CoasterBuzz Podcast #150 posted

As a rule I respect my fellow human beings until they do something that causes me to no longer respect them. You can commence the "good boy" jokes at anytime, but that is just a rule I live by.

I don't think that's so much a respect factor, as it is courtesy.

It's hard to explain, it really is. I have a few people on here that I'd consider my CoasterBuzz Buddies (TM), and I respect them, and what they have to say/enjoy the interactions we have on here. Some, I have met in person, others, I haven't - either way I act the same around them on here as I would in person.

There are others that I don't really know, never had that kind of interaction with etc, and while I'm courteous/polite and try to interact, they haven't quite achieved "respect".

Yep, that's exactly what I was getting at, Josh. I think we have a responsibility to be civil to one another and that should always be our baseline. Respect is something different, though. I don't think that needs to be (or even should be) automatic.

I actually do respect everyone on here, even Moosh. (where is that tongue stick out smiley?) That's just the way I was raised. There was that one guy that I didn't respect a while back...Just one.

It has nothing to do with the lunch table analogy, Jeff. It's all about, like I said before, respect, underlying everything that I read. I'm probably more popular than you and Gonch in some circles. Not here though, and that's okay with me. We all have our own venues for achieving coolness.

I've already let it go, which I though was apparent from my second comment. Peace.

I'll grab a hold of it right now, and let it go again, just to show you...whoosh! There. :)

Huh, that's interesting. Because if there was one person I had to name on CBuzz who I thought didn't respect me, it would be you, LK. I guess that just goes to show that our own perceptions that way really aren't a fair indicator of other people's reality.

I generally hate people and do my best to tolerate the world around me.

LostKause said:
We all have our own venues for achieving coolness.

I think the problems are:

1. Consciously considering the idea of "achieving coolness" - whatever the hell that means.

2. Assuming it's a goal of everyone around you.

3. Further assuming that not only is it the goal of those around you, but also that an amusement park forum and podcast are the chosen venue for such pursuits.

Seriously, where does that line of thought stem from? It's a whole different universe from my own motivations.

The real reason I post here and do the podcast is to try to get Carrie to "like" like me. :)

Hmmmm, reaaally?.... We'll totally get to the bottom of all of this with the notes we pass in study hall. ;)

I do the site to get chicks.

I'm also here for the ice cream socials.

As harsh as we are to each other, Carrie, I like you.

"Achieving coolness" was something that I always said in HS. It was a funny term that I used when someone did something funny, or cool. I know it sounds ridiculous, that's part of it's appeal to me. As an adult, I find that the term can still be used when you are in the business of selling your personality and/or your intellectual property.

Where does the whole idea stem from? I always thought that more people would come see me perform and buy my t-shirts and CDs if I "achieved coolness", just like you would want to achieve coolness so more people visit CoasterBuzz and listen to the Podcast, hopefully maybe finding sponsors and selling more membership cards and such.

I bet Six Flags wishes that they could somehow achieve coolness. lol

"" I want to think that that is a joke, but I know it's not. That's one reason I find it difficult to get along with you. It's a hard stance for me to understand because I generally like people and try really hard to see the good in everyone.

I grabbed it again, and-POOF-I let it go. :)

Did I just stumble upon a group therapy session? Anyways, having just listened to podcast 150 and all the previous ones. I figure on average that they are about 1 hour and that comes to about 6.25 days spent on podcast listening. Yikes! You should have had your special guest back for 150 that was on your very first podcast, to drop some information on the Holiday World developments for 2010!

Jeff said:
What is this, high school? Do you feel like you're not a part of the in crowd? That everyone at the next lunch table is making fun of you?

Great.. Thanks for making me think about high school as I sat at the computer geek table..

Hey, as long as you weren't eating lunch in a phone booth or something, you were good. :)

LostKause said:
"Achieving coolness" ...As an adult, I find that the term can still be used when you are in the business of selling your personality and/or your intellectual property.

