Gotham Commentary, 2017

By special request, I will start doing my analysis of Gotham each year, in additional to Middle Earth. Gotham is in it's 3rd year, and is a dynasty league. Klent Starks was our first Champion and Dave Groves is the defending champ. Will Dave repeat? Will Klent make his second playoff appearance? Find out below!

Top Three

Gotham's Reckoning (Nathan Koehler)

I have one of the best teams, no question. I drafted well, and I've made the trades I needed to give myself a legitimate shot at a Championship. The problem? I've never won in any league. There's going to be a lot that I will have to overcome. I have Rodgers, Freeman, AJ Green and Antonio Brown as my core, but barring injury, I should have a shot for the next few seasons.

The Odell Beckham Joker (Colin Capps)

Colin is The Reckoning's Evil Twin. He has a plethora of fantastic receivers and Colin has the smarts to continue to build and rebuild on the fly. Beckham, Mike Evans, Jordy Nelson and Greg Olsen lead his receiving corps and what an impressive group that is! Colin's running backs are a bit suspect, which may be his only weakness.

Beware The BatBear (Kevin and Braxton Koehler)

When Dad and Braxton combine forces, you know to expect great things. The BatBear has been consistently good, but will be hampered by the loss of David Johnson this season. Speaking of injuries, the BatBear is already have some issues with the loss of Andrew Luck for an unknown time and the inevitable injury of Big Ben at some point in the season. I'm still not worried about the team and expect them to make the big dance.

Wild Card

The Asylum (David Groves)

Dave clearly has a good team, since he's the defending champ. However, I'm placing him into the wild card slot as he's reliant solely on the Patriots. It did win him a Championship last year, but I don't think that will be a sustaining strategy going forward. However, this season, he may still make a big run. As of this writing, Gronk and Brady are back!

Miss Playoffs

Team Starks (Klent Starks) 

Klent is rebuilding his team a bit. He's certainly gotten better but may still struggle this year. It happens. At least it's a Dynasty League! I expect that Klent will return to his former glory sooner rather than later.

Middle Earth Fantasy Football Commentary, 2017

As is my tradition, I'm going to evaluate all of the teams that we've put together in our Middle Earth Fantasy Football league (a week late, no less, but I'm trying). It took Jonathan three years to rebuild the team he was given, but he prevailed and won his second Championship, and now wears The One Ring as his prize. Will he repeat? Find out below!

Top Three

Andwise Puttifoot (Jake Thompson)

Jake took Zeke at #1 overall last year and was the best team in the league during the regular season. He was also voted as MVP. Unfortunately for Jake, he met John in round one of the playoffs and was sent packing. Jake has again built a great team, and with Zeke set to play the full season, he's sitting pretty with a stacked roster. Since I'm doing this post-week one, I can say that the loss of David Johnson will hurt Jake, but no doubt that he will find a great replacement on waivers.

Rubber Ducky Rohirrim (Kevin Koehler)

Am I getting redundant with putting Dad in the top three every year? Maybe, but I can't deny his talent for building great teams. He has two top WRs in Mike Evans and Amari Cooper and his running backs, Ty Montgomery and Kareem Hunt, should be consistent to lead Dad to another great season. The question for him (just like me) is, can he make it through the playoffs?

Minas Morgul Scream (Nathan Koehler)

Yes, I'm putting myself in the top three. I've tried to be humble, but I think I have a good team this year. My keepers, Jordy Nelson and Antonio Brown, will be great and Le'Veon Bell will lead my running game, barring any injuries and shaking off his post-holdout daze. If I can stay healthy, I believe I have a good shot at making a deep playoff run.

Wild Card(s)

Newton's Nazgul (Jonathan Barrett)

Jonathan is great owner and has proven that he can be left with absolute garbage to build from and still win a Championship. He has a solid running core but has already been battered by injuries. No doubt, though, that he can keep rebuilding his team through waivers as he has shown over the many years. I'm placing him as a wild card because even when he hasn't had some of the bigger names in the game, he's still won The Ring.

Bonus Wild Card

Manning Helm's Deep (John Barrett)

John is the unsuspecting type of player that will creep up with a few wins, squeak into the playoffs and then upset teams that should never lose (i.e. Jake). He's shown, too, that he can take The Ring for himself and always bodes well, despite lacking some of the bigger name players (like father, like son?). John will rely on LeSean McCoy and Doug Baldwin, but that hasn't hindered him in the past. John may be a sleeper team that could shock someone in the playoffs.

