Katie - Figure Skating Again

Hi blog. Today I’m just going to yap a bit about figure skating again. I’d like to introduce you to a few of the most prominent members of Team USA today going into the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. 

ALYSA LIU. 

Age: 19

You may have seen Alysa going viral as the most recent ladies world champion. She is an absolute joy to watch and such a wonderful athlete. In the last Olympic cycle, she was barely a teenager and had a lot of pressure on her shoulders. Because of the pressure, she actually retired originally after the 2022 World Championship, but decided to make a comeback this past year on her own terms, which is so exciting to see. She is one of our best chances at a gold medal in the ladies competition, with such great momentum behind her. 

Enjoy a Skate here!: https://youtu.be/fJXdrsK78LE?si=pGCRd_wekHAgoki5

FUN FACT: In the 2022 Beijing Olympics, China attempted to recruit her to skate for them as a part of their “naturalization project” to recruit athletes of Chinese heritage to compete for them. Her father, who immigrated to the U.S. a political refugee for his participation in the Tiananmen Square protests, said “fuck no”. It was later reported that the Liu family had become targets of Chinese spies and her father only let her go to the Olympics due to promises from the U.S. State Department that she would have extra protection while in China. Crazy stuff. 

AMBER GLENN. 

Age: 25 

Amber might be my favorite current team USA skater. Unlike Alysa, who found success early in her career, Amber has been grinding for years to get to where she’s at and has had such a tenacity and passion for the sport. Over the past couple years, she’s had a breakout up to the top of the field, thanks to an increasing consistency of her skating and the addition of a great Triple Axel to her skill set. She’s the only woman in the world competing a triple axel at the moment, though it is expected more will train it going into the Olympic season. She is the current two-time defending U.S. champion. 

Enjoy a Skate here!: https://youtu.be/Bj45hNu8lWk?si=_LBtAAutLU687CiT

JASON BROWN. 

Age: 30

If there’s any word to describe Jason Brown it is consistency. If and when he makes the 2026 Milan Olympic team, it will be his third Olympics (4th Olympic cycle), and he’s made it here on the merit of his artistry and quality of skating. He’s just about the only male skater that makes top 10 finishes without any quad jumps to pad the scores. Just an absolute delight to watch! 

Enjoy a Skate here!: https://youtu.be/uzaecs1ylGo?si=bBN0G75i7j8kbQm8

MADISON CHOCK AND EVAN BATES. 

Ages: 32/36

Over the past few years, Bock (Bates + Chock) have become dominant forces in Ice Dance internationally. They have won just about every competition, including the past 3 World Championships. While Ice Dance is crazy unpredictable and just about any new teams can emerge and take over, it really is their Gold Medal to lose. 

Enjoy a Skate here!: https://youtu.be/9sUphhjTJ0I?si=5eVVNK3qO6yTiQwx

Lucas: 10 - Pokemon TCG Deck Selection

 Chat, the Mir Family cruise just disembarked this morning. After leaving, Katie and I drive from Tampa to Viera and I promptly drove another half hour to Indialantic to work a half day. My PTO is strapped this year, so I have to log a lot of extra hours near any vacations. After getting off work, Katie and I went to feed our friends' naked cats and get some Long Doggers with Katie's parents. I sat down after dinner and have been struggling with writers block ever since. Long story short-- I'm cooked and this vlog is gonna be MID. 

 I do at least have a topic to jot down some of my thoughts for posterity. The topic? It's in the title, man. Read.

TCG Deck Selection

 That's right, folks. Nate and I have chatted endlessly about what decks we're playing, maybe mentioning some specific attacks in the decks that we like or the ability synergy that makes the deck good. I don't believe we've ever mentioned how we decide what deck to bring to any of these tournaments. From what I can think of right now, there are three pillars used to determine what deck I bring to a tournament:

1. Deck Strength
2. Metagame Position
3. Familiarity

Deck Strength

  This portion seems the most straight forward. When I'm talking about a deck's strength, I mean how much raw power the deck is bringing to the table, and how consistently that power is brought. The world's most powerful deck is useless if it only gets to that level in 1/10 of its games, and the most consistent deck is just putting one basic Pokemon with 59 energies.. nothing gets done. You have to strike a balance with the deck between strong outcomes and getting to that outcome in nearly every game.

  Some people may think the strongest deck is always the best play, but the meta right now is a good example of when that isn't true. Dragapult is considered the most powerful deck in the current format--using the consistency of Drakloak's Recon Directive ability to support that claim--, but Gardevoir has won something like 8 of the last 12 major tournaments. Gardevoir's strong matchup against the uber-powerful Dragapult allows it win all of these tournaments despite it's 10% play rate, which makes it only the 4th most played deck over this span. Gardevoir is still a very strong deck, but what's really carrying all of these finishes is its...

