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Episode 283: Jen Ruper

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·40m 27s·analyzed·Oct 12, 2020
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Jen Ruper discusses competitive pinball, video creation, and Columbus's vibrant arcade community.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Jen Ruper, a highly active competitive pinball player from Columbus, Ohio, and creator of the No Coin Drop Required video series. They discuss Jen's extensive tournament participation, her leadership role in Columbus's Bells and Chimes women's pinball league, her video production process, and her recent hands-on experience with Stern's new Avengers Pro pinball machine. The conversation also touches on Columbus's thriving pinball arcade scene, non-pinball interests, and Jen's passion for community engagement.

Key Claims

  • Jen Ruper plays in more IFPA events than Jeff Teolis does

    high confidence · Jeff explicitly states he checked Jen's event participation and found she plays more events than he does: 'I checked it out. I thought, I know Jen plays a lot. Holy cow, she plays more than I do.'

  • Columbus has multiple active pinball leagues operating at different venues (Level 1, Arcade Super Awesome, J&D's, Barley Hopster)

    high confidence · Jen lists: 'Kim and Bree at level one. You have John Geiger at Arcade Super Awesome and then Rhonda and Chris Wamsley at J&D's. They all have leagues.'

  • Level 1 arcade in Columbus has been open since June 2020 with non-IFPA tournaments following CDC safety standards

    high confidence · Jen states: 'Level 1's been open back up since June. And they actually have some, you know, obviously non-IFPA for fun tournaments with limited players and following the safety standards by CDC'

  • Avengers Pro has good flow and gameplay potential with room for code improvements

    high confidence · Jen's direct assessment after playing the machine: 'I really liked the flow... I do think that Avengers has a real nice flow to it, and I think there's going to be some good stuff coming out of it.'

  • Bells and Chimes Columbus chapter was originated by Rhonda, then combined with a ladies' night league run by Jen and Tish

    high confidence · Jen explains: 'It actually started, originated with Rhonda... And then we ended up combining forces together with the ladies' night that Tish and I were running at level one to morph it into an even more bigger chapter of Bells and Chimes.'

  • No Coin Drop Required evolved from in-location video interviews during lockdown to focus on players' lives outside of pinball

    high confidence · Jen describes the pivot: 'literally like a week after I posted it, we all went on lockdown. So I'm like, all right, well, now I need to rethink how I'm going to do this... I wanted to see what they were doing now... what do you do outside of pinball?'

  • Jen uses Facebook Messenger video calls and screen recording on her phone with a synced camera audio to produce her videos

Notable Quotes

  • “You, Jen, can say that you play more than I do.”

    Jeff Teolis @ early in interview — Establishes Jen's exceptional event participation rate in competitive pinball

  • “There is not a night in Columbus that you can't find a pinball, something or another going on, which is just who would ever think of that?”

    Jeff Teolis @ mid-interview — Highlights Columbus's exceptional density of pinball venues and tournaments

  • “I was born into a winning family. You know, it's okay.”

    Jen Ruper @ during sports discussion — Humorous explanation of her Steelers fandom despite living in Ohio

  • “I try and make the person who I've never talked to before laugh in the first like five seconds that I'm talking to them.”

    Jen Ruper @ discussing interview technique — Reveals her deliberate interviewing strategy for building rapport

  • “I don't feel like you can judge a game after just playing it two or three times right because you don't know the rule set... there might be some other bugs that need to be worked out”

    Jen Ruper @ discussing Avengers Pro — Shows nuanced understanding of code-update driven game evaluation in modern pinball

  • “If one person thinks the same way as me, then I'm good. Mission accomplished. Somebody gets my humor for once.”

    Jen Ruper @ discussing video creation motivation — Reveals her community-focused and humble approach to content creation

Entities

Jen RuperpersonJeff TeolispersonColumbus, OhiolocationBells and ChimesorganizationNo Coin Drop RequiredmediaStern PinballcompanyAvengers ProgameRhondaperson

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Bells and Chimes Columbus established as thriving women's pinball league with multiple co-organizers and regular programming at multiple venues

    high · Chapter originated by Rhonda, expanded through merge with ladies' night; now operates at Level 1 (Tish), J&D's (Rhonda/Chris), with active membership across Ohio cities

  • ?

    event_signal: No Coin Drop Required series serves as community engagement platform featuring interviews with diverse pinball players about non-pinball interests

    high · Series evolved to feature Jessica Kent (cooking), Matt Benzik (homebrewing), Laura Fraley, and other players; helped community stay connected during lockdown

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Columbus positioned as exceptional pinball hub with nightly programming options and highly competitive player base

    high · Jeff notes 'not a night in Columbus that you can't find a pinball... going on'; Jen describes scene as 'maybe a little bit more competitive than it is in Cleveland'

  • ?

    community_signal: Columbus arcades (Level 1, Arcade Super Awesome) demonstrating resilience and adaptation during COVID-19 with CDC-compliant non-IFPA tournaments and social distancing measures

    high · Level 1 reopened June 2020 with Monday tournaments and Wednesday women's programming; Arcade Super Awesome reopened with spaced-out machines and hand sanitizers