Miss Playoffs

Riders of Romohan (Colin Capps)

Honestly, Colin probably doesn't deserve to be here in the Miss Playoffs slot, and I may be very wrong to put him here (but I'm going to anyway!). Colin is going to live or die by Odell Beckham, AKA Eli Manning and Jay Ajayi. I'm sure he will fix up some of his team's issues via trade or FA, but it's possible that he will struggle this season unless he makes a blockbuster trade.

Look Around

Many days on my lunch break, I will take a walk around campus. Yes, I have a specific route, and yes I go the same way every time, but that's beside the point. I like to be outside and soak in the sunshine, especially when I've been sitting at my desk all day. Since I work on a college campus, there are always many other pedestrians out walking, though most are simply trying to get from point A to point B.

It never ceases to amaze me just how many people look downwards staring at their phones! Sure, I have my phone with me to listen to Survivor podcasts, plus, well, for safety reasons, but I don't understand this compulsive behavior to stare down during your entire walking commute.

Here are 3 Major Reasons not to Text and Walk

1. It is Dangerous. I give training on Safety all the time. It is part of my job responsibilities to inform employees about the hazards that they may encounter will working at the university. I can always get a laugh when I talk about students texting and walking and running into stuff. Why do I use this example? Because texting and walking is dangerous! ESPECIALLY when you are walking adjacent to a busy road with crazy drivers!

2. It is Rude. One of the things that bugs me is how rude looking down at your phone can be. We all know its rude to be staring down at your phone while someone is trying to talk to you, but its also rude when you aren't talking at all. When you walk around in a public place, you will probably interact with people, even if its not on an audible level.

interact. verb. act in such a way as to have an effect on another, act reciprocally.

If you think that hogging sidewalk (and forcing me to dodge out of your way because you've got your eyes glued to your phone) isn't interacting, you're wrong...

3. It is Inattentive. For me, this is huge. My brain is wired to pay attention to detail. It's why I'm good at my job. It's why I like to create things. It's why I remember really really weird things. If you pay attention, there are so many things to take in!

I've mentioned before in a previous post about how random people ask me for directions all the time. As I mention in that post, it could be because I have a friendly face. OR it could be because I'm the only human around who is not looking down at their phone! I look present and approachable.

Several months ago, I watched a webinar about texting and driving. Texting and Driving has turned in to a huge problem in America, and I'm not going to get into all of my ideas about that, but I wanted to mention something that this webinar pointed out. "Distracted Driving" has existed since the Model T. In the past, distracted driving was eating your Chic-fil-a sandwich, or changing your Hanson CD, or putting your baby's pacifier back in her mouth. Normally when you are distracted, you are being distracted via one body part (i.e. your eyes, your brain, or your hands). Texting is a whole new "genre" of distracted.You are literally forced to use your eyes, your brain and your hands to successfully text.Texting takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your thoughts off of your main task. [Side note: I was looking for the percentage of your brain that is used while texting and I stumbled on this awesome website about texting and driving.]

I'm not anti-texting and I'm not anti-technology (obviously), but it's just not a good idea to try and successfully do anything with only part of your brain, even if it's something you learned at the age of one! Texting and walking is a bad idea. It's dangerous. It's rude. It's Inattentive. Just don't do it.

Book Club (with Myself) 2

Its been a while since I wrote book reviews and recommendations, and that's because I forgot that I like to read....again. No, I'm not kidding, I literally forget that I like to read, and then I won't do it for months and months. One of my New Year's Initiatives is to read 2 books a month, so hopefully, I won't have time to keep forgetting about this hobby.

Anyway, I finally finished 5 more books since my last Book Club post (4 were from 2016, and the last one was from last week) and here are my reviews and recommendations:


How to Make People like You in 90 seconds or less by Nicholas Boothman

Ok, let me clear the air before I give my review of this book. Over the past 5 or 6 years, I have really grown in my ability to talk to different types of people. Chalk it up to maturing if you want, but it was definitely sped up in the torture years of my life, working selling furniture.... But sometimes I still get conscious about talking to people because I can tell that we're obviously not connecting. This book is NOT about manipulating people, but rather learning to create connections with people almost instantly. The book talks about building rapport with people based on other's body language, listening, and sensory preferences AND how your own attitude impacts the way will be perceived. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who has a high potential to encounter first impressions in the near future (this would include going to a job interview, meeting a college roommate, making a sales pitch, etc.)....So pretty much anybody. One thing to note, if you're not interested in evaluating your own actions and your own encounters, then you should probably pass on this book.



Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye by Len Bailey

I have started this book several times, only to get midway through and lose interest. Its not that the book is uninteresting, its just that every chapter is essentially its own story, meaning its not a "can't put it down" kind of book. This story uses the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson characters to investigate 10 mysteries from the Bible. I found it interesting because it uses known historic information to elaborate on things that are mentioned in the Bible. That's not to say its adding to the Word of God, but rather, explaining certain customs that aren't specifically spelled out in the Bible. Its a good read, I'd say, and I'd recommend it for someone who likes history or who likes Sherlock Holmes or who likes investigating Biblical stories. I will say though, that some of the stories are not ones you would learn about at VBS, both in the fact they are not "well-known" references nor should you read this to your kids at bedtime.


And Then There were None by Agatha Christie

One of the things Nathan's mom passed down to him is her love for mystery novels. So, its not surprising that many books on our bookshelves are written by Agatha Christie. Finally, I broke down and started reading And Then There were None, while we were traveling in Boston. I must say, I can now understand the obsession! This book is about 10 houseguests who mysteriously get invited to a person's house (none whom they know). They each come into the house with their own individual secrets and have to figure out how to deal with their offenses. It is a very intriguing book due to the fact that there are 10 characters to try and figure out "who done it." I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone who can read. Due to the plot of the book, it speaks about murder, but it is not what I would consider graphic. Keep in mind that this was originally published in 1939, so there may be some references that younger generations may not understand. 


How to Think Like Steve Jobs by Daniel Smith

There is something intriguing about Steve Jobs and the empire he built with Apple (and Pixar), which is why I purchased this book for Nathan. This book is a mix between a biography and a self-help book. The author uses Steve Jobs' life chronologically, to point out themes that may have made him successful. Its got the stereotypical stuff like, "Don't be afraid to make enemies," and "Develop your own Style," but it also includes some more unique themes included. Overall, I enjoyed this book, as I hadn't read articles or watched many documentaries about the man. For someone who is very knowledgeable about Steve Jobs already, this may not be the book for you. In saying that though, the primary focus by the author is NOT the biography, but the "self-help" goal. Additionally, I just want to point out that Steve Jobs was a class A jerk, so I wouldn't necessarily model my entire life on him, or this book.... BUT there are some good points made, and I honestly did like the book. I'd recommend this book to adults who have a well-established personality and work ethic, but who may just want to see how another person may approach life. 

The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

When 2017 came, one of my resolutions was to read more. To go along with this, I downloaded Amazon Kindle on my work iPad for rainy days when its too messy outside to run during my lunch break. I was pleasantly surprised by one of my recommended books! When the Kindle app asked me the types of books I liked, I selected fantasy, fiction, and mystery, so when it randomly recommended "The Things We Wish were True," I didn't know what I was about to start reading. This book is about a group of people who live in the same neighborhood who know each other only from the community pool. One thing I really liked about this book was the author's choice on how to tell the story. Each chapter was told from the perspective of a different person (for example: Day 1-Person A, Day 2-Person B, Day 3-Person C as opposed to each person giving their perspective of day 1). This format keeps the reader on their toes! I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 16, probably. There are a few curse words  (but only a few) and some adult themes. A very good book!

Assumptions are Unattractive

Last Thursday, I was given the opportunity to attend a regional conference to provide new information and methods related to my profession. The conference was actually in Memphis, so it was really convenient for me. Several other people came from the Memphis area, as well as several from Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. 

Of course one of the main things that is always pushed at any sort of conference is networking. So I was putting forth some effort to be less of an introvert and talk to people. 

After having several conversations throughout the day with various people, an older man, whom I had not spoken with yet, came up to me and struck up a conversation.

"I heard you tell someone earlier that you went to Murray State University."

"Yes, sir." I replied "I work at the University of Memphis now, though."

"Murray State.... that's Kentucky, right?"

"Yes!" I beamed thinking of my alma mater, "But I grew up in south-central Kentucky."

His face immediately adopted a disgusted look, and said, "So, you voted for Trump." Let me make it clear at this moment, that this was not a question, but rather a statement. 

"...Kentucky's 8 electoral votes went to Trump, yes." The conversation fizzled out and luckily the next presentation started. 

This conversation (or lack there of) made me furious, and here's why:

1. Maybe its just because I was brought up with (Kentucky) manners, but isn't it rude to ask someone you just met who they voted for? To be clear, politics had not been brought up in my rhetoric the entire day, nor would I even want to talk about politics with people I've just met. 

2. Yes, "Kentucky voted for Trump." After this incident, I couldn't help but to look up the actual election results and statistics. Trump got 63% of Kentucky's popular vote, winning their 8 electoral college votes. 

