Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Fantasy Football – Week 7

2016_week7_andrewluckThe Seahawks vs Cardinals game was a doozy. I’d say it was a defensive battle but it felt more like impotent offenses, at least on Seattle’s side. Regular time ended with a 3-3 tie so they went to overtime. Surely one time would be able to find a way to score a touchdown and put this game out of it’s misery? Nope. They both managed a field goal which meant that the next score would win the game. Seattle’s defense let the Cardinals march down the field in range for an easy field goal and… it hit the upright! The Seattle found some offense and marched down the field for an easy field goal and… wide left! AUGH! My old man heart can’t take this. The game ended with that 6-6 tie and that’s it. The Seahawks are now 4-1-1. Since the new overtime rules were introduced in 2012, this is only the fourth tie and it’s the first in Seahawks history. Meh. The bottom line is that the Seahawks better find a way to fix their broken offense because it looked horrible.

We had a crazy week in our league too with the top two teams (Logan and Andy) losing. There is now a three way tie for first place between Logan, Andy and Tim. Next week’s game of the week is probably Austin vs Andy. They’re both in the top 3 in the power rankings:

1. Logan
2. Austin (+1)
3. Andy (-1)
4. Dad

This Week Season All-Time
Highest Team Score Ben had 132.53 Logan had 170.69 (Week 5) Tim 200.51 (2015)
Lowest Team Score Andy had 97.18 Tim had 77.09 (Week 6) Andy had 41.29 (2015)
Biggest Blowout Austin beat Luke by 33.01 Logan beat Tim by 79.46 (Week 5) Luke beat Andy by 113.02 (2010)
Closest Win Tim beat Andy by 3.96 Tim beat Dad by 0.45 (Week 4) Jim beat Ben by 0.12 (2012)
Highest Scoring Player Andrew Luck had 33.82 for Jim Ben Roethlisberger had 43.90 for Andy (Week 4) Drew Brees had 60.54 on Tim’s bench (2015)
Longest Active Winning Streak Dad has a 2 game winning streak Tim and Logan had 4 game winning streaks Micah (2011) and Ben (2015) had an 8 game winning streak
Longest Active Losing Streak Jim has a 4 game losing streak. Jim and Dad had 4 game losing streaks Kyle had a 14 game losing streak (2011)
benmartens October 26, 2016 Fantasy Sports

Cubs

cubs2016For the first time since the end of World War 2, the Cubs are going to the World Series. I watched a ton of Cubs games going up and attended quite a few too. I remember watching games on TV at my parents house, at college, and floating on a sailboat on a sunny day on Lake Michigan (that one was radio, not TV.) I played a lot of baseball growing up and Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Mark Grace were my heroes. And going to the games was even better. You can hate baseball or the Cubs and still have fun at a game at Wrigley Field. It’s an awesome experience. I will always remember standing in the Cubby Bear bar and singing “Go Cubs Go” before a game.

Now? I’m a terrible Cubs “fan.” I haven’t watched a game in years and I couldn’t even name one player on their team if not for the videos I’ve seen during the playoffs. In fact, I’m a terrible baseball fan in general. I go to a Mariners game or two every year, but I don’t follow baseball at all during the season. It’s just too much to fit into my life and it got squeezed out. 162 games and 30 teams. That’s a lot to follow. Too much.

So am I excited that the Cubs are going to the World Series? YES! It spent so many years dreaming about that happening. But I feel like a total fraud cheering for them because I know I’m not even going to watch the World Series. You might get me to watch a game where they have a chance to win it all though. I would love to see the curse of the goat finally end.

What’s that? You don’t know about the curse of the goat? That linked article gives you all the details but basically Billy Sianis was at Game 4 of the 1945 World Series with his goat. Apparently that was a thing in 1945. Anyway, he got kicked out because his goat was unruly and he put a curse on the Cubs saying “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” And win they haven’t. They haven’t event made it to the World Series since then. They’ve been very close like in 2003 when things were going well until the curse struck and Steve Bartman and his headphones destroyed their chances and became a pariah in Chicago forever.

