I have tried many, many times over the years to conquer my fear of thrill rides. When I was a little kid, my poor mother had to stop several carnival rides so that she could rescue me, pale and terrified, from the clutches of some spinny tilty whirly contraption.  Wikipedia defines this as, “an extreme over-reaction to normal self-preservation instincts.” How can one over-react in the name of self-preservation? Certainly that is exactly the time for extreme reaction, right? Perhaps I should first define what I mean by “thrill” ride. You know that whooshing feeling that you get when a Ferris Wheel carries you up over the top? Yes, Ferris…