cal1br3tto

I'm definitely not a connoisseur. I drink black homemade coffee every morning, with no sugar. When I go to Starbucks I get a java chip Frappuccino. I don't like "specialty" beverages from other places because it seems they're always either too sweet (McDonald's) or watered down (Costco). Sometimes I'll get black coffee or espresso from Starbucks or another place, but not enough to develop a preference. I don't think coffee tastes that great to begin with, so I think pretty much everything's fine, except for certain brands of instant coffee. I can't stand milk, creamer, or sugar. Nasty! Well, nasty and/or unsatisfying.

^But there is also a lot of "lovely grammar" on TPR! I totally agree with all these posts regarding moderation, though. What you should strive to do is be polite, friendly, and helpful. You should never be rude or insulting. That is both wrong and in poor taste. I know there is kind of an acceptable middle ground including sarcasm, exasperation, ranting and the like, but on TPR it seems to always be well-deserved and not cross the line. Edit: these are general opinions derived from my views on human nature, and are what I would personally prefer to see. I'm not actually personally familiar with "moderation etiquette".

I like Roar West. It's not "OMFG Amazing", and it's gotten pretty rough, but it's still enjoyable and has reasonable airtime. I like the first drop because it feels like you'll get thrown. This will change in a few months-- PROWLER!!! is of course going to become my new favorite.

If for some reason I felt compelled to use an unusual spelling, I think I would try my hardest to teach my child to not care and to quietly accept any spelling! However, that still wouldn't be a perfect solution, since many people want to make sure they're using the correct spelling. (Also, the child might be secretly resentful, of course.) Same goes for if I had one, which I don't (people still misspell it though).

^Yeah, it always annoys me when I hear that parents chose a popular name but changed the spelling because they wanted to be different/not too trendy. If it's that important to you not to be trendy, why not just choose a less popular name? Less popular =/= unpopular or ugly, so it's not like they'd have anything to worry about. I've heard this explanation more than once. One was Mikailla (in my opinion not even a pretty spelling). I'm actually kind of drawn to "Caytlin" and "Caetlin", but I would never choose them due to the spelling issues!

I know nothing about the demands of this job or what has/hasn't worked in the past, but it seems it would be fairly simple to make it sound polite, yet still firm. For example, I would imagine you could say "Please do not pull down on your lapbar; we will gladly do that for you." Does that sound too "soft" or "optional" or something? I'm sure something adequate could be brainstormed. Then again, it could be one of those things that it's better to take as-is and put up with, even if it's a personal annoyance. You can't get people to always talk to/around you exactly the way you would prefer, and if that bothers you too much, you'll drive yourself crazy! (I know from experience.)

1. Disneyland 2. Silverwood Theme Park 3. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 4. Six Flags Magic Mountain 5. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom I judge based on atmosphere and ride collection, but I keep it subjective. I'm looking forward to gaining some new favorites, although I'm sure it won't affect my love for the ones currently on the list.

Now I really feel like I've missed out. That's my favorite kind of airtime. I've experienced it on 2 woodies and a steelie. I was kind of desperately hoping that the problem with Ghrostrider was just roughness and not loss of airtime...sounds like I was very wrong.

I didn't expect that to be much fun at all! (Just kind of a faint hope, which turned out to be true!) IMO it's almost as fun as a standard tower, just not as scary.

Best--Splash Mountain (Disneyland) Worst--Roaring Creek Log Flume (Silverwood). It's still cute, though. I can enjoy basically any log flume (even though I don't like wet rides). So about Roaring Creek Log Flume. I like how it seems to go fast at the beginning, and it's in a kinda pretty nature-like setting, but it's low to the ground and I prefer being high up. The worst part, though, is that the main drop is pretty short and unexciting (it's also unthemed, iirc).

^I think I'll go with that, should I use my own name when I say it?

Wooden coasters with at least a single-position lap bar/buzz bar. Extra points (from my perspective) for the following: --Lap bars that can only lock in one position (don't lower to be near the largest rider) --No seat belts Often, these are "classic" wooden coasters and/or ACE Coaster Classics. Personally, I actually like the ACE Coaster Classic designation, but I recognize that many of them aren't that great and many other classic coasters (and modern ones as well) are equally good or better. Hypercoasters Honorable mentions: --All manner of wooden coasters --Some steel coasters with a single/fixed position lap bar. They can be INTENSE!

My favorite individual inversions: --Tatsu's pretzel loop--by far the most intense inversion I've ever experienced! --Medusa's vertical loop--it's massive; in fact, it's one of the largest --Cobra rolls. I don't know why, but they're pretty fun. I don't know if it's the angles or what. --Revolution's loop--I don't care about the loop, but the lead-in is so cute the way it's a simple piece of long straight track. --Flight Deck's corkscrew over the water, because it's over the water --Anything else that's fun, with nice forces or hangtime!

I rarely downgrade coasters based on roughness, so many of my favorite coasters are also among the roughest I've been on! That's probably coincidence, as they're not all the same type of coaster--or, is there any reason that exceptional coasters are more likely to be rough? Hmm...probably not, I guess. X2 Giant Dipper Looping Thunder, a Pinfari Zyklon ZL42 (I know, REALLY?) Timber Terror Vortex Demon Grizzly Gold Rusher Roar I know I don't have some of the more stereotypically rough coasters on my list--maybe I take it for granted when I'm expecting it, or maybe I just happened to have reasonably non-rough rides on them. (i.e. Kong, Boomerangs, etc.) Also, sometimes I just forget. (Brain damage?)

