Rings for a King, a Chariot for a Princess

When we were visiting St. Louis for Xmas, Char's Grandpa took us to R.T Weiler's Food and Spirits in Old St. Charles. The place has a dog theme going on, and the onion rings came in a dog bowl. They rank right up there with the best tasting onion rings I've ever had. I'm glad you can see Grandpa Andy's hand because that gives some scale to the picture. Those rings are huge!

After lunch we took a quick trip back to the car in a horse drawn carriage. "It's just like Cinderella!" Charlotte exclaimed.

The leftover onion rings are in that box on the right. No way were they being left behind.

Pinball Update: Going A Little Nuts

I've owned my Mars Trek pinball machine for a month, and I'm surprised how much working on it is like working on my VW Bug. I get to wax paint, polish chrome, clean glass, remove rust, replace parts, and mess with electrical components.

Instead of scouring theSamba forums for VW advice and help, I've been searching the Pinside forums for tips and information. On my shelf next to my "Bug Me" DVDs, I now have a "This Old Pinball Volume #1" DVD. Last year Daphne's dad bought me a VW repair book for Christmas. This year I received a Mars Trek manual, the wiring schematic, and an advertising flyer.

Daphne gave me The Complete Pinball Book. You might not find the history of the flipper fascinating, but I did. I'm halfway through the 320 pages, and I'm up to plungers.

Another similarity between the Beetle and the Mars Trek is that they're both vintage machines built in a foreign land (the VW is German and the pinball machine is Spanish), and replacement parts can be hard to find. 

For instance, there are 19 red, nylon nuts that secure the decorative light shields to the play field. They look like this.

While replacing a play field light bulb, I lost one of the nuts. I think it fell into the machine, but I can't find it anywhere. Man, making mistakes like that drives me crazy! One clumsy move and I lose a part that's probably irreplaceable. I looked for over an hour with a flashlight, but there are about a thousand places in there for a little nut to hide. 

See if you can spot it.

I checked online, but no one was selling nuts that look like the one I needed. I found the right size nylon nut at the hardware store, but it was white and kinda fat (like me). 

Since the nut was made of nylon, I figured I could file it into a shape that would more closely resemble an original. I put the nut into my vice and started filing. 

The closest shade of red Daphne could find was Italian Red, so I used that.

For comparison, my "new" nut is on the left.

It's okay.

From here you can't even see that's the nut is different from the others.

Check out the right front leg. I added a cup holder. See, it is just like working on a car.

Malicious

What a way to start the new year. Yesterday morning I was greeted with this as the background picture on my PC.

At first I didn't get too excited. I've seen bogus popups on our computer before, and we have a subscription to Norton 360. And when I checked the folder where I keep our family pictures (the most important folder on the computer) everything looked fine.

But then I tried to open a picture from Char's first birthday party, and I was informed the image couldn't be opened. It was the same for all of the others pictures. We've had computer viruses before, but this one was different.

The CTB-Locker virus sneaks into your computer, makes copies of all your documents and pictures, and then encrypts them. Your original pictures and documents are then deleted. If you want to access your information, you have to pay a ransom. Sounds like something out of a spy film, but unfortunately it isn't.

If you follow the cryptic instructions that have been left in your documents folder, you have to download a program, convert the demanded amount into bitcoins, and then pay to get the key that will unlock your stuff. I guess the average ransom is $400, but there's no guarantee that you will actually get a key, or that it will work.

I did back up most of our photos on an external hard drive, but it was plugged into the PC and all of the back up photos were encrypted, too. Sometimes a guy can't win.

I wished it was April 1, instead of January 1, but it wasn't. Four and a half years' worth of pictures are gone. Charlotte's whole recorded life has been stolen, and there's nothing to be done about it. This isn't the tragedy of a house burning down or someone becoming deathly ill, but it still makes me sick to my stomach.

I've purchased Spyhunter 4 to remove the CTB-Locker from the computer, but as for now the virus is too new for you to decrypt your photos without paying criminals. But I know Moore's law, and I'm confident that in a few years I will be able to again access my stuff. I'll just transfer everything to the external drive and put it on a shelf. It'll be a waiting game.

At least I have a slew of photos on my work computer, and when Char was ten months old I copied all of the photos and videos of her onto two DVDs, but I have no idea where they are after we moved last year. The search is on.

Although I can't get to old photos, I'm still taking new ones. Today we went to the Science Center.

And then we celebrated with a peanut butter and jelly calzone at Gusto Pizza. Unlike computer hackers, the calzone was awesome.

Holiday Dress Up

Unavoidable Disney Reference

I didn't think we'd have a white Christmas this year, but we got about an inch of snow last night.

You know what that means...

I'm Over the Moon

Somewhere in our house I have a "can safe" that's similar to this.

I found mine at Goodwill, and I bought it because it reminded me of the stickers my dad put around his beer can so he could drink in public.

Anytime I take my change to the bank, receive money as a gift, or I earn a little extra cash by flipping a bicycle or making a spoon ring, I put the cash in my can safe. I've been doing that for about eight years, but I can't tell you why. I suppose I was saving up for something, but I didn't know for what. Until last weekend, that is. 

I have the Iowa Pinball website bookmarked, and every few months I window shop. I've dreamed of owning my own pinball machine since I was in kindergarten, but this game from 1979 was as close as a kid could get.

It's not very fun, despite what this commercial wants you to believe.

I picked up this X-Box collection a few years ago, and it is fun. You'd be surprised how well pinball translates to video. There are seven pinball machines to pick from, and they range in years from the 50s to the 90s. I like 1973's "Big Shot". It's simple, but addictive.

Over the years I've also collected vintage books about vintage pinball machines, but X-Box and these books are all I thought I'd ever own.