  • ?

    community_signal: Jen Ruper's interview approach emphasizes breaking tension through humor within first 5 seconds and finding common ground with subjects

    high · Jen explicitly states strategy: 'I try and make the person who I've never talked to before laugh in the first like five seconds that I'm talking to them'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.121

0:00
Pinball profile in a second, but first, a tribute to Eddie. It's time now for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teels. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. all past episodes, all your subscriptions and more, pinballprofile.com. You can also find us on Facebook. We're also on Twitter and Instagram at pinballprofile. And please email us, pinballprofile at gmail.com. We're going back to Columbus. I've done that a few times this year on Pinball Profile. Although, funny enough, I've actually never been to Columbus, Ohio. It's all right. That's what you do on a podcast. Let's talk to Jen Rupert. Hey, Jen, how are you? Hey, Jeff. I'm doing great. How are you? I'm wonderful. It's great to finally talk to you. We've been to many events before, and we certainly know who each other is, but I don't know if we've ever really had a big conversation. So here we are on a podcast. I was going to say, yeah, we haven't. So I'm super pumped. I'm super excited, you know. And I know we were talking before, like, hey, I can't wait to actually see you in person and, you know, hopefully maybe shake your hand, maybe give you a hug. I'm a hugger, so. I'm in for either. That's great. Okay. it's funny because I do feel like I know you through no coin drop required also too I feel like I've been to Columbus before and I know I haven't but whether it's talking to you Holly Koskinen Kim Martinez Evan Bingham Brie Reynolds Deborah Tallman there's all these people I know from the Ohio area and uh yeah I don't think I've ever been there there's a lot of us we're a strong and mighty group we love what we do we love playing and we love just going out there and having a good time. And we are also very competitive, if you didn't know that too.
2:25
You know what, Jen? That is something that is so true because when you say you like playing pinball, even during this pandemic, you're finding ways to play safely and social distancing, but you're still getting out there even though the IFPA is suspended, it doesn't matter. But you yourself, do you know there are not many people in the world that can say they've played more events or active events than I have. I get around when it comes to pinball. You, Jen, can say that you play more than I do. I do? Yes, I checked it out. Are you keeping track of my events for me? I had a quick look and I thought, I know Jen plays a lot. Holy cow, she plays more than I do. I do play a lot. So actually, I started off, I'm actually from Cleveland. So I actually started playing with the ladies up in Cleveland. So Megan Brown and Amanda Case and a couple other people up there. I started with the Bells and Chimes up there and then transitioned over into playing in the Open League at Stonehenge. And then obviously it just kind of like grew from there, going to a bunch of events. But it really wasn't until I moved to Columbus and the scene down here is just maybe a little bit more competitive than it is in Cleveland. And I was like, all right, well, they're going to go to this event in Cincinnati. Well, I want to go. Well, they're going to this event in Pennsylvania. I want to go or Michigan. So I started just going out and playing a lot more, and then it just kind of blossomed from there. So, yes, I do go out quite a bit. Well, I used to, not so much, but, yes, I used to. Yeah, unfortunately, that's the boat we're all kind of in right now, and we certainly can hardly wait to get back into it. And it will happen. It's just obviously right now we have to make sure we take care. but you have done so much with Bells and Chimes, and that's a big, big chapter in Columbus. Yes. So it actually started, originated with Rhonda, who is one of the other co-league directors with me and Tish. And Rhonda had actually started it up, and then we ended up combining forces together with the ladies' night that Tish and I were running at level one to morph it into an even more bigger chapter of Bells and Chimes. So I'm going to credit Rhonda for actually starting Bells and Chimes in Columbus. And then, again, we just combined forces and it grew from there. And grew it did because there are, again, I mentioned some of the people that are playing in Bells and Chimes. But Columbus, boy, if you want to get into pinball, that's certainly the city to do it. Oh, yeah. I think there's sometimes I have to count them like one, two, three leagues that I know of. So you've got Kim and Bree at level one. You have John Geiger at Arcade Super Awesome and then Rhonda and Chris Wamsley at J&D's. They all have leagues. Plus there's other a couple of other leagues, too. I know there's always events going on at Barley Hopster, which is in Delaware, which isn't too far away. And there's so much there is not a night in Columbus that you can't find a pinball, something or another going on, which is just who would ever think of that? Right. That you have so many choices that you're like, OK, no, I got to sit out. Like I got to have a day where I need to like actually adult and like do things at home rather than going out. No, I like the idea of pinball every night. Are you kidding? That's great. Oh, yeah. No, I mean, I'm there, too. But sometimes I'm like, yeah, just OK. One day. I mean, like I got to pay bills at like one time. That's what mobile phones are for. You can do it on your online. That's play pinball. Do it in between balls. Very true. You mentioned a lot of these great places. We're recording this in early October. where I hope that these places are going to survive, and maybe you can give some status on some of these. So from what I know, actually, Level 1's been open back up since June. And they actually have some, you know, obviously non-IFPA for fun tournaments with limited players and following the safety standards by CDC to make sure everybody's, you know, being safe and okay about everything. They've started up tournaments on Mondays, there. And then I know that Tish has been doing some women's stuff there on Wednesdays as well. J&D's doesn't have any tournaments going on, but they are open. So you can go open and play the games that are over there. And then I do believe just recently Arcade Super Awesome opened back up again to be able to go there and John spread out the game. So they were, you know, safe, you know, six feet apart from each other and had hand sanitizers and all that stuff there to be able to play safe too. So from what I know, I think everybody's doing good and staying strong and hanging in there through all this, which is great news. Great news. I hope that is the case because I do plan on coming to Columbus. I know Evan runs his interesting tournaments there. I think it was at level one, but you mentioned these other places too. I have an arcade super awesome t-shirt that I think I wore to the last Cleepin show. I was at the April Cleveland show and I think I won that. The Ohio show, yeah. That's it. Thank you. I was there April 2019 with my son Carson. It was perfect. We were actually going to a bunch of Cleveland Indian games. And I'm like, hey, look at this. This is great. First of all, they're playing the Blue Jays. And secondly, there's a, oh, look, it's a pinball show. I know it's progressive field now, but it's always going to be Jacobs Field to me. Had you been to Jacobs Field before? I have been to Jacobs Field, and I agree with you. I don't call it Rogers Center in Toronto. It's the Sky Dome. and they had a contest to name the building, and it was Sky Dome, and now Rogers comes in, and they want to call it Rogers Center. No, no, no, no, no. I would have accepted Rogers Sky Dome, but no. It is still the Sky Dome, and it's still Jacobs Field to me, and it's great. It's still the Gundarina. It's not Quicken's Loans anymore. It's still the Gundarina to me. I'm with that, too, as well. It's the same building. Absolutely. Yep, yep. Now, I don't know if you know this, but the history of Pinball Profile began after a trip to Cleveland and Jacobs or Progressive Field. I was covering the 2016 World Series between the Cubs and the Indians, going to each game. And it was when I went to Chicago in Game 3, 4, and 5 that I stopped by Stern, interviewed Steve Ritchie and some others, and that's how Pinball Profile was born. So there's a little Cleveland tie-in to Pinball Profile. It's just I did a lot of the early interviews in Chicago. Had I known about all these great Ohio places, darn it, I could have had a bunch of interviews there. So non-pinball story that I'm going to sidetrack on for a second. I had one of my coworkers at the old office I was before I transferred down to Columbus. He actually had his pyrotechnic license. And all of the fireworks show that you would see at the Cavs games, he would organize all of that. Wow. So he was able to snag field passes during that World Series to be able to go into Jacobs Field and see the game while I was there because of his connections through doing all the pyrotechnics. And I kept telling him, I was like, Frank, where's mine? Like, Frank, why didn't you get me any? I would have loved to have gone to the Indians game. I could have, you know, made time. Come on, Frank. Exactly, Frank. Come on, Frank. You get Jen as a cheerleader, they might have won game seven and ended that drought. He always jokes around, too, because I'm a huge Steelers fan, and he's a season ticket holders for the Browns, and his tickets are in the Dog Pound, so he'd always try and sell me his season tickets for the Steelers-Browns game in the Dog Pound. I'm like, Frank, I'm not sitting in the Dog Pound dressed in Steelers gear at the Browns stadium. No, I'm not going to do that. I guess that tough to do because they in the same division too I didn know you were allowed to be a Steelers fan in Cleveland or Columbus Well I was I always everybody is like well I can understand why you were a Steelers fan and you were raised in Cleveland I say, I can't help. I was born into a winning family. You know, it's okay. So my grandpa is actually from a small town called Connellsville in Pennsylvania. My dad was born and raised in Erie. So they were always Steelers fans. And we've actually been season ticket holders in our family since 86. So that's how I was raised in a Steelers family. I never knew anything else. I didn't know the Browns even existed until everyone's like, oh, you know, I went to school wearing my Steelers hat, and I started to get heckled for it. I'm like, what is the, what, you guys don't like the Steelers too? And they're like, no, I kind of like the Browns. Wow, you've lived in two different cities in Ohio. They even have two different Ohio NFL teams, and you're still a Steelers fan. Yeah, exactly, yes. Yeah, well, and it's hard too because I'm not really into college football. I don't know if I can say this. You can't. Living in Columbus.

