I keep RFM mostly because it's the perfect size for where it is (in front of a doorway).
When I suck at pinball for several days in a row, I start moving my outlane posts in.
I put stronger coils in LOTR because I'm not very good at hitting the ring, Legolas or Aragorn.

When I sell a game, I never tell the buyer why I don't like it anymore. Let them figure it out for themselves.

[EDIT: of course, I do point out issues with my specific example. But I'm not going to tell the buyer that Buzz and Bud give me nightmares.]

My teenage son frequently beats me, and he doesn't even like pinball.

I once used the Tag system to make a funny.

I once bought a game on my wife's birthday, then had to explain that it was just a freak coincidence that it showed up for sale at that time.

I have a box full of little toys that I bought for my LOTR.

Oh man, I did the exact same thing. The music was OK but the audio quality bugged me.

When I played Congo and RFM in the wild ('95 and '99), my first thought was "So is THIS what pinball has become? No thanks!" Now I own and enjoy both of them.

I really enjoyed playing IJ4 at PAPA.

I'm originally from Wisconsin.

I'm out of room and I have 5 games in storage, but I still check the ads every day on the Bash and CL. Actually a couple times a day.

I'm in a meeting right now pretending that I'm listening and understanding.

I tell myself that I'll open an arcade bar when I retire from the rat race, but I know at least 20 easier ways to make money. I just tell myself that to justify the hoarding.

I think a new pin is worth X dollars. People who pay more than X are nuts, and people who won't pay X are cheap.

I sold my Centaur with a CPR playfield and plastics, and bought a CSI with the money.

I like playing CSI more than LOTR.

I searched for CSI action figures once.

Oh hell yes.

I've already started thinking about how many more pins I can set up when my son goes off to college. He's 14.

Pinball gave me gout. I drink a beer to reward myself for a good game, console myself for a bad game, reward myself for a difficult repair, or help me through a playfield swap.

Starting this thread was the only thing I accomplished this week.

I used the term "Avatard" before I bought it. Now I use that word to describe people like me who love the game more than we should, like short-bus happy! I'm an Avatard!

I had an endoscopy today and I enjoyed the Michael Jackson drugs so much (Propofol), I didn't go back to work.

I sometimes bump my old threads.
I think Mustang is more fun than Star Trek.
I think the Raven translite chick is hot (the original, not the alternate).

I've overflowed my storage unit and workshop, and stored EMs under my other pins, and I STILL look for new pins to buy.

I use my electric toothbrush to clean my playfield posts.

Just kidding, that would be gross. I use my wife's electric toothbrush.

Now that's what I call "pinitration".

Jeff, I'll be right over to help with the clutter. BTW, thanks for the Fathom!

Similar to Mike's story, I once went to buy a Whitewater for $1600. Instead I bought the Congo next to it for $1400, because it was in nicer condition. It was my first DMD.

I've sold all of the games I drove more than 500 miles for (Centaur, No Fear).

I bought a nice TZ for $1800, had it for about 3 months, and then sold it because I thought it had too many moving parts and was too much trouble to maintain. My niece still hasn't forgiven me. I still haven't forgiven myself.

Right, and as soon as you come up with a brilliant response you remember: oh yeah, it's locked.

I just wasted 45 minutes of my life reading about a Space Invaders playfield parts transaction gone wrong. And it happened last year.

That was one of my first albums too, a Christmas gift from my grandma. At least it wasn't a sweater!

I bought this game last night to "save" it, but I'm thinking about putting it in storage for 5 years instead:

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Bump, for my 2014 confessions:

I left JM sitting in my workshop for the entire year.
I bought 8 pins even though I was already out of room.
I moved 3 games into my wife's section of the basement.
I stopped bicycling to spend more time working on games (and gained 15 pounds).

Cut the wire!

My side-cutters look just like that - same reason.

I bought 3 great classic pins a few weeks ago - Andromeda, Lightning and Magic - and they went straight to my storage unit. My plan is to bring them into the gameroom one-by-one, as I get other games ready and folded up for SFGE (BK, Space Station).

I'm only about 8 hours away from finishing my WW playfield swap, but I can't stand to look at it right now because somewhere the GI sockets are being driven by the coil voltage. Instead of working on that, I've been binge-watching documentaries.

