Mechanic

Thanks for the picture of the old Free Fall ride. Now that I see it, I do remember it. Honestly, I don't really remember if I ever rode it or not.

I'll be rooting for the Packers just so the Steelers won't get a bigger lead in the Lombardi Trophies than they already have over the Cowboys. (6-5)

^Wouldn't that be West of Hurricane? As for the new tower ride, I'm having trouble even remembering what the ride it would be replacing was called, or looked like. It hasn't been all that long since I was at SCBB, but I just can't place it. I mean, I know the area around Wipeout, but for the life of me I'm just drawing a blank on a Free Fall ride in that area. Do you maybe have a picture that shows the old ride?

Is it replacing the Double Shot?

Would the new GL track be visible from the Sky Tower?

I almost puked, and then almost fell out, just watching the video.

While I'm late to the party, here is my experience: - Can you get into the chat room? Yes. - How long did it take you to get into the chat room? About 5 seconds. - Did you get disconnected at all once you were in the chat room? Not so far.(I've been in there a few minutes) - Are your messages appearing? Yes. One issue that I am having is that no one is replying to any messages that I've submitted so far. I'm not sure if they can't see them, or if they're ignoring them.

Add your guest(s) name(s) in the comments section.

Some lady at her work who was distressed about her missing cat asked the computer graphics guy to make her a sign... From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am To: David Thorne Subject: Poster Hi I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon. This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number. Thanks Shan. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Poster Dear Shannon, That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone… possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out “Shannon, where are you?” Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy. Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Poster yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster Dear Shannon, I never said I don’t like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham ‘Choose Life’ t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a foul stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat. Attached poster as requested. Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small? From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster Dear Shannon, It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space. Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster Dear Shannon, Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don’t come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions. Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Awww Dear Shannon, I don’t have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend’s cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn’t have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions. Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Awww Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Awww I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says “I haven’t seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?” you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill. I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven. Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww Please just use the photo I gave you. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it. From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww Fine. That will have to do.

A belated happy 60th birthday Harold! I'm sure you'll have a great time and meet plenty of nice folks to hang out with. While I do come to WCB with family and friends, we usually hang out with different groups or individuals for at least parts of our days. Everyone that I've met from TPR has been very friendly. It's a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. No one is going to give you any static if you don't care to ride any particular coasters. See you at WCB! Be sure to say hi and feel free to hang out as long as you'd like.

I just don't care anymore.

^ Just get on Interstate 5 and drive north for about an hour. You can't miss it. I believe we usually show up about 7:30 AM, but I'll leave it to Robb to give the exact times. You'll have a great time, no worries.

For Invertalon:

My prediction: Jay Cutler will get the sex change he so desperately needs, make a tour of all the Oprah type talk shows, and then fade into obscurity.

Based on the time, I'm guessing you chose the "Pot Room". So much more cleverness that I have yet to discover in all those pictures. Thank you Bebes for another awesome installment from some of my favorite TPR contributors.

Big Mike, I would like to enter the contest because my favorite part of The Big Mike Road Show is seeing Big Mike's smiling face greeting new friends all over the world. Awesome idea Big Mike!

Link to a high resolution image of the escape coaster: Orion emergency egress system

It had become fairly rough prior to the recent retracking. In all fairness to the ride, and Robb pointed this out to those in attendance at BAB last year, it really isn't the "worst" woodie that most people have ridden. In my particular case however, even with it running smooth, it's just so lackluster that I can't rate it higher than last due to my small number (9) of wooden coasters. The first and second drops are semi-fun if you're toward the back of the train, but the "ten-minute-turnaround" in between them, and the rest of the generally uninspired layout, just make it unworthy of anything other than a courtesy ride. I'm quite certain there are worse coasters out there, I just haven't ridden them. Oddly enough (or not?) Grizzly has become fairly representative of CGA as a whole: You can try all you want, but you can't polish a turd.

Excuse me while I step outside and have a cigarette. By the way, could you hand me that box of tissue please?

Or maybe just ditch the confederacy theme altogether and finally move on from a horribly bloody and divisive stain on our nation's history. I mean, it's been almost 150 years since the civil war ended. Why would we want to continue to glorify it? Just a thought...

If the sampling here is any indication, CGA's Grizzly may finally give up its stranglehold on dead last. Unfortunately, that's still where it falls on my ridiculously short list of wooden coaters. I don't rate it last to be mean. That's just my honest opinion based on the few woodies that I've ridden. However, I will say that it was at least running smoothly last season. The retracking cured the roughness even if it didn't help the mostly snooze inducing layout.

Does TheRedShadow realize that he was supposed to pose a question?

Dragon has one of the most RCT-ish looking layouts that I've ever seen.

Lately, Al Davis is having considerable difficulty trying to disguise the fact that he is actually Satan. This photo is from yesterday's news conference announcing that Hue Jackson is the new head puppet. Uh... I meant head coach. I've seen better looking corpses.

The site I book it through from the link on my work's site does allow cancellation, and a 10% discount which basically just about offsets the room tax. It seems like the best choice for me for a walking distance dive to crash at. It wouldn't be my first choice if I was spending a week in SoCal, but it should be okay for a few nights.