I think it's about time we discussed this.....
You would think it was the offseason or something. ;)
-Tina
As someone who is apparently interested in health, I wonder if you've ever seen the movie Super Size Me. Behind the blatant anti-McDs propaganda, there are some suprising medical data. If you havent already, check it out. I think you'd enjoy it.
lata, jeremy
--who notes that addictions can be physical *or* psychological.
Jeffrey R Smith said:
I've ignored most the MF posts as I've not gone or intended to go to CP the past couple years. Why don't they just put larger belts on the train? Is there some physics law I'm missing? Is this a major expense? Bring me up to speed please...
Simply speaking...
Intamin didn't design the ride to ensure that people are properly restrained in every case once they are past a certain size. Because of that, making the belts shorter and making sure that the harness is touching the rider provides a makeshift go / no go system. Unfortunately, this stops a lot of people who had safely ridden the ride in the past from riding.
It's a train issue, magnified by a policy issue that was handed down from Intamin because of a poor design. We all saw how Premier fixed their trains and made their rides which had been pretty bad into some real winners. It is too bad that Intamin hasn't decided to do a similiar thing to allow more people onto MF and other similiar restraint rides.
For me...I find it very rude that a person would put their selfish desires to ride a ride (as one individual) over the whole group of people behind them. While there is certainly and argument to be made that this is trivial, it is how I feel none-the-less. I was raised to repect other people's time by not being late and certainly have come to understand that I would not stop and tie my shoe in an open doorway of a department store. I take my time, and other people's time very seriously and treat it with respect. Apparently others do not feel the same. I guess you can blame my parents for raising me in such a wreckless manner...?
I hope that helps you understand the "angry/frustrated/upset reaction."
I realize and respect that not everybody has the same threshhold tolerance when it comes to this stuff. However, if you are a person who feels it necessary to get on a ride and hold up the entire line...then you must be warned that there is a large percentage of the population who have been raised to find this rude.
I can't do much about it. I can only wait in the delayed line like everybody else and chime up with my opinion on a message board every now and then in hopes that maybe one or two people will change their BEHAVIORS....
*** Edited 7/28/2006 2:25:14 PM UTC by Jeffrey R Smith***
She fit but her comment was. "THATS THE MOST EMBARASSING THING I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED"
She was crying and hasn't been back since. I DON'T blaime her either. I haven't been back since the dude grabbed me in the MF line for having a umbrella in my back pocket and basically saying you have to pay 250 for a locker. Had a simular experience at Geauga last year with X flight and the lockers didn't work. GO FIGURE.
Jeffrey R Smith said:
For me...I find it very rude that a person would put their selfish desires to ride a ride (as one individual) over the whole group of people behind them... However, if you are a person who feels it necessary to get on a ride and hold up the entire line...then you must be warned that there is a large percentage of the population who have been raised to find this rude.
Okayyyyy.... suppose you're someone who casually rides coasters and happens to come across a ride that you won't fit on, but don't yet know that. You get in line thinking that because you've never had a problem before (say, on a B&M ride) you'll have no problem on that ride (which happens to be an Intamin). Why would you feel compelled to use the test seat, especially if you're with a group of friends and are more or less wandering mindlessly from ride to ride?
A lot of stupidity frustrates the hell out of me. Slow drivers in the fast lane. People that talk loudly on their cell phones. McDonalds customers that spend five minutes in line looking at the menu and not knowing what they want when it comes time to order. Groups that want to ride together and don't offer to let the people in line behind them take the empty seats as they keep their group together. But people that get seated on a ride and have to struggle with the restraints because they just realized they're too big? I feel sorry for them because people like you are getting pissed at them because of their situation.
And mike s.: How can you even say that food is not an addiction like cigarettes and alcohol? Can you dress yourself in the morning, or do you need help with simple stuff like that?
*** Edited 7/28/2006 2:58:57 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***
Anyway, I guess in order to practice what I preach, I'll stop being disgusted by your arrogance and start feeling sorry for you.
On topic? There will alsways be a certain size at which any rider will not be able to ride. It would be ridiculous to design rides to accomodate the word's largest person. That being said, it seems there are a couple rides that seem ridiculously restrictive to many who would not be considered overweight by any standard. Good for business? No.
thecoasterguy said:
Twenty years ago, we didn't have the computers to check things like we do now, but we also didn't have the open-air train designs that we do now. If ride manufacturers are going to upgrade the thrill portion of a ride by opening up the trains, I think that it should only be fair that they also upgrade their safety equipment...There can never be too many safety devices.
I realize I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but the computer monitoring system on B&M restraints is just an electronic version of the go/no go system. This system is found on the two B&M rides that don't have any other go/no go system (flying coasters and hypercoasters). Although not positive, I'm pretty certain that these are the only B&M rides that have such a system, and that it has not been implemented on all newer B&M coasters. The dive machines may be an exception.
