Tanks4me05

Bump! My New Years gift to everyone on TPR: Upper Gorge Express is finished. I would have done more lateral bracing than the prefab in "cathedral" support mode, but the thing is even with my $2,000 laptop, there is so much geometry that it took two days to do the crossovers and the trees when it should have taken about three hours. So, the only custom support work is the crossover bracing. Upper Gorge Express in Game Exchange16,190 feet of track. 2800 feet of tunnels. 38 moments of airtime. 4 lifts. 3 months of build time. One heck of a ride.

^From what I heard, SFNE's Bizarro was pretty close to Expedition GeForce, and was actually a lot better than Goliath. I can't say definitively myself as I've only been on Bizarro, but I can definitely say that that was a fantastic ride. Me, I'm just happy that the Intamin hyper coasters are finally back, and they are coming to one of my favorite parks ever, with a brand new style of train.

^^Though I agree, (I think renaming it Speed Monster, and repainting the track dark blue and the supports black would be awesome) it's obvious that they wanted to keep the ride as recognizable as possible with the public; we all know how easy it is to make the public think that the old ride was demolished and a new one was put in simply by changing the name, color, and adding on-board audio.

I've only been on two: CW's Sky Rider and KD's Shockwave. Everyone said that they sucked. Well, they were a little punchy in the helix, but otherwise, I thought they were fantastic. Granted, the stacking on Shockwave was horrible, but otherwise both were great experiences. I have found a very consistent trend that if it's not glass smooth, most enthusiasts tend to say that it's horribly rough.

I think I saw Tangled back in August at a grad party. (Hey, it was actually an enjoyable movie.) When was the last time you rode a unicycle?

I assume that anonymouscactus got it from here: http://amusementgraffixintl.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1651&start=25 Unfortunately, you have to be registered at the website to log in (I'm not advertising for the site; just providing evidence) To summarize the topic if you are not a member or if you are not willing to register: They are not "official" documents per se, but these were text and images compiled from an actual park survey done a little while ago. The official announcement will be in March. He (username = "good_life") claims, however, that he was told by one of the higher up staff as to what the rides were and he won't completely spill the beans, but he decided to "tease a little" as to what they were since this was technically public information already. He also mentioned the following three things that were also possibilities: 1: The adult ticket price would be lowered to $29.99 2: The new rides would be put near the scrambler (for those who haven't been to Darien Lake before, that's in the south east corner of the park, between Viper and Mind Eraser if you want to look it up on Google Earth) 3: Another unexpected ride might be removed for these additions. I'm still skeptical as to whether or not these are similar to what they really are. And based on the description of Moose on the Loose, I think that that would be more of an kiddie monorail ride similar to that "Snoopy's Rocket Express" that was just recently put into Dorney Park's renovated Planet Snoopy, but that is only me taking a guess based upon the sketch and the "bigger than a kiddie ride but not quite a coaster" part of the description. Frankly, I think that if these rides were to be built, they would be a great addition to the park. For those who haven't been to Darien Lake, the park has very few choices where adults can ride with their little kids that are in the 36" range. These have a nice theme that I have a feeling will work quite well for the park as Herschend begins to give the park some sort of theme to start bringing it up to par with Dollywood and SDC.

IMO it actually is in the upper end of the sweet spot for roughness. It's rough enough so that it's actually very rambunctious, but not to the point where it hurts. I ride wooden coasters to be tossed around. If I didn't want to be tossed around in that manner, I'd just go on a Mega Lite or something. And love was recently given. Do you remember when the Voyage sold two of its new PTC's to Darien Lake a couple of years ago? They aren't the old versions, and they helped it monstrously. It is still rough, but it is not painful. Again, I feel that that's how wooden coasters should be. And most of the ride actually has some pretty good airtime. The return run of the bunny hops could get some more air, however, but that is how the ride was designed.

-Purchase my entire gun collection wish list. Minus the accessories, the ammunition, and the dozen guns that are so uncommon I can't find a price for them (some of them even the caliber or the name) it is currently worth about $250,000. (50 non-automatics worth about $70k, 8 automatics worth about $171k.) -Supply my grade school district with all of the top of the line musical instruments that it will ever need, and handle all the repair bills, and renovate the auditorium so it actually is acoustically designed. -Fund a project to research FTL (faster than light) travel. -Start up Strata Thrills Company. -Start a Punkin' Chunkin team at SUNY University at Buffalo. -I would consider developing a military assault walker.