Metagame Position

  For those who don't know, the term metagame in this context refers to the play rates of other decks in the format. For any small sample, this will vary depending on where you are, but each format will generally have a metagame that is predictable (to an extent). For my fantasy football players, think about deck play rates as a much less volatile version of that. In the same way Ja'Marr Chase should outscore Jalen Coker in 2025, Dragapult should have a higher play rate than Blissey at the next major. 

  By taking the metagame into account, some decks that would otherwise be strong can be very very bad plays to a tournament. A neutral win rate would be from 45-48% (keep in mind ties count as 1/3 of a win and happen at a ~15% rate). A favorable matchup would be anything from 50-60%, while anything above 60% would be considered an "auto-win" (with ties, an auto-win would work out to a record like 40-15-10  W-L-T). Over the last 8 major tournaments, Gardevoir has a 53% win rate against Dragapult, and neutral win rates against most other heavily played decks.

  A deck that is being played by some strong players that is very specifically played because of the metagame is Zoroark. Over the last 8 tournaments, this deck has had a ~40% win rate against nearly every deck, highlighted by a 35% and 20% win rate against the 3rd and 5th most popular decks respectively. How is this a meta call, you may ask? It holds favorable matchups into both Gardevoir and Dragapult. Tournaments are littered with these two decks, especially if you are able to win your first couple games and climb up the winner's bracket. Thus far, these guys have been a little bit too big-brain and haven't made a final. But that doesn't mean it's a bad process! None of my locals play Gardevoir, so if I took Zoroark to an Challenge or Cup, I'd need a lobotomy.

Familiarity

  Deck strength makes sense for low-skill attacks. Just play the decks that can be strong and are strong most games. Makes sense. Metagame strategizing makes sense for high-skill tournaments. You are confident you can pilot any deck and decide to pick whichever one has the best projected matchups. Deck familiarity works best as a medium-skill attack. Maybe your deck isn't the strongest, or the best positioned, but You know it. Familiarity can come in a couple different ways.

  One is to be familiar and comfortable with the play style of a deck. Nathan went over some of the different deck play styles (labeled "Deck Strategies") in his first blog. Nathan is most comfortable with fast-paced decks, so bringing a fast-paced deck to a tournament is what's most likely to give him success. That is what led him to the decision to bring Raging Bolt to Atlanta, despite it not being as powerful as Dragapult or as well positioned in the meta as Gardevoir. 

  Another way to get familiar is practice. Realistically, anybody can get good with any deck. It may feel unnatural to play a slow deck if you're used to playing aggressive decks, but with enough games, a decent player should be able to adjust. I personally don't see myself as favoring any specific play style and mostly rely on practice to get familiar with the decks I play.

  One last back-door reason familiarity is so important is playing off-meta or unusual decks. For example, Nathan plays Raging Bolt. What's unusual? He doesn't play Raging Bolt like the other thousands of people do. 313 people took Raging Bolt to Atlanta, but probably only about 3-5 took builds similar to Nathan's. This can lead your opponents playing lines that could be good against the mainstream Raging Bolt, but are very very bad against yours. I can actually give a very good example I just thought of that I'm sure Nathan can corroborate happens a lot:

  A main strategy from mainstream Raging Bolt players is to use the non-EX Raging Bolt, which will henceforth be referred to as Baby Bolt, to attack Drakloaks on the bench and stunt the Dragapult player's evolution options. In other words, these mainstream Raging Bolt players have difficulty pulling off hyper-aggressive attacks on their opponent's benched Pokemon, so they use the Thunderburst Storm attack from Baby Bolt to snipe lower-HP evolutions. Dragapult players have responded by attacking the Luxurious Cape to whichever Drakloak they attack energies to, preventing the snipe attack. The Luxurious Cape gives your opponent an extra prize if the Drakloak is knocked out, but because Raging Bolt has a lot of difficulty moving around your Pokemon AND attacking in the same turn, it's not very risky.

  Here comes Nathan's deck. 

  Let's say a Dragapult player thinks they're playing the mainstream deck and attaches Luxurious Cape. What can go wrong, right? This is how the matchup is played. Except Nathan's Raging Bolt is specifically tooled to move your Pokemon around and attack in the same turn using Pokemon Catcher and Prime Catcher. If Nate KO's a Drakloak with Luxurious Cape on it, that's pretty much GG on the spot.

