Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Protect Your Supple Wrists and Hands

Pintastic New England·video·38m 7s·analyzed·Nov 28, 2023
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Ergonomics and injury prevention guide for competitive pinball players.

Summary

A health and ergonomics presentation at Pintastic New England by a product manager and former gym owner who is the IFPA Rhode Island representative. The speaker addresses injury prevention in competitive pinball through posture correction, active play habits, and targeted exercises (hand/wrist, shoulder, hip), plus practical advice on footwear, hydration, nutrition, and protective gear. Q&A covers stage flipping mechanics, tall player accommodations, and post-tournament recovery.

Key Claims

  • The speaker observed multiple players wearing wrist splints after Pintastic last year due to poor playing posture and repetitive strain

    high confidence · Speaker's direct observation at Pintastic; motivation for the presentation

  • Tech industry workers commonly experience hand, wrist, shoulder, and back problems from desk work (typing, mouse use) that mirror pinball-related strain

    high confidence · Speaker's experience running a gym in Somerville with tech workers as primary clientele

  • Proper posture while playing pinball—back on heels, weight off the machine, shoulders back—improves reaction time and reduces injury risk

    high confidence · Speaker demonstrated posture principles and explained biomechanics

  • Staying in motion between games (walking, fresh air, shoulder rolls) maintains nervous system readiness and prevents muscle lockup that degrades tournament performance

    medium confidence · Speaker's advice framed as athletic training principle

  • Hip flexor tightness is often the root cause of lower back pain during/after tournaments, not direct lower back strain

    medium confidence · Speaker reported feedback from ~5 attendees mentioning back tweaks while moving machines

  • Pinball machines were historically designed for average human heights several inches lower than modern averages, disadvantaging tall players

    medium confidence · Speaker's speculation in Q&A response about historical design assumptions

  • Stage flipping (half-press for lower flippers only, full-press for both) is not instinctive but highly trainable through repetition

    medium confidence · Speaker's opinion in Q&A; notes human body is 'very trainable' for non-intuitive mechanics

  • Stories exist of fractured fingers and hand injuries from aggressive slap saving in pinball tournaments

    low confidence · Speaker acknowledged hearing anecdotal reports but did not claim direct experience

Notable Quotes

  • “I went to Pintastic last year. My first Pintastic. It was awesome. Had a blast. Talking to people. I'm seeing people walking around with splints on their wrists after playing pinball all weekend because they're getting hurt. And I went, I know about this. I know what to do about this.”

    Presenter (unnamed)@ 1:33 — Establishes the motivation for the entire presentation and credibility of the speaker

  • “You're going to think about that. If you pull off of the game, then you can be doing stuff like your slap saves and everything. You don't need to shift your weight off before making a movement, or dynamic, as I like to call it.”

    Presenter@ 4:13 — Core mechanic advice: weight management enables faster, more effective slap saves

  • “You come off that field of play. You sit down. You're going to get locked up. You're going to lose that edge. Walk around. Keep moving. Shake it out. Go outside. Get some fresh air.”

    Presenter@ 5:06 — Frames pinball as athletic activity requiring continuous warm-up maintenance

  • “Just like those rubber bands, that's all you are inside. You're a bunch of rubber bands holding together a bunch of bones. And if the rubber bands get tight and brittle, nobody's having a good time.”

    Presenter@ 14:59 — Metaphor explaining the interconnected nature of flexibility and injury prevention

  • “I love pizza, it's delicious, but like, you're going to want to nap after that. So, just think about small bites, easy to eat, but eat.”

