ACE continues down the shitter
Rastus O'Ginga
Well, Mr. Subterfuge himself won ACE pres. Big surprise. At least
the vote tallies all make sense this year. They won't have to change
them to cover up the truth.
So, ACE gets another president in the Jan Kiser mold: not too
friendly, no kids, and sorta homely. So, we can look forward to at
least 4 more years of gay-centric ACE goodness. It's nice to see
fresh faces getting voted into office like Bill Linkenheimer and Dave
Altman. I'm sure we'll get some fresh ideas from them.
ALthough, to connect with a recently popular thread, Theme Park Review
apparently has more members (albeit non-paying) than ACE. Plus, thier
trips look a HELL of a lot more fun.
Rob and I have had our differences in the past, and we've thankfully
gotten past them. And Elissa is a great gal. I tip my hat to them
for working hard to get the best enthusiast site on the web. IMHO,
thier site is WAY more relevant than ACE at this point. I'm really
wondering why I still pay the dues. ECC's mag is loads better, and
rcdb, Screamscape, and TPR give me all the photos and info I can
stand. And Mark Cole is the last guy on the planet capable of making
ACE relevent again. I've been a member of ACE for 20 years, and very
little has changed in the way the club operates (hell the people
running it are almost the same). The world changed, and ACE was
apparently too busy planning pajama parties to notice.
BRAVO, Rob! TPR RULES!!!1!
Rastus O'Ginga
Winner of the 2nd Annual C. Montgomery Burns Award for
Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
"What an awful dream, 1s and 0s everywhere... I thought I saw a 2." - Bender
ANTI-BED-WETTING-LIBELRAL DISCLAIMER:
The content of this post, and all previous posts made by this user, is 100%
opinion. Any similarity between this post and the truth is purely
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AirtimeJunkie
That is one of the main reasons I am no longer a member of ACE. It is
always the same people holding all of the positions. It is amazing how
they can get locked into a position for so many years, especially
regional reps. Anyhow, I'll have to agree with your comments on TPR.
I check out their site almost daily and the information on parks around
the world contained within their web site cannot be matched. And, yes,
their trips sound like a lot of fun, too. I hope to go on one of them
at some point in time.
Kevin
mikepin
She was the last pres I knew of??
Ricky Summersett
Rastus O'Ginga wrote:
> I'm really
> wondering why I still pay the dues.
I wondered that a few years ago, too.
At that point I had been a member since 1981!
After wondering why I still pay my dues I decided to not send them in
anymore. Now I have been ACE-free for 3 years.
I may join next year if I decide to go to Con (to sell stuff and do
Voyage) but only to save $ on the Con & sales table(s).
Ricky
kevind...@charter.net
You are better off joining a smaller club plus go to HoliWoods Night
since most coaster clubs can attend! You MUST ride Voyage!! It is a
FACT that it is the GREATEST coaster ever built since Texas Cyclone and
I think Voyage may have been better although I haven't ridden TC. But I
have ridden GC @ SFOG and still think Voyage puts that to shame. Yet GC
is on of the most intense woodies I've been on!! :) That tells you how
great Voyage is!!!
BaSSiStiSt
<ras...@kingwoodXXXXXcable.net> wrote:
>So, we can look forward to at least 4 more years of gay-centric ACE goodness.
So quit?
>ALthough, to connect with a recently popular thread, Theme Park Review
>apparently has more members (albeit non-paying) than ACE. Plus, thier
>trips look a HELL of a lot more fun.
So go there?
>Rob and I have had our differences in the past, and we've thankfully
>gotten past them.
If you're lodged THAT far up his ass, you'd think you'd at least know
there's another "b" in his name.
Mike Miller
Life begins at the ACE buffet
deadand...@gmail.com
> friendly, no kids, and sorta homely. So, we can look forward to at
> least 4 more years of gay-centric ACE goodness.
Ah, there's some quality trolling all over this post, but let's stick
to this. I mean, really now, there's a lot of people on this board
(myself included) who stopped mailing ACE a check years ago, and we
don't even hate the club. If I were ACE president, I'd laugh every time
you renewed.
nogodforme
I'm not in the club. And now Rustas is mentioned TPR as the site ACE
should be.
I've said ACE should
Produce their own videos and make roller coaster shows. Never
happened. Yes I'm sure the people would help out if given the chance.
So what does Robb and Elisa do? They put a forum on their web site,
make a club, go on trips, encourage people to send in videos, and now
they're the biggest site around.
Robb is doing what I suggested. The only thing I'm not to thrilled
of, is all the goofy shots of Elisa and the other people they bring on
the trips. I've already told Robb to make POVs from the top of the
lift to the end of the ride with no cut shots. He agrees, but I guess
he can't resist putting in a shot of Elisa in there.
He's got the camera, time, and money to make a real coaster show.
That would be the next step, for him to make a production company
called TPR and make a video to submit to the Discovery Channel.
Rastus O'Ginga
Actually, that's an issue I have with the Rob(b)s I know. I always
confuse who has the second B.
-r
TeknoScorpion
I could care less about the sexuality of the person that runs a club
(or for that matter, the country), because that doesn't affect me,
regardless of my moral stance on the subject, but the reason I'll never
join ACE is because they suck. There are plenty of alternative coaster
clubs, ones that even promote a community, and even some of those host
events, trips, and what not, and you don't even have to pay to be a
member.
>From what I've seen of most of the ACE executives, they take the hobby
too seriously, try to dictate what the entire enthusiast community
should or should not do (or for that matter, count as a credit ;-) ),
and make excuses when they're firmly in the wrong.
I'll never join ACE. It has become a class society. You're ethere in
the 'in crowd', or you're nothing. I can get all of the current
information on the internet, interact with my coaster buds online or
off.
Rastus O'Ginga
You mean, like they have some of list? NO, we all know that's not the
case. I mean, heck, RRC has castigated people for such opinions.
-r
TeknoScorpion
> case. I mean, heck, RRC has castigated people for such opinions.
For some reason, that post just isn't reading right to me. I'm not
getting what you're saying.
Rastus O'Ginga
just Google A-list. Plus, it should have said "some SORT of list"
-r
Keith Hopkins
news:1157637393....@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I made a few suggestions in the past and people tell me to STFU because
> I'm not in the club.
I thought it was because you post drunk.
--
Keith Hopkins
suss...@sssssssssgmail.ssssssssscom
[clear up the hissing to email]
"You could put Christmas lights on your car and drive Britney Spears
to Medieval Times and she'd think she went back in time."
http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com
AirtimeJunkie
Keith, couldn't resist? lol
Keith Hopkins
news:1157654358.6...@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Hell, I thought I restrained myself pretty well. :-)
slithernoggin
> always the same people holding all of the positions.
Some people are willing to do the work to make a club run. Some people
aren't. Since the latter greatly outnumber the former, you see the same
people in various positions. That's not something exclusive to ACE.
nogodforme
drunk.
They said to take a hike because I wasn't in the club.
Why do you think Robb made his own site? He got tired of the shit
here and just said forget it. He makes enough money and has the time
to run his own board. So instead of fighting a broken system that
doesn't want to listen, he said screw it, and made his own.
Besides the POV videos and producing shows, there are a few more things
ACE could do.
The web site is lacking and you never hear about it.
I went to it just now and see they a forum but it's the free PHPBB and
there's only 30 users. Robb's site wasn't much until he added the
forums, that's when TPR really took off. The forum moderators are the
key. If they let people talk, then the forum grows. That's why TPR
is huge. Jeff banned everyone, so they said fuck it and went to TPR.
The other thing ACE needs to do is fix the stereotype that coaster fans
are nerds who like to fall out of rides. I mean, right now, most parks
don't want to have events because of all the crap in the past with
people standing up on the coasters. HW came back after a 2 year
break, but guess who they went to first? CFB, not ACE.
The ACE fans will come back and say I'm full of shit. Ok, fine, so why
is TPR the biggest club out there now? Doesn't matter if it's free to
join, Robb makes his money selling the DVDs and he's doing it for fun.
Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had some DVDs to sell?
Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had the most active forum?
Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had respect from the parks?
Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had more events?
steelforce
nogodforme wrote:
> Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had some DVDs to sell?
They have sales tables at many of their major events, I've got some
great DVDs from Eastcoaster.
> Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had the most active forum?
Why should they? they're about putting a positive light on our hobby.
They're not about the constant bitching and complaining and condoning
of rule breaking seen here and elsewhere.
> Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had respect from the parks?
The parks respect ACE more than ever, because ACE cares about and
respects parks.
> Wouldn't it be nice if ACE had more events?
If they had more members that volunteer (rather than sit and bitch),
they just might. the mid atlantic area has a new rep and she has
several assistants, they have done more in the past 6 months than all
of the last reps did in the last 10 years. If your ACE region has do
nothing reps SAY SOMETHING. (to ACE, not on here)
But, ultimately if you're not a member of ACE you have no business
bitching about what they do or don't do. Join! then you have every
right to complain, or be one of the MANY happy members.
TeknoScorpion
right. But I do agree.
TeknoScorpion
> They're not about the constant bitching and complaining and condoning
> of rule breaking seen here and elsewhere.
Um, Hi mr. Kettle.
> But, ultimately if you're not a member of ACE you have no business
> bitching about what they do or don't do. Join! then you have every
> right to complain, or be one of the MANY happy members.
I'm sorry, but you're wrong. I have every right to complain about an
organization that I'm not a member of. I complain about the reasons I
am Not a member. And a lot of that has to do with ACE officials. I'll
complain all I want, because last I recall, I don't need your
permission to complain. ACE doesn't need my permission to suck, so it
evens out. I'd like to have joined at one point, but the reasons I
haven't are the reasons I complain about. Don't expect me to stop.
If you don't want to hear people complain, Just leave. Like you did
Coasterbuzz. Oh, no. Wait. You got banned from there. Nevermind.
Perhaps you shouldn't complain about Buzz anymore, since, you know,
you're not a member.
Later Kettle.
Rastus O'Ginga
<slithe...@gmail.com> wrote:
That's horseshit. There are plenty of other people that would do the
work, and do run. The current EC don't possess unique skills that no
one else in ACE has. They just know that being in the EC gets them
free coaster trips every year, and that is worth protecting.
deadand...@gmail.com
> work, and do run. The current EC don't possess unique skills that no
> one else in ACE has. They just know that being in the EC gets them
> free coaster trips every year, and that is worth protecting.
>
The world cries out for your help in providing a totally not gay
coaster club, Jason. You need to do something about that. I mean, if
Sam Marks can run a club, certainly you possess the capacity to do so,
right? Perhaps Robb needs someone to help him with his tour service?
Rastus O'Ginga
>The world cries out for your help in providing a totally not gay
>coaster club. You need to do something about that. I mean, if
>Sam Marks can run a club, certainly you possess the capacity to do so,
>right? Perhaps Robb needs someone to help him with his tour service?
I've written pleny of articles for DAFE. Robb has plenty of helpers
that all live in the same city as him. Elissa seems to be a master
tour planner.
vince
No joke. See my homeowner's association for proof. People want
the world from the non-paid officers yet would never volunteer
for anything. Most people suck.
--
vince
/***** Visit the Home of the Rancid Tofu Experience *****/
/***** http://www.garageband.com/artist/rancidtofu *****/
deadand...@gmail.com
Rastus O'Ginga wrote:
> On 8 Sep 2006 10:14:53 -0700, deadand...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>
> >The world cries out for your help in providing a totally not gay
> >coaster club. You need to do something about that. I mean, if
> >Sam Marks can run a club, certainly you possess the capacity to do so,
> >right? Perhaps Robb needs someone to help him with his tour service?
>
> I've written pleny of articles for DAFE. Robb has plenty of helpers
> that all live in the same city as him. Elissa seems to be a master
> tour planner.
>
So you contribute articles...uh, what does that have to do with running
a coaster club? "No Homos Coaster Club," man. That's a great name. That
way, you can have one gay person to show diversity. Hop to it. You're
wasting our time.
Matt Crowther
tried to penetrate that extremely dense cranium of yours, but that task
is obvously hopeless. For one final and likely futile time- NONE of the
ACE exec committee members are on the board in order to get these
largely fictional "A List" perks you keep foaming at the mouth about. I
have been on the committee now for quite a while, and I will tell
everyone willing to listen (not you obviously)- they volunteer to serve
on the committee BECAUSE THEY ARE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE CLUB'S
WELL BEING! There are no ulterior motives, vast conspiracies or anything
remotely sinister going on. Do we make mistakes? Sure. Is the club run
perfectly? No, of course not. But for the most part, the ACE committees
I have served on have been comprised of extremely hard working and
dedicated folks who put in THOUSANDS of hours of their own UNPAID time
in order to keep the club functioning. I am confident this will continue
to be the case, regardless of your continued nattering negativism.
Rastus O'Ginga
Sorta like ACE has one member of the EC with kids (you know, the very
reason theme parks are made) to show diversity?
Rastus O'Ginga
>In article <1157716629....@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>,
>slithernoggin <slithe...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It is
>>> always the same people holding all of the positions.
>>
>>Some people are willing to do the work to make a club run. Some people
>>aren't. Since the latter greatly outnumber the former, you see the same
>>people in various positions. That's not something exclusive to ACE.
>
>No joke. See my homeowner's association for proof. People want
>the world from the non-paid officers yet would never volunteer
>for anything. Most people suck.
You mean the people that run HOAs so they can get in cahoots with
lawyers and steal houses from old people and folks that miss one
payment for dues? Yeah, they're great people.