...just like you would want to achieve coolness so more people visit CoasterBuzz and listen to the Podcast, hopefully maybe finding sponsors and selling more membership cards and such.

I'd just like to point out that 'achieving coolness' in this way for this purpose doesn't benefit me personally one iota. People listening to the podcast, podcast sponsors and membership sales do nothing for me.

I still think you're overthinking it. I talk the business with Mike and Jeff because Jeff asked me to (and I like to think it helps a friend) and because I like talking to those guys. I'm not trying to 'achieve coolness' or 'perform' in any sense beyond having to muster up some insight or opinions on things I might otherwise not care so much about (and consciously repressing the f-bombs that are a staple of my vocabulary). It's not like when Jeff hits the record button I suddenly 'turn on' the Lord Gonchar character or something.

I wish we were trying as hard as you make it seem, but I don't think we are. I've always thought the whole thing is very indy or punk - low budget and on the fly with a "we're doing this for ourselves" approach. We're a bunch of smart guys with a bit of experience. If the goal was to produce a commercialized, slick-format podcast, it'd be done. I like to think the whole thing is more organic and 'real' than that.

Just my take on things.

Carrie M. said:
Hey, as long as you weren't eating lunch in a phone booth or something, you were good. :)

Who Told you!!!!

Lord Gonchar said:
It's not like when Jeff hits the record button I suddenly 'turn on' the Lord Gonchar character or something.

Who is the real Lord Gonchar anyway? Is he a mafia king? Is he a pimp daddy? He is an easy q-bot lover? Find out on the next CoasterBuzz Podcast!!

On a more serious note, I think it's an undeniable fact that different people are brought to the internet for different reasons. And I think that's ok. A problem doesn't develop until someone starts to project their reasons onto everyone else. If you come to this site with high social needs, that doesn't mean that others do or that they will accommodate your needs.

But even more to the point regarding the idea that Jeff and Gonch have developed internet personalities in an effort to market CBuzz and/or the podcast, it's kind of funny when you think about how much flak Jeff can get from people who decide they don't like his approach.

Not only is there a history to demonstrate that he doesn't cater to people just to get memberships, but also one that demonstrates he's not interested in other people's perception of "cool". I think Gonch is the same way which is likely why they work well together.

I think that's a pretty accurate assessment of me. I love producing this site, from the content to the business side of it. But to that extent, I take a fairly clinical view of it a lot of the time as well. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about personalities or individuals. Most people I haven't met are just words on the page, and even many of those I have met I likely forget before I meet them the next time. Thousands of people come here every day... and there's only one of me.

I'm admittedly slightly fascinated by people who don't have a stake in the site, or any Internet site/community/entity who elevate it to a level that isn't proportional to its place in the universe. I mean, look at those anonymous schmucks who endlessly rant in their own closed-off community about what a dick I am for no other reason that I don't see any conspiracy about the fall of Geauga Lake. That they dislike me for it is one thing, but how can you be so addicted to a person or thing you loathe so much to talk about it as much as you can? I don't eat red meat, but I don't spend all of my time thinking about it or communing with like-minded people about how much I don't like it. That would be sad.

I'd like to think I'm pretty much a straight shooter. There's very little that's ambiguous about what I think, probably to a fault. As such, it's pretty ridiculous to read in to anything I say when there isn't much left to chance in the first place.

As a native/current Baltimorean, I can say...yes, it's the Constellation. A definite must-see (and supposedly haunted, too).

I thought that's what it was, but wasn't sure. Since I haven't coached the last couple of years, I haven't been down there. It was on my "don't miss it next year" list. I ended up being in the morning pool at the tournaments in previous years and it closed by the time I got out.

Speaking of achieving coolness... I've been noticing people's bumper stickers on my drive in to work lately, and I've come to realize that some people just don't know when to stop shoving every one of their thoughts down other people's throats, as if to show their "coolness" and superiority.

I'm all for well-placed stickers, just not ones that proclaim that you're morally superior because you tell me to "KEEP THE CHANGE". :rolleyes: