Today is February 2nd the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the 40th day after Christmas.
Under the old church calendar this day marked the end of the Christmas season which under the current calendar ends on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
By an odd coincidence this also marks the end of the Christmas gift my sons got me because today the good folks at Bushey Brothers came down to pick up the pinball machine that they dropped off on the 2nd day of Christmas Dec 26th.
The storm that hit New England snowed him in badly so I ended up with four extra days which meant this Christmas gift lasted the entire traditional Christmas season. My best score of 65,7 Million but alas that was only good enough for 3rd as my youngest scored 66.4 million and on his next visit managed over 91 million.
Most arcades these days that are not pay one price tend to charge between .75 & a buck a game and with over 300 games played on this machine in the time I had it it was pretty much like going to the arcade on a daily basis. Here is our exit interview:
This year Pintastic NE was the week before thanksgiving rather than in late June and while it meant a very long wait for its return it paid pretty big dividend for me. During our “Peak” period in the warehouse we tend to work 6-7 days a week till Christmas. Even before the supply chain issues people started ordering gifts early in the last few years so instead of peak beginning Black Friday it’s now starts for us as early as the first two weeks of November which used to be pretty dead.
That late Pintastic provided a welcome break just before the crazy week began and as I’ve often said NOTHING relieves stress like a pinball machine.
So imagine my surprise when a familiar face turned up at the door on Boxing Day an hour before Mass.
Brian was bearing the game Diner which was never one I really mastered but I guarantee you that with a month of play if there is a tournament including said machine I’ll be ready to go.
It was not a gift that I was expecting and I’m flattered that my sons were thinking of me. I’m even more flattered that this game out of his personal collection as the newer games were all out.
As of today a Diner goes for between $5200 & $8000 it’s a pretty good deal to get it for a month. For those who missed the interview from Pintastic NE 2021 here it is
Ironically when I interviewed Brian I said that while my wife would never let me buy a machine she might let me rent one and now it’s here for the rest of the Christmas season and two weeks beyond.
If I may suggest it might make a great Birthday gift particularly if you’re not born in December or January since the volume will be higher during those months and thus the availability of the newer games might be a little more iffy.
I’m going to have a lot of fun
You can find the Bushey Brothers facebook page here.
It’s the 2nd day of Christmas and because it falls on a Sunday the feast of St. Stephen the 1st Martyr is trumped by the feast of the Holy Family.
Oddly enough according to the calendar of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops it didn’t get moved to a later day in the week (the 1st open one is the 29th as St. John the Evangalist gets the 27th and the Holy Innocents slaughter by Herod the 28th).
St. Stephen’s feast is an important one as it reminds us that while we celebrate the birth of Christ we remember that it’s his death that created “God and Sinners” reconciled.
Of course if France WAS Bacon it would be a lot more popular
The English language is so much fun because of the way you can play with words. Groucho Marx made an entire career out of it.
A perfect example of playing with the English language in that way for December 26th.
Riddle: Why is the feast of Stephen very big in the Gay Community?
Answer: Because that's the day good King Wenceslas came out.
There is a reason why I don’t quit my day job.
Speaking of Running Gags Don Surber is constantly talking about wanting a Bentley. For the fun of it I searched online and look what I found:
Don Surber’s Dream Car
Hey Under $20,000 for a car with under 42,000 miles? That not only a pretty good deal but might even be in his price range.
I wonder if he can generate the cash via his tip jar? After all there are twelve days of Christmas and he has 11 left to do so.
Finally I was about to write that the old datechguyblog.com site is finally dead as it went blanks a few days ago. But this morning I tested it out as I was writing this and it came right up.
This seems to fit my theory that all of this has been running automatically for quite a while.
I’m not going to worry about it. My record of cancelling the account is still saved and has been stated publicly so I don’t anticipate some guy coming after me with a big bill in a few years but you never know.
Either way there is where I am and where I’ll stay and eventually I’ll get datechguyblog.com to point here too.
Saturday at Pintastic NE is always a busy day. You tend to draw the largest crowds and there is plenty going on.
One of the more popular games was the Beatles 1964
Not only is the gameplay of this machine great but it of course has the best sound track of all the games here
A lot of people bring Pinball games here to sell but one of the problems is: If you sell a game how do you get it home? Well that’s where Dino of Shipmypinball.com comes in
Getting the machine from point A to point B is something that always needs to be considered when buying a machine.
Of course there are those who offer an alternative to buying game, RENTING THEM
I’m thinking the Bushey Brothers may cut the Gordan knot for many guys like me whose wives don’t want a game in their house or big money spent but might actually go along with getting a game in the house if it’s only for a month or two and someone else moves it in and out for you.
Of course there are some thing that shouldn’t be forgotten during Pintastic NE and such as God and the Sacraments. Luckily for a Catholic like me there is St. Anne’s Shrine only a mile away down the road.
If you’re wondering where the hat is , hey I’m at a church of course I have it off.
Of course if you’re buying an old game or even if you need an newer one there is always the need for the parts, that’s where Mayfair Games (not to be confused with the old wargame maker) comes in.
You will see them as the first dealer on the left at every Pintastic
Of course while the old game are big here It’s the new ones that draw eyeballs. One of those new players is American Pinball and I talked to their man David Fix.
He was in high demand and I didn’t have a chance to talk to him until the vendor room was closing. But it worked out very well because he moved one of the Legends of Valhalla games to the Extra Ball Lounge were my youngest and I started playing.
Alas my son is too good so we couldn’t show the full game
Of course I’m not the only guy filming here Todd Tuckey was Livestreaming
While the Guns and Roses Tribute Band: Welcome to the Jungle who played the event played on…
They came in to celebrate the release of the new Guns and Roses game from Jersey Jack who for some reason I didn’t manage to interview this year (more from the band later).
You might recall I talked to Michael two years ago when he brought a bunch of games, well he and Emily have graduated from hobby to Pinball Museum Proprietors in Pawtucket RI
You heard that right 28 of the machines people were playing came from them and it’s worth noting that on day four those machines were still here to play as they’re invariably the last folks out (next to Gabe of course).
But while the hobbyists and game providers are big the real question is what did the folks who paid their money to play think. I ran into four such folks who were attending Pintastic for the first time
When people are willing to come 3000 miles and say they’ll do it again next year you’ve got it right.
By this time is was late and I finished my work day talking to the tribute band after their 2nd performance.
after that I finally got to play the popular Sonic the Hedgehog homebrew which won best Homebrew game and can be played either via flippers or from a Sega controller
2 AM came very quickly and checkout is 11 AM so it was time to crash and prepare for the final day of Pinball.
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