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Pinball Junk Drawer Episode 23

Poor Man's Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·analyzed·Jun 10, 2023
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Modding debate: hosts explore pinball customization philosophy and conclude personal preference trumps resale value.

Summary

In Pinball Junk Drawer Episode 23, hosts Foghorn Leghorn and Craft Beer Sally discuss modding philosophy, exploring which modifications add value to pinball machines and which are purely aesthetic preferences. They debate specific mods across their collection (Godzilla, Beatles, Dr. Dude, Austin Powers) and conclude that aesthetic enhancements are largely personal rather than resale-valuable. The episode includes a Beer Journal Review segment featuring Sierra Nevada Brewery in Asheville, North Carolina, and promotional mentions of Project Pinball and We Are Pinball merch.

Key Claims

  • Joined the 1 billion point club in Godzilla Premium Edition

    high confidence · Foghorn Leghorn, opening segment, personal achievement claim

  • Modding machines for resale is counterproductive; customizations that appeal to the owner often alienate potential buyers

    high confidence · Foghorn Leghorn, extended analogy comparing Harley-Davidson customization to pinball mods, core theme of episode

  • Color DMD upgrades are widely considered good upgrades by most players, except purists

    medium confidence · Foghorn Leghorn discussing general community opinion on color DMD mods

  • Shaker motors can be distracting; Rick and Morty's shaker programming is intense enough to feel like floor shaking

    medium confidence · Craft Beer Sally recounting personal experience playing machines with shaker motors

  • LED conversions on Dr. Dude match better with modern games like Godzilla and Willy Wonka visually

    high confidence · Foghorn Leghorn describing aesthetic impact of LED upgrade to Dr. Dude in lineup context

  • Invisiglass is expensive and has inconsistent performance depending on lighting conditions and may show cat prints

    medium confidence · Craft Beer Sally discussing hesitation about adopting invisiglass due to cost and unreliability

  • Powder coating Dr. Dude brightened the machine significantly and made it look newer despite being a 1990s game

    high confidence · Foghorn Leghorn confirming successful cosmetic restoration via powder coating

  • Maintaining machines pristine, clean, and well-serviced is the most reliable way to preserve value

    high confidence · Foghorn Leghorn conclusion on value retention across episode discussion

Notable Quotes

  • “That's your machine. You can do with it whatever you want. You can take a crap on it and light it on fire. It doesn't matter. It's your machine. Please don't light it on fire, though.”

    Foghorn Leghorn @ ~13:20 — Core philosophy statement on machine ownership and modification freedom; establishes non-judgmental show premise

  • “Now you've customized your Harley exactly how you like it. It's dripping with skulls and it's all the special chromes and it's loud and it's fast... Now you go to sell that. That meant nothing. In fact, it's kind of a negative.”

    Foghorn Leghorn @ ~15:45 — Central analogy explaining why personal mods don't translate to resale value

  • “This is already too far. We don't need them. They don't need them.”

    Foghorn Leghorn @ ~38:00 — Reveals personal hesitation about escalating mod purchases; captures tension between desire to mod and restraint

  • “I don't really care, but when you see one that's really well lit and you can see all the action, you're like, this is kind of cool.”

    Foghorn Leghorn @ ~45:15 — Acknowledges subtle value of good lighting mods even when not essential

  • “I'm bad about noticing that. One speaker was out of five and it was all jacked up... They looked at me like I was nuts.”

    Craft Beer Sally @ ~56:30 — Illustrates how audio/technical mods can enhance only for discerning individuals, lack universal appeal

  • “anything why would you imperfections are what causes those gouges at over time... if you drop it on the concrete floor it's basically done”

    Craft Beer Sally @ ~70:00 — Practical concern about laser-etched pinballs creating wear on playfields; identifies hidden cost of aesthetic pinball upgrades

  • “opinions are like assholes everyone has them and they all stink”

    Foghorn Leghorn @ ~82:45 — Closing philosophy on modding debate; encapsulates non-judgmental episode ethos

