pete4winds

How about all the millions of SuperMAN and BatMAN coasters? Huh? Huh? Sexism... Oh, wait...one more thing...

Yay... Tic Tac Toe is my bitch...

I've always found it amusing to hear "US" (of all people) ripping on a guy for being "too hardcore" about a coaster... ring ring..."Hello, kettle? This is pot..."

Only difference is that New England's been like this for centuries, and you all in SoCal are just now catching up with us!

Without going into percentages and fractions, I am: Mohawk (family ties to the Akwesasne, Kanawake, and other Mohawk reservations) and Caucasian (specifically Italian, Irish, French-Canadian, and Scottish)...I'm a fricken walking I.N.S. office!

OK, I'll bite... Borrowed from a former sig of mine, which in turn was borrowed from the CSI episode "Turn of the Screws": "Dead men don't ride roller coasters."

I have to go with SFNE, coming from I-91 to the Route 5. South End Bridge. As you're crossing the river over the South End Bridge, looking over to the left, Cyclone is easiest to see at first glance, and it, Scream, and Superman just loom over the river.

How cool is that? I just had that for dinner Sunday night!!! ...well, it wasn't exactly chopped hot dogs, but leftover ham is almost the same thing...

I totally want your autograph now...so now I can really say "I knew Julie when..."

Five NEW interesting facts about myself: 1: I cast a Survivor: Marquesas contestant in one of my earliest indie films a few years back (sadly, funding went through the floor and production has yet to resume). 2: I'm organizing a memorial paintball tournament in my daughter's name (none of that golf tourney crap for me). 3: I shaved my head and am donating 22 inches of hair to Locks of Love (also in my daughter's name). 4: A fellow TPR member designed the new logo for my microcinema (read: no-budget) film production company. 5: I recently considered joining the Virgin Islands Police Dept. (that is, until I saw the average cost of living and compared it with their starting salary).

I asked if I could join the consulting group, but they were a little "concerned" about allowing a savage Indian to consult on a Thanksgiving-themed coaster...something about sabotage and all that. Pete "lost my cell phone and peace pipe on the same ride" FourWinds

Was it with "The Soapy?" Meh...I got the total treatment for three full days (in Thailand) for $100...and by total treatment I mean she was my tourguide, roommate and everything else for those three days. Oh, to be young, single, and in the Navy again...

I don't think it's so much that he's eager to get rid of Kimmy...I think it's more that he's so confused over the situation that he doesn't really know WHAT he wants and is just being reactionary. Give him time...he'll figure himself out soon enough.

As I said when I first posted this news, all of you are like a second family to me, so sharing this with you and hearing your kind thoughts and words has been like therapy for me and my wife. Aside from the coasters, rodents, buffets, donkeys, beer, Fakeland, videos, fanboys, and Yeti Ball, my TPR family has stepped up to show me that, yes, there really is good left in the world, even when I don't feel it...especially when I don't feel it. Those select few of you out there that have been here know exactly what I mean. Nothing will ever make this ok, but you guys make it a little easier. Jen and I can't begin to thank you enough for the support. I know eventually I'll be able to look back on my daughter with only fond memories of what she was rather than pain and heartbreak for losing her, but until I do, thank you all for helping to carry us through this. Every little bit helps, and the TPR crowd gave us way more than a little bit.

