__________ is/are overrated.

[hbelkins]

John Calipari's coaching ability.

I was coached by him in basketball.

Then why weren't you drafted by the NBA? 

He seems to weigh success on the number of NBA draft choices he coaches, not the number of championships his teams win.

[wanderer2575]

The Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. I've done it twice. It's overrated as hell.

Can't get that close to the falls otherwise.

The Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island takes you to a walking platform that leads right up to the bottom of a section of the American Falls.  I did it many years ago.  You definitely will feel the wind and get wet.  I think the experience is far superior to Maid of the Mist (although I concede I've not been on the latter) and the cost is about half as much.

I would never ride on Maid of the Mist.  Too many people packed on board to be able to see much of anything unless you're lucky enough to snag a spot right up against the rails, and nothing close to experiencing the falls as you do on Cave of the Winds.  Plus, frankly, the packed crowd wearing identical-colored raincoats looks a little too Dachau-like to me.

[formulanone]

Drifting, as in the motorsport.

The only motorsport that's less dangerous than ice skating, but just as subjective.

[Rothman]

The Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. I've done it twice. It's overrated as hell.

Can't get that close to the falls otherwise.

The Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island takes you to a walking platform that leads right up to the bottom of a section of the American Falls.  I did it many years ago.  You definitely will feel the wind and get wet.  I think the experience is far superior to Maid of the Mist (although I concede I've not been on the latter) and the cost is about half as much.

I would never ride on Maid of the Mist.  Too many people packed on board to be able to see much of anything unless you're lucky enough to snag a spot right up against the rails, and nothing close to experiencing the falls as you do on Cave of the Winds.  Plus, frankly, the packed crowd wearing identical-colored raincoats looks a little too Dachau-like to me.

Pfft.  Suit yourself, but there's nothing quite like being right at the bottom of both the American and Canadian Falls.  I get it that some people can't handle crowds (although they cram people into the Cave of the Winds as well...with matching rain gear).

And, comparing a tourist attraction to a concentration camp could be considered highly offensive (i.e., comparing getting a little wet on a boat to the atrocities at Dauchau diminishes the latter inappropriately).

Anyway, been on the Maid of the Mist a couple of times.  It's a unique experience that's not for everyone.

[webny99]

Cave of the Winds >>> Maid of the Mist

(You can choose how soaked to get, do it at your own pace, and get much closer to an actual waterfall (Bridal Veil Valls) so it's a much more authentic and enjoyable experience.)

The Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island takes you to a walking platform that leads right up to the bottom of a section of the American Falls.  I did it many years ago.  You definitely will feel the wind and get wet.  I think the experience is far superior to Maid of the Mist (although I concede I've not been on the latter) and the cost is about half as much.

[Takumi]

Drifting, as in the motorsport.

The only motorsport thats's less dangerous than ice skating, but just as subjective.

Thanks, that's how I'm going to refer to it now. The ice skating of motorsports.

[kirbykart]

Cave of the Winds >>> Maid of the Mist

(You can choose how soaked to get, do it at your own pace, and get much closer to an actual waterfall (Bridal Veil Valls) so it's a much more authentic and enjoyable experience.)

The Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island takes you to a walking platform that leads right up to the bottom of a section of the American Falls.  I did it many years ago.  You definitely will feel the wind and get wet.  I think the experience is far superior to Maid of the Mist (although I concede I've not been on the latter) and the cost is about half as much.

Yes, Cave of the Winds is a lot better and you get a lot more wet.

[paulthemapguy]

On that subject, naming a waterfall "Bridal Veil Falls." There must be 100 waterfalls with that name in the US alone lol

[Roadgeek Adam]

On that subject, naming a waterfall "Bridal Veil Falls." There must be 100 waterfalls with that name in the US alone lol

24 based on the Wikipedia disambiguation page. But I agree with you, that name is absurdly overused. The first one I always remembered as a kid was the one at Bushkill Falls in Lehman Twp, Pennsylvania.

[Max Rockatansky]

On that subject, naming a waterfall "Bridal Veil Falls." There must be 100 waterfalls with that name in the US alone lol

Got the big name brand one about 100 minutes north of Fresno.