Entities

Foghorn LeghornpersonCraft Beer SallypersonProject PinballorganizationWe Are PinballcompanyGodzilla Premium EditiongameDr. DudegameBeatlesgameAustin PowersgameJames Cameron's Avatar Limited Edition

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Hosts establish explicit non-judgmental stance on pinball community drama; actively distance show from gossip culture

    high · Foghorn's repeated disclaimers: 'Everything's okay... this show doesn't revolve around drama' and closing philosophy on opinions

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Growing hesitation and second-guessing about mod purchases among hosts; concern about 'slippery slope' toward over-modded machines

    medium · Foghorn: 'this is a dangerous slippery slope... I'm already starting that' and 'This is already too far. We don't need them.'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Hosts value machines that are 'beautiful out of the box' with minimal necessary customization; preference for subtle enhancements over aggressive modifications

    high · Repeated praise for Godzilla, Beatles, Avatar 'right out of the box' and hesitation about toppers, powder coating, and visible mods

  • ?

    collector_signal: Hosts retain original parts and packaging for all mods to enable reversal and maximize potential resale value; preservation-focused collecting

    high · Foghorn: 'I'm also going to keep the box. I'm also going to keep the original stuff... so I can always have it if I want to revert back'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Modding vendors employ aggressive marketing (toppers, custom mods) that positions modifications as necessary upgrades, creating aspirational FOMO among collectors

    medium · Hosts' acknowledgment of extensive mod research and repeated impulse purchases despite skepticism about actual value adds

Topics

Pinball machine modding philosophy and value assessmentprimaryAesthetic vs functional mods and their impact on gameplay and resaleprimaryHost machine collection and cosmetic restoration projectsprimaryCommunity perspectives on customization and purismsecondaryAudio and visual enhancement mods (LEDs, DMD, subwoofers, lighting)secondaryMachine maintenance and preservation as value strategysecondaryBrewery tourism and craft beer experiencessecondaryPlanned California trip and machine acquisition goalsmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Hosts maintain upbeat, non-judgmental tone throughout modding debate. Friendly disagreement about mod value; enthusiasm for their collection. Concern about 'going too far' with mods slightly tempers positivity. Beer Journal segment is uniformly positive about Sierra Nevada experience.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.093

