Meteornotes

Not a good move. What if someone needs to go to their car/hotel room to take medication? Some medications need to be stored in a cool place, which a park locker is not. I'd love to hear the justification for this. Also, did anyone email Motley Fool to tell them that it turns out this rumor is true? Be curious to see their updated article... dt

Caves rock. I've been in a bunch of different ones. They're damn hard to photograph though, but you did a pretty good job. dt

There's a website that I cannot remember the name of that shows the crowds at WDW on a 1-10 scale. I was there last year the first week of spring break, and the site said it was a "7". It was the busiest I have ever seen the place. Long lines, and multi-hour waits for fastpass (if they were not sold out already). I'd advise checking that site, and as always, get to the parks early. IOA/USF wasn't as bad for some reason, and we were there on the weekend. We made sure we were there before opening the first day, and were done with all the major attractions in IOA before Noon. We went over to the studios side and rode things with small lines and/or single rider lines. The next day we were there again before opening, and picked up the stuff we missed at the Studios. We didn't get express passes, and probably wouldn't have needed them. dt

Wow, I had no idea that pizza place had burned down. I remember eating there a couple of times during visits to the area. dt

Happy Birthday to our TPR Overlord! dt

Cool pictures. It was 20 years ago this week that I last visited Sea World. We might go over there later this year, as Mary has never been there... dt

Dammit, I really wanted Humdinger. I would have bought a shirt! Ah well... dt

Robb speaks well enough to order at the drive-thru. That's all he needs... P dt

I still like to know the reasons for the "EGF must be ranked at the bottom of the list" campaign. Never got a real answer to that. There must be a really good reason to trash what is at least a decent ride, and attempt to screw up the one poll that actually gives realistic results. The SFA S:ROS blows the DL version out of the water. I know they're the exact same layout, but the SFA one runs SO much better! I have no idea why, but it does. I'll need to look over the list, but EGF is certainly at the top of my mine... dt

That kicks ass. We thought about going, but we're going to the Dream Theater 20th Anniversary Show the week before. Pink Floyd needs to tour again! dt

I should sign up just to screw up the stats, and to lead ususpecting people into listening to bizarre music. I can just see someone randomly sampling some Strapping Young Lad... dt

That kicks ass. Have fun, and enjoy what should be a good game. Though I'll be amazed if this game is as interesting to watch as the Penn State/FL State game was last night. That certainly wasn't boring... dt

Well, poking around a bit I found this: http://www.salientstills.com/product/product_intro.html I have no idea how well it works, or how much it costs, but I'm sure it's very expensive. Getting a higher resolution image from a video grab is going to be a very complex process, and is not something that consumer-level or almost any lower level pro gear or software is going to accomplish. If you want stills, you're better off carrying a small digital camera with you, as the imagaes from even a cheap one are going to be of higher quality. dt

The one thing I forgot to mention about all of this is that a lot of the homeowners set up displays inside their homes, and you can actually go in and check them out. They range from just simple trees to a full blown train/tree/lights spectacular at that house with the billion lights on it. They usually only open their houses on weekends, and we went on a Monday night this year, as we wanted to avoid the crowds/traffic. There's often a massive traffic backup going into this neighborhood to look at this display. The most insane light display I have ever seen still belongs to some random house in Simi Valley, CA, that had more lights and stuff in their yard than this display. It was crazy. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of it, and I have no idea if they still do it any more (this was ten years ago), but trust me, it was electric light-up overkill... dt

OK, one of our Christmas traditions is a trip to Hampden, MD for the Christmas lights display. Hampden is a suburb of Baltimore, and one street in the area is known for it's completely over the top light display that everyone on the street participates in. As you'll see, this is a bit more than just putting some lights on your front porch. Anyway, let's go to the visuals! And Electric Light-Up Santa says "One day I will be hit by lightning and grow to 500 feet tall, and wander the land terrorizing everyone and...Oh, sorry...and, um, Merry Christmas and all that stuff." And more random stuff in the yard. This is seriously one amazing display of light up stuff. Random stuff in the yard. OK, this guy's house has more stuff in and on it than all the other houses combined. He must also have the biggest basement ever... We all remember the story where Santa tried to upstage Jesus, so they trapped him inside a giant ball, until his army of fire-breathing penguins rescued him, right? OK, maybe just me... It's a tree. In the tree...Old Bay! Please buy lots and lots of it, as it's mighty yummy. This tree has all sorts of Baltimore-related items hanging all over it. Plus more wacky sculptures. These guys do all sorts of sculptures and metal work every year. This time around it's a crab line-up. Blue light special. We're all familiar with that heartwarming Christmas tale, Jesus and The Gingerbread Men. Up on the rooftops...well, all sorts of stuff... Here's the view you have when you arrive at the famous street. Planes have attempted to land here.

