I think palm trees would be nice to take pictures of.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Steel Coaster Poll 2010
Well, here's a proud moment in any coaster dork's year. Just finished my ballot for the 2010 Steel Coaster Poll done by Mitch Hawker. He's been running what many call the most comprehensive and accurate polls for steel and wooden coasters since the 90s. Honestly, if it weren't for the Alvey's this poll could probably tell you the top ten coasters in the world correctly every year.
Everyone's ballot is different, and I tend to differ from the norm a bit among enthusiasts. Don't pay attention to the y's and numbers on the right. This is a complete ranking of my steel coasters. Honestly though, after around #50 things sorta meld together as "mediocre" or "bad"
NAME FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE A S IS IN Ballot)
~"Nick.Miller"
RANK THE FOLLOWING RID ING SENSATIONS <-LE AVE THIS LINE AS IS
Abrupt Airtime________ ___________________ __,y,y,1
Floating Airtime______ ___________________ __,y,y,6
Lateral Forces________ ___________________ __,y,y,5
Out of Control Feeling/Directional Change
_,y,y,2
Positive G's/Loops____ ___________________ __,y,y,4
Sensation of Speed____ ___________________ __,y,y,3
COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE
X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,1
Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,2
Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,y,3
Bizarro SF New England MA,y,y,4
Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,y,5
Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,6
Dueling Dragons-Ice Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,7
Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,y,8
Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,y,9
Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,10
Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,11
Alpengeist Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,12
Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,13
Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,14
Afterburn Carowinds NC,y,n,15
Nemesis Inferno Thorpe Park UK,y,y,16
Saw - The Ride Thorpe Park UK,y,y,17
Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,18
Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios FL,y,n,19
Silver Bullet Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,20
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,y,21
Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,y,22
Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,23
Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,y,24
Stealth Thorpe Park UK,y,y,25
Firehawk Kings Island OH,y,y,26
Mystery Mine Dollywood TN,y,n,27
Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,28
Superman - Ultimate F Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,29
Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,30
Fav Half Pipe Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,31
Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,y,32
Deja Vu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,33
Mr. Freeze Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,34
Gemini Cedar Point OH,y,y,35
Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,36
Flight of Fear Kings Island OH,y,y,37
Avalanche Kings Dominion VA,y,n,38
Voodoo Dorney Park PA,y,y,39
Flight Deck Kings Island OH,y,y,40
Demon Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,41
Sierra Sidewnder Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,42
Superman - Ultimate F Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,43
Pony Express Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,44
Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,y,45
Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,46
Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,47
Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,48
Mamba Worlds of Fun MO,y,n,49
Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,50
Batman - Dark Knight SF New England MA,y,y,51
Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,52
Nighthawk Carowinds NC,y,n,53
Patriot Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,54
Griffon Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,55
Hydra the Revenge Dorney Park PA,y,y,56
Dueling Dragons-Fire Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,57
Wicked Twister Cedar Point OH,y,y,58
Iron Wolf Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,59
Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,60
Vortex Carowinds NC,y,n,61
Flight of Fear Kings Dominion VA,y,n,62
Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,63
Steel Hawg Indiana Beach IN,y,y,64
Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,65
Dark Knight Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,66
Vampire Chessington UK,y,y,67
River King Mine Train Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,68
Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,69
Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,70
Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,71
Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Island OH,y,y,72
Rock n Roller Coaster Disney's H Studios FL,y,n,73
Runaway Train Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,74
Shockwave Kings Dominion VA,y,n,75
Wild Thing Valleyfair! MN,y,y,76
Fav Wild Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,77
Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,78
Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,79
Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,80
Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,y,81
Excalibur Valleyfair! MN,y,y,82
X:\No Way Out Thorpe Park UK,y,y,83
Vertical Velocity Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,84
Steel Venom Valleyfair! MN,y,y,85
Manhattan Express New York New York NV,y,y,86
Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,87
Dark Knight Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,88
Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,89
Montezooma's Revenge Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,90
Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,91
Adventure Express Kings Island OH,y,y,92
Gold Rusher Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,93
Colossus Thorpe Park UK,y,y,94
Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN,y,n,95
Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH,y,y,96
Cedar Creek Mine Ride Cedar Point OH,y,y,97
Spongebob Squarepants Nickelodeon Univ MN,y,y,98
Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,99
Vortex Kings Island OH,y,y,100
Anaconda Kings Dominion VA,y,n,101
Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,102
I know what you're thinking. Nick, how they hell did you rank Manhattan Express over Colossus. My answer is this: atleast I expected Manhattan Express to suck, Colossus blew it.