So go Cubs go. I’ll cheer for you quietly from Seattle.

benmartens October 25, 2016 Sports

Ok Google

samsung-galaxy-s7-0010Back in July I announced that we’d be switching to Android when our existing contracts were up. That time has come and we’re both using Galaxy S7’s. This won’t be the last post on the topic, but let me get some thoughts out of my head:

  • We went for crazy high end phones. There are a couple reasons:
    • With Verizon’s new plans where the cost of the phone is not something that is baked permanently into the service fee (yay!), it finally makes financial sense to keep a phone for longer than 2 years. Before you were kind of paying for it whether you got a new phone or not. So my thought is that if we’re going to keep these for 3+ years, let’s get something that has a chance to last.
    • These phones were in the same ballpark as what we spent on our last laptop. These devices get used way more than a laptop so it didn’t seem unreasonable that they should cost a similar amount.
    • Also, I like technology.
  • I feel like a tool n00b. I stared at my phone and literally had no idea how to send a text message. There are 1000 ways to do everything which is awesome but it’s also daunting at first. Thanks to some advice from Android-loving friends, I was able to pick a couple apps and get started. Yes, the phone comes with Samsung and Verizon versions of various apps but those things are generally best if you delete them immediately.
  • I LOOOOVVVVEEEEEEE having access to all the apps. All of them. I finally have full-fledged first party versions of every app I could ever want. I can buy all the gadgets and gizmos that I want and I can be confident that my phone will play nice with them. I’m like a kid in a candy store.
  • The fast charging is wonderful. The phones come with a 2 amp wall wart and when you charge with that thing, you can go from dead to a full charge in a couple of hours. It also tells you right on the screen how long it will take to get to a full charge.
  • There’s the inevitable “Why didn’t you get an iPhone?” That’s not going to happen. I’ll never buy Apple anything (long time readers are hollering that I had an iPod once.) I don’t think less of you because you have one, but it’s not for me. Oh, but I do think less of you if we have this conversation: “You got an Android? That’s dumb. You should have gotten an iPhone.” “Why? What’s better about it?” “I don’t know. It’s just better because … Apple.”
  • The other question I get is why I didn’t get a Google Pixel. The two big things for me is that the Pixel doesn’t have wireless charging and it’s not water resistant. The water thing hasn’t ever been a big deal but it’s nice to have on the S7. But the big one is that I’m hooked on wireless charging. It’s so convenient! We already have four chargers around the house and they’re compatible with this phone too.
  • This phone has tons of fun sensors on it that i don’t know how to use yet. The thumbprint sensor is incredibly useful. Not only is it handy for unlocking the phone, but I also love it for signing into my LastPass app. The LastPass app automatically signs me in to all the various websites and apps that I use. Fantastic.
  • The one disappointment for me so far has been Android Auto. I was very excited to hook my phone up to the Sync 3 system in my truck and get Google Maps, Ok Google, and more all right there on the screen in my truck, but it turns out that Android Auto isn’t enabled in my truck yet. I need Sync 3 version 2.0. It sounds like they started making that mere weeks after my truck was built. Supposedly there is a dealer upgrade coming “this year” but no word on the exact date yet or whether it’s free.

All in all, I’m happy with our choice, but I’ve been putting in a lot of hours to get the phones configured nicely. Tyla and I have shared calendars, contact lists, etc and it’s tricky to get that all configured in the Android ecosystem. I also have a long list of “how do I do X in the new phone” from both myself and Tyla. I’ve spent quite a few hours in the evenings chugging away. The nice thing about Android is that everything is possible if you can find the solution.

benmartens October 24, 2016 Gadgets

Church Speakers

churchspeakersI’m the resident Audio Visual nerd at church. Over the years, I’ve slowly been cleaning up and improving the system, but the biggest problem was still the amplifier and speakers. The amp came out of my living room and could barely produce enough power to make the system audible on a busy Sunday. The speakers were tiny and some of them were blown out. (You can see an example of the old speaker on the left side of the photo.) Everything was cranked up as loud as I could get it without feedback or distortion and it was barely enough.

