Hollwood Rip Ride Rockit IS Running!

See? And Rockit, you made me so happy, I bought a lanyard in your honor. :)

2010 Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights XX

In yet another surprise outing, I got to check the premiere Halloween haunt event on the planet, namely Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. Simply put, I knew it would be good, but, as Dean Martin once said in Cannon Ball Run, it "blew my G** D*** doors off"! From houses, to scare zones to scaracters, I saw the high quality first hand. I came face to face with Fear and his many demented minions as well as The Usher, Jack, The Caretaker, and even The Director. And yes, as with all my adventures, there were several memorable moments:

• Before we go any further, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was running. Got several great pics of it and happy to see that coaster going again. (Applause!)
• After getting to Universal around 3:30 I upgraded to a Stay and Scream pass so James and I could get right in and hit some of the houses early. (Credit to Eric Yates for a good suggestion). This worked well and allowed us nearly walk in wait times on all but two houses later in the night. Believe me when I say, get there early. The time saved is well worth it.
• Loved Hallow'd Past and Catacombs. Orfanage ZombieGeddon were fun. Hades was the one that gave me the biggest jumps. PsychoScareapy and Legendary Truth had cool entrances and were also a good time. Did not see Havoc, since the theme didn't sound interesting.
• In Legendary Truth, according to James I was attacked by a chair. I saw what looked like a typical high back red Victorian chair to my left and then was blinded by a strobe light. Meanwhile, some red thing zipped in and out of my lower peripheral vision in about a second. Apparently, the chair lunged at me and I never caught it. Then James says something like "Oh my God! That chair just attacked you!" In a real horror movie, I so would've been toast.
• In Catacombs, an air jet blasted me square in the crotch. Well, it was...refreshing? Yes, make your own perv joke here. There are many to choose from. ;)
• In the HHN scare zone, I got spooked by a gashed up pigtailed cheer leader whom I had to get a pic with. Told her she was my best scare of the night. This gave her not only a smile, but incentive for a couple more startle attempts on our way out. Oh I did enjoy that. :)
• Was super thrilled to meet HHN icons The Usher, Jack, The Director, and The Caretaker and get pics with all. Even met the tall and creepy 13 and a very fetching stilt walking devil woman. (Yes I LOVE stilt walkers if you didn't already know).
• Got a great pic with Alice who was exceptionally cordial, but just ruthless in scaring and chasing down the poor souls she locked onto. Alice at one point herded a VERY scared lady smack into the devil woman and 13, all of whom surrounded the woman. The poor lady sunk to the ground as Alice shrieked "Why are you so scared?!" Alice was also hoot as she skipped and pranced merrily around the zone, only to stop and point while taunting "HA HA! You got scared!" I hear she's a stickler for manners and proper grammar too. Great job to that lady.
• In one of the houses James had been walking beside a very blind me (my eyes adjust very slowly in dark so it's very tough to see). Something didn't feel right and so I looked over to the right and there was big guy looking down at me walking alongside. It took about 3 seconds of delayed computing/reaction to realize this was not my partner in crime and then I jumped. Good bet that scareacter had a good story to tell about me.
• While milling about the HHN scare zone, a Universal film crew was weaving in and out of the crowd and followed me for a good minute or two. Came to find out later, this was part of a live Internet feed and I got some face time. Sadly, no way to get copies of the video, but cool just the same.
• Felt a little leery about eating at Mel's Die In (Mel's Drive In), but after missing lunch and running on a couple Powerades on a muggy afternoon, that burger was most tasty.
• I liked the theme of the Saws and Steam ally scare zone. It was like heavy metal music meets Steampunk engineers with glowing goggles and/or chainsaws. Also saw Steampunk Frankenstein wandering the HHN scare zone.
• Esqueleto Muerte was (and forgive me if I butcher this) El Dia De Los Muertos meets black light. More of a lightly creepy festive vibe and the Spanish inspired stilt walkers were quite cool. When I asked for pic with Senora stilt walker, she only glared then communicated with hand gestures. She motioned me to follow her away from the TON of smoke while her barely 4 foot robed minion was uncomfortably close. Then I had to get down on my knees. Then she patted my head like a good dog when I stood up. Unnerving, but are you going to argue with a nine foot tall Spanish dead lady? Creo que no, senor. Creo que no.
• We saw the famous Rat lady in her acrylic case with her fuzzy little rat friends scurrying about. Occasionally she'd jolt and bang the glass to make folks jump. The rats were just cute and part of me wanted to be in the case. Hey, it looked like fun!
• Earlier in the day we stopped for a drink in an ice cream shop. On the back wall was an autographed picture of Lucille Ball made out to...me (my name is Michael). This was curious because the very first time I went to Universal Studios Orlando (circa 1992), Lucille Ball had died not long before, and I saw a Lucy actress walking along the waterfront. The timing was eerie, and so was this picture. Rod Serling, your thoughts?
• To kill some time (rim shot) before the Bill & Ted show, James and I rode The Simpsons (formerly Back to the Future: The Ride). Definitely a fun redo with a couple fun odes to the former attraction. Also a hell of a lot more jostling than the chase to stop Biff Tannen. Had a good ride but came off dizzy and feeling like a bad Martini.
• Bill & Ted's show nailed several pop culture news makers and threw in a few surprises. Oh yes, Lohan and Gaga were prime (get it?) targets, but then Dr. Who showed up and raved with his blue light scanner device. Everybody about fell over when Sesame Street's count stole the heart of Twilight girl, forcing Team Jacob and Team Edward into a sparkly embrace. The Count's make out session with the girl and his burn on the two leftovers had everyone roaring. Meanwhile Avatar The Last Airbender showed off his righteous martial art skills with graceful flips and rolls...then he farted. Yep, Snooki and Situation showed up in all their washboard abs and sucker punch glory. At one point drunk and staggering Lohan passed out faced down on Situation's situation while he sat back with a smile. Oh yeah, lotsa cussing and suggestive stuff, but plenty of fair warning to those who dislike such things. Great show with more goodness than can be imparted in this space. Loved it!
• There was booze, beer or those Jello blood bag shots nearly every 10 feet with very pretty nurses right along side, holding poles with rotating lights. After about 11, you could tell who'd had one emergency transfusion too many. Since I was driving home, no suds for me. With the mugginess, Powerade and water were better bets. Besides, my get hammered party days are long gone. ;)
• Good safety, security, and crowd control throughout the event. Plenty of folks in the scare houses to keep guests moving and safe. Was for this, especially being half blind, in the lead, and not knowing which direction to go sometimes. Thank you good people with flashlights. :)
• So just how was Fear, aka the culmination of twenty years of HHN history? Tall, demonic, and sporting horns growing sideways out of his back that acted like banner poles, only with what looked like sheets of skin. His sneaky black swirling minions with no features and glowing cyclic faces were also a sight to behold, when they weren't silently behind you waiting for you to turn around.