But listen here, sir, TENNESSEE voted for Trump too. 61% of Tennesseans voted for Trump, winning the state's 11 electoral college votes.... What's the point in throwing shade at me about where you think I voted, when your state did the exact same thing.

3. Here's a question, if I work at the University of MEMPHIS, is it even possible for me to have contributed to Kentucky's voting pool?.... Absolutely not. Obviously, I'm a resident of Tennessee, and my votes counted with the rest of Tennessee's ballots.

4. Even though Kentucky and Tennessee (and many other states) had a majority of Trump voters, they still had Hillary voters! Just like California had majority of Hillary voters, but 33% voted for Trump. Every state will always cast votes for each candidate or issue, but the majority wins. This is called democracy...

5. Lastly, and most importantly, we, as Americans, have got to stop assuming things about one another. All this man knew is that I grew up in Kentucky. He assumed (for some reason) that I still live there. He assumed I voted with my state's majority. He assumed I agree with my state's majority winner on every issue. Although he didn't say a word, I could see in his face that he assumed a lot about me.

This election has widened the gap between the two most prominent opposing sides. I'm getting sick and tired of hearing that all people who voted for Donald Trump are racist, sexist, rednecks. I'm also getting sick and tired of hearing that all people who voted for Hillary Clinton are Christian-hating, baby-killing, tree-huggers. Those people DO exist, I'm not denying that. In the past few weeks, I have seen some posts and heard some stories from both sides that make me furious. Things that make me feel nauseous. Things that make me embarrassed that I live in a country where people are so vile. 

But this behavior is not the majority! People voted for their candidate for their own personal reasons and its not your place to assume that they fall into the 1% of the hate. 

I'm not insinuating that the supporters of Hillary Clinton should just bow down to Donald Trump and accept everything he says as right and true. But I am asking us all to show a little respect to one another. Don't assume lies about anyone but let individuals show you their true colors, instead of assuming that someone is as bad as the worst of us.

2016 Middle Earth Fantasy Football

Last year, I posted my predictions in the blog about how I thought a few of our teams would do in Middle Earth, and so by popular demand, I will post my thoughts here again. ESPN no longer offers the draft report cards, so I will also include FantasyPro's rankings on each team, also.

TOP THREE (in no particular order)

Riders of Romohan (Colin Capps)

Is anyone surprised by this? Should I even bother saying much? Commissioner Colin seems to toy with our league every season and why should this year be any different? According to Fantasy Pros, he has the best team in the league, getting the only 100% score. I am a bit miffed at him since he took Keenan Allen in the first round, as that was the player that I WAS TARGETING. But I'm not mad. I believe that Colin could be the Blackhawks of Middle Earth and could go for three rings in six years, while becoming the first team ever to win thrice.

Dol Guldur Tsundere Towers (Braxton Koehler)

Like Colin, Braxton owns this league. I thought Braxton traded his way right out of contention last season but evidently, he didn't even need Cam Newton or Greg Olsen to win his second Championship Ring (side note: we actually bought The One Ring of power as our trophy and Braxton can now turn invisible). Braxton kept Antonio Brown and Jordan Reed, reacquired Mark Ingram and drafted Sammy Watkins. Fantasy Pros rated him at a 98.1% with his TE, Defense, WR and Flex being very strong. Could we see the Colin/Braxton championship matchup?! Time will tell!

Rubber Ducky Rohirrim (Kevin Koehler)

I'm having a hard time deciding who my third team will be as there are a lot of strong teams in our league, but I'm going with my gut and my heart on this pick. Kevin (or Dad, as I affectionately know him) did as I predicted last season and won not only his first playoff game, but his second and went to the Big Dance! His team played well all season and he ended up tied for the best record and met Braxton in the Championship. Now that the playoff monkey is off of his back, I believe another deep run could be in his future. Fantasy Pros rated teams higher than Dad, but his waiver wire expertise and trades should carry him deep unless he meets some tough injuries. Fantasy Pros ranks him with a 85.7% overall.

Wild Card

Andwise Puddifoot (Jake Thompson)

I'm upgrading Jake to a wild card this season. Last season, he went with a ton of RBs in the beginning of the draft and ended up in last place. This year, he decided to do...the same thing. He does have much better backs this time, though, as he made the homer pick of Ezekiel Elliott (Cowgirls NERD!) and kept David Johnson. His weakness, though, is the same as last year...not great receivers. And in a PPR league, receivers win championships (you can ask Braxton). So, the question will be, will Jake's RBs been good enough/catch enough to balance out his riskiness in taking WR very late in the draft? Fantasy Pros put Jake as the number three overall team with a score of 89.2%.