Rastus O'Ginga
<mcro...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> For one final and likely futile time- NONE of the
>ACE exec committee members are on the board in order to get these
>largely fictional "A List" perks you keep foaming at the mouth about. I
>have been on the committee now for quite a while, and I will tell
>everyone willing to listen (not you obviously)- they volunteer to serve
>on the committee BECAUSE THEY ARE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE CLUB'S
>WELL BEING! There are no ulterior motives, vast conspiracies or anything
>remotely sinister going on. Do we make mistakes? Sure. Is the club run
>perfectly? No, of course not. But for the most part, the ACE committees
>I have served on have been comprised of extremely hard working and
>dedicated folks who put in THOUSANDS of hours of their own UNPAID time
>in order to keep the club functioning. I am confident this will continue
>to be the case, regardless of your continued nattering negativism.
Back when Buck was talking to me, he'd chime in here and list examples
of how you abuse your power. Those were the good old days. Of
course, even without him reiterating those points, it doesn't mean you
haven't used your position on MANY occasion to get perks. And what do
you do for that? You get free trips every year to EC meetings and
IAAPA. You get free entry to any ACE event. And of course the A-list
invites and chotchkis. To earn these, you get on RRC and ask for
information on closing parks and coasters. Yeah, boy, ACE could
barely function without your enormous contributions. Those thousands
of unpaid hours you spend for the club. Tell me, does that include
the private ride sessions you get on coasters?
My complaints be tired. But they are no more tired than the same
member of the EC in ACE. And they sure aren't as tired as the whole
martyr angle that so many EC members like to use. As I've said so
many times, payment does not have to be in the form of a check.
Read this thread, when's the last time I posted an anti-ACE comment
that was followed by many people agreeing with it? SOme of those
people being folks that I am hardly old pals with.
slithernoggin
Rastus O'Ginga wrote:
> That's horseshit. There are plenty of other people that would do the
> work, and do run. The current EC don't possess unique skills that no
> one else in ACE has. They just know that being in the EC gets them
> free coaster trips every year, and that is worth protecting.
>
>
The only horseshit here is yours.
There are plenty of other people that would do the work? Then why don't
they? What's holding them back?
Most, if not all, of the people on the EC did not just take it into
their heads one day to run. They started years ago, doing boring grunt
work, and proved themselves willing to do the work, and proved
themselves to be reliable.
deadand...@gmail.com
> reason theme parks are made) to show diversity?
I don't know. Do they? I already said I haven't been in the club for
years. Like I said, get to starting the new club. NHCC could do great
business in Coeur D'Alene.
Rastus O'Ginga
<slithe...@gmail.com> wrote:
For what?
Face it, Robb, Elissa, Dan, and a couple of other people do basically
everything the entire EC does. Plus, they don't outsource anything.
And they don't charge ANYTHING. Just what the fuck are these people
in ACE proving? The amusement industry fan base flew right past ACE.
I'm not sure what sort of grunt work is needed to run an old lathargic
enthusiast group. I'm inclined to think most everything ACE does now
is grunt work. It's more and more becoming an EC spending a few
hundred thousand a year on whatever they want. ANd they won't give
their members a balance sheet that actually shows where the money
goes.
It's pretty funny. I've been lambasted for years about how I was so
wrong about ACE. How I was just hurting the club, and not
volunteering. I just didn't understand. Now, 5 years later, ACE has
been basically ran into oblivion by an EC that collectively had their
heads up their asses. ACE News seems to have been disbanded. Which
is about time, but where is that money going? TPR has trips to parks,
and they have ERT on the coasters people want to ride. ACE continues
to hold ERT sessions on Vekoma Hang-n-Bangs and other rides whose
longest lines of the year are during ACE ERT. Oh, but I was just so
wrong in criticizing ninnies like Gary Baker.
Let's face it, ACE events are attended by the same block of people
that vote for the same folks every two years, and yes, the majority of
them are single gay men. The vast majority of events nationwide are
NOT ACE events. ACE seems to serve very little purpose. They hold a
Con every year that is a con. The EC gets to go for free, and
everyone else has to put up a mortgage payment to get 7 am ERT on a
roller skater and a boomerang.
The regional reps do a decent job, at least in Texas, but they get a
pittance of the membership dues even though they provide their region
with much more value than the EC does.
ACE can provide one thing now to the amusement industry,add that's
preservation. Everything else is fairly moot, and is done by tons of
other websites and such. Yeah, many of those websites are
self-important trash. But others, collectively rcdb, Theme Park
Review, and Screamscape provide everything else that ACE ever
provided. And they do it in digital media, something that ACE seems
to be afraid of. Either that, or they're too stupid to use a
computer.
slithernoggin
Locoboy
in message news:12g0o2d...@corp.supernews.com...
>
> I thought it was because you post drunk.
I thought that it was because it's all an act.
KeRu60
>So, ACE gets another president in the Jan Kiser mold: not too
>friendly, no kids, and sorta homely. So, we can look forward to at
>least 4 more years of gay-centric ACE goodness.
then there are people like me....
I could give a rats ass about the politics of ACE. I could care less
how many gay, fat, homely, nerdy geeks are in ACE. I really don't care
about who gets perks and who doesn't. Why should I care? ACE doesn't
rule the country or my life. It's a freakin' hobby man!! Watch any TPR
video made by Robb and his gay entourage is right there with him in
practically every one. So what!! The videos are great regardless.
Sounds like you are really hung up on this gay thing.....just chill out
and enjoy your coasters and quit worrying about it.
Ken
BaSSiStiSt
<slithe...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Why are you a member?
I don't know what's funnier: that he keeps complaining about the same
old stuff, or that he keeps paying 50 bucks a year to have something
to complain about!!!
Jason: most of the folks at TPR don't know your history of insulting
everyone on here and in ACE...additionally, they would embrace the
anti-gay and anti-ACE rhetoric wholeheartedly. Also, your wealth of
riding experience and friendship with "King Alvey" would make you a
hero to legions of 17-year olds. Maybe the time has come to quit ACE,
quit RRC, and embrace your destiny?
Seriously...think about it. You'd save $50, probably save yourself an
ulcer worrying about all the perks you're not getting from ACE, and
you (and all of us here) would enjoy an improved on-line experience.
The time has come.
Mike Miller
Life begins at the ACE buffet
Ricky Summersett
I somewhat agree with this.
I have been a member of many hobby and life oriented organizations and
there often seems to be a "club" of the same people year after year who
desire to really invest in the organization.
I have a few complaints about ACE but ultimately I enjoyed my
membership that lasted from 1981 until 2003 (?). I would rejoin without
any problem but I just don't have the need or desire to right now, plus
I'm back in college, have huge financial obligations, and really can't
afford the $50/year (or whatever it is now) for membership.
Ricky
deadand...@gmail.com
> old stuff, or that he keeps paying 50 bucks a year to have something
> to complain about!!!
>
> Jason: most of the folks at TPR don't know your history of insulting
> everyone on here and in ACE...additionally, they would embrace the
> anti-gay and anti-ACE rhetoric wholeheartedly. Also, your wealth of
> riding experience and friendship with "King Alvey" would make you a
> hero to legions of 17-year olds. Maybe the time has come to quit ACE,
> quit RRC, and embrace your destiny?
>
> Seriously...think about it. You'd save $50, probably save yourself an
> ulcer worrying about all the perks you're not getting from ACE, and
> you (and all of us here) would enjoy an improved on-line experience.
> The time has come.
>
Jason could be loved instead of hated. Positive attention! Its for
everyone's benefit. He could even try to take credit for RRC's decline
in posting.
Fire
TecknoScorpion, a coaster enthusiast who complains about others due to
jealousy about their travels. Here are some of his whiny rants:
Every time I plan and spend and get ready for a coaster trip, every
thing else stops me from going. No HWN for me, and from this point
on, I'm not going to any other parks this summer. Makes it easier
that way, I don't spend money, and that way since I'm at everyone
else's mercy anyhow with my time, I don't get all invested in something
just to cancel yet again at the last minute. Everyone else have fun!
I can't go anywhere, I can't do anything, and there are days that I
would never even tell them about that I've went without eating more
than maybe a sandwich a day. I never seem to get a break.
TecknoScorpion then used some of his spared time at home to compose the
following personal attack on a fellow coaster enthusiast. Here is the
accompanying post in all of its grammatical glory:
Recently you may have saw a 'debate' on Buzz about powered coasters
(and how they are NOT coasters). It prompted me to write an article.
I knew when writing it that it could very well go unpublished as it was
most definitly a personal 'attack' on one of ACE's biggest tools.
Well, it got published anywho. But because they didn't want another
flame war with Seifert (if you don't know, nevermind), they edited it
and
took refrences to Seifert out. Which is Absolutely Okay with me, I knew
the consequences of writing such a personal artical. But...I thought
the original was funny, so here it is in it's unedited (and I mean that
grammatically and linguisticly [sp?] as well).
And here is the article in question:
Jeffery Seifert, coaster enthusiast and former winner of Absolutely
Reliable
News and Rumors' 'Tool of the Century' award due to his undying
loyalty to
a fellow Neo-Nazi ACE member has finally, after years of debate among
coaster enthusiasts, laid down the law on counting powered coasters in
your track record.
"Well, you see, powered coasters can't be considered coasters
because at no time, not even when going down a hill, is gravity ever
used" said Mr. Seifert in a recently exclusive interview to ARN&R
sources.
"And as much as I claim to like RCDB, I'm sorry to announce that
from this point on, it is considered contraband to all ACE members.
Anyone who uses RCDB.com to determine what are coasters and can be
counted in their track record will be executed. If you have ever used
RCDB.com to determine your track record, or if you currently or have
ever counted powered coasters in your track record, you will not only
be barred from ACE membership, but we intend to demand that the supreme
court find you guilty of treason and execute you immediately."
"You will never convince me...that a powered Dragon Wagon is a
coaster, I've written books and stuff! I know what is and isn't."
Said Seifert in a recent post on www.adbuzz.com. "And not only that,
but the Kangaroo at Kennywood will no longer be referred to as a
'Flying Coaster'. It neither flies, nor coasts. We are hereby
boycotting Kennywood as well."
Other sources have indicated that Seifert plans to approach congress
with the new ACE enforced law. We're sure Mr. Seifert will simply
post another link to his website in an edited post with personal
information and pictures of our children and families, as well as post
the information on the NAMBLA.com message boards in response to this
article.
Congratulations to TechnoScorpion for sustaining the high standards of
the West Virginia Educational System. It would also be encouraging to
us if he would use some of his stay-at-home time to raise his
communication skills. It is no wonder that he can't get a well-paying
job. Take some remedial English classes and experience the world. You
will always look ridiculous when you live with your parents.
TeknoScorpion
LOL, Fire. Why not hide behind a fake name and come out? Oh. Right.
Cause you're either breaking in to a private site you shouldn't be in,
or you know you'll get booted from said site for posting stuff from
there.
That article? I sent that in to ARN&R hoping they'd publish it. They
passed, not me. I wrote it. I have no problem admitting I wrote it.
My initials are in the actual article that was published.
So c'mon and show yourself. Don't be like me and hide anything! Oh,
and spell my screen name correctly.
coasterfanatic
It's not me!
Just so I don't get blamed this time :)
Chuck
TeknoScorpion
Actually, chuck, I know it isn't you. And I appreciate your honesty.
I know exactly who it is.
coasterfanatic
TeknoScorpion wrote:
> Actually, chuck, I know it isn't you. And I appreciate your honesty.
> I know exactly who it is.
Well, finally I can say Im over it. We've had about 5 get togethers of
our own and just going on with life.
Yeah, I was sore but I hold not grudges.
Chuck
coasterfanatic
Well I know Scoobies is. I bet the kid is nuts visiting a park that
doesn't have a Intamin.
Chuck, who actually bets he has fun without THE GODS.
TeknoScorpion
Arson. He's a much better man than you. He has the courage to stand
up to the Fire. Guess I get that from him.
TeknoScorpion
You always had the courage to at least say it to my face.
Ricky Summersett
TeknoScorpion wrote:
> you never hid behind another name on RRC.
Just out of curiosity, what is your name?
Ricky
TeknoScorpion
Rob Ascough
news:6gt3g2174eqmh996a...@4ax.com...>
> Back when Buck was talking to me, he'd chime in here and list examples
> of how you abuse your power. Those were the good old days. Of
> course, even without him reiterating those points, it doesn't mean you
> haven't used your position on MANY occasion to get perks. And what do
> you do for that? You get free trips every year to EC meetings and
> IAAPA. You get free entry to any ACE event. And of course the A-list
> invites and chotchkis. To earn these, you get on RRC and ask for
> information on closing parks and coasters. Yeah, boy, ACE could
> barely function without your enormous contributions. Those thousands
> of unpaid hours you spend for the club. Tell me, does that include
> the private ride sessions you get on coasters?
>
> My complaints be tired. But they are no more tired than the same
> member of the EC in ACE. And they sure aren't as tired as the whole
> martyr angle that so many EC members like to use. As I've said so
> many times, payment does not have to be in the form of a check.
>
> Read this thread, when's the last time I posted an anti-ACE comment
> that was followed by many people agreeing with it? SOme of those
> people being folks that I am hardly old pals with.
I was going to stay out of this one but I feel the urge to chime in. While
I have been pretty satisfied as an ACE member since 1990 and will continue
to remain a member for the forseeable future, I do see some of the problems
that Jason mentions. Whether you agree with him or not on a regular basis,
a lot of what he says makes sense.
First of all, I would like to acknowledge that there are many ACE volunteers
that obviously care very much about what they do. I can't begin to describe
how much ACE publications have improved in recent years- they went from
being fairly generic things that appeared sporadically to very
professional-looking affairs that arrive on time more often than not.
Having served as the editor for a small enthusiast publication for the past
two years, I have the utmost respect for the ACE publications staff because
serving as an editor is NOT an easy task. I also respect a LOT of regional
reps (like Dana and Joe in NJ) because they do a tremendous job with what
probably amounts to very few resources.