Now who's responsi- I say who's responsible for this unwarranted attack on my person? I say, I say, I say, pay attention now, boy. This is, of course, Foghorn Leghorn presents the Pinball Junk Drawer. You all asked for it. I say, I say, you all asked for it now. You're gonna get it. Boy, oh boy, are you gonna get it. Go, I say, go away, boy, you bother me. John Youssi, if it would have been between you, if you would have had it directly in front of you, it would have picked up that eye roll that you just threw my way. Anyway, hey, welcome to the Pinball Junk Shore, big show number 23. My name is Admonished Foghorn Leghorn, with me as usually... Craft Brew Sally. Craft Brew Sassy. Trying to tell her to put that mic in front of her, but boy, oh boy, let me tell you what, it's a struggle. And that's what we call in the biz, a little peek behind the curtain. The biz, everyone. Anyway, on to happier things. It's been a couple weeks. I'm trying to think what we've done pinball related. I will start out the show by a little bit of braggadociousness. I have joined the 1 billion point club in the Godzilla premium world. So I was pretty excited about that. I wrecked that machine in that game. And I woke up with a sore wrist. I don't know. It wasn't... I don't think it's from pinball. It was probably karma. I know. Oh, ouch. Sounds what you get for taking grand champion. Taking grand champion. I don't know about taking. It's funny. Like, sometimes if you play pinball a lot, you wake up with, like, injuries. And you're like, injured from pinball? That's not right. I don't think it was, but, boy, it took me out for about a week. And it still hurts from time to time. And it's like a little place. You know, if you look at your hand, there's like a bone that sticks out, like, on the edge of your wrist. It's like just this little round thing. It doesn't seem like it could even hurt. Well, if it does hurt, your hand doesn't work. And that's an interesting little ditty, you know. I'm just like, huh, I'm in incredible pain and I can't sleep from a little piece of bone on my hand that doesn't seem like it's possible. It looks like a little pinball. They'd be like, oh, my pinball hurts. You'd be like, well, that's not even possible. It's a little solid ball of stone-like bone. So don't worry, everyone. It'll be okay. I'm on the mend. yes you are correct yes so you know we had a couple ideas for show for the show this week and i think we landed on where do we go from here you know like we put in all our money like we didn't put in all our money we'll be getting another pinball machine at some point but we're saving up for this california trip so that kind of means there's no more like disney takes presence. There's no more pinball machines coming in or out for a little while. I'm guessing... Until at least December. I was going to say, the trip's November so I'm guessing probably December I'll have this emergency pickup. But I'm already eyeing up like I want to get a Space Invaders to like totally just rip down and like totally restore. But good luck. So, you know, what we have is what we have. I do like our lineup quite a bit. Yes, I do too. They're all fun games and they're all fun in different ways. Yes. but now it's time to go well what are we going to do to the games or with the games now i'm talking mod world yes modding and changing and adapt and doing all different kinds of things some people go all in some people don't do anything some people go a little bit too far i was uh doing some research on the mods and some of the pictures i saw were very interesting yes now i am going to do one of these disclaimers that I like to throw out from time to time just to make sure everyone realizes it's okay. Everything's okay. I know the pinball world seems to like literally revolve around drama, but that's not this show. Don't come here for your drama. Yeah, save that for your mama. So if you like modding, that's fine. If you don't like modding, that's fine. If some of what I say about what we don't like or dislike doesn't agree with you, that's okay. Because John Youssi, this is just an opinion, and I'm just some idiot who bought a microphone. So, again, this is just our opinions about some of the stuff that's out there. I've said from day one, that's your machine. You can do with it whatever you want. You can take a crap on it and light it on fire. It doesn't matter. It's your machine. Please don't light it on fire, though. It doesn't matter. It's your machine. so we will talk this show is going to be talking about some of the mods that are out there for our machines and it do we think the value is there do we not think it's there why or why not what are some of the things that matter to us you know kind of a simple concept but you can get pretty deep into this stuff and and then before you know it you don't you don't know why you're there you know why have you done what you've done yeah like i always liken it and i'm gonna i know I'm sorry I'm talking too much, but I always liken it to like a motorcycle. Let's pretend you bought a shiny new Harley, right? And you're like, look at my Harley. Isn't that great? Now, some people just ride that Harley. Some people immediately start ripping parts off of it and putting other parts on it. And some people enhance it for reasons that I like to go fast, so I'm making this a fast one. I like to go low, so I'm making low. Can we rewind a little bit and replace Harley with Monza? We can. Okay. Nobody knows what a Monza is. They're like, what, that guy that raced named Monza on that show that was totally fake about drag racing in the street? No, not that Monza. That's a BMX bike that I own. And I immediately started ripping perfectly good parts off to make better parts on it. So, now the Harley analogy kind of is, I