Conclusion

  I'm playing Dragapult to a must-win tournament Saturday despite it having pretty mediocre showings at the last few tournaments because I'm most familiar with it (I consider myself a medium-skill player). I'm going to bed for now, though.

Andra 5: DiSC Personality Assessment

Hello bloggers, sorry for my first late post!

I’m staying in Texas visiting my family (and currently playing Civilization VI with my dad), so I totally forgot to write!

For a quick post this week, I wanted to share something cool I recently did for work: a 4-day leadership class that required us to do a personality test prior to the course. Specifically, we took the DiSC assessment, and I was so excited because I genuinely love learning about both me and other people’s personalities.

DiSC is a personality framework that breaks people into four main styles:

You can also fall between two styles, creating 12 combinations in total:

After taking the test and receiving the results, you will get a dot representing where you stand within the circle, and a shaded area, like so:

The closer your dot is to the center, the more adaptable you are to other styles. The closer it is to the edge, the more strongly others perceive you as your dominant style, and the harder it is to flex into others.

My dot landed in the middle of the i quadrant (Influence), with shading stretching into D and S, and slightly into C. This means I am:

-            --Most comfortable in i (enthusiastic, collaborative, expressive).

-            --Able to “chameleon” into D (action-oriented, bold) and S (supportive, steady) when needed.

-            --I feel the least natural in C (detail-focused, structured, precise), taking more energy to work in that way.

According to the test, I naturally tend to focus on the bright side, love action, fast-paced environments, and innovation. I prefer collaboration and social interaction and scored high in the “challenge” trait (not typical for i’s), meaning I enjoy questioning assumptions and pushing for better solutions.

During our leadership training, we split into groups based on our DiSC results and were each asked to make a poster that represented our personality style. Every group approached it in their own way:

-            --The D group made their poster the fastest with bullet points and one color. One person was voluntold to do the poster while the rest watched.

-            --The i group had everyone involved, we made a fun, colorful poster with drawings of flowers, stick figures, and confetti in the blank spaces.

-            --The S group spent a while chatting and getting to know each other before they started. They eventually all worked together to draw a balanced scale showing different traits.

-            --The C group took the longest to plan, carefully thinking everything through. In the end, only one person drew a detailed railroad with different tracks branching off.

Throughout the leadership course we learned how to recognize and interact with other personality types, as well as how to conduct difficult conversations in a way that is perceived well by those with a different personality style. It gave me a new appreciation for how different people think, work, and respond under pressure. If you have the chance to take the DiSC assessment, I highly recommend it. While mine was part of a detailed (and company-paid) leadership program, there are simpler tests online you can explore for fun. Let me know what style you end up with if you take it!

JP 8: Top 5 Best Chips

 Hey Everyone!

Once again I am in a bit of a rush and have not had time to fully sit down to write as much as I would like. Soon, however, my work schedule is changing and I am moving in with my amazing gf which will give me more time. I am excited. For now though, I wanted to write something very quick so I could at least make sure I got it in. I have been seeing a trend going around where people are ranking the top 5 chips of all time. I have been seeing a TON of absolute misses with this however so I decided to do it here myself. I will be ranking from 5 to 1 with 1 being the best. 

HM : Chili Cheese Fritos

    So I know some of you may think I am off here and if that is so, its because you have been eating these wrong. Firstly, there is literally no better chip to make walking tacos with than this chip. Cut the bag open, make some beef, add some toppings and eat it. Will change your life. You can also throw these bad boys on a plate, grab some shredded cheese and throw it in the microwave for a little. That will also change your life. 

CHIP #5 : Miss Vickies Sea Salt and Vinegar Chips

    I have yet to see a salt and vinegar chip on one of these lists and I believe that to be a heinous crime. These things are AMAZING. I know some people do not like salt and vinegar chips but that's only because they do not have adult taste buds yet. I highly recommend pairing these bad boys with a #8 mikes way on rosemary parm from jersey mikes. Eat half the sandwich. Eat the chips. Eat the other half. 

Chip #4: Purple (Sweet & Spicy) Doritos 

    I know what you are thinking. "Of COURSE this one is top 5." You may also be thinking "how is it #4 though?". Now this is a fair thought, this chip often goes down as the greatest Dorito out there, but the truth is, there is one that beats it...

Chip #3: Light Blue (Blazin' Buffalo & Ranch) Doritos

    AND HERE THEY ARE. These things are the best Dorito there is. They are as delicious as they are rare. I highly recommend getting your hands on these bad boys and giving them a rip.

