Pintastic NE 2024 Day 1 Oh the Things you can Play!

Posted: April 12, 2024 by datechguy in fun, pinball, special events
Tags: , , ,

Well Pintastic NE 2024 has begun and it’s a doozy

As soon as I got in line to register I ran into Gabe D’Annunzio who is always my first interview

While circumstances forced me to get to Pintastic 5 hours after it started on day 1 the upside is that most of the moving of pinballs by Gabe was done and he had time to speak and was very relaxed compared to many other opening day videos because by the time this was shot most if not all of the normal opening day fires were already out.

One of the first things I saw was a very interesting Mechanical Setup in front of the conference rooms.

and an even more interesting setup on the back of a fellow named Andrew of the Southern NH Pinball Club he gave me a few minutes of his time.

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=”https://rumble.com/embedJS/u17hbct”+(arguments%5B1%5D.video?’.’+arguments[1].video:”)+”/?url=”+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+”&args=”+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, “script”, “Rumble”);
Rumble(“play”, {“video”:”v4mfmnq”,”div”:”rumble_v4mfmnq”});

I eventually found the person who made the setup we were in front of but he didn’t want to go on camera at that time, maybe later.

Of course Pintastic wouldn’t be Pintastic without Mike and Emily of the Electromagnetic Pinball Museum of Rhode Island. I spotted them at the Project Pinball booth (a charity that places pinball machines in children’s hospitals) with a machine they donated to their booth for the event doing some upkeep on said machine before things begin. They gave me some time.

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=”https://rumble.com/embedJS/u17hbct”+(arguments%5B1%5D.video?’.’+arguments[1].video:”)+”/?url=”+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+”&args=”+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, “script”, “Rumble”);
Rumble(“play”, {“video”:”v4mfnqi”,”div”:”rumble_v4mfnqi”});

There is as always a friendly rivalry with Gabe to see which of them will bring more machines.

Unlike other years EMP was in the clubrooms (needing several) and the freeplay rooms. At their old location was Tycoon Arcade who under a different name was in the clubrooms last year but with a bigger and better selection than before that demanded more space. I spoke with two folks from there as they tested a Southpark machine

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src=”https://rumble.com/embedJS/u17hbct”+(arguments%5B1%5D.video?’.’+arguments[1].video:”)+”/?url=”+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+”&args=”+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, “script”, “Rumble”);
Rumble(“play”, {“video”:”v4mfp7t”,”div”:”rumble_v4mfp7t”});

Their selection was an A-List of games, the star of the show was their Princess Bride machine. The line was so long I didn’t get a chance to play it day one but with a Lord of the Rings, James Bond Dr. No, Batman 1966 and Godfather 50th Anniversary game in the same room there was plenty to keep me busy.

During my interview I saw Todd Tuckey doing some of his filming there. He got a glimpse of me playing the Jetsons game (another rare one in the room) I shot him doing his shoot:

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Rumble(“play”, {“video”:”v4mfpnf”,”div”:”rumble_v4mfpnf”});

and he shot me playing the Jetsons.

It may seem odd but I didn’t shoot any more video day one. This was due to the fact that there were simply too many pinball games that I needed to be playing

Managed to get 4.1 Billion on Theatre of Magic for the high score, Best I ever did on the game, this year however the line for Tales of the Arabian Nights was constant showing that this larger crowd has great taste so I’ll have to wait till this blog post is done to go play more.

The number of games and the selection of stuff I like is beyond what I thought and I took full advantage of same. Some I haven’t gotten to yet:

Before the free play room opened

Thanks however to my new shift I woke up between 4 and five this morning so I had time to upload all these videos and as soon as I get a shower I’ll be downstairs while the folks who have been up all night are just heading to bed.

So if you’ll excuse me I have some pinball to play.

President Trump’s Abortion Statement was strategically sound and constitutionally correct

Posted: April 11, 2024 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,

I firmly believe that abortion is murder.  No one has a right to commit murder therefore there can be no right to an abortion.   For the past 50 years we have witnessed the most heinous genocide ever perpetrated, the slaughter of hundreds of millions of unborn children worldwide. 

