Texas Two Step Time Again

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

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Come one, come all, come often.

It’s that time of year again, and you can bet your boots that the infamous Thunder Lounge® is headed to the infield of Texas Motor Speedway.

When the sun goes down, the lights come up at Thunder Lounge. Bring your beverage of choice, and come on down. The party will rock into the night as always, as if you miss one minute, you’ll be regretting it.

Starting Friday, find me (Luke) and mention you read our site, and we’ll give you a FREE Thunder Lounge wristband. These aren’t some cheap little thing, they’re the real deal. 100% silicone, and screen printed with a fiery background and the Thunder Lounge logo in blue. A steal at $7, get yours FREE. (Quantities limited, while supplies last. Some will be reserved for both Friday and Saturday.)

For those needing a little assistance, here’s the map to the facility. If you’re not already in the infield, we recommend using the SOUTH tunnel, as it’s open for traffic 24/7 during the weekend. You will need an infield pass, which can be obtained when you walk through the tunnel gate.

The house will be rockin all weekend long, so come on out, relax, and enjoy yourself.

See you at the track!

6 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: Nascar, Nationwide Series, Network News, Sprint Cup, Texas, Thunder Lounge, Tracks

Tagged As: Texas Motor Speedway, Thunder Lounge, Track Events



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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Tuesday February 5, 2008
5:07pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

I’d like to thank the guys at On Pit Row for a great 15 minutes this evening.

In case you’ve missed out on things over the past several weeks, your truly got the nod (thanks guys!) to redo the entire family of sites that make up On Pit Row. For reference, there are currently 3 specific sites. On Pit Row, Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie, and The Fast Lap.

First, their main site was well outdated and in need of major plastic surgery. Next, they had a blog over on a particular “pad” type of service, and finally they had a great blog at Thunder Lounge ™.

Lots of places to visit, and nothing really tied together with their site. We’ve taken those sites, and combined them under one roof.

Particularly pleasing is that you only need one page to find what you’re looking for. All of their content is now aggregated on their home page, so you can quickly find recent content across all three of their sites.

Continuing on, their RSS feed now also feeds content from all three sites as well and without any modification needed for subscribers on their old blog. Thanks to feedburner, all that was needed was simply pointing it to their new feed, and that was it.

Finally, why manage multiple user accounts? If you already have a great Thunder Lounge account, you can sign in to comment, and it will be good for any of their three sites under the onpitrow.com domain. What, you aren’t blogging at Thunder Lounge, nor have an account? Don’t get left behind as 2008 is going to be a massive year for Thunder Lounge.

Overall, On Pit Row has been greatly improved, and will now begin to lead the way in usable, relevant NASCAR media websites.

Moving onto this evening, Thunder Lounge made an appearance live On Pit Row. We’d like to thank the guys for the time, and look forward to the next go around.

Thanks, and enjoy the new On Pit Row.

Oh yeah, Hamlin, don’t let us down.

3 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: Denny Hamlin, Drivers, Nascar, Network News, Thunder Lounge

Tagged As: Bench Racing, Denny Hamlin, On Pit Row



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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday November 21, 2007
12:34pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Yeah, even with all the work I have on my back, I’m still finding myself bored as all get out.

However, I did find a way to partially cure my boredom, even if only for half an hour or so.

Thanks to Jay, I managed to have a grin and be content, even if for only a short wait through the 37 people that started out ahead of me.

To be honest, as a programmer myself, this is really pretty darn cool, and very clever. If that were my office, it would probably drive me nuts.

Oh, what is it you ask?

You can wait in line, and through the magic of Adobe’s Flash and wireless signals, you can drive a remote control car around Jay’s office while he’s in. Pretty nifty, huh?

The car (or actually I think it’s a little RC SUV) has a little camera mounted on top, and you can roll all over the office. Watch out for the carpet, you probably will get stuck and have to wait for Jay to notice. Which, as it bit me the first time I tried it (thanks to the person in front of me), will very well cut your play time (of a gracious full minute) down to next to nothing.