    Presenter@ 23:00 — Practical tournament advice balancing comfort with sustained energy for long events

Entities

Presenter (unnamed)personPintastic New EnglandeventIFPAorganizationPizza JvenueBells and ChimeseventSomervillelocationDavepersonDerekpersonBrian

Signals

  • ?

    event_signal: Pintastic New England functions as major community gathering with educational programming beyond competitive play, hosting specialized workshops on player health and performance

    high · This presentation was a scheduled session at Pintastic; speaker notes previous year's attendance and observed community health issues that motivated submission of this talk

  • ?

    community_signal: New England region (Rhode Island, Massachusetts) is a hub of active competitive pinball with regular tournaments and engaged player base

    medium · Monthly tournaments at Pizza J and Bells and Chimes; Pintastic New England is a major annual event; speaker notes extensive regional travel and encounters familiar faces from 'northeast up into Chicago'

  • ?

    community_signal: Speaker is invested in pinball community health and education through IFPA representation and regular monthly tournaments in Rhode Island; proactively sharing specialized knowledge from adjacent athletic/fitness field

    high · Speaker serves as IFPA Rep, hosts Bells and Chimes tournaments monthly, travels extensively around pinball circuit, and delivered this specialized ergonomics presentation at major event

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Pinball machine playfield heights appear not optimized for modern average heights; historical design assumption from earlier era when humans were taller on average creates disadvantage for contemporary tall players

    medium · Speaker's response to tall player question: 'pinball games were probably designed for an average height, but many more years ago, when the average height was probably a few inches lower' and notes street level depth changes in modern multi-layer games

  • ?

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.114

0:00
All right, cool. So thank you all for coming today. Super excited that there are people here. So just a little bit about me for y'all. In real life, I'm a product manager for a cybersecurity company. I started out as a technical trainer, so pretty comfortable being in front of people going blah, blah, blah. But I'm also the IFPA rep for Rhode Island for Open and Women's because we're tiny. PUD bells and chimes come visit us sometimes, first Tuesday usually of every month. But the reason I'm here talking to you is because once upon a time, I owned a gym in Somerville, Mass. And the main population that I worked with, whoo, Somerville. Yeah, this is all over Somerville. The main population that I worked with there was people who worked in the tech industry. The tech industry. So they'd be coming to me at the end of the day for their workout, which I was in the tech industry, and then I left because it was the real estate crash, and like, if I was going to do five jobs, I was going to do them for myself, so I opened a gym. Everybody's like this. Hands, wrists, shoulders, back, hot mess, left and right. I got to Pentastic last year. My first Pentastic. It was awesome. Had a blast. Talking to people. I've got people walking around with splints on their wrists after playing pinball all weekend because they're getting hurt. And I went, I know about this. I know what to do about this. I'm going to submit a talk for next year so I can talk to everybody about this. So, which brings us to this. First topic, avoiding injury.
2:11
We're going to talk about three factors here. Posture, when you're playing, actual play, how you play the game, and then what I call prehab, which is how you take care of yourself leading up to and through tournament play process.
2:34
So posture. One of the things I see, I'm going to slowly make my way around here and not knock anything over.

“I would contend with my limited knowledge of ergonomics that stage flipping is not what the human body is supposed to do. Push a button halfway, not a human activity.”

Attendee (Dave)@ 27:42 — Raises design ergonomics question about modern pinball game mechanics

  • “Pinball games were actually designed for an average height, but many more years ago, when the average height was probably a few inches lower, so you're at even more of a disadvantage there.”

    Presenter@ 30:38 — Identifies historical design constraint affecting modern tall players

  • “This is athleticism. You're in the game. Fresh air is most important.”

    Presenter@ 5:30 — Core philosophy: competitive pinball is athletic activity requiring athlete-level self-care

  • “I would say that, yes, we're used to two stages, but the human body is very trainable. And if you play with a game that has stage flipping, half flips, where you've got your lower and your upper, you can definitely train yourself to feel that difference.”

    Presenter@ 28:09 — Pragmatic position: modern game mechanics can be learned through repetition despite being non-intuitive

  • “I know it sounds weird, but again, like, you're in this position, you're moving, this is athleticism, it is a really intense focus for a prolonged period of time, treat yourself as if, you know, treat yourself with that respect, is what I would say.”

