Pinball

I’ve done quite a bit of research on the Internet this week, and there’s a ton of stuff out there on fixing old pinball machines. It’s quite a significant hobby. Unfortunately, it seems that the era of pinball is slowly dying, as everything’s moving to video games and slot machines (and video slot machines), as there seems to be a lot more money to be made in those areas. There’s only one remaining new pinball machine manufacturer. But I’m looking forward to getting our machine this weekend, and hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll be able to make it playable. I’ve already ordered a multimeter which will probably help me in my quest. From my online research, the score display probably just needs a fuse changed (if I’m really lucky), a couple resistors and diodes replaced (if I’m slightly less lucky), or I’ll need to try to replace the whole score display system (if I’m really unlucky, as it’s not like anyone makes these parts anymore).

Random Life Update

  • My brother moved out to Palmer a couple weeks ago to be closer to his job. With the house came a pinball machine in the basement. It’s a Williams Earthshaker, from 1989. It seems to mostly work, although the score display on it doesn’t seem to work right now. It looks like the current plan is to transport the machine to our house next weekend, and I’m going to take on the hobby of pinball machine restoring. I’m looking forward to it.
  • This weekend, I’m going to judging a Magic Grand Prix Trial and Dreamblade $1k at TJ Collectibles.
  • Jessi and I are working on filling out an adoption application. Hopefully this will accelerate our plans for growing our family.

Politics: From the greek “poly”, meaning “many”, and “ticks”, meaning “blood-sucking insects”

So, in general I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the race for Massachusetts Governor. I figure that the governor doesn’t really have much power anyway, since Romney vetoed a bunch of stuff during his administration, which is really the most you could hope a governor would do, and they pretty much all got overridden anyway. So, I think that the governor here is primarily just a ceremonial position that can try to set direction, but doesn’t really have much power. (I could be wrong on this, but it’s just how it looks from where I’m sitting.)

So I didn’t really pay attention to the primary race. Now that the final candidates are selected, I’ve started taking a closer look. As far as I can tell, they’re all trying to cut taxes, and they’re all socially liberal. Now, perhaps they’re all fiscally conservative and socially liberal to different degrees, but right now to me, it looks like all the candidates, *all* *four* of them, are *libertarians*! Or at least, they’re all much more socially liberal than I want. I just don’t get what exactly is the choice I’m supposed to be making?!

Voting for someone who believes that it’s okay for babies still in wombs to get killed by their parents just goes against every fiber of my being. (And that’s not the only issue, it’s just the one that sticks in my mind the most.) Should I try to find a candidate who may be better than the others on some issues, and vote for them, in the hopes that maybe my vote might make a difference somewhere? Or do I just write “None of the above” on the ballot and thereby throw away my vote in disgust?

It just makes me very sad and angry.

But at least, as I started out saying, hopefully the governor doesn’t have much power anyway.

Doris Whitman Green

Doris Whitman Green, age 98, formerly of Worcester, passed away Sept. 29, at Overlook Masonic Healthcare in Charlton, MA. She was born in Worcester on July 3, 1908 the daughter of Albert and Lisetta Burgess Whitman. She was the widow of Roger Green. She attended North Pond and Dix Street Elementary in Worcester and graduated from North High in 1926. She had taught Home Economics in the Worcester School System.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday at 1 o’clock at the Byles-Groton Memorial Home, 310 Thames St., Groton, CT. Interment will be in Col. Ledyard Cemetery. Visiting hours will from noon until 1 on Wed. with a Eastern Star Service at 12:30.