(Copy & Paste from RGP - Link provided at the bottom of my message. Posted by Jon Norris)

Outlane
Jun 27, 2000, 1:00:00 AM

Farewell to Pinball

This closes a long 15 year chapter in my life. I want people to remember that I
am quitting and throwing away those fifteen years not of my choosing. The
Tobacco Companies win and I lose. This decision block was forced upon me by the
companies "Smoke Freindly" policy. I have Asthma and can not even be in a
Smokey environment. I find that Stern Pinball is one in a very small minority
of companies that still allow this unhealthful practice.

I had suggested that the new offices be made into a "Non-Smoking" section,
where people who have problems with smoke can exist. I was told "Absolutely
NOT".

I suggested that Smokers must take their "Smoke Breaks" at Designated times.
Again NO! (The reason for the "Smoke Friendly [Hostile]" policy is that there
are concerns over a person at the end of their Cigarette break, ready to come
back in to their desk will continue to chat with someone who had just beginning
to take their break.)

I suggested on working out a Telecommuting/Consulting scheme, and
again was told NO. (No concern over a double standard)

Finally, I suggested that my office be isolated from the rest, with a door out
to the Non-smoking factory. (My intended office has a window out to the
factory) Again, NO

One of my greatest strengths is problem solving. Well, I came up against a
brick wall so I must leave and throw away my entire career.

(I threw away all of my Pinball related items on Monday, including several
Trophies and hundreds of Pinball related Photos, and 20 years of reference
items) I also threw away all of my materials for a Pinball Book, including
about 500 Slides

So-long Pinball

I will probably be changing my "Outlane" screen name, so use my web site to
contact me. Dreamlandscapes

Watch eBay for several auctions in July. I will be
auctioning off all of my remaining Pinball items, including:

Shuffleball

(The True First Flipper Pinball Machine, date- 1932)

This is the only copy that I have ever seen. Pinball's HOLY GRAIL.

Start bid will be $3,000 with no reserve. Other Pinball Items will include
mostly Butyrate pieces. I will also sell my Corvette at 'Wholesale' as the
starting bid with no reserve.

Finally, if anyone out there is looking for a loyal, creative, and experienced
hard worker, then look me up. I have experience in Product Development,
Compliance Engineering (UL, IEC, CSA), Project Management, and some Web Design
(HTML and Javascript).

Good Bye.
Jon Norris

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.pinball/c/nnlJcQTcij4/m/KvbhMnp4fj4J

Just got home from 10 beers at the bar & a local collectors house. On to #11, & I will say the coach & I are very happy with Jon Norris stepping up to the plate. A great guy & as always a few idiots want to try to trash industry vets. Jon wants to donate his fee to charity & I will follow his wishes. I thought that this build would be extremely hard build to do, but with all the stuff Jon is providing it is making my job way easier. You still have not seen what he is working on to get Trailer Trash or if the coach wants a change in title done. All the insults will likely be more favorable for a pinball artist to come on board this project. There are many more people interested in this project, & we will see what plays out during the next 6 month build window. Same as in the future with TPB license. When we see if someone screwed me over with it. Now on to #12 beer.

Ooph, that sucks. Shocked they’d let people smoke in the factory…figured that would have been illegal at that point…not to mention damaging to supplies & equipment. Smokers are inconsiderate and disgusting. Sorry, Jon, I feel ya on that one.

Most states did not have indoor smoking bans until the mid to late 2000's, and a lot still don't have them.

2000 was still early in the no-smoking laws. I re-watched Jackie Brown recently, which is from 1997, and they're smoking in the mall and food court.

Times have changed, and it sucks for that to be the reason to leave your chosen industry and career.

The deeproot debacle must have been bitter as well, thinking it was one thing when it was another.

My wife has Asthma also. It sucks to have to live with smoke everywhere. The coach must still be in the penalty box. I look forward to the build starting September 1. Even the locals are getting interested in going to Texas in March.

Then you are quite blind. Please , go ahead, ask John if I sent him some money personally for no reason other than to go buy some beer? See, money talks and bullshit walks. It appears you like to walk and criticize something you have absolutely no clue about. Keep up with the downvotes, you are special? Or special when lit?

LMFAO, John, there is no future with the TPB license. Please, have another beer.

I think he has another. 24 hours?

I will drop a serious breadcrumb on this build. I would like to have a multi ball like Centaur in this build. Still working on a bunch of wacky rules for this game. Radical in play is what I am going for. The coach has song choices but I will wait on him posting them up.

My wife wants to give me beer #13 before bedtime. I still believe someone screwed me on the TPB license. We will see in the future if that was the case.

Yes, that was 22 years ago.

I made a big deal about the cigarette smoke and asked for a meeting to resolve the issue. I went into that meeting expecting finding a resolution to the smoke issue. They already had the (Pink Slip) paperwork completed going into the meeting. It was my fault to make a big deal about the cigarette smoke. I was not expecting losing my job. Yes, I made a bad mistake, I just should have worked in the smoke and gotten an air cleaner for my office. Hindsight is 20-20.

I ended up selling my pinball collection and paid off all of my bills. Then I moved to California to get residency so I could go to grad school. I attended Long Beach State and graduated with an MFA degree in 2010.

Pinball was always on my mind. I think that once the pinball bug bites, it’s in your blood forever.

Nice beer count, John!

I wonder what the coach is up to tonight. Jon if you want to post up the parts list that is ok with me.

Any guesses as to why licenses are acquired in secret?

Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it wasn't. I'm anti-tobacco so I admire what you did.

Who knows what is going on with the pinball biz. Seems like Pinball Adventures is saying not them. If I had to guess it might be Jack for a laugh. Do not think Gary Stern would be interested but with Rush who knows. David Fix I do not think would screw me over.