^^That seems to be a very large, yet deep pit which to me does not appear to be a footer or a normal trench for coaster track, due to the fact that it's perfectly square and a couple dozen yards long on each side. Obviously I don't have access to the plans, but the first thing that is coming to mind is an underground drop tower.

Barney. That way I'd be able to learn how to do his impression. Would you rather ingest Pufferfish (apparently very tasty, but obscenely expensive, and DEADLY if not *EXPERTLY* prepared, there is no known antidote for the poison in pufferfish) or 20 oz. (about 590 mL IIRC) of a mixture of sterilized bodily fluids from a hippo? (theoretically clean, but probably the most disgusting drink you will ever have.)

MFI 2011 Mind Warp by J_BOSS, on Flickr 9-11 WTC Floor 87 Remnants by J_BOSS, on Flickr Gas station 2011 Thunderbird by J_BOSS, on Flickr Gas Station 2011 Grain by J_BOSS, on Flickr Gas Station 2011 Motorcycle by J_BOSS, on Flickr Gas Station 2011 BDS by J_BOSS, on Flickr 2011 Gas Station Drive In by J_BOSS, on Flickr DL 2011 ME by J_BOSS, on Flickr DL 2011 Predator Overview by J_BOSS, on Flickr DL 2011 Viper Loop by J_BOSS, on Flickr DL 2011 RoS Overview by J_BOSS, on Flickr DL 2011 Skycoaster by J_BOSS, on Flickr Wacky Wyatts Fair 2011 Trabant Sunset by J_BOSS, on Flickr 2011 Radisson Flower by J_BOSS, on Flickr IOA 2011 DD Zone 1 by J_BOSS, on Flickr IOA 2011 Hulk by J_BOSS, on Flickr USO 2011 HRRR NI Loop by J_BOSS, on Flickr BGA 2011 SheiKra Closeup by J_BOSS, on Flickr BGA 2011 Kumba Corkscrews by J_BOSS, on Flickr BGA 2011 Flower on Ground by J_BOSS, on Flickr BGA 2011 Meerkat by J_BOSS, on Flickr SWO 2011 Kraken Flowers by J_BOSS, on Flickr SWO 2011 Manta by J_BOSS, on Flickr SWO 2011 Flamingo by J_BOSS, on Flickr KD 2010 Shockwave by J_BOSS, on Flickr KD 2010 Dominator Corkscrews by J_BOSS, on Flickr KD 2010 Dominator Closeup by J_BOSS, on Flickr KD 2010 Dominator Lift by J_BOSS, on Flickr KD 2010 VTBC by J_BOSS, on Flickr KD 2010 I305 by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFA 2010 ME by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFA 2010 SROS Lift by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFA 2010 JJ Overview by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFA 2010 Batwing Overbank by J_BOSS, on Flickr DL 2010 Boomerang Lake by J_BOSS, on Flickr Adorable Puppy 2010 by J_BOSS, on Flickr Seabreeze 2010 Sunset by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2009 Dream Home View by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2009 Possessed Spike by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2009 Steel Force and Thunderhawk by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2009 Hydra Jojo Roll by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2009 Talon Track by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2009 Talon Loop by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFGADV 2009 BTR Sunset by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFGADV 2009 KK and ET by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 MF Window Blued by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 TTD Reflection by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 Mantis Closeup by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 Mantis MF and Mavie by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 Raptor Aerial by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 Gemini by J_BOSS, on Flickr CP 2009 ID Closeup by J_BOSS, on Flickr SFGADV 2008 Nitro and Batman by J_BOSS, on Flickr CW Tree Quad by J_BOSS, on Flickr RoS 2008 by J_BOSS, on Flickr DBH onride 2 by J_BOSS, on Flickr Front Yard 2011 Kitt3h by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2011 Steel Force DD Area by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2011 Dominator Green Closeup by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2011 Hydra Non Inverting Corkscreww Hill Rear by J_BOSS, on Flickr DP 2011 Possessed Steel Force from 222 by J_BOSS, on Flickr BMB Apollo '11 4 by J_BOSS, on Flickr *EDIT*: Forgot this one: CW 2008 Behemoth Reflection by J_BOSS, on Flickr

...when you look at the clock and see that it's 4:56, you think Kingda Ka, because it's 456 feet high. ...when you refer to a tally of anything as a track record by habit Let's see my count: Guilty: 42 I can see myself doing: 19 Used to do, but not anymore: 2

And as I clicked on the link, the chorus of a thousand angels sang their heavenly tones, and all was right in the universe.

