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Which witch?
Ahhh yes, of course! The smart one.
The one keeping her cauldron brew recipes
(and whatever other witchy essentials)
in PortaPocket!
What are you dressing up like this year?
Does your costume of pockets?
Happy Halloween!
xox
Q & A with Bob Minnick, Safety Expert to the Amusement Parks & Attractions Industry
We had the pleasure of speaking with Bob Minnick, a safety expert with 20+ years of service in the field. Bob successfully worked for Disney for 16 years, and is now President of RFM Consultants, LLC, a safety management firm providing resources for IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions. If you're heading to a theme park anytime soon, here are Bob's thoughts about how you can keep yourself safer:
Q: What can/ should amusement park goers do to minimize their risks before they head to amusement parks & attractions?
A: Park goers can do a lot of things to prepare themselves for their day at the park. For example, everyone should use sunscreen to protect themselves from sun, wear sturdy shoes and avoid wearing flip flops to prevent trip and falls, take a poncho or an umbrella if forecast is rain and drink water to stay hydrated on warm days.
Q: What safety measures can they take at the park to ensure the most worry-free experience?
A: In addition to using the ideas above, park goers should remember safety is a partnership between an amusement park and its patrons. Unfortunately, a majority of incidents and injuries occur because guests didn't follow posted ride safety guidelines or rode with a pre-existing medical condition.
IAAPA (The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) recommends park guest follow these ride safety tips:
- Obey listed age, height, weight, and health restrictions.
- Observe all posted ride safety rules, and follow all verbal instructions given by ride operators or recorded announcements.
- Keep hands, arms, legs and feet inside the ride at all times.
- Secure all loose articles, including wallets, change, sunglasses, cell phones, and hats. Use lockers at parks, or put your items in bins or cubicles on ride platforms.
- Do not ride while under influence of alcohol or recreational drugs.
- Remain seated in ride until it comes to a complete stop and you are instructed to exit.
- Always use safety equipment provided; never attempt to wriggle free of or loosen restraints or other safety devices.
- Parents should make sure their children can understand and follow safe and appropriate ride behavior.
- Never force anyone, especially children, to ride attractions they don’t want to ride.
- If you see any unsafe behavior or condition on a ride, report it to a supervisor or manager immediately
Q: What are the most frequent areas of safety concerns at parks now in 2018 / 2019?
A: Slips, trips, falls, sunburn, dehydration and not watching where you're going are among the most frequent causes of incidents. Riding amusement rides is among the safest forms recreational activities. The chance of serious being injured on a fixed-site amusement ride is 1 in 17 million.
Q: What are parks doing about the use of cell phones on property?
A: Many parks are providing smart phone apps to help guests navigate parks, display wait times, provide food and merchandise locations, make reservations or order food, and provide safety information to improve guests' experiences. Parks also use mobile technology to provide queue line entertainment.
Q: How are parks managing the desire for people to carry their phones on rides?
A: Parks have always required riding guests to secure their loose articles. All loose articles, including wallets, change, sunglasses, cell phones, and hats must be secured before riding. Park operators often provide lockers, cubbies, or on-board pouches to hold loose objects while riding. Guests can also leave their items with a non-riding member of the party. Many publish their policies on line or on the ride entrance safety sign.
Q: Are there anticipated changes to current Loose Articles Policies and if so, how would those affect park goers?
A: The majority of parks have updated their policies regarding selfie sticks and their use. Selfie sticks have proliferated as a natural outcome of ballooning global engagement in social networking using still and video imagery. A selfie stick is an expandable stick which a person attaches to a mobile phone or camera to help take a selfie (a photo of oneself and possibly others). Many parks do not allow guests to bring selfie sticks into the park at all.
- Almost all rides and attractions advise guests to “hold on” with both hands and provide specific bars or other implements, which guests should grasp as needed. Distraction from doing this should be avoided. In addition, most rides are designed with specific ASTM, EN, or other ‘standard-defined’ reach envelopes in mind. These reach envelopes assume large, adult humans are trying to reach outside the ride vehicle, and the standards ask the designers to consider and mitigate this possible hazard. None of these standards assume riders will be carrying “reach extenders” on board with them. Canes, crutches, umbrellas, and the like have long been prohibited on most rides because of reach envelope hazards, and/or hazards that arise if such objects become loose in the ride vehicle or device during more dynamic motion.
Q: Will metal detectors become more prevalent at parks and if so, when might park-goers start seeing this?
A: Many parks already have metal detectors at the entrance of their parks mainly to prevent guests bringing weapons into the parks. With increased use of mobile phones to film experiences, some ride operators are putting metal detectors in the queue line to prohibit guests from taking phones onto rides. Loose article risk grows as ride dynamics (speed and g-force) increase on a ride. There have been some serious injuries as a result of loose objects.
