erinys

I've never 'blacked' or 'greyed' out on a ride. At one time, I blacked & greyed out a lot just in general life, but I was borderline anorexic. The things I learned were: HYDRATE! You need fluids, even overpriced ones, more so in the heat and/or sun. If you don't have enough fluids your blood volume and your blood pressure drops, so your heart may not generate the force to get blood to your brain. Blood sugar: EAT something! If you haven't eaten significant food in hours, just a piece of gum can be the worst thing for you, because that sudden influx of sugar causes your body to expect more, so it secretes lots of insulin which then knocks your blood sugar down even lower. Despite an earlier post, I think gaining a couple pounds helps. Generally, you need to have enough, consistent blood pressure to pump it to your brain under high G's. A grey out for me usually started as tunnel vision, and only occasionally went to a black out because it was enough to alert me that something was wrong and to hydrate and eat. During a black out, I would just go down (head + concrete = bad), sometimes with no warning. Some people have minor vagus nerve disorders or sensitivities that can make them exceptionally prone to both, especially on changing physical positions. If you nearly pass out when you give blood, you probably have a vagus nerve disorder (or are too skinny).

Thanks for the update! I hadn't been able to find anything on fan sites either, so I really didn't know whether to think it worse than apparently is is. I really appreciate the info!

Doesn't anyone know what's going on with this? Gimme a link, something . . .

As of 1pm yesterday the Knoebels receptionist thought Haunted Mansion would be open on Saturday. Knoebels is indeed the flying turns park, although not sure if it will be done this year. The structure seems relatively undamaged. Webcam here: http://www.flyingturnsproject.com/FT_Webcam.html

Even if pieces from the fins hit him in the eye I'd think it would have to be pretty darn deep to require 5 days - I don't get it. If to keep him quiet the park gave him an all-expense paid VIP trip to Busch Tampa, wouldn't they announce it rather than have him in the hospital for a day, sneak out, and sneak back into the hospital days later to be released? I don't know about your experiences, but I've never seen a hospital let anyone milk anything more than a day or so extra. Would you want to be in a hospital when Busch could be giving you that trip to Tampa?

The injured man was in the hospital five nights. http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149188816294 'A man injured Friday when a Paramount's Kings Dominion roller coaster malfunctioned was released yesterday from VCU Medical Center. The man, a Utah resident whose name has not been released, suffered what Kings Dominion spokeswoman Susie Storey described as a laceration over his right eye. "We don't have any more information about the guest's injury," Storey said yesterday in an e-mail. "We're all so glad that he has been released from the hospital."' If the response is by email, I wonder if the park is returning the reporter's phone calls. I have trouble believing the park doesn't know what happened, just that they aren't sharing it. Since it's suspended, are the LIMs above the ride - is there much shielding on Volcano between the fins & the train below?

I think with the article using quotes like '"We all thought we were going to die," the 21-year-old from Yorktown said last night. "I really feared for my life."' it's being presented in a sensational manner. Since someone was hospitalized for at least one night it does sound like something significant happened. I'm guessing the trip we've got planned in 3 weeks should probably be postponed.

It's very telling about Six Flags that I've only been stuck on a breakdown on two rides, and both of them were named Superman (SFGAdv - UF & SFA ROS). Try hanging for an extended time from the Superman:UF straps during a breakdown.

Hangtime. Good for my ol' back.

If you are as cheap as I am, you might look at the Priceline & Hotwire tips on http://www.betterbidding.com/ . You won't know exactly where you are staying, but you'll be able to afford the soda at the park. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ is my favorite for reviews of hotel rooms if you are interested in checking out individual places. Tips - assuming you start early, start at the back of the park - Batwing (usually the longest wait) & Superman:ROS. Unless you are a masochist, avoid Mind Eraser - it's headbanging is among the most evil I've come across, with the stinkiest OTSRs ever.

^ Just can't fathom those 0s, huh?