This was my second ever haunt event and outstanding one at that. Halloween Horror Nights deserves all the praise and accolades it's received and this first-timer had a frightfully good time. I also REALLY want to be a scareacter and/or stilt walker here. It just looked like so much fun!

If you love haunts, haunted houses, etc, you really need to check out Halloween Horror Nights at least once in your life. It's well worth it.

Universal, thank you for a great time and see you next year! :)

Thoughts on the updated WDW Haunted Mansion

A friend of mine on Facebook (Thanks Jason) asked how I liked the new rooms on the updated Disney World Haunted Mansion. Since I noticed several things this most recent trip, this was worthy of another blog post...so here we go. (For the record, I'm going from order of memories, not ride sequence events. Just a friendly heads up.)

• The Stretching Room: The multi-directional audio in the Stretching Room was a noticeable improvement and the striped wallpaper really pops out more. Didn't realize the Ghost Host was Master Gracey. Thought it was just some random ghost, kind of like the random game show announcer vs. the show host, all these years. Also, while chilling, all the lights out, loud noises, and atmosphere were well balanced. Not a single toddler was scared or started to cry. Not even the 2 year old in his mother's arms next to me.
• The Hallway: Noticed a lot more small, ghoulish pictures of the residents on the walls. I remember a couple pictures here and there, but mainly blank walls and doors. The main pictures to see were the transforming lightning portraits just after you get on the Doom Buggys. Seeing the residents was eerie and a good add to further cement the story.
• Madam Leota's Seance: While an older improvement (but still noteworthy) Leota's crystal ball floats and bobs vs. sitting on the table. Where the room was pretty much empty from what I remember, there seemed more floating instruments added as carry-overs from the HM movie. The hologram was noticeably sharper and vibrant as well.
• The Escher Stairs room: The stairs with glowing footprints were a big improvement over the bouncy spiders.
• The Attic: It seemed like they really expanded the attic/bride scene and story. I remember that being a short and random pass through before. The husband pictures with the disappearing heads along with the materializing axe on the bride at the end of the section were cool effects. This section made a lot more sense.
• The Downstairs Party: The holograms in the downstairs dance scene looked sharper and not as distant blue as I remember. They were also more of a wet clay tone. Seems like they added a couple as well. There was a lady in a high back chair I don't remember being there. They also put ovals around some of the furniture which I didn't understand. That took away a little bit.
• The Graveyard: Looks like they added a lot more spooks and scenes in the graveyard, some of which likely inspired by the Eddie Murphy Haunted Mansion movie. Noticed a trio of cats that didn't seem to be there on previous rides, and all the ghosts were more of the starry blue tone much like the HM movie. The singing busts were redone larger and a bit more cartoonish. Like the originals better. Would LOVE to see WDW do the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay.

Seems like Disney added quite a lot more than I remembered. Was originally worried about this refurbish, but majority adds and updates were winners. Disney did well.

2010 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Just when I think I've struck out horribly, life threw me a curve ball of pure awesome today. For the fourth time this year, a kind soul treated me to an exceptional day at Walt Disney World. This time around, I got to hang out with fellow park enthusiast James Kegler, collect candy, and even do a few more firsts for Disney. And now, on with the highlights:

• There was a full moon out tonight for my first ever Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party AND my first ever haunt event at a theme park. Loved the erie sounds, creepy lights, and huge ghost and spider projections on the various Main Street buildings and Space Mountain.
