Kennywood's Laser Loop Reincarnated as Chapultepec Park's Cascabel

Pittsburgh's Kennywood Park is the one of the great family amusement parks in the U.S. Kennywood's first looping roller coaster, the Laser Loop, operated from 1980-1990, when it was removed to make room for the Steel Phantom.

Thanks to the That's Church blog, I found out that the ride was moved to Chapultepec Park in Mexico city, where it has been operating as the Cascabel since 1994.

I actually rode the Laser Loop shortly after it opened in 1980.  My date, who was far more of a roller coaster enthusiast than I, coerced me into riding it multiple times, including once in the front seat.

Political Compass Quiz Results

Another pretty good political quiz is the Political Compass. After a series of questions, your results are put on a grid with economic results on the horizontal axis and social results on the vertical axis. Th general scheme is shown on these graphs:

My test results are shown on this graph. They show me to be economical left of center and socially libertarian.

Finally, my test results are shown versus several political figures in the 2012 U.S. Presidential election. It's unfortunate the the major party political figures are all shown as conservative authoritarians. President Obama certainly portrayed himself as a much more liberal candidate in 2008 than the authoritarian he turned out to be once in office.

Political Spectrum Quiz Results

Here's my result from a pretty good political spectrum quiz. Each of these quizzes is interesting in the way that certain questions are phrased. This particular one is interesting in that it asks you to weight each question.

My Political Views

I am a left social moderate

Left: 4.89, Libertarian: 0.65

Political Spectrum Quiz

Foreign Policy:
On the left side are pacifists and anti-war activists. On the right side are those who want a strong military that intervenes around the world. You scored: -6.43




My Foreign Policy Views

Score: -6.43

Culture:
Where are you in the culture war? On the liberal side, or the conservative side? This scale may apply more to the US than other countries. You scored: -2.78




My Culture War Stance
Score: -2.78

Pittsburgh Mills and the Two Bears

A couple of bears have been prowling about, like Dark Knights, in the Pittsburgh Mills Mall area lately, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, One of America's Great Newspapers. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is using some tried-and-true bait, Hostess brand mini muffins and ding dongs, to lure the the one remaining bear into this trap.

Pittsburgh Steelers Give Coke The Death Penalty

The Pittsburgh Steelers today announced a new multi-year partnership with Pepsi, effectively giving Coke the death penalty. A tearful Mean Joe Greene said he didn't know whether his classic Coke commercials would be destroyed.