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Build Your Own Carnival Ride

Posted by michael on from the you-ride-it-first dept.

SoCalChris writes "Check out these guys who are building their own dark ride similar to the ones found at carnivals and theme parks. The ride is complete with PLC's in each of the cars, and one more PLC for the entire ride. The ride also features a blocking system like professionally built rides."

6 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Neat but... by Audity · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Even the professional rides are quite dangerous, I definately wouldn't want to ride on a homemade one.

  2. Just GREAT!!!! by Chris_Stankowitz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I finally after many years just began trusting roller coasters ( including the cyclone http://www.astroland.com/cyclone.html, I live in Brooklyn, NY) and after reports like this one http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/WABC_071002_coast ers.html and a few others on news mags I have mustered up enough balls to get back on them and now I hear that your average joe shmoe is building caosters? Is this thing safe? Has it been tested? Is there an "Authority" that approves roller caosters at all?

  3. Probably been suggested before... by deth_007 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And offtopic, well, mostly. But the way I figure it... /. has a ton of web serving capability, why don't they mirror sites before posting stories so that everyone could read them? They could even have a 'originally at http://...' frame on top like google does for it's cached pages. Sure would make reading /. stories a lot easier :)

    1. Re:Probably been suggested before... by fobbman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Here is the entry in the official Slashdot FAQ that answers your question.

      Yes, it's been suggested before. And yes, it's off-topic. But there are enough newer Slashdot members around right now that are posting this idea (and then modding it up) that it's time to link to the FAQ again.

  4. Re:The use of an apostrophe is indeed. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    conventions change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

    In this particular case, PLCs is actually more visably appealing than PLC's. While "PLC's" is the past standard, the new convention is also acceptable.

    Please, we do not need the grammar lesson from old fogies ;)

  5. Re:call me anal by Dr.+Awktagon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, okay, but the more important thing is to actually write out abbreviations the first time, even if the writer thinks the audience knows them.

    The first thing I thought when I saw PLC was "public limited company", for whatever reason.. even though I know what a programmable logic controller is.

    It didn't make sense for me at first why *either* of those things would be in a carnival ride car, but after a few hundred milliseconds of brain activity I decided it must be the programmable logic controller, or maybe some special "carnival lingo" (Hey Joe! We're all out of Pyrotechnic Lumbar Cartridges on car #3).

    At no point during this time did I take any notice of the apostrophe. (Or the fact that there were no periods, throw that into your grammar mix: P.L.C.)

    Now, I want those milliseconds back. Nearly a second of my time, gone forever! Think of the places I could've gone, the things I could've accomplished! Damn you slashdot!!