high confidence · Jen details her process: 'I actually use Facebook messenger and I do a video call with the person who I'm talking to and I screen record on my phone the call... I have a camera that is set up recording me that picks up the sound from the video call. And then when I edit it together, I sync the video call that on my screen from my phone to the video of me filming.'

  • Jen identifies as highly extroverted but is shy in-person about approaching people she hasn't met, despite being comfortable on phone/video

    high confidence · Jen explains: 'in person though, I am very shy about coming up to people and saying hi to them... But on the phone, I'm super, super comfortable. Some sort of safety net there when it's not in person, I think.'

    • Tishperson
    Level 1location
    Arcade Super Awesomelocation
    J&D'slocation
    The Barn / Tilt Amusementslocation
    Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museumlocation
    Pinball Profilemedia
    Deadwoodmedia
    Iron Maidengame
    Ringergame
    Clevelandlocation
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesgame
  • ?

    product_concern: Early Avengers Pro gameplay assessment indicates solid fundamentals with acknowledged need for code updates and bug fixes typical of new Stern releases

    medium · Jen states she achieved multiball once, liked flow, but cautioned that games can't be properly judged until rule set stabilizes after code updates

  • ?

    technology_signal: Content creators adapting to remote production using accessible tools (Facebook Messenger, phone screen recording) during COVID-19 restrictions

    high · Jen developed workaround using Facebook Messenger video + phone screen recording + synced camera audio to produce No Coin Drop Required without requiring guests to adopt new platforms