That said, I question the validity of Matt's claim that ALL ACE volunteers
are in it solely because they are passionate about the club. Very often
people have ulterior motives and if the things that Jason says are true
(free trips to EC meetings, free trips to IAAPA, free admission to ACE
events), I am sure that there are some EC people that are doing it for the
perks. That's just human nature. And it's also unfair. Regardless of what
a volunteer does and how important they are to the club, they should have to
pay their way to things just like everyone else. I'm sure EC meetings are
important but IAAPA? That makes no sense to me. And why the free admission
to events? Those things are ridiculously expensive (and are a lot less
appealing than they once were) and everything should be done to reduce costs
for members, not add to them. I'm sorry but that's just not right.
In the past few years, I have wondered how committed ACE is to it's original
goals. People wondered about the formation of the Wood Coaster Fan Club,
and while I stand by our claim that it was not a blatant insult to ACE, I'd
be lying if I said that I didn't question if preservation is still one of
ACE's priorities. What happened to the flyers in mailings asking ACE
members to write to parks to try and get a coaster saved, or at least create
awareness of coasters that are in trouble? If ACE has a preservation
director, why do we never hear from him? Why was a so-called "preservation
conference" held at Six Flags Elitch Gardens a few years back? Lakeside was
a good idea but SFEG??? Did we already forget that the original Elitch
Gardens, with its two classic wood coasters, was demolished once a new park
opened with a neutered version of one of the most storied rides in amusement
history? I don't care if the ownership of the park changed, it was the
whole point of the matter. Nothing about SFEG ever said "preservation" and
holding a preservation conference there did a lot to discredit the whole
idea. ACE seems more concerned with gathering stuff for the fictional
"Roller Coaster Museum". That's great. By the time the museum actually
opens, there will be no classic wood coasters left. They will have all
disappeared! But at least we can look at the lead cars of our old favorites
in the museum... that will surely ease the pain, right?
I think a change in leandership is required, but I don't know what should be
done. I get the impression that a lot of people would like to run for some
kind of office but are hesitant to because they see the leadership of the
club is a clique. It's the same people revolving around the EC in cycles
and not only does it convey the wrong image (the same dozen people
representing 8,000+) but it makes change hard to come by. There are some
rules that need to be changed but also some people that need to step down
and get out of the cycle for the good of the club.
Just my thoughts...
--
The Wood Coaster Fan Club-
Sharing a passion for the classics since 2004
www.woodcoaster.org
Rastus O'Ginga
Rob Ascough wrote:
>
> First of all, I would like to acknowledge that there are many ACE volunteers
> that obviously care very much about what they do. I can't begin to describe
> how much ACE publications have improved in recent years- they went from
> being fairly generic things that appeared sporadically to very
> professional-looking affairs that arrive on time more often than not.
> Having served as the editor for a small enthusiast publication for the past
> two years, I have the utmost respect for the ACE publications staff because
> serving as an editor is NOT an easy task. I also respect a LOT of regional
> reps (like Dana and Joe in NJ) because they do a tremendous job with what
> probably amounts to very few resources.
Yep, a lot of work is done. The TX regional reps are quite good, too.
Publications have seemed to slow down a bit lately. And after my many
complaints, the colors in RC! actually look right again. But really,
ACE News is worthless, and should be eliminated to get rid of the time
and money spent on it.
>
> That said, I question the validity of Matt's claim that ALL ACE volunteers
> are in it solely because they are passionate about the club. Very often
> people have ulterior motives and if the things that Rastus says are true
> (free trips to EC meetings, free trips to IAAPA, free admission to ACE
> events), I am sure that there are some EC people that are doing it for the
> perks.
Absolutely. And, unless things have changed recently, all those things
are true. It was only recently that EC members get into events free.
THere is no rational explanation for them passing that rule except that
the majority of the EC (since a majority were needed to pass the rule)
are in it for the perks.
> That's just human nature. And it's also unfair. Regardless of what
> a volunteer does and how important they are to the club, they should have to
> pay their way to things just like everyone else. I'm sure EC meetings are
> important but IAAPA? That makes no sense to me. And why the free admission
> to events? Those things are ridiculously expensive (and are a lot less
> appealing than they once were) and everything should be done to reduce costs
> for members, not add to them. I'm sorry but that's just not right.
Even the EC meetings are borderline boondoggles. They aren't sometimes
held in Orlando because that is central to all the members. And the
IAAPA thing is ludicrous. But a quick check on Google will show the
usual ACE-kissers saying how important it is, usually citing how much
info Lisa Schienin gets from parks there. Of course no mention of how
she travels the world, uses ACE funds for phone calls to help plan her
visits, and then does really nothing for the club since rcdb is the
gold standard of coaster lists.
>
> In the past few years, I have wondered how committed ACE is to it's original
> goals. People wondered about the formation of the Wood Coaster Fan Club,
> and while I stand by our claim that it was not a blatant insult to ACE, I'd
> be lying if I said that I didn't question if preservation is still one of
> ACE's priorities. What happened to the flyers in mailings asking ACE
> members to write to parks to try and get a coaster saved, or at least create
> awareness of coasters that are in trouble? If ACE has a preservation
> director, why do we never hear from him? Why was a so-called "preservation
> conference" held at Six Flags Elitch Gardens a few years back? Lakeside was
> a good idea but SFEG??? Did we already forget that the original Elitch
> Gardens, with its two classic wood coasters, was demolished once a new park
> opened with a neutered version of one of the most storied rides in amusement
> history? I don't care if the ownership of the park changed, it was the
> whole point of the matter. Nothing about SFEG ever said "preservation" and
> holding a preservation conference there did a lot to discredit the whole
> idea. ACE seems more concerned with gathering stuff for the fictional
> "Roller Coaster Museum". That's great. By the time the museum actually
> opens, there will be no classic wood coasters left. They will have all
> disappeared! But at least we can look at the lead cars of our old favorites
> in the museum... that will surely ease the pain, right?
ANd like I said earlier, that's really about the only thing ACE is
needed for now. They are no longer the sole source of coaster info for
enthusiasts, and aren't even in the top 5. And I'm sorry, but I just
think the museum is a pipedream. Yeah, maybe some day I'll be proven
wrong, but as you say, we should be working on preserving the coasters,
not on preserving the lead cars. I've said it before, but until Cedar
Fair, or Bill Gates, or someone else forks over a few million bucks for
the museum, it's never going to exist except in some form that shows up
on kitschy TV shows where Matt Crowther will be dressed in clothes made
entirely of patches as he gives a tour of the 1000 square foot museum,
and has a twinkle of insanity in his eyes from the loneliness of being
the curator.
>
> I think a change in leandership is required, but I don't know what should be
> done. I get the impression that a lot of people would like to run for some
> kind of office but are hesitant to because they see the leadership of the
> club is a clique. It's the same people revolving around the EC in cycles
> and not only does it convey the wrong image (the same dozen people
> representing 8,000+) but it makes change hard to come by. There are some
> rules that need to be changed but also some people that need to step down
> and get out of the cycle for the good of the club.
At this point, I don't EVER see leadership changing. The current EC is
fairly young, and fully realize the perks they are going to get for
life as long as they stay in charge. Carole did some good things, but
I think that time is over. BIll L is now back in the EC, so he can
replace Mark when his 4 years are up. Each election, the non-click
folks get 4-700 votes, and the winners get around 1000 votes. There is
never a close election. They WERE working on a new rule to make it
harder to run for office, requiring volunteer time. This would have
made it even harder to break teh current stranglehold. I need to get
some EC meeting minutes to see where that ended up. YOu know, since
they share absolutely no real information unless you ask for it. And
even then, they won't share economic information.
I really need to join your club.
Rastus O'Ginga
AirtimeJunkie
Very well said, Rob. I agree with most of your comments. When I first
learned of ACE in the 1979-80 issue of Roller Coaster Fever, I joined
because it seemed their primary goal was the preservation of the wooden
roller coaster. According to the Roller Coaster Fever magazine, it
seems that ACE's primary goal was to "pursue preservation and
conservation." Now is seems ACE is all about expensive conferences and
ERT.
While I feel the ACE regional reps in the bay area have done pretty
well over the years, I think that more could be done. It seems that
ACE is always waiting around for another coaster to open before they
get together as a group. About 5-6 years ago, I used to organize
informal gatherings at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk just to get
together and enjoy the park and being with each other. Those informal
gatherings were A BLAST! I sort of felt that our local ACE reps
weren't really doing all that they could. In fact, I even announced
these informal gatherings on RRC and NOT ONCE did the local ACE rep
show up, not once. He was always "too busy." You can take that for
what it is worth.
I heard it through the grapevine that the local ACE rep might be
replaced soon. I think Rob's suggestion that some people (even from
the EC) should step down and give others a chance is an excellent idea,
and I think Rob hit the nail right on the head when he said that people
are probably hesitant to run for an office when there is so much of a
clique in the EC. If, in fact, anyone from ACE is getting from
admission to the cons and free admission/airfare to IAPPA, that is just
plain wrong. When I organized Coaster Alley Convergence at Silverwood
for three years, NOT ONCE did I go for free. I paid for my airfare,
lodging, hotel, entrance fee to the park and event fee.
While I'm no longer a member of ACE, I wouldn't hesitate to join again
if I saw things turning around. Based on some of the posts in this
thread, there are others who joined years ago and have also given up on
the club. That is really sad. I've learned over the years that I
don't need to be a member of ACE to enjoy roller coasters, but I feel
badly that the club has become what it is.
Good luck, ACE.
Kevin Coley
Rob Ascough
news:1157988242....@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> Yep, a lot of work is done. The TX regional reps are quite good, too.
> Publications have seemed to slow down a bit lately. And after my many
> complaints, the colors in RC! actually look right again. But really,
> ACE News is worthless, and should be eliminated to get rid of the time
> and money spent on it.
Well, Iim not sure about that. In recent years, I have enjoyed ACE News a
lot more than RC, although RC has become a lot better in a very short amount
of time. Mark Davidson should be proud of ACE News because it is really
well done. When working on a blueprint for Timber Tales I constantly looked
to ACE News for inspiration. Going by the nice comments I hear regarding
Timber Tales, I see it was a wise idea. That said, maybe it is time to
merge the publications to save on costs?
>
> Absolutely. And, unless things have changed recently, all those things
> are true. It was only recently that EC members get into events free.
> THere is no rational explanation for them passing that rule except that
> the majority of the EC (since a majority were needed to pass the rule)
> are in it for the perks.
That's just bullshit. Under no circumstances should anyone's membership
fees go towards paying for anyone elses' trips. The WCFC had an "EC"
meeting in Cleveland in January and I paid for my trip out there. The idea
of having the club pay for my travel never even crossed my mind. It was my
idea to volunteer and it was my responsibility to get my ass out there.
>
> ANd like I said earlier, that's really about the only thing ACE is
> needed for now. They are no longer the sole source of coaster info for
> enthusiasts, and aren't even in the top 5. And I'm sorry, but I just
> think the museum is a pipedream. Yeah, maybe some day I'll be proven
> wrong, but as you say, we should be working on preserving the coasters,
> not on preserving the lead cars. I've said it before, but until Cedar
> Fair, or Bill Gates, or someone else forks over a few million bucks for
> the museum, it's never going to exist except in some form that shows up
> on kitschy TV shows where Matt Crowther will be dressed in clothes made
> entirely of patches as he gives a tour of the 1000 square foot museum,
> and has a twinkle of insanity in his eyes from the loneliness of being
> the curator.
I like the idea of a museum because amusement parks are a part of culture
that have long gone unrecognized but I don't think it should be the
all-consuming thing that ACE seems to have made it to be. It should be one
aspect of many but instead it seems like the only thing the club is working
for. I want to be able to ride a classic roller coaster, not look at a few
rare pictures of it and weep about how it's gone.
> I really need to join your club.
Yeah you do! We'd love to have you.
Rob Ascough
news:1157988744.1...@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Very well said, Rob. I agree with most of your comments. When I first
> learned of ACE in the 1979-80 issue of Roller Coaster Fever, I joined
> because it seemed their primary goal was the preservation of the wooden
> roller coaster. According to the Roller Coaster Fever magazine, it
> seems that ACE's primary goal was to "pursue preservation and
> conservation." Now is seems ACE is all about expensive conferences and
> ERT.
Whatever it is they're about, it's not preservation. At least that's not at
the top of the list.
> While I feel the ACE regional reps in the bay area have done pretty
> well over the years, I think that more could be done. It seems that
> ACE is always waiting around for another coaster to open before they
> get together as a group. About 5-6 years ago, I used to organize
> informal gatherings at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk just to get
> together and enjoy the park and being with each other. Those informal
> gatherings were A BLAST! I sort of felt that our local ACE reps
> weren't really doing all that they could. In fact, I even announced
> these informal gatherings on RRC and NOT ONCE did the local ACE rep
> show up, not once. He was always "too busy." You can take that for
> what it is worth.
It seems that a lot of responsibility shifted to the regional reps in recent
years, leaving me to wonder what the importance of the EC is for, Actually,
since they've been farming work to outside companies, it seems they're
actually responsible for very little. Like I said, Dana and Joe are great
reps. They plan some nice events and are very easy to communicate with.
I've spoken with Dana numerous times and she is very passionate about what
she does. And I doubt that ACE pays for any of her trips. I wouldn't be
surprised if she eats some of the costs on her own. I'm sure a lot of reps
do the same.
> I heard it through the grapevine that the local ACE rep might be
> replaced soon. I think Rob's suggestion that some people (even from
> the EC) should step down and give others a chance is an excellent idea,
> and I think Rob hit the nail right on the head when he said that people
> are probably hesitant to run for an office when there is so much of a
> clique in the EC. If, in fact, anyone from ACE is getting from
> admission to the cons and free admission/airfare to IAPPA, that is just
> plain wrong. When I organized Coaster Alley Convergence at Silverwood
> for three years, NOT ONCE did I go for free. I paid for my airfare,
> lodging, hotel, entrance fee to the park and event fee.
