Pintastic NE Day 3 Early Mornings and Friends

Posted: June 28, 2022 by datechguy in fun, pinball, special events, Uncategorized
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Day three of Pintastic 2020 started early for me with a trip to the extra ball lounge

A night’s sleep means a morning of pinball with little wait but once the vendor room opened the line for some games kicked in like the Weird Al Game

It’s an interesting combo of virtual and physical with of course Weird Al himself providing voice and music.

Day three continued the tournament that is a big part of Pintastic

These are the games to be played

The games that an individual plays are randomly determined.

Of course the vendors were still there with plenty of interesting stuff like this from pinovators

and the return of an old friend

You might recall I had interviewed the Pinbox 3000 crew who hinted at a big reveal and when they said “big” they weren’t kidding:

Alas there is only one of these but I suspect there will be enough demand for the big guy to be produced.

There was also a new face, Todd Tuckey’s daughter who was up to give him a hand:

My friends Hanna and Jake were doing their first Pintastic.

You’ll note them in the Pinovators video (Janna had showed up three years ago in the final hour) They had a grand time. They were not the only ones having a great time at the first Pintastic

Carline, Hanna and Jake all had a chance to play the new Toy Story 4 game despite the long lines.

That image of the three of them playing together and having fun is the essence of Pintastic.

For those who want a closer look at the game here is a bit of gameplay when I had a chance to play it in the Extra Ball lounge.

But the game I spent the most time playing, other than Arabian Knights was Doctor Who in the free play room.. Here is the person who brought it:

The free play room was hopping particularly since as soon as the vendor room was closed folks were packing up but before that happened I had a shot to speak to Anthony from Maine Home Recreation

Why were they in such a hurry to pack up? That story is for the final day of Pintastic.

A reality check for journalists

Posted: June 28, 2022 by chrisharper in media, Uncategorized
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By Christopher Harper

Journalists have no idea how little their readers and viewers trust the media.

That’s readily apparent from a new analysis from the Pew Foundation, which found that “overall, journalists give themselves relatively high marks on performing several of the core functions of journalism. The public, however, does not see it the same way.” See https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/06/14/journalists-and-the-public-differ-on-how-journalists-are-doing-how-connected-they-are/

The survey should be required reading for the media!

Sixty-five percent of journalists surveyed think news organizations reported news accurately. That compares with only 35 percent of the public.

A significant majority—83 percent—of journalists think their audience trusts the news organization they work for. Another 13% said their audience has some trust, while just 3% said their audience has “a little” or no trust at all.

Here, journalists are entirely out of touch with reality. Only 29 percent of the public said they trust the media, while 27 percent say they have some trust. A plurality—44 percent—reported that they have “a little” or no trust.

Some of the other findings include the following:

–Fifty-two percent of journalists think they do a good job playing the watchdog over government. Only 29 percent of the public agreed.

–Forty-six percent of journalists think they give voice to the underrepresented. The public provides a rating of 24 percent. 

–Forty-three percent of the media think the industry does a good job of correcting misinformation. The public puts that figure at 25 percent. 

Another disparity between journalists and the public is how much reporters think they are “connected” to their audiences, while readers and viewers disagree.

Among journalists, close to half—46 percent–said they feel extremely or very connected to their audience, while another 37 percent said they feel somewhat connected. Far fewer—16 percent—said they feel little or no connection.

Underlining how out of touch journalists really are, the public sentiment is almost exactly the opposite.

Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said they are extremely or very connected to news organizations, far lower than the 46 percent of journalists who feel extremely or very connected to their audiences. 

Another 37 percent said they feel somewhat connected to their primary news sources, while 36 percent feel little to no connection.

In many cases, the media have become part of the American elite rather than remained part of the body politic. Reporters often look down on their readers and viewers and have increasingly little contact with real people.

Whatever the case, I think the media can’t regain the public’s confidence. After nearly 50 years as a reporter and a journalism professor, these development makes me both angry and sad. 

Report from Louisiana: Loose Thoughts

Posted: June 27, 2022 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By: Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – Random, unconnected thoughts and observations:

HOT: As I write this, it is literally 104 degrees in Shreveport with a heat index of 106. I know it’s summer, but we don’t usually get this kind of heat until August. And rain? What’s that? When I open my door, it is literally like walking outside into a blast furnace. Meh.

HATE: And on the subject of suffering, you might think with the heat driving me indoors, I could take refuge in the mindless distraction of social media. Nope. That’s no place I want to be right now. There’s a lot of hate out there these days, folks. A lot of hate. I’m staying all the way away from that.

PAYWALLS: Am I the only person who gets frustrated by paywalls? I know, we need to pay for good journalism. But I’m talking about The Advocate, for crying out loud! I tried to read three articles today and they are all behind a paywall. I don’t care enough to find a workaround right now.

FUEL: We are preparing for our annual trip to the great Midwest next week to visit husband’s family. And we drive. From Louisiana to Iowa. There and back, we anticipate gas to be $400 of our budget. That is insane. IN.  SANE. Needless to say, we won’t be making the side trips we usually do, like going to see minor league baseball or going out to eat. Bummer.

