Remember when I used to own three pinball machines? I sold two of them back to the guy I bought them off of, and the third I sold to a co-worker’s neighbor. This time around, I’m keepin’ my machines! I’ve been watching ebay like a hawk trying to get a good deal and my patience paid off two weeks ago when I won a 1980 Williams’ ALIEN POKER pinball machine auction. Supposedly the only problem was that the coin return wasn’t working. I drove to Morganville, New Jersey in the wee hours of July 4th and picked up the machine. After putting it all together, I discovered a blown fuse on the power supply board. After replacing that with a $2 pack of fuses from Home Depot, the machine booted up and gameplay was on! I’m sure my neightbors will love the obnoxious sounds this thing makes — or at least tries to make. For some reason the sound is intermittant. I’ve found information on the internet that should help me pretend to be wise in the ways of electronics. I will post another update soon with with more details about what I did that weekend. If you want me to kick your ass at pinball, just say so and I’ll kindly oblige.