My New Career

After almost 15 years in call centers, I have finally changed careers. I can’t really get into too many details because there is an element of undercover in my job, but it does involve a lot travel. I am about a week and a half into the new job and so far, I love it.

I plan on writing a little about my experiences. Places I go, restaurants I eat at, things I see etc..

Last week, I was in 8 different airports. While in the Buffalo airport, I saw a group of guys who just stepped off a plane from 1972. They were all dressed to the 9s, ready for a night at Studio 54. One guy had a powder blue puffy shirt, one had a patchwork sport coat, one had a hat. They all were different, but all were ready for a night on the town.

I took the chance to see a piece of American history, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. I walked Uptown Charlotte. I sat in the cock pit of a 767, the one that has the fold flat seats in first class the ones that make a little bed, so you can sleep on those long international flights.

I will be writing about future adventures, without going into too much detail about why I am there. I don’t want to blow my cover.

How to fix the NCAA

It comes up all the time, there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Should college athletes get paid?

On the one hand, major universities make millions off of these players. Everything from TV contracts to jersey sales to ticket sales and more.

On the other hand, if you pay them, who pays them? The university? Alumni? Sponsors/boosters? And if you do pay them, do they become employees of the university? If they are employees, and they get hurt in a game, do they get workers comp?

Recently, a group of football players, petitioned the court for the right to organize as a union.

First of all, let’s only consider men’s basketball and football for this. As much as you may love the women’s tennis team or the men’s lacrosse team, let’s be honest, the only sports that make money for the schools are Men’s BB and Football. The rest at best break even. The other day I saw part of an SU women’s basketball game, the stands were empty. A far cry in the Carrier Dome from when the men are playing.

Another complaint that people have about the ‘students’ that are just there as a stepping stone to the NFL or NBA. They play 1-3 years, go to class just enough to stay academically eligible. Oh sure, you hear stories about the Rhodes Scholar that played on the football team, or the point guard that graduated cum laude in engineering, but generally those are the exception, rather than the rule.

Never fear, I have the solution.

There should be a minor league set up. You can recruit or draft high school players to play in a 10-12 team league. They can play for as many as 4 years and get paid the equivalent of a college scholarship. Set up teams in mid markets, cities like Rochester, NY, Columbus, OH, Oklahoma City, OK, Amarillo, TX, etc.. once they have played in the league for 3 years, they are then eligible to be drafted into the NFL. Work with the NFL, not against it. We have seen what has happened to other organizations that tried to start a league to compete with the Shield.. (XFL, USFL, WLAF.. ). This league can also be a proving ground for coaches and coordinators.

For the basketball players, treat it more like the way MLB is set up. Let players who have the skill, go right to the NBA, for those who need a year or two, use the NBA-DL as a minor league. The players can get drafted into this league out of high school, play for as many years as they need to get ready to take the next step.

This way players who really don’t have an interest in college other than as a stepping stone to the NFL or NBA aren’t taking roster spots from real student athletes who want to have the experience of playing in college while they are working towards their real goal of a job that isn’t in professional sports.

There will be pushback from the big schools that have a lot of money tied up in the big time college athletics, but it will return the NCAA back to what it was intended to be, another activity available to the students who would like to participate, either as players or as spectators.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on this.. agree with me or tell me why I’m a moron.. or somewhere in the middle.. 

Another Week in the Most Magical Place in the World

We recently returned from another trip to Walt Disney World. When we borrowed DVC points for our last trip (see the write up for that trip here), we had enough left over for a week in a deluxe studio during the off-peak season, so we spent Kathy’s birthday at Saratoga Springs.

We wanted to go Saturday to Saturday, but due to the RunDisney events that weekend, every place we were looking at were booked up Saturday night, so we had to go Sunday to Saturday. Part of the reason we wanted to fly down on Saturday is because the Southwest flight (the only direct flight from ROC to MCO) on Saturday departs at 7.30a, whereas the flight on Sunday takes off at 2.55p. With a 2 ½ hr flight, it basically kills a whole day of your vacation.

On this trip, we were able to take advantage of the new Magic Bands and the My Disney Experience which includes pre-scheduling up to 3 Fast Pass+ (FP+) per day. We didn’t really have any issues. I was ready for there to be some glitches, especially after reading in the forums about other peoples’ snafus on their trips. The only real problem we had was that the finger that Kathy had used last time we were there to verify her fingerprint at the park entrance had a blister on it, and the scanner didn’t recognize it. When it didn’t work, the supervisor was able to reset the fingerprint and let us in. The next time we went into the park, it re-scanned the image, and we had no other issues. They had removed the legacy paper Fast Pass machines from Animal Kingdom in December, and they removed them from Magic Kingdom while we were down there this week. The plan is to remove them from Hollywood Studios and EPCOT next week.