    Presenter@ 34:01 — Frames post-tournament recovery with same seriousness as other athletic disciplines

    • person
    Timperson
    Medieval Madnessgame

    product_concern: Wrist and hand injuries among competitive pinball players suggest either game design issues or inadequate player education on proper technique and injury prevention

    high · Speaker directly observed 'people walking around with splints on their wrists after playing pinball all weekend' at Pintastic; multiple anecdotal reports from attendees about injuries during tournaments

  • ?

    technology_signal: Stage flipping (multi-stage flipper buttons with progressive press detection) is becoming normalized in modern pinball game design, though some players/designers question its ergonomic naturalness

    medium · Q&A discussion of stage flipping as a mechanic present in modern games; attendee questions whether it's 'what the human body is supposed to do'; speaker confirms it's trainable through repetition

    • 2:43
    How many of you are guilty of this play posture? Yeah, I heard those chuckles. This on your hands and wrists all weekend. I literally saw someone last Pentastic with splits on both wrists after playing like this for hours upon hours upon hours. So the first thing we're saying here is bring it back onto your heels a little. See how that feels. because, ow!
    3:23
    Next couple items. Come back over. You saw there, I was, when you're there on your heels of your hand, as I like to call it, everything's hunched. Try to keep those shoulders back. Open it up. Especially in a high-stress situation, if you're closed up like this, you can't breathe. and then your whole nervous system is going to start going into fight or flight because you're not breathing right.
    3:54
    And finally, experiment with that stance. A lot of us like to do the big stagger stance. We're here, we're on the game. That's great. Play with where your weight is.
    4:05
    Some people like to go wide. I'm kind of a hip-width, knees kind of bent person. I try not to lean on the game. You've got to think about that. If you pull off of the game, then you can be doing stuff like your slap saves and everything. You don't need to shift your weight off before making a movement.
    4:23
    Or dynamic, as I like to call it. Dynamic being, don't walk behind this person because you may get kicked.
    4:34
    So think about those things. Back on your heels, keeping that weight off the game. It's going to let you react to the game faster, too. while you're playing keep moving and i don't even mean while you're playing like if you're at a game if you're in a tournament doing a card don't stop playing your game and go sit you are athletes don't forget that you get warmed up your nervous system gets warmed up You're ready to go. You come off that field of play. You sit down. You're going to get locked up. You're going to lose that edge. Walk around. Keep moving. Shake it out. Go outside. Get some fresh air. Roll your shoulders. You guys kind of chuckled, but your nervous system, mentally, you're so engaged when you do this. It is athleticism.
    5:34
    You're in the game. Fresh air is most important. I know it's hot as heck today, but get outside. Get some air. Get those brain cells moving. Take a walk around the building if you can.
    5:50
    So prehab I was talking about. This is leading up to and around tournaments, weekends like this, where you're just playing.
    6:01
    Your hands and wrists can get super worn out. So think about hand and wrist care. We're going to do some interactive exercises in a few.
    6:11
    What I say here, for every action, there's an opposite. We're constantly doing this. We're coming in. We're closing the hands. This is something we dealt with a lot with my clients who were in tech. You're on the mouse. You're typing. Hands are closing. Hands aren't opening.
    6:33
    That's what those rubber bands are for. We're going to do some stuff there. And then movements for wellness, which is exactly what we're about to get into.
    6:43
    So, without further ado, we're going to talk about some hand exercises. exercises, shoulder rotations, hip flexor stretches, and how to find your center of gravity. Because some people don't. That's not always a thing, right? Yeah. So hand exercises. Grab those rubber bands.
    7:03
    You got a couple here? There we go. Sweet. All right. So number of rubber bands you need depends on the the sheer strength of your hands so hang tight on that though first thing we're going to just do obviously just shake them out shake them out forward and back shake them out this is amazing you're all doing what I'm asking you to awesome so this is actually kind of warming things up getting some blood flow in helping things out and then just fist circles I'm hearing some clicks, some crunches. Oh, goodness.
