The FAA’s air traffic control systems are one of the many computer systems built years ago and still in use though there are many more efficient and reliable models and tools available today.  The problem with the FAA’s systems is very much like every other government system in the country.  While the government has no problem spending money on doing research on how much gastrointestinal discomfort a wombat might feel if it eats funny berries, they refuse to find the necessity to make sure the systems that safeguard human lives in a variety of aspects are kept up to date and working to the best of their abilities.

The FAA systems were once upon a time state of the art.  As with everything in technology however, state of the art lasts about as long as it takes to say it, meaning that while the system worked at the time, with the increased load placed upon it now with increases in travel frequency within the country, as well as flights coming in from abroad, means that an upgrade should have been in the works when the last system was implemented.

The problem ultimately resides in the government’s reluctance to spend money on anything it deems able to get by with what it has already.  The alternative is wasting the money on pet projects that serve no purpose other than to appease a very small group of people, usually those who donated to the politician’s campaign.  Its a corrupt system where the “Old Boy’s Club” of friends get to spend a blank check on things they would never have dropped money into themselves, but since the government’s paying, why not?  Instead of focusing on fixing potential problems and keeping the United States at the peak of technological advancement, the money that could be used to fuel progress is instead used to line bird cages and be thrown in fire pits to keep the flames of irrelevance burning strong.

One day, a disaster may happen in which the public outrage will be strong enough to force politicians to get off their self-serving pedestals and do something for the benefit of the nation, but it is unfortunate it takes such a situation to get the action that should have been executed preemptively.

1. Kaleisia Tea Lounge - Located at 1441 East Fletcher Ave. Suite #133, this community-oriented tea lounge offers loose leaf teas, smoothies and vegan food options. While close to the University of South Florida, it promotes a “tea community” and welcomes anyone. Owners Kim Pham and Lan Ha are dedicated to customer service and love helping people learn more about tea and Asian cultures.

2. Dunderbaks - Located at 14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., this German bar and restaurant offers delicious, authentic food and hundreds of draft and bottled beers from all over the world. With more than 50 beers on draft, there’s a beer for everyone and a size for everyone including Das Boot. If you get really lucky, maybe you’ll get to see the accordion player who sings underneath the gazebo some nights.

3. Carmine’s Restaurant - Located at 1802 E. 7th Ave. in Tampa’s historic Ybor City, Carmine’s might have the best deviled crab in all of Florida. There’s nothing here that isn’t delicious. It’s an affordable place to stop off at if you fly into Tampa International Airport. You can find Cuban, Italian and American favorites there.

4. Tampa Theater - Located at 711 N. Franklin St. #A, this is not only a beautiful building but also a great place to see bands and movies. They bring in great indie movies that don’t typically show in theaters. This beautiful, historic building is a definite see even if you only walk through and enjoys the incredible décor.

5. The Hub - Located at 719 N. Franklin St. (right down the road from the Tampa Theater), The Hub has been described as “trashy and fabulous,” so if you’re looking for a classy place, continue on your way. This is a great place to hang out, get some REALLY strong, cheap drinks, and meet some interesting people. The music there is always great and the drinks are always strong. It’s a Tampa classic.

6. Acropolis - This Greek restaurant has three locations: 1833 W. 7th Ave, 14947 Bruce B. Downs and 6108 Winthrop Town Ctr. Ave. For an all-out Greek experience, Acropolis is the place to go. With a different menu for each place, there is a guarantee that nothing will disappoint. Expect the traditional breaking of the plates.

7. Cilantro - Located at 11009 56th Street N., Cilantro offers a lunch and dinner buffet that is the best Indian buffet around. Check out their delicious Indian wines and beers. The service there is great and the ambiance is even better.

8. Salvador Dali Museum - Located at 1000 Third St. S. in Saint Petersburg, offers anything you may need for your surrealistic needs. Any art aficionado needs to check out this world’s-largest collection of Dali art.

9. Florida Aquarium - Located at 701 Channelside Drive, this is a great place to take the family for a day of fun and discovery. You can swim with thousands of coral reef fishes, meet penguins “face to beak,” and get close to some of the ocean’s most mysterious sea creatures.