Wishes Fireworks

We got to the hotel about 7. We dropped off our carry-on bags and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived as the Wishes fireworks extravaganza was just starting. We made our way towards Main Street USA to watch the show. After the show, we headed towards Tomorrowland for something to eat. On this trip, we were looking for a low-key, (relatively) low-cost trip, so we didn’t set up any Advance Dining Reservations (ADR). We were just going to eat at the quick service places when we got hungry. Our first stop was at Cosmic Rays. This was a new place for me, I hadn’t eaten here before, and I wanted to watch Sonny Eclipse, the animatronic entertainer that sings and tells corny jokes. As we were standing in line, we found fellow Knighthawk fans! I got a cheeseburger, it was decent, but it was late in the day, so it wasn’t super fresh, it wasn’t bad.. I’ve had better burgers (and I’ve had worse). One thing I liked about this place is that they have the plastic cheese dispenser. Disney fries are good on their own, but add a healthy (?) dose of that hot gooey plastic cheese, and they are that much better!

We only had a couple hours in the park before they closed for the night, but we were able to get on a few rides, including one of my favorites, the Jungle Cruise at night. I love how the flood lights on the boat light up the jungle. We also managed to fit in the Haunted Mansion, Pirates and a couple others before the park closed at 10.

Beauty and the Beast Stage Show

Monday morning we headed over to Hollywood Studios. We had FP+ for Toy Story Midway Mania, Lights Motors Action! And the Great Movie Ride. We also caught the Indiana Jones stunt show, The One Man one dream exhibit about the life of Walt Disney, The Little Mermaid, The Beauty and the Beast Stage show and Fantasmic. This night was the extra magic hours at Hollywood, so after those not staying on property, we went on Toy Story again, a ride that during the day wait times in excess of 90 min or more are common, and only waited about 20 minutes. We ate lunch at the Backlot express, I had a cheeseburger that had onion strings and allegedly a horseradish sauce (I couldn’t taste it), but it was a good burger. Before we went into Fantasmic, I grabbed a Mickey pretzel with a cheese cup; Kathy got a Churro (and became a fan).

Tuesday took us to EPCOT. Our FP+ were for Spaceship Earth, Sorin’ and Finding Nemo. The EMH were early at EPCOT that day, so we were able to get on Sorin’ early, and I was able to get on Test Track. We tried the new flavors at Club Cool. I am a bit disappointed that they got rid of the lemon honey flavor from Israel, but am not really sad to see the rest go. There wasn’t a clear cut favorite in the new batch of international flavors, but it was cool to try Peru’s Inca Kola again. We have a new favorite snack at EPCOT, we split an order of fish and chips from the Great Britain pavilion. It would be a bit small to be a meal for someone, but it makes a nice snack for 2 people. We also tried the new Spice Road Table restaurant at the Morocco pavilion. It had just opened a couple of days prior. They will be taking reservations in the future, but since they are in the ‘soft launch’ phase, we were able to walk right in. It is a Tapas style place that serves food from all over the Mediterranean. I got a sampler plate that featured a chicken roll, a lamb slider and a sausage. It wasn’t a lot of food for $16, and I didn’t love the flavors, so we probably won’t be going back on future trips. I stayed for the Illuminations show and met a cool couple from Jersey who had honeymooned at Disney 10 years ago, and this is their first trip back. We chatted for a while waiting for the show to start.

The lions at the Kilimanjaro Safari

Wednesday took us to Animal Kingdom. In my opinion, it is a very underappreciated park. We had FP+ for the Safari Ride, Kali River, and Finding Nemo. The EMH was early that day, so we went straight for an extra run on the safari ride; it is one of my favorite things to do at Disney. I am always able to get some great shots of the wildlife, even with my phone! When it came time to do the River ride, Kathy didn’t want to ride it since it was a bit cool that day. I was still game, so I headed over. When I got to the entrance, the cast member told me not to waste a FP+ on it, since we only can have 3 per day, there was no line. I was able to walk right on and change our FP+ for a different attraction, we added the Bug’s Life show to our docket (which we didn’t need to use a FP+ for either, but you can’t use FP+ for the same ride 2x in the same day, otherwise, we would have gone on the safari ride a 3^rd time).

Another attraction that I make sure to hit at least once each trip to Animal Kingdom is the Flights of Wonder bird show. It is very well done (even if it is a bit heavy on the ‘save the planet’ propaganda...). I’ve written before that I am not really a fan of roller coasters, but I wanted to try the Expedition Everest at least once, to say that I did, so I headed over by myself. The wait time wasn’t too bad, I was able to get on in about 30 min or so. The ride is very well done. The queue takes you through a travel office to board a train to the mountains, right through the sacred Yeti territory. It is a very fast, winding coaster that goes in and out of the Mt Everest, so it goes from light to dark and back very quickly. Would I ride it again? In a word, no. But I am glad I did ride it. When I

got off the ride, I needed to take a minute, so I found a spot in the shade to sit for a spell. After I recovered, we headed over to Dinoland USA for a meal at the Restaurantasorus. I wasn’t really up to the regular menu, so I ordered the corndog nugget meal. It included little corndog nuggets, fries, apple juice and grapes, all served in a plastic bucket with a shovel that you would take to the beach. It was pretty cool, and with the condition of my stomach, it worked out great! Since the park closes early (5p) in the winter, we headed back to the room to relax. We grabbed dinner at the Artist Pallet, and relaxed around the resort. We each got the Wednesday special, chicken parm. It’s tough to mess that up.. it was served with penne. I would have liked a little more pasta, but it wasn’t a bad meal. After eating, we wandered around the resort, looking at the community center, we walked by a couple of the pools on site, then back to the room to relax.