    7:52
    Yeah, all of you, do this every morning, please. Oh, my goodness. Oh, switch direction. Nice. I know one way is going to feel a lot better than the other.
    8:11
    Yeah, I'm hearing crunchy clicks. Ooh, yeah. Another one I like to do is kind of grasp the hands. It's almost a figure eight. This one really likes to do some crunchies. Oh, yeah, yeah, Derek, yeah.
    8:29
    And if you can, this one's a little bit of a mental exercise. If you can, because this is kind of a figure eight,
    8:36
    try to do your figure eight the other way. A little bit of a mental exercise. Yeah. Cool. Very nice. But yeah, this with the hands and the wrist. I know, I know. Is a good one. And you got some of the basics that I'm sure you've done. A little bit of light pressure here. Don't yank. Don't yank that wrist out. Just light pressure. Really just the weight of your other hand on the front of the hand can be enough to stretch this for you. Don't go yanking. Trust me, you're going to regret it. And then we're getting to the fun part. So I was talking about how we always do this. Well if you bring your fingers and your thumb into the rubber band think about just extending your fingers out
    9:40
    This is getting the opposite muscles, and by retraining those reciprocal muscles, you're actually protecting and strengthening the closing muscles.
    9:51
    You're training in the opposite way. I used to have people do this after I had them literally carrying kettlebells around by the handle back and forth in my gym.
    10:02
    Because you've got to get that other way. But yeah, you'll feel it. It's real. You don't use this way. You start feeling the muscles fatigue really fast.
    10:16
    Yeah. Tennis elbow. Pinball elbow. How was it an idea? Awesome. So that's with the hands. Something else I want to talk about, I had some inquiries from people, again with that leaning forward shoulder health.
    10:45
    I didn't just bring in this hoodie to show you guys that I've actually been to Wisconsin. That wasn't my purpose. This is a great way to show what I call shoulder rotations.
    10:57
    You can do this with a belt, with a big rubber band if you are a fancy fitness person and you have giant stretchy rubber bands in your house. Or you've had to do rehab and stuff for things like tennis elbow.
    11:12
    I'm going to get into whacking myself in the head with this, but I want to show you how to do this. This is just shoulder rotations. bringing it around, bringing it back. And you can go in just a little bit every time with this. And you're going to open up those shoulders.
    11:31
    It actually helps if you feel like we're all grown-ups here. We've seen this start to happen. You're starting to get that little, maybe that little hump a little bit there. This is going to open you up.
    11:45
    Open up that chest. Stretch out those shoulders. Get the chest open. Get you breathing more. Try to do like ten of these. Edge your hands in a little. Do another ten. You'll break a little bit of a sweat. Hmm?
    11:59
    It shouldn't hurt. It should feel like you're stretching. That's why I say start wide. Start wide. You should feel a stretch. If you feel like a burning or a pain, see a PT. I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV.
    12:18
    But, yeah, start really wide. That's why I like to use a hoodie, honestly. Like, these sleeves go for days. Just get out there. Get everything out. But it's important to have something you're holding onto because that tension actually helps with the rotation and the stretch. But that'll open you up, really get those shoulders moving, and that's that whole chain. It gets you all the way down to the game, helps you move better, helps you react better.
    12:51
    The next thing I want to talk about is the part that we don't think about because it's below the game. The hips and the legs and everything. So my favorite move to do, and you can really do it, you can use a pinball game, is a hip flexor stretch. So the trick to this, and if people want to get up and use the desk, you can. If you want to stay sitting, that's fine. Try it later when no one's looking. I get it.
    13:17
    It's just a staggered stance. And the big trick here is you want to keep your hips forward. This is not doing anything for you. Keeping your hips forward is kind of parallel to the side of the game. So that's why I'm going to use the game as an example.
    13:33
    And I'm just going to say it. Squeeze your tuchus. Bend the back knee. and you'll feel at the front of this leg, this back leg, a stretch.
    13:46
    Because I'm guessing, just like my clients, we're all tech employees, I meet so many people in pinball that work in tech that sit at a desk. We're all those brainiacs, yeah. If you're at a desk all day, you've got to open up these hips.
