn I use that a lot now and like a goddamn you know like i say that like you almost black almost like say it like that yeah you you picked up on what i yes i wish i was if he if jesus was gonna tell us something he's proud of um i'd say taking it like a champ you know what i mean like he took those nails and just like, ah, this fucking, this hurts, bro.
    322:54
    But this is for all you, so fuck. Yeah, how much we bench? We said he's high rep, low weight, era pinball grievance.
    323:04
    I bet it would either be Joel Engelberth or Dennis Creso, those pricks. He's like, those fucking guys. He didn't like to hear Joel do his one swear, his shit. Yeah, shit. He's like, this is my chosen one who never does anything bad, So I can't have him be sullied by people already. You're going to hell. What would he want for Christmas this year?
    323:29
    Life? Peace on earth, goodwill towards men, I guess. That's his party line. That's the marketing slogan, at least. And what would he look forward to in 2024? I bet he also like Jaws Jesus 100 For sure Jesus loves Keith Elwin Like Elwin Like that is his true chosen one for sure Well, Stern, feel free to use that. Jaws, Jesus Christ's favorite game of 2024. I'm sure that'll go over well in your marketing. All right, man. Dude, thanks for joining. Merry Christmas. It's good to catch up. Merry Christmas, man. Go check out Nudge Pinball.
    324:06
    All that stuff. You know where to find me. Yep. All right. See you, dude. On the twelfth day of fall Pinball came to me Don't mind me, it's in touch Katra, JJP, Jason, and Barcade America's Pinball Journey I'm Craig, Bobby, Buffalo, Pinball, Kavik, Shitbag, David, Turner Bill and Rachel Best John's Pinball Podcast Showbiz, Triple D One half a man And the show has had many And the twelve days it falls with me It's a Merry Christmas everyone Merry Christmas Matt Merry Christmas