Thursday morning found us back at the Magic Kingdom. EMH were early that morning, so we

The Haunted Mansion

headed over to Peter Pan, since that ride often queues up lengthy wait times during the day. Our FP+ that day were for Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and the Jungle Cruise. We took a leisurely day around the park, having done most of what we wanted to do. We made sure to hit up the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, our old standby Carrousel of Progress, and of course the People Mover. Our dining choices this day took us to Gaston’s Tavern for the cinnamon roll (this has become a ‘must do’ for me, ranking right up there with the Dole whip float), we had lunch at the Village Haus (I had the chicken ceaser salad and we ate on the balcony overlooking the main dining floor) and dinner at Pecos Bills (I had the taco salad). After dinner we headed over to the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary for the exclusive Top of the World Lounge.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Admission to this lounge is limited to members of the DVC. I had just found out about this place a couple of weeks prior to our trip. It was Kathy’s birthday, so I wanted to do something special. The lounge was busy, but not packed. We ordered the soft pretzel and the 7 layer cake. By the time we finished eating the snacks, it was time for the fireworks to start, so we headed out to the balcony, 16 floors up, with a clear view of the Kingdom. It made for a great view of Wishes, especially since they play the music from the show over the sound system on the deck. The park was open for another couple hours after the fireworks, but we were ready to call it a night, so we headed back to the hotel. One thing we had done most days this trip is take a break in the mid afternoon and head back to the room to relax before heading back to the park. On this day, while waiting for the bus to go back to the Magic Kingdom, we decided to see if there was a table available for breakfast the next morning. Using the My Disney Experience app on my phone, I was able to secure a reservation for breakfast ‘Ohana.

We started Friday off at breakfast at ‘Ohana. We took the bus from Saratoga Springs to the Magic

Kingdom; we then boarded the Monorail to the Polynesian. We were a bit early because we wanted to make sure we allowed enough time for transit. We walked down to the lagoon and checked out the pool, beach, and the docks where the boat rentals are (something to keep in mind for future visits). By this time, it was time to check in for breakfast. They offer the chance to have your picture taken, that they will then try to sell you, we skipped that part. We didn’t want to pay $35 for a 5x7 of us. We had eaten dinner at ‘Ohana on our last trip and I didn’t love it, but I wanted to try it for breakfast, and I’m glad we did. It was a lot of fun. The format for breakfast is an all you can eat feast, served family style. It isn’t a buffet; they bring the food to you, similar to the way dinner is at the Liberty Tree Tavern. They sat us down with a basket of sweet breads and took our drink orders. Moments later, out comes a platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes along with a plate of fresh cut fruit (pineapple, raspberries and melon) and their special juice. It is a blend of orange, mango, guava and papaya. It was very tasty. They also bring out Mickey waffles (small Belgian waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse). They keep bringing the stuff out as much as you want. This is also a character breakfast, which normally isn’t a big deal for me, but it was fun to have pictures with Lelo and Stich as well as Mickey and Pluto. Our general rule is to not repeat a dining experience, until w
e have tried all of the ones that interest us, but we do have an exception (Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner), I think that this one will be added to the ‘no duplicate exemption’ list. After a few pictures with the Tikis and Maoris, we rolled ourselves to the Magic Kingdom for our last day in the parks for this trip.

Friday was originally scheduled to be an EPCOT day, since that is where the EMH hours were, but we figured we had done everything we wanted to do at EPCOT, so we decided to change all of our FP+ over to the Magic Kingdom. We had the Jungle Cruise, Mickey’s Philharmagic and Buzz Lightyear. Since we had such a large breakfast, we really didn’t need to eat much else until later that day. We did make sure to hit up Aloha Isle to get a Dole Whip float. It isn’t a trip to Disney without having at least 1 of those bad boys. We made sure to hit all the attractions that we wanted to, since it will be a while before we are back. Around dinner time, we hit up Pecos Bill’s again for a taco salad. After a quick run through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, we hunkered down for the castle light show and Wishes. We picked a spot towards the end of Main Street USA inside a taped off ‘viewing’ area. We had a slightly obstructed view of the castle, so we couldn’t see the light show all that well, but it was a great spot to watch the fireworks. There were people coming and going, and a whole lot more not moving, waiting and watching. There was a single cast member trying to direct traffic and

Wishes Fireworks

fighting a losing battle. After the show ended, there was a mass exodus out of the park, despite it being open for another 2 hours. When the crowd thinned, we headed back into the park to hit those last few attractions we wanted to make sure we got in. As we were heading back into the park, they played the announcement that they were going to be starting the light show in 10 minutes. I wasn’t sure if they were really going to, or if someone hit the wrong button. Turns out, they did play it again. This time, we had a prime viewing spot and most of the people had already left for the night, so we got a great view of the show. It is a very cool effect. It really brings the castle to life. At the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, I was picked to play Sully, and was up on the big screen.

