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On-ride photos rarely flatter me, but every once in a while I'll buy one that is marginally less bad than all the others. And yes, I take a lot of family trips, don't hate! Teaching the fine art of credit whoring. What better place to start than a Wacky Worm? Adam and I on Goliath. This is my copy after it rode 12 coasters with me. Boy=WIN Me and Kevin on Wild Thing. Terrible photo of me, but it was a lovely gesture from VF, and so was the free magnet frame!

Yay, new Gravitron! That looks like a fun and fitting theme, reminiscent of some of the old Rotors.

If you have to choose just one, I'd recommend Knott's. Neither park is among my favorites, but both were enjoyable. I found them a bit lacking in atmosphere, although Knott's does still have some theming. Flight Deck at CGA is one of my top coasters. Invertigo is a refreshing variation on the standard Boomerang model, Psycho Mouse is a fairly standard (yet, imo, above average) wild mouse...and I'm the only person in the world who enjoys Vortex. Grizzly is average at best, and I thought Demon was pretty lackluster. I'd say Knott's wins in the coaster department. I'm a fan of Ghostrider (albeit a somewhat outspoken one), Monte, and Silver Bullet. Of course, I'm sure Xcelerator is also well worth riding. Sierra Sidewinder is a fun spinner, and Boomerang is decent for what it is. Jaguar and Pony Express are forgettable, though.

Industry The Intimidators--A new hyper is always nice, and a new giga is even better! Texas Giant project--Maybe it's not the best idea to get caught up in the hype, but the layout just looks so amazing. New coaster experiences for SFMM--Looking forward to having a ZacSpin on my coast! Silverwood running Timber Terror backwards for Scarywood--I hope this continues! Blue Streak reopening--I'll admit it, I (almost) always love to see a classic coaster saved. Personal WCB Middle America Trip Riding 103 coasters, 95 for the first time Reaching #100 and #150 Riding coasters for the first time in six states and one province Riding a decent selection of highly regarded wooden coasters (steel will have to wait for next year) Several firsts, better late than never: 4D, flyer, hyper, Eurofighter, etc.

I hope to check out Lakemont someday, and I wouldn't mind stopping in at DelGrosso's as well. They both look charming, if a bit more run-down than I had expected. (Hey, doesn't bother me!) Looks like there's a good selection of fun and classic rides among the two parks. Looking forward to more photos!

I have yet to visit a John's Incredible Pizza. Aren't there currently only two with a credit? I'm especially looking forward to more details on the Oregon one, which will practically be in my town (I've shopped at the building's former occupant, Circuit City). If there's a credit...I'll probably visit.

Okay, this is just plain dumb. I've discovered that I like the taste of...plain baking soda. Like, I enjoy licking it off my fingertips. This actually kind of made sense when I realized that it's a form of sodium (I love salt), but still. WHY??? At least I don't eat it by the spoonful!

Sorry this looks so long, it can pretty much be divided into food, stuff i can wear, and entertainment! My list includes a number of items I bought for myself...after all, people don't know my tastes quite as well as they think they do... --$50 iTunes gift card (should go towards a couple rap albums and maybe a sampling of pop & classic rock) --$200 to be sent to my account --Bag of Dutch goodies --Dutch chocolate coin --Roll of minty thingies (kind of like my beloved Necco, except all one flavor...) --Box of coffee-flavored chocolates (my breakfast this morning) --Bag of Ghirardelli milk chocolates (my snack last night) --Body wash (I guess I must be dirty...) --Owl pajama pants! --Soft fleecy pajama pants --Romper, summery shirt, casual dress, black long-sleeve shirt --Colorful socks --A new blankie!!! (micro-fleece throw) --Makeup --Pretty colors of nail polish (blue and purple!) --Body lotion --Scented candles (after all these years, I am finally trusted with fire???) --RAW 2-5 --TPR MINTS!!! (total surprise for me) --Magical TPR pen! (another surprise) --Of Course I'm for Monogamy by Marilyn vos Savant (very WTF title, but great read!) --Big Money Hustlas, starring Insane Clown Posse (finally I can watch a legal version!) --Big Money Rustlas (TERRIBLE movie, but enjoyable nonetheless) --Dead Flowerz by Esham --A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows by the 77s (incredibly underrated rock band!) --Ninety Nine by the 77s --Mutant by Twiztid

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'm disappointed to see Eagle Fortress on the chopping block, and I can't help but be frustrated by the seemingly slow progress on Flying Turns. As for disappointments in my own travels... Not getting enough laps on rides at some of the smaller parks. Repeat visits are in order, but as-yet-unplanned. Missed credits: Xcelerator, Ninja (SFMM), Colossus right, Superman right, Dragon (powered coaster), American Eagle red, Kettle Creek Mine. Thankfully, only Xcel and Ninja are real losses. I wouldn't mind picking up the rest, though.