    14:00
    So get that back leg back, bend that knee, squeeze the tuchus, bring the hips forward and you'll feel that stretch in the front here. one side, 30 seconds switch it off, get that other side there you go, you'll feel better, you'll move better you'll be reacting better to the game and I've already talked to like 5 people here this weekend oh I was moving my game in I did something and this is it right here what that is, it's not really your lower back You were picking up the game and everything here yanks on your lower back because you're all tight and you tweaked it. But it's really because your hips and everything here are so tight, it's yanking on your lower back. So do that hip stretch. That lower back will actually feel better. Because guess what? Just like those rubber bands, that's all you are inside. You're a bunch of rubber bands holding together a bunch of bones. And if the rubber bands get tight and brittle, nobody's having a good time.
    15:12
    Last piece here I want to talk about is finding your center. So a lot of people don't really think about, like, where's my center of gravity?
    15:23
    Like, you're here, you're here. A lot of people are up on their toes. You want to be back on your heels or on your midfoot. And one of the best ways I've found to do that is just honestly to like just do a couple little hops with your feet at about hip width. And you'll start feeling the midfoot. And that's really where you want to be. It'll even bring it in. This is the funniest thing. I've actually got a lot of ladies in the room, so you'll understand this. When I worked with women, I would say, put your feet hip width for me.
    15:55
    Without exception, everyone I worked with. I'm like, no. That is not the width of your hips, thank you. But, to do a little hopping, keeping your feet below you, that's about hip width. That's a good place to start. Weight over the midfoot. See how it feels to play.
    16:19
    So that's that piece of it. At least got you to play with rubber bands, that's good. Let me check my little checklist here. So yes, hand exercises, shoulder rotations, hip flexor stretches, finding your center.
    16:40
    The last one, one of my favorite subjects that I've talked about with many of my dear friends here. Footwear.
    16:48
    I see a lot of Chuck Taylors out there. A lot of Chuck Taylors. I love them. Don't get me wrong. They're about as thin as paper.
    17:00
    And I just cannot imagine walking around a floor of an expo like this where there's concrete under these little rugs all day. So let's talk a little bit about footwear for playing pinball all day. First thing is comfort.
    17:20
    You've got to consider proper fit. How long is your tournament? Like, it's a two-hour flip frenzy with a playoff. Like, wear whatever shoes you want. I don't care. If you're going for, like, an all-day whopper fest,
    17:36
    I'd even bring a change of shoes for halfway through the day, like two pairs of sneakers or something. What's the flooring like? Is it concrete under a little tiny rug? Is it someone's lovely, cushy carpet in their house? Like, these are all things to consider and think about. Like, how are you going to feel all day after being on your feet?
    17:58
    Also, temperature. Like, I've been in some pretty chilly basements playing pinball. Like, should I wear my wool socks today? Should I wear my slightly more insulated shoes that are also very comfy? Is it super hot out? Should I be wearing some sandals or Crocs?
    18:20
    Yeah. Which comes to be yourself. Comfy shoes don't have to be ugly shoes. Like, we've gotten past that in this world. There's some really cool running shoes. I've been into the Kizzix lately. They're the ones you can step into and be super lazy, and they just, like, pop onto your feet, and you don't have to tie them or untie them. Being comfortable is suddenly cool. I think that was a definite influence of the pandemic, and I'll keep that piece.
    18:49
    So, like, be comfy. Clogs, super comfortable. running shoes, also super comfortable. I also and Crocs We had the Crocs conversation a ton amongst friends of mine Like I was not a Croc person I did buy a pair One they really great for getting your dogs out in the middle of the night And they're super comfortable.
    19:13
    I still can't believe I'm wearing Crocs, but I was. And that's a thing. So, keep it comfy. Keep it cozy. But a big caveat to the footwear, make sure you play a bunch of games after you switch it up. Because as you've probably noticed, what you've got on your feet definitely can influence how you play.
    19:40
    If I'm wearing heels, my center of gravity is super different and I'm playing super different than if I'm wearing a flat shoe. Guys, if you're wearing a super comfy runner, that's got a big lift in the heel, even if it's not a heel. And you're going to play way different than if you were wearing Crocs or something flat, or even just a different sneaker. So make sure you get in a few gains on new shoes before you go into a tournament or a situation so that you can feel where your center of gravity is and where your comfort lies. Finally, some other considerations for comfort during pinball. One, hydration. And I don't mean the kind with an ABV. Really be careful about how you're hydrating during the day. It can cause cramping, headaches, fatigue. in a long tournament, you've got to take care of yourself. I love bringing noon tablets with me, pop in one of those every couple hours or even every hour. Really, the Gatorade, like if you just want to go old school, do the Gatorade. But like, keep hydrated. Yes, it means you have to run to the bathroom every once in a while. Small price to pay for not having a pounding headache when you suddenly qualify for finals and you want to be on your game. Like, more and more I'm seeing longer and longer tournaments, which means we've got to take care of ourselves so that we can go the distance. Otherwise, you just fizzle at the end, and that's just sad, because you just worked so hard all day to get into finals or qualify. Same thing with hunger. Food is tough at tournaments. My first instinct after being in, like, fitness and doing stuff is always, like, oh, I want stuff, I want, like, finger foods, I want stuff that I can, like, grab and eat, and then I'm, like, I'm playing pinball games all day, I don't want to eat food I have to touch with my bare hands, especially if I'm grabbing bites to eat in between stuff, like, it's a very different head space than what I was used to with, like, running or, like, doing a workshop where I was working with weights and doing things where I, it was like, oh, I'll just grab like boiled eggs or I'll just do other things. Like I want stuff that I don't have to touch. If you want to go super easy, there's goo, which is actually like a marathon thing, but it really works. It's got some protein. It's got some electrolytes. It comes in a little pouch. You can just pop it in your mouth and you're good. But like, think about stuff that like you can just use a fork and eat. I love like cucumber salads that's got your electrolytes too. Things like that, like small bites you can eat through the day. Again, lots of tournaments I go to, people have amazing collections. Also, they live in the middle of nowhere and getting delivery for food is not really going to happen.
    22:50
    Places are hard to find. Like, don't bet on a delivery. Also, like, eating five pieces of pizza halfway through a really long tournament is not going to do you any favors. I love pizza, it's delicious, but like, you're going to want to nap after that. So, just think about small bites, easy to eat, but eat. Again, these long tournaments.
    23:13
    Handware. This is one of the things, like, I have heard stories. I am not one of these people, but I have heard stories. I have heard stories of fractured fingers from slap sleeves. I have heard stories of like people actually like bruising and cutting themselves when playing because they slap so hard pay attention to how you're playing and like there's gloves out there man like do the gloves don't beat up your hands super hard if you if you are super into slap saving and stuff think about a glove with a little bit of padding think about maybe a full glove with a little bit of padding. Bike gloves are really good for this. But like, otherwise, that can get real gnarly real fast, especially in a long, long weekend of enjoying lots of games you've never played before. Long tournaments. Hats and eyewear. Yeah. That's a great point. Thank you. Yeah. Rings. Think about that when you play. I don't play. I actually stopped wearing rings back when I had a kettlebell gym because it pinched like hold a bar of metal that is going to pinch. It sucks. So I got out of that habit a long time ago. But yeah, think about that. If you're hitting stuff with a hard piece of metal, definitely. And then hats. If I'm in a tournament and it's like this, I will seriously consider a hat or something over my eyes. Some people like the specific pinball sunglasses. I just think a lot of this overhead lighting, you can feel a lot better if you've got a little brim going on. Helps you focus, get in the game. So a lot of this is about experimentation, just figuring out what works for you. and seeing, like, do I do better if I don't have bright lights over my head? Do I do better if I maybe have some polarized sunglasses on or something else that helps me see the ball in between all these flashing, blinking lights? I can't do big, blinking lights. I have a real problem on games with lots of flashers. And so if I know that a tournament I'm coming into has those on the card, I will often have, like, polarized sunglasses and stuff to help me so that I don't end up with a migraine.