^ I didn't intend to suggest bisexuality wasn't real - I think it's to some degree the nature of most (there goes that keyword again) people. A lot of gay people have disagreed with me. Perhaps we only truly understand how we ourselves are. I don't think I've ever seen a Kinsey scale population breakdown. Most people seem to lean more in one direction or another, and it's probably just simpler to focus in one area/community. I would call myself bi-, although I haven't been with a woman in 10 years, and have strong heterosexual leanings (although that may simply be out of the convenience of societal acceptance). I thought Kinsey was 0-6, in which case I'm a 1.5. It's beautiful, and probably incredibly healthy, that you love the person inside whoever it is you love. I wish more people did. ------------------ Changing directions somewhat. Ignoring the religious 'shellfish is fine but laying with another man is an abomination' folk, I've known lots of non-religious, majorly homophobic men, my younger brother for one (despite the fact that my omni-present best friend was gay). There is the hypothesis that severely homophobic people have strong homosexual inclinations, & are scared to death. Most of these guys seem to me to be sexist pigs (gynophobic a$$holes, actually). For them, is it perhaps that being intimate with another man is somehow feminine, woman-ish, whatever (they clearly haven't known the gay men I have), & therefore inferior? Is some male homophobia also related to sexism? Cr@p, I hate this - I thought the Enlightenment started 600 years ago.

Being bi- has been a fad among people of a certain age for AT LEAST 20 years. Most of the men will become gay, most of the women will become straight. Keyword 'most.' I think it's just the way women are built: if we love someone, we want to be or at least have no problem being intimate with them, regardless of the details. I would hope that the upside is greater tolerance down the road as friends think 'my friend Jane slept with a woman' and relatives realize 'my niece Joan had a relationship with a woman' and neither Jane nor Joan appear to be 'sick' or likely to burn in hell. The downside would be the possibility of people thinking 'John slept with a woman once, so why doesn't he 'choose' to keep doing it?'

8 minute loading + 2 minute ride means it'll increase the time you spend baking in the sun before returning to the station, too. But I do hope it'll get the lines down to 1.5 hours. The ride ops becoming more experienced with stapling should help too. Does anyone know what the morning delay is for? When we visited on Tuesday it opened with the park, but on Thursday there was a 2 hr & something delay.

On our first ride, in the middle of the train, my husband successfully wore his sunglasses after bending them into a very tight face conforming shape. On the second ride the ops had him remove them. That was on the trip that something (retainer, partial plate maybe?) flew away from someone ahead of us, so it was probably a good move. I put my cell phone in my rear cargo pocket for yesterday's ride in the third row, since none of the others seemed secure enough.

We must be related. I was not a 'drop' or an 'air' person. I want to be inverted. Or wanted to. Prior to this, I would not ride Nitro, and feared for my life on the third-rate SFAMERICA verision of Superman:ROS. This is different. You are pinned in. If you aren't sufficiently pinned (stapled), the dispatcher's error sensors will go off & they'll re-staple you. You aren't going anywhere. This is not an average straight out & back, up and down woodie. B&M and GCI seem to have hooked up and had a love child in Madrid or Mexico City, that must've been adopted by Intamin. It is fast, silky smooth, and curvier than Linda Carter as Wonder Woman. Perhaps because it is not as extremely tall as many steel coasters, the drops don't last that long. Or maybe it is because the angle of descent is so steep. You just don't spend long second after long second falling (or waiting to fall). Maybe it's kinda like if they tried to do Lightning Racer in steel, but taller. ----------- As for line length: We visited today, June 13, with the park only open from 10-3pm. The crowds were light since it's a weekday and a short operating day. For the first time, we got a Flashpass. Loved it. Theoretically, the Flashpass system times it so you wait as long as the regular line, but spend your time somewhere other than in the physical line. In reality, even the standard seems to cut the wait slightly. When we went to the Flashpass office @ 10:30, we chatted pleasantly with the clerk to verify that El Toro was open. He wanted to know if we wanted standard ($45 for 2 people) or gold ($100 for 2 people). I said all we really wanted to do was El Toro. We got standard, and incredibly kindly he called over to the station for status information, and put in a reservation for us in 10 minutes. We were done at 11. We re-reserved through the sign, and it scheduled us for 11:36. After that ride, we re-reserved again, and it came up as 1:11. Due to lines, the time eventually turned into 1:37. Everything else we wanted was a walk-on, so we did Nitro (my first through third times on it) & Medusa a few times. After we arrived for our 1:37 ET ride, and 50 or so more people from the standard line were admitted after us, the coaster had technical difficulties. There was a delay of just under an hour. Since the park was closing at 3, they closed the regular line and sent everyone who'd be waiting in it on their way, and just let the remaining people in the Flashpass line into the station. Get the Flashpass - with a new, record-breaking coaster opening, it's worth it. Reserve ET first, and KK second. -------------------- I'm new to coasters, with only about 30 under my belt. My favorites had been Medusa-East at #1, Great Bear, Lightning Racer, some more B&Ms, another GCI, and Batwing. Medusa was disappointing after ET. My first ride on Nitro didn't really phase me after ET. I think I may be ruined for other coasters.