Q: For those who desire more information, what is the current organization that sets standards for safety at amusement parks?
A: IAAPA publishes amusement industry safety information on their website: www.iaapa.org. The outdoor amusement business association (over the road amusement operators) and IAAPA partner with ASTM International and the European Ride Safety Standards organization to develop and publish safety standards.
Q: Do you have other suggested resources that folks can contact if they have further Qs?
A: Please reach out to PressOffice@IAAPA.org for more information.
Hidden Gems in Travel: Lauriston Castle
Do you love uncrowded, off-the-beaten-path castles?
If so, this small castle-like manor house is a MUST DO if you're ever in Edinburgh!
We happened across this Scottish charmer while booking with our airbnb host in Cramond Edinburgh and were very excited to be staying in a place just a few blocks away. This 16th century country house (complete with towers) is in a walkable, residential neighborhood, within 1.5 miles of the turreted Whitehouse Road home of Harry Potter author JK Rowling...and every bit as intriguing to visit.
With high season in mid August and the popular Scottish fringe and tatoo festivals underway, boisterous crowds turned our effort to see Edinburgh Castle into a standing-room affair. With discomfort a certainty, we happily aborted our mission to the vast landmark and enjoyed a peaceful soujourn to Lauriston, instead. Its more human-scale and quiet grandeur is a delight and the small group tours (ours was about 8 guests) allow a much more personalized approach, no reservations required.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this experience a solid 9+
Fast facts:
Location: 2A Cramond Road South | Davidson's Mains, Edinburgh EH4 5QD, Scotland
Hours: Tours of Castle, April 1-Oct 31:Mon - Thurs at 2p (closed Fri)
Sat or Sun at 2p, 2:30p, 3p, 3:30p
Grounds open daily, 7:30am to 8p
Cost: Adult £8, Concession £6 (under 5 free);
Grounds are Free to explore
Notes: free parking on site; website here
Puttin' on the dog
Yes! Now you can have your best friends carry their own poop bags while you're out on your daily walks.
while you're at it, too. ;)
Good stuff.
Indian Summer?
though it's not quite autumn, it looks like we're having an Indian summer...
and it seems they know (some of the ways) how to wear PortaPocket, too! ;)
Summer lovin'
so much hopping we forgot to post last month...
oops!
Here at PortaPocket, we hope you're having a jumpin' July!
xox
Happy May Day! (+1)
Mayday mayday...
oh drat, we missed May Day.
BUT we still have 99% of this month to help fix your maydays when your clothes pockets fail you. As when they're not there are all. Like when you're in your Graduation Gown. Or your Prom Dress. Among other things...
happy spring!
xox
Conflicting Allegiances: Loyola vs Michigan
Like Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, I too have mixed
emotions about today's Big NCAA Game in the Final Four.
On one hand, how could one root against Chicago's beloved
Sister Jean and the hometown Ramblers?
It's that quinessential fairy tale in need of the perfect ending.
On the other hand, I'm a UM Ann Arbor graduate. GO BLUE!
So what do I do?
I can't help but factor some other vignettes into this equation.
While I thoroughly enjoyed my University of Michigan experience,
I truly believed my alma mater might actually be interested in
what its alums are up to.
Perhaps if they'd shown some interest when we'd shared how our
handy helper would give fans at the 'Big House' / Michigan Stadium
a way to hands-free wear their cells and small essentials (despite
that Bag Ban). Perhaps if they wanted to see how their alums are
working hard to improve other people's lives, even in simple ways,
every day. Maybe if they'd genuinely made some effort to embrace
new ideas that are sorely needed on campus...
Instead it's just crickets.
Unless you count that they DO reach out when they want to solicit
more money (as if I didn't spend enough already on my four
college years at an out-of-state tuition rate ;)
OK, Wolverines...
If you change your mind and would like to have a
long-denied conversation, you know where I am :)
What do you think?
Shall I be RAMBLIN' on?
Hats off to the young leaders of MARCH FOR OUR LIVES
In this polarized world, I think we can at least all agree that young people are our future. And what an inspiration are those who have stepped up to stand for a cause, even in their darkest hours.
Kudos to Emma González, David Hogg, Sarah Chadwick, Cameron Kasky and all their steadfast fellow Parkland survivors. And to all the other student activists who refuse to sit idly by and watch the lawmakers offer nothing but 'thoughts and prayers' to those affected by Gun Violence.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Never Again MSD movement is gaining momentum and will show its muscle to all who watch Capitol Hill on Saturday for this crucial March for Our Lives. Never before have this many young people been so galvanized to make this kind of impact in recent memory.
I for one stand by them. In their resolute, and unwavering desire to make the world a safer place for every citizen of this country. The outdated, self-serving agenda of the NRA must go away. TODAY.
We. Start. NOW.
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