feel is pretty apropos because like most of the time, now you've customized your Harley exactly how you like it. It's dripping with skulls and it's all the special chromes and it's loud and it's fast and all the crap you want to do to it. Now, you go to sell that. That meant nothing. In fact, it's kind of a negative because I don't like dripping with skulls. I do like the loud mufflers or I like this. You like some stuff, but some stuff you don't like. Well, now that's a negative because you're like, well, I have to take those parts off and put the parts I like. I like butterflies. Now I have to go get chrome butterflies and take all the chrome skulls off. I don't like butterflies. Well, I have no opinion about butterflies. Anyway, stay focused, everyone. So, like, it's cool to you and you alone, and that's kind of it. And that's what modding is mostly. Yes. You know, now some stuff you can say, well, that's always good. Like, well, you know, like if you have a dot matrix and you put one of those color DMDs in it, for the most part, everyone says, yep, that's that's a nice, solid upgrade. It looks prettier. It's just not that thing. Unless you're a purist. Then you walk up and go, well, this thing's butchered. It's just terrible. It's the worst thing in the history of the world. And it isn't. But like that's I mean, everyone has their own opinions about this kind of stuff. like, you know, we switched the Dr. Dude over to LEDs, and some people just think that's just terrible. But if you look at an LED Dr. Dude in the lineup against Godzilla and even Wonelly, it looks dull and boring until we did that and then you like wow this looks like a pinball machine It fits with our others Yeah I have nothing against the bulbs but they run hotter they duller I don't know. I just – so that's something I do. I do – you know, that's something I do. And, like, I remember we didn't do anything to the – we had a – what was the – Austin Powers. So we had an Austin Powers machine. We didn't – I did nothing to it. I kept it in very good shape. I always cleaned it, made sure I gave it the tune-ups when it needed them. The one thing I did then, I added the mirror blades. Because somebody was like, oh, if you put mirror blades on it, it makes it look so much more full. I was like, we can try it. And that was literally, I didn't do a single thing to that thing other than just keep it perfect. And when we put the mirror blades in, I was like, yeah, that does look nice. Because it made it look real full and bright instead of the black wall. Did it add anything? I don't think so. I mean, most people wouldn't even notice it. Like when I went to sell it, it wasn't a selling point, you know. So, you know, what do you do? What do you value, craft or sell? What would you think is a good thing to do to machines one way or another? Well, I was looking stuff up. Good for you. Research, everyone. Here you go. So we have this friend, Mr. Promi, and he bought this car that had the option of having these speakers with the like they would like light up with the music yes so i was like we've made fun of him forever because he didn't he didn't opt to get those i was like how do you have an option to buy light lip thumpy speakers and you don't say yup yes so but now in my research i saw a machine that had neon underneath the box. Yeah. Which to me was like, huh. Maybe we were wrong about making fun of Mr. Promi for not getting those speakers. Well, that's kind of different though. Is it? Yeah, because did you ever see the Godzilla speakers that have flame? Yes. But I'm talking about a car, I guess, versus under a cabinet of a machine. Oh, because I'll tell you what. If you make car analogies in the pinball world. Oh. Did I just cross a line? 17 people on Pinside just rage quit. They just smashed their computer because you made a car analogy. You've got to steer. Be careful. Sorry. I'm joking. Sorry, everyone. Every time someone does our prices going up or our prices going down, someone starts talking cars. And then there's a couple on there that like literally. if you listen in the distance you can hear a brain pop even though they're like hundreds of thousands of miles away there it was there it went through the screen my mistake I won't make that mistake again I promise please we're here for mistakes we're all making mistakes so it was like that I would not I wouldn't do that yeah but the speakers I probably would maybe I look at this stuff Because now I look at the Godzilla stuff because I bought a couple mods. I've been working on a couple mods. And I start to think, do I want to do this? Yeah, because you're changing the way the machine works. Well, it works, but because it's putting pressure on some other piece that might not need it. Yeah. Well, like the one we bought. We bought a very famous pinball mod for the Godzilla. It's that lit up kaiju sign. it looks way better and i haven't installed it yet i'm going to because that's like a like such a minor tweak and it really does enhance it but then i bought that 3d printed uh king geodra for there i put that in so this is a dangerous slippery slope you start buying little things and putting them in there and then have you ever walked up to a machine that just has all the mods all the toys yeah and it's just crap glued everywhere and you're like well i don't want that but i'm already starting that and you know well okay and is it like do you put one mod in for a couple months and then change that put a different mod in or i would never because you can't like you can't put all the mods in i don't want you know and it's in like the beatles is another one now we have a beatles machine i i to be honest with you when i walk up to the beatles and i walk up to godzilla and even won't ellie i i i think they're beautiful i just look