WillMontu

Being right next to the fairgrounds means one thing, the Alachua County Fair, and it usually has a credit! Pictures from previous years: http://www.fireline.org/jaycees/ The outdoor maze. There are few secret doors that can be manipulated, making it even more disorienting The electric chair scene. I worked this one time, and there were a few people saying "Don't tase me, Bro" (this is Gainesville, we have good reasons to say that) The "tunnel". It's like those revolving barrels you see in funhouses This is the "BDSM" scene. I'm not kidding! I helped out last year. This is the entrance. It looks tacky, but at least one person was escorted out for being "scared to death"

Geauga Lake's waterpark (the waterpark has nothing special, and CF already closed the ride side) Walygator in France (the place was run down and empty when TPR visited) Six Flags America (what a dump) Cypress Gardens (been struggling for years now) Kentucky Kingdom (they closed off an entire section)

Most companies usually come out of similar industries (i.e. steel) or spin off from other companies. For example, B&M spun off from Intamin, GCI and Gravity Group spun off from CCI. Vekoma started out in the agricultural and mining industry. I think if you want to get in the industry, you would have to become a part of an already existing company. GCI, for example, has an internship program. This is just my opinion though.

I've been having issues as well. They are probably likely to continue while R&E are in China As an extra word of advice, if you do make double/triple/multiple posts, you can delete your last post by clicking on the "X" icon, provided that your post is the last in a thread

^ I couldn't agree more. Working in retail, if I encounter someone on the phone, I won't even greet them and if there are other people waiting, they get priority What I really hate is being ignored. Not just on TPR, but in real life. I hate it when I ask a question and the person either ignores me (i.e. turns away) or changes the subject by asking me where I'm from. What does that have to do with the conversation? I'm not going to list names, but such an incident did happen on the Europe trip when I asked someone a question and they simply turned away instead of answering it. It's rude, and I will remember it. I also find it frustrating when I call someone or send them a message and they never reply. As with every job application and/or interview I've done, I hate it when they say that they will get back to me and they don't. Same goes for broken promises. It also happens online. Even though I am a "thread killer", if I start a thread or post and nobody responds, I get frustrated, and this has prematurely ended many of my Photo TR's. I get lonely and depressed all the time, and being ignored only makes things worse.

Ike projected path In the words of Led Zeppelin: "Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good, Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good, When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move. "

I recently received a survey invitation from Universal regarding the type of music to be used on the ride. Participants are asked to rate a selection of songs as to how well they would work on such a ride Some of the songs proposed: All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Corw Stay Fly by Three Six Mafia Jumpin Jumpin by Destiny's Child Dirty Harry by Gorillaz Let Me In by Young Buck Devil Went Down To Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band Temple Of Syrinx by Rush Vicarious by Tool Link to the survey: http://www.visitorsatisfaction.com/rockit Unfortunately, Final Countdown was not a option

So far we've had a lot of rain and a little bit of wind. Otherwise, it's been "business as usual" today. UF and SFCC have canceled classes for tomorrow. In other news, there's a new river running by my apartment. Looks like the property value's going to go back up! And now for a quick mini-TR covering my trips to and from work There's some small bits of debris around, but nothing major. A new lake has formed in the Butler Plaza area This is considered "ditch your shopping cart when you get into your car" weather. Hopefully they get them in before the wind picks up The rain started, and it hasn't stopped since. People were at stores buying dorm/apartment supplies, umbrellas, and other items, instead of flashlights, batteries, and bottled water. The same thing can't be said about Bennigan's though The movie theatre is "still open" The local CVS is advertising the fact that they sell propane gas for when the power goes out

I assuming that this will involve taking a bulldozer to SFA and adding a "Guests without bags" line to Disneyland right?

Gainesville's been mostly unaffected so far. A little bit of rain, but tonight things are going to get interesting. There's the potential for tropical storm force winds and maybe some flooding. Wish us luck!

Gainesville's been untouched so far. A little rain earlier today, but that may be totally unrelated to Fay. We were supposed to get tropical storm force winds, but it looks like it's taking an alternate route. There's still a chance it will hit us over the next few days though.

Erik, the donut looks like the one I saw in your van last year!

They're forecasting 40mph winds in the area tomorrow night. I'll probably be working. How I'm going to get home from work I don't know. I just hope I still have electricity. Otherwise, everything's "life as normal" here in Gainesville, aside from all the new and returning students coming into town.

A Jeff Johnson credit is simply something that Jeff Johnson counts as a credit, but nobody else does. An example is this powered Wacky Worm type contraption. Robb tried to get it, but he was "denied"

Think about it. Monorails can solve all the world's problems. Oil crisis? If more cities had monorails, we wouldn't need as many cars, resulting in lower demand for oil, and as a result, lower prices. Global warming? Monorails run on clean electricity Noise pollution? No problem. Monorails are quiet and efficient Traffic problems? Monorails fix that too. Airlines in bankruptcy? Build a few maglevs and we don't NEED any airlines with their luggage fees and constant delays Government budget? Unlike other public transit systems, Monorails can actually make a profit! Plus, people don't need to give up land to build monorails, as they have a very small footprint. Look at the number of cars an ALWEG based system can take off the road Too bad I'm not eligible to vote in the US Vote Beemerboy 2008! (Pictures from www.monorails.org)

Here are a few I've seen The "voting" signs at Thorpe Park "Gum tree" signs at Bobbejaanland (I think it was that park) The "gum roof" in Raven's queue Raven has/had this gum roof in the queue building

