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5 park, 8 day coaster trip. Part four.
Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri, USA
Coasterfantom2
Friday, June 29, 2018 11:54 AM
Silver Dollar City is a nice park. My only complaint is the narrow pathways in the park. Plenty of shade areas to keep us as cool as can be on a 99 degree day(reminded us why we typically travel off season.)
Thunderation is a classic mine train ride. Decent ride. We both enjoy this.
Time Traveler is right next to Thunderation. Nice queue and happy that its cool in there. We were assigned the second to the last row. Its a decent ride and different than anything else I've been on. It's starts off spinning right out of the station down the vertical drop into the first inversion. Two launches and two more inversions later we hit the brakes disoriented and laughing.
We rode the train, and checked out various shops on our way to our next ride.
Powder Keg. Been looking forward to riding this for a long time. The launch has punch, and enjoyed the airtime over the first hill. Not too intense but fun. Hit the lift hill, drop, turn around and hit the brakes. Was Buzzaw Falls fun? I'd have to think Powder Keg is a decent upgrade from that.
Outlaw Run. This ride doesn't disappoint. It's a succession on intense elements one after another until you hit the brakes. Preferred front seat, but it's equally good in the back. Loved the sideway airtime bill(whatever it's called,) and the double inline twist at the end of the ride caught us by surprise on the first lap.
Wildfire. Love the view of the mountains from the top. Typical B&M sitdown. Only the 2nd one I've been on(Kumba is the other.) Had a bad spot of headbanging on it that got me good. Enjoyable ride. Don't like how they let their line cut system in the station right next to row one, so it delays wait time for the front row.
We are returning to the park today to ride Fire in the hole, and rerides on the coasters and to take in some shows of possible.
Been at Branson since Monday night and there is the litany of touristy things to do(Hollywood Wax museum, Ripley's, Titanic, etc.) We've done those other places, and didn't feel the need to repeat. We did the Showboat Branson Belle and that was fun. There are so many shows to see and we may get another in tonight.
Tomorrow driving back to Cincinnati and visiting Kings Island. Flying home Sunday morning.
Friday, June 29, 2018 8:39 PM
Got a front seat lap on time traveler today. A lot of fun up front. Got the Fire In The Hole Credit, and then it closed. We rode all the coasters twice and watched the show at the Silver Dollar Saloon. A/C in the show was welcomed. Another 97 degree day. Got out of there in about 4 hours. Great park.
ApolloAndy
Sunday, July 8, 2018 2:55 PM
Do they still have that Splash Battle ride? That was easily the biggest hit for our family last time we were there (given that the kids weren't tall enough for Outlaw Run).
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
Yes they do, and it's yet another testament as to how SDC can fit a fun, well-themed attraction into a relatively small space. I watched it go around for quite a while when I was there this spring, and the kids really do love it. And then there was the occasional dad who somehow got suckered into it as well....
My favorite was when the poor ride op put on rain gear and rode a complete lap every fifteen minutes or so. Probably to check for debris, swimmers, and bodies. Anyway, the announcement was "please do not shoot the ride host in the black raincoat. Please do NOT shoot the ride host in the black raincoat." and I'm sure you can guess what happened. And most of the offenders were the mad dads.
I thought it was a lot better than Dollywood's come-and-gone Splash Battle.


The lyrics of the famous song by the Farm and the story of the 1914 Christmas truce it is based on, lend themselves as great advice for all divorced parents thinking about who their child(ren) will be spending the holidays with next month.
The 1914 Christmas Truce was a series of widespread, unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western front around Christmas 1914, during World War I. It is seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity in the midst of one of the most violent events in history. Despite the ongoing violent conflict, soldiers from both sides managed to create a moment of peace to appreciate their humanity, Christmas carols and even a game of football!
Arrange and agree on a solution well in advance. If things don't work out, you will at least have sufficient time to take the issue to court. If it is already too late, consider letting your ex take the advantage this year in exchange for your advantage next year.
Arrange for your child(ren) to spend Christmas day with one parent and Boxing day with the other, and alternate every year.
As tempting as it may be, do not manipulate your child(ren) into wanting to stay with you longer than previously agreed by buying presents that are too impractical to take to your ex's home.
Be flexible. Things never go as they are planned during the holidays as it is, so be prepared to allow for some leeway and/or don't be enraged when your ex doesn't follow the agreed schedule to the minute. This will win you credit for future arrangements and will preserve the seasonal pleasantry for your child(ren).
If you are both competing to be with your child at specific points during the holiday (e.g. Opening of presents on Christmas morning), consider laying down your arms and sharing that moment together with your ex.
Alternatively, consider organising a Skype conversation with your child for the moment you are missing and allow your ex to have one for the moment they are missing.
If the combatants of World War I managed to find peace for a moment despite the bloodshed of prior days, you and your ex can probably look to your child(ren) to quickly find the motivation for a momentary peaceful resolution.
For more general tips on managing divorce and children during the holidays check out Dr Robert Emery's post in Psychology Today.
For more legal advice contact our divorce expert, Shakeela Bi.
Office Christmas Party: Recipe for legal disaster?