Saturday morning, we made arrangements for bell services to pick up our luggage. We checked into our airline then shopped in the gift shop for a couple of last minute souvenirs. At 10, we boarded the Magic Express back to the MCO to await our journey home. Disney provides a nice service, you can check into your airline and check your bags at your hotel, that way when you get to the airport, you just have to go through security, then to the terminal and get on your plane and go home. I do like the new videos they play on the Magic Express busses. They show parts of the park that you may not already be aware of. On our return flight, the plane was equipped with Wi-Fi. The planes that have this feature allow you to stream live TV on several channels, courtesy of Dish Network. It is a nice way to pass the time while you are in the air.

All in all, it was a good trip. We hit everything we wanted to. We got a good Disney fix. Hopefully it will be enough to hold us over until our next trip, which looks like it won’t be until the fall/winter of 2015 or the spring of 2016.

More of the pictures I took can be found here.

Another Year in the Books...

This time of the year, it seems that there are only 2 types of stories out there. We have the ‘Year in review’ and we have the ‘What to look forward to in (insert new year here)’

People wax poetic on this -gate, or that –palooza, then they put on their best Carnac the Magnificent to predict what will happen in the next 52 weeks.

Some of the ‘Best/worst (fill in the blank) of (fill in the year)’ reports are well done. They are researched, well produced and have valid arguments for why this made it and that one didn’t.

Others are superficial. They are hastily thrown together to fill time or space. They are filled with things that most people wouldn’t consider legitimate contenders.

I have difficulty writing these sorts of lists off the top of my head, because I don’t always remember what happened this year.. Did it happen this year, or last.. was it significant enough to remember? When it comes to movies, I can’t write a good one, because I don’t see that many new movies. I can’t do best song, because I am old and boring, and only listen to talk radio, so I couldn’t tell you who sang what because I probably on heard a 15 second clip of the song at the last Knighthawks or Amerks game. I have no idea what the fox said.

That said, in no particular order, the best movies that I saw from 2013 are American Hustle, Hunger Games, and The Way Way Back. Movies worth seeing: Now You See Me, Thor, RED 2, Enders Game, and Hangover 3. Don’t waste your time: Anchorman, Superman, GI Joe. I am probably forgetting something.

Some personal highlights (again, in no particular order) of the year include a trip to Disney, on a drive to America to get props for our 4^th of July, we stopped at the Corning glass museum, (definitely worth a trip if you are within driving distance.) We spent a day at Stony Brooke State Park, we spent a few days in Niagara Falls, The Knighthawks won a 2^nd consecutive championship, a new nephew was introduced. Oh yea, I found out I am going to be the father of a new baby girl in May.

Things to look forward to in the coming year would be another strong season for the Knighthawks (including an expanded regular season, and a new play-off format). We will be going to Disney for a low-key trip, last one for a while (we don’t plan on getting back down there until late 2015 or early 2016). I think that the growing distrust of Big Government (particularly Obamacare) will lead to some changes in the Mid-Term elections this fall. NY will continue to become the nanny-state of all nanny states until it snaps. There will be a growing call for the state to split NYC off into its own state (but it won’t happen any time soon)

What do you think will happen in 2014? What were your highlights of 2013? Share them in the comments!

Hockey at Frontier Field???

If you have driven down Plymouth Ave or 490 through downtown Rochester during the last week, you probably saw something a bit curious, lights on at the baseball stadium. Did they start playing winter ball up north?

Nope, they are playing outdoor hockey! It is the Frozen Frontier. It is a 10 day festival that kicked off with an Amerks (AHL) game, and includes 3 college games, an Amerks/Sabres alumni game, several high school games as well as rec-league games and blocks of time sold to sponsors for open skate time. This is a joint venture between the Red Wings, Amerks and Sabres.

I had the opportunity to go to the Amerks game Friday night, it was the kick-off of the outdoor hockey festival. As you can imagine, December in Rochester isn’t exactly balmy.. The scoreboard thermometer showed a game time temp of 20, and it only went down from there.

As we approached the stadium, they had frozen the specially designed throw-back jerseys for each team into blocks of ice as well as a logo ice sculpture of the logo of the festival. They also had those mobile spotlights that are used at special events to draw attention to the location. When I got there, it was lightly snowing, which made for the coolest effect of the snow in the spot beams. It was a nice touch.

Special sweaters worn by the Amerks

They had set up a warming station tent down the walk way on the 3^rd base side, that had a pre-game party with a band. They had also brought in several port-a-potties, since when they built the stadium 15 years ago, they didn’t predict having a winter event, so the plumbing is turned off at the end of the Red Wings season.  Lucky for me, my tickets were in the Perch suite, so we were ok, the suite level bathrooms were good to go.

In the Perch

My brother and I

The game had an announced attendance of 11k+, and it was a great atmosphere. From where we were sitting, we could see the lines of cars on both Plymouth and State St coming to the game, and could see cars parking on the very top level of the WXXI garage at High Falls. The traffic was steady through most of the first period.

The Colors were presented in a very respectful manner and the national anthem was sung in a very powerful way by a very talented young girl who is no stranger to singing before large crowds. She sang the anthem at a Sabres game that was nationally televised. The pre-game festivities included fireworks timed to the ‘rocket’s red glare’ line of the Star Spangled Banner.