Chip #2: "Dirty" Siracha & Honey

    Now obviously kettle cooked chips are going to be on this list over and over again. This one  is absolutely one of my favorites though. I really only ever see them at Wawa and I get them almost every single time. Just a absolute top tier chip and a top tier flavor.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!

Chip #1: Cape Cod Dark Russet

 

Now guys I won't lie I struggled deciding if this should be 1 or 2 but eventually I simply had to keep it at 1. This. Chip. Is. AMAZING. Not only are we talking cape cod, but we are talking BURNT. Now I know I am probably the minority here, but there are so many things that are better well done. Popcorn, Pizza, Chips. These things are just slightly more cooked and approach a burnt taste that is just to die for. If you have not had. GET. GET IT RIGHT NOW. 

Thanks guys!

Katie 5 - My Favorite Musicals :)

Good news, special interests are back on the menu! 

For today's blog, I am exploring my inner theater kid to bring you a list of my favorite musicals, formatted as awards across categories. For those with a budding interest in musicals or who may want to explore it, I hope to give you some inspiration! Musicals are just so fun and worth a listen. 

OVERALL BEST IN CLASS - LES MISERABLES 

You put a gun to my head and you say, pick a best musical, the answer is simply Les Mis. An adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, the musical follows our protagonist Jean Valjean in 19th century France, following themes of justice, redemption, and social class. It stands in a class of its own to me when it comes to the score, which is absolutely the best ever made, with themes intertwining and evolving over the course of the characters' lives. If you ever get the opportunity to see this show live, I cannot recommend it enough. I saw it live in London and it was absolutely life changing. 

The original, iconic Les Mis logo

How To Watch: Unfortunately, the 2012 movie adaptation is likely the most accessible way to watch this. It is a fine movie probably (Gus liked it at least), but it is not the best adaptation (see my letterboxd review for details). 

If you're feeling crazy and want to watch a great production of this musical, the 10th anniversary concert with one of the greatest musical casts ever assembled is available for free on Youtube - https://youtu.be/Tq8JaB-NnYY?si=a0tlwmJNJrzsPYyO. It is 2.5 hours of straight music which requires dedication, but certainly worth it. 

If You Only Listen To One Song...: Make it Lea Salonga singing On My Own https://youtu.be/VjfmP7h3gBw?si=zR14nXkeJKXzgdrs. She has since become the singing voice of two Disney princesses (Mulan and Jasmine)

MY ROMAN EMPIRE - SPRING AWAKENING 

Les Mis might be the best musical I know, but Spring Awakening is my actual favorite. Spring Awakening is a coming-of-age rock musical set in 19th-century Germany, following themes of sexual awakening, censorship, and rebellion in youth. It highlights the impacts of pressures put on adolescents, with sensitive topics like mental health, suicide, and abortion thrown in the mix. The original Broadway production launched the careers of Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, their iconic relationship, and Skylar Astin, among others who have become Broadway mainstays over the years. 

This musical has been there for me through the years and has stuck with me. I saw a production in college and would jump at the chance to see and experience it again. I hope you have that opportunity as well. 

Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele doing it on stage is the album cover

How To Watch: Sadly, a movie adaptation or a pro-shot was never made. The original cast reunited a few years ago to perform the show again and out of that came a documentary, Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, which is available to stream on Max. It tells the story of the making of this show and the hurdles they had to overcome, in addition to showing some performances and rehearsals. Otherwise, the original cast recording is streaming everywhere.

If You Only Listen to One Song...: Enjoy the OBC Tony performance (ironically censored, given the nature of the show), and give listening to the soundtrack a consideration: https://youtu.be/L_Bl9NIBvY8?si=Ipev8eywXA2ewFjI

BEST OF LIN - IN  THE HEIGHTS 

Listen, Lin Manuel Miranda has put out some great stuff. Hamilton is renowned for a reason. Moana is like the most loved Disney movie ever. But to me, In the Heights is his best work. The show is set over a few days in a neighborhood in a mostly-Latin neighborhood in New York City, following themes of community and dreams. The score is a delight, blending Latin American musical styles with hip-hop and soul. I find the characters in this show to be some of the most relatable, well-rounded, and believable of any show I've seen. Their struggles and dreams are all unique and perfectly explored, often as folds to each other. There is so much heart and soul and love of community and life put into this show, and it makes it one I can come back to over and over again. 

there he goes, starring in his own show smh

How To Watch: The 2021 movie adaptation isn't perfect, but it is great. Legendary, award-winning director John Chu does one hell of a job! The original cast recording is also available everywhere.

