New beginnings - End of an era

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New beginnings - End of an era

Post by WARLOCK »

Robert Barake - R.A.B. to many here, is a very good friend, the very best; I am quite vocal about the fact he is like the older brother and confidant that I never had. (As I am the eldest in my family.)

Robert has left, (been removed) from the Player 1 parts department in a corporate shuffle which includes the Montreal parts department closing to the public and moving to an online ordering system.
All the very best to Benoit and Michel continuing (what I feel) is their great work in the Montreal office. I already am dissatisfied with how I am writing this as this isn't an obituary, but something special has indeed ended.

It is the end of an era; it is a change in how things once did happen and many of us will not be too happy about it. Robert however, will be fine and will continue to proceed, grow and advance with a freedom he is more than due to pursue.

All the very best to Robert in all of his endeavor's.
All the very best to the Montreal Player 1 staff.

Now we can grieve. Now we can move forward.

More soon.
New beginning's...

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by underachiever »

WOW!
Loved his interview last month. Hope he continues on with his pinball passion even if it's not going to be his 9-5 daily grind anymore.
Good Luck R.A.B.
May the future hold great things for you!!


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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by cap »

underachiever wrote:WOW!
Loved his interview last month. Hope he continues on with his pinball passion even if it's not going to be his 9-5 daily grind anymore.
Good Luck R.A.B.
May the future hold great things for you!!
Stef
If he simply keeps the other 3 endeavors he has (North Star/Montreal Pinball/book), it will already be a full time pinball job.
Rob is finally out of the fishtank. May that bring him happiness while the rest of us share our sorrow. It's our turn to be depressed.
We love you Rob.
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by semicolin »

ROB! Shit, this is a bummer. I'll be in Montreal all next week. You name the time and the place and I'll buy you a beer. Or ten.

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by Chris Silver »

When I first heard about all of this it was a slap in the face. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing. I still don't really know what to say. It's not a damn eulogy. The first thing to hit me was Robert being a great friend and going through this life-changing event.

Sometimes things in life that look bad are just the kinetic motivator to step on a new road and positively move on.

I'm not going to make a career out of this post and decided to play a song I sent to Rob that he liked and found suitable.

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by R.A.B. »

OK. Let's do this.

I tried to answer everyone's communications, I think I did. I also think I busted my Koodo 200 minute monthly plan this week.

Warlock has been very supportive this week and even offered to come down to Montreal to converse in person with me about the future. I want to underline his offer as that of a true friend. But, there is no real tragedy here except for the inevitable loss of human contact while doing business due to the new fancy ways of communicating that make us feel like we are smarter and more evolved, while those who sell the latter illusion profit greatly. Regardless of economical considerations, I believe that accepting technology without questioning is leaving something important behind. Well, let's not open that can of worms for now. Technology has redefined how we do things. Similarities can be drawn with the industrial revolution which led to things humans had never been able to do before, but this can also be quite destabilizing, especially when it speeds out of the gate fueled by opportunities for obscene profit through boosted growth while the consequences to what we are leaving behind are not taken into account. It is that throwing the baby out with the bathwater thing. I know, I know, there is no stopping “progress”, but shouldn't we also have a look at what we are giving up ?

Here is what I can say for now :

As cap and Chris so metaphorically stated, I am out of the proverbial “fish tank” of the past eight years and definitely on the loose once again. Some of those years, especially the first ones were freaking' amazing working relentlessly with Michel and building up the Montreal office to an amazing place of business (and more) for so many. We were quite privileged in living this and what it created for so many of us in need of connecting to something we shared, our passions for these games. I can't & won't speak for Michel, but the last year or so wasn't so pleasant as we struggled with the new tools and ways of doing business that were being implement. The amusement industry is and remains much like a wild horse, it takes lots of time and effort to tame it into something sleek, marketable and uniform, which in my opinion will take most of the fun out of it. That is what happened to me, I was losing my passion due to the new ways of doing things. It had reached a major crossroads and all I needed was a push from someone other than me to make my life more interesting again, and I got just that in the nick of time last Monday morning at about 9:15 AM. I love endings because they lead to beginnings. The best part of any experience we take on is the beginning, then it eventually gets dull and more often necessary for most of us to "change it up" in order to just stay the course. Beginnings remain the most exhilarating part of what an individual willfully & intentionally chooses to do. I really needed to be set loose in clean waters and have less walls to straddle in order to get to the goals I still see ahead. My goal of the past eight years while occupying that chair in the amusement industry was to help the clients make money and have fun doing it. Yes, making money is fun, but when it becomes an obsession, it is as dangerous as any other obsession that is not kept in check.

So now, “out of the fish tank” for me means less screens, more social interaction, more tangible life experiences, repairs and most importantly, more freedom. The latter being something I will never sell or compromise ever again. Wanting to enjoy our time here and build a good life for ourselves and the others we care about is all that should matter to good people, unfortunately this seems to be more and more dependent on money and how those who have way more than they need to live well use it. This can turn good people into assholes when we let it become our only goal & value. I rather see money as poker chips, you need to lose and you need to win once in while so that it circulates and that everyone gets a chance at winning once in a while to keep their interest in life and never leave us without hope for a future that can be positive for all who participate in working hard at what they believe in. These times are becoming too one sided, some are trapped by their jobs for the benefit of others who produce nothing, while prosperity gaps in our world are getting dangerous close to provoking a nasty adjustment.

