arrowfanman

^ I guess this explains your grammar. -Jahan "No, you are not 'doing good'!" Makanvand

^ While I do agree with you, that they fold quickly, I don't believe it to be the case here. I mean....it took 7 years for them to fold. I believe the big problem was the plaintiff's counsel was able to exploit some technicality in the law...If I remember correctly, it was something about how a ride like Indy--doesn't matter if it was intended for 'entertainment' purposes--fits within the genre of vehicles whose sole intent is to transport individuals. So the ride would have to abide by the laws similar to that of public transportation or whatnot, which obviously means that they'd have to dumb it down. And Robb...Elissa....... I read about that on YOUR site, so dont you dare try and bring me down for it! -Jahan "March 3rd, 1995" Makanvand

Can I have a little fun here?... 12/28/06: 1/4/07: Now I know my logic must be flawed, but the chances that two random "guests" would encounter the same employee with a phone, must suggest that both the employee is on the phone A LOT and that supervisors must be making the rounds less than once a week. -Jahan

I hate you so much. April couldn't come any sooner. -Jahan

...great photo trip report Jimmy! As Elissa said, we'll miss you here in SoCal, but at least you're coming crawling back for Solace-time! See you then! -Jahan

Yea, this was pretty great.... ...In my dream last night...I got married! Now I cant tell you to who, exactly--I cant say that I got her name. But yea...we got married. And do you know what the first thing we did when we arrived at the honeymoon suite was? ...took advantage of the free Wi-Fi. -Jahan

I'm not talking about life dude...I was talking about "existence". And I'm not disputing evolution by any means! As I said...I believe that God created matter and the "laws of physics" by which that matter abides! Therefore, the chemical reactions which would eventually manifest a life-form were done so in accordance with the "laws" that were initially set forth by a God! Therefore, it was not "random" by any means. What I was saying, is that yes...humanity, existence...everything we see today is simply apart of a chain reaction, one that you described in your post. If you will, we are but one domino, in a MASSIVE domino set-up. We exist today because the dominoes that preceded us have all collapsed in a chain reaction, eventually knocking our domino....and who we are today will in fact set off more chain reactions for future generations, no doubt. However, there must have been some factor which initiated that first reaction, in the series of chain reactions. If you will, "something" must have knocked that first domino in the set-up over. That "something" can not be the "big bang"...the "big bang" is the first domino..."something" must have served as a catalyst for knocking over that first domino...and that something I like to think of as God. What created God? Nothing..."God" has existed always. I'm not trying to say that God is a totally ripped senior citizen, dressed in a toga, throwing lightning bolts! What I'm saying is that existence must have come from something that has always existed (hence, why nothing 'created' God). I don't know what that "something" is, but like calling an unknown in an algebraic equation "x", I call this unknown something "God". It is my variable, if you will. As for the idea that the universe repeats itself over and over, which is plausible, there still must have been something that initiated the "first universe"...this expanding and contracting universe can not have been in existence forever, in my opinion. Something had to start that chain reaction. -Jahan "...still not getting laid..." Makanvand

I can agree with that, however...I do not believe that existence is purely random. I do believe that there is a God outside of our "traditional" understanding. Something can not come of nothing, as science teaches us the Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy. And even if existence as we know it has evolved from past existence, there comes a point in which there has to be "rationally" a creator of the intial existance--a "first mover". Therefore, the only logically explanation in my mind is a "God". "God" is a 'variable', if you will...my scientific hypothesis for our existance. Existance can not come from nothingness and therefore must have come from the one concept that has always existed. I believe there was a God who created matter and the "laws of physics" by which that matter abides. The rest is history. As far as existence being "purely random"... Every action has a goal. There is NOTHING we do, that is not meant to serve a purpose for ourselves. Therefore, to me, it is logical to say that if "God" performed the "action" of creating existence, it must have been done to accomplish a "goal". Meaning the universe didn't just appear randomly, but appeared for a reason. What that reason is, I can not pretend to know. You drive a hard argument Wes. But I personally agree with the principals commonly known as "Pascal's Wager". Simply put... I am going to live my life trying to make it to "heaven", because when I die, if there is a "heaven", I'll be pretty glad I made that choice. If there is NOT a "heaven"...well...I'll never have to know I threw my life away! I'll be dead and have ceased to exist! Now, how you "make it" to "heaven" is purely a matter of personal belief. I personally do not believe that there is "one path" to salvation. Human's have been created to be all distinct...all different from one another. Therefore, there is no way that there can be only "one path", an idea typically rejected by all organized religion as these damn organizations are too self-righteous to see this. Just how I feel. -Jahan

