CoastersNSich

...renamed them "Alvey Parks" and, in Florida, built more monorails to get to the Disn-- Alvey Studios and Animal Kingdom. Also, new at Robb & Elissa Alvey World...

What is the mascot of the school that you currently attend... or the one you last attened? Now: Brutus Buckeye Then: Bearcats (ugrad college), Vikings (HS)

I'm stumped at which new iPod to get. I have the 4th gen monochrome 40GB iPod that's almost 3 years old yet is fussy, and it'd be nice to hold all my music. I also have the 1st gen iPod nano, which works well now but is obviously outdated. Notice that the new iPods now use Helvetica (a lovely classic font) as its system font, rather than Myriad, which Apple uses in its marketing. The iPod touch is so impressive for those of us that don't want/need the iPhone but want all the non-phone features and/or no contract, but I'm a bit disappointed at the "touch's" relatively low capacity for the price. However, the features may make up for the lack of capacity, including Safari web browser and the WiFi iTunes store.

Peter Sings A Tribute to Brokeback Mountain: Well, there were once were two cowboys all alone out on the trail, And they discovered they could sleep with another male, Now they're having butt* sex, Cowboy butt sex. Sa-da-me-heeee! (Come, on everybody!) Sa-da-me-heeee! Sa-da-me-heeee! Sodomy. *Apparently, Fox is showing a version which Peter is saying "gay sex" as it is not as explicit as "butt sex." Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdYdbYAr9f4&NR=1

I currently live in Springdale, OH a suburb of Cincinnati, which puts me less than 30 minutes from Downtown. Next week I will be moving to Ohio State, which is in the city of Colmbus, and not too far north of its downtown.

Until this weekend, I am working at a Meijer store stocking shelves third shift. Meijer is a supercenter type store, like Wal-Mart, but only located in 5 midwestern states, and with better groceries, but without the creepy design/architecture.

I've voted Republican since I became eligible to vote in 2000, but I will admit that neither party really reflects my views. I think we should leave Iraq only after getting it right, and lean towards right on some social issues, though support gay rights all the way to civil unions (not including marriage). Those would make me pretty much Republican. However I think the government should have a stronger role in urban planning/smart growth/regional growth management, and should place more emphasis in public transportation, especially rapid transit. We're paying too great a cost building auto-dependent cities and suburbs. Construction jobs should be redirected towards rebuilding our center cities and their infrastructure rather than building more cookie-cutter sprawl. These are policies more Democrat-friendly.

If Dominator is headed to Kings Dominion, why not keep the name? Domin-ator, or better yet, Dominionator?!

Worst Wait: Flight of Fear at KI in '96 (or '97)... Not only was it a very long line, but I had to stand next to this kid who was rubbing on, biting, and playing with this balloon. It was downright effing annoying, and after about an hour, I gave up, with 2 hours left. I think I ended up getting back in line, being able to eventually ride on the second attempt. Second place might go to waiting over an hour to do Batwing at SFA in 2004, only for it to break down when I made it to the loading platform. Fortunately, this past July 31, I'm able to get on one of the first trains of the day on this coaster. Longest Wait: Up to four hours for Top Thrill Dragster on opening day 2003. Hey, it was the first day, and got to see the trains with all their theming in action, albeit shorter than they are now.

I've ridden Deja Vu at SFGAm, and thought the seating was weird... so it will be neat to see that seating method on a straddle-type coaster. On the other hand, people (families/friends) like to be together as much as possible, wo I have a feeling the 1-2-1 setup might get cold reception from the public. IMO if Cedar Fair builds another B&M hyper, I hope they go back to the 4-across method, especially with Kings Island rumored to get one in '09. It was nice for KI to finally get a 4-across coaster, albeit a Vekoma flyer. But in the end, congratulations to Cedar Fair, the former Paramount Parks, and Canada's Wonderland for getting what should be a smash hit of a coaster! This leaves two of the former PP parks to not have a B&M, and that might dwindle to one next year, as GL's Dominator is rumored to move to KD.

So you're no longer a closet coaster enthusiast?! This makes you a "coastersexual?"

I start a workshop at Ohio State next week, September 4th, then officially start classes there two weeks later - grad school, Master of Architecture.

Now, a night of classic rock: I saw Dennis DeYoung at the Taste of Blue Ash. Dennis is the former lead singer/keyboardist for Styx, and he did his Styx hits like "Come Sail Away," "Babe," and "Mr. Roboto," as well as his solo hit "Desert Moon," and even a brand new song, "Turn Off CNN."