If You Only Listen to One Song...: I know I've made a lot of you watch this movie LOL, so consider enjoying the original cast's Tony performance - https://youtu.be/UvVgm4imyj0?si=sMujDFh1xQb8gM4W

BONUS!!! - Lin's success here led him to be invited to the White House Poetry Jam in 2009, where he performed a very early rendition of the Hamilton opening number. No one knew what they were witnessing this night: https://youtu.be/WNFf7nMIGnE?si=wFcpQJjfZqR_I5w-

BEST NEW MUSICAL - HADESTOWN 

Most new musicals that come out don't wow me to be honest. There's a lot of jukebox shows and soundtracks that generically blend together. If anything has come out in the past few years that deserves endless praise, it is Hadestown. The show is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in a hellish, industrial world. The score blends folk, jazz, and blues and is absolutely a delight. Originally released as a concept album by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, the Broadway show premiered in 2019 and has been running ever since. I hope to see this show soon, whether that be from a tour or on our upcoming trip to NYC. 

this gives the vibes pretty well

How To Watch: The original Broadway cast recently reunited for a 8-week long run in the West End, where they also filmed a pro-shot which will (hopefully) be released soon. Other than listening to the soundtrack, all I've got for you is the original cast's NPR Tiny Desk concert, which is great - https://youtu.be/XKwDFDDr_VA?si=41tpkmULFpBojmeD

If You Only Listen to One Song...: Let it be my favorite, the Wait For Me (Reprise), which the OBC performed on some morning show. I'm addicted to this video - https://youtu.be/lUWXu68vKWI?si=WsjGChiDvZ3mCG8A

BEST MUSICAL MOVIE ADAPTATION - CHICAGO

This one is funny to me. While Chicago is certainly an iconic Broadway show that has stood the test of time - considering it is the longest running Broadway show of all time (the currently production has been running since 1996), it isn't necessarily the best show out there in my opinion. But whoever got to cooking really made the best musical movie adaptation when they put together Chicago (2002). The film version of the show enhances so many aspects of the musical. With such an incredible cast, it is no wonder this movie took home the 2003 Academy Award for Best Picture. 

Set in Chicago in the Jazz Age, the musical is a satire on criminal justice corruption and the concept of the "celebrity criminal". Certainly interesting and worth the watch! 

they all slay 

How To Watch: It doesn't look like its streaming anywhere at the moment, but for a while it was on Max. 

If You Only Listen to One Song...: All That Jazz, performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones. A well-deserved Academy Award winning performance: https://youtu.be/utdFcen26FI?si=QhG_-ZnMYLFIj5sQ

BEST MUSICAL BIOPIC - TICK TICK... BOOM!

Ok this category just exists Tick Tick.. Boom!, because while it is a biographical musical, it actually is just a film adaptation of a semi-autobiographical musical written by the show's main character and legend, Jonathan Larson. The show is about Jonathan Larson's struggles and aspirations to make it into the New York theater industry. The 2021 film adaptation (directed by Lin Manuel Miranda) is such a delight and criminally underrated, I fear. Andrew Garfield is absolutely unbelievable in this film, and deserved that Academy Award. 

look at him.. give him his award.... 

How To Watch: Tick Tick... Boom! is available to stream on Netflix. 

If You Only Listen to One Song...: Let it be the opening number, hopefully to inspire you to watch the rest of the film - https://youtu.be/IYsUoEQccSY?si=mAhU2p6jdS9qDoP1

CHILDHOOD FAVORITE - RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA

Finally, lets take it home with one of my favorite musicals as a kid: Cinderella. Specifically, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. There's nothing to explain here, it is a musical adaptation of Cinderella, originally written for television in 1957 starring Julie Andrews and remade a couple times after. The most iconic and accessible version of this show is the 1997 version starring Whitney Houston and Brandy, which was on repeat in my house. Interestingly enough, the show wasn't even brought to Broadway until 2013. I got the opportunity to play in the pit for this show in high school and it reignited my love for it. It is such a classic Broadway sound, but I just love the songs and the score of this show so much. 

now this is magic

How To Watch: The 1997 version is available to stream on Disney Plus. The 2013 Broadway cast recording is streaming everywhere music is. 

If You Only Listen to One Song...: Enjoy some Whitney Houston :) https://youtu.be/wTwxMoWNa4Y?si=knJ0kZ52qs8_J3Z_

Lucas: 9 - Men In Black Alien Attack

     Heads up, hotshot. Today we're going to be reviewing how YOU can maximize your score on Universal Studios Orlando's Men In Black Alien Attack shooting attraction.

