Ignorance.

^^ I could tell you. But I'm not going to. Learn something about your own damn car.

^ Believe it or not, I actually want to spend more time with you one of these days. Go figure. ;)

So you can rev his engine and test out his horsepower? ;)

There will always be different levels of "enthusiasm" in any hobby. I personally have no idea what coaster uses what brand of trains,for the most part, or which trains are notorious for tearing the tracks apart (although reading posts is enlightening my education on this!)

What's that old quote.."knowledge is of no use unless shared with others".... BINGO! For every "enthusisast" who doesn't particularly care who manufactured what and when it was replaced by someone else's brand of this and that, there are other people reading who are glad that information was shared.

It's nice to learn who are the experts in what, too... if you have a particular question you can usually address it to those particular people and get an accurate answer. Those who choose not to learn that info can bypass the post. Someone else is sure to enjoy it.

:)

I could say that if someone represents something, in our case, the roller coaster enthusiast community, which in fact contains maybe .00000000135% of all general public, then the person should at least know their facts.

We, as humans, are always looking for something to set us apart, and frankly know more or be better at something than someone else, and I think that is part of the thrill of being an enthusiast. Chefs love to boast their new dishes, and make millions on national TV. It's called capitalism, hypothetically.

Like others have said, I have memorized pretty much all stats of every B&M, and know most stats about coasters in North America. I am pretty .... proud too.

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Hatham and his Freedom Falafels said:
I have memorized pretty much all stats of every B&M, and know most stats about coasters in North America. I am pretty .... proud too

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I have to think twice when asked to provide my social security number.

Needless to say, I probably couldn't spit out a single correct stat on any B&M let alone any coaster in North America.

I'm pretty proud of the fact that I could spend so much time involved in something and not retain a bit of info. ;)

I still haven't found the part where it was decided that a "hot chick" was involved. The one person who was actually there described her as a female lifeguard who had a snooty personality.

While the term "female lifeguard" might conjure up visions of Pamela Anderson on Baywatch, I've encountered others who looked like they were moonlighting from the East German swim team. Of course, that might be someone's idea of a "Hot chick." And BTW, is was the alleged hot chick who started spouting coaster facts first anyway.

JRS probably never attempted to impress a woman with his knowledge of coasters. He just offers to show them his big stock portfolio instead. :) Really, Jeffrey, we're not all creepy. There are some here I've even allowed to sit next to me on a coaster (and vice versa, I might add).

I’m mostly being sarcastic and shooting from the hip Bear. I’ve no clue if the chick is hot or not. I just find it interesting/funny that we had a rare opportunity to talk about a lifeguard (possible hot chick) on here…and have instead consistently focused on coaster enthusiast credentials and statistics. The irony that we are trying to convince ourselves that we’re not “too geeky” yet have mostly passed a fun opportunity to discuss something that just might be a little more mainstream (hot chicks and the male propensity to like them) is hilarious to me.

Rest assured that any attempt to make fun of coastergeek includes me. I laugh at myself more than anybody else…and certainly do not mean to hurt any feelings of those of you who sincerely enjoy coaster enthusiasm and all this hobby entails more than the idea of wooing a hot lifeguard.

Now that my soft side has been exposed, I would like to take this opportunity to bolster my low self-esteem by publicly declaring that I do indeed prefer looking at hot lifeguards to most coaster-related activities. I’m well-aware of the shallowness and semi-chauvinistic tendency of my ways…but cannot be held 100% accountable for the good-lord blessing me with testosterone.

I often find myself battling with the “cool guy” and “coastergeek” within me. On most occasions the “cool guy” wins out. But coastergeek can sometimes trump my suave reputation if we’re talking about ERT on a good woodie. ;)

P.S. Unlike my internet persona...on the rare occasion I go to a coaster event (usually Solace every other year or so)...I go with a buddy and keep to myself (meaning I don't go around telling people my name). I'm outgoing and know quite a few people by face...but am poor at remembering names/screennames/etc. Plus...I piss a lot of people off on this board. The last thing I need is a confrontation! :) But anyhow...I'm more into this board for the debate, discusion, and humor...not to utilize it as a dating service.

