NetBloke.com - Rollercoaster Rumble
Publication Date: 02/08/2001
ISSN 1445-1360
Publication Date: 02/08/2001
ISSN 1445-1360
G'day!
I copped a bit of flack from Aussies that made me aware of credit reporting agencies in Australia. It appears they exist but only tend to have a record on you if you have done something bad, like not pay a bill.
Here is what one top bloke, David Christie has to say to me:
"Man, we sure do have credit checks in Australia!!! Every time you have a default in paying off your credit card, house loan, car loan or any loan or credit or store account the detail may be recorded on your individual file maintained by the Credit Advantage. They are located in St Leonards in good ole Sydney and they span the whole continent!! It is a "central repository" and it has the power to make or break your dreams!"
I also found this story on the NineMSN Web site that basically says we do have comprehensive credit reports kept on us. Looks like I learn something new every day!
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/money/Banking/stories/story_858.asp?nhm18
Well anyway onto this weeks topic, Theme Parks!
Last week I had the pleasure of going up to Paramount's King's Island. This theme park names all of its rides after Paramount films, such as Dropzone (for a 315 feet ride that lifts you up and then drops you), Top Gun (a roller coaster where you sit under the track in a pod).
The park is known for its roller coasters. I am known for my dislike of roller coasters. Therefore it was interesting to see myself actually enjoy some gut wrenching drops on what is reportedly the USA's biggest wooden roller coaster, Son of Beast. From memory the drop was around 215 feet, and it looked and felt like we were vertical. The same coaster also lays claim to being the only wooden roller coaster that has a loop. I was a bit scared of the thought of the loop but when it came to it, it was gentle and almost surreal going through it. Then there was the Beast, the original wooden coaster at the park. It lays claim to being the longest wooden coaster in the USA, and also has over 1000 feet of track that is underground or covered.
From over hearing people in the lines for rides and just the general consensus with the friends we went with, it is much better to find a park like King's Island than to do the Disneyland or Disney World theme parks. My sources tell me that ride lines are consistently an hour or two long there, and the admission prices are three to four times as much. Although I think I will check it out for myself one day, for the moment I am content with the smaller less well-known theme parks.
For those Aussies who are looking for a USA holiday that includes one of the big parks I recommend you spend some time online and compare some of the ones you never hear about back in Australia. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what is on offer.
Until next week let me leave you with this thought from Russell Crowe in the movie Proof of Life -- "Yeah mate, I'm for real!"
Scary isn't it?
Nathan Allan
Make the Internet work for you when you make decisions on what to spend your hard earned money on. Like I said in my editorial if you are thinking of coming to the USA or even trying to choose between various theme parks in your own country, get on the net and check out their Web sites.
You can do your own comparisons on just about any purchase or decision you need to make. The Web contains a wealth of information and normally you can find out the positives and the negatives on any product or service you are thinking of buying or using.
This is what I had to say when riding the Son of Beast Roller coaster, and my wife Karissa said just don't look down, so I looked across and saw the 215 foot drop that was near vertical.
I could have also said something about a brick but then I would lose me G rating for NetBloke!
Theme Park Insider.com
Now here is a site I came upon just surfing around looking for the Sea World Australia Web site address. This is what I mean about making the Web work for you. This site allows you to share and see other people's experiences with various theme parks.
For those of you with wireless devices you can even access the site while within the park itself!
http://www.themeparkinsider.com
Paramount's Kings Island
What I didn't mention in my editorial about this park was the fact that it has a children's zone that has lots of cartoon themed rides for little kids. However, if you have little kids and want to ride the big coasters I would recommend you do not bring them with you.
There is also a 30-acre water park. It looked cool but there just isn't enough time to do the water park in the same day.
Think outside the Disney experience at:
http://www.pki.com
Australia's Sea World
As a little kid and more recently as an adult I would have to say that Sea World is my favourite theme park. There are not a heap of thrill rides but enough for my liking. The shows that are put on are great, and the water park is perfect for the fine weather you get on the gold coast.
Next time I go I hope I have the money to stay at the adjoining Sea World Nara Resort, so I get entry thrown into the room price!
The park:
http://www.seaworld.com.au
Have a look at the resort:
http://www.seaworldnara.com.au
Bryan Allen asked me the following:
"Hi, can anyone recommend a hard drive for under £100 with the greatest capacity?"
I have already sent him my little piece of advice but I would love to know what all you blokes and sheilas think!
Answer
Last week I asked you the following question:
"What do you use for dynamic content management and what features were important in choosing a content management system?"
I will answer this one personally. What I have done for the NetBloke Web site is have a programmer create a custom PHP content management system using a MySQL database. I want to eventually set up on the NetBloke Web site random sections of information that draw from the past issues of the Web site.
Anyway, the major thing I was looking for in a content management system was portability (could I move to another host easily) and cost (there are no licensing fees on PHP or MySQL). I also took into consideration the amount of people using the technology and the scalability of the database. All of this checked out well in my case.
If you have a question of your own, contact me.
A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM "thingy".
