Cameron

^ awesome! I grew up in Doncaster Australia (a suburb of Melbourne). On the way to Alton Towers (on the UK trip last year) I saw signs for your Doncaster, and really wanted to go there and see how it compares to the Australian version. I have a hunch that the original (yours) is far superior! Cameron.

Great report Erik .. Makes me want to return to Dollywood, and visit SFOG (which I have yet to visit). Thanks for sharing! Cameron.

Chuck, you're so awesome .. thanks for the great report! I really want to visit SFGAdv; I was planning on going this summer, but sadly that looks like it won't happen. However your pictures were totally entertaining! Cameron.

Sorry, I won't be able to make it on the 6th as I'll be at Indy Beach. Cameron.

Glad you all like the photos .. thanks for the comments! Matt we used to get people peeking in through the break-room windows at Williams (which was Midway too, at the time). Ed Boon (creator of Mortal Kombat) used to bring the best players (typically kids) in to Midway to playtest his games and help tune them. He'd pick them up with a limo from a local arcade (Diversions at Kimball + Devon in Chicago - now defunct ), and bring them down to Midway to play the games (with pizza and such). We didn't do stuff quite that cool in pinball - although I have been asked (on several occasions) to sign peoples bodies..! Cameron. PS: Next time I'm at Stern Pinball after-hours, I will get some photos.

I won't be able to make it opening weekend: Saturday I'm already going with a group of friends .. and Sunday I'll be at Indy Beach. My suggestion would actually be for midweek in June (after school is out) as the park is typically very quiet. Like Matt I'm very close, so I can usually make it up there pretty quickly and at short notice (provided I don't already have plans). Cameron.

We took a little field-trip today out to the factory that's building our game, called "The Fast And The Furious - DRIFT". I love factories, particularly assembly lines, so I snapped a few pictures. Hope you enjoy them! Cameron. The company across the street, I was so tempted to walk in there and ask if I could borrow a pen! Giant rolls of pink bubble-wrap = awesome! A pedestal (which is boxed separately) is already wrapped, and ready to go. Workers place a complete machine on a shipping pallet. It will be wrapped in plastic and boxed up. It's ALIVE! This is the backside of the dash. The large black cylinder is the motor that provides feedback on the steering-wheel. Completed DRIFT games in the testing area. All switches and lamps are tested, as is the sound system, wheel, and finally several games are played to make sure the computer and hard-drive are happy. Official stickers which are placed in and on the finished cabinet. The complete guts of a DRIFT machine. Computer, speakers, pedals and two I / O Boards. The upper board is the main one for all switches and lamps (it's USB). The lower is the audio amp, hardware watchdog, and driver hardware for the steering-wheel feedbac These guys are installing various parts of the electrical work. Wiring, boards, switches, etc. The marquee lamp, speakers and monitor have now been installed. Looking into the back of a machine early on the main line. You can see the computer, coin door (wiring poking through on the lower-left), and pedals have been installed. The cabinet is just a shell when it arrives from the cabinet factory (the same factory that built cabinets for Williams/Bally pinball - I think they do Stern Pinball cabinets too). Another sub-assembly line is for the pedestal/seat. The seat contains a huge bass speaker, and lights inside the pedestal. The dash is made on a separate line as a complete sub-assembly. It is completely built-up here, and will be screwed into the cabinet on the main line. Some completed cable harnesses are hanging up waiting for installation. It's fun to run your fingers through them! Cable harnesses are being assembled by hand. The gas and brake pedal assemblies. The brake is just an on/off switch, but the gas has a range from 0-255 (although I recommend just keeping it floored ) Monitors as far as the eye can see! These are considered mid-res in the arcade industry, and we run them at 640x480. These boxes contain the computers that we use in our games. They're basically PCs with NVIDIA graphics cards. Looking down the factory floor. This is the start of the line, and the completed machines can be seen at the far end. I just love the old-school "tech" sign from the 70s! This isn't a new factory, but it's very efficient and clean. I was impressed.