at them and I'm very pleased with how they look right out of the box. And I know some people don't like that, and that's okay. It's okay. So when I do these kind of things, I'm kind of like really on the fence until I make the purchase, and I just say, okay, whatever. You know, like that kaiju sign. It's a really beautiful mod. So I'm not going to regret doing that. No. But I'm also going to keep the box. I'm also going to keep the original stuff, and I'm going to have it in the Godzilla box so I can always, always have it if I want to, like, revert back. Because that's what we do with everything we own. I'm so dumb. Yeah, but some of those boxes that you sold for, like, game systems, because you had the box, you got, like, three times as much. I got a lot of money for selling something. I know. It works. Yeah. You know, like, the Godzilla, or, I mean, the Beatles, they make, like, that TV that plays the Beatles clips and stuff like that. Now, that's really cool. Mm-hmm. But do you really need it? I can't. I can't. I, when I play, I don't really look at other stuff because I'm afraid I'm going to drain the ball. I know. So. I don't either. I kind of don't even know. Yeah. I see stuff, but I'm really focusing on the thing, you know. Yeah. So, like, I guess a lot of those mods, although they do make it, like, they fill up the world under glass. Yeah. Because Toy Story 4 had that. A lot of stuff. That screen on it. Well, I would never. I can't look at that crap. No. You know what happens to me is I'll look at that, I'll watch the animation, and then I go, oh, and then the ball's there. And I either it drains or I'm, like, startled every time. And it takes me 100 times to not be startled, you know. You're like, oh, Jesus. I'm getting anxiety from my pinball. Yeah. So I don't think that that would be one of the mods that we buy. No, I guess not. You know, like, and I really worry because I made those fighter jets because I saw those as a mod. And I was like, those are cool. And I was like, oh, my God, I know where those aluminum ones are. They're real ones from the 50s. And I bought those and I painted them to match the back glass. And I probably will put those in. But part of me is already like, this is already too far. Yeah. We don't need them. They don't need them. And they'll be there. So now I'm kind of thinking maybe I'll just use them on that topper. On the topper. Yeah, I think that would be better. Because it's not. And again, like, I know people have them. And when you walk up, you're like, that's kind of cool. You know, but it doesn't. I don't know. I don't know. I have very mixed feelings about a lot of this. Even the topper world, which is serious money now. Yeah. I don't know, man. What do they do? I have toppers. Some don't have toppers. Usually we end up building our own, which if they don't look good, we just chuck them. Which is fun, too. But that's fun. Yeah, yes. Like you get to make it the way we want it and not like how we're told we should have it. Yeah. So now, ooh, fighting the system. Yeah, how about that? So what adds value? Let me say, so like aesthetically, we already talked about some things look cool, but who cares what about like uh sound enhancements like i know you can put subwoofers and stuff in the like the beatles machine yeah like you said though it what gonna add value who gonna be the person that puts the value on it Like if you going to sell it is that when you looking at adding value No. Well, people do, though. People think that way. They say, well, this has this. It's going to add value. And that doesn't really equate. And that's all kind of a moot point anyway because nothing's leaving our house unless we're in real problems. So, like, this is all for stuff that we would do just to make our machines better. So then I don't think it's value adding. I think it's just enhancing what we like. Right. Well, then that's what it would be. Like, you think about the subwoofer in the Beatles machine, because that's a music pan. But then I'm also like, eh, would you hear it? I wouldn't notice. I'm bad about noticing that. and you come home sometimes and you're like, what's wrong with the sound system? I don't know. It sounds the same to me. Yes, I'm a bit of an audio geek and no one else in my world is at all. They don't even know. I remember I came back from Korea and my dad was living in the house and my dad and mom were living and Craft Brew was there. And I came home and it was like one speaker out of five and it was all jacked up. I'm like, what in the hell? It was the first thing I sat down and turned on the TV and was like, what the hell's wrong with this? I'm fixing everything within three minutes. It sounded amazing, and no one noticed. They looked at me like I was nuts. I'm like, huh, there you go. So that's a perfect example of something that doesn't add value to anybody but to me. Right. So knowing that these are for us, you know, like I know shaker motors are a big deal, and I like them, but I also never installed them. I didn't. Like that's, oh, goodness, there was a machine, and it was very distracting to me. Was it Houdini? Was it Houdini? Yes. Okay, all right, so Houdini, yeah. I played some that have them, and I see the value, but then also I played some and I'm like, I don't, like, what was that? Rick and Morty had one, and I was like, this thing's shaking apart. That's how that one, that Houdini is, and it was like, it felt like the floor was shaking. That's how, it's probably the programming. They have it programmed to be too shaky. Yeah, because there's also like pin stadiums, which is those lighting systems. And I know that guy up in District 82 has his own lights that he puts on. And those actually, you don't notice them, but they're subtly in there like lighting stuff. But