• Got my first set of mouse ears, the just released R2-D2 set, which NOBODY else was wearing. Got quite a few compliments on them too.
• Everything but Haunted Mansion was a walk on. This included Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Stitch's Great Escape, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor (MILF), Hall of Presidents, Winnie The Pooh, and Splash Mountain that James hit twice in a row.
• I heard Rock You Like a Hurricane coming from the Enchanted Tiki Room and Thuderstruck in the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop. Also cracked up a cashier at Pirates when she asked what I was supposed to be and I said in Ben Stein deadpan "I'm a robot. Bloop bleep." Made matters worse by buying a toy hook so I could be....wait for it....ARRRR 2-D2. (Yes I'm really a 35 year old man. Seriously. I mean it.)
• Saw some great costumes, but the sexy black cat lady in the corset and platform heels as well as an EXCELLENT Mad Hatter were the best of the night. There were some female Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meets Robin's outfit variants that were very conworthy as well.
• Haunted Mansion was extra fun during a Halloween time and I said "it's good to see you" to the Ghost Lady sitting out front, who said "It's good to see you too." She then went from dead silent (yes I went there) to complimenting a guy on his legs and telling bad pirate jokes. All the gravestones near the entrance had been removed and put on a float for the Boo To You parade. Meanwhile inside I saw the hidden Donald Duck in the chair back (early part of the ride on the right near the hallway) along with the hidden Mickey in one of the tombs on the right near the end of the ride. James and I both agree that Haunted Mansion is just an all time fave and it would be incredible to see the thing with lights on. What a great dark ride that never disappoints, especially when the normally creepy maids and butlers are zombie painted to look even more creepy! And Ghost Lady, you rock! :)
• I'd missed The Hall of Presidents earlier this year, and being a robotics fan, had to see it this trip. We walked right in and sat through the lead up movie, which was extra poignant because Hallowishes was thundering outside, almost in time to the music and movie. Most impressive. Then it came time for the main event...all the presidents. I was so impressed with the fluid movements and subtleties during this part. Whether they faced a speaking fellow president or shifted their weight back and forth as they talked, or just moved a hand now and then, it really seemed like actors, not animatronics, were on stage. RObama was equally impressive and reminded me of Jack Sparrow in the newly remodeled Pirates of the Caribbean during our 2006 Disneyland jaunt. To Disney and all the robotics folks, I applaud you!
• While James road Splash Mountain, I loaded up on Sweet Tarts, Twix, and Nerds (is that last own considered cannibalism?)...and all that sugar hit an already giddy 35 year old guy turned 8 again, like a freight train. At the end of the night, there was a bag full of candy, half of which I'd never eat. Gave the lot to a young family and bid them enjoy. Besides, I'd had plenty!
• Cast member to visitor wearing an M&M costume. "I just gave you M&Ms. Wait, isn't that cannibalism?"
• First time doing Monster's Inc Laugh Floor and what used to be Alien Encounter, now Stitch's Great Escape. Hey, I enjoyed both and got a few laughs, plus seeing Astro Orbiter at night all lit up is pretty impressive.
• Caught the Boo To You parade and got to see the precision Grave Diggers. Good thing they were close buy, because James almost dug his own by thinking out loud. Luckily, those who could've taken issue were just out of ear shot and busy watching the parade.
• Lastly, the weather was a perfect 70's and not too hot or cool. No jacket required.
• **The Fantasyland construction is moving fast. Building for The Little Mermaid dark ride is up and another steel building frame has gone vertical. Couldn't see very much more in the dark, but the area behind the wall seems massive. Still miss 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. That and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride will always be a couple of my all time faves.

