Meteornotes

It looks like they're only going to stay in North America this time around. Which, as many have already said, sucks! Two reasons I've heard for this are production costs (double the amount for plane tickets and such since the teams are bigger) and the potential liabilities of a child getting lost in another country. Personally, I think someone getting kidnapped by some sort of Mayan Death Cult or something would make for great TV ratings, but I might be in the minority on that one. Having said that, I was not as annoyed by the show last night, as it proved that even if they're in the US, most of these people are still too stupid to get around! How can you not know where Washington DC is? And I was laughing my ass off at the people wandering around the wrong reflecting pool for two hours. But the challenges do really seem to be dumbed down, and it is kind of dull if they only travel a couple hundred miles in an episode. So it looks like this format change is not successful. Let's hope this is the only family edition ever... dt

Well, I pretty much don't eat candy, so I'll not be collecting any. And I'm thinking that my idea of a Ron Jeremy costume might not be approved by the management staff of WDW... dt

Quoted for agreement. Too many people take too many things too damn seriously. Many people need to relax and laugh more. See the recent ECC/ARN&R activity for a perfect example... dt

The Starflyer RULES! Take out the tower at SFMM and put one in! I'd love to see one of these in the US... dt

I've not been to Asia yet, but I will rank the Europe parks over the US. Sure, there are more rides in the US, but for the most part parks in Europe are much nicer, cleaner, better staffed and have far, far less annoying patrons in them. I found the parks in Europe to be so much less of a hassle to visit, as opposed to most parks here. I'd much rather make another trip to Walibi World or Europa Park than visit any SF/CF park here in the US... dt

Well, Balder and Colossus are both Intamin wood coasters, and they don't feel like the same ride. And I'd kill to get Ghostrider rides like the ones I got back in 2000. So I'm all for more of these Intamin woodies to be built. I'm tired of coasters that turn to crap after a year or so... dt

RRC is still around, and is full of angry trolls and bitter people. It's worth a laugh to look at occasionally, as it's fun to watch how if someone has a "non-approved" opinion (like that Hades is not the best coaster in the world) how they'll be skewered by all the angry people there. Some folks really need to lighten up... dt

I'm thinking the links from the ARN&R page got their trip far more attention then it would have ever gotten otherwise. But I guess some people take themselves far, far too seriously. Like ACERs... dt

Diet Coke is the drink of the gods. Well, that and Guinness... dt

Sleep! That's where I'm a viking! dt

Two memorable ones: Sitting on the Phoenix for an hour straight! Robb & I riding Rebel Yell forwards about 30 times in a row at the Hypersonic media day. Why wait four hours for a Hypersonic ride when you can ride wood coasters over and over? Plus, that night was still the best rides I've ever gotten on Hurler... dt

Humdinger! Well, I'm hoping for it, anyway... dt

^Let me guess, your post either did not contain complete and total worship of everything CP related, and/or you made a comment about pop up ads. You can likely find more accurate and informative CP information on about any other park site... dt

401. I should get one more credit this year. Might crack 500 next year, depending on how much I travel... dt

OK, I've already seen the scariest thing for HHN: NO TOMATO & MOZZARELLA SALAD!!! Mythos had the BEST one EVER! AAAAAGGGGHHHH! OK, well, I still want to eat there though, as it's still the best place in the park. But I will miss that salad... dt

After riding Colossus and Balder this year, I'm really looking forward to this. And looks can not tell the whole story, as looking at Balder, you wouldn't initially think it's the kickass airtime machine that it is. I'm getting a bit tired of the Voyage hype. No one has been on it, so lets wait and see just how much airtime it or any other coaster ends up having. I will say that one thing in El Toro's favor is that you'll be able to get night rides on it without attending a 2000+ person enthusiast/ACEr plagued event... dt

