CoasterBuzz Podcast #170 posted

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

Jeff, Carrie and Pat review this week's news in the amusement industry.

Olympic fever... catch it!
Etheredge convicted in fraud case for Wild West World. Unless there's something we're missing, it sounds like he was busted for being a crappy business man. Doesn't someone typically end up with money in a fraud case? No one did in this one.
Freestyle Music Park closes up its offices, still waiting for financing. Gonch and his family shed a tear for the good time they had at Hard Rock Park. The Web site is dark (just like Jeff stuck it to CCI back in the day).
Cedar Fair big investors keep entering the fray, and saying they're voting against the Apollo deal.
Board nominations were also due recently. Will these big investors try to get some influence?
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Wizarding World of Harry Potter gets a Super Bowl ad. Universal seems to do a pretty poor job of marketing itself, creating advertising by committee and worse, considering comparisons to Disney.
Great story on how Cypress Gardens was acquired by Merlin to be the new Legoland Florida. Local journalism isn't dead.
Dirty hotels and your trademark.
Kings Island mounts successful opposition to new admissions tax from Mason. Meanwhile, folks in Sandusky would like to see a boost in theirs for Cedar Point.
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom is closed for good. Optimistic buffoons insist they'll open the park with someone else by summer. Oh, and the fair board thinks they own the rides.
Disney is having a pretty good year despite flat theme park sales.
Cedar Fair paints a pretty ugly picture of its yearly results, in stark contrast to the puppies and rainbows releases of years past.
Waldameer goes cashless with scan cards. Why is it that little parks can pull this off but big parks can't?
Stalking people you "know" online is weird. Don't do it.

You guys are dead on about why so many people in our line of work don't have side projects - I know frequently the last thing I want to do after a day at work is deal with more code. That's not to say it never happens, but it's not a priority for many.

--Greg
"You seem healthy. So much for voodoo."

Yeah, I've seen a few in the sys admin/net admin field go home and totally unplug. I just cant see doing that.. Technology moves way too fast and I always fear getting behind if I dont hone my skills outside the normal work day. Purely OCD, I know.

Sides my job is my hobby. I have had times where I dont have time to touch things, but I cant see not playing in my server room at home at all. As wife always said, "I could be out doing worse things... Least she she always knew where to find me"

* Twitter *

I'm glad to hear that my co-workers and I are not the only ones who are RITA haters. I'm especially happy to hear it come from someone outside of the accounting world. Thank you Jeff.

jameswhitmore.net

Stalkers.... I deal with those every day... Although sometimes it feels good to be stalked, if it's quaint... :-)

From http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/tongue-in-cheek.html

Origin
This phrase clearly alludes to the facial expression created by putting one's tongue in one's cheek. This induces a wink (go on - try it), which has long been an indication that what is being said is to be taken with a pinch of salt. It may have been used to suppress laughter. 'Tongue in cheek' is the antithesis of the later phrase - 'with a straight face'.

--George H

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