[Rothman]

Cheese pulls in food/restaurant reviews.

[formulanone]

Cheese pulls in food/restaurant reviews.

Cue the slow motion fresh vegetables dancing through tap water and steam wafting from lethargically-flipped meats with mouth-watering spices flying about.

[wanderer2575]

The Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. I've done it twice. It's overrated as hell.

Can't get that close to the falls otherwise.

The Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island takes you to a walking platform that leads right up to the bottom of a section of the American Falls.  I did it many years ago.  You definitely will feel the wind and get wet.  I think the experience is far superior to Maid of the Mist (although I concede I've not been on the latter) and the cost is about half as much.

I would never ride on Maid of the Mist.  Too many people packed on board to be able to see much of anything unless you're lucky enough to snag a spot right up against the rails, and nothing close to experiencing the falls as you do on Cave of the Winds.  Plus, frankly, the packed crowd wearing identical-colored raincoats looks a little too Dachau-like to me.

<snip>

And, comparing a tourist attraction to a concentration camp could be considered highly offensive (i.e., comparing getting a little wet on a boat to the atrocities at Dauchau diminishes the latter inappropriately).

That's how it looks like to me from a distance, and fact is that it rattles me.  Stop going out of your way to let your ignorance find things that offend you.

[Rothman]

The Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. I've done it twice. It's overrated as hell.

Can't get that close to the falls otherwise.

The Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island takes you to a walking platform that leads right up to the bottom of a section of the American Falls.  I did it many years ago.  You definitely will feel the wind and get wet.  I think the experience is far superior to Maid of the Mist (although I concede I've not been on the latter) and the cost is about half as much.

I would never ride on Maid of the Mist.  Too many people packed on board to be able to see much of anything unless you're lucky enough to snag a spot right up against the rails, and nothing close to experiencing the falls as you do on Cave of the Winds.  Plus, frankly, the packed crowd wearing identical-colored raincoats looks a little too Dachau-like to me.

<snip>

And, comparing a tourist attraction to a concentration camp could be considered highly offensive (i.e., comparing getting a little wet on a boat to the atrocities at Dauchau diminishes the latter inappropriately).

That's how it looks like to me from a distance, and fact is that it rattles me.  Stop going out of your way to let your ignorance find things that offend you.

I'm not sure you understand what "ignorance" means, but suit yourself.  All I was doing was warning you of possible consequences of the inappropriate comparison you made.  Can't stop you from doubling down on it, of course, so, shine on, you crazy diamond.

[roadman65]

That annoying whisper at the end of car ads. You know when the dealer don’t want you to know something, yet it fulfills the legal end of it informing us consumers the and, if, or buts of the deal. So they talk real soft and speed up the sentence so it’s been said despite you need to record it and playback slowly or listen several times.

[hotdogPi]

That annoying whisper at the end of car ads. You know when the dealer don't want you to know something, yet it fulfills the legal end of it informing us consumers the and, if, or buts of the deal. So they talk real soft and speed up the sentence so it's been said despite you need to record it and playback slowly or listen several times.

This goes in the minor things that bother you thread (which you have already done), not this one. If nobody likes it, it's properly rated as bad, not overrated.

[thenetwork]

Weather Channel Jim Cantore is way overrated.

From always being at all the major weather occurrences to his voice being used in all the Weather on the 8's forecast segments.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was instrumental in the channel "naming" all the winter storms -- something that less that 10% of all other media outlets join in on when they talk about the same storms.

[roadman65]

That annoying whisper at the end of car ads. You know when the dealer don't want you to know something, yet it fulfills the legal end of it informing us consumers the and, if, or buts of the deal. So they talk real soft and speed up the sentence so it's been said despite you need to record it and playback slowly or listen several times.

This goes in the minor things that bother you thread (which you have already done), not this one. If nobody likes it, it's properly rated as bad, not overrated.

You didn't read it properly in the minor things thread. I was comparing someone else's statement to the effect of this scenario.

Therefore I didn't say it was minor, then changed my mind like your pointing out.  It's major to me that they get away with it daily.