Same here. I would never expect the WCFC to pay for any trips of mine, and
I helped co-found the thing. If anything, I would pay more just to get the
club's finances in better shape. If I were attending events for free, I
would feel as though I was hurting the club, not helping it.
> While I'm no longer a member of ACE, I wouldn't hesitate to join again
> if I saw things turning around. Based on some of the posts in this
> thread, there are others who joined years ago and have also given up on
> the club. That is really sad. I've learned over the years that I
> don't need to be a member of ACE to enjoy roller coasters, but I feel
> badly that the club has become what it is.
I remain a club member but I do feel that a change is in order. Hopefully
someone will eventually get the hint?
Rastus O'Ginga
Rob Ascough wrote:
>That said, maybe it is time to
> merge the publications to save on costs?
Definitely.
> >
> > Absolutely. And, unless things have changed recently, all those things
> > are true. It was only recently that EC members get into events free.
> > THere is no rational explanation for them passing that rule except that
> > the majority of the EC (since a majority were needed to pass the rule)
> > are in it for the perks.
>
> That's just bullshit. Under no circumstances should anyone's membership
> fees go towards paying for anyone elses' trips. The WCFC had an "EC"
> meeting in Cleveland in January and I paid for my trip out there. The idea
> of having the club pay for my travel never even crossed my mind. It was my
> idea to volunteer and it was my responsibility to get my ass out there.
To be fair, I don't think volunteers should have to pay to go to the
meetings. Only rich people could do it then. Probably most of your
club EC lives only a few hours from Cleveland. That's not the case for
ACE, although I'd assume a majority live only a few hours from there.
Others could phone in. They even get a few nights hotel rooms. Of
course, these expenses are some of the ones that ACE will not share
with its members. THe IAAPA deal is a whole LOT of horseshit. That
isn't a weekend meeting, it's a weeklong vacation. Of course, every
year Crowther posts his ridiculous "please don't congregate at the ACE
booth, we're conducting a lot of business, please take the kiddies and
go back to the clubhouse" post. And the clique members whole-heartedly
agree.
>
> I like the idea of a museum because amusement parks are a part of culture
> that have long gone unrecognized but I don't think it should be the
> all-consuming thing that ACE seems to have made it to be. It should be one
> aspect of many but instead it seems like the only thing the club is working
> for. I want to be able to ride a classic roller coaster, not look at a few
> rare pictures of it and weep about how it's gone.
Yep. The thing is, ACE seems to have TONS of items for the museum.
The thing would need to be many tens of thousands of square feet to
house everything. It ain't some Coke museum with a few rooms with wall
to wall signs and bottles.
>
> > I really need to join your club.
>
> Yeah you do! We'd love to have you.
Uh-oh, you probably just lost a few members : )
Rastus O'Ginga
David F
<ras...@kingwoodcable.net> wrote:
> Each election, the non-click
>folks get 4-700 votes, and the winners get around 1000 votes. There is
>never a close election. They WERE working on a new rule to make it
>harder to run for office, requiring volunteer time. This would have
>made it even harder to break teh current stranglehold.
There is another issue here.
Have you ever received the election ballots for company boards of
directors and mutual fund boards?
The first response is who are any of these people.
Have you ever gone into the polls to vote for the President or Senator
and then be faced with the candidates for dog catcher and traffic
judge and again be wondering who these people were?
For better or worse, your alleged A list people happen to be those who
are visible by being at events and getting to know many "non-click"
members.
I know that this election was the first where an office had two
candidates with whom I have had some sort of personal experience.
With ACE being a nationwide club, unfamiliar candidates will always,
by nature of the beast, be at a disadvantage. While I see potentially
problematic inbreeding on the EC, I don't see a conspiracy.
I do agree that there is some basic unfairness if the familiarity from
attending events for some comes free. I don't see it as part of a
conspiracy, though.
Regards,
David
Remove NOSPAM to contact me.
Proud to be an Attraction Traveller:
Amusement and Theme Parks
Zoos and Aquaria
Historic Sights
Museums
Urban Centers and Urban Hiking
Unique Commercial Sights
Americana and Kitsch
I know, its a euphemism for "tourist" but I don't care!
Rob Ascough
>
> To be fair, I don't think volunteers should have to pay to go to the
> meetings. Only rich people could do it then. Probably most of your
> club EC lives only a few hours from Cleveland. That's not the case for
> ACE, although I'd assume a majority live only a few hours from there.
> Others could phone in. They even get a few nights hotel rooms. Of
> course, these expenses are some of the ones that ACE will not share
> with its members. THe IAAPA deal is a whole LOT of horseshit. That
> isn't a weekend meeting, it's a weeklong vacation. Of course, every
> year Crowther posts his ridiculous "please don't congregate at the ACE
> booth, we're conducting a lot of business, please take the kiddies and
> go back to the clubhouse" post. And the clique members whole-heartedly
> agree.
I whole-heartedly agree that volunteers shouldn't HAVE to pay to go to EC
meetings if they're going to conduct legitimate business. I mentioned my
trip to Cleveland (where 4 of the 6 founding members of the organization
live) because I could never see myself making the club pay for that trip,
even if they did have the funds (which they don't). We found that as the
club grew, an annual gathering was needed to keep things focused and make
sure we were all on the same page as far as the club's growth was concerned.
I'm sure ACE does need some kind of annual gathering to do the same, and
surely volunteers that have to travel a great distance shouldn't be forced
to pay for that. But to have an annual meeting in Orlando? That's like the
Sam Adams Beer Club going to Boston to "discuss club matters". And that
IAAPA thing is pure crap. ACE should be represented there, but it should be
represented by people who are willing to go on their own dollar. To me it
sounds exactly like a vacation.
>
> Yep. The thing is, ACE seems to have TONS of items for the museum.
> The thing would need to be many tens of thousands of square feet to
> house everything. It ain't some Coke museum with a few rooms with wall
> to wall signs and bottles.
Which is fine. The more stuff, the better. But ACE should keep in mind
there are other things that need attention as well. The whole club's
mission shouldn't be to get the museum up and running, especially because
it's not even ACE's museum, right?
> Uh-oh, you probably just lost a few members : )
Nah. Besides, Rick Davis will stand up for you ;)
Rastus O'Ginga
Rob Ascough wrote:
>
> Which is fine. The more stuff, the better. But ACE should keep in mind
> there are other things that need attention as well. The whole club's
> mission shouldn't be to get the museum up and running, especially because
> it's not even ACE's museum, right?
Not legally, at least. BUt I'd say that is for tax purposes or
something.
>
> > Uh-oh, you probably just lost a few members : )
>
> Nah. Besides, Rick Davis will stand up for you ;)
Geez, now you're giving TWO clubs membership problems in the same day!
-r
Rob Ascough
news:vn9bg2lola1en83u1...@4ax.com...
>
> The first response is who are any of these people.
How true.
> Have you ever gone into the polls to vote for the President or Senator
> and then be faced with the candidates for dog catcher and traffic
> judge and again be wondering who these people were?
>
> For better or worse, your alleged A list people happen to be those who
> are visible by being at events and getting to know many "non-click"
> members.
>
> I know that this election was the first where an office had two
> candidates with whom I have had some sort of personal experience.
It's a vicious cycle. The people who get elected are the ones that people
know. And how do people know those people? Because they got elected.
That's why I suggested that the cycle needs to be broken. If anything, ACE
should make it more inviting for others to step up and do something, instead
of promoting a system that maintains the status quo. Certainly the
situation with Bill Linkenheimer is an example of how the system is flawed.
He served as president, which means he automatically serves as the immediate
past president. Now he got elected to another position.
> With ACE being a nationwide club, unfamiliar candidates will always,
> by nature of the beast, be at a disadvantage. While I see potentially
> problematic inbreeding on the EC, I don't see a conspiracy.
No conspiracy, although like I said, there needs to be some way to get
"lesser knowns" more involved. While I don't think the EC is purposely
keeping those people from being heard, they certainly aren't doing anything
to make it easier for them. And by doing that, those people outside the
clique are going to forever remain on the outside.
> I do agree that there is some basic unfairness if the familiarity from
> attending events for some comes free. I don't see it as part of a
> conspiracy, though.
That's a gray area. Again, it's not a conspiracy but it's definitely unfair
for a great number of reasons. In a club where people contribute
hard-earned money to keep the thing running, NO ONE should get anything that
amounts to a free ride. That gives people the right to an agenda, and
that's never a good thing.
vince
Rastus O'Ginga <ras...@kingwoodXXXXXcable.net> wrote:
<snip>
You should emulate the godhatesfags church. Picket parks holding
ACE events. Here's a sign idea:
American
Cocksucking
Enthusiasts
Then you could sneak into the food prep area and sprinkle the
food with salt peter to retard the ability of homosexuals to
engage in sexual activity. Heck, you could poison everyone since
folks like me that are tolerant of homosexuals are responsible
for 911, Katrina, etc... Perhaps that would speed the coming
of the Apocalypse.
Allah akbar!
--
vince
/***** Visit the Home of the Rancid Tofu Experience *****/
/***** http://www.garageband.com/artist/rancidtofu *****/
vince
Rastus O'Ginga <ras...@kingwoodXXXXXcable.net> wrote:
>
>>No joke. See my homeowner's association for proof. People want
>>the world from the non-paid officers yet would never volunteer
>>for anything. Most people suck.
>
>You mean the people that run HOAs so they can get in cahoots with
>lawyers and steal houses from old people and folks that miss one
>payment for dues? Yeah, they're great people.
Man, it's a joyless, scary world you live in.
Ricky Summersett
I'm just curious, Matt. As an EC member what do you think of member
fees being spent on a bunch of folks travelling down to IAAPA for a
week?
Is having the museum a good idea? Wouldn't it cost a lot less to buy &
disassemble or relocate the Lincoln Comet or Whalom Flyer & put it in
storage until some land became available?
Should ACE pursue a museum of memories or pursue keeping classic
coasters from becoming sawdust? How many millions of $ will the museum
cost?
Matt Crowther wrote:
> Jason, Jason, Jason. You are so predictable. I and others have tried and
> tried to penetrate that extremely dense cranium of yours, but that task
> is obvously hopeless. For one final and likely futile time- NONE of the
> ACE exec committee members are on the board in order to get these
> largely fictional "A List" perks you keep foaming at the mouth about. I
> have been on the committee now for quite a while, and I will tell
> everyone willing to listen (not you obviously)- they volunteer to serve
> on the committee BECAUSE THEY ARE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE CLUB'S
> WELL BEING! There are no ulterior motives, vast conspiracies or anything
> remotely sinister going on. Do we make mistakes? Sure. Is the club run
> perfectly? No, of course not. But for the most part, the ACE committees
> I have served on have been comprised of extremely hard working and
> dedicated folks who put in THOUSANDS of hours of their own UNPAID time
> in order to keep the club functioning. I am confident this will continue
> to be the case, regardless of your continued nattering negativism.
Rob Ascough
news:wcKdneoCS91qU5jY...@io.com...
>
> You should emulate the godhatesfags church. Picket parks holding
> ACE events. Here's a sign idea:
>
> American
> Cocksucking
> Enthusiasts
>
> Then you could sneak into the food prep area and sprinkle the
> food with salt peter to retard the ability of homosexuals to
> engage in sexual activity. Heck, you could poison everyone since
> folks like me that are tolerant of homosexuals are responsible
> for 911, Katrina, etc... Perhaps that would speed the coming
> of the Apocalypse.
Huh?
Shawn Mamros
>Is having the museum a good idea? Wouldn't it cost a lot less to buy &
>disassemble or relocate the Lincoln Comet or Whalom Flyer & put it in
>storage until some land became available?
Are you suggesting ACE should become a coaster operator? I'm not
at all sure that would be a good idea. The insurance costs alone
would be huge. It would also put ACE in the position of being a
potential competitor to existing parks.
OTOH, if you're suggesting keeping the coasters until some park
becomes interested in them, you might be waiting a mighty long time.
That sort of thing was do-able in the late 80s and early 90s when
much of the industry was still in the hands of individual park owners
and families, but now that parks are largely in the hands of big
corporate chains, the likelihood of seeing "used" woodies relocated
and rebuilt is becoming more and more remote every year. I wish I
could say otherwise, but nowadays I'm pretty much a realist on that
issue.
>Should ACE pursue a museum of memories or pursue keeping classic
>coasters from becoming sawdust? How many millions of $ will the museum
>cost?
Much less than the folly of opening ACE's Classic Coaster Park would
be, IMO.
-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mamros -at- mit dot edu
vince
Rob Ascough <rmas...@readisplay.com> wrote:
>"vince" <vi...@fnord.io.com> wrote in message
>news:wcKdneoCS91qU5jY...@io.com...
>>
>> You should emulate the godhatesfags church. Picket parks holding
>> ACE events. Here's a sign idea:
>>
>> American
>> Cocksucking
>> Enthusiasts
>>
>> Then you could sneak into the food prep area and sprinkle the
>> food with salt peter to retard the ability of homosexuals to
>> engage in sexual activity. Heck, you could poison everyone since
>> folks like me that are tolerant of homosexuals are responsible
>> for 911, Katrina, etc... Perhaps that would speed the coming
>> of the Apocalypse.
>
>Huh?
Ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas? Check out
godhatesfags.com.
Ever heard of saltpeter(I should not have left a space in my original
post)? Potassium nitrate has been rumored to supress sexual
response in men.
Ever heard of Pat Robertson? He's the guy on tv that speaks for
God and tells us that all the bad things happening in the US
are caused by the tolerance of homosexuality.
