Lunch at Smokey D's BBQ

Today I got to pick where we would go for lunch, and I was jonesin' for BBQ. The plan was to get the BBQ Sampler. We went for turkey, sausage, and burnt ends this time.

But we spotted a couple enjoying some nachos, and we slipped 1/2 order of pork nachos into the mix.

We can't eat all of this, but we love leftovers!

So what did Char eat? Cottage cheese and toast. 

Sigh. 

Kids.

The Games People Play

It was a whim. That's all it was. I was looking at pinball listings on Craigslist, and I spotted an original arcade cabinet retrofitted with 60 vintage arcade games. It was cheap, and that is always a plus.

I didn't do any research, but I knew these things usually sell between $800 - $1200. This listing was well below that. I emailed the seller about the size of the cabinet, and within three hours the thing was actually sitting in my garage. I was excited, and Char giggled like no other as she tried to avoid the ghosts in Mrs. Pac-Man.

That was on Saturday night. By Sunday afternoon the air began to leak out of my balloon. I started noticing how rough this thing was. It wasn't rough in just one place; problems were everywhere. From a distance it looked okay, but when you got close you could see that the previous owner had no pride in his work. Bare wires were hanging loose and screws were missing. This cabinet had lived a tough life in an arcade, and its rebirth was not much better.

I thought about posting it on Craigslist for a bit less than I paid and selling it quickly. That would solve my problem, and I could say that I learned my lesson. But I would have been too embarrassed to sell this to someone else. It did work; you could play the games, but it was was filthy and it looked terrible.

I sent the seller some questions about adjusting the 60-in-One Jamma Board, but he didn't return the email. "Dangit!" I complained to Daphne as I was pointing out problems with the games, "I didn't want to learn how this thing works. For once, I just wanted to plug something in and just play it."

"Well," Daphne said as she walked out of the garage, "you do like your projects, and I think you bought another one."

She was right. Heavy sigh. It was time to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

My Process

1. Get out the vacuum and the shop brush. I found a very clean quarter in the bottom of the cab while vacuuming, so that will go on the cabinet's key chain. I'm a bit surprised that the coin is from 1995, that seems pretty new, but then again, that was 22 years ago. Geeze, am I that old?

Yes I am.

2. Someone had removed the coin mechanisms from the coin door panel. That's not a big deal, this machine is free to play, but that left two gaping the holes in the wood. Someone had crudely cut a piece of plastic and a piece of metal to make two covers, but the pair were worse than the holes. Horrible.

I covered the coin door panel and the kick panel with wood-grained shelf paper. This is a short-term solution. I'll replace the coin door panel when I find a suitable piece of wood, and I'll paint the kick panel to match.

3. Install new cabinet locks. The previous owner was using a drywall screw to hold the coin door panel in place. Two locks cost less than ten bucks at Home Depot, and they look a lot better than that stupid screw.

4. Remove the old side art decal. Clowns with X's for eyes are not welcome anywhere near our home.

5. Sand the sides of the cabinet and wait for the weather to warm up for paint. 

6. Learn how to put the computer board into test mode. This allowed me to adjust the game's volume and adjust the individual games. Playing Pac-Man w/o getting a free guy at 10,000 points feels empty.

7. Relax. Review the games. Realize this cabinet is pretty fun. Remember how hard Pac-Man Jr. is.

8. Order new "Multicade" side art decal and marquee decal from eBay. Also buy 20 feet of T molding.

9. Spray paint the sides black. I used silver paint for a splatter effect.

10. Install the T molding. This was simple once I figured how to cut the plastic so it could be bent around corners.

11. Listen to Charlotte's compliments, "This is looking sharp, Dad. The sides look like stars in the night sky."

12. Reward her with copious amounts of nachos at Fuzzy's Taco Shop.

12. Enlist Daphne to help to apply the side art. I suppose there is a way for one person to apply these large decals without getting them crooked, creased, and bubbled, but I could not have done it without Daph.

13. Replace screws that secure the joystick. The previous owner had installed a new joystick, but instead of using four new screws, he used two rusty ones. That, my friend, is the very definition of half-ass.

14. Cut some wood trim pieces, paint them, and install them. 

15. Touch up the paint where it had been chipped off.

16. Repaint an old, thrift store bar stool so you have a retro place to sit.

It's coming along. Soon I'll have a plastic sheet cut to size, and I'll ask Daphne to help me apply the "Multicade" marquee to it. That will scrape all of the "Do" off of this project.

It will look like this, but brighter.