[jakeroot]

Weather Channel Jim Cantore is way overrated.

From always being at all the major weather occurrences to his voice being used in all the Weather on the 8's forecast segments.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was instrumental in the channel "naming" all the winter storms -- something that less that 10% of all other media outlets join in on when they talk about the same storms.

Which reminds me, are they still doing the Local on the 8s? I remember it being a huge part of their programming, but I don't recall seeing it recently*.

edit: this was the voice I always associated with the Local on the 8s, not Cantore. Maybe that has changed lately:

https://youtu.be/sWZIJmfB-UU

* I didn't watch it much to begin with, and I don't have TWC where I am now either.

[Scott5114]

The way that the TWC local forecasts work is that there's a computer, called a WeatherStar, that sits at the local cable headend and downloads weather data from NOAA. At a time ending in 8, it starts generating the forecast graphics and they get automatically spliced into the cable feed. There are several different versions of the WeatherStar unit, so the appearance of the local forecast can vary quite a bit in different media markets depending on which version the cable headend is running. Usually the smaller media markets are two or three versions behind, so you can see some ancient graphics if you happen to check TWC when you stay in a hotel in the middle of nowhere.

That video is an Intellistar 1, which was current in the 2000s and had narration by Alan Jackson. For the Intellistar 2, released in 2010, Jim Cantore recorded the narration. I'm not sure if they went back and patched Cantore's voice onto the Intellistar 1 at any point, or if they're still using Jackson's narration.

The really odd thing there is "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" as the music. TWC is supposed to play cheap-royalty smooth jazz from acts you've never heard of, damn it.

[jakeroot]

That video is an Intellistar 1, which was current in the 2000s and had narration by Alan Jackson. For the Intellistar 2, released in 2010, Jim Cantore recorded the narration. I'm not sure if they went back and patched Cantore's voice onto the Intellistar 1 at any point, or if they're still using Jackson's narration.

Alan Jackson, huh. Never would have guessed.

Edit: I see it as Allen Jackson?

The really odd thing there is "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" as the music. TWC is supposed to play cheap-royalty smooth jazz from acts you've never heard of, damn it.

Very funny you'd mention that, because the song I've always associated with Lot8 was Layla. I heard it a ton back when I watched TWC a fair amount in the late 2000s/early 2010s:

https://youtu.be/shJFr01EivM

[Scott5114]

I guess I just autocorrected s/Allen/Alan/ because Alanland permanently warped my brain.

That video is an IntelliStar 2, so I'm guessing that they decided to get more well-known music when it came in.

When I did the bulk of my TWC watching, it was the mid-90s, so the WeatherStar 4000 was current:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiG8bvKeqiw

Back then, probably the most well-known artist they'd use was Spyro Gyra, though they used "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi sometimes.

[roadman65]

Speaking of the TWC, I know someone on here who calls it The Weather Entertainment Channel as he feels paid apps from Googleplay or The App Store do a better job than the talent on there.

[roadman65]

Oh yes the famous Autocorrect that doesn't know how to spell or use correct grammar, that is the Algorithm that needs twerking.  That's why I told the two users on here that love to chastised bad spellers that they both should do their spelling and grammar preaching to them instead of users on this forum.

[jakeroot]

I guess I just autocorrected s/Allen/Alan/ because Alanland permanently warped my brain.

That video is an IntelliStar 2, so I'm guessing that they decided to get more well-known music when it came in.

They definitely used it during the IntelliStar 1 period, this clip is from 2005.

To be fair, it's the only song I can remember from the good old days of Local on the 8s.

https://youtu.be/NJDn-RH9Ilc

When I did the bulk of my TWC watching, it was the mid-90s, so the WeatherStar 4000 was current:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiG8bvKeqiw

Back then, probably the most well-known artist they'd use was Spyro Gyra, though they used "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi sometimes.

Sounds like your interest in weather hit about five years sooner than it did me. I don't think I tuned into TWC (or any weather service) until I was about 10 or older.

Then again, if I grew up in tornado alley with all of it's crazy storms, I probably would developed the interest sooner!