I know Chuck. That's just sort of why I dont want it to change. Selfish of me, I know. But the only reason I knew of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn growing up is because of Disneyland. In essence, despite the lack of popularity of the characters, the stories were kept alive because of my knowledge-by-association of Tom Sawyer Island. And now that I can safely say "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is one of my favorite works of literature ever, I was sort of hoping to keep the stories alive for new children, and I know that it's "selfish of me", perhaps. So basically, I'm going to stand behind one of Robb's complaints about the park....It's been over a decade since they have added a major ride and I've had enough of these tens-of-millions of dollar upgrades that TSI, the subs, space, etc. have been getting and marketed as new. I really enjoy the new Space greatly and I know the return of the subs will be a welcomed addition....but now, I'm just ready for something new. -Jahan

While I cant help being very scared by that film, it was actually VERY clever! Great job! 9/10! I'd give you a 10, but you lost it on the "Disneyland castle-size" joke! Had it been 2 minutes shorter, I would definitely vote for this as a strong contender in TPRs video contest! Keep up the good work! -Jahan

Excellent PTR! I considered going, but decided to not risk the crowds! BTW....may I ask what you shot this with? I really like the colors in those photos! -Jahan "Not a photographer...just curious" Makanvand

Ok...Robb told me that I'm getting in the habit of posting long posts, so I'll TRY and keep this short... First, you need to be very careful on your crusade to convert people. As told thousands of years ago by Plato's Cave (look it up, if you're bored) or a few months ago, in "How to Save a Life", by the Fray, people will begin to resent you. If you are trying to change something about someone, you are essentially saying that they are currently wrong. And NOBODY wants to be told they are wrong. So be careful! I personally lost my best friendship last year when we grew close enough to where she began to show concern for my soul. As open as I was to everything, we sort of slowly went downhill from there. I sugguest not even pressing it. Wait and hope that they have the openness to ask YOU about it and when they do, slowly begin to talk to them about it. Whoops...I'm reaching my post limit here, so I gotta stop talking! -Jahan

^ Last August, X's lift hill's gearbox basically blew up. They didn't even begin to work on it for at least a month, as this was when the budget was REALLY tight. Anyway, the manufacturing process and everything on this particular component has supposivly taken a long time. I have been told that the part is now in, but still hasn't been installed. They hope to have the ride open by mid-January, but I'd say late-January. Flashback...its dead. -Jahan

^ The same "point" there is to building your Knex models Jon! To have some fun, to make a 'product' to feel good about, and to share that work with your friends! I'm just glad Ryan's doing something productive, like this, rather than picking up on Fresno's infamous meth-industry! It may not have been "professional", but it was fun and entertaining and that's what counts! Anyway, nice film Ryan! Looks like you had a lot of fun with your friends. Still using Windows Movie Maker I see. *shakes head* Oh well...that badass Qui Gon Jin makes up for that! -Jahan "Giggity" Makanvand

Dude! Wrs is joining the "sneaky photos" bandwagon! Excellent! Welcome to the crew! Thanks for the update! -Jahan

Great update! Although, I must say....a wholelotta sex in that update! I ran away, half way through it! -Jahan

^ The irony is, those two dreams are very similar to each other. I couldn't really explain my dream. But I did try "yogurt-flavored Coke" in it and didn't quite fancy it. ...yea, I'll go seek help. -Jahan

