Coasterimage.com Giveaway
Feb 4, 2008The last week of this month marks the five-year anniversary of coasterimage.com being online. (we actually began working on things in 2001, but didn’t go live until 2003)
I thought it’d be fun to give a little back to everyone for supporting the site for this long. We have T-shirts and other merchandise, we have a few DVDs lying around, we have some other goodies. Why not give some of this stuff to the people who’ve allowed us to do this for the past 5 years?
So here’s the deal - we have a bunch of coasterimage.com swag that we want to give away. You’d love to get your hands on some coasterimage.com swag. Seems like a match made in heaven, right? Rather than set up some form for entry or some crazy contest rules or whatever, we’ve decided to keep it simple (like we always do). We’re just going to start picking names from the mailing list and sending stuff out. You want in on the fun? Just click here and sign up.
The week of February 25th, we’ll pick a handful of folks from the mailing list at random each day and send them some goodies. I’ll get a more concrete list of items before the giveaway begins, but expect T-shirts, DVDs and other merchandise.
If that’s the kind of thing that warms the cockles of your heart, then make sure we have your valid e-mail address added to our mailing list by February 24th.
On a totally unrelated note, it’s that time of year for Mitch Hawker’s Steel Coaster poll. It’s the most respected enthusiast coaster poll out there and now’s your chance to have your voice heard. Head on over and check it out.
Other than that, I have a bunch of photos ready to go, I just have to get them online. Expect Six Flags St. Louis pictures later in the week. See you then…
Coaster Chick Shirts
Mar 5, 2007This little update is to point out that there is new merchandise available in the Gear section of the site. This time we got one for the ladies - Coaster Chick merchandise. If you happen to be a Coaster Chick or happen to know a Coaster Chick or maybe even have a special little Coaster Chick in your life, then this is for you. Go take a look. It’s a fun design.
Other than that, not a whole bunch to report. Just working on the little things that make this site go and waiting for the season to begin around here. I’m not one to hate on winter and snow, but this year I’m ready for the nice weather and some coaster riding.
I’m working on finalizing some travel plans. Some definites include opening day at Kings Island and Cedar Point. Some probable trips include Dollywood & Ghost Town In The Sky, some other southern parks and as fate would have it we now have a ‘maybe’ trip in our sights that would land us in Texas. As soon as I have some definite plans, y’all will be the first to know.
Not much longer before things get moving around here…
World Of Coca-Cola Pictures, Virtually Queued Shirts
Mar 27, 2006This time we’re taking a small breather from the park updates and coming at you with a special feature gallery from the World Of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. If you’re familiar with the special features section of the site, you know you can find stories and photos from different places that vary in their relevance to the amusement park thing and World Of Coke is a pretty good fit. It makes a nice side stop if you’re ever in Atlanta. So check that out for a glimpse of what’s inside.
I also put together a new shirt design. Just trying to add some new items for the 2006 season and a recent discussion on Coasterbuzz on the merits and fairness of the various Virtual Queue systems in place at parks inspired this one. If you’re looking for something new to wear to the parks this year, you could certainly do worse than one of our Virtually Queued shirts. The big plus is that now Cafepress does direct printing on their items so if you were previously turned off by the ‘iron-on’ aspect of their stuff, then maybe a second look is in order. At any rate, you can find the new shirts along with all of the older designs available in the Gear section of the site.
Speaking of Coasterbuzz, be sure to check out the Coasterbuzz Podcast if you haven’t yet. It’s a decent listen and as always, yours truly is a pretty regular voice to be heard. It’s a little different than what you might be used to with less focus on the “I’m an enthusiast and I love coasters” thing and more focus on the industry itself. If that sort of thing interests you, then definitely consider giving it a regular spot in your listening rotation.
That pretty much covers it this time. Check back just before Easter, I still have a few more gallery updates to do before getting into the 2006 season - definitely some Kennywood and Six Flags Over Georgia stuff and maybe even some Geauga Lake pics if I’m feeling froggy. Which, lo and behold, will put us right on the cusp of 2006’s coaster season and all the usual new material coming in. Until then…
New Roller Coaster Shirts, Souvenir Cups
Dec 15, 2005Just a little quickie for y’all this time. A small update to what is probably the silliest feature on this site - the souvenir cups. I added our 2005 acquisitions. Not too many this year. Seems like we ‘hit-and-run’ more parks this past year than we normally do and also hit more parks that don’t offer these things. At any rate I added the handful of cups we did snag to the Souvenir Cups page of the Special Features.
I’m also slowly adding black shirts to the merchandise offerings, so if you’re interested, feel free to nose around a bit and see what’s up. I’ll be getting more and more available in black over time. Keep an eye out.
I doubt I’ll do another update until January first (although maybe I’ll toss one in there to keep you guessing) so everybody enjoy the holidays. Spend some time with friends and family and just be cool in general.
And even though I say it all the time (and this is getting sappy enough already), I just want to thank every last one of you for supporting the site. I get an odd pleasure (ewww!) out of passing along all of these photos and videos and things to everyone. It’s nice to know people enjoy it. Plus, the more support we get, the more we can give in return. It’s all good.
Closing in on 3 years online and I never expected this site to be as popular as it is. While I like to think I have something to do with it, the truth is it doesn’t matter what you have to offer without someone to enjoy it. So in the end it’s as simple as…Thank You.
Have a great holiday season! Until next time…
New Coaster Merchandise
Jan 24, 2005Probably not the update you were hoping for. No pics or videos right now. Why? Because I feel that I’m somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks away from putting the new design online and quite frankly, I don’t want to put the material together once for this site and do it all over again for the new site. So basically that means not much new coming until the new design is done. But once it is, I promise (and you can hold me to it) at least 2 new galleries and a cool new video will be up and ready to go. Just stick with me for a little more boring offseason and all will be well.
We’re already starting to think about places to go in 2005 and I’m mulling over the idea of picking up a new camera - mostly because I’ve officially decided digital is a good thing and it has finally surpassed film overall and because my camera choices aren’t very good at this point. The 2001 and 2002 pics were taken on film. Quality can be outstanding, but if one thing is off, it can suck. I got tired of missed shots, blown shots, then sorting, scanning and processing the pics. The 2003 and 2004 photos were taken with a small point and shoot digital camera with a build in zoom. Assuming perfect conditions, the camera performs flawlessly and the convenience is unparalleled, however, as soon as shooting conditions become less than optimal, the photo quality drops dramatically. So in addition to planning our 2005 trips, I’m checking out cameras. I mean, I know you guys expect the best from this site. Gotta keep on top of the game, right? It ain’t easy being the best. (smile)
Until then amuse yourself with some new gear. I just put up a new shirt design. More good natured innuendo that should provoke chuckles among those who get it and disgust among those who don’t. Just the thing you’ve come to expect from us (and by the way, thanks to everyone who keeps picking this stuff up) and if that’s not enough take a look at some of my RCT3 stuff. Might be good for blowing a cold winter day.
So in a nutshell, check back over the next few weeks for progress updates and eventually the new look for the site along with a crapload of new media. Thanks everyone.
