Great to see you posting on here! Keep at it!
(Topic ID: 145998)
Beavercreek, OH
Charlottetown, PE
Quoted from Azmodeus:...Strangest thing about this whole experience was how December January and February just vanished. I feel liketime just vanished. Last memory was black Friday shopping after work picking up a few PS four games.
woke in JanuaryFebruary finding out that I had been in a coma or just no memory...
I bet it was alkaline battery damage... I hope you had them install an external battery pack or NVRAM while they were digging around up there.
I don't know you, but I've been following your story on here every time there were updates, and I'm glad you're feeling better man.
Mike, I don't know you but it has been inspiring and life affirming to follow your progress and recovery. You have an awesome bunch of friends.
Don't know you either, but glad you're alright man! That is quite a journey and everybody deserves to make it through like you did. Glad you hung in there.
Don't worry about talking on the phone, that's boring anyways, you simply came to your senses! I can't stand the phone! Bleh! 
Hope you'll still enjoy pinball, but even if not there is so much to life you can still do it seems. Stay safe and stay healthy, and most importantly, enjoy it!
Steven
Awesome that you are back and doing better! Hope to see you soon at a Orange County Pinball league meeting.
Doug
Happy Birthday Mike!
Troy Morgan from Walters.
I sent you a PM.
Hope you're having a relaxing day and in good spirits.
Take Care.
--Troy
2 months later
So I thought I'd post a follow up. Recovery has been a bitch. My dizziness has not gone yet. But fortunately It will. I am dizzy and car sick almost 24-7.My girlfriend completely saved my ass during this whole thing. I would not have made it without her. You really don't expect your whole world to turn upside down, but it can. If it wasn't for her I would likely not be alive. So the hardest part is brain recovery but I had no idea the biggestsource of my pain would be my kids. Brain recovery does what it wants when it wants.
I was getting a divorce when all this started and my kids live with the ex. I don't remember seeing them since last November mostly. They seem to have abandoned me. I can't try hard at anything right now, but I will try hard to straighten this shit out soon. I can't drive and live an hour away from them now.
I do understand no one expected this crap to happen to me. My life is broke. I'm al
Most broke (but I'll be ok). I think everyone did a great job helping me. You just don't expect this.
Things I've learned:
Leave the guy in the wheelchair alone . He has it really hard already. (Or you could help)
If you are a sick but not seeing a doctor you are playing with fire. Get that looked at. (Not my issue but I've seen lots of it out there)
Balance and hand eye co-ordination are critical to pinball play. If your left doesn't work right you are a bit fucked.
I am trying hard to remain positive.
Miss you all.
Keep the faith, sounds like you have your priorities straight once you are well enough to fight for them.
Mike, I don't know you but I hope you recover fully and not only from the surgery but, from the other painful aspects of your life. I'd also like to share something with you that may help. I lost my father in 2001 to colon cancer, he was not only my dad but my best friend as well, and when he really got sick it was the hardest thing I ever had to face in my life. I had trouble visiting him in the hospital, I loved him, and missed his presence in my life but, I just could not stand there and look at him knowing his suffering and I was helpless to do anything about it. I did go, and I wanted to go more but, somehow I knew if I did I would also have to face losing him, and at that point in my life I couldn't, or really simply wasn't prepared accept that. He thankfully did get better for a short time and we shared many wonderful moments together before his passing. I guess what I'm trying to say is, this may be similar for your kids and not that they have abandoned you but, rather can not face the fact that their dad may never be the same. Sorry if I've spoken out of turn, what you said just seem to echo my own situation and made me wonder what my own father may have been thinking.
8 months later
I WANTED TO UPVOTE EVERYONE.
This is a hard thread to read for me.
I get to read much of it like it is new, every time. My life is very different now, due to all my injuries.
I am not better, but I am getting there. slowly. like the rest of your life slowly.
This picture shows my brain and all three surgeries. My brain surgeon says my recovery is "miraculous". He is probably always right.
im glad i didn't die, my friends.
