Multiplicity

So, 2 weeks since the last update (well I started one - but never posted it - consider this a bumper update), in that time I've:

i) Had my photo on page 3 of the newspaper ;-)
ii) Attended the highly successful UK Pinball Show
iii) Failed to do any Christmas shopping.
iv) Started work on the Super Mario Pinball...

So newspaper article was suitably embarrassing - luckily they don't archive the photo they published. Horribly misquoted and ribbed the whole weekend of the show about 'playing all the machines from Swindon to Brighton'.

The show was a great success, with 143 machines for people to play, for free, for a mere 5quid entry. Had a great weekend and the event raised ~3grand for MENCAP. (As of writing you can still buy t-shirts in aid of mencap here.)

I've made one attempt brave town for Christmas shopping - managed to buy myself the ludicrously expensive remote for my camera (15 quid for a 1 button IR trigger...) but it means I can have fun like this:



Using the tripod and multiple shots rather than extensive photoshop post-processing is pretty cool. I plan to experiment with this some more... the remote allows you to do really long exposure shots (like 'bulb' setting), but without the need to keep a finger one the shutter release, thus shaking the tripod (click once to open shutter, then again to close.) Lots of fun to be had creatively there too - so far limited to shooting a darkened empty room, whilst I figure out exposure...

Super Mario is gonna be a long-time work in progress - it basically lights the general illumination and not much else - I've started work on the cpu board, having ordered the motherload of spare parts which arrived the other day.

Most of the rest is the mundane work/drink cycle that is too dull to report - mostly work.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten I owe one of you a post with details of my digital photo-frame project. It's coming... and so's Christmas :D

Pinballers Anonymous!

So I finished the TZ shopout - and Nick came to collect that and Addams for the show in Brum on Saturday. If you're in the area and fancy a game of pinball, the Holte Suite at Aston Villa leisure centre is the place to be - more info here. I'm off there tommorrow, all the pinball you can eat for a fiver - bargain.

In order to promote the show, your shy and retiring (ha!) author has been interviewed and photographed for the local rag... I posed (clothed :P) in a number of random and uncomfortable positions around the machine. I'll post a scan for your delectation and delight if it gets printed.

Other than that - not much happening.

Keep flippin'
malc.

Filth!

Nope, no pr0n... more pinball...


Got the tricky bits off, gumball machine, mini-playfield, plastic/metal ramps, metal lane guides and troughs, the list goes on... The machine is filthy, it's probably never had a decent clean in it's lifetime, as you can see in the next pics.



Next up is cleaning/polishing duty, gonna take a while.

Halloween party was a blast, everyone made such efforts with their costumes, some were more scary than others...


I think the prize for 'most effort' had to go to 'The Corpse Brides'


Head on over to my gallery for the full rundown of the preparations and the party itself. (Warning! Completely unedited snap-happy drunken rubbish can be found there ;)

Stay tuned!
- malc