Anyway, before I trot off to finish up some code and call it Thanksgiving break, I thought I’d share this cool little gig with you.

Share your thoughts!.

Filed Under: Nascar, Thunder Lounge





Trackback URL for: Are you bored? I sure am, for some strange reason.

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Thursday October 25, 2007
9:38am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

That’s right folks. It’s that time again. The time when Thunder Lounge goes from words to actions, fires up that Earnhardt Smoker, and hits the lights for yet another event at Texas Motor Speedway.

We’ll take a quick aside here and ask a quick question to Mr. Bruton Smith. Laid Back what? We’ve got the drop on that by miles, so where’s the love? Hey, we kid because we care, and we’ll keep a plate warm for ya.

Back to the topic at hand, once again Thunder Lounge will be in the infield at Texas Motor Speedway for another weekend of fun and entertainment.

You can only walk through the souvenir trailers so many times, and play so many games of cards. So grab your cooler, and come check out our live DJ, and live music featuring Texas’ own Randy Brown!

If you’ve been there, you know Mardi Gras can’t even compare to the crowd and fun to be had when Thunder Lounge takes over the entertainment duties. Come one, come all, and we’ll see you next weekend!

Share your thoughts!.

Filed Under: Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series, Nascar, Network News, Nextel Cup, Texas, The Chase, Thunder Lounge, Tracks





Trackback URL for: See Atlanta, Keep On Driving To Texas

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Saturday September 15, 2007
12:48am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

As an update, our maintenance window was completed successfully and all functionality of the Thunder Lounge has been brought back online.

I’d like to thank myself, for being the idiot dedicated individual staying up half the night to transfer and run files, etc, etc.

OK, at least I thought that part was funny. But hey, it’s late at night. What can I say?

Join the discussion.

Filed Under: Nascar, Network News, Thunder Lounge





Trackback URL for: Maintenance Completed Successfully

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Friday September 14, 2007
3:43pm CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

We’ll be conducting some routine maintenance on the Thunder Lounge tonight (9/14/07) between 10pm and 12am CDT.

We do not anticipate any problems with these updates, as they are all routine and have checked out fine during test runs.

The scope of this maintenance window includes a few minor bug fixes, and aesthetic changes in a few minor areas.

We appreciate your patience and support while we complete these tasks.

Share your thoughts!.

Filed Under: Nascar, Network News, Thunder Lounge





Trackback URL for: Scheduled Maintenance Window

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Tuesday August 7, 2007
8:25am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Well, we’ve done it this time. After having to give up my season tickets to Richmond upon moving to Oklahoma after 2002, we’ve finally made it back on the list. Props to RIR, as it only took 18 months of waiting this time, and the tickets even kicked in a race early with the September event instead of waiting until May 2008.

Needless to say, we’re going out better prepared than last August’s adventure to the Sharpie 500. We’ve fully verified internet connectivity, which will be on Sprints network (the EVDO network, aka: the good stuff), and have a fully compatible router and all needed accessories in place. Also in tow will be a Canon Digital Rebel XT, with a few choice pieces of glass, so we’ll be able to pop some photos and have them on the site that evening. No, I’m not dragging a monster Dell laptop, or a router, around a race track for 14 or 15 hours. If the new MacBook Pro was in place, it might be a different story.

So, as long as the Gimp and Mepis don’t let me down, all will be well. We’ll probably wait to add the bulk of images once we’re back, but we’ll have some goodies on the site after both the Busch and Cup races.

Heck, I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. The Busch seats (reserved) are just before the start/finish line, and the Cup seats are split second before they’ll hit the brakes for Turn 1. Last go around all my tickets were on the back stretch just out of turn 2, as we never could get bumped up to the front stretch. They were good seats though, with a minor exception of a sliver of Turn 4 because of the garage(s). Thank you D-shaped oval.

Needless to say, I’m stoked about it. I love that place. I can’t put a finger on what it is exactly, but if I could only go to one track for the rest of my life, it would be Richmond. Bristol was incredible, so is Martinsville, and they would be a close second, but Richmond for some reason just takes the cake.

