Bad Cats Pinball

Bad Cats Pinball

I bought a pinball machine a couple years ago. Buying a pinball machine is kind of random and pointless, but, as with most stupid things I do, there is usually some reason that seems logical and rational...at least in my own head.

When I was in college back at Midwestern State University, my buddy Andrew and I had to take a PE elective. We both played on the soccer team, but you could only use soccer once and two PE classes were required for graduation. We decided we'd sign up for bowling. A semester of bowling meant going to class once a week, on Wednesdays, at Village Bowl. The class was fine - bowling was fun - got our credits - yay. Where this ties in is that the bowling alley had a Bad Cats pinball machine and for some reason Andrew and I found it fascinating! We would stay after class every week and play it for like 30 minutes or more. It stuck in my head and I've searched for one from time to time over the years.

What really got me searching seriously over the last 10 years was probably Andrews involvement with one of his clients. Andrew is a Patent Attorney and he had as a client Williams Gaming - the makers of Bad Cats and other Pinball classics. He would mention them from time to time over dinner and it would put the bug back in my head. 

I searched for years! I used to contact people that owned one (there's a global pinball registry believe it or not) and ask if they were willing to part with theirs. Finally, I found one for sale in a small town in Northern California. The guy was a real pinball collector and knew his stuff so I took a chance and bought it sight unseen. Shipping a pinball machine is extremely expensive - they're very heavy and quite fragile. I got mine delivered and the shippers did a great job. It was wrapped up tight and padded. I was planning on putting it in my FOB, but it wasn't ready yet so into the dining room in the main house it went for a while.

The machine turned out to be in great shape - better than new really. It has been converted to LED lighting and has all new rubber. All the sounds and mechanicals work perfectly as well. I enjoy it, but I've been surprised by how much everyone else seems to like it as well. My wife, my daughter of course, and even my mother play it quite often.

Samantha has gotten big enough to reach both flippers - key to pinball success!

When the guest house was finally finished I called my buddy Barry to help me move it up into the FOB. Moving a pinball machine is tough anywhere, but moving one up a flight of stairs is really challenging. We got it done with only minor injuries (to Barry) and now it resides for the foreseeable future in my lair. 

We were in Vegas recently and we went to the Pinball Hall of Fame and Museum and sure enough, they had a Bad Cats machine. We played it a few times, as well as lots of others. 

My FOB is supposed to be the "No Lady Lounge" but I have a hard time keeping Branelle and Sam out of there. Nel went up to get some Christmas decorations out of storage the other day and never came back so I went to check on her - BUSTED!

2001 Mercedes Benz SL500 Sport

2001 Mercedes Benz SL500 Sport

OK - this one's going to hurt a little bit. Sometimes I keep cars for years. Sometimes I move on from a car in less than a year. I like to say that if I never ran out of space and/or money I'd probably own 300 cars. That said, there are cars that I plan on keeping "forever". This one probably should have been one of those cars, but.....well, here's the story:

I was at the Mecum Houston auction in 2015. I had bought a car on Thursday (Day 1) but came back on Friday to keep shopping. I was sitting up at the back of the stands early in the morning when the auction was just getting underway kind of just hanging out when this SL500 came across the block. I had looked at it briefly the day before, but hadn't really given it much thought. The bidding seemed crazy-low to me though so I stuck my hand in the air and to my surprise I got the car for what I considered a steal! 

This happens from time to time and the first thing that runs through your mind is "what did everybody else know that I didn't?" After about 30 minutes I decided to go take a look at my new purchase. On the way there (they park all the sold cars in a separate place) this guy came up to me and asked me if I had just bought the silver SL500. I told him I had and he said he really wanted the car but hadn't registered for the auction. He had his whole family with him - nice guy, but you could tell this was his first time at a car auction. 

They walked with me to the car and when we got there the guy asked me if I'd sell it to him. I was reluctant, but he offered me about 30% more than I had just paid so I thought "fine, I'll just buy something else". I wasn't looking for an SL in particular, just a new toy. 

We agreed on the sale, but I'm not a car dealer so I told him I would have to take the car home, wait for the title, get the car inspected and then title and register it in my name, wait for the title again, and THEN I could sell it to him. He was fine with that. 