10. Tampa Museum of Art - If you can hold out until early 2010, its new building will be completed and it will be incredible. Its current exhibition “Dip, Dot, Byte, Spot” showcases digital art and explores current technological advancement. Exhibitions change throughout the year and are well worth checking out.

“There it is, Dad!” I almost screamed.

“That’s why they call this ‘America’s Roller Coast,’” he responded with a smile.

It’s true that my dad and I drove a solid 18 hours from our home in Clearwater, Florida, a more than 1,100-mile trip through seemingly endless cornfields, tired farm towns and broken roads to visit what is arguably the top-rated thrill park on the planet, but I had no idea how fitting the extreme version of our trip just getting there actually fit the thrill power of this attraction….

The park opened at 10 a.m., as it does for the majority of its operating season, which usually is May through November, depending on when winter decides to let up enough for the coasters to run safely. We were up and ready to go by 9 a.m.

The Best Budget Inn, one of many inexpensive hotels (about $40 a night during the summer) on Cleveland Road, the last main strip of lodging and restaurants before the park entrance, offered a simple continental breakfast that we gladly filled our stomachs with before heading out.

As soon as I stepped out of our room, I thanked myself for remembering to bring a jacket. It was a crisp 68 degrees that mid-July morning, but this was an “Ohio summer,” my dad made sure to point out. The high that day, as we made sure to check the weather on the little black box that was our television set in the room, was 75 degrees. This thought brought a huge cracking smile to my face. Back home, the high was surely in the mid-90s, one of those days if spent at a Florida theme park would have had the sweat pouring down the backs of your legs in buckets while standing in crowded lines waiting to see Dumbo. I couldn’t wait to call my friends to brag.

The quiet, empty roads of Sandusky at dusk had changed drastically overnight. Cars with license plates from every nearby state – Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina – drove bumper-to-bumper on the narrow, two-lane stretch of asphalt between us and the park. It was then that I saw the giant sign, covered in Peanuts’ characters and bright colors, welcoming us to Cedar Point.

Only minutes later, the faint sound of hundreds of thrilled screams entered through our open windows and I noticed the coasters were starting run.

A reasonable $43.99 each bought us our admission, almost half of what most Florida theme parks charge for entry, and Cedar Point has double, in many cases triple the amount of roller coasters in comparison. In fact, Cedar Point lays hold to the world record for the theme park with the most roller coasters: a whopping 17 total, currently, according to the park’s Web site.

Not only does Cedar Point have the most roller coasters in the world, but it has the most thrilling collection of coasters. On a coaster thrill scale of 1 to 5, 1 being a “low thrill” and 5 being an “aggressive thrill,” 10 of the 17 coasters are rated 5, six are rated 4 (“high thrill”) and only one is rated 2 (“mild thrill”): the Jr. Gemini, a kiddie coaster.

After breaking through the turnstile at a running start, leaving my dad behind in the dust, the first sight to catch my eye wasn’t the group of giant-sized Peanuts’ characters walking around signing autographs, or the thick aroma of fresh funnel cakes being baked, or even the crashing sound of the nearest ride – Demon Drop – as it made its way down the track, eight screaming people harnessed inside its metal cage. Instead, it was the 420-foot, red and yellow steel coaster that stood a half mile away, an 18-passenger train just cresting the top, about to plummet a solid 400 feet into a 270 degree steely twist all the way down.

Built in 2003, Top Thrill Dragster is the second tallest and fastest roller coaster on Earth, only adding to Cedar Point’s record-setting reputation. The only coaster to top it is very similar in design with the same 180 degree ascent/descent; it’s just eight miles per hour faster and 36 feet taller, located at New Jersey’s Great Adventure theme park.

Not surprisingly, this was the first ride I wanted to experience.

Though the park had opened only 20 or so minutes before, my dad and I waited in line for two hours to ride the Top Thrill Dragster. This is where that 75 degree high came in handy, easing the wait time in line.

Finally, we were strapped into our “top fuel dragster” and staring ahead at the track before us, nervously awaiting the red light to change to green so we could be launched 120 miles per hour in approximately four seconds, or so one of the info signs in line had read.

