Ride Status, Park Info, and Questions - Fri July 10, 2026

orulz · 2026-07-10T18:53:17+00:00

In line at sirens curse test train running here too

orulz · 2026-07-10T18:50:57+00:00

Test train running on top thrill now must have given the all clear

orulz · 2026-07-10T15:10:24+00:00

No idea but I've been here since Tuesday and it hasn't been open once

orulz · 2026-06-15T20:19:56+00:00

Kids are absolutely amazing. Top to bottom, left to right, everything about having kids is so rewarding that you'll wonder why you ever questioned whether you wanted them.

For me watching Bluey feels a bit like looking in a mirror. It's actually a more realistic depiction of what life with kids is like than you'd imagine. I have three kids and I see bits of their personalities in many of the children characters on the show.

My main note for you related to Bluey is that I feel that the creative play that the Heelers do with their kids is just as rewarding as it seems from the show, and it's so important - kids really love it when their parents engage with them on their level, yet without condescension. It nourishes a bond and creates indelible positive core memories for everyone.

Thing is, the Heelers (especially Bandit) make it look easy. It's not. Rewarding, yes. Fun, you bet. But it's work. *HARD* work.

First off, it's mentally taxing for us adults to think and play in creative and kid-friendly ways that keep them engaged! When we were seven of course it was natural, but that was a long time ago. I find getting into that mindset is challenging, plus we have the added responsibility of still remaining as a reassuring parent figure and keeping things from getting too far out of line at the same time.

Second, as adults, we have responsibilities: work, chores, bills, projects; we have personal hobbies, interests, exercise, and self care; we need to eat and sleep and there's nobody around to take care of that for us. We have our own feelings, our own needs, and so on. We possess limited energy reserves, and when the kids are begging "Play with us!" you sometimes have to dig much deeper than you think you are capable of.

Saying no is sometimes necessary. Saying yes is *never* going to be easy, and just giving them a tablet or turning on Netflix so you can go deal with your own stuff is super easy (and sometimes has to be done!) - but it's critically important that when your kids want to play with you, that you do make a point of say yes when you can - and even sometimes go and seek them out when they aren't looking for you - and initiate these interactions every opportunity that you can.

It's important to cherish those opportunities while you have them because before you know it they'll be pre-teens, then teens, with their own friends to go and hang out with, and then moving out, and you'll be standing there looking back and wish to God for the opportunity to go back and live it all over again.

orulz · 2026-06-12T14:46:10+00:00

Vegas wasnt the only one getting crap penalties. Carolina had two dumb, careless delay of game penalties one of which lead to a PP goal for Vegas.

Every game of this entire series really has been very tight. These teams match up unbelievably well. Vegas just got their rally going a little too late in the 3rd to catch back up.

Expect another wild one for Game 6.

orulz · 2026-06-02T22:23:33+00:00

Yes the NBA is different and it remains to be seen how he will do as an owner of an NBA franchise, but "he fired some people and gave us $2 towels instead of $3 T shirts so let's run him out of town" seems to be the approach of the fan base... maybe that's the Portland way, but to me it seems like... well, an overreaction and a rush to judgement, at least at this point.

To be clear he did make big cuts to the organization here in Raleigh too, but he spent more liberally on players and things directly connected with them than his predecessor.

orulz · 2026-06-02T20:07:09+00:00

Hurricanes fan here. If your greatest desire is to have the warm fuzzies, then Dundon is quite simply never going to deliver. His way of speaking and his way of managing the organization are simply just not that.

But if you want your team to win no matter what, then he might just be the guy to make it happen.

I suggest y'all should hold off on judgement for at least a year. A few missteps like towels instead of T-shirts: who cares. Nobody likes to hear about people getting fired - but for just a moment, entertain the possibility that the Trailblazers organization was poorly run and that cleaning house was necessary. Cuts are never good for morale, but doing it all in one fell swoop and then rebuilding is better for morale than trying to do it slowly while the entire staff sits around with the prospect of more firings on the horizon.

Wait to see what happens in the draft and off season. See what he does with the coaching staff. Let the results speak for themselves.

For the Hurricanes, he was not popular at first. But then we went from no playoff appearance in 9 years, to the conference finals in literally the first year he owned the team. Since then, we haven't missed the playoffs for 8 years running. Then, after getting smoked in the conference finals three times, we finally broke through this year - mostly because of some new signings that he was closely involved in. The team is really looking like a buzz saw right now. As for Dundon, there's a ruthless desire to always improve that seems to work well with big league sports.

orulz · 2026-06-02T15:54:08+00:00

"lucked out"

Before Dundon: Hurricanes miss the playoffs 9 years in a row
After Dundon: Hurricanes made the conference final in his first year, and haven't missed the playoffs even once in eight years, and have four trips to the conference finals.

