Dunno if this is exactly routing, but I'm thinking the machines take just as much pun. All 3 of the assembled machines get 150+ plays a week. The Star Trip cocktail was the first and they literally have beat that machine into submission more than once. I've had to fix almost all the upper inlanes cuz beatings.
Gonna set up Ding Dong on Monday. School themed machine.
IMG_20221129_080702~2 (resized).jpgIMG_20230318_132611~2 (resized).jpg
Just went to parent/teacher conferences with my 10 year old. In the end, he was asked if he had any concerns, and he responded "yes why isn't pinball more involved in curriculum?" You're a long way away, but I'll hafta show him in the morning we're heading in the right direction!
When I was in high school our drama teacher took my friend and I over to his arcade. Nobody else in there. He knew how much we were into these games. For him it was a profit generating business. For us it was heaven for a moment. I would have never thunk that at age 50 I’d have my own arcade. Life comes around doesn’t it ? I’m sure your kids in that classroom will remember this forever. Some may well follow your lead in 20 years.
Btw went to Cal Poly for undergrad. You are very lucky to live there. Beautiful town.
Love to see it! Where were you when I was in high school? Probably in high school. Why did you stop podcasting? I’m guessing it was you.
The amazing teacher that set up all those machines and led the Electronics Club at Torrance High School is Rob Hawkins, one of the nicest guys STILL in Pinball. I’ve met a bunch of his former students throughout the years. You can meet Rob at Golden State Pinball Festival or Pin A Go Go, he sets up a booth there, with his buddy Don, selling schematics and tons of hard to find parts in the EM room. I swear, if it wasn’t for Rob’s warm welcome at our first Pin A Go Go about 10-12 years ago, Amanda and I probably wouldn’t have gotten as involved with the show. Show him some love at Lodi, would ya?
And good on ya, Mark for setting up machines in the classroom. I wish I’d had teachers like you, and not just because of the pinball. 
Quoted from Jojo1111:COOL! Though if you’re not charging you’re not technically routing, you’re exhibiting
Btw, someone else did something similar back in 84.....All you guys that do cool stuff like this with kids is A-Ok in my book!
Quoted from fireball2:Dunno if this is exactly routing, but I'm thinking the machines take just as much pun. All 3 of the assembled machines get 150+ plays a week. The Star Trip cocktail was the first and they literally have beat that machine into submission more than once. I've had to fix almost all the upper inlanes cuz beatings.
Gonna set up Ding Dong on Monday. School themed machine.
[quoted image][quoted image]
Awesome set up. But as a semi-retired teacher myself, I'm going to ask an unrelated question. How do teachers afford to live in/near the wealthy California locations in which they teach? When I first started my career, I really wanted to move to California. To me it was/is paradise. However, family and guilt ultimately kept me home. It certainly wasn't all bad in that I was able to live in a middle class city on a teacher's salary in Michigan. But how do you do it out there?
Quoted from usandthem:I'm going to ask an unrelated question.
It's not too late to edit your post before this thread becomes irredeemably political.
Quoted from yancy:It's not too late to edit your post before this thread becomes irredeemably political.
It was intended as and was a completely innocuous question, not intended in any way, shape, or form to be political.
Quoted from usandthem:It was intended as and was a completely innocuous question, not intended in any way, shape, or form to be political.
Just really depends on what school district you work for. Some pay teachers, and give them raises, according to a set schedule that accounts for number of years taught, and any and all degrees earned. I know teachers that have taught over 15 years, earned their masters while they taught, and are now making well into the six figures and don't live in any of the higher populated/higher priced cities. I even know a kindergarten teacher in the LA area who was making about $80k/yr due to her seniority and schooling at the time she got married and started their family.
A lot always gets said about how low teachers get paid. It's kinda true, but only for starting wages for the first year or so. I've never known a teacher that's been doing it for a number of years who was struggling to make ends meet. I think that saying is just that, a saying, and perhaps a great myth perpetrated to help funnel more money into the teacher unions. Throughout most of California, any teacher that sticks with it long enough starts climbing the pay ladder pretty quickly. But again, it all gets down to the specific school district and what their pay policy/schedule is.
These are my observations and understandings from speaking with a number of teachers of various levels from various cities over the years. YMMV.
Quoted from Miguel351:Just really depends on what school district you work for. Some pay teachers, and give them raises, according to a set schedule that accounts for number of years taught, and any and all degrees earned. I know teachers that have taught over 15 years, earned their masters while they taught, and are now making well into the six figures and don't live in any of the higher populated/higher priced cities. I even know a kindergarten teacher in the LA area who was making about $80k/yr due to her seniority and schooling at the time she got married and started their family.
A lot always gets said about how low teachers get paid. It's kinda true, but only for starting wages for the first year or so. I've never known a teacher that's been doing it for a number of years who was struggling to make ends meet. I think that saying is just that, a saying, and perhaps a great myth perpetrated to help funnel more money into the teacher unions. Throughout most of California, any teacher that sticks with it long enough starts climbing the pay ladder pretty quickly. But again, it all gets down to the specific school district and what their pay policy/schedule is.
These are my observations and understandings from speaking with a number of teachers of various levels from various cities over the years. YMMV.
Thanks. Like I said, I am a schoolteacher, so I definitely know how pay scales work. The rates of pay that you're talking about are pretty similar to those in Michigan. Most suburban Detroit districts top out at about 90K +/- these days. It seems to be similar in California. The question that I was asking is how does a teacher work in an area where the homes are million plus for miles around? Do you just resign yourself to the fact that you'll live in an apartment or mobile home your whole life?
I have been at the same school for 30 years. I bought a house in '92 and traded up in 98. Real estate skyrocketed about a year later. Got lucky.
