dandaman

Oh, if my university orientation wasn't early this year... well, whoever's going, have lots of fun!

So I have graduation in two hours, and there's tornado warnings a half-hour northwest of us, heading southeast. Kickass!

^No! Push the red one! The RED ONE!!!

I was about 20 steps away from the winner's podium, but I didn't go Sunday; I like the Canadian flair on the trophies though! Great photos, especially of the Red Bull Air Force; mine didn't turn out at all.

I found myself going through some of my favourite videos from childhood the other day, and I found something surprising: George Carlin was the conductor on Shining Time Station! In hindsight it would have been interesting to hear him do "7 Words" during a Thomas story...

Oh, what I wouldn't have given to be there...

^^Maybe it's the Thomas the Tank Engine childhood fanboy in me, but I really like Superman's colour scheme.

Tidal Wave used to be where Batman stands today. (Thanks Raw III!)

"Call me sir, goddammit!"

Simple math: Bacon squared.

...Just remembered I'm thinking of Z-Force turning into Flashback. My mistake. Shameless link to normbalko's SFGAm reverse-order goodness: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51191 I'm really hoping the Gold Flashpasses do the wonders for us people claim they do!

Was he voiced by Dustin Hoffman?

After just watching the RAW III DVD's, I know Shockwave turned into ex-Flashback at SFMM. Was Rolling Thunder a racing wooden coaster, or am I mistaken?

^Right you are. I remember now that the Canadian-built jet did a pass before I could get my camera out; the one in the video is the one from last year based out of Selfridge AFB just north of Detroit.

As promised... The Navy plane executing a great barrel roll, making all B&M fanboys jealous. The fastest Canadian-built object since the Timbit-powered locomotive. "IKEA Guy" takes us through the course. My redbullcopter goes SOI SOI SOI SOI SOI SOI SOI

From what I'm gathering from the official site, the regular still makes you wait as long as the line is, just... not in line. For example (I think), if Superman had a 90-minute wait, and your Pass goes off, that means it's still a 90-minute wait for the ride, but you can ride a few other attractions before going back in an hour-and-a-half and getting right on. Whereas the Gold Flashpass gets you on the ride as soon as the Flash goes off, give or take maybe a few minutes. I was wondering if the Passes would be worth it, as it's a Monday yet it's just after the July 4th weekend. For comparison, I remember using the Universal Express passes two years ago, and while it was free for us hotel guests, it was WELL worth it even on a weekday in the middle of March.

That's how I survived Power Tower the first time. So is the gold pass somewhere around $200 to start, or is it kind of a "reduced price for every extra person" deal? EDIT: ^That reminds me, I was browsing through Youtube for SFGAm vids and found this awesome Mr. Six commercial... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGfCiEbbbxs

If it's any indication, at CP I rode Top Thrill Dragster about a month before I would even dare ride Power Tower. Demon Drop still gets me every time, and I even managed to have a breakdown at the very top of it last summer. (The ride had a breakdown, not me. ) Skycoasters are waaaay outside of the spectrum for me... maybe if someone else paid for it I'd dare to ride!

Giant Drop will be my first Intamin Drop Tower, and I'm afraid of heights. I'm making it a goal to ride that thing. (Not to mention Superman as my first flyer, though I hear it's overrated compared to others of the type.) I'm really hoping July 6th (Monday) will be far enough away from the July 4th celebrations that the crowds won't warrant an exorbitantly-priced FlashPass/Q-Bot dealy.

^I demand two-train operation! Also, answered my own question, from the Country Inn site:

Well, Cameron's coming too, if you needed any further incentive. Am I correct in thinking that parking is something astronomical like $15? Our tentative hotel is right across the street from the lot entrance so I'm beginning to wonder if I should just walk over. And I might as well ask it now: any recommended touring plans? The extent of my knowledge is to head for the lower-capacity rides first (TDK, Superman, Ragin' Cajun et al).

First-time visitor on July 6th, and the discussion here is helping allay some of my questions. Thanks.