Good afternoon everybody! Welcome to yet another SFMM Update! We’re currently knee-deep into the off-season now, yet I’ve miraculously managed to scrape up enough crap at the Mountain to put together this update! We’re now counting down the finals days of 2006—the year that was supposed to be marked by what can be described as none other than a “revolution” in the Six Flags Company, only to end up in disappointment for many. And as we look ahead to 2007, we can only hope to see the park enter “A Year of a Million Refurbishments”, as intended earlier. Of course, a new complexity emerges, as the fate of the park apparently lies in the hands of whoever is to buy it. That announcement is supposed to come soon. But the best thing we can do at this point is sit and wait….patiently. ….And no sitting on the handrails! Yesterday the flags around Valencia Falls flew at half-staff, in response to the recent passing of President Gerald Ford. …although, what one finds is this: President Gerald Ford inspired Chevy Chase to begin writing jokes and eventually act as Gerald Ford on Saturday Night Live, thus launching Chevy Chase’s acting career. It is this acting career which would eventually guide Chevy Chase to Wally World in a National Lampoon’s Vacation, which concluded at Magic Mountain. So, I’m pretty sure the flags are at half-staff in remembrance of Chevy Chase’s acting career, which is also dead. …of course, his acting career died quite some time ago, so who knows! Ok, I’ll cut it out! Let’s get to the actual update! Less Junk in da Trunk Last week, I was at the Mountain with friends, helping show around a foreigner (from Texas). Now, foreigners are always refreshing, but there’s one problem with the lot them—they need their Psyclone credit. And unfortunately, you can’t just sit Psyclone out because the ride needs 17 riders to dispatch, so every body counts! Now as we were heading up the lift of Psyclone, something incredibly strange caught my eye! The junkyard was gone! The junkyard, thanks to Microsoft Live Local or whatever it’s called. For those who don’t know, there has been a junkyard behind Psyclone for quite some time now. When I worked at the park, I would frequently take a walk among the junk as I was totally fascinated by what history hid itself among the piles of useless crap back there. Old metro trains, pieces of coaster track, old signage and ticket booths, logs, boats, wheels—even a few X seats at one time. And like at any museum, I had a policy of “look, don’t touch”, but I must admit that it felt more like a playground for me than a museum. But for some reason, nearly all of the crap has been removed! That’s a lot of crap to lose, even for me! I smell an Aqua-Trax! Also, note in the above two pictures the new fence being installed at the bottom of the shots. Exclusive new-fence POV shot! Now I can understand if they were fencing IN the junk, to keep nasty little park-historian-yet-irresistibly-attractive-ride-operators such as myself away from the Tetanus-infested and rotting artifacts—but to remove the crap and THEN fence in the land… …I’m still scratching my head over that one. Perhaps Six Flags is just cleaning their room! Or perhaps they’re selling off the crap for spare change. Or perhaps, and I’m not necessarily qualified to jump to this conclusion…but perhaps they’ve started to move out. *cues dramatic background music* Of course, if “Mark Shapiro has anything to do with it”, Magic Mountain will be sold to another park operator (link to article: HERE) So, why they wouldn’t just leave the crap for the next operator to polish, I don’t know. Or perhaps this is already the bidding of the next operator, I still don’t know. Point being is, something interesting is going on back there and I don’t know what it is. Speaking of Psyclone!...I have been on the ride twice in the past week, the first of which was decent and the second of which was—dare I say it—enjoyable. *cues “Ooooooooooh”s* Now a fair reason for this is that the cold is the right weather for running that ugly-baby. The track is less likely to “pump” and the trains are being forced to conform. But it would also appear that Magic Mountain is still working on it! They haven’t given up on that ride yet! (which is giving it more faith than I would!) Holy crap! They’re really brining in the big dogs for this one! It would appear that the next wave of supplies has arrived to get that ride to behave! Confusing, I know! That’s like, a chunk of the ride there! So it will be interesting to see what Six Flags is doing with the ride. …if Six Flags is even responsible for this. Either way, I still think they won’t see the last of the ride’s hell until they get new trains on that demon! The Riddler’s Revenge’s Revenge “Ecuador! …thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, waaah waaah, thump……. The Riddler’s Revenge was really the last major addition of a Magic Mountain that we all like to reminisce about. With scenery, landscaping, an aesthetically-pleasing layout, station music, ride operator costumes (custom to the ride), ride-integration, so on and so forth—it was a pretty kick ass ride. Still is, in my eyes. But as the years passed, the scenery would fall into disrepair, the station-music would mute (some find this a good thing), all employee costumes would be replaced by the generic blue