Ever heard of the Apocalypse? There is a large group of Christians
like President Bush that believe the world is close to ending
due to their interpretation of stories in the Bible.
If you have more specific questions regarding my post, please
respond and I'll be happy to explain. Basically, I'm calling
for Rastus to take his crusade against coastering queers out
on the road. If he could get people to join his cause, he might
cause parks to sever their relations with ACE. Then his cuisine
would reign supreme.
Runaway Mine Train
I felt the urge to chime in here as well and say that however unpopular
your opinion may be, I appreciated your post. Over the 5 years that I
was a member of ACE I saw a noticeable shift away from what attracted
me to the club in the first place, which was riding roller-coasters.
Now I feel the club is all about becoming a fixture within the
amusement industry.
As much as I like certain people within the ACE elite, most notably
Carole Sanderson and Brian Peters, I felt shut out whenever I attempted
to volunteer for anything. Twice I volunteered to help out with the
museum and once with an event, and no one ever got back to me or even
acknowledged my offer. The only time I was actually put into service
was when Carole contacted me personally and asked me to serve on the
elections committee (which I did and even reapplied for membership to
do so). I don't know why the same people are allowed to be on the EC
year after year when there are clearly others attempting to serve, but
to me the club IS run by an elite circle that rotates positions and
shuts out involvement from its members.
At one Coaster Con I was told the president of ACE was given the
presidential suite at the Hershey Hotel compliments of the park, and
that an exclusive party was being held that night in the room. To me
that smacks of elitism and only adds credence to the impression that EC
members are a small, invitation-only group guided by their desire to
receive perks. If I could get free trips to IAAPA, all coaster events
and EC meetings in Orlando, I'd want to protect my position, too! But
I certainly wouldn't call myself a volunteer.
I also feel the Coaster Con now has little to do with riding
roller-coasters. I once jokingly said they might as well call it No
Coaster Con. The last Coaster Con I went to had a pajama party one
night in lieu of ERT, and no ERT one morning. Pajama parties, photo
and video contests, seminars and panel discussions are great if you
can't be out riding roller-coasters, so why not schedule those things
during the winter and get back to what the club is supposed to be
about, which is riding roller-coasters? I sent this suggestion to two
people on the EC while I was still a member and, once again, received
no reply. Then I look at what the European Coaster Club and RCCGB are
able to negotiate with parks when they come to America, and the ACE
Coaster Cons pale in comparison. I just don't understand why ACE can't
serve its members as well, and I don't buy the excuses and defensive
posture taken by those in charge of organizing events. It just doesn't
wash when other clubs are able to do it better.
These are the reasons I chose not to renew my membership with ACE and
why I backed away from the enthusiast community. I simply don't
believe it's ACE's place to be at IAAPA or trying to become a fixture
within the amusement industry. ACE should be about riding
roller-coasters and encouraging their preservation. And as much as I
regret the loss of friends and seeing them annually at events, I am
much happier now that I've gotten away from arguing about
roller-coasters and back to riding them! I hope someday ACE gets back
to its roots because a lot of what the club has become now is nonsense.
Mark McKenzie
Rob Ascough
news:1158080132.9...@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Mark,
It is so good to see you posting again. You were gone from RRC before I
started posting but I felt like I knew you thanks to your trip report
website. How I wish you'd write trip reports again, even though the old
ones are still very entertaining ;)
> I felt the urge to chime in here as well and say that however unpopular
> your opinion may be, I appreciated your post. Over the 5 years that I
> was a member of ACE I saw a noticeable shift away from what attracted
> me to the club in the first place, which was riding roller-coasters.
> Now I feel the club is all about becoming a fixture within the
> amusement industry.
Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I've never been about putting forth a
popular opinion, just my opinion. Besides, I'm getting the impression that
quite a few people feel the way that Rastus and I do.
> As much as I like certain people within the ACE elite, most notably
> Carole Sanderson and Brian Peters, I felt shut out whenever I attempted
> to volunteer for anything. Twice I volunteered to help out with the
> museum and once with an event, and no one ever got back to me or even
> acknowledged my offer. The only time I was actually put into service
> was when Carole contacted me personally and asked me to serve on the
> elections committee (which I did and even reapplied for membership to
> do so). I don't know why the same people are allowed to be on the EC
> year after year when there are clearly others attempting to serve, but
> to me the club IS run by an elite circle that rotates positions and
> shuts out involvement from its members.
I've heard similar stories from others. People seem to want to volunteer
and they are either ignored or given the most mediocre and meaningless of
tasks. I remember the days of when ACE outright begged for people to help.
I'm not sure if this has always been the case but lately it seems like ACE
only wants volunteers from the inner circle, that way they can further
proove to everyone else why they are the only ones that should be running
the club.
> At one Coaster Con I was told the president of ACE was given the
> presidential suite at the Hershey Hotel compliments of the park, and
> that an exclusive party was being held that night in the room. To me
> that smacks of elitism and only adds credence to the impression that EC
> members are a small, invitation-only group guided by their desire to
> receive perks. If I could get free trips to IAAPA, all coaster events
> and EC meetings in Orlando, I'd want to protect my position, too! But
> I certainly wouldn't call myself a volunteer.
Again, more bullshit. ACE was started by a group of people bonded by a
common enthusiasm. Now it seems like the club is divided into two groups-
the leaders and the people that pay the money to support the leaders. I'm
sorry, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a not-for-profit organization pay
or compensate for trips made by so-called volunteers. I don't support ACE
as a business, I support them as an organization and there is a big
difference.
I recently got my usual issue of the western PA region's newsletter in the
mail (I assume that this is because I attended Lakemont's Ridefest a few
years back and I assume that will now be my last issue.) Last night I was
reading an issue of ACE News and I noticed pretty much everyone given
"God-like status" in the western PA region's publication. Dave Hahner.
Bill Linkenheimer. Dave Altman. Maggie Altman. One was in the Volunteer
Spotlight. Another was given the Spirit of ACE award or something like
that. Yet another was in a half dozen pictures. Alright, I admit that
volunteers deserve to be recognized, but when a publication becomes filled
with stuff on a select few high-profile individuals, it's no longer about
the club, it's about a select few high-profile individuals. I've talked to
a few people that long ago submitted articles for publication in Roller
Coaster and were told that they'd eventually be printed when there was
space. I guess "space" only becomes available after Lisa Schenin's
fifteenth article on the coasters of Japan? What happened to ACE pleading
with people for material when Roller Coaster featured pages and pages of
bullshit "Photo Popourri"? I guess Paul Ruben writes enough stuff, like
when he wrote the "definitive" list of coaster types, which somehow broke
coasters into something like 40 categories? (wild mouse, spinning coaster,
spinning mouse, wood wild mouse, wild mouse with three dips followed by a 90
degree turn and a magnetic brake run, etc.)
> I also feel the Coaster Con now has little to do with riding
> roller-coasters. I once jokingly said they might as well call it No
> Coaster Con. The last Coaster Con I went to had a pajama party one
> night in lieu of ERT, and no ERT one morning. Pajama parties, photo
> and video contests, seminars and panel discussions are great if you
> can't be out riding roller-coasters, so why not schedule those things
> during the winter and get back to what the club is supposed to be
> about, which is riding roller-coasters? I sent this suggestion to two
> people on the EC while I was still a member and, once again, received
> no reply. Then I look at what the European Coaster Club and RCCGB are
> able to negotiate with parks when they come to America, and the ACE
> Coaster Cons pale in comparison. I just don't understand why ACE can't
> serve its members as well, and I don't buy the excuses and defensive
> posture taken by those in charge of organizing events. It just doesn't
> wash when other clubs are able to do it better.
I always wanted to attend a Con but when I was younger I never had the
money. Now that I have the money, I think they are a complete waste. Why
the fuck would I pay all that money and end up getting ERT on the park's
kiddie coaster at 7:00 in the morning between the breakfast buffet and the
awarding of door prizes (that somehow seem to find their way into the hands
of the well-known volunteers... "wow, another prize for Charlie Jacques!")
If I were going to a conference, I'd want time to ride with my friends, not
sit through endless contests and presentations... that is what something
like Eastcoaster is for, and does very well with.
> These are the reasons I chose not to renew my membership with ACE and
> why I backed away from the enthusiast community. I simply don't
> believe it's ACE's place to be at IAAPA or trying to become a fixture
> within the amusement industry. ACE should be about riding
> roller-coasters and encouraging their preservation. And as much as I
> regret the loss of friends and seeing them annually at events, I am
> much happier now that I've gotten away from arguing about
> roller-coasters and back to riding them! I hope someday ACE gets back
> to its roots because a lot of what the club has become now is nonsense.
Well, I'm not sure if displeasure with ACE should be a reason to back away
from the enthusiast community, I guess that is up to the individual. I
could walk away from ACE tomorrow and still have plenty to keep me immersed
in this hobby. But I get what you're saying, Mark. I also know that, as
unhappy as I am, I'm not about to walk away from ACE. Overall, I do like
what I read, and I think the publications alone are worth the price of
admission (skipping certain articles, of course). But I do wish that ACE
would get back to what used to be important.
Some people ridiculed a few of us for starting the Wood Coaster Fan Club,
but I think our humble effort came at the right time. A lot of enthusiasts,
including quite a few ACE "old timers", had grown tired of ACE's new
direction and wanted to be a part of something that reminded them of what
the enjoyed in days gone by. ACE used to be a group of people bonded by a
common interest and focused on preserving and enjoying roller coasters above
all else. Now it seems like a monster where the financial efforts of many
support the agendas of a few. At least the WCFC is a group of people bonded
by a common interest and focused on preserving and enjoying roller coasters
above all else!
Rastus O'Ginga
Runaway Mine Train wrote:
<snip>
HOLY CRAP!!!!! Take THAT, you anti-Rastus folks. Here's one of the
most revered RRC members ever giving more examples of extreme A-list
perks, and pretty much agreeing with all my gripes against ACE. I'm
getting a bit verklempt.
Presidential Suite at Hersheypark!!! I gotta assume this was 2001,
right in the height of my A-list posts. Pretty much proves them all
right, and also proves that many folks that post on here are absolute
lying bastards with no integrity. Not that that's surprising.
GREAT POST Mark!!!!
Rastus O'Ginga
Rastus O'Ginga
Rob Ascough wrote:
<snip>
Welp, this post solidified it. I'm joining the Wood Coaster Fan Club.
I'm printing the form right now.
Rastus O'Ginga
Rob Ascough
>
> Welp, this post solidified it. I'm joining the Wood Coaster Fan Club.
> I'm printing the form right now.
But before you do that, you should know that the Wood Coaster Fan Club is
renting me the Presidential Suite at the Glosser Inn for Phunfest weekend.
Seriously, as I said, we'd be glad to have you.
Keith Hopkins
news:oJudnVW-nPyxmprY...@comcast.com...
> "Rastus O'Ginga" <ras...@kingwoodcable.net> wrote in message
> news:1158087301.3...@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> Welp, this post solidified it. I'm joining the Wood Coaster Fan Club.
>> I'm printing the form right now.
>
> But before you do that, you should know that the Wood Coaster Fan Club is
> renting me the Presidential Suite at the Glosser Inn for Phunfest weekend.
I'm not sure I would want to see what goes on in the Presidential Suite at
the Glosser Inn. Or smell it for that matter. Ewww.
--
Keith Hopkins
suss...@sssssssssgmail.ssssssssscom
[clear up the hissing to email]
"You could put Christmas lights on your car and drive Britney Spears
to Medieval Times and she'd think she went back in time."
http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com
Rob Ascough
news:12ge323...@corp.supernews.com...
>
> I'm not sure I would want to see what goes on in the Presidential Suite at
> the Glosser Inn. Or smell it for that matter. Ewww.
Don't think it would smell Presidential? At least not "Bill Clinton"
Presidential?
Keith Hopkins
> "Keith Hopkins" <suss...@sssssssssgmail.ssssssssscom> wrote in message
> news:12ge323...@corp.supernews.com...
>>
>> I'm not sure I would want to see what goes on in the Presidential Suite
>> at the Glosser Inn. Or smell it for that matter. Ewww.
>
> Don't think it would smell Presidential? At least not "Bill Clinton"
> Presidential?
"This mattress smells like a beef roast."
robb...@themeparkreview.com
You hit upon some of the same reasons why we let our ACE membership
lapse, why we stopped reading and posting to RRC regularly, and why we
eventually went off to do our own thing. We feel that at events,
everyone should have fun "together" regardless if your a member of the
organization or the organizer.
Everyone at our TPR meets or events share in whatever perks we might
get. There wasn't anything on our TPR UK Trip that was for the "event
organizers" only. We don't believe in that. If we were given a special
perk, everyone was invited to join in the fun! Just watch our Liseberg
video for proof of that! =)
And we think that's the what organized theme park events should be
about. FUN! No politics. No elitism. No drama. Just enjoy your visit
to the park and have FUN!
--Robb "Funny how this thread has brought old school RRCers out of lurk
mode." Alvey
http://www.themeparkreview.com
CoasterFanatic
news:1158093689.3...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:
> Everyone at our TPR meets or events share in whatever perks we might
> get. There wasn't anything on our TPR UK Trip that was for the "event
> organizers" only.
Then explain the fireplace .... dammit! :)
Seriously, I can't say anything at all. I slept on an oversized king bed
that night also!
// TPR is short for Kick-Ass Perks!
--
Ted
Runaway Mine Train
>
> Mark,
>
> It is so good to see you posting again. You were gone from RRC before I
> started posting but I felt like I knew you thanks to your trip report
> website. How I wish you'd write trip reports again, even though the old
> ones are still very entertaining ;)
Thanks, Rob! But this isn't a regular return to posting, I just had
some free time on my hands and wanted to get caught up on all the
coaster news! I did write one trip report last year about San Antonio,
I didn't post it here but it's on my website. And I'm going to write
another one on my trip to Charleston and the Myrtle Beach Pavillion
soon.