Everyone was happy...until I took the car home and started driving it. It was perfect! PERFECT! It only had about 30K miles and had been in a private collection in San Diego. It had all the records and was just fabulous. Even the soft top under the hardtop was like new. I drove it a lot for the month or so that I had it and probably would have kept it forever. These SLs are getting more expensive and they're great to drive! Branelle even liked this one and drove it from time to time. I tried to see if the guy had any interest in backing out of the deal, but he was way too excited about it and I wasn't going to go back on my word so when I got the title I called him up and sold him the car. 

I've thought about looking for another one of these, but I know it will suffer in comparison to this one so I haven't added one yet. They're great cars though. My buddy Barry bought one a little bit later - same color even. I did actually buy a third car later that day - my '49 Hudson - so I guess it worked out for everyone. Still, if I hadn't been such a nice guy, I would undoubtedly still own this silver Merc. 

This is my "slightly annoyed I agreed to sell this car" face. 

2001 Acura 3.2 CL

2001 Acura 3.2 CL

This was my first Acura, and it certainly made a favorable impression. The 3.2 CL was a well-designed vehicle, and this example was basically new and fully loaded. It became a favorite among my friends and family for its smooth and comfortable ride as well as its laundry list of gadgets and features. 

The neatest of those features was the interactive navigation system - the first time I had owned a car with NAV. Everything has NAV today, but it was somewhat rare back then and I thought it was just the coolest thing. By today's standards, this CD based satellite navigation system is like a road atlas, but I was fascinated by being able to say "Find the nearest Burger King" and my car telling me how to get my Whopper!

The engine was strong and responsive. I wouldn't call it fast, but it was certainly "peppy". The only option this car lacked was the 'Type S' package which included a few more horsepower, a wing, and larger wheels and tires. The Type S is my preference, but this one was no slouch. 

It was an automatic, but was equipped with the Sport-Shift option. This allowed you to manually control the shift points without a clutch if desired. In reality, it's a neat idea and technological achievement on cars, but not one that gets used often.

The interior was really comfortable. It had heated power memory seats, an in-dash disk changer, and lots of other cool gadgets for 2001. It also looked great! I thought the silver exterior and charcoal interior worked well together. This car also had the best headlights I had ever encountered at the time. 

I had this car for over a year, during much of which it was used by other people (I don't let people borrow my cars much anymore so don't get any ideas). I never had a problem with it and it was a favorite up till I got rid of it. It wasn't the flashiest ride in the garage, but its relaxing while energetic performance was greatly appreciated. I owned a couple S-Types later.

Banff

100 Places To See (and take a selfie) Before You Die:

Banff

Alberta, Canada

The more astute readers will recognize that this picture wasn't actually taken in Banff at all, but rather at the Athabasca Glacier just inside of Jasper National Park. When people refer to Banff they're usually referring to Banff National Park, and sometimes to the town of Banff. For this post I'm including the entire area that could be a part of your visit.

Most trips to Banff mean flying into Calgary and driving west to the town of Banff - so to all you weirdos that don't like driving, you WILL need to rent a car for this one. It's only about an hour and a half drive and the last half hour is gorgeous as you enter the park. The town of Banff is probably where most folks will stay and use as a jumping off point for visiting areas in the park. That's what I would recommend - the town is great! There is plenty of shopping and dining to keep you entertained at night and it's a gorgeous place to be. We visited a couple years ago in September and the weather couldn't have been nicer.

Branelle and I spent a week here and I thought that was perfect. We stayed in Banff and just took day trips out to what we wanted to see. It's probably one of the most visually stunning places I've ever been. If you like outdoor activities, especially hiking and photography, this is like Mecca. We're not really into those things, but still were in awe of the place and never found a shortage of activities to keep us busy. I'm just going to rattle off some of the things we did and learned.

Lodging: There are no wrong answers here as you aren't going to be hanging out in your hotel room all day. That said, if you aren't budget conscious I would highly recommend the Fairmont Banff Springs. If you look at the picture above showing the town of Banff below, the Fairmont is right next to Nel's shoulder. It's very expensive, but it's amazing. A lot of people willing to spend big want to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (and it's pretty nice as well) but I would argue that the Fairmont in Banff is a much better choice. They have tons of things to do from golf to horseback riding to whatever else you can think of, and when we visited Lake Louise - as everyone does that comes here - it was full of day tourists and wedding parties milling around the hotel. 

Dining: Look, there's no such thing as "Canadian Food". Also, since it's Canada, everything is expensive. Depending on where you're from (we live in Texas where the food is great) dinner is not going to be the highlight of your trip. With that in mind, just find fun places to eat. A can't miss in the town of Banff is the Grizzly House. It's been here since 1967 and kind of looks it. It's pricey, a little dirty, you're going to come out smelling like smoke, and you have to cook your own food, but it was a total blast! They have phones at every table - for some reason - that you can pick up to call other tables (someone asked me if I was wearing a thong - I wasn't by the way).

Grizzly House - The specialty is fondue. We (and most other people) chose the hot rock cooking method. They basically bring you a slab of granite that's like 600 degrees. Nel had Beef & Lobster. I went with the Alberta Platter which included Beef, Bison, Elk, and Venison. (To be honest it could have all been beef - I couldn't really tell the difference). The food was so-so, but the atmosphere was fun.

We took the Banff Gondola on the edge of town up to the top of Sulpher Mountain. They charge you quite a lot, but the views are amazing and it has some nice pathways constructed. I would especially recommend this if you aren't up for a lot of hiking but want to take in the sights. 

There are a lot of steps, but there's railing and it's smooth and safe. Again, if you're a hiking machine you can take it or leave it, but if you're perhaps a bit older or not up for walking all day, get up here and enjoy the sights. There's a restaurant as well.

We ate at different places every meal, but the best food we had was at the 1888 Chop House in the Fairmont Banff Springs. 

Most days we made trips out to various places in the park. One of the most memorable was to the Columbia Icefield. There's a great visitor center there where you can take buses to the Athabasca Glacier and to the Glacier Skywalk. 

You take a regular bus from the visitors center to the base of the glacier (about 5 minutes) and then you get on one of these purpose built Snow Coaches to the actual glacier. I was very excited about this - I love purpose-built vehicles. Also known as a Terra Bus, there are 22 of them in operation at the Columbia Icefield. It's the only place you can ride one, unless you visit McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

Seeing a bunch of ice doesn't sound that interesting, but it is. It's all about unique experiences. Nel is drinking glacier water in the picture above and she rode in a Snow Coach to do it. I'm sorry, but that's just cool.

The Glacier Skywalk is another short bus ride away from the Glacier Center (you buy tickets there and have to take the bus to the skywalk or the glacier itself). 

The Skywalk is kind of interesting but I could take it or leave it really. As an engineering feat it's kind of cool, and the views are great (but you can get great views all over Banff for free), but I don't think I'd call it a can't miss.

Another day trip that you should take (and everyone else will as well) is to the famous Fairmont Lake Louise. It's pretty, but it's really full of tourists and there's not much to do but walk around and look at how pretty everything is. That said, it's probably the most iconic image of Banff.

Branelle discovering that a glacial lake is, not surprisingly, pretty darn cold! 

This is a great place for some day hiking. You can go all the way around Lake Louise and hike to other lakes as well. For the less ambitious there is a paved trail around half the lake that is a very pleasant walk. We didn't see any bears while we were here but I wasn't worried - I'm faster than Nel.

It's gorgeous here at Lake Louise. Make a full day of it. Have lunch at one of the many restaurants here and hike to some of the nearby lakes. They rent boats and other things at the hotel as well if you wish.

It's not that far to British Columbia from Banff. We headed over one day just for the heck of it.  In the picture above, I am sitting in Alberta while Nel is located in BC. If we poured our water bottles out they would end up in different oceans. There are hot springs places all over the area. I'm not sure I would waste my time as most of them look like regular swimming pools to me. 

  
Branelle says to "come on out" and visit Banff. In the winter there is skiing and a whole lot of snow based activities and any season offers some of the most impressive scenery in the world. Another fun thing to do here, I assume, is to go horseback riding. I say I assume because we didn't get to do it. I booked us a ride at the Fairmont Banff Springs but when we walked up to the stables the guy looked at me and said "whoa". (He didn't actually say "whoa", but that would have been pretty funny.) What he did say was that they didn't have any fresh horses big enough for me to ride. Ouch!

I agree with Nel. Canada can be kind of expensive, eh, but it's well worth heading out to the Canadian Rockies for the sweeping vistas, glistening glaciers, and snow capped peaks that are all part of the allure of Banff. 

