Meteornotes

^Right, those three parks are south of SF, and SFMW is North. And across the bay. It's a bit of a drive to SFMW from SF, and the traffic can be brutal until you get away from Oakland, so you'll need to factor that in. dt

^That phrase should go on the t-shirts... dt

These might be my favorite photo TRs on this site! You guys have too much fun... Dave "and yeah, bowling does rule!" Thomas

^Unbreakable goddamn owns! Best thing he's ever done. And it confused the hell out of everyone in the theater when we saw it, which just further proved that most people cannot pay attention to anything. That "From Justin To Kelly" movie looks like something we'd watch on HBO and just rip it to shreads and laugh our asses off in the process. I love really bad movies that are funny. The best one we've seen recently was "Volcano" which taught us stuff like lava can be contained by those cement dividers they use during road construction, and that you can stand right next to one where there's boiling lava on the otherside and not really feel the heat or anything... dt

I think this used to be more of a problem back in the '90's than it is now. There were some incidents there back then, usually related to some concert that was going on in the park. We just used to stay away from the place on Saturdays, which is probably good advice anyway, especially in the summer. I think the park has a much larger amount of security than they used to. It's not something I'd worry about now. On my last visit to the LA area, I thought the crowd at Knott's was much scarier than the one we saw at SFMM... dt

^Kennycon is about the only reason I ever think of joining ACE again. It is a great event at a great park. But then I figure that I can just go visit Kennywood on my own if I had any free time, and don't join. I was in ACE for awhile, went to some events, had fun, but realized that the group politics were not for me. Seeing some exceptionally immature behavior by some ACE folks that really should have known better pretty much put me off from renewing my membership. I can see cool coaster photos on the net (like here), get all the latest news and such, and have just as much fun going to parks with small groups, or just the two of us. I do sometimes think about joining ECC just because their magazine is some completely kick ass compared to any other coaster mag. But I am one lazy bastard and will likely won't get around that for awhile... dt

I worked at Hersheypark from 1979-1984, as a rides operator and rides supervisor. HP was not anything like it is now back then, in fact, in a book that someone published on the history of the park a few years back, the time I worked there was called "The Years Of Decay". Thankfully they decided to greatly expand and take much better care of the place, and make it one of the best parks in the US... dt

It's our 6 month anniversary. And she's still talking to me... dt

^Bwahahahah, I didn't even think of that! Of course, if I did do that, it would probably spark a nine hour conversation about their favorite Fraiser episodes, followed by a video tape full of "funny" moments from America's Funniest Home Videos, and then a discussion about Everybody Loves Raymond... Dave "visiting my parents is, um, fun!" Thomas

OK, that was funny! Looks like someone yanked his legs out from under him... dt

Bring me in as a "special guest instructor". She'll run screaming from the room within five minutes... dt

Some stuff you might want to think of doing at WDW: Illuminations Cruise Dinner at California Grill (this is a MUST in my opinion) The Cirque show (as previously recommended) I've never managed to make it to a waterpark there, but they look like fun. Pleasure Island is also fun for an evening. Be sure to check out the Explorer's Club and catch a show at the Comedy place. As far as cheap IOA tickets, they don't exist. I think there might be an AAA discount, but it's pretty much you pay what they're charging. IOA is totally worth what they're charging, at least to me. And if you get over there, don't forget to eat at Mythos! Have fun in FL! dt

It's my domain name. If I use my regular name, I get all sorts of Wendy's complaint mail... Dave "loves getting email about bringing back the pepperjack sandwich" Thomas

The Shield or The Wire for current shows, Homicide and NYPD Blue for shows that are no longer on the air. If you've never seen The Wire, you need to at least rent the DVDs. Excellent show... dt

Sites I look at on a regular basis: Blue's News - Game news CGTalk - Computer graphics discussion Spinquad - Lightwave 3D discussion Jinxworld - Brian Michael Bendis forum (comic book writer) Shocklines - horror fiction discussion Portnoy forum - music discussion (forum owner is Dream Theater's drummer) Perpetual Motion - music discussion AVS Forum - Home theater/television (especially HDTV) discussion Digital Bits - DVD news Cubase Forum - music software KVR - music software Westcoaster - coaster talk Theme Park Review - Donkey Talk dt

Recently, it would be either one of the Charlie's Angels movies, or Scooby Doo. I attempted to watch these on various late nights on HBO and chose infomercials instead pretty quickly... Dave "would watch a 30 minute Ronco presentation over many modern movies" Thomas

I do know that Giant (local grocery store chain) used to sell discount tickets for Hersheypark, so you might want to stop at one before you go to the park. There's one pretty close to the park (use mapquest to find it as I suck at giving directions!). dt

We were thinking of going to SFA, but we're supposed to have crap weather, so I think we'll just hang out at home instead. Mother's/Father's Day used to be great days to go to parks, but it seems in the last five years or so a lot of parks have caught on to these being "dead" days and have started having promotions like Buy One/Get One Free Admission, or Season Pass Bring A Friend Free or something similar. I'd check to see if the park you're going to is running this sort of promotion, as you'll likely encounter higher than average crowds... dt

Dark Tranquility In Flames Opeth Strapping Young Lad Ocean Machine I'm thinking that my suggestions probably won't happen... dt

I read a lot of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Suspense/Thriller stuff. For non-fiction, I read a lot of animation and technical books. Right now I'm reading 1001 Tips & Tricks For Lightwave 3D, and The Ice Limit. Dave "reading rules!" Thomas

Well, I don't have a migrain, but reading that post did make me dizzy! Just my opinion, but I think this site is pretty damn cool. Sure, it would be cooler if there was a button to press that would make a guy show up at the front door with free food, but I'm not sure that technology is quite there yet... Dave "mmm...food!" Thomas

It must have been a REALLY slow newsday here since it was on the Baltimore news last night! I was hoping for footage of some C&C smoking ride operators, but no such luck... dt

As far as hotels, I wouldn't stay anywhere around Santa Cruz or SFMW. I recall the area around both of these places being creepy, and wouldn't feel comfortable staying around there with a family. Someone that still lives in the area might have a better idea. Driving along the coast is a MUST, as there is lots of cool scenery. Staying in the city can be exceptionally expensive, and hotel quality can be questionable. You might want to stay outside of the city and take the BART into town, and use public transportation to get around. I personally HATE driving in SF, and find using buses and such to get around to be about a billion times easier. I'm not a huge fan of Fisherman's Wharf, but that might be because we had to take people down there every time we had visitors. GG Park and the bridge are must see attractions, and I'm a huge fan of Muir Woods on the other side of the bridge, but that might a little too much out of your way. I'm thinking that you'll be fine at PGA that Saturday. The park isn't that big, and there really isn't anything there you're going to want to ride more than once, other than Top Gun. Get there at opening and get the Invertigo out of the way, as it probably has the worst capacity of the coasters. On an unrelated matter, if you like sushi, you must go to Tokie's in Foster City. Most amazing Japanese restaurant ever!!! Have fun! dt

I have the 365 Day Cat Calender on my desk, so the answer is, um, a cat! Dave "cats rule" Thomas

The only thing we want to do for sure this month is a visit to Knoebel's. If Hydra is open, we'll also stop at Dorney on our way to Philadelphia to see Porcupine Tree and get our credit. Other than that, it's pretty much a park-free schedule for us until Europe... dt