I have no idea where to begin, other than to acknowledge (more to myself than anything) that I'm hurting. My daughter Ceilidh Anna (Kay-lee AAH-na) was stillborn over the weekend at 33 weeks. My Little Dragonfly was absolutely beautiful when she was born Saturday December 9th, 2006 just before noon, 11:51 AM specifically. Ceilidh weighed only 1lb 14.8oz. She had already died several days before (sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning), but when she arrived in this world and Jen & I held her, her spirit was every bit as alive as it could've been. I've always believed that no parent should ever outlive his or her own child. For me personally (and for Jen), knowing in advance about Ceilidh's Trisomy 18 (the chromosomal disorder that killed her) and the ramifications of her diagnosis really helped us prepare for her passing, but nothing will ever really make it ok. Jen's placenta had to be removed surgically, so I had the pleasure of sitting with my daughter Ceilidh for a good hour or more while Jen was away. A little daddy/daughter time. As Jen was being prepared for transport to surgery, our doula helped me dress Ceilidh. I chose an off-white velvet dress with a pink rose that my mom's sister (a labor/delivery nurse herself) gave us, a hand-knitted white sweater and bonnet set with purple ribbons that my mom had made (the matching booties were too big), and placed her atop several folded hospital blankets. The hospital blankets made a very soft and puffy pad, and in thinking about it, I think I used them because subconsciously I was afraid of hurting her, she was so delicate. I held her (folded blankets and all), sitting on the gurney I'd used as a bed during our labor room stay. We talked, cried, and sang together. Even though she already been living in the spirit world for several days, I knew she was right there with me. When Jen was ready for visitors, our family ended up visiting for several hours (a blink of an eye compared to the several days they'd lived in the hospital lobby in support of us). Ceilidh's Nana (my mom) and Duda (my dad - Duda is the Mohawk word for Grandpa) both got to hold her, as did my mom's sister Claire (the aforementioned L&D nurse and source of the velvet dress) and my step-mother Ann. We had a wonderful photographer from the organization "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" (http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org) there for a bereavement photo shoot, and she took some amazing pictures of us with our beautiful Ceilidh. Ceilidh looked just like her dad. She had my dark eyes, my nearly-black hair, my little tiny nose (thankfully mine has since grown to match my face) and even the same widow's peak I have. The one thing she got from her mother Jen was her attitude. Before she passed away, Ceilidh was known to kick like a soccer star...not the "usual" in utero baby kicks. These kicks had purpose. Because she was so small, she had the rooom to get a running start and drive herself into Jen's side. It was that kind of drive, determination, and attitude she got from Jen. The kind of attitude I fell in love with, the attidute that ultimately led to the birth of our daughter Ceilidh Anna Giove. Our Little Dragonfly may be gone from the physical world, but we know she'll never be truly gone...not just because we'll never let her leave our hearts, but because we know her spirit will be riding on the backs of every dragonfly we ever see from now on. Mommy and Daddy love you always, Ceilidh, and we will miss you forever until someday we can hold you in our arms again. When you occasionally come by to check up on us (we know you will), just remember that we'll know it's you.

Drug runners and (these days, anyway) those who violate various trade sanctions might disagree with you as their pilothouses get shredded by .50 cal fire! Being former Navy myself, I give the Coasties plenty of grief, mostly just for being Coasties, but I absolutely consider them part of "my" armed forces! They might be the "little brothers" in arms, but they're still my brothers and sisters of the uniform.

OK, so I kinda suck...72/100.

My $.02... IF SFOT is able to pull this off "as described," then I'd love to see SFNE get something similar in the future. Sure, I'm as much a coaster nut as anyone else here, and I can certainly understand both sides of this debate, but for me, personally, this sounds pretty spectacular. Obviously we've all had experience with SF in general not following through, or letting us down, or disappointing us in one way or another, but with this, they ARE actually making good on their promise to bring more family-friendly attractions in...maybe it's not what WE as enthusiasts want, but it's a small step toward actually fulfilling more promises. Give them a chance to f*ck this one up (or...here's a shocker...maybe they WON'T f*ck it up) before we trash them for it. Sure, I'm just as skeptical as anyone else here. I'm in the "I'll believe it when I see it" school of thought. But I'm certainly willing to give SF a chance to try this before I totally slag them for the effort, and like I said...if it works, send one to SFNE, because it does sound pretty damn cool, at least as the press release describes it.

This is Katie-cat, one of our rescues who has since gone to live with a good friend of ours, trying to escape the clutter on my desktop.

Scrambled eggs with cheese and onions, and leftover meatloaf, sauteed (yes, together...one meal). After fasting 15 hours for a blood draw, it seemed like the best fricken' meal I'd ever had!

I posted a PTR on a very similar subject about a month ago...not so much about a freeway, but a particular road in my town...although it seems to me like this might be happier and more at home in "Random." The PTR in question: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29751

Actually there are those of us that donate blood regularly that actually DO know...that's why we do it. And I agree. Those that don't should absolutely consider it if they are medically able to donate...I've also donated platelets at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and I'm a registered donor on the National Bone Marrow Registry. Well worth the time and effort it takes to be a donor.

^ Lemme see if I can answer that with a Yes or No answer... eeerrrmm... NO! I cannot (See? I did it. There's my "no" answer)... Do I have a question to respond with?

My PTR shrivels up and dies compared to this one. We're not worthy... Great TR...had a blast meeting you and hanging out. We gotta meet up there again sometime.

^ That was pretty much the only decent picture of Tomahawk between the two of us - James "CanobieFan" might have a better one when he posts his TR. As to why it was closed, I have no idea, but the gondola was in pieces behind the supports. Shame, because we were looking forward to taking a spin...it ended up a complete waste of effort getting up that hill into Crack Axle Canyon. But the little kid telling the scareactor to go screw (not in so many words, though) was well worth it. ^^ and ^^^ I certainly learned my lesson on the batteries. Boo on me! Thanks for the advice on the better ones. The good news is that these cheapo batteries weren't a total waste. They still hold enough of a charge to use in the flashligts I never use anyway... And, yeah, it was great having both trains running on SROS. We were able to get two rides done in about the same amount of time it took to stand there waiting for the Looney Tunes characters to finish up with their stall tactics (can ya tell how I really feel about that preshow?)...