they're where they need to be. Yeah, those are nice. He does a lot of work on that stuff. I always commend him. His machines are awesome. So that's kind of one of those things that no one would notice, but that does enhance to me. You know, the lighting. I don't really care, but when John Youssi one that's really well lit and you can see all the action. You're like, this is kind of cool. You know, like the Godzilla has those art blades that are on fire down the sides. Jerry's out on that one. I think they're cool, but I want to see if they last more than one time when you lift the glass up. Because if you're ripping up $170, I'd be a little angry. That's very true. So, you know, like, because then there's like the headphone jacks, which we talked about a little bit. We did. And then I always do the Titan silicone. I switch all the rubber or whatever it is. I think it's all silicone. But it's very high quality. That's kind of like how I see that. When I do that, I take the old stuff off. When I do my first shop out on my games, I just order the Titans. Sometimes I change the colors or play with the colors a little bit, but nothing really crazy. To me, I like the feel of the Titans, and it's just a high-quality product, I think. you know so i don't know like some people get really into like those crazy mirror balls that are like super expensive but i'm going i just i try and get nice replace them too much to care to spend yeah some things are not worth the money yeah just throw away things it's i mean you want i always get like quality pinballs but yes not the i don't go crazy with it no somewhere we were they had like different colored pinballs with like laser etching in them and the first thing i thought was that laser etching is what's carving up your pinball right your playfield and that was that was the first thing you said like anything why would you imperfections are what causes those gouges at over time now it's not like after one but yeah if you drop it on the concrete floor it's pretty much done yeah which i've done a couple times drunkenly allegedly so i don't know You know, like powder coating. Now, when we powder coated the Dr. Dude, that really brightened that machine up immensely. It did. It made it look like a new machine instead of a 90s machine. But also, that machine is like over the top. Yeah. Loud and crazy. So, that kind of fits. But if you did that same thing for, say, the Wallenelli, would that... That wouldn't work at all. Right. Because it's not supposed to be like that. Yeah. You know? And that's, well, I mean, sometimes it can work. I know some people powder coat everything and some people, you know, powder coat just some stuff. Like we ended up not doing all of the Dr. Dude parts, but just some of them. And I think leaving some black was a nice touch because it didn't look gaudy. It's just kind of like subtle. Yes. Nothing subtle on Dr. Dude. Let me rephrase that. No. It matched. To me, it matched okay, but, you know, whatever. So I don't know. like you don't know what really adds value other than just keeping them to me, keeping it cleaned and, and, and shopped is the best thing you can ever do to any pinball machine, whether it's, you know, I don't mind the LCD screens, the old dot matrix screens. I mean, yeah, I like the color ones, you know, I like the screens. It's, it's cool, but I don't care one way or the other. Really? You know? No. I mean, if we were going to trade out that on Dr. Dude, what would it change it to? yeah nothing right I mean that well that even doesn't even have that that just has those whatchamacallit it's just the score reels or not score reels just the the scoring it doesn't even have a dot matrix on it but like the Austin Powers did but then I saw some that have the color and I'm like eh yeah I don't know I'm real wishy-washy about this stuff so I guess aesthetics doesn't really matter that much to you at all no no okay well we talked in circles long enough do you have any opinions one way or another about any of them? Anything? Like, is there some that you really say that's cool, or you like that, or... I do like that, like, the one you purchased for the Godzilla, the kaiju battle. Oh, the sign? Yeah. Yeah. And I always wanted to try that invisiglass, too, but boy, that's expensive. I remember walking up to a machine that had that in this one guy's house, and he was like, look, that's that invisiglass, and you couldn't even see that there was glass, and I was like, wow. but I've heard only under sunlighting some lighting it doesn't matter some it does and I was like well I'm not taking that risk yeah and what if it has cat prints on it still going to see it yes that doesn't wipe out any cat prints I don't know well there you have it I guess we've reached the conclusion of it doesn't really matter and do whatever you like yeah so there you go and your opinion yours and you know yes opinions are like buttholes everyone has them and they all stink so now we're gonna i'm gonna drop in the bumper and we're gonna go to our special special place our happy place as it were the fans have spoken and we have listened It Beer Journal Review with me Craft Brew Sally Wow, what an opening. Yes, it's more feminine. Yes, it's more feminine. Yeah, we are working on some merch that I'm going to tease now. We're going to have some merchandise. And actually, we're going to try and do something that's going to be a Craft Brew Sally branded pint glass maybe. Yes. The Deer Journal Review official pint glass or something. I don't know. We'll figure it out. So what do you have for us this week? So today we're going to talk about my favorite brewery tour. we were in Asheville, North Carolina and we went to the Sierra Nevada Brewery yes we did Asheville was actually the first suitor, no it wasn't Cary, North