Sustainable energy supply is one of the key challenges of the forthcoming decades in most countries around the world, and particularly in Russia. Fortunately, Russian authorities and companies have understood that the application of energy efficient technologies and renewable energy programs can allow them to save cash and reduce the impact on the environment.
But the challenges are numerous, and dealing with them requires considerable political support. Urgent action is required to achieve, notably, the increase of tariffs and termination of cross subsidies, the implementation of energy accounting systems across the country, the modernization of energy generation, transportation and consumption, and the establishment of independent energy efficiency management bodies as well as a specific system of penalties and incentives. And, last but not least, both an increase in public awareness and sensitivity to environmental challenges as well as a new culture of energy consumption are key to the successful implementation of any environmentally and energy efficiency-driven measures.
Russian leaders have admitted that the modernization of the economy will not be possible until there is some development of energy effective systems. A first step toward encouraging the use of energy efficient technologies was made in the Federal Law on energy saving and energy efficiency increase, dated Nov. 23, 2009, as well as a full spectrum of secondary legislation, which was developed in order to give full effect to this law.
In accordance with this law, notably all state (regional and municipal) programs must provide for the increased use of energy efficient technologies and secondary energy sources and/or renewable energy sources with specific energy saving targets to be met within the next 15 years. In order to facilitate the efficient use of energy resources and to support and encourage energy savings, new public procurement rules have been introduced, as well as several incentives such as investment tax credits, accelerated depreciation of assets classified in top energy efficiency classes and partial compensation of interest payable on loans granted by Russian banks.
Also, tariff-regulated companies transferring energy resources will be able to take advantage of different incentives for a maximum duration of five years through either a gross up clause on their proceeds by the amount of expenses incurred for actions aimed at reducing energy resource losses, or a retainer of the economical benefit generated due to investments in energy efficiency and energy saving.
However, one has to confess that these measures are rather limited in their effect and scope of application and, so far, investment in energy efficient technologies in Russia has been poor compared with developments in the rest of the world.
Among the key barriers to the development of the Russian sustainable energy market are, of course, the tariffs, which are clearly still far too low, and most experts agree that an important increase is crucial to make projects in the sphere of energy efficiency financially viable. Also the lack and high cost of financial resources available in the Russian market, the lack of understanding of energy efficiency business and prospects, and the quasi-absence of public awareness and sensitivity to ecological and energy consumption issues make it quite difficult today to attract private investments on the Russian energy efficiency market.
This being said, several notable mechanisms have been introduced in Russian legislation that should help make the development of projects in the sphere of energy efficiency more attractive and financially viable.
In this respect, the law on energy efficiency introduced the concept of "Energy service (or energy performance) contracts." The key feature of this type of contract is that the investor is remunerated out of the profits generated from the measures taken on energy savings, the price being fixed depending on the achieved results or on the level of performance of the contract, i.e. subject to the actual value of the energy resource savings. This tool is designed to allow public authorities and state companies to invest in energy efficient and/or renewable sources of energies at limited costs; no or little up-front investment is required from them as the investor will be paid out of the profits generated from energy savings.
But the difficulty is that these projects usually have rather long payback periods, so the investor will certainly look for various guarantees: financial (from banks and the region/municipality), or on tariffs and installations to be modernized (measurement and verification, operation and maintenance of the object).
Also, some recent amendments to the Russian law on concessions should facilitate the financing of projects in the sphere of energy efficiency through the conclusion of private-public partnerships ("PPP"), as an instrument for providing public services while sharing financing and/or responsibilities between the private and public sectors. This law is a backbone of the PPP framework that opened the way for the implementation of PPP ventures in many parts of the public sector including transportation, ports, airports, pipelines and other infrastructure, as well as housing and communal services, energy, medical, sports, recreational and educational facilities.
However, investing in the public sector is still risky due to the political character of such projects, the weaknesses and loopholes of the procurement law and budget code of the Russian Federation to cover these payments and hedge corresponding risks.
In the end, to modernize, Russia needs to find ways to grow more productively. And in this respect, it can opportunistically take advantage of its rich, diversified energy resources to grow in an energy efficient and neutral way, yet through measures without equivalent for economic attractiveness among the BRIC countries.


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Justin Conrad
Gambling and War
Resources and Conflict
Justin Conrad is the Gary K. Bertsch Director of the Center for International Trade and Security, Associate Professor of International Affairs, and an affiliate of the Institute for Cybersecurity and Privacy at the University of Georgia. Beginning in 2022, Dr. Conrad is jointly appointed to the Savannah River National Laboratory. His work focuses on international security, including energy security, nonproliferation, international conflict and terrorism.
Dr. Conrad's work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Stanton Foundation, and his research has been published in leading academic journals, including International Organization, the Journal of Politics and the British Journal of Political Science. He is also the author of Gambling and War: Risk, Reward, and Chance in International Conflict and co-author of Militant Competition: How Terrorists and Insurgents Advertise with Violence and How They Can Be Stopped. Dr. Conrad has appeared in, and his research has been cited in, a variety of international media outlets, including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Diplomat, Slate France, Navy Times, RealClearDefense and Voice of America.
Dr. Conrad is also a key researcher at the Resources and Conflict Project, and Associate Editor at Conflict Management and Peace Science. Previously, he was a professor of political science and public policy at UNC Charlotte. Professor Conrad received his Ph.D. from Florida State University and a master's degree from UCLA.
Dr. Justin Conrad
Center for International Trade and Security
Holmes/Hunter 120A
Justin.Conrad@uga.edu
Justin Conrad on Twitter
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