When my work t-shirts get old, I cut out the crusty yellow armpits and toss the rest of the t-shirt in a box in my shop, because "hey, free playfield rag".

I read Australian pinsiders' posts in an Australian accent (in my head). As a result, they all sound like the guy in Champion Pub.

I bought 3 pins today, and I'm taking the coward's way out - I'll tell my wife about it over a nice dinner.

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It went fine - I just went through the math, and explained how selling CSI and NASCAR paid for them (with $100 left over). Of course I didn't mention that Shadow will be getting a ColorDMD, or that Skateball needed new plastics, or that I'm on the list for a new Medusa playfield.

About 12 years ago, when our dog was still alive, our son pooped in the back yard (he was 5). Of course I scolded him and told him to go clean it up. But he took too long and when he went back, it was gone. I'll just let that sink in.

I'm bored and full and I want to go home now. But I can't, so I'm catching up on the JM Owners' Club thread (while everyone watches this football game). About a year behind on JM...

I bought a gray-market WOZ and spent the $250 I saved on beer.

^^^ could have been a selling point, for the right buyer.

I drank a bit too much tonight and I fell in love with everybody. I'm gonna miss you all when I'm gone, but especially my best friends (counting) all 9 of you.

59, if I include my online friends (1 eye closed) - you guys count just as much. For reals.

I bought myself a GOTLE for Mother's Day. Have not bought Mother's Day gift yet.

I told my wife it's "Mother of Dragons" day. Good thing she has a sense of humor.

I like it when a shot to the left orbit goes into the pops on my GOTLE.

How about this? Wizard mode is lit and ready to start, extra ball is lit, and 2 balls are locked with lock lit? I choke whenever that kind of thing happens.

I bought all 7 seasons of The Pinball Arcade for the iPad, because I travel a lot. That’s bad enough, but not the worst. I was sitting on the plane next to a really tall skinny guy last night. I was playing Xenon, and this gentleman got out a tiny little bible and held it right up to his face because he forgot his reading glasses, just like I always do. When I excused myself to pee, he just scowled at me as he unfolded his long limbs and got out of my way. I tried to be friendly, but he never spoke a word to me. And I actually thought for a moment, “Am I going to hell?” before I shook off the feeling.

You are forgiven, brother! Factory settings are your penance, you can blow it up again the next time you’re here.

That almost qualifies as a confession - I would never admit feeling that way. It’s like this guy I worked with who asked me once: “why do you need more than one game, aren’t they all pretty much the same, 2 flippers and a ball?” Which is like asking “Why do you look at girls, aren’t they all pretty much the same?”

I don’t see the confession there, unless it’s “I can’t appreciate that any pin is better than no pin”. Plus Rogo has that awesome Dave Christianson art. Vikings!

I’m having beer, ice cream and thin mints after my wife gave me a healthy dinner of grilled fish, steamed broccoli and mashed cauliflower.

^^^ Ooh, this is a good one. I still do this, and even bend the sockets back to reach the bulb. Playing with fire!

I leave our Christmas tree up until around Valentines Day, but I get freaked out if I don’t set my games back up right after a show. I’m out of town for 2 weeks and it’s driving me nuts knowing that 5 of my pins are folded up while I’m gone.

I came in 776th place in Pinburgh last year (out of 799). There was no where to go but up in 2018, so I was happy to land in group D. Remember Arlo Guthrie talking about “group D” in Alice’s Restaurant? Couldn’t get that outa my head.

Sorry to hear that. Toxic online, or in person? I find it pretty easy to ignore people online if I need to. The good people and posts greatly outweigh the bad for me.

Five Hail Ritchies (for the FIVE balls), and sin no more. I do respect the “play to discover” ethic, though. I’ve been known to read rulesheets several times before buying a pin. That’s a bigger sin, sucks the joy right out of it.

I’ve been on a business trip for 3 weeks, and the pin I miss the most is Laser Cue.

I read locked threads just because they’ve been locked. I almost always regret it, but sometimes they end in really funny ways.

