AllenA07

^Not sure if I missed the sarcasm, but you know none of those rides are B&M right?

Well I know it's not going to be a great year, but I'm still excited to see my Bruins get back out there! Go UCLA!

I use to actually enjoy Oasis. On days when I was running sound for a cheer event or a concert we would get a 5 dollar gift certificate for Oasis, it always amazed me at just how much food you could buy there for $5! As far as cell phone use, I actually used my phone a handful of times there for work related purposes. When I worked on Road Kill Kitchen (when it was near Ninja) I had to call security for help a few times for potential heart attacks from people who came up the hill and began to feel ill. They would ask me to call for help, and since I only occasionally had a radio, I would just use my cell phone. Generally speaking however, I'm guessing most people are not using their phone for work related purposes.

I've got a BA in History and a JD (law degree). I always feel today like I should have done a double major and gone for a degree in Political Science as well, but I decided against the extra year of school. For what it's worth when I finished High School I wanted to major in film... So I can say I was a film major for about two months, before it occurred to me that it just really wasn't for me.

You know math and those subjects that "nobody will ever use" are pretty critical to understand economics?

When I was applying for College the SAT is what everybody was looking for. At the time I took it I didn't really have plans to go to college (friends talked me into it) and I ended up getting a 1000 (out of 1600 at the time) on the test. It was an exceptionally lackluster effort to say the least. The good news about this? Because I did so poor on the SAT and the fact that my GPA was merely average forced me to spend two years at community college. That really gave me time to get everything together and get serious about school. Not saying it's an option for you, but for some people it really is the best path.

As somebody with a degree in History allow me to help you on that question. Everybody (well like 1/3rd of everybody) died.

If it is indeed Bonnie who is taking over they are choosing someone who I believe people will be happy with. I've had the oppertunity to speak with her a few times and I was always impressed.

Was it a slow news day or something? This is more of a minor breakdown than it is an accident.

While I love when things get to the people for a vote (which is how the system should work) the fact is that you can't vote on unconstitutional laws.

My point exactly...some people won't just give up. It's not really about giving up. This is an exceptionally important case. Frankly I'd be disappointed if this isn't at least appealed to the Supreme Court.

I can promise you that there is going to be an appeal. In fact I would guess that they started thinking about the appeal before the decision even came down. We should hear something in the next 30-90 days regarding a notice of appeal.

So reading a little bit more about it the case was in fact turned over based on Equal Protection and Due Process grounds. So for any of you curious about the next step that'll be an appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who will confirm (while I can't be sure, I'd be willing to make a pretty decent wager on this fact) the decision of the lower court. After that then there might be that final appeal up to the US Supreme Court. Here is the deal with that however, the appeal to the Supreme Court is only going to happen if the lawyers believe that the time is right. By that I mean is this the right case, is this the right time, and are the right judges on the bench. Also there is the question of whether or not the Justices are going to want to deal with this case, and if they do whether or not they are going to address it on the merits or find some reason why they can't decide on it. Remember that each and every year between 8,000-10,000 cases come to the Court, and out of those between 80-100 will actually get heard by the Court. As I said before, from a legal standpoint I believe that this was a correct ruling. It really should be an interesting journey through constitutional law over the next few years as this continues through the system.

Speaking from a purely legal stand point I agree that this likely is unconstitutional. My feeling is that there is a violation of the 14th amendment on the basis of equal protection and due process based on the courts ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. Basically I base my opinion on the idea that the state did not have a rational basis for passing such law (which is the test to apply). Here the state had the burden of proof and simply failed to meet it. Now as to the question of whether or not this will lead to an appeal? I'm almost sure that it will, however I don't foresee this going all the way to the Supreme Court. Here's the thing, before a major issue like this goes to the court you need to make sure that you have a case that is ripe (and I don't mean ripe in a legal meaning here as much as I do as a matter of strategic timing) to be heard by the court. Right now I don't think there is a favorable court in place to take this further. I see this as mirroring in certain aspects the Brown v. Board case where they actually waited for years before they found the right case at the right time to take to the Supreme Court. I just don't think the time is right at the moment. If nothing else this should be interesting to watch for the next few years.

For those of you who have been on the ride, how easy is it to judge the height of the next if you're actually up on the platform? Basically if the net was at say 20 feet rather then 40 feet would it be easy for the ride op to tell? Sorry to be playing the devils advocate when so many here seem to want blood, but things like this really make me wonder what the actual facts are. It's fun to speculate, but generally that doesn't get you anywhere.

While that is possible, this just really isn't the kind of fight most lawyers are going to be want to take. We have to choose our battles, and while I fully agree that it is terrible what happened to this girl, this just isn't something that I see an attorney getting really passionate about. This family's best chance is going to be keeping things on the Civil, rather than Criminal, side of the court system.

^If you go into the Carrot Club theater and look over to your right you'll be able to see it.

I strongly doubt charges will be brought against the ride op for criminal negligence. As much as I agree something should be done, this doesn't sound to me like something that the DA is going to want to deal with. Had the girl died then it would be a different story, but provided that she survives, they likely won't touch it. In a legal sense I really feel for this family. Since there is news that the park is having some very serious financial trouble, I can't see how the family can recover against the park. The same goes for the ride op, you can sue anybody for millions of dollars, but if they don't have millions of dollars you're not going to recover. She might be able to bring a products liabilities suit against the manufacture, however those are expensive and much more complex to bring then a negligence suit against the park. So pretty much to sum it, from a legal stand point this family is going to be looking at an uphill fight on all ends, and I doubt the ride op is going to see any criminal charges brought against them. MOD EDIT: Although AllenA007 may not know the particulars of this incident, he does have a legal background and is speaking in general terms. AllenA007 - Just want to get that out there before someone questions where you are coming from.

Yeah the defense attorney is going to have a fun time trying to explain to the jury that just because somebody looks different they should be entitled to the same rights as everybody else.

I'll say that I'm impressed with those pictures. No they're no where near the best pictures I have ever seen on this site, but the fact that they came from a cell phone is actually very impressive.

My rant is the Bar Exam. I've spent 15 hours a day for 2 months studying and yet still unprepared. Ugh...

I just see Kariya having a huge season even if Crosby is his center. Great guy and my favorite player as a kid, but he his numbers haven't been there in years. Frankly I never thought he was the same player after his concussion (I believe Gary Sutter made that hit). He is roughly 100 goals short of 500, I would love to see him get there and maybe having Crosby at center would be his best chance, but at 35 and with a history of injuries I don't see it happening.

I think that is going to frankly be a hard sell for you. Fact is that most people really are not "enthusiasts" like you see at a site like this. As was said below, most people see roller coasters as being nothing more then something that is fun to ride (which frankly is the truth isn't it?). Very few people actually care that Goliath has a new set of trim brakes 140 feet from the mid course brake run (which it doesn't). Besides that if I could give just a tiny bit of advice, especially for college, try to expand your interests. Not saying that you're one of these people, but I see a ton of people on this site who can't imagine having interests beyond roller coasters. College however happens to be a fantastic place to discover that there is more to life then theme parks.

Oh ya! It's a huge academic thing at my school to tour colleges. Wow... I think the first time I actually toured a College was a few months before I started there.

You know it's never a good thing when they let you know that they're not worried because they've been to jail before