I know what some of you are thinking.. who the hell are you? I've gotten the suit AND hit the bonus before! To you, I say-- I am the Mir Family shooting ride savant. I've carried a gaggle of three Mexican grandmothers to a suit. I've had children and parents alike stare at my final score with wide eyes. And if your last name is Mir, odds are I was there when you earned your first suit (I'm just assuming we never got one as kids; that feels fair).

Now that we've covered who I am, let's get some of the basics you should know before getting on this ride:

• First, and most important, never let go of the trigger. Holding down the trigger will keep your blaster firing as quickly as possible
• Your cart-mates are not your friends
• More often than not, you're not going to be on-target with your first shot. 3-4 other lasers from Knowers surrounding your target will make it harder to adjust
• Some of the higher-scoring targets, specifically the opposing cart's Fusion Exhaust Port, are only able to be shot by one player at a time
• This is just my theory, but I believe the gun's shoot at a higher, but harmonious, frequency relative to the Fusion Exhaust Port. Picture the 50 Hz wave as the Exhaust Port and the 200 as the blaster. This means that even though the blaster is firing more often than you get points, you are still earning points as quickly as possible (and keeping your cart-mates from earning points)
• You get points just for shooting!
• By just holding down the trigger, you earn 30,000-35,000 points per ride
• Anything and everything can be broken on this ride
• We've had broken blasters, broken targets, just about everything
• Aim high
• None of the big monsters on ground-level are worth many points. You want to aim for windows and look for glowing eyes
• Stay on the same target
• Keeping your blaster trained on one target will keep you from wasting time switching targets every couple seconds. There's points-maxing, and then there's having fun. We're points-maxing
• There are two tracks
• There is a red and a green track. This guide will mostly cover the red track, because that is the track used most often
• You can tell what track you are on by the color of the numbers before you board the ride vehicle, shown below

Now that everyone knows or skipped the basic training, let's move onto the different rooms and priority targets:

Training Room

The Training Room isn't a big source of points. On a good run, you may leave this room with ~50,000; a good start, but much less than our goal of 999,999. In this room, I normally just pick one of the targets on the overpass and stay on it until they go out of sight.

Next up, I'm aiming at the two far windows where some monster will appear. This results in some downtime between targets, but I've found aiming for the light-post swingers results in more time loss than just preparing for the window monsters.

Crash Site

This room has some downtime before the first good targets appear, but you should always be on the lookout just incase the carts in front of you let you get a head start on some big earners. I don't think the alien by the space ship even gives points. I've seen his eyes light up (signaling he was shot?) but I've never noticed getting anything from it.

Up next are the good targets. You should be looking for these guys the entire time you're in this room. There are a couple options, all scoring pretty similarly

Target #1 is a better target for the green track, but it's important to know he's there in case #2 or #3 are broken. Those guys are the real bread and butter. Targets #2 and #3 should be shot early and often. Target #4 is only visible for a limited time, but can be helpful for picking up some points while your cart is spinning in the Spin Zone, an area where your cart spins around after being shot by an alien terrorist (hope you're not motion sick).

Once you move past the first Spin Zone along with Targets #2, #3, and #4, you should see a giant eyeball. I don't even know if he can be shot for points. What you're looking for here is.. you guessed it! More windows. Target #5 is the next guy we're looking at. Target #6 can be seen from here, but the alien is too far inside the window for us to shoot him. Keep firing at #5 until you hit the second Spin Zone, at which point move on to #6. 

Target #7 isn't very worth shooting, but it's good to know he's there if #6 is broken.

Ambush!

Picture time! There's not much to shoot in here, but if you turn around in your chair, you should be able to keep shooting Target #6 from the Crash Site. Here are some of my pictures from the ride:

Katie and I just got engaged!

Here, I'm farming Target #6 for some juicy points

The Scan

Between the Ambush and the Scan, there are some bushes with eyes. They don't really seem to belong to any area, but they can score you a boatload of points if you get a quick lock onto a set of eyes. They're really hard to see in the picture because it's dark and the green-path cart is blocking some of them, but I was able to put oranges boxes around a couple eyes.

Besides the busheyes, there isn't anything to do during the scan except to prepare for the final room. On my strong runs, I am generally between 350,000 and 500,000 when the scan starts. Now would be a good time to explain this Fusion Exhaust Port I couldn't stop talking about at the top.