Everyone's ballot is different, and I tend to differ from the norm a bit among enthusiasts. Don't pay attention to the y's and numbers on the right. This is a complete ranking of my steel coasters. Honestly though, after around #50 things sorta meld together as "mediocre" or "bad"
NAME FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE A S IS IN Ballot)
~"Nick.Miller"
RANK THE FOLLOWING RID ING SENSATIONS <-LE AVE THIS LINE AS IS
Abrupt Airtime________ ___________________ __,y,y,1
Floating Airtime______ ___________________ __,y,y,6
Lateral Forces________ ___________________ __,y,y,5
Out of Control Feeling/Directional Change
_,y,y,2
Positive G's/Loops____ ___________________ __,y,y,4
Sensation of Speed____ ___________________ __,y,y,3
COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE
X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,1
Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,2
Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,y,3
Bizarro SF New England MA,y,y,4
Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,y,5
Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,6
Dueling Dragons-Ice Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,7
Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,y,8
Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,y,9
Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,10
Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,11
Alpengeist Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,12
Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,13
Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,14
Afterburn Carowinds NC,y,n,15
Nemesis Inferno Thorpe Park UK,y,y,16
Saw - The Ride Thorpe Park UK,y,y,17
Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,18
Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios FL,y,n,19
Silver Bullet Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,20
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,y,21
Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,y,22
Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,23
Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,y,24
Stealth Thorpe Park UK,y,y,25
Firehawk Kings Island OH,y,y,26
Mystery Mine Dollywood TN,y,n,27
Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,28
Superman - Ultimate F Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,29
Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,30
Fav Half Pipe Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,31
Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,y,32
Deja Vu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,33
Mr. Freeze Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,34
Gemini Cedar Point OH,y,y,35
Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,36
Flight of Fear Kings Island OH,y,y,37
Avalanche Kings Dominion VA,y,n,38
Voodoo Dorney Park PA,y,y,39
Flight Deck Kings Island OH,y,y,40
Demon Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,41
Sierra Sidewnder Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,42
Superman - Ultimate F Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,43
Pony Express Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,44
Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,y,45
Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,46
Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,47
Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,48
Mamba Worlds of Fun MO,y,n,49
Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,50
Batman - Dark Knight SF New England MA,y,y,51
Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,52
Nighthawk Carowinds NC,y,n,53
Patriot Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,54
Griffon Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,55
Hydra the Revenge Dorney Park PA,y,y,56
Dueling Dragons-Fire Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,57
Wicked Twister Cedar Point OH,y,y,58
Iron Wolf Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,59
Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,60
Vortex Carowinds NC,y,n,61
Flight of Fear Kings Dominion VA,y,n,62
Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,63
Steel Hawg Indiana Beach IN,y,y,64
Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,65
Dark Knight Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,66
Vampire Chessington UK,y,y,67
River King Mine Train Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,68
Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,69
Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,70
Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,71
Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Island OH,y,y,72
Rock n Roller Coaster Disney's H Studios FL,y,n,73
Runaway Train Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,74
Shockwave Kings Dominion VA,y,n,75
Wild Thing Valleyfair! MN,y,y,76
Fav Wild Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,77
Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,78
Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,79
Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,80
Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,y,81
Excalibur Valleyfair! MN,y,y,82
X:\No Way Out Thorpe Park UK,y,y,83
Vertical Velocity Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,84
Steel Venom Valleyfair! MN,y,y,85
Manhattan Express New York New York NV,y,y,86
Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,87
Dark Knight Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,88
Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,y,89
Montezooma's Revenge Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,90
Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,91
Adventure Express Kings Island OH,y,y,92
Gold Rusher Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,93
Colossus Thorpe Park UK,y,y,94
Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN,y,n,95
Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH,y,y,96
Cedar Creek Mine Ride Cedar Point OH,y,y,97
Spongebob Squarepants Nickelodeon Univ MN,y,y,98
Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,99
Vortex Kings Island OH,y,y,100
Anaconda Kings Dominion VA,y,n,101
Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,102
I know what you're thinking. Nick, how they hell did you rank Manhattan Express over Colossus. My answer is this: atleast I expected Manhattan Express to suck, Colossus blew it.
Monday, April 4, 2011
In the words of Brittany Favre...
So this afternoon while I was intently checking twitter looking for updates from AFA (more on that later) I saw a tweet from Brittany Favre (yes, I follow her, but its only because someone else showed her to me. I admit its a little weird, and can't really explain why I do it) that was titled "Life is good, Long time, No Blog." and I instantly agreed with her.