I'm not embarrassed anymore. There is still some work to do, but the Multicade can go into the basement. In reality, I didn't save as much money as I wanted to by buying a basket case. Maybe next time I'll remind myself how much my whims actually cost me, and that maybe I should wait for a better deal to come along.

Orrrrrr, maybe I'll just buy another project...

Some people never learn.

Smells Like 1978

I found this Wondergap Lp among the record crates at Goodwill, but when I got it home I discovered that the bottom of the record sleeve was slightly moldy. That happens sometimes. When you buy a stack of records, a dirty one can slip by and escape the store. You can't keep it, though. 

One moldy record can infect the rest of your collection. I tried to recycle it, but after I tossed it into the bin I started feeling guilty that I did not even give the record a chance.

(This is what the clean artwork should look like)

The record's vinyl was dirty, but it didn't stink like mold, so I brought it in the house and cleaned it. 

I'm glad I did. From the lyrics that slide into French to the female back up singers' "Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ooooooos's", this record is the epitome of late 1970s easy listening.

I have found precious little about the Wondergap; about all I could turn up was that this is their only recording. Punk was starting to make some noise around this time. Maybe Wondergap was released a couple of years late?

 "Elise" is my favorite track. You can check it out here:

Wondergap - "Elise"

Hurts, Donut...

I took some time off of work last week to go to the "Donuts with Dad" activity at Char's school.

Besides donuts and water, they had Dad Libs for the kids to fill out. 

"My dad is so grat. He is 47 years old. My dad is very good at pinball. I love to play with him. His favorite sport is pinball. He loves to eat meat. My dad is really smart! He knows how to fix a pinball. I think my dad is special because he good. I love my dad more than anything, even more than chees. I think he is a hero because he is nice. He is the best dad in the whole uouvers [universe]."

After breakfast, I had time to check out the art on the wall near Char's classroom. Hey, I resemble that guy!

Man, I love stuff like this. 

PS. She had some extra time, so Char filled out a Mom Lib, too. I wouldn't show you anything with mom's age on it, but I can tell you that Charlotte came up with, "My mom is really good at annoying me", and "She is the best Mom in the bathroom." She meant it to be funny, and we both laughed hard. Poor mom.

I bet Daphne gets some revenge during the upcoming "mom" event...

Blind Dates

Our local library has a neat Valintine's Day grab bag offer.

I'm currently reading Matt Pinfield's autobiography, All These Things That I've Done, so I had Charlotte pick out a movie for me to watch. Daphne was willing to commit to reading whatever book Charlotte picked out.

So, what did we get?

Daphne loves mysteries, coffee, and recipes, so she couldn't be happier with Charlotte's pick.

Here's my movie.

I guess this is a romance film. It's about a lonely guy who falls in love with his computer's operating system. I'll keep my promise, and I'll give it a shot, but I don't know if I can stare at that moustache for over two hours...

I'll watch it in instalments.

Super Hero Dreams

If this picture makes no sense, then scroll down the blog a bit.

Construction Continues

Charlotte decided to go with the Squinkie Villa as her V-Day box for school. 😀 

I should clarify that her class is having a Friendship Party on Friday, not a Valentine's Day party, but it feels weird calling it a Friendship Box. Anyway, Char picked outherput it colored constuction paper, and mom helped put it on the box.

The next step is the Squinkie decorations. Char wants to tape real Squinkies to the outside of the box, but that's a recipe for disaster. Some will fall off, or be pulled off, and be lost for sure. The chances of finding the exact replacements will be zero, and that will be a mess I can't clean up.

Instead, I went to the Squinkies website and printed off a few coloring pages resized to fifty percent. Char colored them, and they will be cut out and taped to the box. I think it's a pretty good compromise.

Both Charlotte and I are excited for Friday. I took a personal day so I can take her to school for a "Donuts with Dad" gathering at 8AM. After I leave, she gets to have her Friendship Party, and then her class takes a field trip to the Science Center. It will be a big day for her.

If it's as warm as they predict for Friday (over 50 degrees), I might get to spray paint my newest project, and no, it isn't a pinball machine. It is a large toy, though. I hope Friday will be a big day for both of us.

It's All About the Wardrobe

Daphne and Charlotte were discussing our cat Earl when I walked into Char's room.

"What's this about Earl? Where is he?" I asked.

"Oh," Charlotte replied, "he's probably enjoying his life as a super hero."

I laughed and looked at Daphne, "What is that supposed to mean?"

She smiled and said, "Oh, you'll have to see for yourself. I think he ran down to the living room."

I was intrigued, so I went downstairs in search of our cat. I found him on the couch, wearing the felt cape that Charlotte had made him.

So that's what made him a superhero!