The game turned out to be exactly the type of game you’d hope for in this sort of event. It featured division rivals that flat don’t like each other and had had a rather feisty game just a couple days prior. Early on, the gloves were dropped and that just got the crowd going. The Amerks jumped out to an early lead, only to see that go away and then turn it into a 3-1 deficit. The Amerks went to work in the 3^rd, and not only tied it, but pulled ahead 4-3.

The game seemed all but over when the Lake Erie Monsters took a penalty with about 3 minutes left, down a goal, but they didn’t give up. They fought off the power play and then got one of their own with about 50 seconds left. They then pulled the goalie and skated 6 on 4 for the rest of regulation. The Amerks did the best they could to keep the puck out of their zone, but being out numbered, the visitors managed to put the puck in the back of the net with what appeared to be no time on the clock. The officials gathered, and they went to the review, and it was determined that the goal was scored with .1 on the clock to tie the game.

5 minutes of overtime were scoreless, so they went on to the shoot out. The goalies both prevailed in round 1, the Monsters scored in both round 2 and 3, leaving the Amerks down 2-0, with only 2 skaters to go. The 4^th Monster skater comes up, if he scores, game over. He doesn’t. Now it’s the Amerk’s turn. If they don’t score, game over. They do.

Same scenario for round 5, The Monsters don’t and the Amerks do. Now we are tied at 2 after 5 rounds. This time Amerks captain Matt Ellis is not to be denied. He nets the game winning shot and sent the Rochester fans home happy, after the fireworks, that is. From the sounds in the crowd, there were more than a few who made the drive up I90 from Cleveland to root on their Monsters.

I haven’t had the chance to make it to any of the other games, and with my schedule, probably won’t. I would have liked to have gone to the RIT men’s game, but it wasn’t to be. I can’t imagine the experience it would be for those high school players that got to change in the Red Wings locker room, then play in that venue. It is something they will remember for the rest of their lives.

I am glad I got to be a part of this, even if just as a fan. I hope that they don’t do it every year. It is something that should be kept as a special event, and not repeated too often. Maybe next time, they can do it at Sahlen’s stadium. It would have provided better sight lines for the fans.

Who Dropped the ball?

By now you have heard about the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral last week. Here in Rochester, home of the NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf), all of the local reporters went out and found anyone they could stick a microphone in front of to say how offended they were at the nerve of this guy who had the stones to fake his way through the service.

I think that people have a right to be upset and outraged, but not for the reason everyone is getting upset at. First of all.. how do we know that it isn’t a different sign language? It might be that the rest of the world doesn’t use ALS (American Sign Language). Perhaps, he is using a different version of sign language.

The thing that gets me upset at this is how did this guy get that close to our President? This guy has been arrested for burning someone to death, and the courts declined to prosecute because he was mentally unfit to stand trial. Those of you who know me, know that I am among the last to say anything good about Obama, but this is bigger than that.

Someone dropped the ball on this one. Probably several someones. First of all, how did the agency that picks and assigns the interpreter pass this guy? Did he have the right credentials to be in the pool? Also, doesn’t our Secret Service validate the people who are going to be that close to the President? What would have happened if someone got to him and got him to wear a vest? He would have been able to take out several of the world’s leaders in one shot. Then we would be talking about something other than a guy who was faking his way through signing some speeches at a funeral.

Let's all be Honest..

Ok, I know I am going to get some heat here, but I am going to call BS on something. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, you had people coming out against the retailers that were going to get a jump on holiday shopping by opening on Thanksgiving.

There were Facebook pages devoted to boycotting the retailers like Kohls, Wal Mart, and Target that would be opening as early as 6pm Thursday. Several of these stores wouldn’t be closing until Friday night.

The complaint was 2 fold.. first of all, people should be spending the holidays with their families, not fighting other consumers for that knickknack or special deal that you just have to have, or Christmas would be ruined.

The other reason is concern for the poor retail worker who had to leave their families, so you could go fight with other consumers for that knickknack or other special deal. They should be able to stay at home so they can watch the parade or the games with their families.

This is where I call BS. If you really cared about people being able to sit home with their families, then you wouldn’t watch the game. Or do the employees at the tv studios, networks, stadiums, etc.. not count?

If you really cared about people being able to stay home, then you would stay home and keep your TV off.

Let’s not forget that there is consumer demand for both. If people didn’t want to go shopping, or watch the game or parade, they wouldn’t and there wouldn’t be a need for those people to work on Thanksgiving.

I’m sick of people using retail employees as pawns for their own political agendas, whether it is for boosting minimum wage, to controlling hours, or increasing union membership.

Let’s call a spade a spade. If you don’t want to go shopping on Thanksgiving Day, then don’t. But don’t say it is because you want the stores’ employees to have the option to stay home with their families, then you better not watch the game or parade.

And, if enough people agree with you, then next year, the stores won’t open until Friday morning. 

How the Rattlers can be Successfull in Rochester

The Major League Lacrosse schedule was released today, and for now, I was a little surprised to see the Rattlers were still on the schedule, and that their home games would still be in Rochester. There was a new team and a former city is now dark, but the relocated team was not the Rattlers (Hamilton will now be playing as the Florida Launch).