    • 11:03
    If they find out. Living in Columbus. I know everyone's like, oh, because it's Buckeyes country down here. They're like, yeah, we might like the Bengals. We might like the Browns. But no, it is Ohio State. You know, everybody bleeds scarlet and gray here. So if you say you don't watch college football, it's like, oh, no, no, no, I can't talk to you. Now, you said that you can't sit in the dog pound. We're going to talk a little of this NFL here because the season's going on right now. I am a massive, out of all football teams, I'm a massive Rams fan. Loved them when they were in L.A., loved them when they moved to St. Louis, even now back in L.A. I went and saw the Browns play the Rams. It was a preseason game, though, mind you. And I sat in the dog pound. And it was back when Cleveland had Johnny Football as their quarterback. Oh, no.
    11:53
    Okay. So there's Manziel trying to get some touchdowns. I'm sitting in the dog pound. I'm wearing a Browns shirt and one of those Browns necklaces, too. It looks like a bunch of different orange and brown teeth. And you've got the teeth bones on them, too? Yep. I'm secretly rooting for the Rams, although, again, the preseason doesn't matter. But it's, again, one of those cases when in Rome. And I do this at every place I go to. I mean, unless I really, really, really despise a team, I always support the team. I'll buy a cap, I'll buy a shirt, something like that. So I have my favorite teams, but I also have a catalog of different hats and shirts from places I go to just to show some local support. See, and that's the thing for me is that I have nothing against the Browns. You know, I know that they're due for a good couple seasons, a good couple decades here. I know they've been in a rebuild phase for a while, and I know the Steelers have got a lot of work to do. A lot of rebuild coming soon as Ben retires. So, and you know, Tomlin will go pretty soon after that. I can't stand the Ravens. I'm sorry. And that's always my argument too. When everyone's like, oh, I can't believe you're a Steelers fan. I'm like, yeah, but why don't you not like the Ravens? They literally left your city and then won a Super Bowl. Here they left. Yet you still root for, you know, the Browns and you don't, you don't dislike the Ravens. I'm like, why can't we just mutually agree the Ravens stink and just, you know, not root for them together. But. Yeah. That's okay. We'll see what happens this season. I'm still hopeful, but again, I know that we've got a lot of work to do and Ben's looking okay for being injured last year, but it's okay. We're here to talk about pinball, right? Not football. Either or, I'm happy. But you know, that's funny that we're talking about just things that we're passionate about because when you watch No Coin Drop Required, you talk about more than just pinball too. I know that during this COVID-19, We have a lot of time on our hands, and we're at home a lot more than we normally are. So that's a good time to binge watch TV shows, and you've got some good ideas from your video series. I know Deadwood's a big one that I think Evan Bingham passed along to you. Yep. Yes, he did. And that was really what the point was. So to kind of go back to the origins and the idea of initially what I had envisioned this series to be like was actually being out on location and having some clips of playing with players and maybe getting tips from them, but also getting to know the players as well, but not necessarily talking about pinball, getting to know them outside of what they do other than just pinball. And then the first episode I did to kind of test the series was I was in Michigan for work, and any time I'm in Michigan for work because my office is in Farmington Hills, I always stop at Marvin's. Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. If you haven't been there, I'm sure you've been there, Jeff. I have not, and I know all about it. I can't believe it. And I go to Michigan all the time. Yes, you're so close to it. Well, I guess, I don't know. How far is Toronto from Detroit? It's about four hours, but one of my offices is in Windsor, Ontario, which is four minutes from Detroit. Yes, so any time in my, the hotel that I stay at is literally less than a half mile from Marvin's. So I always make an appointment. I'm up there to go and stop at Marvin's because it's such a cool place to go to. not just the pinball collection that's there and how well it's kept, but also just all of the lecture mechanical machines and just the, so many cool things. So I said, okay, I'm going to do this test video here where I'm going to film, get used to being talking on camera when somebody's not there. Cause that can be kind of weird. Then get used to editing. Cause I know I want to do this video thing. So I filmed it and I edited it and I posted it. And then literally like a week after I posted it, we all went on lockdown. So I'm like, all right, well, now I need to rethink how I'm going to do this. And so while I was still kind of, you know, tapping into, okay, I want to talk to these people with pinball, I wanted to see what they were doing now that, you know, like you mentioned, we're at home a lot more. We're all coming up with new ideas. We're doing things differently outside of just being able to do pinball. And I really wanted to start to get to know players with, okay, what do you do outside of pinball? And share that with everybody else, too. So it kind of morphed into this, all right, I want to, you know, talk to people and see what they're doing. Like I know I had Jessica Kent come on and talk about her cooking show. I know I had Matt Benzik on talking about his homebrew, which that was a fun episode for me because I learned so much about homebrews. But again, just learning about what are people doing right now that you can't necessarily go out and play if you don't have a machine at home to still stay connected and to still, you know, maybe tap into some things that you haven't done for a while that, you know, you wanted to get big into now that you've got time. So that was really what it kind of morphed into after the lockdown happened. So I know what I have to do for doing a podcast. When I'm at home, I've got a