Anyway, back to the daily grind. I’ve got a lot of thoughts on this whole Robby vs NASCAR crap (they’re both to blame), the recent rumors that Kyle is headed to Gibbs (leaving JJ ass out), and some little miff about Gibbs jumping in bed with Toyota. However, it’s going to have to wait until after I can come up out of some code for a breath of air.

Share your thoughts!.

Filed Under: Busch Series, Nascar, Network News, Nextel Cup, Richmond, The Chase, Thunder Lounge, Tracks





Trackback URL for: Fans Come First: On-site Coverage From Richmond

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday July 25, 2007
1:34am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

While I’m going to blame this one on Marc, I happened to notice a little eye candy in the way of the current Cup standings, and next race details and stats.

Courtesy of the fine folks at One Bad Wheel, I put together a couple of widgets that implements their available scripts so that you can add these to your Thunder Lounge sites. The widget allows you to select which of their widget script styles you would like to choose (I gave them representative names for use here), and that’s the gist of it.

We’d like to thank the folks at One Bad Wheel for putting this together, and allowing folks the opportunity to have updated info without having to sift through tons of content each week.

You’ll find the new widgets under your “Plugins” menu, and once activated you can go to the “Sidebar Widgets” link under your “Presentation” drop down menu.

Note: See Marc, I told ya I’d been workin’

4 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: Nascar, Network News, Nextel Cup, Thunder Lounge





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By Clance' McClannahan, Thunder Lounge
Sunday July 22, 2007
5:56pm CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

After hours of searching and researching, I believe I have found the Ultimate Answer’s to the many questions posed on Thunder Lounge.com.

Yes, Marc, “Word is he’s been suspended under NASCAR’s Mythical Rulebook Section 12-4-A, “actions detrimental to stock car racing.” The exact violation hasn’t been detailed but indications are Luke was seen in the Texas Motor Speedway infield selling cheap copies of the Mythical Rulebook while wearing a gold tin foil hat.”

There have been many violations, one in particular, which brought about the horrid act, and turned the suspended one into a computer geek.

The exact violation of Section 12-4-A, “actions detrimental to stock car racing” was this post. Once up a time there was someone who dared such a dis’ to my driver… She however, was only put on probation for a first time violation. as she made the comments in ignorance, not being a NASCAR fan.

On the other hand, should Mr. Luke be given another chance? If so, how many? Just one? Two?
Or shall we say three strikes and you are out and just take over Thunder Lounge? Should we send him to Bash and Beat Up Tony Rehab in some nutzo forum somewhere, or would that be too harsh of a punishment?

I truly wish to recieve such marvelous feedback on post as was given to Aaron Fike, Don’t Let the Pit Gate Hit You. I, being the toothless hillbilly that I am, missed out on that lovely little party. The gate was locked, and rightfully so.

I had planned on doing a post about random drug use in NASCAR prior to the fire elementals threatening my home. Old news now. I have a pretty broad outlook and open mind. I too, believe that, in the world of NASCAR, there is no room for another chance. The sport is way too dangerous to have someone who is using drugs anywhere near a race car or truck. Yes, even if it was only mariwhanna.

Aaron Fike was not using “only” pot. He was using HEROIN, and shooting it up with NEEDLES. Now, I come from the old hippi world, and even in the 60’s and 70’s, “back in my days”, shooting up, meant SKANK. Heroin meant waaaaayyyy out of control. Not cool. In this day and age, the drugs are stronger and much more dangerous, and addictive. I do hope he, his gal, and the other NASCAR driver’s who have issues with addiction, get the help they need. But second chance in NASCAR? No way.

I do think, that after proper rehab, we should give ol’ Luke a second chance. He and Marc both need new hats, which was the second reason for suspension.
Why wasn’t Marc suspended for such an outlandish, blatent defiance of NASCAR’s Mythical Rulebook Section 12-4-A, “actions detrimental to stock car racing.”.
Because he was creative about it, I guess. When will the rules ever be the same for all?
By the way, the propellor has been found. It’s on the back of some guys bike.
While I was searching for it, I also found a picture of why I believe NASCAR driver’s should just say no to drugs.