Because abortion is murder it should never have been legalized here in the United States.  Roe v Wade was a particularly monstrous decision because it overturned abortion bans that 46 states had enacted.  This I learned from Google.

Prior to Roe v. Wade, 30 states prohibited abortion without exception, 16 states banned abortion except in certain special circumstances (e.g. rape, incest, and health threat to mother), 3 states allowed residents to obtain abortions, and New York allowed abortions generally.

Roe v. Wade was profoundly unconstitutional because the Constitution did not grant any branch of the federal government the authority to overturn state abortion bans.

Thanks to the Marxists who call themselves Progressives, abortion has polarized the United States like no other issues.  This past Monday President Trump issued a major policy statement on this most thorny issue: Read Trump abortion statement | The Hill

Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights, especially since I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of something that all legal scholars, both sides, wanted and, in fact, demanded be ended: Roe v. Wade. They wanted it ended.

“It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month. The concept of having an abortion in the later months, and even execution after birth — and that’s exactly what it is. The baby is born, the baby is executed after birth — is unacceptable, and almost everyone agrees with that.”

Pointing out just how radical the Democrats’ position on abortion is was a strategically sound decision by President Trump.

“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint. The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be.”

“At the end of the day this is all about the will of the people. You must follow your heart, or in many cases your religion or your faith. Do what’s right for your family and do what’s right for yourself, do what’s for your children, do what’s right for our country, and vote. So important to vote.”

At the end of the day it’s all about will of the people. That’s where we are right now, and that’s what we want. The will of the people.”

I believe taking the middle ground was a strategically wise decision by President Trump.  Taking a hard line on this issue would have been a major turn off for moderates and would have energized the left.

“Like Ronald Reagan, I am strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”

“You must follow your heart on this issue, but remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and in fact to have our country, which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline. Our nation needs help. It needs unity, it needs all of us to work closely together. Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, everyone. We have to work together. We have to bring our nation back from the brink, and that’s where it is. It’s at the brink. And we will. We will do it. I promise you, we will do it.”

“Always go by your heart, but we must win. We have to win. We are a failing nation, but we can be a failing nation no longer. We will make our nation great. We will make our nation greater than ever before. Thank you very much.”

Taking a hard line on abortion would have made it easier for the Democrats to steal another election because it would have shifted a significant number of votes to Biden.

President Trump is Constitutionally correct when he stated that abortion is an issue that must be left in the hands of the states.  The Constitution does not grant federal government the authority to define or punish the crime of murder.

The reviews of President Trump’s abortion speech were mixed. Check out these two articles:

Trump nailed it with his statement today about abortion – American Thinker

Today, Donald Trump issued his statement on abortion, disavowing federal involvement. It was both a correct decision and a politically smart one. Democrats have always used abortion to bring voters into its fold. Now, it cannot do that anymore.

Everything Wrong With Trump’s 2024 Abortion And IVF Messaging (thefederalist.com)

The Republican once hailed as the most successful pro-life president in American history made clear on Monday that he is softening his position on abortion and beefing up his support for in vitro fertilization ahead of the 2024 general election.

“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in her response statement.

There is Irony and there is “You’ve Got to Be Shitting Me” Irony Iranian Ayatollah Edition

Posted: April 11, 2024 by datechguy in middle east
Tags: , ,

Commander Buck Murdock: Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

Airplane 2 The Sequel 1982

As a general rule war (Hogan’s Heroes, McHale’s Navy and F-Troop not withstanding) war is not something to laugh at and the war between Israel and Hamas is no laughing matter. It started with a literal orgy of rape, murder and kidnapping and has seen large chunks of the west throw out the standards of right and wrong to first deny and then defend these acts while embracing violent antisemitism, some from ignorance, some from fear of Islamists (that’s real Islamophobia) and some because it pays rather well.

Even in Gaza itself the use of Hospitals as terror bases and the stealing of food aid to sell for fun and profit brings no sense of shame and while one might recognize that the Gazans celebration of the murder of Jews and their complicity with Hamas is the primary driver of their new lives in tents, it’s not something to laugh at.