microphone. A lot of people use Audacity, Skype, as you and I are talking right now, and Skype recorder. But doing video, that's a whole different ballgame. So how hard was it for you to do that kind of setup and that kind of editing? So my boyfriend says I always like to overly complicate things. so what I actually do and there's probably a lot simpler way and everybody who's listening if there's a simpler way for me to do this I'm all open ears but what I do is I actually use Facebook messenger and I do a video call with the person who I'm talking to and I screen record on my phone the call and if any of you guys have screen recorded anything before you know it doesn't record sound. So I have a camera that is set up recording me that picks up the sound from the video call. And then when I edit it together, I sync the video call that on my screen from my phone to the video of me filming. So it can get a little, the first couple of videos I was editing, it took a little while and there was a couple of moments where I'm like, I just have to walk away. All right, I just have to walk away. But once I got to the groove of it, it got a lot easier to be able to edit them. And now it doesn't take too much longer. I know I talked to Lauren Gray about this one time. And for every hour of interview, you can anticipate an hour of editing. And once you get it down, it's pretty much that. So it's not too bad anymore. Good for you. Now, I have a three to one ratio. So no matter how long you and I talk, it will take three times as long to edit. And that's to clean up the ums and the ahs that I do all the time or if I have to repeat a sentence because I flubbed a line or maybe there's a noise in the background I want to take out. Just little things like that. Here's a little secret. When people talk for a long time, they take a breath. So I take out the, because it just cleans it up a little bit. So a little secret there here on Pinball Profile. It's not that I have endless oxygen. I just like to clean it up a little bit. I like how it sounds. You know what it comes from? It comes from listening to radio commercials, which obviously I do for a living. And I'll hear a commercial read and I'll hear this person talk about, it's the new Ford Explorer. Get it in 2021. And you hear all these suck ups of air. And I'm like, just take that out. It's actually distracting. Maybe it's because I'm too close to it. So I take it out in the podcast. No, and I completely agree with you. And I know that's kind of where I am a little bit. I don't do that. So I don't get that too intense with it when I'm coming to the editing, because with the video element, it adds a whole nother layer, right? You can't do it because you'd have blips in the video. Right. And so that's why if you've watched the series before, you can kind of see how my editing has evolved from the beginning of the series towards the end of it. I know I'm in a little bit of a hiatus right now just due to some stuff going on in personal life. But you can kind of see how it evolved over the couple of months that I was filming, where initially it was, you know, looking one way, and then it completely morphed into looking to something else. And that was just from trial and error, right? I'm just starting out. I'm doing something new. And if it doesn't work one way, okay, I'm going to try something else. So, you know, maybe one day I'll be able to smoothly edit out the, Yeah because I definitely know I stutter I say um and I say like a lot And you know I fidget when I you know sit and talk too So you know maybe I perfect that one day and then we can share even more trade secrets It harder to do in video though. I will give you that. And you said you used Facebook Messenger and obviously recording some sort of audio. Now, I know a lot of people have done what you do using Zoom. And even the few times I've done videos, I've used the Zoom for recording and editing. Is that something that you've tried? So I haven't tried Zoom because I don't have a Zoom account. I use whatever free account they have. So when we have, so I don't know if I'm able to set up meetings and do, you know, have meetings, but I definitely know everybody who I've talked to, I've been friends on with Facebook. So I'm always like, well, can you just, you know, do a Facebook messenger video? And they're like, sure, that's easy. That way they don't have to download anything and they don't have to worry about signing up and making an account and you know and then it's easy if we drop a call we can just pick it back up and i don't have to send them a link so i try and make it as simple as possible for the person who's coming on to say you know what this is all about you we can talk about what you want and you all you need to do is just i can just call you on facebook and that's it and they're like oh yeah that's pretty simple so i try and keep it as simple as possible. Not saying you don't, Jeff. Google might be able to do it with Hangouts or also maybe even Skype too, but I don't know. If you have any suggestions that could make life easier for Jen, for myself, we would certainly be welcome to that. That's for sure. I have all ears.
    21:47
    For sure. So here you and I are talking to each other. We know who each other is, but again, we're basically strangers. How hard is it for you to talk to strangers or have you tackled that on your video? So it's really not that difficult for me to talk to strangers because I'm a very highly extroverted person anyway. Also, I teach for a living, so I have to get up in front of strangers every day for my job. So it's not difficult for me to be able to strike up a conversation or to find some common grounds. I have some little techniques that I always do, and that's try and make the person who I've never talked to before laugh in the first like five seconds that I'm talking to them. Just kind of, you know, break the ice, break the tension. Good idea. But there has been a couple. So I know that I had never actually talked to Matt Benzik before, before I interviewed him. I never talked to Laura Fraley before I talked to her. I knew Alison Ray, there's a couple of other people who I had never talked to before that was, hey, you should talk to