All in all, good adventure and good company, and though the event is geared for little kids (though Disney's nice enough to include us big kids too) I'd go back again. There's just something weirdly cool (as my buddy Paul would say) about Trick or Treating at Magic Kingdom. Crowded, but so worth it. Yeah, I love Disney. :)

Happy 25th Anni Nintendo Entertainment System

It's hard to believe 25 years ago today, the Nintendo Entertainment System, a console that would lead a gaming revolution, was launched. And it's also damn scary to think in increments of 20's and 25's when you're used to 5's and 10's. Ack! That aside, here are some of my NES memories.

After much car washing, allowance saving, and calculating, I bought my NES Basic System (Console, 2 Controllers, Super Mario Brothers) and Donkey Kong Jr. from Toys R Us in Springfield, Virginia. Yup, the same one not far from Springfield Mall. To go there with friends or as a surprise trip was electrifying, especially THAT one isle of new video games. If I went, I invited my neighborhood buds, and vice versa. It was also on said trips that while other parents went straight home, my Dad would think of 1000 different stops to make to prolong the agony before the joy of playing. Drove me crazy then, but I laugh now. Yeah, that first night, my babysitter (my friend's older sister) had the easiest job in the world while I played the "monkey with the diaper game." What? I loved the arcade games and lived for nights at Showbiz Pizza.

Any sleepover turned into an all night game and movie fest. We'd take turns working on Kid Icarus or playing simul on Ikari Warriors until almost passing out. Either that or we'd make Sprite Floats with marble ice cream (don't cringe, it's good stuff) and head to the basement and play pc games like King's Quest at my friend Kelly's house. For all the times we stayed over, played D&D, video gamed, watched movies, etc, Kelly's Mom was such a saint.

When we had one of a few cross country trips to visit relatives, I poured over my Legend of Zelda map, plotting, scheming, theorizing, so that when we got back, I could solve all the little questions (and pent up gaming want) my heart desired. Portable video games like GameBoy were many years away, so time away from the console was rough. REALLY rough.

Out of all the games, RPGs and shooters were my hands down faves. Ultima Exodus, Dragon Warrior, 1942 Gradius, Life Force, and Stinger were on regular rotation. LOVED the hours of blasting Maui Stone heads on Gradius as well as the crazy weaponry and coop in the sequal, Life Force. Sure, there was plenty of action time for Super Mario Bros, Castlevania, Bionic Commando, Metroid, and Zelda 1 and 2, but I grew to love a good shooter and good RPG. Dragon Warrior is still one of my all time faves. Didn't play Final Fantasy until it was reissued for GameBoy Advance many years later (and will likely download it for my iPod Touch).