OK, the four screaming women need to die. And the constantly praying mom made the statement of the night, when she said "I think Pennsylvania is a state". I guess Jesus isn't into geography. Maybe he was looking at a map when the buggy ran her over. I like the team with the dad and three son in-laws. They seem to have a sense of humor. And the team that came in ninth will likely do better. They just made the wrong choice in pulling the buggy. I think any family with smaller kids are not going to get far, as they're just not going to do well with the physical challenges. I'm not sure this is a good idea with the families. And if they don't leave the US, it's a really sucky idea! Part of the fun of the show is watching stupid people get totally lost in foreign lands and being forced to eat deep fried tree spider or whatever. Hopefully next season they'll go back to the regular format... dt

I was looking at that Mamba package for a site I'm working on. I'm not sure that it can do exactly what I want it to do. The documentation I looked over today seemed a bit sketchy about details. I keep wondering whether to go with some sort of CMS, or just do everything by regular HTML. I know the latter method would be more work, but would give me more control. The only drawback to the straight HTML method would be adding some sort of user comment system for articles. Something like Mambo has this built in. I'll just be happy to get the site up and running and get to the content, which to me is the most interesting part anyway... dt

A lot of people on the various computer graphics/3D sites I hang out on are raving about the new Quicktime codec, so you might want to look into that one... dt

I spent a good chunk of my day at airports/on planes, so that wasn't all that exciting. But tonight we went to eat at the godly Towson Diner (best diner EVER!) where I had some kickass meatloaf. And now I'm watching football and posting on this board. Dave "Green Bay, Wisconsin is actually kind of cool" Thomas

Like others have said, Knoebel's and Hershey are really full day parks. Knoebel's has so much to offer besides three coasters. All the unique flat rides, the haunted house, and all the crazy food. Plus, the park is so cool at night, it just has an amazing atmosphere that you really need to spend the day to really experience it. Hersheypark is usually busy enough that you'll need to spend a full day there to ride all the major attractions. Add in a visit to Chocolate World and some time spent just walking around the place (it's huge!), and you can easily spend a day there. Dorney is really a half-day park at the most, unless you're doing the waterpark. You can bang out the coasters pretty quickly, and they don't have a lot of unusual attractions. Their waterpark is one of the best anywhere, though, and like Derek said, you can get a lot more rides if you wait to visit until later afternoon. No way would I do Hershey in Kennywood in the same day. It's a minimum of four hours between the two (can be longer depending on the number of traffic cones on the PA turnpike), plus Kennywood is another place that you'll really want to spend a full day at. It's another park that is really unique and different from anywhere else, and really takes on a different character at night. That's just my thoughts on a PA park visit, as someone that lived in PA for 26 years. While I'm not a fan of the state in general, it does have some kickass parks... dt

I'm not sure if I totally understand the question, but a re-done version of the latest GTA game (minus the sex scene that could be unlocked by a third party program) is either out or on it's way to retail stores. It should have the same "M" rating that the original had. dt

I have no idea if we're going or not at this point, but I do know there is no way we're going to be there at 10! We probably won't leave our house until 10! Anyway, if we go, I'll wear my TPR shirt, just to annoy RRC trolls... Dave "asshat enthusiasses are one of the reasons I might skip the event" Thomas

If we go to PPP, my costume will either be "Guy Trying Desperately To Stay Warm" if it's the usual PPP weather, or "Guy That Likes To Wear T-Shirts Featuring Really Obscure Metal Bands" if it's unseasonably warm. Dave "might skip PPP this year" Thomas

Off the top of my head: Millennium - The second season of this was one of the most brilliant things ever. Then they turned it into an XFiles clone in season 3 and drove it off the air. The Wire - Everyone talks about The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, but most people ignore this HBO show that may be as good if not better than the other two shows. American Gothic - Creepy and strange and cancelled after a year on CBS. Finally coming out on DVD soon. EZStreets - Perhaps the most amazing thing ever on a network. Extremely complicated crime drama that only had eight episodes shown on CBS (which stands for "Cancel our Best Show") before confused executives pulled the plug. I think that if the show came on now, after The Sopranos and The Shield, it would have stayed on the air. A show way ahead of it's time... dt