I’m rebuilding our deck myself, not just to save $10k but to rationalize buying any game(s) I want in 2020. I call this pinball penance. Also if this project kills me I hope Blitzburgh99 won’t drain my RIP thread. That would make me dead AND sad.
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Munsters Pro is my favorite pin at the moment. Guilty pleasure, or a sleeper pin like Congo was?

If you came out even or ahead, congrats. You can always get back in later. There are a lot of different ways to enjoy pinball, owning games is just one.

I love all the new Sterns but after Pinburgh, what I want most is an EM with a spinner. It’s like having an Atari vector collection without Asteroids...life is incomplete!

I scan the “fresh ads” on the Pinside market every day, in this order:

- check locations, ignore pins
- check pins, ignore location

When I’m finished with this daily ritual I’m always relieved not to see anything I “need”.

I’m checking my IFPA page every day waiting for Pinburgh ‘19 results to lift me out of the 4000’s.

I’m too lazy to pick up a knife if I can cut it with my fork.

When I put leftovers from lunch in the refrigerator at work, I never come back for them.

I just finished my 2018 taxes. Master procrastinator.

I still read the toy catalogs that come in the mail. My only son turns 21 in a few weeks.

Over the holidays I cleaned the basement and found a box of pinball stuff from Marco - lots of white rubber, coil stops, etc. Some of it was stuff I was about to order again because that little box was hiding under a pile of other crap.

On the storage unit thing...yeah, we’ve spent at least $5k on our 10x20. I’ve got about 10 pins there now, mostly old Ballys that I’ve restored (I cycle them in and out of the basement). I also want to open a location when I turn 60 and “retire”. But I’ll do the math: $150/month, about 50 months to retirement...that’s $7500. Not too smart. I need to give this some serious thought.

Last week was the end of 2019, but I partied like it was 1999.

Hey guys, the confessional worked! It took a few months, but after a few pin sales and pin loans, I moved into a much cheaper 10x10 unit today - $61 a month. It’ll save me about $1000 this year alone. I still don’t like putting down $$ to store pins, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Damn, now I want some tats. I’d do it right, some kind of optical illusion that looks like a lizard is crawling outa my arm. A cat on my belly with my bellybutton for the cat’s asshole, but REALLY well done.

I’ve been listening to “Left Coast 70’s” on SomaFM a lot lately, and they play a lot of Joe Walsh deep cuts. Love me some Joe Walsh.

What’s JohnnyPinball007 drinking tonight? May as well drink those spirits, they don’t have enough alcohol to make hand sanitizer.

You got me thinking of one of my regrets. When I was 17, I worked the skate counter at a rink with about 6 pins. They were spread apart and it was dark there, so my girlfriend and I would go between the pins to kiss. She was not quite 15, but she was the best kisser I ever knew. She kissed with her whole body, made me feel like the center of the universe. But my friends teased me about our age difference, so I broke it off. 4 years later I came home from college and saw her as I was pulling into a parking spot. Now 19, she was stunning, beautiful, like a supermodel. I rolled down my window and opened my mouth to say hi, but her look shut me down. It was pure scorn and hurt. She turned and walked away in the other direction.

And to keep it on-topic, I confess that even thinking of those memories makes me feel like a dirty old man. Time to check out the Pinside Classifieds.

I’ll wash my hands for 30 seconds in hot water after shaking hands with someone, but peeing at home? That gets a quick half-assed 5 second rinse-down.

Ha, that’s greenhornet - he has a hardon for me for some reason, downvotes every one of my posts. It doesn’t bother me.

I confess that I got greedy and bought Delta stock about a week after Warren Buffet, and I lost 50% of my money, but I’m still happy because I put a new GC on my Space Station tonight (8M).

Do it. I have way too many pins, but the one I play 2-3 times a day without fail is my Abra Ca Dabra.

Here’s my confession: I’ve had this beauty in storage since the 2018 SFGE, so about 20 months. She’s joining her sisters on “evil women row”:

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Follow-up confession: this is my home office, and I allowed crap to pile up on Fathom and Medusa. I’m going to fix that tonight.

I was on a work conference call today and I was the only one who muted my video, and it’s because I still had crazy hair from not taking a shower. I almost grabbed a baseball cap but I decided they didn’t deserve to see me anyway.