The longest I've been stuck was about 10 minutes or so right before the station on Medusa, which had to be pulled into proper position. Some people asked for free photos, but of course we didn't get any. I've seen a tall drop tower stuck at the very top with passengers, and slowly lowered after a bit of a wait. I can imagine that seriously freaking people out, but I suspect I would've somewhat enjoyed being in the situation, myself. This year I witnessed the somewhat lengthy, sketchy-looking ordeal of freeing people from an Inverter. Then I rode it.

I've never estimated (or measured) a wait time of longer than about 45 minutes. I'm rarely interested in measuring exact times unless I'm particularly concerned about the number of rides I'll be able to get. The dumbest wait I've ever undergone was for Drop Tower at CGA. It was down, but I decided to wait for quite a long time anyway, even though there was no line and I had already ridden it two or three times that day! This makes absolutely no sense to me now. Once, I waited alone to ride Voyage about for about 45 minutes when it was down. This was misguided, since Voyage ended up having short lines all day long! I should've spent my time riding Raven and Legend, which had longer waits.

Find And Kill - Mad Cobra Dancehall is good music.

I heard it was hiding behind clouds where I live. But perhaps it explains my disturbing nightmares at around that time...

That double up does look pretty hot, although the coaster doesn't exactly seem to be lacking without it (judging from reviews). Still, it would've been interesting to ride!

How'd I miss this thread? Anyway, my iTunes counts are inaccurate, so here are my last.fm stats instead! You'll notice a certain...lack of diversity, I'll admit. This definitely isn't a cross-section of my listening or anything. Top 10 most-played songs 1. Twiztid - We Don't Die 2. Crashdog - Millstone Co. 3. Twiztid - All I Ever Wanted 3. Twiztid - Where It's Goin' Down 5. Twiztid - Different 6. Twiztid - Mutant X 6. Twiztid - Broken Wingz 8. Twiztid - Rock the Dead 8. Twiztid - 2nd Hand Smoke 8. 2Pac - Fair Xchange (Mya Remix) Haha, the two non-Twiztid tracks are a hardcore political punk song and a sex song. Yay. Top 10 most-played artists 01. Twiztid 02. Sublime 03. Insane Clown Posse 04. The Clash 05. Crashdog 06. Coheed and Cambria 07. Blaze Ya Dead Homie 08. Psychopathic Rydas 09. The Beatles 10. Dead Kennedys Too many Psychopathic artists (that would be four), or not enough? Hmmm.

I already posted my list, so here are some random end-of-year stats! 22 locations (18 new) 103 total coasters ridden (95 new) 97 credits counted (I added two retroactive credits. Thankfully, this will never happen again!) 248 total laps Rode coasters in ten states (six new) and one province (new)

I've always found the term "underrated" to be somewhat ambiguous. Nearly all coasters of any note will garner mixed opinions. Even if you have an unpopular view, it usually doesn't take much digging (or talking) to find at least one person who agrees with you. I've noticed that sometimes I'll agree with the majority, but not with the vocal minority. For example, Voyage and Hades are both very highly rated. I rode them both this year. Many who have ridden them recently can't stand them. However, I loved Voyage and I enjoyed Hades as well. So even though they're not even remotely underrated, sometimes I want to stand up for them because I know a lot of people disagree with me. Also, sometimes I'll mention rides that are not underrated, but do seem under-visited and/or under-discussed. Examples: Tremors, Timber Terror, Coaster at Playland. These coasters are highly rated, but still seem to spend a lot of time under-the-radar compared to other rides.

^Funny, when I was younger I used to wish they made chocolate ice cream with cookie dough chunks. Now, however, I'm perfectly fine with the traditional chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. After all, the dough is what matters.

Here is what I like best: Chocolate chip cookie dough Mint chocolate chip Coffee Salted licorice Any non-plain chocolate-based flavor Rocky road

What I'm Feelin' - Twiztid

Yes. Enough, anyway. Do you ever yell at the television when no one else is around?

Wow! Those Cyclops shots really capture the intensity of that drop! I'm not sure I've ever seen airtime so well-documented before! ^Haha, I think Cyclops may have been the only coaster there where I did put my hands up. I know I didn't want to risk my arms getting lopped off on Hades or wrenched off on Zeus, and I may not have bothered on Pegasus or the mousey spinny thing, cause they're so lil'.

Rydin Dirtay - Psychopathic Rydas Major Psy fan here

^I'm an outspoken fan of a Hopkins creation myself. I like Dragon at Adventureland, which is consistently considered one of the world's world coasters. I actually think it's relatively complete for a modest, mid-sized steel looper. It has a bizarre yet oddly enjoyable pre-lift, two smooth loops taken at a nice speed, and some tolerable (if neck-chopping) curves and helices. I had been somewhat apprehensive of riding it, but found it to be fairly smooth, not to mention pretty fun for its size and style! I prefer it to many of the other smaller loopers I've ridden.