Nobody sabotaged your dream theme. You sabotaged yourself by demanding the licensor meet your ridiculous deadline. They rightfully determined working with you would be a headache and said leave us the F alone.

Well we will see. TPB who knows, I still might have a chance with the boys. If they are interested, since I have my C & D!

Bad mistake ? In this day and age a company pulls that kind of crap they get sued into the ground for millions in severance. You were screwed over it sounds more like.

I enjoy many of the games on that list. Thanks for your contributions Jon!

John, in my opinion no one has the TPB licence right now. Trust me, your approach was all wrong and that's why you were so quickly rejected.
And I know David Fix also and agree with you that he would not do something like that.

And as you already know, John, I also know a lot of industry people, many of them the same as you have been name dropping. And sometimes we even socialize together sober...

Cheers, John

John you have an industry pro willing to help for free and a sugar daddy down in Texas. That's better than what 99% of homebrewers get. You're now in a position of privilege... so shut the fuck up about the license!

You sound like a child. "I wrote a letter to Jennifer Connelly why won't she be my girlfriend?" You act as if the universe owes you this... It doesn't!

These licensors don't give a shit about you. They don't give a shit about Stern, or JJp, or Spooky. THEY JUST WANT MONEY. If you don't have it, THEY DON'T CARE.

Again you've been given a gift that far more talented and competent people would die for. Stop whining like a child and play with the cards you've been dealt, because it's a better hand than the rest of us ever got!

Kind of feel like you screwed yourself over in the end. I'm not saying you should have put up with all the BS but to trash all that pinball history seems like a knee jerk reaction and one you should have thought through more. It's obvious you still have a passion for pinball. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't made similar decisions/mistakes.

I wish you the best in this and in future endeavors.

Buuuutttt Ben, he didnt get the license!! Someone MUST have sabotaged him!! For sure. And it wasn’t himself! ……. Oh wait ..

First rule of the internet - don't post anything on the internet after you've had 12 beers.

Actually I’m impressed he can still type coherent sentences after 12 beers. I guess he’s drinking like 3% beer but still..

You're a clown bud! So.. here's $20..! this should allow me to talk shit on the internet about you

I don't get the theme at all.

Could have gone for original theme that needs no license.

Area 51.

Could get real creative and make a really fun, adult, aliens game etc.

I did 6 months of clown school. I will honk my horn in your honor.

I will take the 20 as compensation for having read your posts.

If John is truly serious about this level of consumption he very likely can’t go more than a few days without one. There is a level of tolerance built up that would cause profound withdrawal and possibly death without. People with this high alcohol consumption have to be frequently prescribed beer if they ever get hospitalized for any reason or else they go into DTs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens so to the contrary John may actually need beer in him to even function.

Who the f keeps a running tally on their beer consumption? Do you write it down as you go? So weird.

And what do you do when you get beyond all of your fingers and toes?

Back in the day we just kept the pop-tops, and chained them together....

It sounds like the company was downsizing in 2000 right? So Jon was on the block to go next and then he raises health concerns. Well, he was on the way out with a pink slip and now the requests could be used as excuse. It was ridiculous every rejection the company made to reasonable requests. The cards were against him and nothing he did or said could change that. So the company conspired against him by using that as reason for dismissal instead of layoff from downsizing. That may be how Jon sees this project but he doesn’t need to.

I am getting the impression the brains of the operation are Jon Norris, funding is mini-whale Ice (whom I will call mini-ice) and the conductor is more of a mouthpiece as 1) sober, unreasonable GWJ or 2) juiced GWJ that says whatever is in his head at the moment. This project is gearing up ahead of Sep 1 to get their ducks in a row. Jon Norris may be doing 75% of the lifting for this stage of the project. Jon also has close relationships with other artists, a few of whom are needed to provide key functions. With funding lines secure and the revelation Jon is going to be driving this bus, the outlook for the project at TPF2023 has risen from 0% to 8% probability. Good job GWJ Team!

New Flash —- Orbital Albert was volunteering to create rules and programming pro bono if theme was TPB’s, but he is out with TT. Oh boy that would have been interesting. I think Jon Norris is going to need to work full time for six months for free. That’s probably worth $100k for six months design and project management.

I have a C & D.....but I might still have a chance? Who are you kidding??

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I'd set the probability of this project at 90%. I really do. Most likely over budget and past the deadline but I believe it will get done eventually.
And in keeping with the theme, here's Larry.
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NO LICENSE FOR YOU!

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The budget is plenty (since everyone is working for free) The timeline is the crazy part.

If John said "expo 2023" we wouldn't be so hard on him.

I like the beer comments. 5% for most beers in Canada. Canadians like to drink, & I have no problems going with out beer for days. Bubbles was sighted by one of my friends in Halifax. Talk at the bar was about other film industry projects, not TPB.

The coach must be getting ready to get out of the penalty box.

Here is the real fact, not what you keep inferring.

Post 2655, 8 days ago, exactly when John explained his version of a pro machine. It's not anymore clear than this.

"I believe I said a pro style pinball machine from the start. To me that is a coin operated commercial style pinball machine. Has a coin door & mechs to be operated. Street level style pinball machine is a good start for the price limit that has to be maintained."

This is the exact quote and this is "just keeping things factual".

Thought Bubbles closed in 2010? What’s going on in Halifax. Are the boys hanging out and drinking or is everybody still dropping acid? And where is Coach? Did he forget about us already?

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The Local is a bar I enjoy a lot, & the owner sold his previous one to the boys.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/trailer-park-boys-halifax-bars-business-empire-1.4178199

David Fix & his wife had a meal & drinks at the Economy Shoe Shop many years ago with myself when they visited Halifax.

PREPARE! You all have been warned!

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Yes the News Flash breadcrumb is true about Orbital Albert.