> Well, I'm not sure if displeasure with ACE should be a reason to back away
> from the enthusiast community, I guess that is up to the individual. I
> could walk away from ACE tomorrow and still have plenty to keep me immersed
> in this hobby. But I get what you're saying, Mark.
I didn't mean to say that I backed away from the enthusiast community
because of my dissatisfaction with ACE, but there were aspects of what
I called the "ACE mentality" that seemed to permeate the enthusiast
community, and I didn't like it. There was a cliquishness that people
denied but was very obvious if you weren't one of the ones being
welcomed. I know you felt very welcome, but that's because you're
cool. Those who, for whatever reason, are perceived to be uncool don't
get such a warm reception. I remember 2 organizers of Camp RRC got
together and decided they didn't want a certain poster to stay at the
camp because they found him annoying. Both of them wrote to me knowing
I didn't like him and asked if I thought they should tell him he wasn't
welcome. Even though I didn't like him I still felt strongly that if
you're going to put something under the umbrella of RRC and "claim" to
welcome everyone, you can't pick and choose who can come in and who
can't. Ultimately they didn't say anything and let the guy camp there,
but I felt disillusioned about the whole "we're not a clique" claim
ever since.
There were some other things - a lot of self-appointed thought police
and overzealous policing of others actions. I got bossed around SO
much at parks I couldn't stand it! I remember being taken to task one
time for wearing the "wrong" kind of jacket at an event, for yo-yoing
on a yo-yo even though I asked the ride op if it was okay, for not
following someone's excruciatingly rigid itinerary that included
getting wet first thing in the morning on Bluto's Barges just to avoid
a long line later, for daring to leave the ACE banquet after eating the
meal I paid for to go ride roller-coasters rather than sit around for 2
hours listening to some stupid speech, and so on. It was like you had
justify your every thought and action or face the enthsuasiast's wrath.
It go so bad Cindy and I actually ditched people a few times after
getting tired of being bossed around! It was just a pressure to
conform that I found suffocating, so I had to step back. And like I
said, even though I regret the loss of some friends, I'm much happier
not having anybody breathe down my neck and try to tell me I'm a bad
enthusiast when I know I'm not!
Mark McKenzie
mamoosh
lapse two years ago as well. I found it rather funny that my profile
was published in RC Mag even tho I was not a member, LOL!
mOOSH
Tim Melago
news:1158080132.9...@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
> I also feel the Coaster Con now has little to do with riding
> roller-coasters. I once jokingly said they might as well call it No
> Coaster Con. The last Coaster Con I went to had a pajama party one
> night in lieu of ERT, and no ERT one morning. Pajama parties, photo
> and video contests, seminars and panel discussions are great if you
> can't be out riding roller-coasters, so why not schedule those things
> during the winter and get back to what the club is supposed to be
> about, which is riding roller-coasters? I sent this suggestion to two
> people on the EC while I was still a member and, once again, received
> no reply. Then I look at what the European Coaster Club and RCCGB are
> able to negotiate with parks when they come to America, and the ACE
> Coaster Cons pale in comparison. I just don't understand why ACE can't
> serve its members as well, and I don't buy the excuses and defensive
> posture taken by those in charge of organizing events. It just doesn't
> wash when other clubs are able to do it better.
I'm not going to get into the political aspects of ACE here but I'd like to
give my take on the Con experience. There are certainly political issues
within the club and I've had my own issues with the video contest and ERT
scheduling. But I like a relaxed Con week as much as I like aggressive trips
with a new park every day. I've done many Coaster Con's not because as much
because it is sponsored by ACE but because I get solid benefits from them.
I like getting up early in the morning to get in a few hours of riding on
prime roller coasters with no lines along with getting a kiddie coaster
credit you can't normally get. Same thing staying at the park late to get
quality rides without waiting. That saves me hour after hour in the
afternoon where I can get out of a hot, crowded park and relax, sightsee or
participate in something ACE is doing at the hotel. I couldn't possibly
stand in line for coasters at the same Six Flags park for four straight
days. Within four days at SFGAm last year I had plenty of rides on
everything I wanted to ride. I had three lifetime rides on Viper in two
previous visits. At the ACE Con I sat on the ride for about 3 total hours
over two ERT sessions. That was a huge benefit to me. I did spend some time
in the park during the day but we did everything we wanted and had time for
other vacation activities too.
At the Cedar Point Con it was amazing to sit on Magnum for a couple hours,
walk back to the Breakers at 1 AM, wake up at 6 AM and go ride Millennium
Force for an hour with no wait and then go back to the hotel to sleep around
11 AM. Repeat a similar schedule for three days. It was an odd schedule but
it worked for me and I'd love the opportunity to do that again as I would
enjoy taking another coaster trip around Scandinavia with a small group.
That's about all I wanted to point out. Aside from someone being a fanatical
club member I have found reasons why people would want to do a Coaster Con.
I may not partake in all aspects of the Con anymore but there is often
enough to make it worthwhile for me. Right or wrong I'm not really into the
political side of the club and I simply take what I can get out of the
events. Whether it is the Coaster Con, Spring Fling at SFOG or Kenny Kon, I
do find certain ACE events worthwhile even if they don't suit everyone's
tastes.
--Tim Melago
Rob Ascough
>
> Thanks, Rob! But this isn't a regular return to posting, I just had
> some free time on my hands and wanted to get caught up on all the
> coaster news! I did write one trip report last year about San Antonio,
> I didn't post it here but it's on my website. And I'm going to write
> another one on my trip to Charleston and the Myrtle Beach Pavillion
> soon.
Somehow I missed the San Antonio trip report. I'll have to check your site
again. And I'm glad to hear that you're planning on writing more. You have
always had an excellent way with words.
> I didn't mean to say that I backed away from the enthusiast community
> because of my dissatisfaction with ACE, but there were aspects of what
> I called the "ACE mentality" that seemed to permeate the enthusiast
> community, and I didn't like it. There was a cliquishness that people
> denied but was very obvious if you weren't one of the ones being
> welcomed. I know you felt very welcome, but that's because you're
> cool. Those who, for whatever reason, are perceived to be uncool don't
> get such a warm reception. I remember 2 organizers of Camp RRC got
> together and decided they didn't want a certain poster to stay at the
> camp because they found him annoying. Both of them wrote to me knowing
> I didn't like him and asked if I thought they should tell him he wasn't
> welcome. Even though I didn't like him I still felt strongly that if
> you're going to put something under the umbrella of RRC and "claim" to
> welcome everyone, you can't pick and choose who can come in and who
> can't. Ultimately they didn't say anything and let the guy camp there,
> but I felt disillusioned about the whole "we're not a clique" claim
> ever since.
I have gotten the same impression from certain groups of people at non-ACE
events. I consider myself a pretty outgoing person, and if I'm not that, I
am at least friendly and fairly easy-going (at least before someone ends up
pissing me off), but there were some people that made it very clear that
they wanted nothing to do with me. And I will say that quite a few of them
were well-known ACE members, people that I grew up reading about in ACE
publications. It's pretty weird to want to meet ___________ and then get
completely blown off by them. I'm not saying, "Nice to meet you but I'm
kinda busy with the group I'm with", I'm saying, "How dare you interrupt me?
Go fuck off."
> There were some other things - a lot of self-appointed thought police
> and overzealous policing of others actions. I got bossed around SO
> much at parks I couldn't stand it! I remember being taken to task one
> time for wearing the "wrong" kind of jacket at an event, for yo-yoing
> on a yo-yo even though I asked the ride op if it was okay, for not
> following someone's excruciatingly rigid itinerary that included
> getting wet first thing in the morning on Bluto's Barges just to avoid
> a long line later, for daring to leave the ACE banquet after eating the
> meal I paid for to go ride roller-coasters rather than sit around for 2
> hours listening to some stupid speech, and so on. It was like you had
> justify your every thought and action or face the enthsuasiast's wrath.
> It go so bad Cindy and I actually ditched people a few times after
> getting tired of being bossed around! It was just a pressure to
> conform that I found suffocating, so I had to step back. And like I
> said, even though I regret the loss of some friends, I'm much happier
> not having anybody breathe down my neck and try to tell me I'm a bad
> enthusiast when I know I'm not!
I know exactly what you mean, especially when it comes to Yo-Yos. I once
wrote a trip report about a trip to Indiana Beach on another site and how I
had a great time on the Yo-Yo. I was yo-yoing with a few others and I
mentioned our actions in a colorful way and immediately got ripped apart for
being unsafe and foolish, even though I backed up my actions by mentioning
that the ride op had no problem with what we were doing (which was yo-yoing,
and nothing more). There are quite a few enthusiasts out there that feel it
is their responsibility to watch over other enthusiasts, and usually they
are the ones with their heads up the park execs' asses, trying to make it
look like they care and everyone else doesn't. I'm all for being safe and
responsible but like most people, I have never needed anyone to watch over
me.
I guess I found a way to enjoy myself at parks with other enthusiasts by
limiting the size of the group. While I have numerous enthusiast friends, I
pretty much stay with the same people no matter where I go because we all
get along and there is never any conflict regarding a "park schedule", which
is something I absolutely hate. You're right about groups and how they can
be very suffocating.
sut...@lycos.com
> In the past few years, I have wondered how committed ACE is to it's original
> goals. People wondered about the formation of the Wood Coaster Fan Club,
> and while I stand by our claim that it was not a blatant insult to ACE, I'd
> be lying if I said that I didn't question if preservation is still one of
> ACE's priorities. What happened to the flyers in mailings asking ACE
> members to write to parks to try and get a coaster saved, or at least create
> awareness of coasters that are in trouble? If ACE has a preservation
> director, why do we never hear from him? Why was a so-called "preservation
> conference" held at Six Flags Elitch Gardens a few years back? Lakeside was
> a good idea but SFEG???
I 'm surprised Elitch's is being dredged up again. That happened a
few years ago and it was discussed back then over and over again. ACE
was there to recognize and support Lakeside. It's a bit foolish to
expect everyone to fly to Denver and completely ignore SFEG,
particularly since the park was making a concentrated effort to donate
the Mr. Twister trains to ACE's preservation efforts. Six Flags had
no connection with what happened to the old Elitch Gardens' coasters.
To expect ACE to hold a preservation conference at Lakeside and
completely ignore Elitch's is particularly counterproductive in
maintaining a positive support of the parks within the industry.
I am also surprised you have to question if preservation is still one
of ACE's goals. They continue to hold preservation conferences every
year, they continue to bring recognition to coasters through the
landmark plaque program and they continue to make substantial donations
of time and effort to parks in need. Recently ACE was involved with the
painting of the Blue Streak, they helped with the restoration of the
Joyland Coaster and they made a $5,000.00 donation to Arnold's Park for
upkeep on the Legend. I agree, the Preservation Director could probably
do more to communicate all these efforts with the membership, but all
of these items were covered in ACE News. I don't ever remember
getting flyers in ACE News asking us to write letters. I'm not even
sure if that's a good idea. While letters can be a good idea, I could
see a letter writing campaign pissing people off to the point that it
does more harm than good. While it may not always be visible, many
people do a lot of work out of the spotlight to help save coasters, or
pieces of history when the park closes.
sut...@lycos.com
> Hi Rob,
>
> I felt the urge to chime in here as well and say that however unpopular
> your opinion may be, I appreciated your post. Over the 5 years that I
> was a member of ACE I saw a noticeable shift away from what attracted
> me to the club in the first place, which was riding roller-coasters.
> Now I feel the club is all about becoming a fixture within the
> amusement industry.
Why can't it do both? It's funny when I read these posts, one person
wants the club to focus on preservation, another on ERT, another on
just having fun. And when the club doesn't fall into their exact
perception of what the club should be they quit and that is
unfortunate. I think ACE is doing a pretty good balancing act meeting
all their objectives.
> As much as I like certain people within the ACE elite, most notably
> Carole Sanderson and Brian Peters, I felt shut out whenever I attempted
> to volunteer for anything. Twice I volunteered to help out with the
> museum and once with an event, and no one ever got back to me or even
> acknowledged my offer. The only time I was actually put into service
> was when Carole contacted me personally and asked me to serve on the
> elections committee (which I did and even reapplied for membership to
> do so). I don't know why the same people are allowed to be on the EC
> year after year when there are clearly others attempting to serve, but
> to me the club IS run by an elite circle that rotates positions and
> shuts out involvement from its members.
I see all kinds of people volunteering at events--new faces, old faces.
I don't agree that ACE deliberately shuns help from certain members.
It's evident by the many people involved. You are correct when you
indicated it would have been polite to have received a response on the
occasions that your volunteer efforts were not needed. It sounds like
ACE dropped the ball on that one.
> At one Coaster Con I was told the president of ACE was given the
> presidential suite at the Hershey Hotel compliments of the park, and
> that an exclusive party was being held that night in the room. To me
> that smacks of elitism and only adds credence to the impression that EC
> members are a small, invitation-only group guided by their desire to
> receive perks. If I could get free trips to IAAPA, all coaster events
> and EC meetings in Orlando, I'd want to protect my position, too! But
> I certainly wouldn't call myself a volunteer.
I've been to conventions for other groups as well. It is not unusual
for the hotel to give the organization's leaders a comp suite or
two--after all the organization did book several thousand dollars worth
of rooms, not to mention a banquet. I'm sure the room came from the
hotel, not the park. The fact that they had private parties up there
doesn't surprise me at all. Did you expect them to do invite every
single convention attendee to the suite? If you wanted to have a party
with friends in your own room, could you not do so?
In the last ACE News it was stated that the comp registration to
coaster events was being eliminated.