    25:40
    But I kept this brief. I heard that the person talking before me liked to go over, so I made sure that I was, like, 30-ish versus 45-ish.
    25:53
    So I want to open up to you all. If people have questions, comments. I love the feedback about the rings. That's super valuable. Like, any follow-up questions? Yeah. I'm just wondering, do people play with the Iranian singer or the middle singer? I think it's classic. Yeah. Well, let's talk about it. Do people do, raise your hand if you're a pointer finger person.
    26:24
    Okay. Raise your hand if you're a middle finger person. I'm actually a middle finger ring finger person. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm a middle finger ring finger person. I'm not a pointer figure person. I know that's weird. I'm weird. Yep. Yeah. I go mid, I go mid hand with the buttons. Nothing's at the tip of my fingers because I found when I go to the tip, that's where my wrists start getting tweaked. So shorter, shorter span of movement. Yeah! Push it harder! I hear ya. I mean, some of them, there are games, we've still got our EMs and everything else where, you know, you can make that switch connect more, so you're not wrong, just the newer games it's not as much, for sure. Yeah. No, great question. Great question. We can follow up on that. So in the last session, we had mentioned stage flipping, which is head, right? Yeah.
    27:42
    I would contend with my limited knowledge of ergonomics that stage flipping is not what the human body is supposed to do. Push a button halfway, not a human activity. What's the right design for that? I would say that it's all training.
    28:02
    I would say that, yes, we're used to two stages, but the human body is very trainable. And if you play with a game that has stage flipping, half flips, where you've got your lower and your upper, you can definitely train yourself to feel that difference. But as with every game, I bet that it's a little different from game to game as well, where you have to find that sweet spot. But I would say not instinct, but everything's trainable. So I half agree with you Dave What is stage Stage flipping is where you can have a flipper If you half depress it it just do your lowers If you full depress, it'll do both. I think I got that right, right? Yeah. And it's, you know, like some games, it's a real pain in the arse if you, like, have your upper going while you're trying to just do stuff on the lower, like in a multi-ball and stuff. That's it. Not that I've ever been that calm, cool, and collected in a multiball to not do a full flip.
    29:05
    My kudos to someone like that. But, yeah. I don't know how many moderns do. Yeah. Does everything actually have it?
    29:20
    Yeah. First introduced it. Yeah. There we go. I was going to say, what do you think? Yeah, play around with them now. There you go. Everybody learned something. My friend here.
    29:45
    All right, Dave, I want to get a couple questions in. Go ahead. Tall people, yeah. Yeah. I would wonder if maybe a stagger stance might help you versus a wide. It's tough, though. I've seen a lot of tall people. I'm not a tall person. I've seen a lot of tall people do the wide. That can be awkward because you're not sure how to shift. I've seen some do a stagger, but that means you're leaning forward a little bit and you want to really be careful of your lower back. It's tough. I know some tall people who, in their own home collections, actually lift up the games a little bit for themselves so that when they're at least practicing at home, they're more comfortable.
    30:38
    I think that pinball games were actually designed for an average height, but many more years ago, when the average height was probably a few inches lower, so you're at even more of a disadvantage there. And if we think back, I don't think heights have changed dramatically. Depths obviously have, you know, where we're going back, because we've got the multi-layer games, nothing, you know, we don't have as many street levels anymore. But, yeah, I mean, pinball games were first invented when people were probably on average a couple inches shorter. So, unfortunately, you are at a disadvantage there, my friend. But, yeah, try a split, Tim. Yeah.
    31:19