polo shirts, and the station lights would stop working, so on and so forth. By the time I was operating the ride, we had about one or two working “question-mark lights”, nearly silent station music, an elevator (for the handicapped) with a permit that had expired years before I had arrived, ageing signage, problematic lockers, overgrown plants, breaking trashcans, and a “misters” system with broken nozzles (which would pour down on guests) and which would back up the local sewage system, resulting in some pretty raunchy smells. Now, I surprisingly enough, hadn’t been on the ride in several months (once missing out on a ride with Laura and Kristi, it just didn’t seem worth riding anymore). But upon returning to the ride yesterday, I have to say I was really pleased with the condition that the station was in. The air conditioning unit is sporting new filters and removed graffiti. On top of that improved A/C unit, the lights (both station and the “question mark lights”) were all working, the music was at an ideal level (present, but not overly annoying), and the station was overwhelmingly clean. Not quite as amazing as I remember back in 1998, but still, it was pleasant. The elevator has had some work and sports a renewed permit. …this pleased ME, as every couple of months we would have to call in a guest trapped in the elevator which was supposed to be barricaded off. The new “vLockers”, which looks more like “Nockers” to me! The lockers have been upgraded to the newer “vLockers”. These are nice because they are credit-card based, as more people seem to have credit cards these days than loose change. The plants along the exit pathway have also been cutback, allowing more light in during the night-hours. And signage is also new, clean, and easily noticed. Hell, even the dispatches were nice! They weren’t stacking! Good job Chris! All and all I was rather pleased with what I saw at Riddler’s. …ironically, I can’t say the same for the Riddler’s nemesis, Batman. I would “cue background music”, but none of the speakers are working! It would appear that the Batman area, while looking great around the time of the recent Batman movie-release (when they added the cop-car back in), has begun to fall into disrepair. I’m not even talking about Gotham city, which was in horrible condition when I worked there and still is. I’m talking about the ride queue, station, and exit. The queue could use a repainting and perhaps some fresh landscaping. Wonder why they weren’t running the fountain? Hmmm. You would also think that the section of queue that is meant to look “trashy”, like a junkyard would be easy to maintain, but apparently it isn’t. …still not working. Upon entering the “sewer”, you face a non-working fan (which I guarantee you, would cost like 2 bucks to fix)—of course, to accompany a fan which no longer spins is an absence of sound effects and music. The station lighting is no longer timed with the dispatches, the lighting on the “bat suit” doesn’t work—and don’t even get me started on the mist pits throughout the ride and the fog as you reenter the station. With improvements at Psyclone, then Riddler’s, one can only hope that the trend continues and Batman gets a little bit of tender love and care. Speaking of Batman, I had two young TPR’ers approach me while exiting the ride, but I had not realized that I had been recognized as I didn’t hear them call, and continued to leave them. My dearest apologies! ….I’ll buy you a churro sometime. A Wholellota Random Crap! Ok folks…I was supposed to have a few more specific things to discuss, but I decided against the overkill. So welcome to the traditional “random crap/miscellaneous” section of the update! Enjoy! What are you lookin’ at? Tatsu is splooging all over itself. Power-wash, anyone? Keeping with the ‘power-wash’ theme, anybody think the fountain in Bunny World could use a hose-down? SFMM….this is how you do it…. 1) Hook up hose to water source. 2) Turn on faucet. 3) Place thumb over top of nozzle. …you should create a stream of water, powerful enough to wash your crap, without chipping the paint. Some digging was going on over by Canyon Blaster. …that, my friends—is why I am not getting laid. So no need to search any farther for a cause. BTW… does anybody else think that those are mighty-small balls for a trunk that large, on the left of the photo? …“They see me rolling, in my prix car!” More retaining walls. …*sigh* Tatsu say’s “Hi!” Tatsu also has a new sponsor. The man LIVES! The Magic Illusions of Ray Pierce has moved back in! I hope to review it soon, as I have heard good reviews of it thus far. …Argh! You can’t defeat me, I have a Riddler’s sword! …no comment… We ran into another one of our local TPR SFMM-recruits! Unfortunately, I forgot to ask permission to use his photo on the boards, therefore thought I would be fair and protect his identity. Lastly, but certainly not least… Just in case you didn’t hear, Magic Mountain Parkway will NOT change it’s name to the Santa-Clarita-Auto-Mall-Center-Long-Name-Drive or whatever. A link to the article can be found: HERE . Ok folks! That should about do it for today! Thank you so much for reading—I hope you enjoyed it! Questions, comments, concerns, and praise are always welcome! Everyone have a great new year! Have fun, be good, and be safe! -Jahan (arrowfanman@yahoo.com)