While I never got R.O.B, the video robot, I had the Zapper light gun (Duck Hunt and Gumshoe), the NES Advantage arcade joystick, the NES Max controller with it's slider D pad, Arkanoid with it's paddle controller, and the NES Satellite 4 player adapter/wireless system. As a matter of fact, I acquired that last one when I went to the dentist and had to have wisdom teeth pulled. I was in a lot of pain and Mom felt bad for me, so she got me the Satellite. I looked like a mutant chip monk, but damned if that wireless system didn't work better than aspirin. ;) (Thanks Mom, I love you for that one, among many other reasons.)

My freshman year of high school we moved from Washington DC to Huntsville, Alabama and sadly, my interest in gaming got left behind with my friends in our nation's capital. Not long after the move, MTV took over my interest and my Nintendo started gathering dust. Sacrilege, I know. Not long after, I sold it all to kid during one of our garage sales who was more than thrilled to get it. In the end, the gear went to a good home. Even so, I still kick myself for not hanging onto my NES and games, along with my Star Wars figures from the 70's and 80's. (facepalm).

There are more memories of the gaming days, but these are the standouts and worthy of sharing. The Nintendo Entertainment System was (and still is) just an awesome game console. It brought my friends and I countless slack-jawed, zombiefied, glazed eye hours of gaming fun. And boy do I miss it! :)

MORE Blogging Buffet & Nerdly News

More tid bits of my world, adventures, and observations:

• While at Downtown Disney tonight (World of Disney store) I noticed the R2-D2 mouse ears were out along with the new toy Starspeeder for the upcoming Star Tours 2. Looking at the box showed that the vehicle could be opened showing what looked like seats and a screen inside. On the screen was a Pod race scene. While there have been rumors floating already about probable Pod racing, among other destinations, I thought this was an interesting and possible affirmation. As Artie Johnson on Laugh In would say "Veeeeeery interesting..."
• The construction walls near Fulton's Crab House have expanded and narrowed the walkway. Also Pollo Campero (formerly McDonald's) has signage up and looks much closer to completion.
• Dominic Gaudious wowed the crowd of on-lookers tonight in front of the former comedy club at Pleasure Island with his effortless guitar playing, big grin, and walking around amongst the crowd. Truly a talented showman who enjoys what he does, and does it well. Plus, you gotta love a wacky guy with eyeballs velcroed to his guitar. Seriously.
• There was a trio of Venetian musicians that played interesting renditions of classical music tonight over in front of Wetzel's Pretzels. Enjoyed listening to them but did not catch the name. Their Viennese costumes, complete with powdered wigs, and musicianship should be seen if you're ever at Downtown Disney. And like Mr. Gaudious, a fun and entertaining show.
• It seems Disney has dropped pin prices by roughly a couple bucks across the board. Good for us pin collectors gearing up for more holiday releases. Halloween and some of this year's Christmas pins are already out.
• More Nightmare Before Christmas Vinylmations are out over at D Street. Saw more of Sally and The Mayor (Rest in Peace Glen Shaddix, aka The Mayor's voice and Otho from Beetleguese). Park 5 series is on display with release set for Friday, October 22nd. I want Buzz Lightyear's SpaceRanger Spin car and The Helmsman from Pirates of the Caribbean.
• Finally had a Cheeseburger in Paradise at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Verdict? Good burger and fun atmosphere! And I thought Grateful Dead concerts and college football tailgate parties were something. Yikes!
• Took photo of a couple at CityWalk in front of the Universal rotating globe that ended up really great. They were happy and I was too. Love having a small part in making a happy memory like that.
• There's a bit more Harry Potter merch at the Universal Studios Store, namely various wands that didn't appear to be there on my last visit. You have NO idea how hard it was not to shell out $28 for Harry's and Dumbledore's wands. Loved the detail on each. Good display pieces for the hardcore Potter fans or an RPG lover. And yes, I would pay $200-300 for the replica brooms if I had both job and cash. What? I play WoW and like magic stuff.
• Didn't realize this until a couple visits ago, but Pat O'Brien's sells collector pins. Pin fiends, Irish fiends, drinkers, you have your target...
• Hard Rock Cafe has this year's Halloween pins that are limited edition (300 pins in each respective run) and unique to the Orlando location. Kinda dig the Vampira meets Zombie girl...

