Stern Pinball: 50 Years (Mustang)

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Flack
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Stern Pinball: 50 Years (Mustang)

Post by Flack »

Stern has announced their new table to next year. The new table will tentatively be called "50 Years" and will be based on the Ford Mustang to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mustang.



It's no "Metallica" but at least they're still making machines.
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Re: Stern Pinball: 50 Years (Mustang)

Post by Tdarcos »

Flack wrote:Stern has announced their new table to next year. The new table will tentatively be called "50 Years" and will be based on the Ford Mustang to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mustang.



It's no "Metallica" but at least they're still making machines.
Stern is the "last man standing" as the final remaining and currently world's only manufacturer of pinball machines. The History Channel reported that Stern almost went out of business when it had trouble finding a ball bearing manufacturer who could make the correct size spheres for the pinballs.
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Re: Stern Pinball: 50 Years (Mustang)

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Tdarcos wrote:
Flack wrote:Stern has announced their new table to next year. The new table will tentatively be called "50 Years" and will be based on the Ford Mustang to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mustang.



It's no "Metallica" but at least they're still making machines.
Stern is the "last man standing" as the final remaining and currently world's only manufacturer of pinball machines. The History Channel reported that Stern almost went out of business when it had trouble finding a ball bearing manufacturer who could make the correct size spheres for the pinballs.
There's a few other manufacturers now. Jersey Jack Pinball shipped their Wizard of Oz pinball table earlier this year. However, their website still does say that they are the only ones. I think it's kind of sad that they do that!
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Re: Stern Pinball: 50 Years (Mustang)

Post by Tdarcos »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:There's a few other manufacturers now. Jersey Jack Pinball shipped their Wizard of Oz pinball table earlier this year. However, their website still does say that they are the only ones. I think it's kind of sad that they do that!
Maybe they mean they are the only "production" maker of pinball machines as in a company that makes multiple copies of the same machine; perhaps Jersey Jack is a custom maker. Orange County Choppers, made famous by the "American Chopper" TV show, makes custom motorcycles. Harley Davidson is a production maker of motorcycles.

I think this will explain what I meant by 'production' and maybe that's what Stern means. I mean, I'm a software manufacturer. I make custom software. Microsoft, on the other hand, is a production manufacturer of software.
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Well, I kind of just think they're dickheads that don't respect their competition. But you know me, I tend to see the best in people.
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Post by Tdarcos »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Well, I kind of just think they're dickheads that don't respect their competition. But you know me, I tend to see the best in people.
It's also possible Jersey Jack is so small that Stern doesn't even know of their existence. And what's the volume levels? Does Jersey Jack make enough money from its operations to support its operators as a full time, paid employment, i.e. that the company does at least $200,000 in sales a year, presuming that costs of operation are about $100,000 if they make 50% profit on every machine.

If your business doesn't produce enough EBITA to support you and your employees, it's not a business. ("Earnings before Interest, Taxes and Amortization").
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Post by RealNC »

As sad as it is, the future of pinball seems to be this:



It's been over 10 years now since I saw a pinball machine anywhere. It seems that in the USA they're still somewhat common, but over here, they've been 100% dead for over a decade.

Just sad :-(

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Post by Tdarcos »

RealNC wrote:As sad as it is, the future of pinball seems to be this:



It's been over 10 years now since I saw a pinball machine anywhere. It seems that in the USA they're still somewhat common, but over here, they've been 100% dead for over a decade.

Just sad :-(
Virtualization has hit almost everything. If you don't have to handle it directly, you can access it by computer, and if it doesn't have to actually do something in the real world, you can simulate it with a computer too. Or even get the computer to fake the responses sent to another computer.

Some people discovered this worked too well, they started the Equity Funding Scandal in which they created fake people, had them buy life insurance policies, and have these fake people die using real-life actuarial table projections. I think they got too greedy or they might not have gotten caught.
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Post by AArdvark »

Did the faux insured people have pinball tables? Virtual, emulated or otherwise?




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Post by Tdarcos »

AArdvark wrote:Did the faux insured people have pinball tables? Virtual, emulated or otherwise?
The Equity Funding Scandal happened in the 1980s, long before places started putting game machines in offices.

What I was trying to say was, if you can see it, you can view it on TV or on a computer. And if you don't have to touch it, you can virtualize it on a computer, whether that's a pinball table, Starcraft 2 or Dragon's Lair.