BOOKS: My reading has slacked off for some unknown reason. I just finished an historical fiction novel, The Tobacco Wives, that was mediocre. The best books I’ve read lately have been nonfiction. Bayou Farewell by Mike Tidwell was awesome. Beautifully written. I’m currently reading Antagonists in the Church and it’s making some valid points. I’m ready for a good, thick Stephen King novel to entertain me. Something I don’t have to think too hard about in this dang heat.

CRIME: If you’re trying to keep up (and why should you, really?) we continue to have at least one shooting a day here in Shreveport; we have thirty homicides so far. The saddest part is that by far the majority of those are teenagers and early twenties. Young people. And no, I don’t blame guns. I blame the poor economy, the lack of opportunity, the lack of a moral compass, lack of ethics, high poverty, much despair. Nothing to lose. Sad.

TELEVISION: Guilty confession – I don’t watch much TV, but when we aren’t watching baseball, our TV is usually tuned to FETV where we watch old stuff. I’ve seen every single Andy Griffith, Hazel, Beverly Hillbillies, Emergency!, and Perry Mason. Every. Single. One. Not sure I’m proud of this.

PUBLIC ART: Oh hey, and if you missed it, check out the new public art installation in New Orleans now that all those pesky monuments are gone. I don’t think this is behind the paywall.

Stay cool, y’all. Peace out.

Four Thanks from Five Quick Dobbs Thoughts Under the Fedora

Posted: June 27, 2022 by datechguy in abortion, Always look at the bright side of Trump, catholic, politics
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Between the last day of Pintastic NE 2022, interviews, as much pinball as I could squeeze in before the machines were taken away, the drive home, and Mass last evening and uploading the final videos I didn’t get a post up yesterday nor did I comment on the Dobbs decision.

Now that I’m home with a night’s sleep let’s do a quick five thoughts about the Dobbs Decision.

  1. If there was ever a time to say: “Thank you Mitch we owe you one” it’s now. No Matter How much the GOP base might be angry with Mitch McConnell on other things no GOP legislator is more responsible for this result. None of this is possible without his willingness to:
    • Stop the Garland nomination in its tracks
    • Retaliate against Harry Reid for ending judicial filibusters
    • Push Judges including Trump SCOTUS picks
  2. Of course if we’re going to thank legislators we also have to thank Harry Reid who often claimed to be pro life and ironically turned out to be the single most important man in the Senate to get this going. Without out him nuking the filibuster for judicial appointment at the urging of Obama Mitch McConnell does not nuke it for SCOTUS allowing Trump to get through three justices that the left would have filibustered till the cows come home. Yes it meant that the left was able to seat Ketanji Brown “What’s a woman I’m no biologist” Jackson and perhaps other radicals like her but if that’s the price of killing Roe we’ll take it. Without his action Mitch’s prophecy never comes through, cue the video:
  1. Of course the primary person we have to thank is Donald Trump Not only did he push forward conservative Judges but when Ruth Bader Ginsberg died less that 50 days before the election he was ready to roll with Amy Comey Barrett getting her approved with only a week to spare. Can anyone think of any other GOP president who would have been willing to do so? If you had told me in 2000 that Donald Trump would do this, I would not have believed you, but the Hermit of Loreto would have. I guess Mitch’s Prophecy was not the only one that was fulfilled last Friday:

Capoverdi asked him in English if he was Thomas [Zimmer], and the two had a delightful conversation. When Trump was elected, Dr. Curran called and told him that, back in the 1980s, Tom Zimmer said he had received a “premonition” and that “a certain man would lead America back to God”—and that man would be none other than Donald J. Trump.

“The millionaire playboy from New York?” the incredulous doctor is said to have asked Zimmer.

“Yes,” the Hermit of Loreto responded, adding he was so sure Donald Trump would become a great spiritual leader of America that he wrote his name on a brick and had it placed in the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Holy Door after the Jubilee so Trump would receive blessings from the many Masses that would be said in the Vatican.

Ever wonder why the left’s hatred of Trump boarders on the demonically insane? This is why
  1. One can not stress enough how critical to this day the courage of Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch Barret and Kavanaugh in this ruling. The leak of Alito’s draft opinion was specifically used to try to intimidate them. The left openly threatened their lives (and are still doing so) with one person already facing attempted murder charges while protestors continue to harass them at home in violation of federal law. All the while Democrat leaders were either silent or encouraged such action and the Democrat AG who once was nominated to sit on the court did nothing to enforce the law. If they had caved not only would the rule of law be threatened in this country forever but it had the real possibility of turning our cold civil war into a warm one and generating an actual insurrection rather than the fantasy being advanced by the left in the house.
  2. Finally an odd thing that my family members have seen on facebook as been the incredible rage of people who loudly proclaim that they don’t want to associate themselves with anyone who is happy about this decision or posted anything to celebrate it. I actually find this amusing in the sense that my family members are all Catholics who regularly go to church and regularly receive the sacraments including confession. That there are people who are friends and associates of them who are shocked that such people who openly practice their religion actually believe what the the faith teaches seems a tad odd. In fairness if they only get their news from CNN & the MSM perhaps they figure that Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and all the other public Catholics who consider faith a coat to remove if it becomes uncomfortable or inconvenient to their power the norm.
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