Yellow Jacket

Is this a game of skill or random luck? There is not much about the Scad II duckie that is uniquely identifiable as a ducky. It doesn't really even look yellow. However, if the intent of the game is to count the obvious duckies plus make a random guess about the other unidentifiable blotches in the photos then count it.

Bah! Lazy youngster laying down on the job. His grandpa would've done a headstand.

OK I won't count the phantom duckies this time. I think I saw six.

Age: 44 Middle Name: Fuzzy Bee Pet Peeve: People who don't know what something means and can't be bothered to look it up; but will spend just as much time typing a reply asking what xxx means -- or -- People who give really long winded answers to questionnaires like this one Color of your bathroom: a hodgepodge of off-white and browns. Best Movie of ALL time: Blade Runner Best Song of ALL time: Carmina Burana-O Fortuna or Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf; current favorite Leafblower by Asylum Street Spankers Best TV Shows: This Old House, History Detectives, Austin City Limits Favorite Band/Artist: always changing--it has been ELO, Styx, The Kinks, Queen, REM, Drivin' and Cryin', and others...currently it is Asylum Street Spankers Favorite Ride at Disney Parks: It's been a while since I was there...probably BTMR Yummiest Ice Cream: Something chocolate, served on something chocolate (brownie), covered with something chocolate (chocolate fudge sauce), some whipped cream and topped with something chocolate (chocolate shavings). Maybe with some seedless raspberry sauce in there too. If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be: I was thinking Glen Plake (extreme skier) until someone mentioned chef Mario Batali--He seems quite personable in his Spain...On the Road Again show and would almost certainly lead you to great food. Morning Person or Night Person: Night person. I love being awake for sunrise...I just wish it would come later in the day. Pets: Cat, Turtle, and a yard full of Birds, Squirrels, and Chipmunks that cost more to feed than the "real" pets. Favorite Color: Blue...no yellooooooooooow! Movie references aside...actually it would be green. Where you would go for fun (not an amusement park): Snow Skiing Coke or Pepsi: Beer. Actually either one is OK when I occasionally drink a cola. I used to choose Pepsi, probably as rebellion against the ubiquitousness of Coke in Atlanta. More recently I have had easy access to Coke and would drink that. I guess I need to do a blind tasting to see how my tastes really lie at the current time. Opinion about Peanut Butter and Jelly: Would likely have starved to death without it; and unlike some other staples of my childhood, like mac & cheese and tunafish casserole (which I don't care to eat any more), I still love PB&J and eat it regularly. All natural (roasted peanuts and salt only), creamy, peanut butter and Concord grape jelly on a whole grain bread sturdy enough to not get mushy and leave you with peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth. Language lesson for those who have questioned--In the most common, though certainly not universal, U.S. English usage: Jelly is a sweetened spread made from the strained juice of fruit (or other things like peppers or mint), thickened with pectin; Jam is essentially the same thing only the pureed fruit pulp has not been filtered out; and Preserves are like Jam but with larger pieces of fruit left intact. Best Vacation Spot: Aspen, CO or a roller coaster road trip. Cook or Go Out: Go out...to the deck and fire up the grill. Beach, Desert, or Mountains: Mountains. The desert is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there (give me some trees please). The beach is OK but way too hot and humid (I haven't spent significant time at northern beaches that might be more comfortable).

2 possible duckys? Ducky2.bmp Lower left? Ducky1.bmp Probably not a ducky?

Great News! I'll be there this Saturday. I'll try to post an update when I get back on the 20th.

I saw two ducks and several yellow splotches that could be ducks even though they are not truly identifiable as ducks. My actual guess is 3 ducks.

Ditto over here! And odds are I won't be able to get a Mikestery Treasure card before everyone snatchs them up, so I need to win this. Double ditto. I missed the bell ringer after a good bit of deliberation. I also will not likely be in the areas where treasure cards are left and need to win this too.

Here is number five duckie.bmp

I will go with 5 duckies. Thanks for all the work Big Mike.

It's not that bad to walk from the Hard Rock to the strip. I was next door at, I believe, the Embassy Suites and walked almost everywhere up and down the strip (north to Stratosphere and south to the Luxor) last time I was out there (it was 106 F outside--but it's a "dry" heat). Falafel? Maybe yes--Would a plain cheese quesadilla with no salsa, etc. be almost equivalent to a cheese pizza?