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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Paul, if you put another quote in one of your posts, EVEr, under any circumstances, you will be permabanned.
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Unless you make a cooking video, in which case you can quote all you want, even though we've all asked you to stop doing it.
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Post by Tdarcos »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Paul, if you put another quote in one of your posts, EVEr, under any circumstances, you will be permabanned.
It's your site, you have every right to set policy. And I have every right to realize that I might forget and post a quote and thus have that happen. So, I shall have to consider that maybe it's best I don't make that mistake. It's so strong a restriction and too easy to slip that I may have to do that. I suppose that's what you want.

I would hope that if I make a mistake I get at least a warning. But you've made this an absolute ban with no exceptions. So I guess I either have to be extremely careful or just not post. I'll decide what I'm going to do.
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Post by pinback »

Tdarcos wrote: I would hope that if I make a mistake I get at least a warning. But you've made this an absolute ban with no exceptions. So I guess I either have to be extremely careful or just not post. I'll decide what I'm going to do.
ORRRR, you could do the ONE GODDAMN THING that people here actually want you to do, and make some cooking videos as demanded, and then you can post whatever other stupid shit you want.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Post by Tdarcos »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Unless you make a cooking video, in which case you can quote all you want, even though we've all asked you to stop doing it.
Now you want to change the rules? Sorry, it don't work that way. You said I am permanently banned from ever posting anything that has a quote in it. Fine, that's your choice; you own the place and can set policy. You should have included this exception in the original change in policy. Since you gave me an ultimatum, I am admitting you have every right to. But I can refuse to accept any changes, and I do so.

Now do you see how harsh you were being? And why saying something without thinking can come back to bite you? Like your long rant about me not finishing my review of the first Frederick Pohl's Gateway after I asked, more than once, for some hint because I was blocked and could not think of any other way to solve the problem despite the fact I wanted to try and finish the game. But you never acknowledged that I asked for help. You just proceeded to trash me.

Then there's the incident from the BBS. A simple statement that you didn't want comments on the BBS - even though it essentially meant I couldn't give you workable responses to possibly answer your question - would have been sufficient. But no, you had to scream obscenities at me over what was, arguably, a minor error on my part over something silly. (Is there any real reason that it matters whether or not Google indexes your unimportant comment?)

Or was my mistake in trying to answer your question, like that you didn't want an answer, or at least, you didn't want an answer from me?

It's one of the reasons I'm really not wanting to bother doing more videos. If I was doing them and people simply didn't like them, fine, I can take that. But people just fling nasty and rude insults including personal attacks on me, then wonder why I don't want to take the exacting and large effort to make, cut, post-process and produce a video that, supposedly, they would want to see.

Or, they could be kidding about that. That they don't even want to see the videos, they're just kidding for shits and grins.

But, the thing that I am really ticked off about is the CRs over at Caltrops (I don't want to use the term for "silly fools" that I use over there and reduce its ranking for that term) who obviously know that clearly I don't have Asperger's or autism but continue to bait me by saying so. (I obviously have way too many interests and far too wide a range of talents for someone who has any knowledge of human physiology or psychology - which none of them have - to make that kind of serious diagnosis.)

Besides, you can't be trusted to keep your word if I did make another cooking video, I might accept this, do one, then slip, forget and you use this to pull a Bradley Svetka and ban me again. I can't trust you on this issue.

What am I referring to? When I messed up and erased a post after you said no erasing of posts, you then eliminated the ability to edit a post. At some later point I agreed to do something if you'd restore post editing. I complied; you enabled post editing for a while then took it back. Posts on here are the same as Caltrops, once you make them you can't correct them.

So I can't trust you to keep your word, since you've broken it before.

I'm sorry if I've gone way over my line limit but I've kind of boiled over and decided I should say something because I think this thing has gone on too long and its time I responded.
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Tdarcos wrote:
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Unless you make a cooking video, in which case you can quote all you want, even though we've all asked you to stop doing it.
Now you want to change the rules? Sorry, it don't work that way. You said I am permanently banned from ever posting anything that has a quote in it. Fine, that's your choice; you own the place and can set policy. You should have included this exception in the original change in policy. Since you gave me an ultimatum, I am admitting you have every right to. But I can refuse to accept any changes, and I do so.
My followup post was TWO MINUTES LATER, you lunatic.