Finally, it was time to upgrade. The only catch was that I had no idea how big of a system we really needed. I didn’t even know how to find speakers that would work with an amplifier. I spent some time learning about resistance, RMS, amplifier wattage, and how to pair an amp with speakers and made a wild guess.

We ended up with a QSC GX3 300 watt amplifier and two Mackie C200 speakers. The speakers are rated for 200 watts RMS and the amp can drive 300 with one of these speakers on each channel. The speakers are mounted to the wall with some simple, custom speaker boxes that I made with plywood, pocket hole screws and black paint.

Our church is roughly 75 feet long, 40 feet wide and 30 feet high at the peak. My hope was to get a system that would be at about 30% total power to get the right volume under normal conditions. I failed that, but the system is still a success. This setup is loud. When the church was empty, I got it turned up about 1/3 of the way and it felt like a rock concert. I seriously wonder if more power could blow out some windows.

So yeah, overkill. But you know what? It feels AWESOME to have a system that really works and isn’t straining to sort of meet our needs. We have had a lot of births in the last five years so church is a lot noisier than it used to be and it’s nice to have the ability to drown out the kiddie buzz if we need to.

benmartens October 21, 2016 Commentary

Calvary Oktoberfest

beeroktoberfest2016The Lutheran church has a strong German heritage. So when October rolls around, it’s time for Oktoberfest! Our church puts on a pretty good party with everyone bringing homemade German dishes to share. We also had a pie baking contest, a beer judging event and hammerschalgen. Any day when I get to eat a bunch of sausage and taste 11 different beers is a good one in my book.

benmartens October 20, 2016 Commentary

Fantasy Football – Week 6

2016_week6_drewbreesThe Seahawks are 4-1 after and ugly win against Atlanta. The normally rock solid kicking game had a missed field goal and blocked extra point that nearly cost them the game. The big play of the game unfortunately came from the referees with a blown pass interference call at the end of the game that would have put the Falcons in field goal position. I love the Seahawks but that as a terrible no-call. Nevertheless, it’s a W in the books and that means that “Russell Wilson is 1 win away from his 50th career victory. With a win over the Falcons in his 69th career start, he would tie for the 3rd-fastest starting QB since 1970 to reach 50 career wins, behind only Ken Stabler (62 starts) and Tom Brady (65 starts).” (source)

Two of the highest scores in our league came from the 7th and 8th place teams (Dad and Jim) in their head to head battle. Luke’s team blew everyone away though with three players over 30 points! Logan looks dominant as he extended his winning streak to 4 games. And I don’t want to pick on Tim too much, but have we ever had a team that was in first place get the lowest score in the league two weeks in a row? If he keeps this up for a few more weeks, he’ll be down in the standings by me. Here’s what the Power Rankings have to say:

1. Logan
2. Andy
3. Austin
4. Dad (+2)

This Week Season All-Time
Highest Team Score Luke had 131.52 Logan had 170.69 (Week 5) Tim 200.51 (2015)
Lowest Team Score Tim had 77.09 Was: Jim had 77.82 (Week 2) Andy had 41.29 (2015)
Biggest Blowout Luke beat Tim by 54.43 Logan beat Tim by 79.46 (Week 5) Luke beat Andy by 113.02 (2010)
Closest Win Dad beat Jim by 7.77 Tim beat Dad by 0.45 (Week 4) Jim beat Ben by 0.12 (2012)
Highest Scoring Player Drew Brees had 40.60 on Austin’s bench Ben Roethlisberger had 43.90 for Andy (Week 4) Drew Brees had 60.54 on Tim’s bench (2015)
Longest Active Winning Streak Logan has a 4 game winning streak Tim had a 4 game winning streak (Week 4) Micah (2011) and Ben (2015) had an 8 game winning streak
Longest Active Losing Streak Jim has a 3 game losing streak. Dad had a 4 game losing streak (Week 5) Kyle had a 14 game losing streak (2011)
benmartens October 19, 2016 Fantasy Sports

Best of YouTube

Destin gets some very cool opportunities as part of his job and the Smarter Every Day channel. Thankfully he shares them with us! I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to pull a loop in a jet but I never thought about the feeling of making the inputs into the plane to get that loop to happen.

