So, one of the parking lots at work (let's say we have 4, although an argument could be made there are 5, or only 3) gets awfully full when the afternoon shift people show up, to the point where it is completely full.

There are some people who show up nearly an hour early to find a spot in this lot, rather than park in the massive one where there's plenty of space, because they don't want to walk the extra five minutes it would take them to cross the street and walk through to the back of the building. :confused:
I show up 45 minutes early to pick up my daughter from school so that I don't have to get out of the car. Same thing really. ;)
 
I'm seriously thinking about getting a small business loan, quitting my job, and starting a VR Arcade. I have a place scouted out that would be about $3000 a month and has a lot of foot traffic in a growing part of town that caters to 18-24 year old college kids. I'm writing up the business plan now to present to the bank.
I would definitely go. I want to try out VR before we drop money on a system.
 
I only went to the two other stores in Hamburg (Hamburg Schnelsen and Hamburg Moorburg) but never to the new one. Is there a huge difference?
Not really. Area wise it is a little smaller,compensates this by having its showroom over 2 floors and its warehouse and cashregisters on the 3rd. It has all the items the other stores have.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
So, one of our ISPs was supposed to bring me a new router today, to replace the one that died last weekend.

This tobacco-reeking war-scarred SOB is what they dropped off at reception and ran away.

tmp_26338-0113171641-1072827801.jpg


No passwords, no setup instructions or gateway settings, just "heyago butthead, have fun with THIS."

Well, I think I can get into it via Mac address, and I might be able to guess the gateway, but I'm still going to need the admin password...[DOUBLEPOST=1484347912,1484347732][/DOUBLEPOST]AW MAN IT'S GOT GOOP ON IT. The underside looks like it has some random... I don't know.. adhesive gunk? Tar? Blech.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
It says router on the side but looks more like a hub.
Mikrotik routerboards are incredibly versatile and dependable solutions that can be configured to be switches, firewalls, routers, or all three at the same time. They're just... not very user friendly to set up, to put it lightly.
 
I'm seriously thinking about getting a small business loan, quitting my job, and starting a VR Arcade. I have a place scouted out that would be about $3000 a month and has a lot of foot traffic in a growing part of town that caters to 18-24 year old college kids. I'm writing up the business plan now to present to the bank.
https://crew.co/blog/10-steps-to-starting-a-side-business-while-working-a-full-time-job/

(Pay attention to this one: http://fortune.com/2014/09/25/why-startups-fail-according-to-their-founders/ )

Also: https://enloop.com/
 
I just bought myself a heated mattress pad and new fleece sheets.

"As God is mah witness, Ah'll nevah leave mah bed again."
Goodness gracious, I just started sweating by reading that. It hit 80f here today. AC running full blast, winter is so last week here.
 

Dave

Staff member
I would definitely go. I want to try out VR before we drop money on a system.
I've talked to the wife about this. While she's not excited, she's not entirely opposed, either.[DOUBLEPOST=1484354870,1484354487][/DOUBLEPOST]
I think the demand is there and will only grow.

  • Arcades were huge in the 1980's, but they died out mostly because of home systems that could play the same or better games.
  • A true VR experience needs space that most people don't have. If you have an apartment, you can't easily hook up a Vive and play it to its potential.
  • The area that I'm looking at is a very hipster/young crowd hangout. The area has high foot traffic and it's crawling with my target demographic.
  • There is nothing like it in the surrounding states. You have to go to Chicago or maybe Denver to find anything comparable.
Really the only things that would cut in on the business would be direct competition or a rise in technology like the Omni - and that's a long time away and pretty damned expensive.
 
Keep in mind that running said business would be way more time consuming than your current job and would probably cut into your comedy bookings as well.
 
I've talked to the wife about this. While she's not excited, she's not entirely opposed, either.[DOUBLEPOST=1484354870,1484354487][/DOUBLEPOST]

I think the demand is there and will only grow.

  • Arcades were huge in the 1980's, but they died out mostly because of home systems that could play the same or better games.
  • A true VR experience needs space that most people don't have. If you have an apartment, you can't easily hook up a Vive and play it to its potential.
  • The area that I'm looking at is a very hipster/young crowd hangout. The area has high foot traffic and it's crawling with my target demographic.
  • There is nothing like it in the surrounding states. You have to go to Chicago or maybe Denver to find anything comparable.
Really the only things that would cut in on the business would be direct competition or a rise in technology like the Omni - and that's a long time away and pretty damned expensive.
The reason I post it is because that is what every new business owns thinks. Sell yourself the business like you have to sell it to a Skeptic. It is easy to find reasons to believe in your dreams. It is harder facing the opposite.
 
I've talked to the wife about this. While she's not excited, she's not entirely opposed, either.[DOUBLEPOST=1484354870,1484354487][/DOUBLEPOST]

I think the demand is there and will only grow.

  • Arcades were huge in the 1980's, but they died out mostly because of home systems that could play the same or better games.
  • A true VR experience needs space that most people don't have. If you have an apartment, you can't easily hook up a Vive and play it to its potential.
  • The area that I'm looking at is a very hipster/young crowd hangout. The area has high foot traffic and it's crawling with my target demographic.
  • There is nothing like it in the surrounding states. You have to go to Chicago or maybe Denver to find anything comparable.
Really the only things that would cut in on the business would be direct competition or a rise in technology like the Omni - and that's a long time away and pretty damned expensive.
Dave, your competition is whatever people spend their entertainment dollars on. I remember the old BattleTech Centers; if renting VR is going to be your sole revenue stream, seems like a tough row to hoe.
 
Goodness gracious, I just started sweating by reading that. It hit 80f here today. AC running full blast, winter is so last week here.
It's 7F right now (-9F with the wind). That's the warmest it's been all week. My bedroom is on the north side of the house and it's been averaging around 65F in here at night.

Now, if you love me, you can send me some of that 80F weather. ;)
 
It's 7F right now (-9F with the wind). That's the warmest it's been all week. My bedroom is on the north side of the house and it's been averaging around 65F in here at night.

Now, if you love me, you can send me some of that 80F weather. ;)
We keep trying, but north Texas and Oklahoma keep getting in the way. They seem to want an ice storm there.
 
Dave, your competition is whatever people spend their entertainment dollars on. I remember the old BattleTech Centers; if renting VR is going to be your sole revenue stream, seems like a tough row to hoe.
We have a Dave & Busters, but their game selection is pretty lame (half of it are those psuedo casino games). We have Beercade, which is a small bar with a bunch of old arcade machines: which is cool for us old folks who were teenagers in the 80s, but you can only play so much Galaga. We also have Spielbound, which is a board game cafe. And probably a few smaller arcades here and there, but those are the gaming places I'm most familiar with. While generally competition for the gaming audience, they're still not the same as a VR arcade. Especially if he offers multiplayer games.

We have two large universities, a few smaller universities/colleges, and an Air Force base (where young, single airmen are stuck in the dorms with their new disposable income when they first arrive, and whine about having nothing to do), so I don't think Dave would be hurting for customers in Omaha. Especially if it's close to any of the new trendy bars/restaurants that have been popping up all over the place -- maybe cut a deal with a few of them to offer delivery?

Also, my husband has requested an iRacing set-up. :D
 
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