As far as an EC meeting in Orlando, they only did that once, and
apparently that was about 8 months before they brought the convention
there. I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it was probably at
Disney's request. They were probably given very good room rates, maybe
even comped rooms. You can easily pick up bargain flights to Orlando.
If they are going to pick a city to hold a meeting, I see nothing wrong
with going to Orlando. It was probably cheaper to hold the meeting
there than most other places in the country.
ACE's presence at IAAPA has been discussed before. Scroll down to the
Nov 27 post from Gary Baker in this thread http://tinyurl.com/ecoky,.
I don't know if I understand or even agree with their reasons for going
to IAAPA, but I'm certainly not going to quit the club over it. I think
they only send four or five delegates and it doesn't sound to me like
Gary had much of a vacation at IAAPA. I think it's very unfair of you
to imply that the EC gets free trips to vacation destinations for their
own personal benefit.
> I also feel the Coaster Con now has little to do with riding
> roller-coasters. I once jokingly said they might as well call it No
> Coaster Con. The last Coaster Con I went to had a pajama party one
> night in lieu of ERT, and no ERT one morning. Pajama parties, photo
> and video contests, seminars and panel discussions are great if you
> can't be out riding roller-coasters,
I was at that Hershey convention. As I recall we had ERT every night.
On Tuesday, ACE went to Williams Grove and with the park closing early,
ERT did not run very late. To the best of my recollection, there was a
pajama party at the hotel after ERT, not in lieu of it If that
wasn't enough ERT for you, then perhaps you should have come to
Coaster Con 27 where they had close to 24 hours of ERT. How much more
do you really want or need?
> Then I look at what the European Coaster Club and RCCGB are
> able to negotiate with parks when they come to America, and the ACE
> Coaster Cons pale in comparison.
Again 24 hours of ERT. Are you honestly going to tell me that pales in
comparison to what the ECC gets? From what I see, their visits look
like typical events we see at the same parks.
I think it's very easy for someone to look at these posts and then fall
into that "yeah I've got some beefs too" mentality. But if you stop
and think about the criticism, maybe there is a logical explanation to
it all. Too many have listened to Jason's rants for so long they are
starting to believe his remarks are true. Mark, I thought you knew
better than that. I've always felt you are very intelligent and
should be able to tell the difference.
Rastus O'Ginga
<rmas...@readisplay.com> wrote:
OK, am I dreaming here? Where have you two been for the years I've
been saying the same thing on here, and being repeatedly lambasted.
It's great to see more folks realizing the sham that is ACE. I just
wish all the parks figured this out too. Although I think some have.
Hell, there have been hundreds of posts on RRC over the years saying
"there is no A-list". It's great to have more proof that all of those
folks are nothing but liars.
Rastus O'Ginga
Winner of the 2nd Annual C. Montgomery Burns Award for
Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
"What an awful dream, 1s and 0s everywhere... I thought I saw a 2." - Bender
ANTI-BED-WETTING-LIBELRAL DISCLAIMER:
The content of this post, and all previous posts made by this user, is 100%
opinion. Any similarity between this post and the truth is purely
coincidental. Anyone who reads this post and draws conclusions about it is
doing so by their choice. How they use those conclusions to direct their
own lives and opinions from that point forward is absolutely a result of
their own cognitive abilities and is in no way related or legally binded to
this poster. NO individual, business entity, or legal authority should use
the content of this post, or any other post by the originator, in whole, or
in part, to assist in making a decision that could affect the lives of any
of the inhabitants of planet Earth, since the content may not be true.
Rastus O'Ginga
Thanks for your opinion, Jeff.
Rastus O'Ginga
<snip>
C'mon, at least admit that you are Jeff Seifert when posting this ACE
boilerplate.
By the way, they had an EC meeting in Orlando 3-4 years ago, and it
wasn't on Disney property. You can try all you want, but there is no
justification for ACE to spend thousands of dollars so the Merchandise
director, Historian, Archivist, and Census director are at all EC
meetings. There are these wonderful things called phones. Some of
them even have speakers.
And we're supposed to believe Gary Baker? That man is the epitome of
ACE martyr. He was always working extremely hard and sacrificing his
own time. Uhhhhhhhh...... yeah. Saying IAAPA is hard work for people
not even fucking selling or buying anything is simply insane, and an
absolute lie. Yeah, boy, I worked my ass off at IAAPA writing reports
for DAFE. And enjoyed every fricken second of it.
Rob Ascough
news:1158111589.4...@e63g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
>
> Why can't it do both? It's funny when I read these posts, one person
> wants the club to focus on preservation, another on ERT, another on
> just having fun. And when the club doesn't fall into their exact
> perception of what the club should be they quit and that is
> unfortunate. I think ACE is doing a pretty good balancing act meeting
> all their objectives.
So if the club shouldn't be what the members want it to be, what should it
be?
Preservation, ERT, having fun... those seem like legitimate demands to me,
especially because two of those three things were the reason for the
formation of the club years ago (I suppose the idea of ERT came over time).
ACE is doing a good job of balancing all those objectives? Maybe some money
should be spent on finding that out for sure? I have a feeling it would be
a wise investment.
> I see all kinds of people volunteering at events--new faces, old faces.
> I don't agree that ACE deliberately shuns help from certain members.
> It's evident by the many people involved. You are correct when you
> indicated it would have been polite to have received a response on the
> occasions that your volunteer efforts were not needed. It sounds like
> ACE dropped the ball on that one.
Sounds like they did.
> I've been to conventions for other groups as well. It is not unusual
> for the hotel to give the organization's leaders a comp suite or
> two--after all the organization did book several thousand dollars worth
> of rooms, not to mention a banquet. I'm sure the room came from the
> hotel, not the park. The fact that they had private parties up there
> doesn't surprise me at all. Did you expect them to do invite every
> single convention attendee to the suite? If you wanted to have a party
> with friends in your own room, could you not do so?
Part of being in politics is handling public perception. If indeed the room
was comped, maybe there shouldn't have been a private party there? A lot of
the problem here seems to be the way the people running the club allow
themselves to be perceived by the rest of the members. Does the EC have a
right to hold their own party? Absolutely. But did they ever think how it
would appear to everyone else? Leaders have to be sensitive to that sort of
thing, you know?
> In the last ACE News it was stated that the comp registration to
> coaster events was being eliminated.
That's fine, but how long have comp registrations been the norm? Having
been a member since 1990, I've paid close to a thousand dollars in
membership dues. Did I support ACE, or did I pay someone's way to Disney
World?
> As far as an EC meeting in Orlando, they only did that once, and
> apparently that was about 8 months before they brought the convention
> there. I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it was probably at
> Disney's request. They were probably given very good room rates, maybe
> even comped rooms. You can easily pick up bargain flights to Orlando.
> If they are going to pick a city to hold a meeting, I see nothing wrong
> with going to Orlando. It was probably cheaper to hold the meeting
> there than most other places in the country.
So Disney contacted ACE on their own and begged them to come to Orlando?
Disney: "Hello, ACE? We'd really love for you to hold your EC meeting at
Disney World this year."
ACE: "I don't know."
Disney: "Please? It would really mean a lot to us."
Yeah... whatever. Again, it's how it's perceived. If the EC is going to
Orlando, are most people going to think they're conducting club business or
visiting theme parks? I bet I know the answer.
> ACE's presence at IAAPA has been discussed before. Scroll down to the
> Nov 27 post from Gary Baker in this thread http://tinyurl.com/ecoky,.
>
> I don't know if I understand or even agree with their reasons for going
> to IAAPA, but I'm certainly not going to quit the club over it. I think
> they only send four or five delegates and it doesn't sound to me like
> Gary had much of a vacation at IAAPA. I think it's very unfair of you
> to imply that the EC gets free trips to vacation destinations for their
> own personal benefit.
Why is it unfair? The EC is going to parks, attending conferences and
walking around trade shows that 99% of enthusiasts are interested in, but
they're doing it all with club members' money. Yet we're unfair for
implying something? Give me a break.
> I think it's very easy for someone to look at these posts and then fall
> into that "yeah I've got some beefs too" mentality. But if you stop
> and think about the criticism, maybe there is a logical explanation to
> it all. Too many have listened to Jason's rants for so long they are
> starting to believe his remarks are true. Mark, I thought you knew
> better than that. I've always felt you are very intelligent and
> should be able to tell the difference.
No, it's easy for someone to look at these posts and see the situation in a
whole new light. It seems that more than a few people are bringing up some
very valid points, so it's not just a "Rastus is stirring the shit" thing
anymore. I have stopped to think about the criticism and the more I think,
the more pissed off I become. And to top it all off, instead of
contributing anything meaningful to the conversation, you've come across as
nothing more than an ACE tool by defending every thing they do, no matter
how ludicrious it sounds, and insinuating that people are discussing this
because they aren't capable of thinking for themselves. Yeah, that's going
to help.
Rob Ascough
news:1158111049.7...@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
> I 'm surprised Elitch's is being dredged up again. That happened a
> few years ago and it was discussed back then over and over again. ACE
> was there to recognize and support Lakeside. It's a bit foolish to
> expect everyone to fly to Denver and completely ignore SFEG,
> particularly since the park was making a concentrated effort to donate
> the Mr. Twister trains to ACE's preservation efforts. Six Flags had
> no connection with what happened to the old Elitch Gardens' coasters.
> To expect ACE to hold a preservation conference at Lakeside and
> completely ignore Elitch's is particularly counterproductive in
> maintaining a positive support of the parks within the industry.
It's getting dredged up again because despite the passing of time, it's a
big heaping load. Maybe it was discussed before but guess what? I'm
discussing it again because I still feel it was wrong. Maybe the park
ownership changed but that park will ALWAYS symbolize something very wrong.
A classic traditional park with two well-regarded wood coasters was
bulldozed and a new theme park with a lame wood coaster was built to replace
it. By holding something called a PRESERVATION CONFERENCE at a park like
SFEG pretty much takes a shit on the idea of preservation and just about
anyone without some blind faith in ACE and their decision can see that.
Positive support of parks? Oh yeah, you mentioned the park was going to
donate a train to ACE. Another train. How wonderful. Let me ask: How
many trains are needed for this roller coaster museum, anyway. Like I said
in another post, a ton of well-loved traditional parks and their wood roller
coasters will be gone, but at least I will be able to go to a roller coaster
museum (probably located in the middle of western PA) and stare at the
trains that used to run on all those lost coasters. Maybe ACE will have ERT
at the museum and we'll be able to wake up at 7:00 in the morning and look
at them a few times before the museum opens.
Positive support of parks? ACE supported a park that stood for something
awful. Talk about sending the right message.
> I am also surprised you have to question if preservation is still one
> of ACE's goals. They continue to hold preservation conferences every
> year, they continue to bring recognition to coasters through the
> landmark plaque program and they continue to make substantial donations
> of time and effort to parks in need. Recently ACE was involved with the
> painting of the Blue Streak, they helped with the restoration of the
> Joyland Coaster and they made a $5,000.00 donation to Arnold's Park for
> upkeep on the Legend. I agree, the Preservation Director could probably
> do more to communicate all these efforts with the membership, but all
> of these items were covered in ACE News. I don't ever remember
> getting flyers in ACE News asking us to write letters. I'm not even
> sure if that's a good idea. While letters can be a good idea, I could
> see a letter writing campaign pissing people off to the point that it
> does more harm than good. While it may not always be visible, many
> people do a lot of work out of the spotlight to help save coasters, or
> pieces of history when the park closes.
I would hope ACE would donate some money to parks. Isn't that something
they should be able to do with no problem because they have something like
8,000 members?
I remember the flyers and I was about 15 years old at the time. Tom
Halterman used to create flyers with all the endangered/SBNO wood coasters
and plead with members to write to parks to urge them to save one. Why is
that a bad idea? Would writing to parks really make them that mad? What
would happen? Would ACE lose ERT at a future event?
What has ACE's current preservation director done lately? All I've seen him
do is drop by RRC from time to time to defend himself or ACE when they get
attacked. George Siessel and Tim Halterman clearly cared about what they
were supposed to be doing and I doubt they were invited to private parties
in the Presidential Suite. What has Matt Crowther done? Not a damn thing
as far as I'm concerned, and if he did, why doesn't get make an effort to
get that point across?
Wolf
> boilerplate.
>
> By the way, they had an EC meeting in Orlando 3-4 years ago, and it
> wasn't on Disney property. You can try all you want, but there is no
> justification for ACE to spend thousands of dollars so the Merchandise
> director, Historian, Archivist, and Census director are at all EC
> meetings. There are these wonderful things called phones. Some of
> them even have speakers.
>
> And we're supposed to believe Gary Baker? That man is the epitome of
> ACE martyr. He was always working extremely hard and sacrificing his
> own time. Uhhhhhhhh...... yeah. Saying IAAPA is hard work for people
> not even fucking selling or buying anything is simply insane, and an
> absolute lie. Yeah, boy, I worked my ass off at IAAPA writing reports
> for DAFE. And enjoyed every fricken second of it.
>
>
> Rastus O'Ginga
I dunno, I'm working pretty damn hard on IAAPA right now, and I'm not buying
or selling.
--
|\-/|
<0 0>
=(o)=
-Wolf (I'm just preparing an educational session for the conference
portion...)
Rastus O'Ginga
<rmas...@readisplay.com> wrote:
>
>Part of being in politics is handling public perception. If indeed the room
>was comped, maybe there shouldn't have been a private party there? A lot of
>the problem here seems to be the way the people running the club allow
>themselves to be perceived by the rest of the members. Does the EC have a
>right to hold their own party? Absolutely. But did they ever think how it
>would appear to everyone else? Leaders have to be sensitive to that sort of
>thing, you know?
