While I don't have any experience in pinball manufacturing, I do have a bit in other areas and this hits the nail on the head. In my experience, you better have everything documented to the smallest detail...every I dotted and T crossed. They will build exactly to your specs...even if there is a typo in a spec that would be obvious to anyone with a first grade education. When you ask "why did you put that upside down?", they point to the spec that should have read "mount Up sign down through the ..." but which mistakenly reads "mount Up side down through the..." And, I can assure you the cost for rework will not be absorbed by the manufacturer.

The answer is right in front of our eyes. C'mon guys. Registering as a non-profit before the last presidential election? Working on a project involving Arnold Schwarzenegger? Arnold, very conservative, Schwarzeneggar. Arnold, calling out liberals as 'girly men' Schwarzeneggar? The name of the 'game' just happens to be the same as the name of a lethal weapon developed by the US military, whose offensive capabilities remain classified? The IRS branch that was at the center of the IRS targeting scandal just happens to be located in a state bordering Michigan? Coincidence? I think not.

I smell a conspiracy. And, if I am correct, the games will start flowing after the 2016 election, assuming a Conservative wins.

This might be helpful for some. The "P" in "IP" stands for property, kinda like a car, TV, ipod, phone, house are also property.

That having been said, I have had a chuckle at all these mavericks and rebels breaking the law by playing pinball machines that may have IP violations. Wow, the next thing I'll hear about is how some of you looked off of someone else's paper at school or even stole a beer from your dad's fridge when you were only 16! Heck, I bet some people even inhaled! I'm not sure I fit in with such a rebellious crowd.

I am reminded of a story my father used to tell me. When he first started in the grain business, someone cheated him out of a penny a bushel on some railroad cars of grain. I used to smile because he could tell you the date, the number of bushels, where the grain originated, etc. It was indelibly etched in his mind. Fast forward 20 years. My father was in a very prominent position in the industry, when he got a call from an executive of a grain company. Apparently, this guy had interviewed for a job with this executive and had used my father as a reference, so the exec was calling to get the 'thumbs up' from my father. My father was nice, did not disparage the guy but simply said that 'No, he would not be able to recommend him' The gentleman was not hired. Moral of the story is that karma really can be a bitch. You never know where, when or how. (And, oh by the way, it's not just the 200 people directly impacted. For every one of the 200, there are a half dozen more who have followed this story and would not give him the time of day.)

Great news. I, too am shocked. I wonder if the Fox lawyers did, in fact, contact Kevin's attorney and if this is an outcome of that. Perhaps a scenario where Kevin realized he needed to get as 'clean' as possible, as quickly as possible. Regardless of the driver, here's hoping it extends to everyone, including those cross the pond.

Given this, let me suggest an area with which you should be familiar, product pricing. Product pricing is rarely determined by simply taking the all-in cost of a product and applying a markup (profit margin). There are a whole host of other variables that must be considered such as existing price levels, competitors products, market lifecycle, company objectives (e.g., building market share) and market psychology (to name but a few). What I believe Wolfmarsh was suggesting is that this situation, like product pricing, does not lend itself to a simple formula. You must also consider the sociology and psychology of the situation. No doubt, some may want the pound of flesh, others may want to make sure Kevin can't repeat this and still others may want to make an example out of Kevin to dissuade others from doing this in the future. It is self-evident that investing more than one receives in return is a bad economic decision; however, it may be the correct decision for one's own sanity and life expectancy.

Threads like these are extremely useful to me since they give me an insight into human nature that is so far from how I personally think and act. I remember many moons ago talking to a co-worker. He was based on the other coast and would fly in about once a month. One morning over breakfast, he started bragging about how he was able to walk into our YMCA without having to pay the $5. Quite proud of that, he was. It was very eye-opening.

If I borrowed a tool/truck/fill-in-the-blank from someone and somehow damaged it... hell, my kids would eat beans until I had corrected it. Here someone owes thousands and does absolutely nothing to make it right. Rather, he is spending money on non-essential gifts for his kids. A completely different thought process than mine. Or you have some diminishing the action. After all, it's gifts, it's kids, and it's only a grand or so.

The Good Lord knows that I have my faults, lots of them so I'm not trying to make some moral or ethical sttement abut rather say how important threads like these (Mad Amusements, JPOP, etc.) are to help remind me how others view the world and their personal obligations and responsibilities.

I upvoted TigerLaw's post. Yes, I admit it, I am weak...drawn in by some hidden, sordid voyeuristic tendencies. Mind you, it's not that I believe the pictures being painted in all their photo-shopped, airbrushed glory. In fact, that is part of the fun...deciphering where real starts, spin picks-up and complete falsehood takes over.
And so I shout "Do not stifle the Brickshot!"

Kevin appears to have three options: 1) produce the documentation 2) fully fess up and throw himself at the mercy of the court 3) skip town.

I found it interesting that the judge raised the possibility of option 3 multiple times. You have someone with a job, wife has her own business, they have small children, own their own home, and was picked up at his home. Add to it that this is not a criminal case (at least for now) and this certainly doesn't seem to fit the profile of a flight risk.

For those of you with experience in bankruptcy courts, is it normal for the judge to ask about passports, tell him he can't travel out of state (except court in Ohio) and say 'May God have mercy on your soul' if you don't show up?

While I could care less, I'm sure mudflaps is pretty flustrated that people did not know it was a joke.

Hmm, per Keith's response for 13: "having Debtor transfer money to Defendants in amounts less than $10,000.00 per transfer with multiple checks written on the same day."

I would love to hear the rationale behind that one. "Well your honor, my bank has old technology and has difficulty processing large checks so rather than write one check for $75000, I asked for 8 checks for $9k and one for $3k"

(On the other hand if it were all cash transactions, we'd all know what was being transported in those "empty" predator cabinets)

I worked in the banking industry for a number of years. Every now and then you'd hear about someone coming up to the teller's window with a big bag of cash. They are aware of the reporting situation but don't know the specifics. Not being quite sure, they will ask "How much can I deposit in cash without being reported?" Then they just fill out multiple deposit slips, figuring they were quite clever. Hmm, thinking they are being clever...ring a bell?

Just listened to a part of it...Kevin writes six checks on the same day, consecutive numbers, each for $9800 to Virtuapin? That's all I need to hear.

I guess French classes are cancelled for awhile
c'est la vie