this person. You know, I think they'd be really fun or I think they'd be really great. They're, you know, doing this. Jessica Kent was another one I had never actually met and talked to. So for me, it's not a huge thing because, you know, I can try and find one common ground and then just kind of go from there. So being that, again, I'm a very extroverted person. It's not very difficult for me to talk to people. But I will say, I will tell you though, in person though, I am very shy about coming up to people and saying hi to them. Even though I may know who they are, if I've never met them before, I'm very shy about doing that. So if you know who I am and we've talked on social media, don't be surprised if I don't come up and say hi. It's usually because I'm really shy doing that. But on the phone, I'm super, super comfortable. Some sort of safety net there when it's not in person, I think. Right. So don't be surprised if I don't come up and say hi to you, Jeff. I'm just kidding. I'm going to turn the other way. I'm going to look at you. I'm going to go do a 180. Get the hell out of there. I don't know who this person is.
    23:52
    Well, not only do you talk to people on no coin drop required, but I found out something that I didn't know. I didn't know you could talk to pinball machines as is the case with Iron Maiden. Now the pinball machine talked to me. Yeah. I just want to get that straight. He was talking to me. I wasn't talking to him. I had to respond back to him. Yes. There was a conversation. It was two-way. I'll give you that Iron Maiden piped up at first, but you were back and forth with Iron Maiden. Yes. Why does Iron Maiden talk to you? What was that all about for those that didn't know? I think he was a little upset with me because, like I told you, there were some things going on in my personal life, and I recently just moved. So we hadn't been hanging out for a little bit, and he felt a little neglected. And so while I was unpacking at home, he decided to speak up to me and say, how come we don't play anymore? You know, we don't we don't ever hang out. You know, we're not friends. So, yeah. So, you know, I went and I played some games with him and we hung out for a little bit. And so far he's been he's been OK, but he's I think he's getting a little jealous because I went. He knows I went to the barn the other day to play some Avengers. I saw. I didn't specifically tell him that. and he's probably listening right now, but I think that he might be overhearing me. So there might be another video coming out about that soon. How dare you? You were loyal to me. I know. Yes. Yeah. That's kind of what I've been doing because I haven't really had a lot of time because I'm sure, you know, with doing interviews and then the editing that goes into them and then, you know, obviously making the thumbnails for them and then being able to post them and talking about them. It takes a lot of time. And between, you know, moving and again, there's a couple of other things going on in life right now. I haven't been able to put a big chunk of time into going and making videos. So when I think of a small idea like the, you know, every pinball t-shirt I own, or, you know, I tried to move with Iron Maiden. If I have an idea that I know maybe takes like an afternoon to make, I try and roll with that idea. Just because, you know, even if I make one person smile and laugh when they see it, mission accomplished for me. Because if somebody can get my humor and know, hey, I'm just trying to have fun, then that's the whole reason why I like doing those little fun skit videos. Because again, it's how my brain thinks. And if one person thinks the same way as me, then I'm good. Mission accomplished. Somebody gets my humor for once. I think you have more than one person enjoying your videos. So I don't think you need to worry about that. You do a great job on no coin drop required. You did mention going to the barn and I caught you do a Facebook live video of you playing. I mean, it was like a week after it was released. Avengers, the pro edition with Trent and Debra. And this was at the barn for Tilt Amusements. Tell us about Avengers Pro. Yes. So I didn't get a chance to play it too, too much. We were working on some other things while we were over there too, but I got to sneak in a couple of games while it was there before you know it's not there anymore but it was i liked it a lot i liked the flow of it it's the the hardest thing for me is i don't feel like you can judge a game after just playing it two or three times right because you don't know the rule set the rule set's probably going to change because they're going to be doing code updates and there might be some other bugs that need to be worked out but overall from just my first impressions of playing a couple of games with it. I really liked the flow. I think there's a lot that can be done with the code and a lot that can be done, you know, going through the game with the gameplay and different options. I did get multiball once, which I was really excited about, but I think it's a great game. I'm excited to play it now. I can't compare it to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because I haven't played that one yet. I haven't had the opportunity to play that, but I do think that Avengers has a real nice flow to it, and I think there's going to be some good stuff coming out of it. Jen, I agree. I look forward to playing Avengers. It looks fantastic to me, but shh, Iron Maiden's listening. No, I know. He's sleeping right now, so I don't know if he can hear me too much. Okay, we have pinball in common. We both do these sort of audio or video files where we talk about our pinball passions with our friends and people in the community. But you and I have one other thing in common, and it's something you posted recently on Facebook. You and I have the exact same love for the machine, Ringer. Oh, my gosh. Ringer is so much fun. Explain for those who don't know what Ringer is, and it's a horseshoe game. It is. It's a, I would say it's a virtual horseshoe game. And essentially what you've got is, you know, you've got your cabinet, and then on the cabinet there's a wheel. And on each side you've got your players, and