P.P.S. If I had to do it all over again...there is no way in hell I would have signed up using my real name. Luckily my name is not so original ;) so there is good chance there are a couple Jeffrey Smith's running around at any event. Good chance some other Jeff Smith has found himself in a political debate or economic discussion at a coaster event through no choice of his own. :)

*** Edited 6/22/2007 6:38:38 AM UTC by Jeffrey R Smith***

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JRS said:
Plus...I piss a lot of people off on this board. The last thing I need is a confrontation!

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Nah. It goes back to that online manners/confrontation thing. You'd be surprised at how many people don't have the balls to call you out in a face-to-face situation.

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RGB said:
I still haven't found the part where it was decided that a "hot chick" was involved. The one person who was actually there described her as a female lifeguard who had a snooty personality.

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Blonde. Lifeguard attire. Snooty.

The equation most likely equals hot.

But even still; blonde + lifeguard attire.

I don't care if her ass is hairier than mine...she's hot. ;)

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Chooch249 said:
There will always be different levels of "enthusiasm" in any hobby.

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Exactly. You don't have to be an ubernerd to be an enthusiast. For example, someone can really appreciate Star Wars without attending a Star Wars fan event dressed as a Jedi.

It doesn't seem all that unusual that a more casual enthusiast might distance him/herself from enthusiasts who are more over-the-top. But as long as you maintain some balance, there's not anything necessarily wrong with being over-the-top. I will say, however, that enthusiasts who believe it is their duty to correct others are high up on my pet peeve list.

The original poster had a much deeper appreciation of coasters than the person he was talking to, but he probably came off as having a bit of an ego and was confrontational. It wouldn't surprise me if that's what she was reacting to, rather than thinking little of actually being an enthusiast.

If I was watching Star Wars with a Star Wars fan and he/she corrected me on some irrelevant fact, I'm sure my reaction would be, "dude, who cares?"

Well, to clarify...

Her being attractive isn't the point here, and I really don't know why it's a big deal, but to end all doubt I will say that she is very attractive. I am not a really a blonde guy, but she is an exception. She is not "flashy" hot, just naturally, which is better anyway.

But she is snobby,
and blatantly ignorant,

and that just ruins it.

Kind of like when you see a hot girl smoking.

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RatherGoodBear said:

Really, Jeffrey, we're not all creepy. There are some here I've even allowed to sit next to me on a coaster (and vice versa, I might add).

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To be honest, RGB is kinda creepy, but he's still a reasonably fun guy to hang around ;)

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Hatham and his Freedom Falafels said:

Kind of like when you see a hot girl smoking.

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Speak for yourself. I'm sure it wouldn't negatively affect Gonch's opinion. Me, I'd ask what exactly is she smoking? ;)

Are we all done justifying our hobby? Just enjoy it and quit worrying about what you know.

Apparantly not. We still feel compelled to spend hours on a coaster site for one of the following reasons:

1. To talk about how much we love the hobby.

2. To talk about how much we don't like the hobby.

Inci said: Me, I'd ask what exactly is she smoking?

^^^Inci, no need to ASK. Just get within about 20' and you'll KNOW... ;)

Yeah, the aroma would make that one pretty obvious. Of course, if she was in Meth Lab Central/Conneaut Lake, we all know what the answer is!

Maybe we should have just substituted all this insight with 4 pages of blonde jokes....... :p

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Hatham and his Freedom Falafels said:Kind of like when you see a hot girl smoking.

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Incidentalist said:
Speak for yourself. I'm sure it wouldn't negatively affect Gonch's opinion. Me, I'd ask what exactly is she smoking?

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Yeah, exactly. It'd make her even hotter still.

Can we put her in heels while we're at it? ;)

Shoe fetish, eh Gonch?

And, apparently, hairy rear ends. :)