The Rattlers have never been a strong draw in Rochester, despite being an original team in the MLL, and having won a championship in 2008. For some reason, they can't draw as well as their indoor counterparts, the Knighthawks. The location of the stadium is a cop-out in my book. Sure it's not in the best part of town.. but there are a lot worse places, and I have never heard of anyone having an issue at or around a game.

The team moved to Toronto then Hamilton the year after their championship season. A few years later, the struggling Chicago Machine relocated to Rochester a few years later.

Except for Denver, Boston and Chesapeake, who each averaged over 8k attendance per home game last year, the league overall doesn't draw well. The league average last year was just over 5k with only 3 of the 8 teams in the league over 4k. Most teams are closer to the 3k range. Rochester was under 2k last year. Part of the reason the numbers were so low were inconvenient times of the home games, and having 'home' games down south. What can be done to boost them back to the 3k+ that they were at last the season before, or even push it into the Denver/Boston range? The question may be better than the answer.

In my experience, most people know who the Knighthawks are, but few but the diehard lacrosse fans know who the Rattlers are. Part of that is that the Hawks have been in town for 20 years, and have won multiple championships, including the last 2. The Rattlers have played in 11 of the last 13 years. They have had 3 venues that they have called their 'home field'. They started in Frontier Field. This was not a good fit, so they moved to Bishop Kearney. When Sahlen Stadium, (then Paetec Park) opened in 2006, they called it home. 

Let me start off by saying I have no sports marketing experience. I have no idea what kind of money the suggestions I have will cost. I am just a season ticket holder who doesn't want to see the Rattlers leave town again, because if they do, they probably won't ever be back. Many of my ideas are probably not feasible, I am just kind of spit-balling here.

What can they do to grow exposure? I think that regionalizing the team would be a good place to start. Work with the success of the Syracuse Orange and other local colleges. Maybe have 1 game a year in the Carrier Dome. Especially with 6 former Orange on the roster, not to mention the 3 former Hobart Statesmen and lone RIT Tiger. 

Another direction to expand to is to reach out to local high schools. Many high school coaches are hesitant to encourage their players to watch the indoor game because off the many differences, but they shouldn't have the same trepidations with the outdoor game. There are some minor differences (2 point line and the shot clock being the two big ones), but it is basically the same game. 

I know that the NLL and MLL are separate entities, but I think that there is an opportunity to form a symbiotic relationship in cities/regions where there are are teams in both leagues (currently this is a short list, only Denver an Rochester). Many players play in both leagues. They should push the opener back to Memorial day. Opening in April is too early. None of the teams are at full strength before the NLL season is done, and the rookies don't join their new pro teams until the end of the college season, and championship weekend is Memorial Day. 

I understand that this league will most likely never be more than a part time league, but by spending a little on marketing (billboards, buses, radio/tv spots)  and getting players out in the communities that they play in can get the league and local teams some good press. Watch what Soccer Sam is doing. Send players to local radio stations for some in-studio interviews where they can give away tickets, send them to Wegmans, send them to the malls.

Fan involvement is key. Make it about more than just the game. Take a page out of Dan Mason's book. Throw tee-shirts into the crowd, play stupid human trick sort of games for prizes. Have 2 for 1 ticket promos. Wrap a few fans' cars (like the 'Hawks did a few years ago, I would be the first to volunteer). What do Denver, Boston and Chesapeake of the MLL and Buffalo and Colorado of the NLL do different than the rest of the teams in their respective leagues do?

Like I said, I am by no means an expert on these sorts of things. I am just a fan, and these are some ideas. Hopefully, a few of them will give one of the experts an idea and attendance numbers will improve.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Our final stop on the trip around the World is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. When it first opened, it was actually used as an animation studio, but any movie production has long since been moved to other locations. 

turn around, you are in San Francisco!

Manhattan..

At Hollywood Studios, you are immersed in all things movies. There is a street set that you can walk down where if you look one direction, you are clearly in Manhattan, but when you turn around, you are transported to San Francisco.

As you walk around the park, you will run into mini-scenes. You will have a movie diva talking about the ‘little people that helped make it all possible’, or you will have a prop master chasing someone who just stole a prop,  or a director scolding the ‘extras’ (park visitors) for getting in the shot.

There aren’t many rides in this park, but the ones they have are some of the most popular at all of Disney World. One I haven’t  ridden (and don’t plan on..), one I have (and may or may not ride again) and the 3^rd we couldn’t get on last year, but I was able to ride 2x this year.  

These rides (in order) are the Rocken’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith. I love the technology and planning that they put into creating this ride, but it is not my bag, so I probably won’t ever actually experience it. It is a roller coaster that doesn’t have a giant main hill to start. It starts off with magnets thrusting the car forward to 60mph right off the bat, all with Steven Tyler singing in your ears. 

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Next is the Tower of Terror. This is an hotel that was struck by lightning one Halloween night and all the guests mysteriously vanished, now the elevators are out of control. The engineering that went into this ride is great as well. It is a different ride every time. Basically the ride is, you are on this possessed elevator that will rise and drop at random. The amount of drops, and the distance of the drops are randomly generated each ride, so one time you will have several smaller drops, then the next you will have fewer longer drops. They left no detail out. It was more fun than I expected it to be, but as I said, this isn’t my kind of ride, so not sure I will brave it again.

