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Colin: The reason none of your games will load properly is because I don't think nvidia/ATI have released drivers that utilize direct X 9L yet. They totally rewrote the display API's for vista and as such regular DX9.0c drivers won't work at all. Either that or you have a video card that doesn't support DX9. Matt

The answer is very simple: We found dogs useful and therefore they evolved with us as servant-companions. They assisted in hunting, in home security, in transportation, etc. Note that this is largely a cultural thing: There are certainly places in the world were you can find dogs on the menu. In fact, some cultures consider dogs to be unclean and won't have anything to do with them, food or otherwise. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat It has everything to do with how cultures evolve. The Hindus revere cows, for instance. It isn't hypocritical at all that different cultures have varying emphasis on different animals. All life? This is a very difficult philosophical position to defend. For instance, bacterial cells outnumber your own cells 10 to 1 on and inside your body. In fact, bacteria are essential components of several organ systems. Do you value their lives when you take a shower, wash your hands, or take an antibiotic? Why not? Are your cells ten times more important than theirs or is all life equal? Note that I have no problems with your choice to be vegan, but I hate to see anyone backing their decisions with weak foundations. You're the one who thinks all life is equal, therefore attributing such an argument to those who don't is a strawman. You've yet to show what is hypocritical. Hypocritical is saying one thing yet doing something contradictory. Most of our society says that all life is not equal, therefore when they act on this they aren't contradicting themselves. I consider dogs to be superior to cows because I'm a product of thousands of years of symbiant man-dog evolution (societal and genetic) that leads me to think this. You consider all life to be equal, so eating a cow but not a dog is hypocritical if you were to do it. Matt

That free kick by Zidane was absolutely marvelous. It will be such a shame to see him retire after the Cup is over. Matt

Just found out there's a chance my wife may be able to go with me: the Texas legislature pushed back the school start date to an earliest of Aug. 27th for 2007. Before than, Texas districts had an absurdly early start time. I think the first day of school is August 9th for her this year.

Hmm...I'm pricing flights and flying in to Louisville is substantially cheaper than flying into CVG for me. In fact I could probably fly to Louisville and take ground transport to CVG for far less than flying into CVG. I think it's because Louisville is one of Continental's second-line hubs and obviously I'm flying from their main hub (Houston). Just a heads up for those of you looking for the best deal. Matt

The obvious thing to do, then, is to de-brand MM. Give it some new sub-brand aimed at total thrill seeking while the rest of the chain goes family/theme/pseudo-mouse. Matt

No you don't. It certainly helps, but all CPR does is buy time until defibrillation or further medical care. If you have to choose between starting CPR or taking 30 extra seconds to grab an AED, go for the AED every time.* Matt *This is not to be construed as medical advice in lieu of consulting a physician.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a local governing body created by and for the Walt Disney World Resort, so that the parks wouldn't be subject to any state or city zoning or land use regulations that they didn't themselves create. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reedy_Creek_Improvement_District I"m aware of what the RCID is. Emergency services districts don't necessarilly follow other districts, however.

That they asked isn't odd. AED's are becoming quite prolific and it is usually asked anytime a 911 call comes from a business these days. What's odd and unfortunate is that she said no. Matt Well it wouldn't be odd if it were a regular 911 dispatch... but it wasnt, it was Reedy Creek. It was the company's 911 disppatch and he was asking all the company questions, that one was... new... to me at least. I'm clearly not familar with WDW's emergency services. Are you implying that the Reedy Creek dispatch services WDW and only WDW? Matt

That they asked isn't odd. AED's are becoming quite prolific and it is usually asked anytime a 911 call comes from a business these days. What's odd and unfortunate is that she said no. Matt

Wow. That 911 call is quite telling. Disney's lack of any coordination whatsoever isn't a good sign. In the middle part where he's asking about the AED, what is the response? We're discussing this in the related Disney lawsuit thread. Matt

And there's your first hurdle..... Sorry, I'm cynical. I handle liability claims for major airports (we handle 56% of the US market). I see and handle way too many frivilous lawsuits and claims on a daily basis. It's really quite sickening what the US population thinks they're entitled too. You don't even want to speak to me about entitlement. I work in an ER. Matt

Actually, the American Heart Association Basic Life Support is exactly that: CPR+AED usage. It's required for teachers here in Texas (my wife's a teacher). And any competent judge would throw out the case: Doing something possibly beneficial ALWAYS outweighs doing nothing but calling 911 and standing there waiting. Some states actually have laws compelling you to take action if you think you're reasonable able (Seinfield finale, anyone?). Disney would be in far better of a legal situation if it was shown they did as much as possible to help the patient. The statistics for early defibrillation speak for themselves.