Quoted from Azmodeus:I WANTED TO UPVOTE EVERYONE.
This is a hard thread to read for me.
I get to read much of it like it is new, every time. My life is very different now, due to all my injuries.
I am not better, but I am getting there. slowly. like the rest of your life slowly.
This picture shows my brain and all three surgeries. My brain surgeon says my recovery is "miraculous". He is probably always right.
im glad i didn't die, my friends.
Mike -
We have never met, but I have been following your progress since this was forst posted. I am glad you didn't die as well. This could have gone poorly for you (and your family) at so many different steps. Your strength and perserverence are astounding. Never forget ho wfar you've come and what you have accomplished.
As someone who has personally been through Cancer, and have had an aunt survive a massive brain aneuriym, I can attest to how a strong support system can make all the difference. I am far away from you, but if there is anything I can do to make even one day better for you, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Chris
Quoted from EvanDickson:What's with the blueprint to the pentagon in the middle of your skull? I smell conspiracy!
That's the nvram so that he never forgets how many people, many strangers, are wishing him a good and strong recovery!
I'm going to crib from a note I sent to Veronika a few months back on the Pinside Mail, which I'm not sure that she ever saw.
"It was great to see you both at Banning, and to see the progress Mike has made. I hope he continues to have a lot more of it, in furtherance of those goals he mentioned. Well, he beat me and another player (Robert ?) on 'Gorgar' -- not a bad start ! "
Hope to run into you again soon -- at Pinball Land, or somewhere else.
Thank you everyone!
I am going to CAX this year I will be there on Saturday! I should be very easy to spot. Please everyone say hello!
Distraction is the name of the game. For my brain. So California extreme is perfect. And I will have just turned 50 on the drive up. My birthday is the 28th.
So unofficially CAX on Saturday will be a birthday party, too.
In terms of my health. I have been through so much, but I am so lucky. I call myself the luckiest of the unlucky. You would never want to be me. Most of the people who are like me are dead. My luck and some of the odds of the things that have happened to me are astronomical. My brain surgeon said I was a "miraculous recovery". Because my brain was cut into, now it is healing and my thought processes are changing. All for the better. But having three surgeries and the stroke. very hard to deal with mentally. I can only keep going.
But the game has changed. I'm going to go for broke now. The great thing is, I know you all will be there, with me. I thought I knew roughly how the rest of my life would go. I was very wrong. No one could be more suprised than me. Amazing this world.
Be sure to treat yourself to an Iguana's super burrito with plenty of orange sauce and a side of crazy fries while you're up there Mike!
(Just a short trip down the street from CAX.)
Mike the positivity in your posts is infectious. We don't see enough of that in this world. Not ignoring the bad stuff, but remembering how damn good we have it. You've won the lottery in terms of your recovery but I can't help but think part of it is because of your mindset. How much of the crap we worry about all day long ends up meaning anything in the long run? Not much. And we are oblivious to so much good in the meantime...
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:Mike the positivity in your posts is infectious. We don't see enough of that in this world. Not ignoring the bad stuff, but remembering how damn good we have it. You've won the lottery in terms of your recovery but I can't help but think part of it is because of your mindset. How much of the crap we worry about all day long ends up meaning anything in the long run? Not much. And we are oblivious to so much good in the meantime...
There is great truth sitting in the "can't take it with you"- Phrase.
I am very lucky to be alive. I have had some interesting major changes to my intelligence and psyche. As a result of all of this.
I am a pretty positive person. I have been told I am enthusiastic about everything. I really like that. That is true. I love being here. (This planet).
It's going to get even better. But getting through the crap. That's where I'm still at.
But where I'm going is different now. Better. I truly enjoy being a part of pinball, as a fan. I will be here until the day I die now.
And Los Angeles? My new home. I love it here.
Los Angeles. Is my home now. I'm making plans to dig deep deep roots here. So much to see and do. I'm excited, I just wish I felt better. I'm getting there...
