Arrow/Vekoma Steel Coaster CATIA Model

I started working on a steel roller coaster model today. It was orignally supposed to be a B&M but it turned into an old school Arrow/Vekoma style track instead. Now I need to figure out how to do curves, loops, etc.

Contest Entered Update

Here's a look at the latest version of my contests entered so far this year spreadsheet. Come on Dollywood tickets!

Call of Duty 4 vs. Medal Gead Solid 4

I finally voayged into the world of online gaming. In terms of the actual game itself, Medal Gear Solid is better than Call of Duty in everyway. However, when it comes to online multiplayer gaming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare blows MGS4 out of the water. To play MGS4 you have to download a huge update that takes hours to download. I let it go over night. When I checked it in the morning it had screwed up so I had to let it run again while I was at work. It finally downloaded correctly but then it had to install. Once installation was complete I had to register for Konami whatever which required two passwords and usernames. I put a lot of time into it without playing a second. I finally got past all of that and got into the game room. It took about ten minutes to find enough people to play. All six of us, three on three. There was a lot of sitting and waiting and searching for the opponent only to get shot in the back and have to start all over again. On the other hand, I was very, very impressed with CoD4 online and I finally get the big deal about online gaming. It can be very fun. CoD4 requires no setup, just an internet connection. Within a minute you can be in an intense battle with ten other people, getting killed by grenades with no idea where they came from. The one problem I have with it is that I can never tell who is on my team and who isn't. I get killed before I realize what is going on. But that's more my fault than the game's as others don't seem to have that problem, or they play far too often, which I can now understand.

Huron \ Happiness

Check out my latest video "Huron \ Happiness." This footage has been laying around since last August when I spent a weekend near Lake Erie with my family. After several attempts to edit the footage and constant song choice changes, not to mention not having a computer for seven months, the film finally came together. "Happiness" by Riceboy Sleeps was the inspiration I needed to see the project through. I thought the original cut was boring and too repitive so I threw in a ton of effects for an arsty fartsy look (although some of the effects aren't very clear in this youtube version). Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The Band I Have Been Waiting For

The Dirty Projectors are the band I have been waiting to hear. Their unique songs are a perfect combination of weirdness, emotion, melody, and skill. I love the constantly changing time signatures. No song is predicatable or sounds like any other song. My favorite track from the Bitte Orca album is the hauntingly beautiful "Two Doves."

More Details

I've been adding more details to my Catia wood coaster like the steel bracing from the footers to the bents held togther by bolts. What else should I add?

New Holiday World Video Uploaded

Defiance < Valkyrie

I screened Defiance the other day and I must say I was not very impressed. Or entertained. The reviews I heard of Valkyrie were slightly negative whereas Defiance review were positive. After watching both I think just the opposite. Valkyrie was riveting and Defiance was cheesy and looked liked production was rushed. The story was one I had never heard of before and had potential, which makes it even more sad that it ended up being so lame. If you're going to rent a WWII movie I would chose Tom Cruise over Daniel Craig.

More Catia Coaster Pics

More progress on the Catia wooden roller coaster. I basically started over from scratch. I cam up with a faster way of creating the track and supports by using power copies. The hills are just circles so they look a little weird but I'm still in the learning and experimentation mode. Still, I've come a long way in a very short amount of time. By the way, does anybody happen to know that actual dimensions of the pieces of wood on a wood coaster? I have just been guessing and going with whatever looks right.

I Played With Legos Today

Favortie Zoo?

Vote in my new poll over on the right hand side about your favorite zoo. These are all of the zoos I have visited within the past six years. I will list my favorites when the poll ends. Thanks for voting!

CATIA Wood Coaster FEA

Here are some more pictures from my wood coaster model including some stress analysis I was playing around with today. Enjoy!

The Season Pass

This podcast pretty much sums up everything I love about Holiday World and why I prefer it over closer, bigger parks. Take a listen.

Latest Macro

Sub Fill()
Dim LR As Long, LC As Integer, i As Integer
LR = Sheets("Configs").Range("K5").Value
With Sheets("Builder")
LC = .Cells(1, Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft).Column
For i = 1 To LC
.Cells(2, i).AutoFill Destination:=.Range(.Cells(2, i), .Cells(LR, i))
Next i
End With
End Sub

I'm Blue Streak

I just took a What Cedar Point Roller Coaster Are You? Quiz on Facebook and was shocked to learn that I am Blue Streak. Then I read the description: You aren't into the tall, fast smooth rides. You prefer to ride a rough, classic roller coaster that is still considered a must-ride. I realized that that is actually right on. Weird. I definitely prefer the crazy wooden coasters over the big loopers.

Variable Ticket Prices

Head on over to Coaster101.com and check out my latest Coaster Rehab blog article about variable amusement park ticket prices and let me know what you think!

Operation Valkyrie is in Effect

I really don't understand all of the negative hype and bad reviews of Valkyrie. I screened the film for the first time last night and I thought it was a good movie. The fact that you know how the story ends but it still keeps you captivated and is suspenseful speaks volumes about the film. I think there are just a lot of Tom Cruise haters out there for whatever reason. That and apparently many critics had a big problem with the fact most of the actors were English and therefore did not have German accents. This could also be a case of wrong expectations heading into the film as well. In the end, it is a great story, which trumps movies that "well the effects and the action were cool" because you are more likely to remember what happened and it makes you think about things. What courage it took to carry a bomb into the Wolf's Lair not knowing when it was going to go off, knowing if you failed you were dead. Can you imagine having one let alone twenty attempts on your life?