My heart thudded in my ears and my hands began to sweat. I looked at my dad and cracked a nervous smile.

As soon as the light changed to green, we were shot up the track at a speed I’ve never before experienced in a vehicle so open. I could feel the skin on my cheeks pull back with the tugging force of the wind. My hair tie was ripped right out of my hair….

From green light to red, the ride was, at most, 15 seconds in length, but it was some of the most thrill 15 seconds of my life, well worth the two-hour wait time, especially for a first-timer like myself.

“Holy crap!” was all that came out of my mouth as I unglued myself from the seat and gave my dad a wild, wide-eyed look of pure excitement. I was actually still shaking.

“I told you this was a real thrill park,” he said.

Top Thrill Dragster was only the beginning.

We were able to get in four more coasters before lunch: Raptor, an inverted, dangling coaster; Blue Streak, a wooden scream machine and the park’s oldest coaster; Wicked Twister, the fastest double-twisting, impulse coaster in the world, and Corkscrew, the world’s first triple-looping coaster.

With about 21 rides left on our agenda (did I mention that Cedar Point has a total of 74 rides?), we had selected only the most thrilling of course, we decided to grab a fast bite and went to the Burger Patio for some char-grilled burgers and fries, priced decently at around $8 for a combo that comes with a medium-sized drink.

If we had more time, we could have eaten at any of the park’s nine sit-down restaurants, from a 50s style burger joint like Johnny Rocket’s to the Bay Harbor gourmet seafood restaurant.

Of my entire trip, I would have to say that ride number nine totally made it, and the best part was, I never expected it.

As we approached the queue line, I immediately saw the giant sign that read in a bold yellow and dark purple futuristic style lettering, “Millenium Force.” The name in print looked interesting enough, but the small board next to it with a clock-like symbol and a bright yellow arrow pointing out the “minimum” two-hour wait time, didn’t look so appealing.

“Ugh,” I sighed. “Is this ride even worth that?”

“I think you’ll be surprised, hon,” my dad said with a grin.

From the line, all I could see was a small section of track, which didn’t look very thrilling. No loops, drops or twists. It was just a little curve. I decided that my dad had been right so far about this place, so I shrugged my shoulders and we took our places at the end of the line.

“At least we have some good tunes to listen to while we wait,” my dad reminded me.

It was true. At Cedar Point, every queue line is equipped with several outdoor speakers that blast hits from all the decades, and in the line for Millennium Force, there was even a DJ who took requests. This made the time pass by a lot faster and I noticed many of the guests dancing and singing in line during the wait.

After the approximate two –hour wait, and a long though mildly entertaining adventure back and forth, up and down between the several hundreds of yards of queue line, we were strapped in tight to our ninth coaster of the day. It wasn’t until we began the 310-foot climb to the top that I had any idea what I was in for.

As soon as we crested the hill, or mountain rather, my heart felt like it sank into my stomach. The drop is almost 180 degrees and sends you flying at a max speed of 92 miles per hour on 6,595 feet of track through the middle of the park, which is mostly dense forest. This explained why I could barely see the coaster from the line.

The Millennium Force coaster at Cedar Point is, to this very day, my favorite roller coaster. It’s a combination of the length, the speed and that incredible initial drop that stick it to that place.

By this point, Dad and I still had 12 rides to go with not much daylight left. Truly, Cedar Point is a park that you’ll have to spend, at minimum, two days in to get the full experience. There are simply too many rides, too many shows, too many eateries and just plain too much to do at this mega park to spend a single day.

True theme park enthusiasts with a little extra pocket change to spare (rooms start at $250 and go up to $1,000 per night), would do well staying at the Sandcastle Suites Hotel or the Hotel Breakers, both located on the glittering shores of Lake Eerie and right on ‘America’s Roller Coast.’ Both resorts allows their guests entry to the park one hour before the general public is allowed admittance, the perfect time to jump-start a day at a place where there is so much to do.

Cedar Point also features Camper Village for those RV and trailer-toting guests.