That's all from this round. Hope you all enjoyed and found the info useful. Cheers!

Blogging Buffet & Nerdly News

Bits of theme park and tourism randomness this week (and a good excuse to write again.)

• Dad sent me an email mentioning a conversation he had with one of the people repairing flood damage at Opry Mills. According to this person, it's unlikely the mall will reopen due to the damage costing well over the original insurance. The mall building is repaired and standing, but the inside is gutted, save a recently reopened Bass Pro. After a few jokes about "well, now that the mall is hosed, can we have the park back?" around the net, there is talk of rebuilding Opryland USA on site. While that would be great, there's been talk for YEARS about building a replacement park since Opryland's demise. The couple of attempts in some carnival rides and later the Old South concept, didn't pan out for various reasons. While I'd LOVE to see a good park in Nashville, it will simply never duplicate the indescribable charm and warmth unique to Opryland USA. Also, it's unfortunate that the Aquarium Restaurant and Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills were lost. I really enjoyed my visit to both last year. Would love to see Aquarium rebuilt.
• Noticed on my past couple trips to Universal that Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is closed. Granted, Halloween Horror Nights is going on, and Harry Potter is raking them in, but having an attraction like that down for a long time is a rough and costly thing. It's an extra whammy when it's a hugely visible attraction. Hopefully, Universal can get the extended maintenance done as well as the means needed to fix the "potential safety flaw" in the train couplings. While it's had a lot of delays and problems, I'd like to see this coaster back on it's feet. The energy and eye draw it brings, like it's counterpart Hollywood Dream at Universal Japan, is a good thing. Plus high tech light show is just fun to watch as it goes by.
• Orlando's Race Rock Restaurant was torn down recently. While I'm not big on racing, I do enjoy theme restaurants and I'm bummed to have missed out on this attraction. Curiously and unknowingly, I did experience it at Fun Spot earlier this year when I took a picture in one of Big Feet's (Big Foot minus the rights) wheels.
• According to the Orlando Sentinel, there's talk of building yet another theme park in Orlando. The extreme thrill park would be located on a plot of land near practically empty Festival Bay mall on International Drive. The article mentions some coasters including 425 foot tall tophat. Having driven by the area last night, they'll definitely need to rethink/widen roads to accommodate increased traffic if this goes forward. Also, these folks could score a big hit with a B&M Hyper coaster and/or Intamin Megalite, neither of which are in Florida. This will be and interesting story to watch over the next couple years despite the obvious competition.
• Lots of construction walls are up over at Downtown Disney. Granted, this is old news, but much of the area around Fulton's Crab House is getting work along with the slow transform of McDonald's to the new chicken place. Sadly, Pleasure Island is still a shuttered hallway between West Side and Market Place. While the outdoor concerts and living statues are nice (the gold lady with wings is VERY cool), all those closed clubs are a bummer, especially The Adventurers Club. Hopefully the mouse can revitalize that corridor in the near future.

Just some stuff that caught my eye and hope you all enjoyed. Cheers! :)

Practical Creativity with LED Rope

"Necessity is the mother of invention," and out-of-nowhere creativity is in there somewhere too. Early this year I went to Fun Spot and got the largest Yard O Ale cups I'd ever seen. Had to have it. Then came the question, "Now that you have it, what are you going to DO with it, because you sure as hades ain't drinkin' out of it!" The answer? Build a lamp or use it a obscure living room sculpture. Ok, both. Sold.

Before we go further there's very good reason why I opted for these projects. After looking at the way I did things in the past, a host of small house and apartment living sources, and thinking some about the environment, using new tech in a creative and efficient way seemed like a perfect match for my life direction and "less is more" goals. Energy efficient, packable, smart lighting was both desirable and practical...and different. It would take a little refining, but it would be worth it in lower energy consumption, lower cost, and creative challenge.