Tremors' first tunnel (if I have to choose one): It provides an astounding headchopper, and it follows an amazing first drop! The other tunnels have excellent headchoppers as well. Giant Dipper (SCBB): It takes me by surprise every time, and I swear there's a tiny bit of air (if that's even possible). It's dark, and pretty long and confusing. Then the lift looks like it keeps getting taller and taller. What's not to love? Goliath (SFMM): I did not trust the clearances! Yes, I know I've kept my hands up on Tremors, which probably provides the exact same effect. Yes, I know I'm not even the tallest person around. Yes, I know a lot of people keep their hands up. Yes, I know that enthusiasts have confirmed that it's okay. But still...I just couldn't do it. I had to duck there, and at all the amazing headchoppers that followed. I can only imagine how I would've felt if I'd actually been a level-headed enthusiast and forced myself to keep my hands up the whole time. Sometimes I'm just not up to overriding my instincts...

1. Tower of Terror (DCA) 2. Supreme Scream (KBF) 3. Panic Plunge (Silverwood) 4. Cliff Jumper (Scandia) Tower of Terror is probably the most amazing non-coaster ride I have ever experienced. I like ARM/Larson the best overall. I don't care for shoot-n-drop towers that much, but a slow lift and bouncing, like on Supreme Scream, can be fun. I think a slow lift is usually more exciting than being held at the top, which to me is more relaxing. I've been on 8 drop rides, so the half that failed to make the list are ones that don't meet my preferences or ones that are simply shorter than the listed ones. As a whole, though, I think drop towers are pretty fun and rerideable! Even the ones that aren't scary--and the ones that are can be some of the most extreme psyche-outs imaginable.

I really enjoyed Riddler's Revenge. It's pretty intense and it's much better than Vortex (which I didn't think was all that bad either). In case anyone remembers my earlier posts...I finally downgraded Vortex to a 6/10. I realized that it really isn't all that memorable. Riddler's gets an 8/10 for now. 1. Riddler's Revenge 2. Vortex (CGA)

I am so lame... 1. Flight Deck 2. Silver Bullet 3. Batman: The Ride (SFMM) I know, I know... Y'know, though, I actually liked Silver Bullet. I didn't think much of it at first, for the same reasons often described, but it grew on me. It actually has decent forces through the inversions. I love the theming and setting of Flight Deck, and it's incredibly intense. I like the setting of Silver Bullet as well.

Steel Eel--I love the color scheme. Can you say "pretty"? The retro "Magic Mountain" train currently used on Revolution. It's just so charming and adorable! I'm in love with it.

--I rode an Orient Express that I thought was a powered coaster, just in case I ever ended up deciding to count powered coasters! (I do, and it wasn't.) --I rode a Wacky Worm at a carnival. The ride was from Butler Amusements. Later, I went to another Butler Amusements carnival. I saw a Wacky Worm. I rode it. I counted it as a new credit. ...In fact, I even went to the trouble of proving it was not the same Wacky Worm, therefore confirming it as a completely legitimate credit! --I went Whorin' Over California for three days. Five kiddie coasters in one day. Six kiddie coasters in two days. (That's including the five-in-one. I did not ride eleven!) Two sets of clones for four total Wisdom kiddies. Plus more credits on top of that--and more coasters on top of that! And those are just the MOST credit whorish things I've done...

^It's always nice when extra employees are available, as well. I accidentally got into this situation once on an Octopus, and a carny offered to ride with me. We found a couple kids who I wasn't too fat to ride with, though. Does anyone have any tips as far as how to ask strangers to ride with you? I know it's not that complex, but I'd like to hear what others have tried so that if I have to do it, I'll have a spiel that doesn't feel too awkward.

Seconded! This new policy doesn't bother me at all. And imagining myself in this situation, I could easily see myself setting aside $10 give-or-take and not minding at all. However, from a consumer standpoint, I strongly prefer the following: all rides available with a POP purchase, every day, with unlimited rides allowed. This does not affect my opinion of the Leap-the-Dips policy, since I totally understand the reasoning. In fact, I understand the reasoning behind most exceptions to what I just claimed to prefer. --Not offering POP every day can help keep crowds in check --Limiting the number of rides reduces maintenance costs --etc. etc. etc. However, I still don't like encountering these situations--I just want to be clear I'm not saying they're wrong or stupid.

^^I've used four in this thread!

^Incidentally, that's why I used to buy a lot of American Apparel (and a bit of Alternative Apparel and No Sweat Apparel). I've sold out, though...I've decided to be self-centered and buy new clothing that is CHEAP!!! (Forever 21, Target, Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls).

I just remembered, I actually transitioned from wearing only logo-ed clothing to wearing no logo-ed clothing. Nerdily enough, I came up with some in-depth philosophical reasons at the time, but my main conclusion was basically this: I'd rather be judged for other things anyway, so why dress as if I'm worried about how I'll be judged? I know your appearance can affect many parts of your life, including success and popularity, but I still more or less think the "right" people will find me regardless of how I look (as long as I don't totally freak people out). I'm still slightly attached to American Apparel as far as brand names go, but I'm a lot closer to getting over it than I ever was in the past!