No Playoffs!

Shire County Studs (Klent Starks)

Klent may prove me wrong, and if so, bully for him! However, Mr. Starks seems to have not caught on to the fact that you never take a QB in the early rounds...come on, man! Klent went bold with taking Aaron Rodgers as his second overall pick. That does give him a premier QB, but limited his options in RB and WR considering the wealth that was also available at that time. His receivers are middle of the road, his flex position is weak and he's playing it risky with Thomas Rawls and Doug Martin as his top running backs. Will Klent prove me wrong? Probably...at least when he and I play. Fantasy Pros rated Klent second to last in the league with a 81.9% overall rating. (Sorry, Klent!)

Here are all of the ratings from Fantasy Pros (this does NOT reflect my opinion...just theirs.):

Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Score
1	Riders of Romohan	100.0%
2	Dol Guldur Tsundere Towers	98.1%
3	Andwise Puddifoot	89.2%
4	Saucy's Werewolves	87.8%
5	Russeldell Elves	87.2%
6	Rubber Ducky Rohirrim	85.7%
7	Seami Dolphawks	84.8%
8	Minas Morgul Scream	83.0%
9	Frodo And Boromir	82.7%
10	Prancing Ponies	82.7%
11	Shire County Studs	81.9%
12	Mines of Moria Mountain T...	77.2%

What do you think? Let me know.

Click here to see last year's predictions.

Favorite Things from Disney World

Oh gosh, where to start. Ok, let me make one thing clear, it is VERY hard to pinpoint things that you don't like about Disney World. Because, I mean, come on.... it's Disney World.... 

With that said, don't think that things included in this post are the only good things. Hopefully you  wouldn't think that anyway. These are our favorite things that we did in Disney World.

Rides

Haunted Mansion. Now, I've got to be honest with you: before our trip in October, I had never ridden the Haunted Mansion, even though I'd been to Disney World 3 times before. Nathan and his family love this ride, and were shocked that I'd never sat in a "doom buggy." Anyway, I rode it; I liked it; done and done. The Haunted Mansion is a great ride because of all of the special effects that are incorporated. When you think about this ride being developed in the 1970s, it makes it even more cool. I personally enjoyed the ride because of the constant play on words and witticisms.

Star Tours. Confession time. I've just recently seen all 6 of the Star Wars movies for the first time. This is of course in preparation for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. Anyway, this is a simulator ride, so people who get carsick or motion sickness, probably wouldn't like this ride. We, however, thoroughly enjoyed it. We also found out that the ride has over 50 different variations and Disney will continue adding new variations as episode 7-9 are completed. We rode Star Tours 3 times, and every single experience was different!

Seven Dwarves Mine Train. This is the newest ride in the Disney Parks and is a Roller Coaster in Magic Kingdom. One cool thing about this ride is that it uses a new system where the individual cars rock back and forth independently. To some, this may seem scary, but trust me it's really not. Instead, you will experience one of the least jerky roller coaster rides ever! Another reason I enjoyed this ride was because instead of just giving you a picture at the end, the ride produces an actual VIDEO! Its so cool! The tower of terror does this too, and it makes me wonder if they are going to try and start integrating this into all of their rides. Its really neat! 

Click here to see more ride photos from Disney World.

Honorable Mentions: Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, DINOSAUR

Shows.

Philharmagic. This is a 3D show at Magic Kingdom. We enjoyed this show enough to go watch it twice. I don't have a picture of this...

Festival of the Lion King. This was probably my favorite show, and occurred at Animal Kingdom. Its based around the Lion King but it is interactive and has powerful harmonic songs. I really enjoyed it! Its great for kids and adults.

Carousel of Progress. "There's a grrrreat big beautiful tomorrow...." This is actually considered a ride because it moves while the show is happening, but it is really most like a show. This ride was originally developed by Walt Disney for the 1964 New York World's Fair. It goes through several eras and talks about the different changes in technology. For nerds like us, it was pretty interesting! I don't have a picture of this either...

Honorable Mentions: Electric Parade, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Fireworks (obviously)

Food.

Be Our Guest Restaurant. This wasn't necessarily a favorite as far as food goes, but definitely the best we visited in regards to the atmosphere! Basically, you have a meal in the Beast's Castle from Beauty and the Beast. We made dinner reservations one afternoon and we sat in the "West Wing." (note: you HAVE to make reservations for this restaurant). I don't want to give everything away, but trust me, you want to try and eat here on your Disney World vacation! French cuisine, awesome environment, and the Beast even showed up at the end of our meal! This is definitely a must-do while you are at Magic Kingdom. Be Our Guest Restaurant wins the award for Best Atmosphere.