Now do you see how harsh you were being?
No. We've asked you to reign in the quoting and how long your goddamn posts are for four years, but you can't meet anyone halfway.

And why saying something without thinking can come back to bite you? Like your long rant about me not finishing my review of the first Frederick Pohl's Gateway after I asked, more than once, for some hint because I was blocked and could not think of any other way to solve the problem despite the fact I wanted to try and finish the game. But you never acknowledged that I asked for help. You just proceeded to trash me.
That was more Frederick Pohl than me, to be honest. That guy can write a brain-twister!

Then there's the incident from the BBS. A simple statement that you didn't want comments on the BBS - even though it essentially meant I couldn't give you workable responses to possibly answer your question -
Paul, there is literally no chance if given a million years that you can offer anyone "advice" on any subject. Nobody wants advice from you because your life isn't in a place where your advice is valuable.

But no, you had to scream obscenities at me over what was, arguably, a minor error on my part over something silly. (Is there any real reason that it matters whether or not Google indexes your unimportant comment?)
Jesus Christ. You really are the most selfish, self-centered person I have ever encountered in my entire life.

Since you are incapable of apologizing, you should at least say to all of us that you are completely self-centered and unable to stop doing anything that annoys others because you don't feel like it. Just admit it.

It's one of the reasons I'm really not wanting to bother doing more videos. If I was doing them and people simply didn't like them, fine, I can take that. But people just fling nasty and rude insults including personal attacks on me, then wonder why I don't want to take the exacting and large effort to make, cut, post-process and produce a video that, supposedly, they would want to see.
I have no idea what you're talking about. If you make cooking videos and don't want them posted on Caltrops then fine. But Paul, EVERYONE here enjoys the cooking videos.

That clearly I don't have Asperger's or autism but continue to bait me by saying so.
You are autistic and do have Asperger's. That's face. I am not saying it bad, but it is a fact.

So I can't trust you to keep your word, since you've broken it before.
Speaking of "breaking one's word" how many lines is this post? 100? 1000?

I'm sorry if I've gone way over my line limit but
"But I can't adhere to simple requests and am going to do what I want until I get banned." That's what should have come next.
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Post by Tdarcos »

pinback wrote:
Tdarcos wrote: I would hope that if I make a mistake I get at least a warning. But you've made this an absolute ban with no exceptions. So I guess I either have to be extremely careful or just not post. I'll decide what I'm going to do.
ORRRR, you could do the ONE GODDAMN THING that people here actually want you to do, and make some cooking videos as demanded, and then you can post whatever other stupid shit you want.
Look, I'm not allowed to be funny, or at least you don't want me to be funny, or you claim that I never can be funny. So I'm trying to show by what is sometimes referred to a "white mutiny," that I'm going to follow the rules exactly as given. Apparently if I tried to make a joke about it, it's not going to be funny or not going to be taken that way.

But I can show how maybe people aren't thinking about what they're saying. And since people are claiming I've got autism, I can just do that, take what they are saying at face value and holding them to what they said, not allowing them to change their minds later since I apparently have no capacity to understand nuance, subtlety, or hyperbole.

Not one person - none of you - has ever once come to my defense to say that those who tar me with the brush of autism or suffering from Asperger's syndrome are wrong, so I have to presume every single one of you agrees with those conclusions, and all of you visit Caltrops where they do that to me.

No one seems to consider that maybe I don't like having to have a thick skin and ignore insults that are clearly hurtful, are often excessive, and maybe show that a little bit of tact can go a long way.

But when I say this, people seem to think that it indicates or confirms that I have mental problems. Or that asking for their reasoning and why they believe it, is way too much, because every time I've asked I get... dead silence.

That apparently my wanting to be treated as a human being instead of a doormat is too high an ambition.

Maybe I've come to the end of the doorway and decided I dislike the footsteps and the mud scraped on me.
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Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

10 line limit. We requested and you agreed to a ten line limit. Stick to the limit!
So I'm trying to show by what is sometimes referred to a "white mutiny," that I'm going to follow the rules exactly as given.
'Except for the 10 line limit. In fact, I won't do anything requested of me, but I will wail like a stuck banshee when I get banned again."
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Post by Flack »

Tdarcos wrote:Not one person - none of you - has ever once come to my defense to say that those who tar me with the brush of autism or suffering from Asperger's syndrome are wrong, so I have to presume every single one of you agrees with those conclusions
Every single one of us agree with those conclusions.
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