A Pinball Outing and Basil Update

Yesterday we drove up to Maitland (a bit North of Orlando) to attend the first annual Southern Pinball Festival.  They were holding it all weekend but Saturday was the only day I could go up there for everything.  They had over 100 machines you could play from many different decades.  Photography wasn't the easiest given the lighting so I had to turn my ISO way up.  I got a few decent photos.

At 1PM we had the pleasure of listening to Gary Stern talk about his company Stern Pinball, the only manufacturers of pinball machines right now. He told us a little bit about how sales are going, their design process, and what they see in pinball's future.

In lieu of getting a photo with him I later ended up playing pinball right next to him!

Afterwards we had a few beers at a nearby Irish pub and then called it quits. It was a really fun day.  I was happy to see Ringo even try playing pinball.  He enjoyed some of the older machines more than the newer ones. We both really liked the new Tron LE table and Lord of the Rings.  I hope one day we can get a table for the house rec room.

In other news, Basil had his 6 month checkup with the orthopedic vet.  His condition has gotten worse with his right rear knee. The limping is more pronounced and he doesn't like to put weight on it. Dr. Hay recommended trying a month of steroids to see how he responds and if that would give him any relief.  I immediately saw a difference on the first day of steroid use. I'm hoping this will keep him comfortable until it is time for ACL surgery.  That might be a year away.

Today I've got a meeting at 1PM with the current vice-president of my quilt guild to go over some things I'll be taking over from her starting in January. Then I get to come home and start working on a few sewing projects I've got going on.