While I agree that it's absolutely necessary for rides to have a go/no go system to eliminate riders who are too large for the restraints, I do not agree that it has to be electronic. The manual versions (seatbelts, for instance) work just as well. The electronic system makes it slightly easier for the ride operator to tell which restraints are locked, but that's an operations issue, not a safety one. The only safety-related thing the electronic system has over the manual system is that a ride op cannot accidentally dispatch a ride without the go/no go system engaged, but I also can't think of any instance of this ever happening and resulting in an accident.
I don't agree that newer rides are any more intense than older rides, nor do I agree that such an electronic system is more necessary on a particularly intense ride. I think plenty of very intense rides were built many years ago. I understand your point about the more open trains (such as the Intamin hypercoaster train), but I think this speaks to the importance of a more effective restraint system for such rides, not the need for a go/no go system that just happens to be a bit more technical than manual systems. It certainly couldn't hurt, but I don't feel it's at all necessary.
-Nate
mike.s. said:
oh my god, everytime i go back to read how this thread has progressed i get a head ache! its like im reading something a bunch of adhd kids slabbed together. back to the topic at hand: people who are over-over weight and not being able to fit into rides.the people here who compare obesity to diseases and skinny people are not making sense. if you have a disease or are skinny, you can still ride a roller coaster. the first post specifically targeted people who are large enough to not fit into rides.
The fact is, that for many it is a disease. I just had a full physical the other day. I am overweight. I have tried every single diet known to man. I exercise vigorously five times a week, three of those days in organized Tae Kwon Do. Still, I do not lose weight and sometimes even still gain weight.
According to my physician, the average diet will GAIN someone 10 pounds. Sure, they may lose the weight for a bit, but the second they backslide even a bit, they will gain it all back and then some. Staying on a diet is very difficult. Many people suffer from overeatting disorders.
Drug therapy is available in conjunction with a diet, but statistics state that it only has a success rate of an average 9 pound loss.
So, these people that you call fat and lazy are probably busting their butts more to try and lose weight and exercise because they do not have as active a metabolism as you do.
The fact is, that for many men, their metabolism goes to heck right around their early thirties. This means they are predisposed to gain a ton of weight. Women on the other hand are programmed genetically to gain weight already to compensate for childbearing.
Do I want to be fat? Not at all. No one that is my weight wants to be heavy. We all wish there is something we can do. Myself, I will be continuing to eat right and to exercise. I am currently undergoing the primary stages of application for bariatric bypass surgery. For me, it is the only option. After the surgery, I will have to change my entire lifestyle and exercise even more than I do now. For many, this would be too difficult.
mike.s. said:
the point is, over weight people can lose weight. fact. weight problems should not be compared to diseases or people who are skinny, or short, etc... if someone who is too skinny and could not ride a roller coaster (i highly doubt this) then i would tell them to gain some serious weight, go to a vitamin shop and drink all the protein shakes in the world.
The problem is that for a good bulk of the population, it is a medical problem. For some it may be a disease or some other medical condition that makes it difficult for them to remain skinny. I know one person mentioned tyroid problems. This is only the tip of the iceburg. For many it is genetic and predisposed. There is nothing they can do about it but try to kill themselves on thousands of crash diets that do nothing but make them ill.
mike.s. said:
as for diseases im actually embaressed for the people who even compared weight problems to a disease. how does this comparison make sense? lol. its not even fair to the people suffering from a disease to compare them to a person with a weight problem. shame on you. i have family with cancer and my grandfather died of als and i never got to know him.i think the people here who are emotionally distraught over the fact that people with weight problems are leading unhealthy lives and probably disgust other people, are the ones who might be insecure with their own weight. it makes me laugh that people here are trying to justify that it is okay to be over-weight and that because "they cannot help themselves" that having a weight problem is positive. what kind of message are you trying to send to the people who might browse this board?
It is people like you that make heavy people have low self esteem and feel like they are less than other people. Overweight people are just like anyone else. They have the capacity to be just as smart or smarter than someone who is thin. They have the opportunity to be successful in life, much like I am. Yeah, it is okay to be overweight. I am married to a woman that is overweight. I am overweight.
Yeah, I dont like being overweight, but some people are just fine with it. I have to resort to some VERY VERY VERY extreme measures to lose my weight. The fact is that I want to be there to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. I want to be there when my son graduates college. I want to be there when they have grandchildren. The thing is, my kids accept me as I am. They dont see overweight. They see Dad.
mike.s. said:
a fine point that was brought up was that our country is the only one with a weight problem. someone here try to explain to me why is it that the united states has a rising health issue of over weight americans and sincerely state that it isnt their fault for being over weight. it is not like its some disease that is only isolated in america and cannot travel else where.i thought people here had some intellect, but apparently i am mistaken...
Funny you should mention intellect, my friend. Your post is littered with several spelling and gramatical errors. Sentences do begin with a capitalized letter, just for future reference.