2000 Dodge Durango SLT 4X4

2000 Dodge Durango SLT 4X4

I'm going to make a real effort to rattle off some late posts in 2018 (I've been doing about one a month) and, as usual, when I need to jump start these I go with a Random Vehicle Blog. Sadly, my random selection program has pulled another somewhat boring example tonight but they've all got to come up eventually so here goes. 

This 2000 Dodge Durango was really more my buddy Barry's doing than mine. He used to go to auctions with me from time to time and this was a truck he thought was interesting. I liked the color and it was a 4X4 so I was cool with it and brought it home. I drove it very sparingly and sold it rather quickly (for me anyway), but all in all it was a decent truck.

In truth, I was pleasantly surprised with the way it drove. This one had the big 4.7-liter Magnum V-8, and it was very smooth. The truck was easy and pleasant to drive around town. It didn't rattle or float, and was pretty quiet and comfortable.

My main area of displeasure with this Durango was the interior. It was functional, but just felt cheap and plain. It had a 3rd row seat and rear air, but just didn't look good. The cloth didn't help, nor did the drab grey color. The biggest problem, however, was too much plastic.

It was a pretty good truck, but I never saw myself wanting one on a permanent basis (although I bought three over the years). I liked the external styling at the time, but wished the truck were a bit bigger to match the looks. Higher end versions with some accessories look much better. 

Europe Travel Wall Map...Rev 2

Europe Travel Wall Map...Rev 2

Arts and crafts time again. I'm covering my Europe Travel Wall Map for the second time because I'm about to have to paint over it....again, and then recreate it.....again. More on that in a second. The reason I did this the first time was to encourage us to travel. Branelle and I both enjoy seeing the world but it's really easy to come up with reasons not to go places. We have a few artsy things in our house that kind of make you think about going places. It works, at least for us. 

I had done this in our previous home and blogged about it. Here's the link:

https://srod23.blogspot.com/2014/09/europe-travel-wall-project.html

When we sold our home a few years ago it was recommended that I paint over it. While I couldn't imagine why anybody wouldn't want a partially painted map of Europe on their kitchen wall, I had to defer to our real estate agent and reluctantly covered it. I also swore I wasn't going to redo it in our new home because it was way too much work.

My wife had other ideas and decided that I should definitely do it and it should go on this curved wall in our kitchen eating area. I resisted for a while but eventually relented after another trip to Europe and got started.

The first step was to pull out the old overhead projector (which I bought for the first one) and get a map traced up on the wall. There were a few issues this time, the biggest being that the wall was curved. I didn't do a very good job if I'm being honest of adjusting for the curvature. Basically, if you looked at the countries to the west, like Spain, and the countries to the east, like Turkey, they ended up being larger than they should be. 

Arts and crafts projects are typically nighttime endeavors for me. When everyone else goes to bed the house is quiet and peaceful and I kind of appreciate the simplicity of working on something that requires little or no thought. I did run into one issue while tracing the map - the chandelier was creating a line-of-sight issue with some of the Scandinavian countries. With nobody awake to hold it back I was forced to improvise with a lightsaber and some ergonomically unsafe leaning. 

Once I got the map traced the hard part began. I paint all of the flags freehand. It wouldn't be that hard, except that the paint that I used just doesn't cover very well. It takes me three or four coats with some of the colors to get it right. It's tedious, but again kind of relaxing at night. 

Our daughter has actually learned a lot of the countries by using a laser pointer on the map at dinner. We're going to take her to Europe this coming year so she's very excited about the trip and hitting a bunch of the countries she knows....and getting stamps in her passport! She's especially enamoured with Iceland for some reason so we'll probably have to stop over on the way to or from the continent. 

Sadly, I'm going to have to redo the map yet again. This time it's kind of my own fault. I discovered that there was a cavity of space behind our fireplace and under the stairs. I decided to bust out the wall from the garage and sure enough, there's a pretty good spot in there so we're going to build a walk in wine grotto but the entrance has to be on this wall (what you're looking at here is the back side of the wall that the map is on as taken from the future wine grotto after I busted in from the garage). I wasn't going to do this map wall again, but now that my daughter is interested I guess I'll have to get it up one last time. We're thinking the dining room this time. We'll see.