Smoother than silk. You might download some of the POV (Point of View - is that right?) videos under the Member's Only forums (Ack! I can't find one - can anyone help?). Watching those videos of the rides from on-board was what convinced me I had to work my way up to be able to ride Medusa, at the minimum.

Is your cousin trying to scare or torture you? I believe only the Robin side of Batman & Robin:The Chiller is out of commission. It wasn't really an accident, as in no one was injured. The Robin side 'valleyed.' It started to go up a hill and didn't have enough momentum to make it up, and rolled back down into the valley between higher parts. A rollback is not a big deal, it happens on many coasters occasionally, but the Robin cars, track, or launch system may have been damaged in the process, so it is closed. I'm sure there's a thread somewhere here about it. Nitro was #5 in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket awards for best steel coaster. That is based on a survey of enthusiasts, but I'm not sure how it works. The restraints have worked for hundreds of thousands of riders - they are fine. Parks close rides that are unsafe. Clarification - when I've closed my eyes it was only for a second or two to get passed the most intense portions (while fully knowing what was about to happen and sensations I would feel), not for the entire ride.

In more detail: I always travel with a friend, who's as budget-challenged as I am. We have SF passes, and lean towards those for a fix when money is tight. We Priceine'd a room for $35 for SFGAdv's opening weekend. Hershey & Dorney we've done on coupons or cheap pre-season tickets. We like flats and spend time in a park doing them making our days longer, requiring food & drink. We also make quick trips to the beaches for rides (mostly flats, pay-per-ride). We don't buy many souvenirs, never play games, and have yet to have a sit-down meal in a park. We can't call the cable company for fear they'll figure out we're getting the full 60 standard channels rather than the 20 we ordered & pay for. I guess we do buy prepared food too often, but pizza, Subway, & McDonald's usually. I take OTC Pepcid rather than pricey acid reflux prescriptions now, and switched a long acting prescription to a 3 times a day generic to save cash. I'm dying to get to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, but the 4.5 hour drive seems to require a room. I really want to find the cheapest way possible to do that. Perhaps the difficulty is my husband has different hobbies - NYC & baseball, neither cheap. Other than his lack of coaster enthusiasm he's perfect, so not trading him in. He would murder me if I turned off the DSL, and won't let me disconnect the home telephone.

I guess I wasn't clear on aggressive vs. passive words. Bearded clam, muff, gash, slit, hole, slash, tw*t, hatchet wound, meat wallet (as if it has no other purpose), vertical smile (why is it smiling? It's not smiling), the p-words - none of these are respectful words for something that is independent or strong, or anything more than just an ever-receptive receptacle. I guess a beaver has teeth and the c-word is strong but it has quite a nasty, perjorative meaning. The best equivalent statement I can come up with is "I love wiener" or "I love the worm." At one time stuff like the use of those earlier words by some males also had me considering abandoning the less fair sex entirely instead of just occasionally visiting the other side.

I'm sorry if this is a duplicate - I only reviewed the searches back a couple months since there were so many matches for "cost" or "afford." Please point me in the right direction if I'm annoyingly duplicating. Visiting theme parks is not a cheap proposition (oh, and you need not respond if you accept other propositions to finance your ventures). With admission and travel costs my budget is tight just sticking to parks within a 3 hour drive (mid-Atlantic). Do you sacrifice, is it a comfortable expense, or not even a consideration? With the assistance of my long-suffering husband, a little plastic (I was unemployed until recently), and a regular hunt for cheap admissions, we get by but cut back a little in other areas. How do you do it?