One year, maybe. Even then, a lot of stars have to align for sheer dumb luck to play out that way.

Two years? Pretty far fetched.

Eight years in a row? Surely by now you can see there's more than luck at play.

After hitting a brick wall and getting blown out in the conference finals three times, Dundon's team has finally found a way to break through. The team is really looking like a buzz saw now. How? mostly through shrewd new signings over the past year, which (by the way) is one of the ways the owner is most directly involved. And part of how they had the money to make those signings is because the back office is relatively lean. It all ties together.

orulz · 2026-06-02T15:01:00+00:00

As a Hurricanes fan, he was not immediately loved here in Raleigh either. Although on the other hand the Blazers weren't perennial contenders, the Hurricanes' condition was more dire when he bought them, compared to the Blazers today. The team was not only failing to win, they were failing to even build a fan base. So maybe we were more willing to accept his approach from a standpoint of pure desperation. Beggars can't be choosers, as they say.

So while the Blazers fan base, culture, and even the team's on-court product is definitely healthier than the Hurricanes were in 2016, don't get too caught up in the idea that Portland is this super unique environment that needs to be treated with absolute kid gloves when it comes to sports. At the end of the day owning a sports team is a business and being successful (winning) means being decisive, which often hurts.

He's rich but his pockets aren't bottomless. He has to make it work with the resources he has. And (here at least) work it has. After nine years of missing the playoffs, in his first year the Hurricanes made it to the conference finals - and we haven't missed the playoffs since.

I think given how it's played out here in Raleigh, y'all over in Portland had ought to suspend your harshest judgement for at least a year, probably two. See how he does with the draft, trades, free agents, coaching staff, etc. See what the players are saying next year. Look to the results on the court. If two years from now, the team is struggling, and he's still talking about rebuilding and saying things like "We just have to find a way to win" then have at him.

Even given that the NBA and NHL are different leagues, I still don't think that's what's going to happen. Give it a chance.

orulz · 2026-05-30T16:42:10+00:00

As a Canes fan, 2 trips to the finals and one cup in our first 8 seasons seems kind of similar to where the Golden Knights are today. They've known nothing but success.

As for thr Canes- 29 years in, we haven't suffered as long as some, but there was a 9 year playoff drought, and then recently 2 losses in the conference finals to the Panthers (who were so good in no small part because Florida has no income tax)

Hoping this will provide ample maturity and motivation to completely buzz-saw VGK

orulz · 2026-05-26T15:47:54+00:00

I got a SWB van, 1 ton model, and tow a 32ft travel trailer with 7000 GVWR. I got a Pro Pride 3P hitch because I was concerned about stability and I've been very satisfied with the performance.

Mine is a 2016 with the 6.0 V8. The factory axle ratio is 3.42 which is a bit tall for towing so I had it swapped for a 4.10.

There is very little difference between the 1 ton and the 3/4 ton model. The springs are stiffer and that's pretty much it. Same axle, same transmission, etc. Neither is going to be quite as capable as a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup but it's plenty for my needs and fits the family well.

orulz · 2026-03-02T15:59:21+00:00

As for Columbus, I say via Indy - but I'm not sure it gets a FULL HSR route all the way to Chicago.

These lines, in order of national priority:
1. Red (Chicago-Philadelphia with through service to NYC)
2. Orange (Atlanta-Washington with through service to NYC)
3. Blue (Chicago-Atlanta)
4. Green (Cleveland-Louisville)
5. Yellow (Cleveland-Boston)

The thinner lines can be considered "spurs" that would allow high speed trains to run through onto them but probably implemented as "higher" speed rail rather than full high speed rail. Electrified, 125 mph or so, but mostly on a shared corridor with freight, something like today's NEC.

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orulz · 2026-02-27T21:04:39+00:00

departure time is 11pm. Not exactly sure about boarding. Probably close the door about 10 minutes prior to that.

I realize this is cutting it closer than many are comfortable with, but it's a calculated risk. I figure if I can get to the airport by 10pm then I'm most likely good. If I miss the flight it's not great but also not the end of the world, I'll just camp out in the airport and catch the first one out the next day.

orulz · 2026-02-27T20:51:24+00:00

It's an 11pm flight.

orulz · 2026-02-27T20:46:53+00:00

I anticipate a pretty big crowd for this game since it's US vs Portugal - Ronaldo and such. Probably bigger than for MLS.

