Godspeed, John Glenn

John Glenn passed away today. He was the last of the celebrated Mercury 7 – America’s original astronauts. In 1962 Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Will there ever be another group like this in our lifetime? Heroes all. Godspeed, John Glenn.

Gemini 12

In 1966 two brave astronauts aboard Gemini 12 paved the way for the epic Apollo 11 moon landing. Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin represented the courage and determination of a nation ‘On The Move.’ This was the last Gemini mission as NASA began the Apollo missions the following year. Gemini 12 was also Aldrin's first space flight. I hope one day soon we can once again resume the ‘world’s greatest adventure.’

Prepare To Qualify!

After an extensive repair job, I have completed the restoration of a Pole Position cockpit. The game is in original condition and plays great! The game required quite a number of repairs including a complete rebuild of all game boards, the power brick, the steering assembly and the pedals. A total restoration of the monitor chassis was also necessary and included a tube swap from a television! New rear plexiglass and an original topper completed the project.

Space Shuttle Challenger

Enemy In Range!

After a lengthy repair job, I have fixed Battlezone and put it in the arcade. The game is in excellent original condition and plays great! The game had sat unused in a warehouse for many years and required quite a number of repairs including a complete rebuild of the power brick as well as a total restoration of the vector monitor chassis. Battlezone is the first game to be put in Tranquility Base Arcade in almost fivers years! Fortunately, due to the game being the cabaret version, room was not a problem.

Tough & Competent

As admired as Neil Armstrong became for his initial walk on the moon there are countless less heralded individuals worthy of the same praise. Gene Kranz is certainly one of those individuals. Gene is well known as the NASA Flight Director for the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission and led the team who ultimately saved the crew. A little less well known is that he was also responsible for being the flight director on all of the 'odd numbered' Apollo missions. Gene directed the Apollo 11 moon landing which puts him in a very special place at Tranquility Base Arcade. As a fellow engineer Gene's dictum known as “The Kranz Dictum” rings true with me on a daily basis - 'Tough & Competent'. It is a great honor to have Gene autograph my personal 'Tough & Competent' document, which will be very proudly displayed in the arcade.

Twin Galaxies Trading Card

Twin Galaxies again honored me with another card. The card is number 2210 in their "Superstars of 2015" video game and pinball trading card set. A great big THANK YOU to Walter Day, Eric Tessler, Richie Knucklez, William McEvoy and anyone else who made this tribute possible!