That little target on the top of the other track's cart is called the Fusion Exhaust Port. Shooting that sucker will give you 25,000 points every time you successfully hit it. Hitting it will also cause the opposing cart to spin. Here's the kicker: the spinning part is broken about half the time. If you get an opposing cart that won't spin, and either the opposing cart is empty or your cart also doesn't spin, you can easily farm this target for 300, maybe even 400,000 points. The real hard part, like I mentioned earlier, is to beat the other people on your cart.

Manhattan

Once the scan stops, start blasting at the opposing cart's Fusion Exhaust Port. Oops! Their port is broken. Or your cart is spinning. Or one of your cart-mates is hogging all the points. Do not fret, this area has more than one cash cow. We're back to the windows. 

Shooting at these disembodied eyes will get you a lot of points. There aren't many alternatives around here, so your cart-mates may also be spamming the same spot. For highly contested targets, I find it best to purposefully shoot your first shot Down and to the Left, so I can find my laser and bring it to the target without worrying if I'm looking at my own shots.

When the window eyes eventually turn off, there is a cheeky little glasses advertisement with some glowing eyes you can target. This doesn't give many points, but it's your final chance to score points besides the Big Bug Bonus.

Big Bug

As the ride comes to a close, we reach the climax of this story. Will Smith warns us about a Big Big Bug and we soon come face-to-face with this behemoth. 

As Rip Torn will tell you, there's only one thing left to do. We have to push the red button just like in the titular film. The exact line will be: "There's only one thing left to do. Push the red button". When Rip Torn hits the "P" in "Push", that's when you push the red button. If all goes well, you should then be given a clutch 100,000 point bonus. 

The End

Send me pictures of you earning a suit along with the title of Galaxy Defender

Kedrick: 9 - What a Ride

Hey everyone! Hope you’re doing well this Sunday. My beautiful wife Lizzie and I just got back from a weekend trip to Franklin, Tennessee for an engagement party. It was really more of a wedding shower that couples were invited to instead of just women (although I was the only male on the bride’s side that came besides family). The other reason I refute its “engagement party” status is because we went to Nashville the day they got engaged for a surprise party that happened directly afterwards. But I digress.

Last Saturday at 5:02 PM in the Eastern time zone I received a call from my father, Gustavo. He informed me that he and Beth were at the BMW dealership looking at a new (used) car, specifically a 2022 BMW X5. She previously had a 2019 white BMW X3 and every time Lizzie and I rode in it, I mentioned in a joking fashion that when she got a new car I would gladly take her old one. All this to say - I knew exactly why he called me. The conversation lasted 3 minutes.

We spoke again at 8:27 PM, this time for 12 minutes. Gus and Beth were arriving in their golf cart to Fireside Pizza, a family favorite spot. I expressed my excitement for both her and myself, then we began to talk logistics. Several ideas were thrown out on how we’d navigate this car delivery with the 8+ hour distance between us. I’m coming down to FL for my birthday in July, so Gus mentioned that I could drive it back up to ATL that weekend. “It would be a great birthday present”, Beth remarked. I then asked how we’d get my current car, a beautiful 2012 Acura TSX with only 94,000 miles on it, down to Florida. Gus was stumped. I could theoretically drive both ways, but we’re flying down on Thursday, July 17th (my birthday) and I don’t necessarily want to spend 8 hours in a car on my 30th birthday. He said he’d talk to the car dealership guy about tag/insurance ideas when they bought the car the next day and we left it there.

We spoke again for 11 minutes at 9:57 PM. He had a “light bulb” moment. Gus would drive my new car up and then take the Acura on the way back. Pretty good idea! I assumed he’d be doing this on Monday-ish, staying the night, and departing the next morning. He clarified a few minutes later that he was indeed planning on doing this the very next day. Wow! He wasn’t sure when exactly he’d leave, so we agreed to speak first thing the next morning.

I awoke around 7:30 AM to the sound of Lizzie coming up the stairs. She was talking with Gus on speaker phone. She hung up and then made sure I was awake. Lizzie then explained that Gus told her he was in Ocala and that we should clean my car out and start driving, then see where we meet. It all happened so fast. I woke up, brushed my teeth, and we went down and emptied out my car. By 8:30, we were on the road. I hadn’t even officially said that I wanted the new car (I, of course, wanted it). 

We spoke with Gus on the phone no less than 10 more times during our drive. Exit 109 in south Georgia was the agreed upon meeting spot. It took Lizzie and I a little less than 2 hours to get to that quaint exit, where we found Gus leaving the combined McDonalds / gas station. He shook his head, signaling “don’t go in there” and let us know it was a s***show in there. We went walked back to where we parked our cars, exchanged hugs, titles, swapped our belongings between cars, and just as quick as we arrived we were headed out separate ways.