Okay, back to things that are interesting to more people than me. Legoland (still theme parks, but I also work there, so it doesn't count) unveiled Star Wars: Miniland last week which look absolutely incredible. There are scenes from all 6 films made totally out of LEGOs. I was lucky enough to help out during the unveiling, which meant seeing members of the fighting 501st. For anyone not aware, the 501st consists of fans who dress up in incredible costumes from the Star Wars movies. I met about 10 Jedi (including Darth Maul and Qui-gon-Jin, who were chatting when I saw them, kinda funny) countless storm troopers, and a few rebels as well. Even Darth Vader made an appearance, but I didn't approach him. It's important to stay as far away from the force choke as possible.
Other than sweet dorky events, work is going pretty well. I'm learning as much as I can about California Labor Laws, and as it turns out, there are a ton of them. Way more than I thought, so it's kind of important that I learn them. So I'm not at fault for a lawsuit or something. Yeah.
I'm not sure what else to blog about to be honest. I know I've got opinions about stuff. For example, last week on April Fools woot.com had one of their vintage Bag of Crap April Fools jokes. Where they make all their fans insanely mad trying to win a Bag all night long. This years joke was a flash game that didn't really work for the first 6 hours or so. You needed to beat a certain level to win a bag, but when I beat level 4 when all I needed was level three I was not awarded my bag.
What I really don't understand about the whole thing is the amount of people that were upset that woot's servers, which constantly crash whenever a BoC goes up for sale, would work better during this game. It's April Fools, and whether or not the game was designed to crash, it was pretty funny to read the comments. :)
I'll do my best to blog a bit more in the future, and not just about myself. There are other things going on in the world that obviously my opinion thrown onto the interwebs as well, so look out for that.
Life is good. And I haven't blogged in ages.
I want to start by congratulating my amazing blugolds. They placed 9th in the nation at AFA. Best place since I think anyone can remember for the school, and an incredible feat for any team to achieve. If anyone can do it, its these guys, they have determination and drive like no one has ever seen. They set their own goals high, and they believe in themselves. I was so proud to be an alumni this afternoon at work as I saw UWEC in 3 finals. I kept talking about it, and none of my coworkers understood, but it didn't matter. They rock.
So I moved to California about a month ago, and I love it. Last Friday I was sitting outside having a drink with my roommate's friends and realized that I was outside, surrounded by palm trees, little bonfire going, sipping on a cocktail. It's like I'm on vacation, but I'm not. It's an amazing feeling to be able to jog on the beach 3 days a week (thats right firecracker four, you better watch out because I'm coming for you) while the sun goes down. The sunsets are absolutely incredible here.
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| Photo Credit: rcdb.com |
And as I'm living on the west coast for the first time, you better believe I've already been to a few theme parks. Knotts Berry Farm was pretty lame in my opinion. Back quarter of the park wasn't even staffed the whole day and the rides were meh at best. Glad I only paid half price, and I don't feel the need to go back. Think I'll drive the extra hour and head to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Was lucky enough to head there yesterday to ride some of the baddest coasters on the planet. I'm serious about that as well. X2 is the first and only 4D coaster in the United States, and its also my favorite roller coaster overall. The cars spin independent of the train, which means one second you could be facing forward flying forward, and suddenly be upside down going backwards while the train drops 90 degrees. I was able to ride the coaster back in 2004 when I was in high school, and after riding it again yesterday I can gaurentee that the ride hasn't lost a step. I didn't know where I was when it was finished. Totally mindblowing. And they added fire. Bonus.
Small side note, I hit 200 different coasters this weekend. Yeah, I'm a huge dork, but we all need hobbies. Also, Tatsu was amazing as well. #5 steel coaster.
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| What can I say? I love powerful Stormtroopers. |
Other than sweet dorky events, work is going pretty well. I'm learning as much as I can about California Labor Laws, and as it turns out, there are a ton of them. Way more than I thought, so it's kind of important that I learn them. So I'm not at fault for a lawsuit or something. Yeah.
 |
| Proof that I should have netted by 3rd BoC. |
What I really don't understand about the whole thing is the amount of people that were upset that woot's servers, which constantly crash whenever a BoC goes up for sale, would work better during this game. It's April Fools, and whether or not the game was designed to crash, it was pretty funny to read the comments. :)
I'll do my best to blog a bit more in the future, and not just about myself. There are other things going on in the world that obviously my opinion thrown onto the interwebs as well, so look out for that.
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