I would argue the upgrades to Space Mountain in CA were quite an improvement. -Jahan

^ That's the thing that irks me though! ..."marketability". Is it worth it to invest 30 million into an island with such low capacity, to improve its "marketability"? The island is really just good for wandering over in a lapse of curiousity. It has been more for "atmosphere". It really cant handle standing as a real "attraction"...it just cant handle those masses of people! Not to mention, I'm pretty sure the island will just as easily fall into disrepair as it has now. The whole thing just seems like a waste of cash to me. I cant see it bringing any more people through the park gates. Nobody is going to Disneyland for TSI and nobody will. I would much rather see the island receieve a lenghty refurbishment and have the remainder of that 30 million plugged into DCA, where it's actually needed. *sigh* -Jahan

*looks around room* -Large SFMM and DL maps -Riddler's Revenge concept art poster -Haunted Mansion blueprints poster -One framed share of Disney stock -Various maps -Tower of Terror (MGM) poster What else do I have hiding around here? Hmm... -Books -Maps from all the parks on TPR's last Japan tour (won in a contest) -Pins -Mouse ears (standard) -Goofy hat -Six Flags name tags -Riddler's Revenge operator costume shirt. Oh yea...an a shitload of Disneyland 50th anniversary stuff... -Newspaper from the day -Tickets -FastPasses (that say 'Sun, July 17th 2005') on them -Pins (Still looking for an "I was there" pin...I'll pay $100 for it ) -July 17th, 2005 commemorative mouse ears. -Picture of me on Buzz, so I can remember how smoking hot I was, 50 years from now. ....I don't hold onto that crap because I think it'll be worth something someday--just think it might be cool to hand out the FastPasses to kids waiting in line for the 100th anniversary or something...It'll hold more sentimental value. -Jahan

Great report! I went to Bangkok this past summer and was there for the kings actual 60th anniversary. I even made it to Dreamland, as well! Where were you?...reminds me of the "weekend market" swap meet we went too. As for going to TDR...I envy you. -Jahan

^ I am all for an "update", but to simply over saturate the entire park in this pirates 'fad' isn't a good idea, in my mind. Not to mention...the rafts to and from the island hold a capacity of 700 riders per hour and closes around 5ish for Fantasmic....so to change it--and for 28 million dollars!? What's the point?! What are they going to do? Run commercials for the "new" TSI and have a 30 minute queue, extending to Big Thunder, for a raft over? I dont really go there now and despite any updates, I'm pretty sure I wont go over later. -Jahan

*puts away little tub of Vaseline* ...what?! Thanks for the update sir! This park looks 'cute'....that's about it. I think on an empty day, it would be really nice to just hang out there and play around...explore. But I dont really think it can be treated in the "hit up attractions...slam bam thank you maam" sort of way. ...which is kind of nice. I'll go when they open their Pirates of the Caribbean with the "Splash-esque drop". -Jahan

^ My image specialist says I have to kill you. -Jahan