Like many have said, we have never met but your story is truly inspirational. I can tell by your posting over the years that you're a good dude and I always root for good dudes. I hope that you keep kicking ass and your road to recovery continues.
Quoted from Azmodeus:There is great truth sitting in the "can't take it with you"- Phrase.
I am very lucky to be alive. I have had some interesting major changes to my intelligence and psyche. As a result of all of this.
I am a pretty positive person. I have been told I am enthusiastic about everything. I really like that. That is true. I love being here. (This planet).
It's going to get even better. But getting through the crap. That's where I'm still at.
But where I'm going is different now. Better. I truly enjoy being a part of pinball, as a fan. I will be here until the day I die now.
And Los Angeles? My new home. I love it here.
Los Angeles. Is my home now. I'm making plans to dig deep deep roots here. So much to see and do. I'm excited, I just wish I felt better. I'm getting there...
I should have also mentioned - you're the only other person I know that actually LIKES LA. 
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:I know that actually LIKES LA.
I like L.A.
Food-wise it's hard to beat all the deliciousness that can be had there 24 hours a day if you know where to look. Sure the driving around it sucks, but I use the Metro most of the time and it's pretty quick. My feet can do the rest of the work once I'm above ground.
For food, music and diverse culture/subculture, Los Angeles doesn't disappoint.
We don't know each other, and we haven't met, but we have shared many a Pinside thread in the past year. I'm truely happy to hear that you are feeling better. You are showing how to live life as a glass half full, instead of a glass half empty. You are overcoming your challenges and have not let them get the better of you. I wish you the very best with your continuing recovery.
Quoted from NimblePin:I like L.A.
Food-wise it's hard to beat all the deliciousness that can be had there 24 hours a day if you know where to look. Sure the driving around it sucks but I use the Metro most of the time and it's pretty quick. My feet can do the rest of the work once I'm above ground.
For food, music and diverse culture/subculture, Los Angeles doesn't disappoint.
Exactly! Most of where I've worked is in Santa Monica and century city so I've missed the actual city culture - but every time I am there, there's this magic buzz in the air, and it's usually not the BS artists I'm there to work with 
. Man I could tell you stories...
I spent the last twenty five years raising kids in south Orange County. It was good. Now I am moving into a love affair with Los Angeles. No matter what happens I want to stay here. I am starting to write, and Los Angeles and my next few years will be endless inspiration in so many ways.
I'm thinking about going back to college. I am about halfway to a business admin degree. But if I go back it will be for writing and art.
This could be a really good story. It will be fun no matter what. I was thinking about reaching out to ucla.
The only thing that could pull me back to south OC will be Laguna beach. I love that town. And the art school is exceptional.
Quoted from Azmodeus:I need to make a few art pieces if I am really considering art school.
Can you imagine though. Back to school at 50 after three brain surgeries and a stroke.
Why not ?
Quoted from NimblePin:Indeed!
You could be the next hot middle-aged-college-wolf on campus!
Surf's up Azmodeus!
ROFL!! These waves are mine...
1 week later
Sana'a
Quoted from vid1900:Steve is too nice.
If I were Steve, I'd alienate the entire crybaby pinball community in a few weeks.
Vid, we've never talked or met, but I've read lots and lots of your stuff on Pinside over the past 19 months or so. You've always been a pretty positive guy. You seem a little cynical lately. What's up?
Quoted from Dooskie:Vid, we've never talked or met, but I've read lots and lots of your stuff on Pinside over the past 19 months or so. You've always been a pretty positive guy. You seem a little cynical lately. What's up?
I'm always cynical.
Think of it from Steve Ritchie's point of view.
He is probably 70 years old.
He spends over a year of his life working on some new game, and before anyone on Pinside has even played it, all he reads is:
"OMG Steve does not put enough toys on the playfield!"
"The code will never be done!"
"His games are too hard"
"Look at the giant ugly face on the playfield!"
"When is he going to do an original theme?"