Umm .. You know she doesn't actually pick which songs she records, or write any of the lyrics, or play any of the instruments, right? In fact, she has no artistic or creative input whatsoever. Even for the videos someone tells her what to wear, and where to stand, etc. Now if you like her stuff, that's fine. I certainly liked lots of commercial music when I was little - but don't for a second delude yourself into thinking she's anything more than a puppet (which is actually one step below a Muppet! ). Cameron ("Any clothes-horse can learn to sing") Silver

^ When I was a kid (living in Doncaster) it would frequently *almost* snow. One time it was snowing (heavily) in Eltham on our way through, while driving up to Mt Buller. Great photos, Steffen; thanks so much! I love snow storms too, and this year we (Chicago) has had two really nice ones. Cameron.

I'm curious though .. how can she shave her head, when it's up her ass?! Cameron.

A friend of mine sent me this .. Big thumbs up to the creator for selecting a most excellent song! www.break.com/index/roller_coaster_massacre.html Cameron ("Older than he's ever been..") Silver

Hahaha .. Saying that someone is worthwhile because they're an actor is just laughable! I mean really .. actors are told where to stand, what to wear, what to say, how to say it, where to look, how to look, etc. They are basically professional puppets! Cameron.

I dunno dude. As much as it pains me to agree with Ryan, I think he's right about this one. I mean she was totally wasting the world's time. And while I'm obviously not glad she's dead, I am glad that we will no longer have to be subjected to her. I mean come on .. one less attention whoring celebrity - the Universe just got a little bit better Cameron.

Umm .. Xerox was doing research .. they had no intention of making a commercial product out of it. No-one stole anything from them. The Star was a an insanely expensive piece of highly specialized hardware. What Apple did that was so amazing wasn't so much the GUI, but rather putting it all together in a small, usable, affordable package. Cameron.

"This is my first coaster ride since getting out of prison!" "Oh yeah? What were you in for?" "Throwing someone off a ferris wheel.." Cameron. ps: Apologies to Steven Wright for stealing his joke

Jahan, want to come over? My place is full of crap too, you can clean it all out. I'll even let you keep all money you find Oh and thanks for the awesome photo of Australia! Can you pinpoint where I'm from? Cameron.

Are you as old as Jeff, yet?! Cameron.

^ I don't actually think that you're a moderator.. Awesome pixel-art, Andrew! I should dig up some of the pinball art and send it to you .. although I don't know if Deluxe Animation runs under Windows anymore.. Cameron.

And thus the pinball theming is complete Cameron.

Hey, A friend saw these guys at iaapa ... Looks great, although I skeptical that it could actually work. www.wizardworks.biz/pinball_water_ride.htm Cameron.

^ It all depends upon the make/model of the router. However, most routers shouldn't interfere with Nintendo WFC .. the only time it should be an issue is if your firewall blocks outgoing connections (which is pointless, really!). Cameron (Used to work for Cisco Systems) Silver.

^ Yeah .. she was the host for most of the run. Apparently she was quite the rocker chick, with bright pink hair and all (she wore a wig on the show). Another amazing Nick show (though much more recent): Invader Zim. Cameron.

No Nick topic may be brought up without a lengthy discussion of "You Can't Do That On Television" .. Come on, fess up .. who had a crush on Alanis?! Cameron.

^ Well it doesn't come out for about a month yet ..! But I agree, it's a must-have Wii title. Cameron.

My family and I were in Florida in January 1986 .. we saw Challenger on the launch pad just days before its last flight. It was quite surreal to watch that launch (and what happened) on TV after we'd returned to Melbourne. Having grown up in the 80s, I remember all the hype and such surrounding the whole shuttle program .. and I still feel very sentimental towards them. Sure they're old and creaky, but they totally rock! Discovery (easily the star of the fleet) is currently 22 years old, and will be 24 for its last flight in 2008 (I'll be sad..). The next two years (2007 and 2008) will be pretty busy years, with five missions planned for each year. In 2009 things will start winding down with just three missions (since Discovery will have been retired). Cameron.