I know for a fact this is a BIG problem with the EC members. Bill L
and That Guy On TV tried to brainwash me one night that there was no
A-list. I really think, in their minds, they thought everything they
were getting for free was justified. They couldn't believe anyone
would have an issue with it. Carole had the same problem regarding
some exit passes for Dragster. She didn't understand how, even though
she may have gotten the exit pass for a legitimate reason, if a group
of ACErs see her going up the exit ramp, they're going to immediately
think she's getting perks. She really did seem to understand that
explanation and realize she needed to change her actions and
perceptions.
>
>> In the last ACE News it was stated that the comp registration to
>> coaster events was being eliminated.
>
>That's fine, but how long have comp registrations been the norm? Having
>been a member since 1990, I've paid close to a thousand dollars in
>membership dues. Did I support ACE, or did I pay someone's way to Disney
>World?
Yep. I think it was passed somewhere around 2000. Doesn't it just
show you how out of touch the EC is? And I definitely believe my
complaints to Carole were part of the reason they were apparently
gotten rid of. It's a bunch of shit, though. IF they had integrity,
they NEVER would have passed the rule in the first place. They're
simply eliminating it because they were caught red-handed mis-using
club funds. Not that you can get a bank statement to actually figure
out where club funds go anyway.
>Yeah... whatever. Again, it's how it's perceived. If the EC is going to
>Orlando, are most people going to think they're conducting club business or
>visiting theme parks? I bet I know the answer.
RIght again.
>
>Why is it unfair? The EC is going to parks, attending conferences and
>walking around trade shows that 99% of enthusiasts are interested in, but
>they're doing it all with club members' money. Yet we're unfair for
>implying something? Give me a break.
This has been a huge issue. Those that continually go to IAAPA defend
the trips to the death. Even Carole defended this one. Then, of
course, Cheezy attacks ME because Carole paid for my lunch at IAAPA
that ACE paid for her entire trip to.
LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!
>
>> I think it's very easy for someone to look at these posts and then fall
>> into that "yeah I've got some beefs too" mentality. But if you stop
>> and think about the criticism, maybe there is a logical explanation to
>> it all. Too many have listened to Jason's rants for so long they are
>> starting to believe his remarks are true. Mark, I thought you knew
>> better than that. I've always felt you are very intelligent and
>> should be able to tell the difference.
>
>No, it's easy for someone to look at these posts and see the situation in a
>whole new light. It seems that more than a few people are bringing up some
>very valid points, so it's not just a "Rastus is stirring the shit" thing
>anymore. I have stopped to think about the criticism and the more I think,
>the more pissed off I become. And to top it all off, instead of
>contributing anything meaningful to the conversation, you've come across as
>nothing more than an ACE tool by defending every thing they do, no matter
>how ludicrious it sounds, and insinuating that people are discussing this
>because they aren't capable of thinking for themselves. Yeah, that's going
>to help.
Sadly, Rob, this tactic has worked on RRC for many years with the vast
majority of the posters. Of course, many on here, even though they
aren't on the EC, still reap benefits from towing the line and kissing
ass. That private party at Hershey wasn't all EC, I'd bet.
This has turned out to be one of the best threads ever!!
Rastus O'Ginga
<rmas...@readisplay.com> wrote:
><sut...@lycos.com> wrote in message
>news:1158111049.7...@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
>
> Maybe ACE will have ERT
>at the museum and we'll be able to wake up at 7:00 in the morning and look
>at them a few times before the museum opens.
Thanks for ending the day on a HUGE laugh!
Runaway Mine Train
sut...@lycos.com wrote:
> I see all kinds of people volunteering at events--new faces, old faces.
> I don't agree that ACE deliberately shuns help from certain members.
> It's evident by the many people involved. You are correct when you
> indicated it would have been polite to have received a response on the
> occasions that your volunteer efforts were not needed. It sounds like
> ACE dropped the ball on that one.
I can only report my experience, and my experience was that I
repeatedly offered to help, and those offers were never accepted nor
acknowledged. If you saw new faces serving as volunteers that's great,
but that wasn't my experience.
> > I also feel the Coaster Con now has little to do with riding
> > roller-coasters. I once jokingly said they might as well call it No
> > Coaster Con. The last Coaster Con I went to had a pajama party one
> > night in lieu of ERT, and no ERT one morning. Pajama parties, photo
> > and video contests, seminars and panel discussions are great if you
> > can't be out riding roller-coasters,
>
> I was at that Hershey convention. As I recall we had ERT every night.
> On Tuesday, ACE went to Williams Grove and with the park closing early,
> ERT did not run very late. To the best of my recollection, there was a
> pajama party at the hotel after ERT, not in lieu of it If that
> wasn't enough ERT for you, then perhaps you should have come to
> Coaster Con 27 where they had close to 24 hours of ERT. How much more
> do you really want or need?
The last Con I attended was in Virginia in 2003 where, as I said, a
pajama party was held one night in lieu of ERT, and a speaker was
scheduled in lieu of morning ERT as well. I'm glad things have worked
out so well for you, but I can only report on the things I experienced.
> I think it's very easy for someone to look at these posts and then fall
> into that "yeah I've got some beefs too" mentality. But if you stop
> and think about the criticism, maybe there is a logical explanation to
> it all. Too many have listened to Jason's rants for so long they are
> starting to believe his remarks are true. Mark, I thought you knew
> better than that. I've always felt you are very intelligent and
> should be able to tell the difference.
The comments I made were in reply to Rob, not Jason, and the things I
reported were my own personal experience and opinions.
Rob Ascough
news:140fg2hdq33h1q7c6...@4ax.com...
>>
>> Maybe ACE will have ERT
>>at the museum and we'll be able to wake up at 7:00 in the morning and look
>>at them a few times before the museum opens.
>
> Thanks for ending the day on a HUGE laugh!
No problem, although it might not be a joke a few years from now...
--
-Rob
The Wood Coaster Fan Club- Sharing a Passion for the Classics since 2004
www.woodcoaster.org
Rob Ascough
>
> The last Con I attended was in Virginia in 2003 where, as I said, a
> pajama party was held one night in lieu of ERT, and a speaker was
> scheduled in lieu of morning ERT as well. I'm glad things have worked
> out so well for you, but I can only report on the things I experienced.
I wasn't there but I've heard numerous instances of ERT being "replaced" at
events. While I can understand last-minute changes, I don't think people
should pay a lot of money and not get to do what they are there to do. I
can't see anyone going to an ACE event and being excited about a morning
speaker instead of ERT. And as for a pajama party... WTF?
> The comments I made were in reply to Rob, not Jason, and the things I
> reported were my own personal experience and opinions.
I think whoever the mystery person is has a strong interest in taking Rastus
down and is going to use our posts to do just that.
Rob Ascough
>
> I know for a fact this is a BIG problem with the EC members. Bill L
> and That Guy On TV tried to brainwash me one night that there was no
> A-list. I really think, in their minds, they thought everything they
> were getting for free was justified. They couldn't believe anyone
> would have an issue with it. Carole had the same problem regarding
> some exit passes for Dragster. She didn't understand how, even though
> she may have gotten the exit pass for a legitimate reason, if a group
> of ACErs see her going up the exit ramp, they're going to immediately
> think she's getting perks. She really did seem to understand that
> explanation and realize she needed to change her actions and
> perceptions.
I don't know Carole personally but I know a few people who do and from what
I understand, she has been more of an exception to the norm. I think she
did a great job as president considering the built-in limitations of the job
that we have discussed and I'm actually sorry to see her go. I think she
"got it" more than others, and your story proves that.
> Yep. I think it was passed somewhere around 2000. Doesn't it just
> show you how out of touch the EC is? And I definitely believe my
> complaints to Carole were part of the reason they were apparently
> gotten rid of. It's a bunch of shit, though. IF they had integrity,
> they NEVER would have passed the rule in the first place. They're
> simply eliminating it because they were caught red-handed mis-using
> club funds. Not that you can get a bank statement to actually figure
> out where club funds go anyway.
The comps began in 2000 or ended in 2000?
Why isn't ACE required to provide a bank statement to those interested in
seeing one? Isn't that what a not-for-profit group is supposed to do? The
WCFC president would show our club's bank statement to anyone that asked.
All anyone would see are checks paid to the membership director and myself,
and there is documentation (register receipts, purchase orders, etc.) to
prove those funds are for supplies and newsletter publication.
> This has been a huge issue. Those that continually go to IAAPA defend
> the trips to the death. Even Carole defended this one. Then, of
> course, Cheezy attacks ME because Carole paid for my lunch at IAAPA
> that ACE paid for her entire trip to.
Again, I think ACE needs to show their face at IAAPA but it shouldn't
qualify as a reason to spend loads of money. Why pay for people to go when
I'm sure that plenty of other members would gladly pay their own way for the
purpose of representing ACE while on their trip. If I were going to IAAPA
for a few days, I wouldn't hesitate to man the ACE booth for a few hours. I
wonder what the response would be if I actually offered to do that?
> Sadly, Rob, this tactic has worked on RRC for many years with the vast
> majority of the posters. Of course, many on here, even though they
> aren't on the EC, still reap benefits from towing the line and kissing
> ass. That private party at Hershey wasn't all EC, I'd bet.
No, it's who you know. As it usually is...
BaSSiStiSt
accusations until this thread. We need to keep in mind that this is
still hearsay evidence...but there's a hell of a lot more of it, and
from some reputable sources. If this is true, it does represent some
pretty shitty behavior on the part of certain people running the club.
I know that for me, if I were in that situation, it would feel really
dicey to accept something like this...maybe once, but after that I
would naturally want to spread the wealth and let someone else go the
next time. No need to be a pig!
Anyways, it's not for me to contact the club and ask about it, as I'm
no longer a member. But that sure seems like a good idea at this
point. I'm not paying my 50 bones anymore but I think some of you
still are... :-)
On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 01:48:42 GMT, Rastus O'Ginga
<ras...@kingwoodXXXXXcable.net> wrote:
>Hell, there have been hundreds of posts on RRC over the years saying
>"there is no A-list". It's great to have more proof that all of those
>folks are nothing but liars.
Liars, or maybe just not privy to enough info...
Jason, I'd just like to add, on a personal note...the reason I doubted
many of the things you had to say about the "A-list" is due to the
caustic manner with which you address practially every one and every
thing on RRC. I know that, for me personally, the hateful things
you've posted for years about gays and minorities made me not take
ANYTHING you had to say seriously. As it looks like you may be right
about this one, I think that, for the future, you should think about
how the WAY you say things affects the message that people hear. I'm
not saying any of this as a slam; just stating my personal perception
of things...YMMV.
Mike Miller
Life begins at the ACE buffet
BaSSiStiSt
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D6D3211CD
AirtimeJunkie
>
> Jason, I'd just like to add, on a personal note...the reason I doubted
> many of the things you had to say about the "A-list" is due to the
> caustic manner with which you address practially every one and every
> thing on RRC. I know that, for me personally, the hateful things
> you've posted for years about gays and minorities made me not take
>
> Life begins at the ACE buffet
I agree. His rantings sort of remind me of <gasp!> Ann Coulter, but
Jason has prettier hair.
Kevin
Rob Ascough
news:450793d6....@news.sf.sbcglobal.net...
> Fascinating stuff here. I didn't really believe any of the A-list
> accusations until this thread. We need to keep in mind that this is
> still hearsay evidence...but there's a hell of a lot more of it, and
> from some reputable sources. If this is true, it does represent some
> pretty shitty behavior on the part of certain people running the club.
> I know that for me, if I were in that situation, it would feel really
> dicey to accept something like this...maybe once, but after that I
> would naturally want to spread the wealth and let someone else go the
> next time. No need to be a pig!
It is fascinating how all of this stuff is coming to light. And while a lot
of it is hearsay, I agree that some of the sources are pretty credible, not
to mention a lot of things that never made sense now making sense.
> Anyways, it's not for me to contact the club and ask about it, as I'm
> no longer a member. But that sure seems like a good idea at this
> point. I'm not paying my 50 bones anymore but I think some of you
> still are... :-)
I'm not going to contact them either. Besides, I'm sure someone will soon
appear and start responding, which should be pretty entertaining.--
Rastus O'Ginga
BaSSiStiSt wrote:
>Rastus, I'd just like to add, on a personal note...the reason I doubted
> many of the things you had to say about the "A-list" is due to the
> caustic manner with which you address practially every one and every
> thing on RRC. I know that, for me personally, the hateful things
> you've posted for years about gays and minorities made me not take
> ANYTHING you had to say seriously. As it looks like you may be right
> about this one, I think that, for the future, you should think about
> how the WAY you say things affects the message that people hear. I'm
> not saying any of this as a slam; just stating my personal perception
> of things...YMMV.
>
> Mike Miller
OK, sure. I hadn't realized I was the only person on RRC like that. I
forgot that I have never been attacked. Or that I've never been called
a racist simply for being a conservative. WOW, this means a lot from
such a mild mannered non-caustic individual such as yourself.
If you take a look back, you'll see that I was immediately attacked
when I even suggested any improprieties with ACE. This is SOP for
those that are in power and getting unknown perks. Immediately, and
very aggressively, discredit the person that is starting to show the
truth. You were right along with all the other sheep, sucking down the
propaganda and asking for more.
Now maybe you can start realizing that Fox News isn't full of crap, and
wake up to the rest of the world around you.
Rastus O'Ginga
Rastus O'Ginga
BaSSiStiSt wrote:
> Well, THIS becomes kinda funny in a different way now...he he he...
>
> http://makeashorterlink.com/?D6D3211CD
Yep, you can go down that thread and make a list of all the liars with
no integrity. That thread is full of them. Not to mention, the thread
was around the time of the one small portion of A-list abuses that
we're discussing here.
-r
BaSSiStiSt
<ras...@kingwoodcable.net> wrote:
>You were right along with all the other sheep, sucking down the
>propaganda and asking for more.
Good to see you understood what I was saying...
(rolls eyes)