Carolina was the first suitor of our escape from Florida and that failed miserably and then we went to Appleton, Wisconsin and that succeeded mightily yes, so we you have to sign up like way in advance to get in to see the sierra nevada brewery and it was glorious it's the like the whole experience of their i guess compound yeah so now that's they had a different they have one in california that was the first one the original one chico i think okay chico california Not Chico and the Man. No. No. No. California. Yeah, I remember that place because we're driving and there's all these long switchbacks. And they had signs like, you're almost there. Welcome to blah, blah, blah, you know. And then you get to the top and you're like, wowzers. Yeah. Well, before you even got to the top, they had like every hundred yards or whatever was like a... Roughly a football field for those of you who are keeping track at home. And I know you all are. like concrete gates, like brick gates with these beautiful hop lights. Yeah. And you didn't hardly even notice the armed guards at each one of those compound gates. So, yeah, I forgot about those, but, yeah, those were gorgeous. Then you get there and you're like, wow. Yeah. And you go in and there was not a single expense was spared. No. First we saw the – first I think we signed up or something like that to do the tour, But then we went out back and there was like that outdoor amphitheater. But it was made like in the wilderness. So it was just gorgeous. It was so crazy. I think they do like small concerts there. So it's like an outdoor venue for that kind of thing and probably weddings and stuff. But one of the things that was going on when we got there was they give the spent grain to local farmers. right and just the smell of the spent grain yeah it's so good i think we're in heaven so great yeah and then you tour it and they like they were talking about all those like they brought that one the one that some of the craftsmen were from from uh germany they brought out a retirement to build the second kettle because it's these gigantic copper kettles copper and stainless steel and you're like wow and like the ceiling in that room has the copper on it and yeah so and they have good beer right you like their beer they um yeah they have a lot of good beers there um and they give you like a lot of samples too i think they gave us like 10 maybe yeah that's a good way to go yeah it was like at the end they like put you all around this bar just dig in here have whatever you want remember the asahi plant tour that we were drinking some Asahi too. That was alright. I'm a big fan of Asahi. Yeah. Our first international brewery tour. You know, I always want to have one of those crochet beer can hats but I want to cut up Asahi cans which is going to confuse a lot of people. They're going to be like, what? So, yes. I'm going to flip some wigs as it were. Yes, you are. With my international crocheted beer can yeah yeah so i mean obviously you would definitely recommend that oh yes if you're ever in asheville or driving through asheville or flying you have to check check ahead of time because we tried to go there the first time we were in asheville and we couldn't get in because all the tours were booked oh yeah that's right so and they have a they had a restaurant there but i didn't remember that so that must have been just been like restaurant you know like most of I just think we had more beer while we were there. I think you might add more beer. No. Very cool. All right. So today the Beer Journal is featured Sierra Nevada. In Asheville. In Asheville, North Carolina. So check that out. Maybe in November we'll talk to you about the one in Chico. I don't know. I doubt it. I doubt it too. this trip to California is costing more and involving less every time I think about it through my head I'm like well if we just land and go to Disney and don't leave Disney it would probably be cheaper than going to no we've got an alien machine we've got to find and buy space invaders I mean we've got mirrored back glasses we have to replace oh my god no more mods we've got mods we've got to buy All those neon lights for the bottom. No. If you've got neon lights, you should also get hydraulics so your pinball machine can be a low rider and be slammed. Hey, you told me I shouldn't do car references. Oh, we're big, so flip. And you start flipping switches and be like, oh, yeah. Slammed. Tilt. Yo, yo, you're tilting. Danger. You're tilting, SA. You're going to put those little balls around the sides of it? You remember? Like for lowriders? No. No. No more car references, please. You're right. Okay, I think we're done. You got anything else? Craft through Sally's done? Okay. Go check out Sierra Nevada. Yes, and also check out all the mods you want. Your little heart's content. Also, Project Pinball. Yes, hey, good call. Make sure you're going to projectpinball.org. It's a 501c that's dedicated to putting pinball machines into children's hospitals, setting them on free, making sure they work. That's the rub. And, you know, they're partnered with Ronald McDonald House. If you go there, they have campaigns all across the country. Make sure you're supporting them. They're good guys. We all know Dan. We all love Dan. Yes. And it's good stuff. It'll make you feel good to give a little love. Yes. Wow. Shticktown. All right. That's going to be it. We'll talk to you next in two weeks, everyone. My name has been, will be, and always has never been. That's the wrong way to say that. Hold on. My name is, was, and always will be the Montreal Screwjob. No, wait. My name is Foghorn Leghorn. And with me as always. Craft Brew Sally. And we'll end this nonsense here. That's all, folks. That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over.

