Philrad71

I like Ovechkin for his awesome skills - 'cept for that cheap shot on Briere a few years ago when Danny played for the Sabres. Yeah, I agree with this discussion being off topic so...back to our regularly scheduled program: HOORAY FOR BEING GAY! WOOT WOOT! LOVIN' THE GAY!!!

The Ed McMahon and MC Hammer commercial for the gold caught me totally off guard - that was the best! Loved the gold golf clubs and gold toilet. Also liked the Dorito and Career Builder commercials ('Koala Punch' and 'Hey Dummy' was classic)! I thought that the 3D commercial for the new movie really didn't seem all that "3D" even with the glasses. I kept running up to the tv and then backing away looking for some 3D action...wtf, did anyone else see 3D in this promo?? Did I need to see this in high-def or something? The Pepsi one had a bit more 3D effects with the lizards...still lame tho.

I agree that it is all about the acoustics - this was your typical "arena rock" sound where it is no where near as good as it would be in a club, theater, or bar, which normally has wayyyy better acoustics. I have not been impressed at all with any of the recent SB halftime shows due to the crappy sound - IE: McCartney, Prince, U2, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Boss, etc...and I am a huge fan of all of these artists!

Last Saturday, me and a couple of my friends ventured down the street to the Southern Tier Brewery for a tour and some samplings. As usual, they did not disappoint with healthy glasses of IPA, Porter, Chautauqua Brew, Phin & Matt's, etc, and mentioned that this time next year, they will be moving into their new home across the street which will be situated in a bigger, better facility! Of note, they let us sample a batch of their new Back Burner Imperial Barley Wine style ale right out of the vat! A very strong ale with a slightly acidic taste - 10% abv.

Glad to see Amber Bock and Mich are cheaper than Bud!!! Seriously, it is sad to see this come to an end. It is the little things like this that make a park visit a bit more special. I am sure that someone 6S'ed this and figured that they could save a million a year (or more) by not offering free samples of beer. Unfortunately, everything today is now all about maximizing profits and cutting unnecessary costs in the industry, tourism, and entertainment businesses. This world seems to be reducing or eliminating a lot of core values such as going the extra mile to satisfy a customer. A shame.

^^^I hear you...I am the same way! I also love sports and am a huge NHL fan (see avatar - go Sabres!) and like all sports. My partner and I usually go to at least one Bills and Sabres game per year (I would go to more if we were closer and could afford it). We tend to hang out at a straight local watering hole as opposed to the two local gay bars. We will go to a gay bar occasionally, but the bar we go to has the best wings in town and I am also good friends with the owner! My musical tastes are not what you would consider stereotypical gay. I am not into musicals and showtunes, but will go to shows because my partner enjoys them. We tend to split the musical tastes as I prefer rock, heavy metal, and pop and he likes classical, oldies and showtunes. I don't wear tight fitting clothes or loose baggy garb. Normally, I will be in a Sabres sweatshirt or jersey or wearing Levi's and a t-shirt. Needless to say, people tend to not think that I am gay and are usually surprised when they ask or find out. When you live in a rural area such as we do, people still think gays are all limp-wristed prancers that emphasize the 's' in words...not that there is anything wrong with that!!!

^^Somewhat true...when the attraction was initially opened after the much touted "upgrade" over Avalanche Run, I remember reading an article similar to what was expected of the ride. I skipped out on riding it the first year because my sister and her hubbie stood over three hours in line for it and dubbed it "the stupidest thing they had ever ridden" and that the wait was definitely not worth it (think Batman Dark Knight). I did ride it the second season and I remember the talking robots and special effects in the queue - it was like they were trying to be Disney/Epcot, but with less money spent on effects. This is not Cedar Points specialty - never has been, never will be. We waited over an hour for it, but the ride itself wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I recall the mist/steam going up the lift and the funky light pattern that reminded me of Space Mountain, but a bit cheesier. There was an announcement of panic over the loudspeaker that we were in grave danger and the expirement was out of control (or something to that effect). The ride itself was okay, but I went several years before I rode it again. I recall the 3D effects being noted on the park map, but when we went and got in line, there were no 3D glasses. All of the effects were turned off in the queue because it was all walk-through and the ride itself was pretty much a walk-on. None of the effects up the lift hill were on except some light coming in from the outside. Actually, I thought the ride in pitch black was kinda cool because of that out of control feeling. Still seems like they invested a lot in a ride that was never that good to begin with! I have been to Halloweekends twice and they have a walk-through Egyptian themed haunt where you can buy 3D glasses for a buck in the DT building. There were still none available in the queue of DT and it was in a totally different entrance.

Homer to Bart - "Shut up and butter yer bacon, boy!" Homer in front of neon gym sign - "What's a gime?"

So we got a little bit of snow here in Western New York this past week... Supposed to snow more this week...yay. Mission accomplished - driveway plowed! Yes, the top of the snowbank is almost as tall as I am! Oh, there it is!!! Why hello there, mailbox! Hmmm....where is my mailbox?

^ And with better capacity and throughput times!

^ Two thumbs up!!!

Happy Chinese/Korean New Year to all! I have several Korean friends/contacts through work that will be celebrating. It would be fun to visit sometime during the celebrations!