The 3^rd of the big popular rides it the Toy Story Midway Mania. When we went last year, we only spent part of a day there, and the Fast Passes were closed for the night. This year, the first day we went to the park, we went straight there to get FP, but they were already giving out fast passes for 4.30p, and our dinner reservation was at 5, not at that park, so that wouldn’t work out. When we passed by about an hour or so later, they had all the FP machines covered. They had given out all the FP they were going to for that day.  on our 2^nd visit to the park, we got there earlier, and were able to get the fast passes and were able to ride that day. It was a much lighter crowd day, so I was actually able to get FP for another ride later that day! On this ride, it is a 3D ride that you play a few different carnival midway type games with a virtual shooter on your car. You play a ring toss game.. throw baseballs at plates.. throw darts.. etc.. it keeps score and gives you a virtual prize at the end. It is a lot of fun, and ranks as a ‘must do’ at Hollywood studios.

Some of the other rides are the Great Movie Ride, which takes you through some of the most iconic scenes from some of the most famous movies of all time. Another is the Backlot Tour, where you watch a scene of a boat being attacked by an unseen plane that is being produced including explosions and other special effects, you then go through a prop warehouse with props from all sorts of movies, you then board a tram which takes you through a bone yard of vehicles, through a prop shop, a wardrobe shop, past the greenhouses, and through a set that shows special effects of fire bursts and a flash flood. 

Another favorite is the Star Tours. This is a motion simulator that takes you all over the Star Wars universe. It is a different trip every time. you will get 3 of 9 possible scenes. It is in 3D and there is movement, and it feels pretty real. I enjoyed it when I rode it last year, but this year it was too much for me (I know.. I'm old and boring..).  

Fountain outside of the Muppet Show

There are several shows to watch at the park as well, with something for everyone. For the kids, there is Disney Jr, and the Little Mermaid. For the action junkie, there is Lights! Motors! Action! (a car stunt show), and the Indiana Jones stunt show (they show how movies like Raiders was made) and the American Idol Experience, a version of the show. And for everyone, there is a 3D Muppet movie! A museum of the history of Walt, including where he grew up, what he did and the things he developed is a very interesting stop.

Overall, this would rank as my 4^th favorite of the Disneyworld parks. I enjoy the park, but wouldn’t be super disappointed if we didn’t get a chance to spend a lot of time there on trips. There are a few good photo-ops and character meet and greets, and it is all about movies.

One of these years, we will get to the water parks and golf courses, but I haven’t been yet. As always, if there is something Disneyworld that you would like to share, please do, and I would love to answer any questions you have (to the best of my ability).

Employee Polyester Costumes Of Torture. Part 2

Last time I went over the front half of EPCOT, also known as Future World. In this posting, I am going to go over the back half, the World's Showcase.

The World Showcase features pavilions representing 11 countries from around the world. When I go, I typically go counter clockwise around the lagoon, but most reviews go clockwise.

Each of the pavilions are host to gift shops with items from the homeland and restaurants with native food. Most have both table service and quick service as well as snacks. 

Air Supply

Each fall, the selection of food is greatly expanded during the Food and Wine fest. That just happened to be going on during our last trip. There are several temporary kiosks that serve a variety of different samplings of both food and beverages. Due to the way the schedule shook out, we really didn't get a chance to see much of the festival. In addition to the food, they put on a concert series, called the Eat to the Beat concert series. They bring in several bands to do a couple concerts a night for a couple nights. We got to see Air Supply. I was a bit skeptical about them, but I have to say, those old guys can still rock!

 

Last year, we ate at Germany and at Japan. I thoroughly enjoyed both meals.  Germany is a buffet featuring all kinds of sausages, and anything German you can imagine. It was more than just the food, they had German musicians and singers to entertain while you eat. There was even a dance floor for those who felt inspired to work off some of the schnitzel. Japan is a hibachi grill. Always a good show watching the onion volcano. Watch for flying rice!

Terra Cotta Warriors from China

Each of the pavilions is sort of a museum of that country's culture, art, and history. A couple have rides (Mexico and Norway), a couple have movies (Canada and China) and the US one has a multi-media show similar to the Hall of Presidents from Magic Kingdom.

As you walk through, watch for performers. Anything from candy making, to a band to acrobats and more. 

Illuminations

At closing, people gather around the World Showcase Lagoon to watch one of the best firework displays you will see. Illuminations kicks off about 9pm each night. Fireworks, water cannons, and flame throwers are on barges in the middle of the lagoon. These are complimented by laser lights mounted on the buildings around the park. The center piece of the show is a giant globe with led boards that floats out to the center of the show. 

There is plenty to see and do at EPCOT, and isn't to be missed on your trip to Disney.

Every Person Comes Out Tired (part 1)

Space Ship Earth

Next on the chopping block is EPCOT. I know it hasn’t been the EPCOT Center for several years.. but I still catch myself calling it that now and then. I love what EPCOT can be, but I think it misses the mark. It is close, but not quite there. Sure it has its main attractions (Sorin’, Test Track, and Mission: Space), but it also has The Universe of Energy, probably the biggest waste of space in Disney.