you've got the number of pitches that you can do, and you get 10 pitches throughout the game. And the goal is spin the wheel just right. You don't want to do it too short. You don't want to do it too hard, but just right so you hit that ringer and you get points. So you get three points for hitting your ringer. There's two opportunities to earn two points, and I think maybe one opportunity to earn two points and two opportunities to get one point. But as you start to go through your pitches, I think it's pitch number three, and correct me if I'm wrong, Jeff. Pitch number three has the opportunity to earn double the points. So if you get a ringer, you get to spin again. I think pitch number six is the same way. There's two opportunities that you have to earn double ringer. And essentially, you just go back and forth spinning the wheel and, you know, trying to hit the ringer. And it sounds like a very simple game. And I know the first time somebody took me to go play it, I actually think it was Trent that took me to go play it. I was like, this game looks really dumb. I don't want to play this game. And then we played it once, and he's like, you want to play dollar games? I'm like, all right, I could get into that.
    29:46
    And I think I ended up spending maybe like four hours playing it because it's just so addictive. It's such a fun game. But Trent also said it's a pretty rare game, too, to find. So that's why I'm always like, if anybody's on the market or sees a ringer that's in at least decent working condition, please let me know because that's one of the goals in life is to own a ringer. Do you know what it is for me about ringer? It's like when you were a kid or even adult watching something like Wheel of Fortune or watching The Price is Right. And for those people that got to go to the right before the Showcase Showdown they got to spin the big wheel Who doesn want to spin either one of those wheels And Ringer gives you somewhat of that feeling See I think for me Jeff it about pressure luck So I know I like when I would stay home from school, like not like the new whammy, like the old school pressure luck from like the 70s. I know I wasn't around then, but I do remember watching it on the game show network and you got the big whammies, big or big money, big money, no whammies. That's what I feel like when you're spinning, you're like, all right, keep going, keep going. No, no, no, no, no, stop, stop. And then that's just how it feels for me. But the same way too, with the big wheel on prices, right? I would absolutely agree with you on that too. All right. Looking for a ringer in Columbus, Ohio or anywhere near there. Jen Rupert is your person if you're selling one of those for sure. I hope to see more videos of yours. I appreciate everything you do. I won't turn the other way if I see you in person. I will say hello and I know we'll cross paths because you and I certainly love our pinball competitions and fingers crossed they'll be happening soon oh for sure which one are you looking forward to most happening next year the next one the next one whatever the hell it is that's true are you excited about the virtual expo happening in a couple of weeks though well uh that being told i'm actually doing a video presentation for that with my good friend marty robbins who we do the final round pinball podcast so in fact i'm recording the video right after this. Oh, I was going to say, was this announced yet? Am I sneak peeking something that shouldn't be sneak peeked? You're the first to know that. Oh, okay. But by the time this airs, it will be known.
    31:54
    Okay, I didn't want to spoil anything. But to answer your question, yes, I am looking forward to that. It's certainly not the same as being in the north side of Chicago or just north of Chicago, but it's the best we can do right now. It's still nice to see people on videos. And that's what I like about NoCoinDropRequired, seeing some of the people that I know in the pinball community, seeing what you're doing and your enthusiasm. And I like that people are doing this. So it's what we have to do here in 2020. Well, and I think a lot of people are getting creative because I believe I saw a video, too, that IE Pinball is doing a, what is it, the pin cash or the pin clash? A heads-up challenge for anybody who's a streamer and there's some cash to be won. Yeah, so they got the pin clash is what I believe it is. So I'm excited to see that for sure. Yeah, good on Carl for that. I mean, again, there was that. There was the Stern Pinball Turtles Challenge that they had recently. Kim Martinez from Columbus was involved in that. And it's pretty exciting what we are coming up with. It's still not as good as obviously the real thing. And, again, you mentioned a lot of great places in the Columbus area, and there are places all across the world that certainly need our help and our support because we want them to be there when this is all done. But we're finding ways. Well, and I think that's so how – and I know I'm sorry, I'm becoming the interviewer, but I love listening to your opinion and seeing what you think. So how do you think this is going to shape next year? You know, when things open back up, do you still think there's going to be a lot of these virtual tournaments that I think are really creative and I think are awesome? And it's, again, a great thing that I think still should continue, even if we can play in person, too. Do you think there's still going to be lots of opportunities where we can have these virtual events from people across the world can still play in a tournament, even if they can't have the opportunity to travel to the event? That's a good question. I mean, it certainly takes a lot more setup. And I would say it's probably easier to do in person at a live event. But as the interest grows in this and as we see more and more of these, not just with Stern Pinball, but with IE Pinball and who knows what else is coming up, we're seeing more streamers. That's the great thing. I mean, there's not a lot of positives to talk about 2020, but the positives are shows like yours being created, way more streamers, way more podcasters. Those are good things that have happened in 2020. And, you know, I was