But in the end there are some things, even in the midst of war that are so mind mind-bendingly ridiculous that all you can do is point and laugh and this is it:

Iranian Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the Zionist regime made the mistake of attacking the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria during his comments Wednesday during Eid al-Fitr prayers.

Khamenei told supporters, “The evil regime made a mistake and it should be punished and will be punished.”

emphasis mine

Seriously? Am I actually reading that the Iran’s Supreme Ayatollah is shocked SHOCKED that anyone might violate the sanctity of an embassy and their their diplomatic mission?

I know these days American President or at least those who try to fake it while being drugged up more than John Gil don’t talk about American hostages held by Iranian proxies but can any American 55 years old or older not look at these Iranian statements…

…vowing revenge on Israel, the state which their proxies have been attacking on their behalf, for daring to violate the sanctity of a diplomatic mission and not just burst out laughing at the 180 these bastards have suddenly taken when they make their bones on violating the American embassy after Carter & company pushed to let them back into Iran and held our people and paraded them about as trophies right up until the day Ronald Reagan was sworn in and they decided they didn’t want to risk glow a lovely shade of green?

Of course in the late 70’s the Iranian hostage crisis dominated the news. Today there is a media blackout on such things as they might nudge the numbers in the Joe Biden “re-election” quest beyond the margin of fraud, so shhh!

The Jewish state’s objective in their strike in Syria might have been to take out top Iranians involved in the planning of the Oct 7th attacks among others but it had the side effect of completely depantsing the Iranian Ayatollahs.

If that’s not worth a gut busting laugh I’d like to know what is!

Pintastic NE 2024 Starts Tomorrow!

Posted: April 10, 2024 by datechguy in fun, pinball, special events
Tags: , ,
The Godfather 50th Anniversary game will be back for Pintastic 2024

Well today I’ll be getting packed and ready because tomorrow I’m off to Marlborough MA to the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel for four days of Pintastic NE 2024 the great New England Pinball Festival!

When I bought my tickets to Pintastic NE the Warehouse I had worked at last year was still open, the purge of management and employees had not taken place and I still was working the 2nd shift, the same as DaWife meaning we had plenty of time together.

As I write this today all of those things are gone and I’m on an enforced day off, using a vacation day so I don’t lose a 1/4 of a week’s pay to be paid. On the plus side It does give me the chance both to pack a day early and finish my taxes so I can mail them first thing tomorrow morning.

I’ll be getting there a tad later than normal as my son could not get tomorrow off because of a big project launched at his job this week so I’ll be picking him up the from work and getting there at 4:30 rather than 1:30 which will cost of a few hours of play but you can’t have everything.

What you CAN have if you decide to join us there is four days to forget all of the problems of the world and the country as you play any of the over 200 confirmed games that will be there (the current list is here). I’m looking forward to trying the new Looney Toons and Princess Bride, less enthusiastic about the Jim Henson Labyrinth and the Elton John games but I’ll give them both a try. Some are so new there is no listing for them on the Pinside Database yet.

The big news for me is that one of my favorite games Paragon will be there. It’s the first year that this game has been at pintastic so I’m going to get as much time as I can on it before someone buys it. Alas even if my economic situation was not tough it’s one of the wider games out there and just plain wouldn’t fit anywhere in my house. I doubt I could even get it in to my front den as a rental.

Alas several favorites like Indiana Jones, Doctor Who and Wizard of Oz are not listed, but you never know if someone might bring one at the last minute.

Also curious about the Happy Gilmore homebrew, the number of such games have exploded over the last five years and their one of a kind status makes Pintastic NE one of the few places where you can play them. There will be various seminars on design, home brew games, things upcoming and repair. The guest list is here.

I must confess that this year I’m curious to interview the various game companies on how you market and sell a $6000-$15000 pinball machine in a tough economy. Those should be interesting conversations.

But no matter how you slice it I’ve got four days away from the world’s problems with both Pinball and my Son and Linguini’s Italian eatery just 5 minutes away. What more can anyone ask?

I strongly suggest picking up a day pass and coming down to play on Friday or Saturday. You won’t regret it.

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