EPCOT is divided into 2 main areas, Future World and the World Showcase. When you first walk into the park, you are in Future World and are greeted by the giant golf ball, known as Space Ship Earth. Inside this giant sphere, we learn the history of communication, narrated by Dame Judy Dench. Most of the rides are in Future World, and most of them have a sciencey/educational motif. There is so much to do here, I think I will break EPCOT into 2 posts.

One of the most popular rides at Disney is in The Land. It is a high flying hang gliding trip over the key features of California called Sorin’. On it you fly over orange groves, the Golden Gate Bridge, the high desert, Pebble Beach golf course, Downtown LA at night, and ending at Disneyland during the fireworks display. The concept for this ride was created in the garage of one of Disney’s Imagineers, using his old erector set from when he was a kid. Each seat on the ride has a fan above you to blow air in your face to help simulate you are actually flying, and in certain scenes, they inject a scent into the fan to enhance the experience, like when you are flying over the orange grove, you can smell citrus. This ride often has wait times in excess of an hour, and fast passes often sell out quick, so go there first if you are there on a busy day. I would like to see them tweak this a bit. First off, they should take a duster to the giant dome screen, and fix the few black spots on the screen. I also think it would be cool if they would change up the scenes you fly through. They could take a page from the Star Tours ride at Hollywood Studios and change up the scenes every ride. Still finish up at Disneyland, but make the journey there different every time. Also, of all the movies they have, this one seems most suited to getting the 3D treatment.

Also in the Land pavilion is one of the hidden gems (at least in my book), Living with the Land. It is a gentile boat ride that highlights agriculture. It goes through a green house showing different types of food plants, fruits, vegetables etc.. from all over the world, and some that have been genetically engineered to be more efficient or bug resistant. One such plant is a tomato tree. There is seldom much of a line here, so it is a nice respite.

Time for lunch? Stop by Sunshine Seasons at the Land. It is routinely ranked among the best quick service places in the entire ‘World’. I have only been there for breakfast, but there is something for everyone.

Next to the Land pavilion, is the Seas. Here you will find a Nemo ride, Turtle Talk with Crush and other aquatic activities. On the Nemo ride, you board a clam shell car (similar to the Doombuggies at the Haunted Mansion) and go through some of the scenes from the movie. The coolest part of the ride is towards the end, when you go through and under aquariums that have Nemo characters projected into them. It looks like our friends from the movie are swimming among actual live fish. It’s pretty slick. Once you finish the ride, there are several aquarium exhibits featuring all sorts of sea life, including dolphins, sharks, manatees, rays, and more.

Another big draw in Future World is Test Track. This was recently re-done to re-brand it with Chevy as a title sponsor. As you stand in line, you design your car at a touch screen computer. You design everything from the type of vehicle (sporty.. compact.. truck.. etc), the shape, color, wheelbase, designs and accessories. After you design your car, you then put it to the test. It goes through breaking, swerving, hot and cold conditions, then for a speed test. At different points through the ride, you go past screens with testing results of your car. The speed test takes place around the outside of the building. The day we rode it, when we came out of the building for the speed test, we were staring straight into the morning sun. In one of the few instances of poor planning on behalf of the Disney Imagineers, the camera is right there. Because of this, most of the pictures taken, show people shading their eyes. After the ride, you are let out into a room with several Chevy based exhibits. You can sit in a new Camaro, Volt, S-10 or other Chevy vehicles. You can have your picture taken with the care you just designed, and you can race your car in a video game similar to the old ‘Off Road’ arcade game.

One ride that is a big draw, but I did not like is Mission: Space. On it, you board a rocket bound for Mars, narrated by Lt Dan. It is a centrifuge ride, and you experience some serious G-forces. It was too much for me to handle, but if you like that sort of thing, you would probably enjoy it.

One of the least impressive rides at all of Disney is here. It is The Universe of Energy. It is a long (45min) ride. In it you are in a dream of Ellen DeGeneres. It is an old movie, (special guests Alex Trebek has a mustache and Jamie Lee Curtis has red hair) where Bill Nye the Science Guy teaches Ellen about energy and where it comes from. Part of the ride does take you through a large room of animatronic dinosaurs, which are pretty cool, but not cool enough to rescue this ride. Unless you are looking for a place for a nap in a dark, air conditioned area, I’d skip this. This ride is definitely due for a redesign.

The world of imagination could use a re-boot, the Capitan EO movie with Michael Jackson is very dated, and it’s time to retire it. It does have some fun interactive things that kids can play, but it isn’t as cool as I remember it when I went in 1986.

The last thing that I will cover in today’s posting is another of the coolest parts of Future World. It is Club Cool, sponsored by Coke. In here, you can try several beverages bottled by Coke from around the world. In the last few weeks, they replaced all the flavors here, so I can’t comment on any of them except for the newly added Inca Kola, since I had it when I was down in Peru several years ago. I really liked the sample they had from Israel, and will miss it. Perhaps I will find a new favorite next time we go down there.

Next time, I will cover the back half of the park, the World Showcase.