^^Sorry, I was speaking of Disney in terms of Walt Disney World, since the thread was about adding another gate at that resort. Also, much of my thoughts on Disney's competition came "straight from the mouth of the mouse" so to speak--a Disney Institute training course (Service, Disney Style) where they gave us an overview of their operations model before giving ideas on how their customer service style could be applied elsewhere. YJ

One thing that you guys need to remember is that we (coaster enthusiasts) are not Disney's target audience. The Disney experience is not designed as an every year thing. It is a save up your money for years for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You go once when you are a child and then you save up your money and go again as a family. They do not need something new to get you to come back every year. They have already gotten you to go to the park at least once, and you will probably return when you have kids. When you do return, there most likely will be something new; but part of the magic is that it will also be "just like I remembered it as a kid." Disney's competition is not Universal Studios (or Six Flags or Cedar Point) it is down payments on houses, new cars, bass boats, or the bicycling tour of the Italian coast. The Disney customer's decision process is "hey the car is paid off...if I drive it for a couple more years and save up the money I was using for payments, we can go to Disney World!" This person will spend the time to see most, if not all, of the shows at the parks. They will spend half the day looking at animals or international displays without getting bored and needing more intense stimulation. They will be happy to have a half-day park so they can go back to the hotel and relax for a while or play a round of golf or go shopping. We all like to think of ourselves as being "normal" folks; but face it...if you spend a significant amount of time reading a theme park/roller coaster discussion forum, you are not normal. YJ--not normal and proud of it

Excuse me for being lame and not seeing this thread until today Nice work, very Twilight Zone-ish. Do you get any cash prizes at the film festivals? It would be nice to see what you can do with a bigger budget.

I have been doing some more research (all online so far--so take it for what it is worth) From the International Museum of Carousel Art: http://www.carouselmuseum.com/language.html Carousel: The most common of the many terms used to describe the classic amusement ride allowing people to ride carved wooden animals on a rotating platform. Other terms that have been used are Merry-go-round, roundabout, riding gallery, flying horses, and gallopers. The spelling of carousel has many options as well. Carousal, carrousel, carousell and several others have been used. There is no difference in the meaning of any of these terms. From ThinkQuest Internet Fairground: http://library.thinkquest.org/C002926/history/carousel2.html In 1729, George Alexander Stevens wrote a poem where he talked about carousels. However, in his poem, he called them merry-go-rounds. The name stuck, and they have been fondly known by that name ever since.

I thought that Flying Horses referred to the old style ride built before they had a rotating floor platform. The horses were suspended by chains. Of course to confuse things more, there is a ride called "The Flying Horse Carousel" in Rhode Island that is build as I have described above. There is a "Flying HorseS" carousel in Martha's Vineyard that has a platform, but the horses do not appear to move up and down. Who knows?

To answer Joe's comment about spin direction, originally carousels spun counter-clockwise. They were designed as training devices for mounted combat. Since the Knight would carry his lance/sword in his right hand, the carousel spun counter-clockwise so this hand would be on the outside. Catch-the-ring models still spin counter-clockwise for the same reason (another example of discrimination against us lefties); but, in the era of amusements, the direction of spin ceased to be important and now we have them spinning in both directions. I seem to recall hearing that clockwise spinners may be more prevalent in America.

For Kennywood: Giant Eagle Grocery stores sell discounted tickets. or http://www.visitkennywood.com/ or Pepsi/Mtn Dew cans ACE members get a discount at Holiday World

Inside the Hurricane: Face to Face with Nature's Deadliest Storms by Pete Davies The author rides with National Hurricane Center researchers into the eye of the storm and tells fascinating stories about their research, how the storms form and the devastating results when they come ashore.

I tried chocolate dipped bacon last December (since I had some bacon and some extra chocolate on hand). Unfortunately I only had maple flavored bacon and bittersweet chocolate. There was a bit of a flavor clash working there; but I think that regular bacon and milk chocolate may have potential. Here is another artery clogger from Bacon Today: The bacon fatty cheeseburger: Two bacon grilled cheese sandwiches used as a bun for a bacon cheeseburger

How about this: http://bacontoday.com/turbaconducken-turducken-wrapped-in-bacon/ Turbaconducken

Juggler's Humor

Today was clear and cold (high of 40F is cold for Atlanta) following a weekend of rain, thunder sleet, and snow. It'll be back up to 70 F by Friday. It only stuck to the grass and other above ground objects. The roads were only wet. Sunday is shopping day and I needed food...so out I went. Rain gauge just after it turned to snow. This morning it was frozen solid at 4.25"--4.5" Thunder Sleet

Here are some of my collectibles: Spoons--My mom collected spoons, I kept the ones from the places I actually went to. More Coaster keychains plus other random keychains Coaster and Park Keychains

It was on page 4 of the videos. It has two orange cones and a hardhat in the preview window.