"Looks like more Stern cost-cutting!"
"Gary won't let him use white rubber or (fill in the blank)!"
"$90000 for what; ghosted inserts?"
"Another band pin?"
"I hate that theme!"
"I hate that band!"
"I can't play if there is a wrinkle in my decal"
"I can't play if there is a crack in my cabinet"
"When is Stern going to learn...."
-
There is a toast when drinking in my country that translates "May the devil eat you!"
Quoted from vid1900:I'm always cynical.
Think of it from Steve Ritchie's point of view.
He is probably 70 years old.
He spends over a year of his life working on some new game, and before anyone on Pinside has even played it, all he reads is:
"OMG Steve does not put enough toys on the playfield!"
"The code will never be done!"
"His games are too hard"
"Look at the giant ugly face on the playfield!"
"When is he going to do an original theme?"
"Looks like more Stern cost-cutting!"
"Gary won't let him use white rubber or (fill in the blank)!"
"$90000 for what; ghosted inserts?"
"I can't play if there is a wrinkle in my decal"
"I can't play if there is a crack in my cabinet"
"When is Stern going to learn...."
-
There is a toast when drinking in my country that translates "May the devil eat you!"
I've got to believe that SR does not read Pinside.. if only for his own health!
Quoted from vid1900:I'm always cynical.
Think of it from Steve Ritchie's point of view.
He is probably 70 years old.
He spends over a year of his life working on some new game, and before anyone on Pinside has even played it, all he reads is:
"OMG Steve does not put enough toys on the playfield!"
"The code will never be done!"
"His games are too hard"
"Look at the giant ugly face on the playfield!"
"When is he going to do an original theme?"
"Looks like more Stern cost-cutting!"
"Gary won't let him use white rubber or (fill in the blank)!"
"$90000 for what; ghosted inserts?"
"Another band pin?"
"I hate that theme!"
"I hate that band!"
"I can't play if there is a wrinkle in my decal"
"I can't play if there is a crack in my cabinet"
"When is Stern going to learn...."
-
There is a toast when drinking in my country that translates "May the devil eat you!"
You nailed this spot-on. I haven't played some of his most recent games, but I love all of his older stuff. The mods, toys, etc. don't do a lot for me, but nothing against the folks that like it for their machines. Thanks for all of the guides you've written, and for all of the great advice you have provided. I hope you never get discouraged to the point where that is no longer fun for you to do.
1 year later
I wanted to post an update, and a request for help.
My life is completely different now. I live in chronic nasea. Marijuana helps, but my nasea is caused by my cerebellum being half dead. It is hard wired. About a nine out of ten every waking moment.
I also have dizziness 10/10 always. But this just makes me handicapped.
Fortunately I can sleep. My brain seems to turn off at night. I am still sick but I can sleep. That is a miracle.
I have written two books. That is where I need the help.
One of my books is a non fiction story about me. What happened to me. It is 450 pages.
The second book is a horror short story collection. They are separate so I can compete in both markets.
Anyways I really need help getting a good agent. If you can help me please send me a message. The books are very good it's like someone else wrote them.
I am researching getting an agent, but several people who I thought could help me, cannot in truth. I'm on my own. I did copyright both books.
It's hard to read through this thread. You guys saved my life here.
Quoted from Azmodeus:It's hard to read through this thread. You guys saved my life here.
That's very good to hear!
Regarding the books...
Do you really need an agent? Sounds like you need a publisher.
Quoted from snyper2099:Do you really need an agent? Sounds like you need a publisher.
Reach out to spfxted
Hi there.
I never needed an agent as I found finance for films myself. Same with the magazines and books. I published myself, then sold to distributors.
Now I use Create Space from Amazon. You lay out the book, with pictures or whatever you want. Amazon.com puts it out worldwide. They print, package and mail. They take 50%...which is not too bad because bookstores or distributors wanted 50% or 60% off cover.
As long as you have the skills to use InDesign or Quark and Photoshop, you're good to go.... 
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