Try the grey stuff. It's delicious pretty good.

Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe. We ate at this restaurant at Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) on the day that we arrived. I literally can't describe how good the food was here.... Nathan got a steak and fries and I got chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. Oh my gosh, SO DELICIOUS!!!! Wolfgang Puck wins the award for Best Meal.

Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. Obviously, bakery was in Epcot. Specifically, it was located in France in the World Showcase. We didn't stop here until the last hour of the last night, but boy do I wish we had explored it sooner. I got a beignet and it was the best tasting snack of the whole trip. To be fair, probably everything that this bakery served was probably melt-in-your-mouth (which is why I wish we'd eaten there every snack...) Les halles Boulangerie-Patisserie wins the award for Best Snack.

Honorable Mentions: 

Tony's Town Square Restaurant for great pasta and Lady and the Tramp theme; Pizza Planet for fun atmosphere; Karamell-Kuche for caramel snacks

Check out more posts about our Disney World trip!

Disney World Mania Series

Things to Do in Disney World (video)

Our Ride Pictures

6 Things to Take Advantage of at Disney World

Favorite Things from Disney World

6 Things to Take Advantage of at Disney World

Disney World is definitely a trip you have to save up for, we all know that. But Disney also offers a lot of free tools and perks that comes with the vacation. Here are some things you need to take advantage of on your Disney Vacation. 

1. Disney World App. On any smart phone, you can get the Disney World app, which gives you so much insight when you're planning what to do. It gives you your itinerary of any dining reservations you've made and/or Fast Pass ride selections, which is (I think) its main purpose. However, it does SO MUCH MORE. Its got real time maps that use your GPS to show you which attractions you're close to AND up-to-date wait-times! This is extremely helpful if you're trying to decide whether or not you want to walk across the park to ride a popular ride.

With the Disney World App, you can also make new dining reservations. Halfway through our trip we realized almost all of our reservations were Italian, so we decided to change one on the fly. You can few which restaurants are take reservations for specific time slots. Pretty handy if you change your mind, like we did.

Another perk for using the Disney World App is that you can view your PhotoPass pictures that have been captured on rides, with characters, or with any Disney photographer. Click here to see our ride photos (they're funny).

2. FastPass. A fast pass allows you to skip in front of other people in line so that your wait-time for a ride is exponentially shorter. You can get at least 3 a day, and sometimes after you use them all, you can get more.

PEOPLE, register for your fast passes... This is a free thing that anyone can do! It guarantees that you will be able to ride specific rides. Sure there are some restrictions, but why would you not do it? Even if you don't think you will use them, get them anyway!

Numbers 3-6are good things to take advantage of if you are staying at a Disney World Resort...

3. Disney Transportation. If you're staying at a Disney Resort, use their transportation. First off, it saves you gas.... Second of all, they know where they're going. No reason to get lost for no reason. 

Also, if you have a park hopper ticket, you can use Disney Transportation from park to park. This includes monorail systems, bus routes, and even boat rides! Check out each park's guide to find out about transportation for each. 

4. Refillable Mugs. If you are a heavy drinker (as in sodas....) then you should probably invest in a Disney Resort Refillable Mug. They are about $16, but if you consider that each individual drink is about $3, then the mug is a pretty good deal, regardless of if you get a dining plan or not.

The only thing to note, is that you cannot use the refillable mugs inside the parks, only at resorts. Still, its an excellent deal.

5. Extra Magic Hours. If you are staying at a Disney World Resort, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EXTRA MAGIC HOURS. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. Only the people staying at a Disney Resort have access to these hours! This significantly decreases your wait-time for rides!

This is especially important if the extra magic hour is in the morning! Many people won't make an effort to wake up an EXTRA hour earlier after a long day. So, get your butt out of bed and get to the parks! One day, we literally rode Rock n' Roller Coaster once and Tower of Terror 3 times in just that one extra hour, because no one was there! Click Here to see our Disney World video.

6. Park Guides. This one is an old school one, but this doesn't even cross some people's mind. If you have to stand in line for an hour to ride a ride, doesn't it make sense to study the park guide THEN instead of waiting until you get off the ride. Be efficient with your time and plan the next few rides you want to ride or shows you want to see!

Check out more posts about our Disney World trip!