A quick construction update (as of today, 8/10) The never-used overflow queue (to the left of the main queue before entering the castle) for Dragons has been fenced off Unicorn is still there, just closed off at this time The Dueling Dragons area. The entrance is in the right of the picture, and straight ahead would be the old way to Jurassic Park What's left of the Enchanted Oak, and a never-before-seen view of Dragons The new bridge They made the new path look like it belongs there Construction fence up in Jurassic park blocking the Lost Continent entrance And Erik, this one's for you

A quick update on the construction as of today (8/10) It's a third person puzzle/shooter type game. I found the realism lacking when the character died on the spot when touching a moving wall (not being crushed, just touching) In other news, has anyone tried this out yet? This is in the exit area of Mummy Another view of Twister's queue The outdoor section of Twister's queue has been fenced off Another angle of the construction fence I probably should have gotten a closer look at the posters on the fence, but I was with a group of people who were new to the park and didn't want to have to explain it all to everyone (though we did see a bunch of very dorky looking ACErs in the queue for Jaws with a ton of wristbands) A new construction fence is up back near Twister

The English equivalent of Sesame Street would be Rainbow, but they haven't made any episodes since 1992, and the show does lack some political correctness

Of the rides I've ridden: The famous Kiddie Coaster of Death (you have to see the "theming" it to see why it got that name) at Little Amerricka X:\WTF at Thorpe Park Teeny Weeny (Credit #99 for me!) at Tusenfryd

Higher resolution version, and also adjusted the chassis a little. Maybe you can get pictures of students to use as "riders"

Is this the sort of thing you want? I whipped it up in Inkscape and I can adjust the shape, color, etc. quite easily. I used vector software, so I can make much higher resolution versions Two bench PTC car with ratcheting lap bars and no head rests

I've been into trains since I was very little. Two rails good, one rail BETTER! The Tangara is just plain cool looking. Sydney's commuter system runs a fleet of them. Never ridden one, but I did ride the ill-fated "4D" train that ran in Melbourne back in 1993 This is the ultimate in trains. Why? It's attached to a McDonalds (well at least it was). It was at this location from the time the restaurant was constructed (I remember seeing it back in the late 80s, and naturally we wanted to eat our Happy Meals in the passenger carriage instead of inside) and it was removed earlier this year. It was even better when we got lifted by Dad over the fence to play in the cab.

I'm going to go with nine

For the last few TPR trips I've done, I've started on Photo TR's, but never finished them for one reason or another, such as being dissatisfied with the feedback after hours of preparing images. This time round I'm going to try something different. Do not expect: Lots of coaster pictures (everyone has seen them) Lots of "People shots" (they're not my thing) Any pictures of me (I'll leave the self promotion to Big Mike. Notice how many pictures of me in the main update? Almost none! Stuff that is covered in the main update I do, however, plan to have pictures that include Big Mike and Larry Death Machines Dark Rides (videos may be posted) Monorails (see below) Hotels Stuff you wouldn't find at other parks Roadside crashes Boobs (this is Europe of course) Updates will be dependent on how much motivation I have and feedback if any. --------------- Part 1: Monorails I gained several "monorail credits" on this trip, having already ridden monorails in Sydney, Disneyland/Disneyworld, and Alton Towers, and I think that more cities should seriously consider them for transportation systems. Las Vegas built a privately funded system based on the WDW system and is profitable. Several of the parks had a full size monorail, and a lot more had smaller "novelty" PeopleMover-like systems. I may have missed one or two, but all the major ones are covered. Returning to the station It duels with itself And it was operating Walygator had "Le Monorail" Another look at the EP Express This one was creatively named "Monorail". Not even Cedar Fair could think of that Europe also has this smaller novelty system Like the one at Alton Towers, this one was transplanted from Expo 92 in Spain Looks a little like EPCOT doesn't it? Like the one at Alton Towers, this one was designed by Von Roll, however I don't think they've designed coasters. At least Arrow built monorails We even had ERT on it! Europa Park also had two systems. This one was the larger of the two, Europa Park Express Holiday Park had this small novelty system POV The car follow a zig-zag track down a hill Tripsdrill had this mini Monorail ride No need for fancy "scoops". These trains have A/C Inside the train. One could possibly "crawl" through the bellows to get to another car The track The second train. A third train was retired in 2001 The back cab could use some TLC This one had a bit of a line, as they were only running one train The Phantasialand Jet was designed by Schwarzkopf http://schwarzkopf.coaster.net/ESmonorailTyp1GF.htm Phantasialand has a nice Monorail system as well. This one only has one station POV! Heide Park also has a small "PeopleMover" type system The barn is just below the station and has quite a few trains The cab Please stand clear of the doors... It's colored just like every other ride at Heide Park This one's built by Intamin. Notice a theme here? Heide Park has this single station monorail system Plus the seats are more comfortable than the Mark V's Air conditioning? Who needs air conditioning? It's even driverless It looks like Mark VII Monorail Red Drievlet has a small monorail that puts Disneyland's to shame. The driver's cab This train is numbered #3, so there's probably a third train somewhere The blue train There are at least two trains. This one, the red train, was not operating during our visit. It's the type of ride that Jow might enjoy because of its Schwarzkopf influence (http://schwarzkopf.coaster.net/ESmonorailTyp1GF.htm) The first Monorail covered here is this one at Bobbejaanland