Lizzie and I stopped at two places on the way home. The first was Buc-ee's for lunch and the second was the outlet mall south of Atlanta for some light shopping. She drove when we left the outlets to test out the new car and by 3 PM, we were home once more. At 4 PM (he called a few times before this of course), Gustavo and my ol’ reliable Acura were back in Palm Harbor.

Less than 24 hours after my dad called me for the first time, the car swap was complete. What a ride.

Nathan: 9

 Yooo, waddup fellas. Today, I’ll be yapping about sleeves in the context of the Pokémon trading card game. Sleeves are a very important part of playing any trading card game, and everyone has differing opinions about them. 

There are unlimited brands, colors, sizes, and textures you can look for when picking out sleeves. The well-known brand when it comes to tabletop gaming sleeves is Dragon Shield. There are hundreds of competitors, but Dragon Shield reigns supreme. Other popular brands include Ultra Pro and Katana. There are also cheaper alternatives that are very similar but come with less than 100. Every brand will have some differences that you may or may not like. Dragon Shield’s sleeves have extra room on the top of the sleeve, but most other brands have much less room on the top of the sleeve. Many people, including me, like the extra room on top so that if the cards slide, you won't be able to see the top of the card outside the sleeve. 

There are several different textures of sleeves you can get, such as matte, dual matte, and classic. Most players opt for the matte sleeves as they have a very smooth shuffle feel, and compared to the classic sleeves, they get less dirty over time. Dual matte sleeves offer a black lining on the inside and colored backs of sleeves, which some people prefer. To me, the dual matte sleeves do not shuffle as nicely as the matte or classic, and I like to see the fun color of the sleeve framing the cards.

By far, my favorite aspect of choosing sleeves is the color. Sleeves offer players the chance to add some more flair to their decks or pick a color that complements their deck well. For example, when I played Raging Bolt in Atlanta, I chose to use Dragon Shield Matte Yellow sleeves as I thought they complemented my deck very well. I thoroughly enjoy playing with fun colored sleeves, and there’s nothing wrong with black, but it’s just not for me. 

Players may also get sleeves from the Pokémon Center, which often features popular Pokémon in fun brushed art. These sleeves look amazing, but there’s one issue. There’s no texture on the back at all. What sets brands like Dragon Shield apart from Pokémon Center sleeves is that they have texture built into the back of the sleeves. This drastically improves shuffle feel and generally makes the cards easier to maneuver. Almost all players who use Brushed Art sleeves opt to use Over-Sleeves made by Dragon Shield or another popular brand. These are clear outer sleeves that are big enough to fit around the art sleeves and restore the deck to being maneuverable. Some players like to use very expensive cards and double-sleeve their cards using perfect-fit sleeves. These go around the raw card first and then go into the branded sleeves. I would like to do this, but it makes the deck too big for my hands to handle. Super unfortunate because they made N & Zoroark sleeves that FUCK! But I can’t use them. There are also a few freaks at my locals who do ALL THREE! They have triple-sleeved their decks, and each card is about as thick as two of mine. It’s a brick, and I find it disgusting. 

The final aspect of sleeves I would like to touch on is cleanliness. After every round I play, I like to wash my hands as a common courtesy to myself and others. However, I am the exception here. Nobody else gives a shit about how dirty their hands are and you can tell when you look at their sleeves. Over time, the oil from your hands will build up on the sleeves and rub off from sleeve to sleeve. This builds up and creates little dots of grime that can be easily removed. There is one motherfucker at my locals who has the absolute nastiest sleeves ever. It’s fuckin disgusting and every time I play against him I don’t cut his deck because it’s that gross. You can barely even read most of the text on the card because the front is that dirty. Everyone has told him this, but he always says they aren’t ready to be replaced. Several people have even offered to buy the sleeves for him, and he just refused. His name is Andres, and he’s a generally unpleasant person to be around. He cheats, he tried to scam a kid for a $100 card before, and worst of all, his sleeves are disgusting. Nobody likes this guy, but thankfully, I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks. (he also used to always shit on my ancient box deck that I consistently beat him with and always got better finishes than him)

Finally, I would like to ask for a bit of audience participation. The yellow sleeves I have been using since ATL have gotten a bit grimy, and the plastic is becoming very wavy from using them so much. It’s time for me to think about a new set of sleeves. Below I will link a few colors , and I’d appreciate everyone who reads this (Lucas, Ked, Q) to drop your vote in the discord (actually Mir Boys is prob just good) 

Blood Red

Magenta

Mint

Also I went 4-1 last night :))))