Disney World Mania Series

Things to Do in Disney World (video)

Our Ride Pictures

6 Things to Take Advantage of at Disney World

Favorite Things from Disney World

Charge HR Review

So, for the past few months I've been trying to get a little bit more in shape. I use an iPhone app called MyFitnessPal to keep me on track. This app helps you track your calorie intake from eating and your calories burned from working out.  Recording food is someone easy, as no matter who you are or what your body type is, you know that if they box says you're eating 140 calories for a breakfast bar, then you are eating 140 calories. 
There is no guessing unless you make something homemade, and even then, you just have to know the major ingredients.

Anyway, the exercise is what I always wondered about. Even though I am really good about recording the exercise events (because, duh, that means I can eat more...), I'm always curious to know if what the treadmill says is really true. Because, nobody REALLY holds on to the metal heart rate monitors the whole time they're running. This, coupled with Nathan's new Apple Watch (which records your activity) got me investigating options to record my physical activity automatically.

After some research, I decided on a Fitbit Charge HR.

What I like about the Charge HR:

1. Its very simple. On the face, you can view the time & date, daily steps taken, current heart rate, daily distance traveled, daily calories burned, and daily flights of stairs climbed. It has 1 button, so it doesn't really take long to figure out how to use it.
2. It stays charged for about 5 days. This is way better than charging every night! One way to save your battery even more is by setting it to not automatically sync to your phone.
3. You can easily record specific time intervals. If you are going to go on a run, you can just hold down the 1 button when you start, and hold down the same button when you end.
4. The fitbit app is awesome and the online dashboard is even better! These give you so much information! You can literally go in and see what your statistics are for a specific time or workout.
5. The fitbit app syncs to the MyFitnessPal app. To me, this was a big selling point. This completely eliminates the guessing game when it comes to inputing my calories burned from working out. It also tracks calories burned during activities that you wouldn't necessarily think to record, such as cleaning, or walking the dog.

What I don't like about the Charge HR:

1. Honestly, I like everything about it, except wearing it. Its not uncomfortable at all; I just feel that it is a bit underdressed with some of my work outfits. It looks great with a t-shirt.
2. I don't like sleeping in the fitbit. One of the main advertised attributes of the Charge HR is that it will record your sleep. Well, I don't know if I just sleep weird or what, but its sort of hard to adjust sleeping with basically a watch on. Maybe thats just me tho. I'm starting to get used to it, I think.

I would recommend an Charge HR to someone who is interesting in getting a fitbit-like device for recording your steps walked, your miles traveled, and your accurate heart rate.

Fantasy Football Predictions

For the last eight years or so, I have been playing fantasy football. While our league and a few managers (the other guys I play with are referred to as owners or managers or whatever, depending on how I'm feeling) have primarily stayed the same, there are two things that remain consistent...I have never won any fantasy football league, and my dad has never won a playoff game. Could this be the year that I win and Dad makes it to the semi finals...?! Maybe. Read on to see my hilarious predictions! (Note here: these predictions and the commentary is based on what each team currently has. This will change as players are injured, trades are made and players are taken off of the free agency. Also, I'm not going to comment on every team...I will pick my top three, a wild card and a prediction for missing the playoffs. And yes, the league is Lord of the Rings Themed.)

TOP THREE in no particular order.

The Rubber Ducky Rohirrim! (Kevin Koehler)

That's right! I'm picking my dad to exorcise his playoff demons and make a deep run into the playoffs! This may seem like a bit of a biased pick, which is fine, because it is. I'd be just as happy if Dad won the championship as I would be if I won. His WRs are strong, and he has THE Quarterback, Tom Brady, at the helm once again. I think that Brady will probably come out furiously after the Deflategate scandal, and will lead Dad to his first playoff victory...and perhaps more! Know what else he has? Smarts! Dad's only enemy is that he can overthink his team, but if he makes the right moves during the season, watch out! 

Riders of Romohan! (Colin Capps)

I'm not sure that any team can beat Colin, really. Injuries devastated the Riders last season, but did that even hinder him? It doesn't seem like it! He still managed to win his second championship in Middle Earth, becoming the only manager to ever win twice. While I will admit that I'm still a little sore over losing to him in the playoffs last year, Colin has my vote to be the first to win three Championships over the next few seasons. He plays the waiver wire well, and even if injuries come his way, he can rebuild his team and make another run as defending Champ.