“I guess we've reached the conclusion of it doesn't really matter and do whatever you like”

Craft Beer Sally @ ~83:00 — Episode thesis: mods are purely personal preference with no objective value standard

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Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factorygame
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Legends of Wrestlemania Limited Editiongame
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  • ?

    operational_signal: Hosts emphasize maintenance and cleanliness as primary value drivers for machine longevity and aesthetics over mod-based customization

    high · Foghorn: 'keeping them pristine, keeping it cleaned and serviced is the best thing you can ever do to any pinball machine'

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    gameplay_signal: Screen-based mods and visual distractions (animation overlays, toppers) negatively impact competitive play and focus; hosts avoid these modifications

    high · Craft Beer Sally: 'when I play, I don't really look at other stuff because I'm afraid I'm going to drain the ball' regarding Toy Story 4 screen mod

  • ?

    technology_signal: LED lighting retrofits gaining acceptance among players and collectors; provide better aesthetics than incandescent bulbs with lower heat output

    medium · Hosts successfully upgraded Dr. Dude to LED and found it enhanced appearance; matched modern color-DMD equipped games visually

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Cosmetic restoration techniques (powder coating, LED conversion) can dramatically refresh appearance of older machines; cost-effective when applied selectively

    medium · Dr. Dude powder coat project 'brightened that machine up immensely... looked like a new machine instead of a 90s machine'

  • ?

    content_signal: Poor Man's Pinball expanding merchandise offerings; developing branded consumer products (pint glasses) to monetize podcast audience

    high · Episode promotion: 'We're going to have some merchandise... Chris Craft Brew Sally branded pint glass maybe'

  • ?

    industry_signal: Project Pinball 501(c)(3) nonprofit gaining traction in community; hosts actively promoting and endorsing organization mission

    medium · Hosts dedicate segment to Project Pinball promotion; emphasize 'good guys' and encourage listener support

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    market_signal: Secondary market for pinball machines shows that original condition/stock configuration often retains higher resale value than customized variants

    medium · Foghorn's Harley analogy and sales anecdote: 'When I went to sell it, it wasn't a selling point' regarding aesthetic mods on Austin Powers