In the end, there is no tragedy in my position being terminated, besides losing human contact with many of you, this is just one more small event in a link to the direction being taken by most big businesses via all this amazing technology. Accepting in using it so often and willingly without question seems somewhat like resigning to short-sighted thinking. No surprise, we are in a capitalistic system, we live and die by that sword yet I can't help myself in thinking that big is bad and small is beautiful when it comes to good business practices which allow room for good old human feelings and interactions while not losing sight of what we do in life and especially not losing sight of what we leave behind by accepting blindly what "the man" so willing offers as a newer & better way of doing what we always did, communicate. Be careful with others, make choices and don't let the weasels corner you into thinking that you have no choice.
Last edited by R.A.B. on Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:55 pm, edited 6 times in total.
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Bally 1936 "Bumper" - North Star 1949 "Sea Breeze" - North Star 1950 "Richelieu" - Universal 1950 "Feature Bell" - Gottlieb 1952 "Queen of Hearts" - Williams 1960 "Ten Spot" - Gottlieb 1971 "Challenger" - Williams 1973 "OXO" - Bally 1976 "Bonanza"

Maxed out at 10 machines, no more. Un max de 10 machines, pas plus.
Une règle suivi guéri de tout. A rule respected can cure anything.

A philosophy of doing shall rule until the days when I can no longer "do" arrive. Because when I am too old to adjust an AX relay or relieve a woman friend from sighing, there will only be memories to fill my time. So, the task at hand is to build that RRSP of memories in order to joyfully cushion the later stages of life.

Personally prefer the exceptional qualities lurking beneath any normal state of affairs. Alas, our day to day is being promoted as extraordinary via a world wide web largely fueled by the new dumb & followed closely by the latest breed of unscrupulous scoundrels & judas goats. So, god bless the fool hearted, the crazed, and the railroaded all in good measure for they will likely inherit what is left of the earth after the screwheads are done with it. God damn darwinian primates, why do they refuse to evolve, even after all we should have learned from being dumb savages for so long.

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by nostalgiaqc »

Such a Poet ! Hope to SEE you At pincon.
Without your P1 hat plz

Much respect!
Yan

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by pharoah007 »

R.A.B. wrote:I also think I busted my Koodo 200 minute monthly plan this week.

Look up the smartphone app "fongo"

Free unlimited phone calls with voice mail and any area code in Canada you like for incoming calls. :)

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by R.A.B. »

@ pharoah007 - thanks Zak, but I am trading in my smart phone for a flip phone, so calls and texts only for me while I am out there. Really don't need the www available all the time and letting it have a direct line to my brain. It makes it easy for me to feel like a dependent weakling fuzzhead when I look at whatever it prompts me to look at and it turns me into a distracted mutt. Basically, too much immediate monkey business in the palm of my hand. I will use my computer for e-mails and research as I finish my book, there is alot of good writing on MAACA to sift through in the past 8 years, and that is a great chronological guide for me when I am at home and writing.

http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/04/11/cineplex-layoffs/
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Bally 1936 "Bumper" - North Star 1949 "Sea Breeze" - North Star 1950 "Richelieu" - Universal 1950 "Feature Bell" - Gottlieb 1952 "Queen of Hearts" - Williams 1960 "Ten Spot" - Gottlieb 1971 "Challenger" - Williams 1973 "OXO" - Bally 1976 "Bonanza"

Maxed out at 10 machines, no more. Un max de 10 machines, pas plus.
Une règle suivi guéri de tout. A rule respected can cure anything.

A philosophy of doing shall rule until the days when I can no longer "do" arrive. Because when I am too old to adjust an AX relay or relieve a woman friend from sighing, there will only be memories to fill my time. So, the task at hand is to build that RRSP of memories in order to joyfully cushion the later stages of life.

Personally prefer the exceptional qualities lurking beneath any normal state of affairs. Alas, our day to day is being promoted as extraordinary via a world wide web largely fueled by the new dumb & followed closely by the latest breed of unscrupulous scoundrels & judas goats. So, god bless the fool hearted, the crazed, and the railroaded all in good measure for they will likely inherit what is left of the earth after the screwheads are done with it. God damn darwinian primates, why do they refuse to evolve, even after all we should have learned from being dumb savages for so long.

"I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you, to be just like them. " - Zimmy

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by redketchup »

Wow RAB didn’t know your annual earning was 250 000$... :mrgreen:

http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/04/11/cineplex-layoffs/
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by R.A.B. »

redketchup wrote:Wow RAB didn’t know your annual earning was 250 000$... :mrgreen:

http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/04/11/cineplex-layoffs/
Hey Doc, I am flattered, but I want to know who taught you math. :lol:
See, I am a doctor as well.
See, I am a doctor as well.
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https://amusement.evolvo.com/

Bally 1936 "Bumper" - North Star 1949 "Sea Breeze" - North Star 1950 "Richelieu" - Universal 1950 "Feature Bell" - Gottlieb 1952 "Queen of Hearts" - Williams 1960 "Ten Spot" - Gottlieb 1971 "Challenger" - Williams 1973 "OXO" - Bally 1976 "Bonanza"

Maxed out at 10 machines, no more. Un max de 10 machines, pas plus.
Une règle suivi guéri de tout. A rule respected can cure anything.