Good Samaritan laws would take effect here. Using the AED can't make the situation any worse: it won't deliver a shock if the patient doesn't need one. Matt

Joe: The AED's sure do. You simply place the pads on the patient and it does the rest. Most even turn on automatically upon opening. Some new ones even shock without having you push a button. As for "most" defibrillators, well most are manual defibrillators and are reserved for medical professionals. These you'll only find in a paramedic-equipped ambulance and in hospitals, but they make up the majority of available defibrillators. Cost is a non-issue. Good AEDs are available for around $3000 these days. Some are even under $1000. If public schools can afford them there's no reason Disney couldn't. As for aesthetics, no one says the AEDs need to be in a display case for the public to see. Why can't they merely be kept at the station/control room? Matt

You must not have heard of Automated external defibrillators (AEDs). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AED Anyone can use one if they follow simple instructions, and you would only think that at least one person per attraction was trained for emergency scenarios. There would be absolutely no way we could place manual defibrillators in public as 99% of the population A) wouldn't know how to use it B) wouldn't know what a shockable rhythm looked like anyways. Matt

Five inversions? It's a vekoma. When it valleys, and it will, you have the chance to pick up to two more inversions going backwards. Otherwise, a sad incident and no doubt will not bode well for Disney. Matt

Interesting. I lived in Dallas from 2001 to the end of 2004 and not once was I ever offered a choice in Qbot. It's good to know, however, as I'm planning on making use of the gold plan @ SFOG later this season. Matt

I'm not quite sure I understand you. I don't doubt they have the technology to offer both but in practice they've never offered both. The wait times with the qbot are excellent at any rate: hour-long line wait translates to 15-20 minute qbot wait. Matt

SFOT only has one level of Qbot...or at least they did until last season. What, exactly, are the differences between levels at parks that use them? Matt

I haven't been to SFOT in over a year since I lived in Dallas, but I should be able to help. I think it's $30 for the unit and maybe $10 for each person afterwards. Two people= $40. When you choose to rent it. There is only a limited number and it is first-come, first-serve. I'd get it as soon as I enter the park. You'll need it, I promise you. As soon as you enter the park, it's to immediate left (before you reach the square). Almost all the rollercoasters, exceptions being (from memory) Mine Train, Shockwave, maybe Flashback. It's also good on the log flume and Superman (S&S combo tower). I don't think it's good on the 1st gen Intamin freefall. I have no idea if it is used at all on their 10 new flats they've installed since I've been. From experience with typical Saturdays, you will most definitely need it. As above, first-come, first-serve. No waiting in line for one especially if you head straight there after gates are open. And you might as well because they let you into the square but don't drop the ropes until right at 10. Have a fun time! Matt

OMG! How many times have people had to quote this: From Page One: Not only that, Robb, but a bit of basic investigation will net them an approximate price already. A quick search back to when you were in the discussion stages of the UK trip showed that you budget roughly $100-$120/day for domestic trips and roughly $150-$200/day for international (depending on exchange rate, etc.). The midwest trip is a 10-day trip, assuming no addons or zero-day, therefore it is safe to estimate $1000-$1200 for the actual trip. While R+E may help us find the best deal in airfare, anyone now can go and price out a trip from their airport to CVG for this August to get a rough estimate of how much needs to be budgeted for the trip. For instance, I budget conservatively, meaning I assume the high end of prices. I see that this trip will run near $1200. Airfare from Houston will be at the high end $500. I will need to purchase some meals and other misc. costs: $300. Thus, I'm budgeting $2000. If it doesn't cost that, groovy. I can transfer that to another trip (like the WDW one we're going on in October 2007). This isn't exactly rocket science. Matt

Lou, I'd be very surprised if there was no access to an AED within 5 minutes of the incident. They might not have necessarily had one at Mission Space (bad move in general) but considering access to AED's has only recently started to become any sort a requirement at public buildings (airports, schools, government offices), I don't see how they could hold that against Disney. The fact of the matter is that people with certain heart defects are prone to dire consequences when under stress. You see it happening quite routinely in both professional and amateur sports: Some young athlete's heart will give out during a game due to an undiagnosed condition. Is it Disney's fault the boy had such a condition? No. Is it the parents? No, unless he was symptomatic before this and was never properly examined by a pediatric cardiologist. All Disney provided was the stress needed to overwhelm his heart. If it weren't this it would be a game of soccer or dodgeball. It's very sad, but I think the trend (of suits) will continue until Disney et al. have you sign a medical waver for every single ride. We Americans are the embodiment of the victim mentality. Matt

I agree with you. I've had my color vision tested before with normal results, and I'm not seeing how those supports are anything other than grey. As long as they can support Robb's weight if I happen to be on the midwest trip with him next year, I don't care what color they are.

Sounds like a weekend with the inlaws! /rimshot