^And the nationalities of many of the top players are...? (OK, Russian would be my first answer, but right after that... )

Sock 'Em Boppers! I swear I'm a result of pop culture references and TV commercials, because I instantly flashed back to sing the ENTIRE jingle in my head. Scary. EDIT: Oh, Youtube, what you can't do these days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQgmxUeJKbw

So yesterday was some really good times to be had at the qualifying rounds... I still got burnt, but not as badly as last year (whereas my nickname for three weeks was "Lobsterman Dan"). Enjoy. And since I always seem to end a photo TR with a flag... quota met. So there. Thanks for reading again! Final results for the qualifying rounds. The people who placed in the race today would be #2, #5 and #1, respectively. One-hundredth of a second behind 1st place... now THAT'S comedy! Hmm... the pylon on the Canadian side of the border was hit... by an American plane... I call sabotage! I've seen "Canadian Bacon" too many times for this to be a coincidence! I kid you not, these guys had a new pylon up in under 90 seconds. YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG (Last year no one hit any pylons, and today I saw six hit in about a half-hour! The wind changed direction between the Super 8 and Final 4 rounds though. Still made for some interesting fabric-choppers. One of the Canadian Harvard aircraft decides to be merciful and take the auto industry out back and shoot it. The signs of quality! The two flanking aircraft are called Chipmunks, so I'ma just go ahead and count an Elissa rodent credit. Juerg Fleischmann's stunt copter of choice (you'll see in the video later) was also the principal camera for aerial shots. Nigel Lamb was also the same guy who was over my house doing practice flights the other day. There goes Captain Canada! Practicing the course is the best use of Red Bull I can think of. (Hi Tyler) "...Whaddaya mean, the Big Mike Road Show is in Denmark?!" P.S. Just saw myself on TV from archived footage this guy shot yesterday. For a fleeting moment I was broadcast nationwide. Apparently I'm already up for a Canadian Emmy. (Loonie? Woodie?) It's like a video game you can get killed at! (Average speed is something like 350 km/h, flying about 40 feet above the water, and pull an average of 10 G's on most of the turns. Just... holy crap.) Germany's Dolderer starts off the qualifying rounds. This was Peter Besenyei's only race he's missed since the start of the sport in 2003. On the set of "Air Races In the Raw". Video of Mr. Ikea (as my dad nicknamed him out of pronunciation frustration) coming soon. I hope. And here we have Nigel Lamb, apparently taking advantage of his new latex balloon diet. Pete McLeod was the first Canadian and youngest pilot to ever take part in the Races. Didn't place well, but he got a lot of support from the commentators as an up-and-coming competitor. The Race Airport was set up down at Windsor Airport. Which is rather funny, because I think it's the newest thing to come to Windsor Airport since... Windsor Airport... NOW we bring out the big guns. This plane was responsible for breaking a few of the weaker windows on either side of the River last year, as it went slightly OVER Mach 1 instead of slightly UNDER it. Most awesome mistake I've ever witnessed. The Navy plane was out again this year doing some barrel rolls that would make an enthusiast jealous There was very similar preshow entertainment as last year. I'll post the couple of videos I shot after Photobucket starts liking my Internet again. The actual race just finished (6 p.m. on Sunday) and it looks like the results are: Kirby Chambliss (3rd, USA); Hannes Arch (2nd, Austria); and Paul Bonhomme (Jolly Jolly Jolly) won all the marbles. Incidentally, Bonhomme was the guy the one announcer lost on the bet from yesterday! But it was even funnier to see it playing out about 20 steps away from my lawn chair, especially when the cameras were off. These guys were actually pretty funny commentators. Each had a bet going for a beer on who would win the first round. The guy on the right lost, and made good on his word and stood in line for 10 minutes at the beer tent with a distant shot of him playing on the screen when he was halfway through the line. Oh, now you're just being inconsistent. (I sat right where the vertical crosshair intercepts the lower bank of the river.) Well, it's nice to see the Red Bull cartographers can map every inlet and bay in Nova Scotia but can't remember the shape of Michigan... "...Are we too late for Game 7?" Had to keep the shipping lanes open for as long as possible. ...MUCH better! What much of the world thinks the Canadian Air Force consists of. The Detroit Princess was disqualified for missing the pylons. Also not flying. The quattro pylons lead right to the home of the repeat Stanley Cup champ... ooh, too soon? Welcome back for another look at the fastest sport on Earth! This year Windsor was the host city, with barely a mention of Detroit... I'm inclined to believe SOMEONE didn't pony up for the advertising opportunity.