Took another trip to Trimper's: want to bring this up because once again the Zipper was AMAZING - many flips and flops, fast. It seems hard to find a Zipper, so if that's your thing, it's a must-visit. The Haunted House there is also a classic, with many new gags added recently.

Last year I was the same, n00b. I hadn't ridden a coaster in, oh, 25 years after I thought I was gonna die on Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion. Turns out I was just coming down with the flu. I went to SFGAdv to keep a pal company on a cheap season night. I was so scared I only rode the Runaway Mine Train. Intrigued by the adrenaline, I returned on another coupon. I rode the Mine Train followed by Skull Mountain, twice to get more accustomed to the sensations. I didn't go further there, but I probably could have ridden Batman or Medusa. Soon after, I visited SFAmerica. The wooden Roar gave me a thrill. Joker's Jinx with its inversions fascinated me, and finally I got the nerve to ride it - hooked! Immediately followed by Mind Eraser - didn't put me off (I won't ride it now for roughness). Followed by Two Face. Wouldn't touch Superman (big hill) or Batwing (hanging from the track). This year, I hit Batman first - it was amazing. So was Superman: Ultimate Flight. Followed by Medusa - fantastic! I didn't like Robin:The Chiller (rough, loud) but did like Batman:TC - exciting twists made up for noise. Stay away from Great American Scream Machine - horribly rough. Next, SFA for Superman & Batwing - sweet. Then a trip to Dorney Park - nothing particularly frightful there - Steel Force was do-able, Thunderhawk is rough, Laser is not note-worthy. At Hershey, the Comet line was too line, but otherwise rode everything including Storm Runner (THAT is not yet my friend) and Wildcat is rough but the first hill is amazing. When in doubt, I looked at my feet or closed my eyes, and kept repeating "The park has billions & billions to lose if I die, billions & billions, billions & billions." I may be ready for Nitro. KK is not yet a possibility. So my suggestion is: Mine Train Skull Mountain Batman Medusa Superman UF if you think you can tolerate hanging, The Chiller if fast launches and speed are better, or Nitro if you prefer big drops. Rolling Thunder had always been closed during my visits, so no advice there.

^I think they can be fined by the authorities and lose their liquor license for knowingly providing alcohol that will end in the stomachs of people who are underage. They could be sued (I think, may depend on state laws) for discrimination by someone they've refused admission due to gender, not for indirectly providing alcohol to underage folk. I'm surprised at the people justifying the club's policy based on economic or behavioral reasons: it's still just wrong. It doesn't matter if typically females of that age behave more socially appropriately than males of the same age. Legally and morally men and women are the same. To me, it is the same as regulating that 18 year olds are mature enough to sign binding contracts for marriage, purchasing property, or military enlishtment, but not mature enough to drink alcohol. Perhaps that is common sense, but it isn't right. If society regulates that 18 year olds shouldn't drink alcohol, I doubt they are mature enough to do things that are far more long-lasting than a beer buzz.

Erinys had to work & couldn't respond. I saw that slang word derived from putain and got kinda queasy. If it had been the v-word it would have been another thing entirely. Lotsa guys had done the 'straight with g/f' before, but not with that word. Kinda brings out the c-word in me. Then it was followed by the bag guy and there was just nothing left to be written. You may not know what it feels like to be dehumanized in that way - it leaves one feeling demeaned and powerless. Pole, rod, etc. are all very different, aggressive words, carrying entirely different connotations from the one used, just as whore and gigolo or slut and stud have diffferent meanings. I respect Masked_Maverick's willingness to compromise, and took out my own potentially offensive, but hopefully humorous, quote from Liquid Sky in respect for his edit. I'd be happy to take out the rest too if requested. If it's women you like, that's one of my favorite qualities in a man! If it's only bits and pieces of them, that's a problem. Sorry for ruffling feathers gentlemen - I didn't intend to discourage the straight men from talking as much as the gay men do.