The roughly 4 foot tall size cup lent well to a floor lamp and I'd had notions of automated lighting and tinkering with rope lights. When I returned to Huntsville, it was off to Target for some outdoor rope light ($10 for about 14 feet). Throw in some glass beads to weight the bottom, drape rope light until it balanced, and viola, modern art sculpture thingy that puts out low light for about $25. AND it's packable and cheap to replace.

While I was happy with the initial build, the light output wasn't enough and I'd wanted to use LED (Light Emitting Diode) rope. LED runs cooler, lights brighter, and is high tech cool anyway. Problem was, there was none to be found over the summer. Fast forward to September's move back to Orlando and what what do I spy at Target? LED rope in 9 foot sections, just in time for Christmas, AND timers. Perfect. Rope light out, LED on, timer set to come on in the evenings and strategically in the morning to wake me up, then shut off at sun up. Gadzooks it really worked! It even helped my chronic insomnia some.

During many trips to Walmart and Target I'd seen these pop-up canopies for camping, parties, etc. Some were pictured with rope light strung around the top for night use. The proverbial gears in my melon turned again. What if I mounted LED rope, on one of those canopy camp chairs and put the whole thing on a timer like the Yard O Ale lamp? This could work, and it did.

After some hunting I found a canopy chair (to match my oh SO chic, majority green camp gear in the bedroom) at Sports Authority. Green, spare pockets, TWO cup holders, and on sale. Oh, does somebody like me! Carefully wrapped and mounted the rope up the sides, then wrapped the extra around the bottom. Plugged in and set the timer, and it worked. I now had a micro-cabana/light in the bedroom to enjoy surfing the net. Happy happy joy joy!

Keep in mind both LED and traditional rope light both run cool, so you can use them near outdoor textiles without a fire risk. I recommend LED simply because it runs cooler than rope light and has better specs.

Hope you all enjoyed these fun little projects and try them for yourselves. Until next time.

A Fresh Start

Well gang, the first couple weeks in Orlando were pretty rocky, but things seem to be settling down some. I start work this coming Friday (finally!) and can start working on and fixing all the things I've wanted to since the craziness of July 2009. This means money back in savings, paying down the credit card, student loans, etc.

I'm living in east Orlando near University of Central Florida in a new studio flat that's a little smaller than my old flat, but after living on couches and in a single room for the last year, it feels huge. Looking forward to decorating it Beach Condo style with a slice of Contemporary/Minimalism/Retro 70's. Speaking of minimalism, it's almost a necessity with this new place. Smaller scale and multifunction furniture are big considerations, as well as not having so much extra in storage and a lot of junk sitting out. Don't worry, I'm not going for the avant garde "big open room with a chair and a vase" routine, but something much less cluttered and easy to take care of. Yes there will be some warmth and color in there as well. White, blue, and green are the main palette. This is a sanctuary and a place of rest and calm after all.

Finding my way around is getting easier and there's a wealth of my fave stores about 10 minutes away. Work is within 15 minutes. Hey, the less time on the toll roads, the better. Save the parks, I don't have to leave this end of town. Oh, and there's a Blimpie/Godfather's Pizza/Dunkin Donuts in the Hess gas station down the street. Total win! :)

In the spare time, I'm still working out and working on Java. Recently found a ton of O'Reilly media books in the Apple App Store. For those that don't know, O'Reilly is good stuff for tech and programming references, and to be able to carry them on an iPod is awesome. This MAY be a good excuse to get an iPad once the important things are settled.

Park wise, it'll be a while before I can get annual passes to Universal and Disney, but they will happen. Those are pretty steep, but the eventual Florida resident discount will help.

The main thing I wish to do for now is RELAX and slow down. Too much of the past year has been constant worry, frustration and duress. It's going to take me some time to switch out of that mode since it's so automatic, but I'll throttle back and actually start to enjoy things. Believe me, the calmer seas are greatly needed and most welcome at this point in my life.