I figured he'd want the cape off - cats don't usually enjoy dress up - but when I reached down and pulled on the fabric, he ran to the end of the couch. That's when Daph walked in.

"He seems to like it, so don't worry about taking it off. He's fine."

Earl had settled into the couch cushion and held his head high. "He looks kinda ...." I was searching for the right word.

"Regal," Daphne finished for me.

"That's it. He does look regal. He's certainly proud of himself."

Earl wore his cape until he got it wet drinking out of the water dish. The cape is drying on a door knob, so I'm sure his highness will get another chance to enjoy his super hero couch adventures.

Getting Boxed In

This year Charlotte's first grade class gets to bring Valentine's Day boxes to school for the V-Day party. Yea! That's more fun than the bags they decorated for kindergarten last year.

I still remember some of the Valentines boxes I made for school. My go-to design was a shoebox covered in tinfoil - instant robot.

Charlotte's idea was to make a shark with a mouth that opened to reveal rows of heart-shaped teeth. That's a lot cooler than my robot.

Both Daphne and I were jazzed to help her bring that shark to reality, but Charlotte came home last night with a changed mind. She claimed someone else had made a shark last year (doubtful), so she couldn't make one now. Instead, she wanted to take a shoe box, wrap it in red paper, and cover it with heart-shaped stickers just like some of the other girls in her class are going to do.

Talk about a disappointment. There's nothing wrong with the red box design, but it's not her design. We don't want Charlotte to suppress her creativity just to appease her peers. I think Char is beautifully unique. It breaks my shark tooth heart to watch her want to gloss that over so she can fit in.

During dinner we pressed her to come up with a design that was more her. We talked about her hobbies and things she likes. Pets, cupcakes, zoo animals, and of course, Squinkies were all discussed. The idea of a Squinkie V-Day box caught her attention.

Charlotte offered one of her Squinkies 'do Drops Mystery Villas for inspiration.

Amazon cardboard was my medium.

So far, it's not looking too bad. The Squinkie house isn't as cool as a shark, but it does represent a true aspect of whom Char is, and that's a good thing.

Here's where I'd normally end this post, but I just watched a YouTube video about Cafe Racer motorcycles that is relevant. The video warns of rookie mistakes that builders make when they construct their first Cafe projects. It ends with this advice:

“There’s a big difference between bikes built to impress and really impressive motorcycles. And most curious is that the path to impressive bikes is usually the opposite. In other words, the search for simplicity and discreetness This can also be applicable in our lives. Don’t make things to impress people that you don’t know and which you don’t even like... The best person to impress is only yourself, and only you will be the judge of that.” - Racer TV

I always tell my students to write stories that they want to read. Art teachers tell their students to create for themselves, not for others. Band directors tell their musicians to do their best, not someone else's best. Coaches tell their athletes the same. It's an universal truth. 

Taking the road less traveled is always harder. The snow is deeper, the trip is slower, and the path is less lit. But Charlotte, I'm worried that if you don't make that shark or Squinkie Villa, then you'll be making red boxes for the rest of your life.

Cafe link

Rubber Slides and Padded Mats (An Email Reprint)

(from 2012)

Ever pull up to a stoplight on a busy multi-lane street and hear car brakes squeal? My first thought is, "Is that my car?" I'll then casually roll ahead a little so I can press the brakes to check.

It is the same experience at a mall's crowed playground when you smell a dirty diaper. My first thought is, "Is that my kid?" I'll then casually bend down to Char's backside to check. Sure it's awkward, but at least I wasn't the dad who pressed his face far enough into his child's diaper that he could have suffocated himself. That guy was gross.

Happily, this weekend anyway, it was someone else's car and someone else's kid.


Here are some random observations after visiting various toddler playgrounds in our local malls:

1. The bottom of the slide is much more dangerous than the top. I didn't see anyone fall off, but I witnessed plenty of crashes at the foot of the slide. Some pileups were five kids deep.
2. Nothing exciting happens when I'm watching my girl play, but if I look away for a couple of seconds there will be a minor disaster. So, it's just like home.
3. I can always smell warm pretzels. 
4. Parents treat the playground like it's an elevator; none of the adults talk to each other. Maybe they're just too tired.
5. Or they're too busy looking at their cell phones.
6. I know that little boy who just ran full steam into Charlotte and sent her flying into the padded bark of a rubber tree didn't mean to hurt her. But while I'm picking up my sobbing girl and watching him rounding the corner for lap number two, I want to trip him.
7. And his mom who didn't even see it happen because she was too busy staring at her phone instead of watching her human torpedo.
8. But I don't.

Music link