A philosophy of doing shall rule until the days when I can no longer "do" arrive. Because when I am too old to adjust an AX relay or relieve a woman friend from sighing, there will only be memories to fill my time. So, the task at hand is to build that RRSP of memories in order to joyfully cushion the later stages of life.

Personally prefer the exceptional qualities lurking beneath any normal state of affairs. Alas, our day to day is being promoted as extraordinary via a world wide web largely fueled by the new dumb & followed closely by the latest breed of unscrupulous scoundrels & judas goats. So, god bless the fool hearted, the crazed, and the railroaded all in good measure for they will likely inherit what is left of the earth after the screwheads are done with it. God damn darwinian primates, why do they refuse to evolve, even after all we should have learned from being dumb savages for so long.

"I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you, to be just like them. " - Zimmy

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by TwilightZone »

Sad news. Always enjoyed chatting with Rob at Player 1 set up at Ottawa and Hawkesbury shows.

Best wishes to you, Rob. Hope the future brings you a ton of opportunities and success.

Cheers,
Duane
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by R.A.B. »

TwilightZone wrote:Sad news. Always enjoyed chatting with Rob at Player 1 set up at Ottawa and Hawkesbury shows.

Best wishes to you, Rob. Hope the future brings you a ton of opportunities and success.

Cheers,
Duane
Thanks Duane.

I'll see you at the two shows this year, with either the North Star and/or Montreal Pinball t-shirt on, maybe both, don't worry I will alternate them. :D

But for now, I got to go fix a Bally Eight Ball and a Flip Flop (quite appropriate don't you think ?) for a Doctor in Candiac after lunch, so I've got to go and get cooking man.

Hugs,

Rob
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Bally 1936 "Bumper" - North Star 1949 "Sea Breeze" - North Star 1950 "Richelieu" - Universal 1950 "Feature Bell" - Gottlieb 1952 "Queen of Hearts" - Williams 1960 "Ten Spot" - Gottlieb 1971 "Challenger" - Williams 1973 "OXO" - Bally 1976 "Bonanza"

Maxed out at 10 machines, no more. Un max de 10 machines, pas plus.
Une règle suivi guéri de tout. A rule respected can cure anything.

A philosophy of doing shall rule until the days when I can no longer "do" arrive. Because when I am too old to adjust an AX relay or relieve a woman friend from sighing, there will only be memories to fill my time. So, the task at hand is to build that RRSP of memories in order to joyfully cushion the later stages of life.

Personally prefer the exceptional qualities lurking beneath any normal state of affairs. Alas, our day to day is being promoted as extraordinary via a world wide web largely fueled by the new dumb & followed closely by the latest breed of unscrupulous scoundrels & judas goats. So, god bless the fool hearted, the crazed, and the railroaded all in good measure for they will likely inherit what is left of the earth after the screwheads are done with it. God damn darwinian primates, why do they refuse to evolve, even after all we should have learned from being dumb savages for so long.

"I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you, to be just like them. " - Zimmy

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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by redketchup »

R.A.B. wrote:
redketchup wrote:Wow RAB didn’t know your annual earning was 250 000$... :mrgreen:

http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/04/11/cineplex-layoffs/
Hey Doc, I am flattered, but I want to know who taught you math. :lol:

Honorary Doctorate Degree.jpg
Easy math RAB...

25 000 000 in economy and 100 poeple without a job... So you are at 250 000 yearly! Just Sad you didn't know before you had such a salary! :D :D :D
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by Chris Silver »

redketchup wrote:
R.A.B. wrote:
redketchup wrote:Wow RAB didn’t know your annual earning was 250 000$... :mrgreen:

http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/04/11/cineplex-layoffs/
Hey Doc, I am flattered, but I want to know who taught you math. :lol:

Honorary Doctorate Degree.jpg
Easy math RAB...

25 000 000 in economy and 100 poeple without a job... So you are at 250 000 yearly! Just Sad you didn't know before you had such a salary! :D :D :D
At least now I know who's buying beer next time I see RAB.
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by Snazzy81 »

Sounds like more using parts in your future rather than selling. Good luck Rob!
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by Bagdad »

R.A.B. wrote: I'll see you at the two shows this year, with either the North Star and/or Montreal Pinball t-shirt on
Justement, l'autre jour je me demandais si vous vendiez de la merch du North Star, genre des hoodies ou des T-shirts?
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Re: New beginnings - End of an era

Post by TwilightZone »

R.A.B. wrote:Thanks Duane.

I'll see you at the two shows this year, with either the North Star and/or Montreal Pinball t-shirt on, maybe both, don't worry I will alternate them. :D
Awesome, Rob! See you there.
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