I dropped one of these (an opaque projector) down a flight of stairs in 5th grade, and went from being the teacher’s favorite to “anybody but not that kid”. When you’re 10 you don’t know that you can’t take a big metal cart down the stairs by yourself, and you’re eager to please the adults. You’re rehearsing your “look what I did” speech even as you’re totally fucking up.

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Yep, I prefer “Criterion and angst”. My wife won’t ever watch anything with me - while I’m watching some 70’s dystopian sci-fi movie or indie flick downstairs, she’s watching the Hallmark Channel upstairs. Married life!

I wonder if little kids still look up “fart” in the dictionary together and giggle like maniacs.

After being super cautious about germs for the past 3 weeks, I held a flashlight in my mouth to do some playfield soldering today.

“Brevity is the soul of wit” - some guy in Hamlet

Woo Aerosmith! I just played mine, I’ll never not love it

Natty Light confessions...

They aren’t “Light” anymore if you drink 14 of them Johnny

I had my best game ever on Abra Ca Dabra, 165k, but it was right after restarting the previous game on ball 2.

The only Control Room mode I play now on my Stern Jurassic Park is “Virus Attack”.

Lately, every night I dream I’m in a big office building.

Hooray for being 56 and not giving a shit. I’ll join your club.

Gunnut40 this is the guilt thread; you want the Pinside bitch thread.

I can see a little rust on the ball in my Abra Ca Dabra, but I keep procrastinating replacing it because I lost the key and I’ll have to drill the lock. It’s always “tomorrow I’ll do it”.

I’m planning to order keyless “locks” from Marco for all of my EM and SS pins. There’s really no good reason for a keyed lock on an older game.

Oh well, whatever, nevermind.

Whenever I mow the lawn, I think to myself: “Mowing the Lawn, Mowing the Lawn!” like this

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Yeah, we need to get back to pinball confessions. I’ve veered off topic too much myself.

I’ve sold both Avatar and Iron Man, and I miss Avatar more. Mostly because I sold it too fast. No, I don’t want another Avatar.

Ah well, it is the Serious section. I know we disagree sometimes online, but if you’re ever in Atlanta give me a shout and let me invite you over for beers and pinball. Just don’t tell me you hate older pins, that’s fighting words.

Great restoration! I need to “adopt” a pin older than me from Craigslist one of these days. They pop up from time to time.

I’d rather change 3 diapers than swap out targets in a Bally drop target bank. Those damned E-clips!

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

I wouldn’t mind a weekly update from JohnnyPinball007 and I hope we didn’t push him out.

Here’s my non-pinball confession. About a hundred years go I was living in a 1-bathroom shotgun apartment with my roommate. I was sitting in the dark in the “living room” drinking wine with my headphones on, and her girlfriend walked out of their bedroom completely stark naked, and brushed her teeth with the bathroom door wide open. Before I could even process what was happening, she saw me and deftly closed the door with one foot. She came out in a towel and gave me a little scowl-smile. I promise that this facial expression really exists, and that’s the only time I ever saw it. Anyway, I finished the bottle and didn’t think of it again until tonight for some reason.

If your marriage and wallet can stand it, I highly recommend the “rotation” approach. My Metallica has been at my son’s apartment for 6 months, and I’m excited about bringing it back home next weekend. I’ve also got a 10x10 storage unit for project pins, but as I’ve finished projects it’s more and more just overflow space. I try to rotate in a different solid state pin every 4-6 months.

Oh man, I want one of those.

My confession: I wore the same pair of shorts for 7 days and finally wore something new this morning. I’m only wearing shorts/pants because my mom lives with us, and I don’t want her to think she can start hanging out in her underwear.

“that time”

GTFOOHWTS

Simple pinball confession: I play my 3 EMs way more than the rest of my pins lately.

Abra Ca Dabra, C37 and OXO. Quick Draw is in storage waiting for a new playfield - hopefully my winter project.

I can’t really tell the difference between a Merlot, a Cabernet, a red Zin or a Pinot Noir. Yeah, they all taste better than the Manischewitz I bought at the convenience store for our double date when I was 16. But I’d much rather be 16 again, kissing in the back seat and drinking that swill.