Russeldell Elves (Jonathan Barrett)

Colin's massacre of my team in the playoffs is a bit closer to my mind since it happened recently but I haven't forgotten my only trip to the Championship! Jonathan's team made a furious comeback those many moons ago with only three or four players left to stomp me into the dirt for his first championship....jerk. But, I give credit where credit is due (and not just because he's my brother from another mother), so here is to you, O Mighty One! Jonathan has what Colin and my dad have...the brains to build a team to win. Jonathan trades right, and picks up the right people off of the waiver wire, and that makes him dangerous. He was left with a crappy team to pick keepers from, and bear-ly (hahahaha...bears) missed the playoffs last season. This season, it would genuinely surprise me not to see Jonathan make a championship run.

WILD CARD

Prancing Ponies! (Seth Svebakken)

Seth has been in last place the last two seasons, but no more! I sent him the top WR in a trade during the offseason, and Seth has drafted well. Barring any injuries, I think that Seth will make the playoffs this year. Romo gets a ton of points, and Julio Jones will be a PPR monster. The only question marks I have for him is will his running backs show up, and will he be able to avoid the injury bug? 

NO PLAYOFFS

Andwise Puddifoot! (Jake Thompson)

It's hard not to be intimidated by a team that's named the Puddifoots. It is so intimidating, in fact, that Jake himself was scared, and boy, did it affect his drafting! Not sure why Jake drafted 4 running backs and only one wide receiver in the first five rounds, but he did. He does have great RBs, however, in our new PPR format, I think he will struggle. However, Jake is one of the greatest fantasy football managers I know. He has years of experience in PPR formats, and has won fame, glory and a lot of money from playing in other leagues. If he does miss the playoffs this year, I believe that he will make a roaring comeback to compete next season (since we are semi-keeper). As an added bonus to this, now that I've commented on Jake's team, I predict that when he and I play, he will punish me by a league-record 353 points! 

ALTERNATE NO PLAYOFFS

Minas Morgul Scream! (Nathan Koehler)

I don't have a lot of faith in my own team. I do have the best quarterback in Andrew Luck, and I feel that I am solid at both receiver and running back, but that may not cut it. I haven't seen the second round of the playoffs in years, and I tend to trade my team right out of contention. I will probably have to rename my team to the Wilhelm Scream, and when I scream while I look at my scores this season, you now know why. The Koehler Curse will continue, and I will have to rebuild for next season already. There's always next year!

Labor Day Weekend as told by Selfies

Saturday Night: Pentatonix Concert. In June, we bought tickets to go see PTX at Bridgestone Arena, and the concert day finally arrived! I had seen them in concert 2 years ago when my parents came to visit me during my internship in Maryland. The venue in Maryland was much smaller, so it was a different concert with a different sound, but the concert this weekend had a much higher energy. 

Also, the PTX's song library has definitely grown, so they had more songs to choose from at this concert. It was a great night and an awesome concert!!

Sunday: Relaxing at the lake. My family was camping all weekend at Bumpus Mills campground on Lake Barkley, so we decided to drive up for a few hours and relax with them. We decided to decline actual camping this year after last year's Nathan-being-miserable and me-getting-food-poisoning fiasco. 

Anyway, the main events at the campground on Sunday included riding around on the boat for a bit, eating grilled chicken legs, and me starting a fire with flint! I had a good time, and Nathan didn't die from being outside (although he insists he was close), so it was a successful day.

Sunday Night: Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation. Last week, we worked our way through watching the first 4 Mission Impossible movies and capped the marathon by going to Bowling Green to watch the newest installment, Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation. We both liked the movie a lot, and I would recommend people to go see it.

Since all of the movies are fresh on my mind, I will now rate them all based on how much I liked them. Warning: Spoilers for the first 4.

1. Mission Impossible. You literally don't figure out who the bad guy is until the very end! If this wasn't the first movie, I might not rate it number 1.
2. Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation
3. Mission Impossible III. I liked this one because he actually had a more of a motivation to complete the mission, since his wife was abducted.
4. Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol. This one is good. I liked the high intensity scene when Ethan is climbing the building and his suction gloves stop working and the scene after that.
5. Mission Impossible II. This was the only one that I really didn't like. I have no idea why, I just didn't like it. Maybe its because there were too many instances with face-pulls.

One thing to note with Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation is that Ethan Hunt is looking pretty old...

Monday: The Historic Railpark Train Museum. Even thought we and Nathan's parents have been talking about going to the Train Museum in Bowling Green for months, Monday's events were an impromptu adventure! We loved the history and interesting aspects of going through actual train carts (even though it can easily induce claustrophobia!) and the neat intricacies of the huge model train setup. 

We spent quite a bit of time learning about how the railroad system influenced so much of American and Bowling Green history. Afterwards, of course, we got ice cream.

It was a good weekend!