talking about the setups with you. The reason I asked about how hard it was is because I kind of wanted to share with everyone else, whether it's a podcast, whether it's a video series, the hardest one to do is the first one. Once you get that done, you know, it'll never be as great as you want it to be. Just get it done. They get easier and easier. As more and more people do this, maybe it becomes more common. And maybe to answer your question, these things do continue or maybe they evolve into something else. I think, Jeff, you make a really good point because, you know, speaking of I've tried so many different things in the past between trying to make videos at one point before I got into pinball, you know, having a blog, having an online business, doing a lot of different things. And I think the pigeonhole I always got into was I spent so much time doing research and planning. And what about this? What about this? That I never really did it. And I think that you make a really good point to anybody out there who's, oh, I want to stream. I think streaming would be great or, oh, I'd love to start a podcast, but I don't really know where to start. And to just do it. The biggest advice I had ever been told from anybody is to just do it. If it doesn't work out the first time, well, now you know what you did wrong or not necessarily wrong. But now you know where your areas of opportunity are and how you can improve. And you would have never known that if you didn't just do it. So if there is anybody who's thinking about doing any type of, again, streaming or podcast or videos or anything of the like, to just jump headfirst into it and try it and do it. And you don't even need to spend a ton of money on buying equipment. Like, you know, like you said, you know, I use a camera that I have in my phone to do the videos. And then there's tons of free editing programs out there. And as you start to get your feet wet, maybe you want to spend some money on doing that. But there's so much opportunity out there to just do it that I would, the same as you, Jeff, just recommend jumping and doing it. And if the first episode isn't the best, that's okay because it only can go up from there, right? I don't know anybody who has, quote, unquote, knocked it out of the park the first time because they're their biggest critics themselves. And they look back and go, oh, I should have done this. I can't believe I did that. I won't do that again. Those type of things. You need a base. You have to start somewhere. And that's what that first episode is. So just do it and then evolve from there. And each one gets easier and easier as you hone your skills. Absolutely. No, I absolutely 100% agree. When was the last time you went back and listened to your first episode of Pinball Profile? It's been a while. It was a good one, though, because it was Steve Ritchie. And the joke about that was I'm sitting in the cafeteria in Stern Pinball interviewing, at the time, my idol in pinball. The reason I fell in love with pinball because of Black Knight when I was a kid playing that and loved T2 as pinball evolved. And there he is sitting right in front of me and pleasant, giving me his time of day and we're just talking. And I record with him and I'm like, look at that. That was easy. It's a piece of cake. There's 10 minutes. And I'm like, you know, most interviews now are, you know, at least half an hour or so. But I was like, oh, piece of cake. Got that done. This is easy. Well, you know, had I been more prepared with questions or research, and that's what comes with doing more and more of these. But the point is, got it done, did it, and you go from there. So I have heard it probably within the last year because one good thing about 2020 for me was I finally got pinballprofile.com up and going. And so I had to archive old shows. And that was obviously the first one I had to do. So I did hear it about a year ago. Yeah, and especially because I think you might have had a difficult time talking to Steve Ritchie because I know you have to talk a little bit louder when you talk with him. Well, he reads lips, too, so you just have to look him right in the eye. And, again, one-on-one in that kind of environment is easy. He's told me the difficulty is actually at shows because of all the other external sounds that happen. That makes it a lot harder for him. And I think every time I've talked to him has either been at an expo or been outside where there's, you know, like the wind or trees or something going on, which makes it a little bit difficult to hear as well. So, yeah, I guess in a one-on-one setting, it wouldn't be that bad. Yeah, I remember being at the Stern Pro Circuit Finals in 2019. And it was in Chicago, Bottom Lounge. And downstairs, Ed Robertson was doing an acoustic concert. And so it was quite loud and stuff. And there were hundreds of people there. and I'm sitting with Steve Ritchie and Greg Pavarelli, Justin Roberts, a wonderful musician in the Chicago area. I remember talking to Steve and he just said, I can't hear a thing. Like, this is the worst environment for me for hearing because of the acoustics and that kind of concert setting. So that was difficult. But, you know, he certainly gets by and I'm looking forward to his next game. I'll just say that. Yeah, I'm excited for that too. Jen, I'm excited for your next video too, whenever that may show up. and we'll catch you on No Coin Drop Required. I really enjoyed talking to you today. Thanks very much. Oh my gosh, Jeff. I had so much fun talking to you too. And I definitely will make sure that when I see you in person, I'll make a sign that says, you know, obviously, oh man, now I'm forgetting. Now I'm looking like a dummy because I forget what it should say. I'll watch for a sign no matter what it says. The sign that says, this sign should say something, but I don't remember what it should say. Hashtag Jeff Teolis. That's good, good, good, good. Jen, all the best, all right? Awesome. Thanks, Jeff. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. Check us out on Facebook. Also, we're on Twitter and Instagram at pinballprofile, and you can email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. I'm Jeff Teola.
    40:02
    Thank you.