    Good so we can talk about the ? Yeah. Well a, the right leg goes higher and we get them higher and off the devastated played in the . Yeah. ? So loss of ? Again almost all at the same place. Yeah. Yeah, and that's something that you have to be really mindful of, and if you want to change it, it's a mindful habit. It's like, I'm about to practice, I'm going to settle back in my heels and feel if I'm on both feet. and it's only through, like anything we do, it's only through repetition that we're going to make it a habit. I am notorious when I play, I'm such a weirdo, I cross my feet. I actually cross my legs when I'm playing. I'm very casual apparently and I've slowly been getting out of that habit and getting more centered but for some reason I love to do the casual play. I don't know and it's Always just training. You've just got to do repetition and get yourself into that. And maybe when you get into the more, maybe when you get into the finals, you mentally revert back to there. But at least then you're still fresh from being on both feet, from being mindful of it, that you're not going to be so sore or tired when you do it.
    32:54
    But, yeah, just repetition, unfortunately. Derek. My question was, after the block turn, after the knee jab, are there any stretches that you can do after? Just kind of deal with how it takes out. Yes, definitely. The rotations that I did, the arm rotations are great. Any of those hand and wrist exercises that I showed you are as great beforehand and after. So just doing those movements, doing some equalizing movements can be just super excellent for you. Um, if you can, I'm just going to say it, just like after intense exercise, take a bath with some Epsom salts.
    33:44
    Like, give yourself a nice little recharge. Make sure you get some electrolytes into you. Make sure you rest. If you're into it, do a little, like, find a video, do a little stretching and yoga. Like, get all the way down the kinetic chain and stretch things out.
    34:01
    I know it sounds weird, but again, like, you're in this position. you're moving, this is athleticism, it is a really intense focus for a prolonged period of time,
    34:14
    treat yourself as if, you know, treat yourself with that respect, is what I would say. Yes, Brian? Yep.
    34:34
    Yeah? Definitely. Again, I can't say enough good things about just doing those shoulder rotations because it really does take care of a lot of this. The one thing that you may not realize that you're doing as well is holding a lot of tension up here after doing those. So one of the things that I really love to do, and everybody can try this, is literally, and you look silly when you're doing it, shrug your shoulders up and hold them.
    35:08
    Literally, tight as you can. Shoulders to ears, shoulders to ears, shoulders to ears. Tight, tight, tight, tight, tight. Keep doing it. Keep going. We're going to hang here.
    35:20
    I know. It sucks, right? You're exhausting all of the tiny muscles in your shoulders. And then I'm going to let you go now, but you should really do this for like 30 seconds because when you do, feel where your shoulders are now. they're a little lower than they were. They're not so close to your ears as they were before. If you hold that like a good 45 seconds to a minute when you really feel like you can't anymore because your shoulders are tired, it's actually going to, through sheer exhaustion, release a lot of the tension here and get you back. But yeah, especially with this, again, think about absence waltz. Think about like a little like icy hot. Like, get in there, because that's a lot of your pectoral muscles and everything that you're stressing out when you're doing the slap saves. And you can strain those. So, like, gentle stretching, the door frame stretch where you kind of get your hand in the door frame and stretch it back a little here. That's a good one for those.
    36:22
    So those are things I can think of. But, again, that arm rotation that I showed you at the beginning is a great cure-all for a lot of opening up the chest, stress in the chest from doing slap saves and things, getting back into the lats, shoulder joints, and it stretches out the forearms, which I know can be a big thing. But yeah, get yourself a little icy hot and stuff for the forearms too. Or a tennis ball. I've seen people go crazy with tennis balls and lacrosse balls. Roll out your forearms before and after if you know that you're a heavy slapper.
    36:57
    It's a new term. But it's all about just being mindful of the fact that this is athletic activity. Like, you are asking your body to do something pretty intense for many hours. Like, don't just jump into it. Treat yourself with respect, and you're going to feel a lot better at the end.
    37:18
    Any other questions? Cool. Well, if y'all want to keep in touch with me, we've got a thank you slide. This has some of my social media info on it if you want to follow, if you want to say hi. We have tournaments down at Pizza J once a month. We've got our Bells and Chimes tournaments once a month. I post a lot about my pinball travels. You've got to see a lot of familiar faces in this room from puttering around the northeast up into Chicago. And just thank you all so much for coming. Appreciate you. Thank you.