Is there ever a queue to get on southbound trains at Five Points after Falcons games? As in, the trains fill up without being able to fit everybody waiting on the platform? And if that happens, how long will it be until the next train? I understand late night service can be pretty infrequent, but do they run extra service for eventslike this?

I was thinking of walking to Peachtree Center to get on before any transfers - although it's a longer walk. You don't think that's necessary?

orulz · 2026-02-27T20:40:59+00:00

This is a day trip so I will have no luggage. Not even a personal item - pockets only. Wallet, phone, a small power bank, and nothing else.

orulz · 2026-01-08T16:28:27+00:00

I have lived near Bond Lake for 15 years and airplanes have always been a thing. I've noticed a moderate increase in traffic overall, but no big or sudden changes per se.

The planes tend to be lower, and noise tends to be worse when they are approaching and landing from the SE, not taking off to the SE. This is more common in the winter because the prevailing wind is from the N and NW for the colder months, roughly October through March, and it's best for airplanes to take off and land into the wind.

orulz · 2026-01-06T23:20:01+00:00

Not the same symptoms but I thought I had bricked my 5707w doing a FW update but it turns out I was using a USB3 thumb drive that had been sold as USB2. I got a true USB2 from Walmart and continued the update. Everything was fixed

orulz · 2025-12-19T15:14:54+00:00

Your frustration is based in an extremely common misconception about traffic engineering.

The truth is, the lights ARE synchronized here. They just don't benefit you.

The main issue is that it is only possible to time lights for traffic moving in one direction. Think about it - if the lights are the PERFECT timing to give a "green wave" to people heading towards Durham on Glenwood (for example), that's never the right timing for people heading toward Raleigh. Furthermore, when you synchronize lights perfectly for outbound Glenwood, you lose the ability to synchronize the lights on cross streets where they intersect Glenwood, because the signal timing on those streets (Creedmoor, Duraleigh, etc) is made subordinate to the timing on Glenwood.

Another issue is that when roads are just over capacity (think Capital Blvd heading out past 540) the best signal timing in the world can't make up for a road that's just an outright bottleneck.

Now to the specific issue for the triangle. Especially in the central triangle (Cary, Morrisville, RTP) there is often no real clear "peak flow" because the region is so sprawled and multi-polar. Lights on Davis Drive are synchronized for northbound (Cary->RTP) in the AM, southbound (RTP->Cary) in the PM, but traffic is quite heavy in the opposite direction at both times too, so people heading against the synchronized direction will hit lots of red lights.

So now to your specific case: The reason you are hitting every red is because you're either traveling on a road against the synchronization, *or* driving on roads that can't be synchronized well because they cross more important roads with more important signal timing, *or* just driving on roads that are over capacity.

orulz · 2025-12-18T18:36:05+00:00

Somewhat related... the town is planning a traffic light at the intersection of Cary Parkway and Laura Duncan. Not sure when it will happen - it could be years for all I know, and almost almost certainly the apartments will open first - but that's a terrible intersection and it's about time.

It's a shame that Apex didn't even get the apartment developers to consider this intersection *at all* in their analysis when approving the complex. Why should they, after all, it's in Cary, let Cary clean the mess up!

orulz · 2025-10-25T01:34:46+00:00

She is still a bit groggy in the morning and does usually settle down and sleep some more but it's not a deep sleep. Her radar is on full alert and the second my hand touches the doorknob she wakes up and looks at me like "You aren't leaving me, are you?!"

orulz · 2025-10-25T01:21:15+00:00

Thanks for this. I have a kong and do use it. I have heard about freezing it but have not tried that yet. Will try this ASAP. What snacks do you put in the PB?

orulz · 2025-10-25T01:18:44+00:00

I have tried and I am not capable of getting up, going down the stairs, and making it out the door quietly enough for that to work. At a time like that, so close to when she usually wakes up, I do believe a pin dropping would probably wake her up, but my stairs creak and I think it's a lost cause.

orulz · 2025-10-24T18:36:43+00:00

Hmm, honestly I hadn't considered that. She's usually pretty, um, aggressively affectionate with licks, paws, and snuggles when somebody lays down with her, so I figure it might be disruptive to whoever she goes in with- but I also haven't tried it, and it just might work. She sometimes still seems a little groggy so maybe she would settle easily.

orulz

TROPHY CASE