Let's see my track record of Vekomas: Boomerangs: Boomerang, DL Sidewinder, HP Boomerang, Great Escape Zoomerang, Lake Compounce Flashback, SFNE The Bat, CW SLCs: Mind Eraser, DL Mind Eraser, SFNE Mind Eraser, SFA Flight Deck, CW Miscellaneous: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, WDW Flying Unicorn/Flight of the Hippogriff, IOA Okeechobee Rampage, Cypress Gardens (went in 2007) Swamp Thing, Cypress Gardens (went in 2007) Silver Streak, CW To be honest, I actually had a lot of fun on most of them (I *LOVE* Boomerangs, and most of the SLC's were good as well.) Are they rough? Yeah, a little, the SLC's more so. But most of them are still well within my tolerable range of roughness, so I accept it, try to anticipate the turns, and have a good time. Their rides really are awesome and intense, and from what I have heard (haven't gone on one yet, I will next year when I revisit HP) their new trains are a lot better. They have always made good rides, and luckily they now heartline everything and have used more comfortable trains.

... when the name Sandusky was mentioned in the news recently regarding the Penn State scandal, you kept thinking about Cedar Point. ...(variant/specification on the "recognizing the coaster in a textbook") you spend an hour on rcdb trying to see which Arrow clone it is. ... when people say "SoB" you keep thinking Son of Beast. ...when people talk about Desert Storm and when General Schwarzkopf's name is mentioned, you think about another person who shares that name. ...when someone utters the words "Final Destination 3" steam starts flowing out your ears and you start chewing your tongue into a bloody puree.

I'm a freshman in Mechanical Engineering at SUNY University at Buffalo, almost guaranteeing a Master's degree (don't know where), probably working part time and college part time for the Master's. I've been playing with the idea of a PhD, I'm not too sure that I'll go through with it, though. Although many types of engineering do interest me, my end goal is landing a job in the amusement ride industry (duh.) And a good thing is that I made friends with one of the staff who is also a mechanical engineer and an enthusiast, so he'll guide me to take the right technical electives (most would be civil engineering based) and he said I'd be able to do some undergraduate research with him when I have the time.

Song: Roter Sand (Eng: Red Sand) Artist: Rammstein Eine Liebe, ein Versprechen, sagt’ ich komm’ zurück zu dir. Nun, ich muss es leider brechen, seine Kugel steckt in mir. Eine Liebe, zwei Pistolen, eine zielt mir ins Gesicht. Er sagt ich hätte dich gestolen, dass du mich liebst, weiß er nicht. Roter Sand und zwei Patronen, eine stirbt im Pulverkuss. Die zweite sollt’ ihr Ziel nicht schonen, steckt jetzt tief in meiner Brust. Eine Liebe, ein Versprechen, ach das Blut läuft aus dem Mund. Und keiner wird mich rächen, sinnlos gehe ich zu Grund. Eine Liebe, zwei Pistolen, einer konnte schneller ziehen. Nun, ich bin es nicht gewesen, jetzt, gehörst du Ihm. Roter Sand und zwei Patronen, eine stirbt im Pulverkuss. Die zweite sollt’ ihr Ziel nicht schonen, steckt jetzt tief in meiner Brust. Roter Sand und weiße Tauben laben sich an meinem Blut. Am Ende gibt es doch ein Ende, bin ich doch zu etwas gut. Roter Sand und zwei Patronen, eine stirbt im Pulverkuss. Die zweite sollt’ ihr Ziel nicht schonen, steck jetzt tief in meiner Brust. For those who only speak English (not translated literally, some changes were made due to differing grammatical structures between English and German.) One love, one promise, I said I'd come back to you. Well, unfortunately, I must break it, his bullet sticks in me. One love, two pistols, one points in my face. He said I have stolen you, he doesn't know that you love me. Red sand and two rounds, one dies in gunpowder's kiss. The second which didn't spare its target, now sticks deep in my chest. One love, one promise, oh the blood runs from my mouth. And no one will avenge me, senselessly I'm perishing. One love, two pistols, one could have pulled faster. Well, it wasn't me, now you belong to him. Red sand and two rounds, one dies in gunpowder's kiss. The second which didn't spare its target, now sticks deep in my chest. Red sand and white doves restore themselves in my blood. At the end is there but an end. Finally, I'm good for something. Red sand and two rounds, one dies in gunpowder's kiss. The second which didn't spare its target, now sticks deep in my chest.

^That was going to be a Stengel Dive? Where'd you hear that? According to the NL version they made for the press release video (I know, it's just in NL, but that's all I have to go by) it's just another hill with a gentle bank at the top.