But this month the Iowa Pinball site has a sale going on, and that caught my attention.

They had 14 pinball machines for sale, and one of them looked like this (photo taken from the Internet Pinball Machine Database).

This is a Mars Trek machine that was produced in Spain and exported to the US in 1977. Sonic (Segasa) manufactured it, and they're well known for making playing fields that are beautiful and tough as nails. On the internet, Mars Trek enjoys a solid reputation as a tough game that's fun to play, and although it was overlooked in the 70's, the machine is slowly becoming more desirable in the collector's market. In 2012, Mars Trek was one of the pinball machines used in the Pinburg Match & Play Championships (Pinburg is the largest pinball tourney in the world).

I didn't know any of this before last week. I just looked at the pictures of that pinball machine and thought, Dang. That thing looks soo cool. And when I looked at the price I thought, Dang. I can afford that! I have more than that in my can! I had to think that, because you shouldn't say, "I have more than that in my can!" out loud.

When I showed Daphne the pictures (and the price), she was very supportive. Daphne also loves pinball. I contacted David Gray at Iowa Pinball to set up a time to see the machine, and on Monday the three of us drove over to Mr. Gray's place to give it a whirl. 

David has his side business in the basement of his country home, and the "nice" machines are in the display room. He keeps the lower entry machines in the repair shop, and that's where the Mars Trek was.

It's at this point my eyes glazed over, and all I could think was, Oh man, I want that. I gave the Mars Trek a spin, Daphne played a ball, and David flipped over a milk crate for Char to stand on while she tried it, too. Char pounded the flippers, and when she hit her first target a light clicked on and Char's eyes lit up. The best part was that Daphne admitted that she didn't have much for me in terms of Xmas gifts, so she suggested that we each pay half and give the pinball machine to ourselves for Christmas! 

Done deal. 

It was delivered to our basement on Tuesday.

Somebody else is also excited!

That Spanish back glass artwork is trippy-cool.

And it looks pretty neat when it's lit up.

Char's Princess tent was moved out of the way, and Mars Trek claimed a spot in the corner. 

I took down the Iowa State Fair and Blank Park Zoo Prints, and I moved some of Char's glow-in-the-dark stars into the shape of a meteor shower (only because I didn't know where to put 24 plastic, sticky stars). The stars are kinda tacky, so I'll probably take them down soon. Probably.

The Pac-Man back glass was found at a flea market about five years ago, and I thought the Star Wars and other Galactic Funk album fit the Mars Trek theme. The picture of me on a Big Wheel is a testament to how long I've been dreaming of this day.

The original Goonies movie poster doesn't really match a space theme, but it's still pretty cool.

For about $600 (delivered), you don't get a perfect, 37-year-old pinball machine. There's some work to do, and nothing makes me happier. Last night I successfully replaced some bulbs and started waxing the play field. When I showed Daphne she remarked, "This is the perfect project for you. It's too cold to work on your Bug, and this will keep you out of trouble."

She's right; I haven't watched TV in a week. 

Mary (and Joseph) Had a Little Lamb

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd type: Sheep costumes are adorable.

But it's true:

This year's Christmas Pageant at church was a great time. Char didn't have any speaking lines. All she had to do was stand in the right spot and sing whenever possible. She was pretty excited to get to her "mark".

Since none of the other kids sang, Char didn't either (typical sheep), but she was doing her moves.

Char belted it out "Go Tell it on the Mountain". It's her favorite song.

After the play it was time to run to mom, 

 tell her all about her "performance",

get a hug,

and go out to eat. Char picked Hy-Vee, and here's the picture she took while we were celebrating. 

What a nice morning.

I Don't Know How the Christmas Program Will Go This Year...

...but Charlotte knows her lines.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

"I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong song."
- Dr. John

Tonight was Char's first public performance as a ballet dancer. Char's dance academy secured the open space in the mall that's in front of a Sears store. Yup, nothing spells culture like leaf blowers, ballet dancing, and Craftsman tools.

Daphne and I went into the mall with low expectations. And I mean low. Like, if Char just stood there the whole time without running away we'd call that a win. Char was excited, so things were looking up for her Christmas dance to "Jingle Bell Rock".

The place was packed, and after I took a team photo Daphne left to see if she could fight her way through the crowd.

I stayed in the back in case Charlotte fled the scene, but she didn't. She stood in her place with the rest of her team. She stepped out onto the floor, and when the music started she did her best to follow the instructor.

Now here's the rub. Char's regular teacher is a senior at my high school, but he wasn't there. Instead, another high school student was the substitute. And she was in a leg cast. And then someone played the wrong song. And then the substitute danced/ hobbled her way through the wrong routine for the girls to follow. Those poor kids didn't have a chance.

Char's the second dancer from the right. Check it out.

You can hear me laughing at the 44-second mark. I feel a tiny bit bad about that, but the whole thing was ridiculous. But what's so impressive is that those girls are trying. They're in front a huge group of people, dancing moves they've never done to a song they do not know. And they're smiling, and they're having fun.

That's so cool.

Char ran over to me when the music was over and exclaimed, "I LOVE to dance!" When Mom joined us Char did a little move and jumped into Daph's arms.

Char has no idea the dance didn't go as planned, and we have no intention of telling her. It was a positive experience for her, and that's all that matters.

Before Char was even born Daphne and I made ourselves a promise. If our child was to participate in an activity, when it was over we'd ask three questions.
1) Did you have fun?
2) Did you do your best?
3) Where should we go to eat?

The idea is that we'd celebrate best efforts regardless of the outcome, and... we love to eat.

So we went to Taco John's.

Then we went to get some frozen yogurt.

I love ballet. link