Although Dad and I skipped all the “kiddie rides” that day on our extreme trip, it’s important to note that Cedar Point has a total of 29 rides, split between four different areas of the park (Camp Snoopy, Kiddy Kingdom, Planet Snoopy and Gemini Midway) specifically geared for children. So if you’re not exactly looking to experience the potential stomach-heaving power of Cedar Point’s 17 ultra-coasters and 16 other intense thrill rides, and you simply want to take the kids out for a less intense day of colorful carousel rides, balloon animals and cotton candy, then Cedar Point has you covered there, too.

It was 9:50 p.m. and Dad I were running through the sprawling green and red laser lights of the Snoopy Laser Light Show, a light and fireworks show that Cedar Point puts on every summer night, in order to cram in one last ride. The 17 mega-coasters that we got in that day just weren’t enough. We had to go and spend the extra $20 a pop on yet another extreme ride that only Cedar Point has to offer, called Skyscraper. Guests are allowed to pay and wait in line for this ride up until the park closes at 10 p.m. Rides are given until everyone who has paid and waited has been served.

This extreme thrill ride is like a giant propeller, with two massive, steely arms rotating clockwise or counterclockwise, which spun Dad and I 360 degrees, 16 stories in the air at speeds up to 55 miles per hour for a good two minutes. The rush of blood flooded back and forth from my head to my feet as we were slung back and forth, over and over again, but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. The only disappointment on this ride was that I lost a dollar or so in quarters on one of the flips. Oh well. It was well worth the rush and a most excellent way to end our extreme day.

Truly, if you’re looking for a place that offers some of the best thrills this planet can muster, well, you’ve come to the right place if it’s Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Don’t let the miles of cornfields, old dusty back roads or tired towns throw you off. Amidst all of that is a place screaming – literally – to satisfy your every vacation and entertainment need, so much so that Dad and I have been back every summer since.

I can’t think of a single reason not to take advantage, and here’s a little help:

Top budget travel destinations for 2009 (according to Budget Travel):

If you’re really looking to save – and maybe even help stimulate that slumping economy we were just talking about – stick to the U.S. for all your travel desires. Here are those top three spots:

Austin, Texas. This city is chalk full of free and affordable events this year, such as the Austin City Music Festival (Oct. 2-4). Austin is also known for its good weather, pop culture, diversified private and public sectors and art.

Washington D.C. Not even considering the freshly minted visitor sector, or the recently re-opened National Museum of American History, let’s not forget this place also offers free admission to national monuments and the world class museums of the Smithsonian.

Hawaii. Due to a major visitor slump last year, tour operators are now offering aggressively discounted room and car rental packages. We all know the rest of the reasons to visit…volcanoes, black sand beaches, crystal clear water, dolphin adventures, amazing views, constant sunshine and 80-degree weather…it’s Hawaii for God’s sake.

Now for outside the U.S.:

Budapest, Hungary. The U.S. dollar has recently surged here, gaining 30 percent against the declining local currency. Check out the country’s wonderful art noveau architecture, the famous Great Market Hall and miles of caves under the Castle District.

Reykjavik, Iceland. Another country with a collapsing currency will save American tourists 48 percent on virtually everything, not to mention airfares are cheap, cheap, cheap! Party it up at some of the most popular clubs on the planet, look for puffins and visit world-renowned museums and zoos.

Mexico. The exchange rate on the U.S. dollar to the Mexican peso hasn’t been this good in more than a decade, seeing mega price drops in even the most high profile destinations there like Cancun, Mexico City and Oaxaca. Take in the colorful Mexican culture and the world famous beaches.

Vancouver, B.C. U.S. to Canadian exchange rates have finally rebounded to 2005 levels and fares to Vancouver are at all-time lows. Check out some of the “cool” new venues like the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, which is now topped with a six-acre rooftop garden of 400,000 native plants and wild grasses that are partly irrigated by a sophisticated rainwater collection system.

Berlin. It’s the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Throw in some of the best hotel deals on the planet and what else do you need?

Cambodia, AKA The Golden Kingdom. One of the best backpackers’ secrets of the world. Explore the sprawling Angkor complex and its magnificent Hindu and Buddhist temples.