For some people, they can do something about their weight problem. For many others they cannot. Do not stereotype fat people and call the lazy just because you are thin. My guess is that you are still young. What happens if when you hit thirty and you start gaining weight uncontrollably? It could happen. My guess is you will be eatting your words then. Then again, maybe you aren't genetically disposed to a low metabolism.
I think you need to spend a little time learning to be more tollerant of those around you. Start putting yourself in the shoes of others before you start making rash judgements. How would you feel if you were overweight and everyone was calling you disgusting?
I will end on a little story about tollerance. This has nothing to do with being overweight, but it is about learning about other people before making rash judgements.
After 9-11, I had an extreme view about Muslims. I thought they were all carrying bombs with them ready to blow up a building. When I got on an airplane, the first thing I did was look for anyone that looked vaguely Arabic or Indian (aka Pakastani)
I had the privelage of working with someone from Pakistan shortly after that time. At first I did not trust the man. Over time I got to know him and we became best of friends. I learned the truth about Islam. I learned that the people bombing buildings are much like the extremists from Waco or like Timothy McVeigh. It was an eye opener.
My guess is everything I have said will go in one ear and out the other, but maybe, just maybe you can come away learning something.
Certain victory.
Unfortunately, I couldn't offer any advice about a cure for it...heck, my sense of humor is stuck in the fourth grade. ;)
Kick The Sky said:
The fact is that I want to be there to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. I want to be there when my son graduates college.
(begin random joke)
Oh, so you want your son to graduate college, but just want your daughter to get married. What a sexist! ;)
(/end random joke)
lata, jeremy
--how many smileys do I have to add to make sure everyone knows that I'm just joshing? :) ;) :) ;) :)
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
By that time all the big folks were squeezed in, and the previous train was sitting in the brake run. Had nothing to do with fat people at all.
coasterdude318 said:
I realize I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but the computer monitoring system on B&M restraints is just an electronic version of the go/no go system. This system is found on the two B&M rides that don't have any other go/no go system (flying coasters and hypercoasters). Although not positive, I'm pretty certain that these are the only B&M rides that have such a system, and that it has not been implemented on all newer B&M coasters. The dive machines may be an exception.
I've been under the impression that B&M was adding this entire system to all of their future rides thanks to a conversation that I was part of. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I haven't actually seen any of these new ride systems in person, I may be wrong about that.
While I agree that it's absolutely necessary for rides to have a go/no go system to eliminate riders who are too large for the restraints, I do not agree that it has to be electronic. The manual versions (seatbelts, for instance) work just as well. The electronic system makes it slightly easier for the ride operator to tell which restraints are locked, but that's an operations issue, not a safety one. The only safety-related thing the electronic system has over the manual system is that a ride op cannot accidentally dispatch a ride without the go/no go system engaged, but I also can't think of any instance of this ever happening and resulting in an accident.
Well, apparently the Intamin rides are supposed to have go / no go systems which are determined by the operators, and as we have seen from the past years, by not having the lap bar in a low enough place (according to Intamin), people have fallen out of their rides.
I would argue that if the rides had computerized go / no go systems, the operators would not have been able to dispatch those particular rides with the people that fell out as insecure as they were.
And if they were, it would *clearly* be a problem with the trains and the design.
I don't agree that newer rides are any more intense than older rides, nor do I agree that such an electronic system is more necessary on a particularly intense ride. I think plenty of very intense rides were built many years ago. I understand your point about the more open trains (such as the Intamin hypercoaster train), but I think this speaks to the importance of a more effective restraint system for such rides, not the need for a go/no go system that just happens to be a bit more technical than manual systems. It certainly couldn't hurt, but I don't feel it's at all necessary.
Yes, I misspoke when I used the word intense, as it is probably rather obvious that we have no Crystal Beach Cyclones today. I do completely agree with you about the go / no go system when it pertains to the more open trains too, and perhaps the biggest problem here is that Intamin's design keeps the seat belt and the lap bar as two completely seperate restraint systems. The Premier lap bars, which are not computer controlled, have the seat belt which must attach to the lap bar itself. With the completely open design of the Intamin trains, the system should not be allowed to rely on visual cues alone. Currently, lap bar Intamin coasters still rely on the visual of the lap bar, with the go / no go system relying solely on the seat belt itself.
And to allow a seat belt alone to be the go / no go system -- completely unlike the harness connected seat belts -- is dangerous.
Back on topic, I have much sympathy for those who try and cannot lose the weight. But, it seems these days that "everyone" states that they have a thyroid problem who is obese or overweight(this has been my experience). That is where I have a problem. I just don't see how it's possible that nearly every single overweight or obese person has a thyroid problem. I think many of these people are just using it as an excuse to not do anything about their problem.
If you don't respect your own ideas enough to make sure they're conveyed clearly in a way that's easy to understand, they why would you expect anyone else to?
But I guess when your closing statement to a debate is "PWN3D!" in all bold letters, you're probably not getting much respect in the first place, so I suppose spelling isn't all that relevant. ;)
You must be logged in to post