It’s hard to not use the Modern Rogue channel as all three of my videos this week, but here’s one of their best videos. Don’t try these at home. Especially if I’m around.

Bob Hoover is one of the greatest pilots the world has ever known. Check out this old video of him pouring an ice tea while performing an aileron roll… and oh yeah, the back of the plane was full of Generals.

benmartens October 18, 2016 Links

Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch is an annual tradition in our house. We’ve visited quite a few different ones but Bob’s Corn is our favorite. They have lots of activities, good food and, oh yeah, pumpkins. Ever wanted to shoot an apple out of a big air cannon? Bob’s Corn has you covered.

This year we snuck in on a day that looked a bit rainy so the crowds weren’t too big. We made the rounds and spent plenty of time watching Elijah ride a bike with training wheels. He’s really eager to get a “pedal bike” but we’re trying to get him comfortable on the Strider and skip training wheels. One of the tricycles was big enough to squeeze onto so I rode next to Elijah for a while and he got a huge kick out of that.

They also have a giant pile of pumpkins next to their barn which makes a great spot for photos…

pumpkins2016_1 pumpkins2016_2 pumpkins2016_3

benmartens October 17, 2016 Family

Top Beers

red-chair-nwpaI was recently asked what my favorite beers are. To the data we go! I have tried over 400 different beers and they’re all rated in Untappd. Here are the only beers that have received a perfect score from me.

Brewery Beer
Aslan Brewing Company Batch 15 IPA
Northwest Brewing Company Hoppy Bitch IPA
Fish Brewing Company Fish Tale Full Blast
Wingman Brewers Ace IPA
Worthy Brewing Worthy IPA
Sumerian Brewing Co. Narcissism IPA
Laughing Dog Brewing India Pale Ale (IPA)
No-Li Brewhouse Born & Raised
Worthy Brewing Worthy IPA
Firestone Walker Brewing Company Luponic Distortion: Revolution No. 001
10 Barrel Brewing Company Joe
Cascade Lakes Brewing Company Hop Smack
Sumerian Brewing Co. Pale Ale
GoodLife Brewing Company Descender IPA
Redhook Brewery Big Ballard
Hale’s Ales Brewery Supergoose IPA
Oskar Blues Brewery IPA
Mac & Jack’s Brewing Company African Amber
Deschutes Brewery Red Chair NWPA
Gallaghers’ Where-U-Brew Galley Mac Amber

If you don’t like IPAs, then you might not be thrilled with this list, but right now I would rank Oskar Blues IPA and Deschutes Red Chair as the best of the best. You can only find Red Chair from about January to May so it’s a special treat each year.

And while we’re on the topic of alcohol, how about a refresher on my list of top rums?

  • Sipping rums. Mt. Gay Extra Old is my go-to standard, but there’s a new entry on this list from a distillery in Woodinville: Puget Sound Rum Company C&C Honey Rum.
  • Mixing rums. If you’re mixing with Coke (or Coke Zero as I prefer), look no further than Kraken. If you’re mixing with fruit juice then grab some Mt. Gay Eclipse.
benmartens October 14, 2016 Commentary

Monorail

Since we only lasted about an hour at the Lego festival and we were already down by the Space Needle, I thought we should fulfill one of Elijah’s long-time wishes and ride the monorail. I’ve never been on it before. Now I have. It’s not that impressive. Elijah thought it was cool for a little while but I think he was underwhelmed. It’s only a 2 minute ride that covers about a mile. So as a sight seeing adventure, it’s not really worth it. But if you’re walking around Seattle and you want to quickly transport between Pike Place and the Space Needle, it’s a good option.

monorailride

benmartens October 13, 2016 Commentary