So, my college, SUNY University at Buffalo, had Dippin' Dots (Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and cookies and cream) with dinner in the dining hall tonight. They've been advertising it or almost a week. So what would normally have costed me $15 - $20, I got for free.

Cedar Fair. I have a deep connection with Dorney Park. In order to kill a squirrel in a ridiculous fashion, would you detonate a grenade right next to it, or drop an anvil on it?

I'd probably say one of the more shocking ride removal announcements is Jaws. It's probably one of the most iconic rides at Universal, and nonetheless, they are removing it.

^There's something great about ARM and Larson's towers. After a while on coasters, that weird, tickle-like feeling in your stomach when experiencing extreme airtime goes away, and doesn't come back until after not riding anything during the off season, and generally doesn't occur unless I get on something with a huge drop early on in the season (the feeling can take months to recharge for some reason.) Yet, no matter how many times I ride ARM and Larson towers, that feeling comes back every... single... time. What is in their drop mechanism that makes them so great? I don't see any mechanics at the top of the ride, so what is it that makes it more intense? Is it because they brake late? They can't be launched down because then that would mean that the acceleration would be greater than 9.81 m/s^2, which means that it would not be 140 feet tall based on my calculations. Or could it be due to a possible relative lack of wind resistance thanks to the small size of the cars? This is something that has baffled me since I rode my first one at Cypress Gardens in 2007.

Question for those who have gone on SFNE's Cyclone: Obviously the topper track has made it smoother. But does it make it smooth to the point where it is comparable to El Toro, or does it still have some roughness? The thing is I actually like it rough (giggity) though not to the point where it's painful, because IMO that is one of the signature characteristics of wood coasters. I still think El Toro is a phenomenal ride (#1 wood tied with Boulder Dash) but the reason that it didn't overtake Boulder Dash was because it didn't have that characteristically wooden roughness to it. The reason I'm asking about Cyclone is because since Georgia Cyclone is getting the topper track, and I might go on the New Hotness trip, I am curious as to what the result will be.

I generally just sit back and end up watching more coaster videos, I get to work designing more ride concepts, and I look through the massive database of photos (OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!) that I downloaded over the past couple of years. I'm also going to sell my old Xbox and Xbox 360 games that I don't use anymore, (I still have about 20 that I want to keep) and the money I'm going to get from that and working between semesters at the local Tops deli (Tops is a supermarket chain in the North East for those who don't know) will go towards finishing up getting the required funds for New Hotness, so I have the prospects of that to look forward to and daydream about. I have enough cash to go on the trip and to supply myself with a full day's worth of meals for the whole trip, but I still need $430 or so to cover the cost of the plane tickets. I never went to parks more than five days in a row, and I only did that once, four years ago, in FL. So, this will be a huge new experience for me. I hope to get the money by the time I go back to college for my next semester in mid January.

^^I watched a video of it dropping, and timed the drop. The drop took about 3.13 seconds. With a knowledge of Physics: Delta X = v(subscript i)t + 0.5at^2 Delta X = distance dropped v(subscript i) = initial velocity t = time it took to drop a = acceleration due to Earth's gravity v(subscript i) = 0 m/s t = 3.13 s a = 9.81 m/s^2 Delta X =(0 m/s * 3.13 s) + ((0.5 * 9.81 m/s^2)*(3.13s)^2) Delta X = 0 m/s^2 + 48 m Delta X = 48.0537945 m = 157.65806 ft Reasoning-based proof that Waldameer has the correct height: Since I timed it with my hand and my reaction, (which is not instantaneous) there will be some inaccuracy with the time the vehicle is dropping, which will mean the calculated height will be slightly different. Since my calculated height is 12% higher than what Waldameer advertises, we have to assume that Waldameer's data is correct, because no park would advertise a thrill ride to be shorter than it really is, because the GP generally seems to think that taller = better, which would mean more GP will ride it, which will mean more revenue for the park. Delta X = 140 ft = 42.672 m 42.672 m = (0 m/s * 3.13 s) + ((0.5*9.81 m/s^2)*t^2) 42.672 m = 0 m/s^2 + ((0.5*9.81 m/s^2)*t^2) 42.672 m = 0.5*9.81m/s^2 * t^2 8.69969419 s^2 = t^2 t = 2.949524401 s Now, to calculate my percent error caused by my reflexes: percent error = ((experiment-based value/accepted value) - 1)*100% experiment-based value: 3.13 s accepted value: 2.949524401 s ((3.13 s / 2.949524401 s) - 1)*100% = 6.1188034%. This proves that the percent error of my time versus the real time is 6.1188034%. ...When in doubt, overdo it.