Good point, Terry...if someone asks me if I'm gay, I'll tell them. I just don't go out of my way to tell people - my personal life is really none of their business. No one at work has outright asked me anyway. I have a nice repoir with my work-mates and they all know about my partner and have met him outside of work. Biggest surprise was when a group of us went on a company bus trip to Toronto and Michael and I bumped into one of the company employees in a gay strip club...now THAT was interesting! BTW...nice to finally see some of the lesbians coming forth in the group!

Wait a second...you have SUN???? Tomorrow I will post some pics of the snowstorm we got today in Western New York...I can no longer see my mailbox at the bottom of the driveway (buried) and it is STILL sneauxing! Got stuck in the bottom of the driveway when I got home from work (fun), plowed the driveway, then shoveled out the car. There has been close to four more inches of wet snow accumulation since 2:00 PM. Now all of this is not just from this one storm mind you, but we have not seen the grass since early November! Ahhh...the joys of Lake Effect Snow here in Western New York. I need a theme park vacation...soon!

I did Busch Gardens on Memorial Day in 2007 and the waits were minimal. Griffon was new and I think we waited about fifteen to twenty minutes. In 2008, we decided to stop at Kings Dominion after a long holiday weekend and the place was dead and just about everything (but Dominator) was a walk-on.

All of these are brilliant! For more silly random name ideas, I bring you: * Doguatrax * Top Thrill Dogster * Max-Air * Name he/she after any one of the kick-ass rides at the ERUO FUNFAIRS * BrownStreak(?) * Dogpatch, USA * Maverick - because it is a terra (terrier?) coaster * Patriot - because it is a "Boston" sports team as well as a roller coaster name (Eeech!) * ThunderBolt * Tower of Terrier * Ahhh, what the hell...might as well throw in the obligatory 'Steel Eel' Feel free to bombard with "Boo-Hiss" on any (or all) of the above!

^ Great! Thank you very much for the tips...I can't wait for this trip!

WOW! Very impressive photo's of CP! Loved the one's of CLP and Devil's Den as well...

My partner and I will be going to Oktoberfest this year and have a choice to go to one of the theme parks in Germany. This has been a tough choice trying to decide which one. I believe that I am going to choose Europa Park as from what a lot of people have said, this park is wonderful! Blue Fire is looking more and more impressive every time you do an update...thanks for keeping us in the loop (so to speak). I would definitely like to get on EGF as well, but other than that coaster, the rest of the park doesn't look quite as nice as this one. If I can squeeze out more time we would like to do Holiday Park, but I just don't know if we will be able to cram it into the already busy schedule. Any suggestions/tips for a first time traveler to Germany??

Yes, I also admit my warning was from past experiences!

I have to agree...we have a lot of Steelers and Browns fans here in WNY even though this is Bills country - and we all live in harmony. There are a ton of Steelers fans, but Bills fans are what you would also consider "rabid" and faithful - even after choking and not making the playoffs for nine years in a row! We might not have the biggest market, but when you can go 7-9 two seasons in a row and still sell out 74,000 seats in cold, crappy weather, that says a LOT about fan dedication. My 2nd team is the Cardinals and has been since they moved to Sun Devil Stadium back in '88. As much as Bidwell drove me nuts over the years, it's nice to see them finally pull it all together. I am definitely not a band-wagon jumper as I had Aeneas Williams and Eric Swann jerseys that I used to wear back in the day! People would (and still do) laugh at me when they find out that I like the Bills and Cards (Tampa Bay is also a close #3 - bring back the Orange Creamsicle jerseys!) That said, my heart is with the Cardinals to win, but Pittsburgh's D is simply bad-a$$! I think that this could be lower scoring than people are expecting. I'll go out on a limb and say: 14-13 Cards.

1st thought was Raj of 'What's Happening!' 2nd thought was "more cowbell" 3rd thought was...has David Byrne ever been involved with this show, or done any music for it? It would be a match made in heaven! Great stuff!!!

Yes, these lake flies can be quite nasty in the early part of the season on the point. If you are a screamer on coasters, I would recommend covering your mouth before you scream, especially near dusk when they really seem to come out! As far as my experiences in the early part of the season, I have always had poor luck with the weather, unfortunately. Seems like it is always raining any weekend I think about making the trek out. We have even driven out hoping for the best only to have it rain the entire weekend. Like everyone has said, it is a crap shoot, even if the weather sites are calling for rain or sun. That is why we usually do Halloweekends now as it is usually decent (if not chilly) weather and the crowds have been light for the most part. Definitely plan on bringing a windbreaker and a sweater and I would not count on doing Snake River Falls, Thunder Canyon, or Soak City!

Agreed. I have only been on Behemoth and MF out of the top twelve coasters in the poll. I still think that MF is better and would even rank Nitro higher than Behemoth. Personal opinion though...bet cause B was new, it got more love from the voters. I have ridden both MF and Behemoth at night in the front seat and while both awesome, nothing I have ridden compares to MF in the front seat at night! Great TR, Matthew! Hey...by the way, did you notice any signs of anything new coming in '09 (IE: construction or clearings)? Is it me, or does it seem longer than normal to announce what is new for the coming year?

^^^ Great note...I couldn't agree with you more!