More adventures to come. :)

2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

If there was one thing I REALLY wanted to do when I moved to Orlando, it was the annual Epcot Food and Wine Festival. After seeing other's pictures and reading their stories, this event really looked like some nice, layed back fun. Oh, and I like to eat too. ;)

During the Epcot birthday visit in January, I didn't get to see and do a few things that got picked up this time around. I had 5 minute walk on/waits for The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Imagination, and Captain EO.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends was a fun ride although quite loud in places. Since I can't remember what the original Living Seas ride cars looked like or any of that portion of the pavilion, the clam shells were a neat theme. Also well done on the scenes near the end that seamlessly meshed the animated characters with the aquarium. It looked very much like Nemo was in the tank with the real fish. This was the high point as I exited to the former Sea Base Alpha, which was painted blue and pretty barren. Not nearly the wealth of hands-on displays and the Jim diving suit and it's training stations were long gone. Seas still had the diver feeds the fish show, but it just didn't have the same oomph.

Imagination was ok...I guess...I've only seen pictures of the original incarnations of Journey to Imagination, but never rode any of them. This was my first ride and unless it's improved, likely my last. Sorry guys, but it really felt lacking without Dreamfinder.

Enjoyed the updated Captain EO with it's It's Tough to be a Bug treatment. We all cheered and applauded when Michael Jackson made his Iron Chef style entrance. While I'd seen it as a kid many years ago, I'd completely forgotten the storyline, so it' was like a whole new experience...with a bit of cheese too. Even so, seeing Angelica Houston turn out to be the Supreme Ruler was a great perk. I like her as an actress and still think she made an awesome Morticia Adams. Needless to say, seeing this comeback show was a treat.

Next up was the former Wonders of Life pavilion that's only open during Food and Wine Festival. It was cool and sad to set foot inside the building, and though there were lots of cooking demos and plenty of foodie kitchen stuff to buy, I REALLY wanted to ride Body Wars. You can still make out the hallway to it if you look carefully. Outside, the dome isn't ageing well and is discolored in places. It's also a little sad to see one of the festival signs in place of the quirky sign or genome helix that greeted guests. On the way out, I kept expecting to see Horizons instead of Mission Space and World of Motion instead of Test Track. Good pavilions both, but just not as cool as what I remember in Epcot Center's heyday.

All that said and done, I'd worked up an appetite. Time to eat around the world. Seriously. There had to be at least 15+ sampling stalls as you walked the World Showcase loop. And they all smelled heavenly. Singapore was my first stop on this Taste Journey (yes Todd Lee, I owe you a quarter) with a Shrimp Cake. Basically spicy big shrimp on a stick along with some cold noodles. Next was Germany for Sausage in Pretzel Bread. If you've ever had the German buffet, you know how good the Pretzel bread is. Now by this point, I was filling up fast, even with the small looking portions. They're bigger than you think and the prices per sampling average about $6 with a bottle of water. More with wine or beer. Yes, my brother and sister munchers, it adds up fast.

Thankfully walking, smelling, and gawking at the beautiful countries does burn calories. If that doesn't do it, the rockin' Scots of Off Kelter sure will. This was a rowdy fun show of kilt wearin' lads with guitars and bagpipes. I will never be the same after hearing the Mickey Mouse song played in an 80's rock style...with bagpipes. Ever. And I will go back and gladly see these talented folks again. On a side note, I failed my Irish and Scot heritage by not having a single beer or Bailey's during the night. Yes, I hang my head in shame.

Also discovered more than Hockey comes out of Canada. Choup (Cheddar Cheese Soup) is a popular must do among theme park and Disney fans, and it was available during the fest. I had to get a bowl. Verdict? It's a cheddared out clam chowder or potato soup concoction and most tasty. Glad I had it. Also wish there had been room for a Lobster Roll (America) and Ravioli (Italy). Was just too full and eating was getting pricey.

Lastly, being a pin collector, I picked up a 15th Food and Wine Festival anni pin for achievement. I love pins, and the ones that name a park, ride, or event are a great way to mark the occasion. This one had a chef Mickey using Space Ship Earth as a dome covering a cake slice. SSE even swings up to reveal the cake.

Over all, it was a good day out at Epcot, filled with both happy and sad memories of attractions gone by as well as great food. The relaxing festival was a joy and I'd highly recommend it to any Disney fan, foodie, etc. Oh, and next time, I'm having Bailey's in Ireland. ;)