I saw Eric Chruch and Gary Allan at the Kentucky State Fair on Tuesday night. The old Cardinal Stadium was loud and pretty filled up, the beer and smokes were filling the air... I'm going to see Dennis DeYoung (formerly of Styx) Saturday at the Taste of Blue Ash (near Cincinnati).

While I first wanted to rip you apart, I will admit that some of these classic rock groups should take a little break. Styx will never be what it was - Dennis DeYoung took the band in a more theatrical/pop direction, and the other band members got a little tired of that. The band nowadays wants to be more of a "rock band" - less "Babe, Best of Times, or Mr. Roboto," more like the Pieces of Eight album and earlier. Dennis split from the band around 2000, and while the guy that replaced him is good, he just doesn't have the voice. DDY has since toured solo, with an orchestra at many of his concerts, and it's definitely worth seeing! Other points to make: 1- Rap/hip-hop. How do people find that entertaining? Let's say I'm a terrorist - this is the perfect music to get me to talk/fess up. Stop it now. 2- What's wrong with country? I admit I didn't care for the genre several years back, but compared to most "rock," the country boys and girls are producing good stuff IMO.

I'm no longer being assessed the out of state fee, but I won't get the funds from my loans/scholarship until after I've moved to Columbus. At least the true wrong was finally righted! Next rant: WCPO Channel 9... Stop Capitalizing The First Letter Of Every Single Word On Your Damn Ticker And Pick A Font Other Than Arial... you guys probably have Macs with better fonts like Helvetica and even Franklin, which you used to use...

Probably the silliest thing I have heard in a while. When you look at parks like Dorney, Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom and even Geauga Lake, you can see that they probably need to do MORE with the water park. Yes, Soak City may have some interesting slides, but the place just has so much white and concrete, it needs some flavor!

Cedar Point is building their version of the Washington DC Metro. The hole you see will be where escalators to an underground station will be placed. The CP Metro will eventually go to Sandusky mainland to get to Breakers Express and Castaway Bay. Unfortunately, the Sky Ride may be rendered obsolete as the Metro will operate underneath the Main Midway.

Even though I have been an Ohio resident for my entire life, I am being assessed the Non-Resident fee for tuition at Ohio State. I am entering tOSU this fall as a grad student in Architecture. AND, even though I got a recruitment scholarship for being an Ohio Resident, I'm being assessed this fee... AARRGGHH!!

On Thursday, I saw the Sean Hannity Freedom Concert at Kings Island. Lee Greenwood, Lee Ann Rimes, and Montgomery Gentry performed. Also there were Rudy Giuliani, Oliver North, and Newt Gingrich. Proceeds went to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, for children of soldiers who were seriously wounded or killed in duty. Did I mention that it was at Kings Island?

That or Michael Vick. Or the Bengals. Hopefully they behave ON the field.

Just after 11:50 pm eastern (or 8:50 Pacific), Barry Bonds broke the record, as shown live on ESPN2.

I flew on Southwest from Columbus to Baltimore/Washington last week, round-trip, for under $140 round-trip. If I would have flown on another carrier, especially if it were to Reagan or Dulles it would have been more, and EVEN MORE out of Cincinnati which Delta has a stronghold on. Not to mention, Southwest had 5 departures a day from CMH to BWI and 5 vice versa. And now, I've got an older car that I didn't want to drive all the way to Washington DC - even if it's got good gas mileage, the gas does add up, and it puts more wear-and-tear on me and the car. Greyhound requires 10 hours, Amtrak leaves Cinti Union Terminal late at night a few times a week. Southwest proved to be the best choice, low-cost AND fast! My flight from CMH to BWI was full and I was in C-group, but I managed to get an aisle seat in the very back. Back to Columbus, I got a window seat near the back in B-group, and C-group was only half-dozen or so people. If the price is right, I'll definitely fly Southwest again. More related to this topic, don't hold your breath waiting for Virgin (or any of these popular low-cost airlines) to fly out of Cincinnati.

There was a thread on another forum that said "Vonage = Not worth it," and the guy that runs it, said "So, tell me why is the Voyage not worth it?" The original poster had to retitle it "VoNage..." because it confuses people with the Holiday World coaster.

I think Washington, D.C. is also very cosmopolitan. I was there last week, and while riding the Metro, saw many people of different races, ages, "incomes," nationalities, and, since it is our nation's capital, political views.