I moved to SLO in '79 to go to Cal Poly and never left. Got the house in 98 because we knew people who knew people and it never actually got listed.
I'm at the farthest reaches of the salary scale so I'm doing fine.
But we have trouble getting noob teachers because of housing prices. A lot of people don't realize how bad it is until they get offered the job and go to look at housing. Then they turn it down. I heard just yesterday it happens about 60% of the time these days here.
More later, but I got to go turn on the machines.
Quoted from MrVern:I love it!
My wife recently returned to the classroom teaching 9th grade algebra. We put a small claw game in her room for rewards.
I'm thinking this is an excellent tool for STEM motivation, it checks a lot of boxes.
I can tell you’re married to a teacher. She has tacitly taught you the teacher technique of doing what you want and then use all the buzzwords to justify it later- haha.
Quoted from usandthem:She has tacitly taught you the teacher technique of doing what you want and then use all the buzzwords to justify it later- haha.
I’m still learning, married for 5 years now. I’m trying to find the buzzwords for a modern pin budget approval
Quoted from MrVern:I’m still learning, married for 5 years now. I’m trying to find the buzzwords for a modern pin budget approval
Just use the oldest tactic in negotiation, start big and dial back. Tell her you plan to get some $15k Jersey Jack or CGC LE, and sigh and accept when she insists you scale back to a $9k Stern premium.
This is going in next.
Also what Art Said: These guys gave me a fine silk hot dog tie, and i've bought several bagatelles from them. Great people.
Quoted from MrArt2u:You can meet Rob at Golden State Pinball Festival or Pin A Go Go, he sets up a booth there, with his buddy Don, selling schematics and tons of hard to find parts in the EM room. I swear, if it wasn’t for Rob’s warm welcome at our first Pin A Go Go about 10-12 years ago, Amanda and I probably wouldn’t have gotten as involved with the show. Show him some love at Lodi, would ya?
And You and 'Manda are coming, right?
IMG_20220916_192150 (resized).jpgAll the games may be on free play, but they are really just loss leader for my real money-makers.
I swear the kids will put quarter after quarter into that pencil machine just to turn the handle. Post-covid, the office (literally 10 steps away from my room) gives pencils away for free, but they still buy.
The little pink thing is a bank with a slot in its belly. I use some kinda old school tech called cps (Classroom performance system) for tests where each kid has a "clicker" and clicks in the answers. Since they're old and the batteries come loose easily and suchlike (plus it would be constant if I didn't have some sort of penalty), I charge a fine of 25 cents for dropping your clicker on the floor. Also 25 for forgetting your book on days we need it. 25 cents bail for 5 minutes of break detention... etc.
Bonus points if you know what the pink thing is!
We have a 3 day scrabble tourney at the very end of the year and the winners divvy the money. Usually about 35-40 dollah total although I had a year as high as $75.
Quoted from Dayhuff:I like seeing the kids playing the pins but what I find even more interesting in those pictures is what looks like the same kid in two different pictures reading a book. Good for him.
It's amazing... there are several kids who sit in there and read and amid the din. The Street Fighter kids alone can be heard for miles. And when I first brought in Fun Land and its bells, several teachers were all WTF is that bell. One thought it was some rogue salvation army dude. ; 
Quoted from MrVern:buzzwords for a modern pin budget approval
My motto as a teacher for the past 35 tears has been: It's a lot easier to apologize than to ask permission.
Actually that pretty much applies everywhere for me, I guess.
Quoted from MrVern:I'm thinking this is an excellent tool for STEM motivation
The only way yer gonna really go there is an EM and it's literal 1/0 logic circuit.
Quoted from Gryszzz:Man you could be making a killing and I don't see a dollar bill validator anywhere in sight, just sad.
On order.
Awesome. Was chatting with neighbor about FF Showing up soon. His daughter asked what a pinball machine was.
The "pinball" redemption game that gives super balls or jaw breakers is a hit. Brought it in a few days before open house, figuring I'd milk the little brothers and sisters, but these geniuses are spending every quarter they got trying to score a jawbreaker. I'm almost sold out and open house is tomorrow. Hadda put a temp ban on it. They're already jonesing 
Quoted from fireball2:I moved to SLO in '79 to go to Cal Poly and never left.
Party Royal... I was there.
Same here, came to Cal Poly in 77 and never left. Of course, if I had a teacher like fireball2, I might have wanted to stay in middle school forever
Quoted from Mthomasslo:Same here, came to Cal Poly in 77 and never left. Of course, if I had a teacher like fireball2, I might have wanted to stay in middle school forever
Lived in SLO County from 1966- 2020. Amazing area with amazing people like Fireball2.
Quoted from Mthomasslo:I might have wanted to stay in middle school forever
LOL. I get that a lot. Thanks.
Quoted from Gryszzz:Man you could be making a killing and I don't see a dollar bill validator anywhere in sight, just sad.
Whatchu think of me now? Total time active: 2 1/2 hours.
PXL_20230428_022633345 (resized).jpgQuoted from PismoArcade:Amazing area with amazing people like Fireball2
Thanks Tony. Gonna miss you at GSPF. Your wife did tell you to go you know...
I hope to add to this thread in a little over a month from now. My principal OK’d me bringing in 3 or 4 pins and 3 or 4 arcade games for our “8th Grade Carnival” which is a fun day to celebrate the end of 8th grade. It involves a lot of activities, inflatables, a cookout, etc. It’ll be a lot of work to get the games there, but I’m looking forward to sharing them with kid who may have never played a pinball machine before.
Quoted from shirkle:Tomorrow’s the day. I chose the stage for the arcade location.
That is Awesome!
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San Luis Obispo, CA