On a final note, today’s deep thought:

Handle every situation like a dog.
If you can’t eat it or screw it,
Piss on it and walk away.

(I have edited and edited and cannot get this to format correctly, therefore I am taking my own advise)

Any questions??

9 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: Damn Good Points, Drivers, Guest Authors, Nascar, Ridiculous Posts, Thunder Lounge





Trackback URL for: NASCAR’s Mythical Rulebook Section 12-4-A ~ The Many Reason’s for Suspension

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Thursday July 19, 2007
11:54am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled discussion of all things NASCAR to give a shout out to a little side project of mine.

If WordPress, and specifically WordPress MU doesn’t interest you and leaves you scratching your head, you’re free to carry on about your day. We’ll be back on topic in a few.

If you are interested in WordPress MU, I have put together a little community over here specifically for the discussion of advanced issues in regards to WordPress Multi User (MU, or µ if you prefer).

Thanks to the assistance of Dr. Mike, Ron and Andrea, Andrew, and James, we’ve begun the building blocks for a solid community where advanced issues with WordPress MU can be discussed, hashed out to death, and then a solid piece of information can be given back to the MU community in a single post at the beginning of a thread in the official forums.

If topics like server load, database and code efficiency, advanced feature coding and discussion, advanced theme generation, and other such “geeky” topics have no interest for you, this isn’t your kinda place. If you are trying MU out, and can’t change a link color in CSS, or don’t have any idea what a custom template or function is, then this isn’t for you.

OK, that’s a little harsh, but seriously folks, we’re discussing a piece of server level software that requires advanced knowledge to begin with, and then diving further into it.

If you’re not scared off yet, or just perpetually curious, feel free to drop by and take a look.

Anyone may register, and join the discussion, and it’s highly encouraged to do so. Just let it be known that it’s for advanced discussion, and not for general MU support. They have a forum for that, and that’s not what this is about.

The reason for this community is two fold.

First, as previously mentioned, we can work out issues and discuss them through to a solution which can then be posted in the official forums in the first post. There’s lots of good information over there, but more times than not you have to wade through and piece together the solution. This aims to make it better in that regard.

Second, is that unfortunately MU draws a variety of people to it. To be honest, most of them don’t have the basic skill set to be successful with running MU. Nothing against those folks personally, we all can’t be a master of everything. However, it has lead to a downturn in the official forums where a lot of topics follow common traits, and have made it difficult to really discuss real issues at hand. Most topics started there have either been answered before and the user failed to search, the topic is something that wouldn’t need be asked if the users skill level were commensurate with what the software requires, and the biggest one of late has been users not even knowing they were in the MU forums and posting questions about WordPress in general. The last one has been bad lately especially.

When you come to the advanced community, there is no doubt about where you are. It looks nothing like any of the “official” sites, which other than a little µ in the logo, obviously a minor difference in the url, and a slight difference in the page links up top, they both look the same to someone without a clue.

When a large portion of the questions asked on the main forum can be replied to with one of 3 canned responses, there is an issue.

For these reasons, that’s why this new discussion community has been forged. To get out of the way of the junk, discuss true issues, and bring them to the masses.

Sporting a nice FAQ about MU, and some other goodies, any MU administrator can stand to find something of interest.

Just be warned, we have no problem closing a topic that is below the level of conversation. If you need to learn PHP, MySQL, Linux, Apache, HTML, CSS, or any of the basic skills, there are plenty of resources out there. If you need basic MU support, they have their own forum.

In closing, I’d like to thank Dynamic Systems and Content Solutions for their amazing Sphinx Portal, which is what our Advanced WordPress MU Discussion Community is running. If you need a portal and forum solution, give it a shot and you won’t be disappointed.

That’s all folks, back to driving fast and turning left.

2 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: Thunder Lounge, WordPress





Trackback URL for: MU Advanced: An Advanced Discussion Community