Fantasy Football Draft

Fantasy Football Draft
On Saturday, August 26th our family fantasy football team had its drafts.  Our league is unique.  We play 2 quarterbacks, only 1 running back, 2 flex positions, 1 defensive player, and 1 punter.  The punter is new this year.  The punter will not have much effect on the outcomes of games because punters score the fewest amount of points for a position by a wide margin and the variance of the points between punters is small.

I could have drafted better.  Also I could have drafted worse.  My top pick was Aaron Rodgers who helped me the championship last year.  There were a few picks that were reaches.  The picks that were reaches caused my bench to be thin.  My bench being thin is nothing new to me.  It was the same situation for me last year.  Overall I am satisfied with my selections.  Nobody knows how well they really drafted until the games start.  I am looking forward to finding out!

USP 8,506,822

USP 8,506,822
An application I have worked on has become a published patent!  It is USP 8,506,822 titled "Concentration of Suspensions".  On the front page of the patent is my name!  It is in the right hand column in the line starting "Assistant Examiner".  This is the first published application to have my name on it.  You can find the document here, which you can download a pdf.  Below is a picture of the front page of the patent.

USP 8,506,822

Redskin Tickets and Flat Bike Tires

Redskin Tickets
This week I picked Redskin tickets.  The Redskins game is on Sunday October 20th at 1:00 PM ET in Landover, MD against the Chicago Bears.  RGIII should definitely be playing by that point in the season.  Now I am going to have to get a Redskins t-shirt for myself.  There is no way I am cheering for the Chicago Bears.  I will be going with a friend from college who is also working in the DC area.  The seats are in section 215.

View of FedEx Field from our Section (Section 215)

Flat Bike Tires

This week I had 2 flat tires on my bike.  I was riding to the FedEx store to pick up the Redskins tickets when I realized my back tire was flat.  I noticed my back tire was flat because the ride felt bumpier than usual.  To fix the tire I went to a bike store near the river in Old Town Alexandria.  They replaced my tube in the back tire and added air to my front tire.  While biking home again, the back tire went flat again.  I was far enough from the bike store and my townhouse that a walk to either place would be inconvenient and time consuming.  So I called my roommate Jon up to give a ride to the bike store.  He did so.  I had the tire replaced because may have been the problem according to the bike mechanic.  Since having my tire replaced I have had no flat tires on my bike.

Iowa Trip

Iowa Trip
Recently I got back to Alexandria from my trip to Iowa.  I had a great time!  I did so much with so many people that I do not have the time to share all of my time on this blog.  I will, however, share about some of the time I spent in Iowa.

Two of my brothers were moving in and out of lodgings in Iowa City.  During my time in Iowa, I went to Iowa City 5 times on 5 different days.  During my time in Iowa City, I help put together 2 desks and a TV stand from Target, fixed 2 computers, help clean 2 different apartments and a bedroom, ate the Coral Ridge Mall food court twice, and shopped at Target in the Coral Ridge Mall twice among other activities.

The Mississippi Valley Fair was in town.  So I went to the fair a few night where I met old friends from high school, saw Toby Keith and Josh Turner in concert, and saw a team of wood and brick breakers.

Also, I went mini golfing a few times.  I was able to win one of the rounds of mini golf.

I sincerely enjoyed my time in Iowa!  I will be back in Iowa in late October and December around Christmas time.  The October trip will be a short trip and I will not be as available as my previous trips to Iowa.

P.S.  I probably gained at least 5 pounds because of all the good food I ate at home and Davenport restaurants or eateries.  I have yet to find food that tastes as good in Alexandria.