Yeah, I know, this is late, but I needed a new card reader. Anyway, a few weeks back we made our yearly journey out to the middle of nowhere, MD, to get a tree for the holiday season. So here are some photos of hot tree sawing action! And now decorated. Awwwww... Now with lights! Our tree finds an appropriate spot in the house. OK, it gets put in just about the only place in the house that's not full of random stuff... And it's done! Hot lumberjack-style action! This looks like a likely victim... The main reason we go do this: you get a dangerous weapon! The guy down the road said "There are no trees left in Maryland". I think he might have been an idiot...

I'm not sure what they'll have in stock, but if you're looking for a US place to order photography/video gear from, I highly recommend B&H Photo. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ dt

Vekoma and Togo. They should team up and build a ride together. That would kick ass. dt

Well, it's about time someone saw the lights at Tivoli! All is now right with the world... At least some of you are taking advantage of the awesomeness that is Japanese food! Dave "sushi rules!" Thomas

The lines will be INSANE. Mary had a conference in Orlando last March, so I went along to amuse myself at WDW, since their conference hotel was The Dolphin. I've never seen the park busier. Lines were crazy, fastpasses were usually for four or more hours after you got one (if they were not all sold out), and you could barely walk around. And this was on weekdays. I still managed to have fun, though I spent a lot of time standing in lines. You must get to the parks at least 30 minutes before they open. The weekend before her conference, we went to IOA/USF. By getting there before opening, we managed to do every major attraction in IOA before Noon, then went over to USF for the rest of the day, skipping things with a long line until the next day, where we went to USF first. We managed to ride everything, some things multiple times (Mummy rules!). Had we gotten there after opening like almost everyone else does, we wouldn't have gotten nearly as many rides. We did not get express passes, but it's something to consider. So the only advice i can give you is to get to the parks early, and know where you want to go and what you want to do beforehand. Having a plan when the parks are this busy will help you. Have fun! dt

^I'm really curious to hear how well that works. I have a Sony camera, but do to ever-increasing US park stupidity, I leave it at home most of the time, since it won't fit into a pocket, and I don't feel like leaving it on a ride platform and/or playing the In And Out Of The Locker shuffle. I never, ever film on rides or take POV, so I don't really care about stability issues. I'm more interested in a camera that shoots good quality DV and fits into a pocket. Let me know what you think of your new camera... dt

I'll ride kiddie coasters if I'm with other people, and there's little or no line. I won't borrow a kid from some stranger to ride one where you need a kid. I don't need the credit that bad! dt

More Skyway Of Death photos please!!! That looked both awesome and wrong in so many ways. That is one messed up shuttle loop. As always, these pictures continue to kick ass. Can't wait for the next batch... dt

King crab legs last night, steak tonight...mmmmm... Dave "vacation rules!" Thomas

Well, let's see... 1962 - Found by group of penguins in a crater. Raised by them and taught their secret ninja skills. And learned of their near-insatiable desire for cheese 1975 - Embarked on my journey to the moon. 1976 - Finally realized that you cannont, in fact, walk to the moon. Settled for my second choice: Shippensburg, PA. 1980 - Watched a lot of TV 1984 - Graduated college, after majoring in pool and TV watching 1997 - Began to train my cats to perform various tasks related to my eventual conquering of the Earth and installing myself as Ruler Of All. Plan abandoned a few minutes later when cats doze off during my first lecture about how after I take over the planet, I'm going to sterilize anyone that talks during a movie. 2002 - Started to construct a giant killer robot out of Diet Coke cans. Project continues unsucessfully, as I just can't get it to actually kill anything. 2005 - Working on a time machine. First thing I'll do with it? Stop American Idol from ever getting on the air. My mission here is accomplished... dt