This was written by Niko, my 8-year-old son with a just a teeny bit of editing by me. Yesterday, I finished The Wild Robot Protects because you know it’s a bestseller and that’s not a joke. It’s the best book in the series and the best book I have ever read. I am going to…
Author: Mark
The Wild Robot – by Peter Brown
Niko’s teacher has been reading this book to the class, and last weekend, we saw the movie. This is the first time Niko has seen a movie based on a book, and he was impressed on how the movie portrayed some of the events from the book. I did tell him that books are always…
Whale Done (FunJungle, #8) – by Stuart Gibbs
We have finally finished the FunJungle series. For this last book, Niko read a little bit on his own, and it was actually a very climatic part where Teddy Fitzroy solves a crime and tells us who did it. It was funny because Niko kept telling us about it! I truly enjoyed reading these books…
Bear Bottom (FunJungle #7) – by Stuart Gibbs
On Tuesday night, I finished reading this one to my 8-year-old son, and just like the previous 6, he really enjoyed it. He pays attention to the book, and several times throughout the book, he predicted what would happen. His favorite character was Morton, a tourist and a moron; and called a touron in the…
Tyrannosaurus Wrecks (Funjungle, #6) – by Stuart Gibbs
I have been reading this series to Niko, my 8-year-old son, and he absolutely loves them! I won’t spoil anything, but he figured something out in the beginning of the book and he was correct. Sometimes at silly parts (or scenes of chaos), I have to stop and repeat it so he can understand it….
Lion Down (Funjungle, #5) – by Stuart Gibbs
So far, of all the Funjungle books I have read to my 8-year-old son, this was his favorite. He liked the excitement, the adventures, and all the funny things that happened (especially, the wheelchair rumble towards the end)! His favorite phrase was from J.J. McCracken when he said, “Crap on crackers!” Last night, we were…
Panda-monium – by Stuart Gibbs
This is the 4th book in the FunJungle series, and I just finished reading it to my 8-year-old son. He really likes the characters, the animals, and the surprising plot twists. A few weeks ago, we went to IKEA and he saw a Koala stuffed animal, so, of course, he had to have it! He…
Big Game – by Stuart Gibbs
This is 3rd book in the Funjungle series and I have really enjoyed reading them to my 8-year-old son. He listens and asks a lot of great questions. Sometimes, when something suspenseful happens, he gets excited and has to immediately tell Nina! He also loves the funny hijinks that happen throughout the book. Did you…
The Statman Speaks
My third Amazon e-book has just been published, and it tells the extraordinary story of how I got started as a statistician, writer, and photographer. It’s free for a few days, so get it now and leave a review on Amazon. Click here for the link! I will tell you that I was the Track…
Happy 10 Years to THESTATMANSPEAKS.COM
Man, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I started writing on www.thestatmanspeaks.com. My first article on July 17, 2011, was about high school football. See, I was a high school football statistician for games on the radio (1997 to 2015) and for games on the television (2009 to 2015). I really fell in…
Reflections On…Podcasts
I have been listening to podcasts for several years; mostly comedy where the host or hosts interview somebody, a few music ones, and some sport ones, during my drive to and from work. That drive time averages about 2 and a half hours each day, so I can listen to quite a few throughout the…
Why Oxnard, CA
A few days ago, I saw a headline about the Dallas Cowboys returning to Oxnard, CA for training camp next month. Am I the only one who is puzzled by this decision? I mean, are there more Dallas Cowboys fans in Oxnard, then in the Dallas area? I don’t think so. It’s probably a decision…
Fumbleruski
One of my favorite types of turnover is the fumble. Whenever I hear the word fumble, my brain immediately thinks of Leon Lett’s fumble in Super Bowl XXVII (sorry Dallas Cowboy fans for that memory) and Rob Schneider’s character in the movie Necessary Roughness when he says, “Fumble, FUMBALAYA, FUMBLERUSKI! It happens more than you…
Interview with an NFL season ticket holder
I have quite a few Facebook friends who are die-hard NFL football fans and they always share their words and memes of agreement or disagreement about their favorite football teams. But, what I enjoy most is seeing football pictures from my cousin Ben who lives in New Jersey and has season tickets for the New York…
Tracking NFL stats over wins, losses
My favorite thing about the NFL is the stats; I don’t care about the wins and losses. The reason being is for 19 years I was a high school football statistician in San Antonio. On a quick side note, I have seen many high school football players from San Antonio make it to the NFL and I…
It’s Dak Prescott vs. Tom Brady as Cowboys, Bucs face off in NFL week one
Don’t make any plans for Thursday, September 9th because that is the day the 2021 NFL regular season starts. Watch as hopefully a fully healthy, Dak Prescott, the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys takes on the defending Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady, the Tampa Bay quarterback, will be 44 years old and will be…
Reflections On…NBA Basketball
ALSO PUBLISHED ON WWW.THESTATMANSPEAKS.COM Before Niko was born, I was a huge NBA basketball and San Antonio Spurs fan. Football and baseball, were not on my horizon. I could watch those two sports, but I wasn’t enamored like basketball. If anything, I liked basketball first and high school football second. From 1997 through 2016, I…
Reflections On…Music
If you asked me what my favorite music genre is, I would quickly answer oldies; 50’s and 60’s! The funny thing about that is the fact that the majority of those artists are my parents age. I wasn’t even born! I was born in 1977 so, I should like late 80’s and 90’s! But, I…
My WGU Experience
On 03/01/2021, I finished my final course in my MBA at Western Governors University. I am very proud of myself and this awesome accomplishment. I know that it will help me achieve greater financial stability, more responsibility, and a leadership position. It took me three terms to complete for a total of 16 months. For…
Done Schooling!
Yesterday, I completed my final course for my Master of Business Administration (MBA); the Capstone, at Western Governors University. It was three written papers (one of them included a video presentation) and a business simulation. It took me a total of 58 hours and 42 days to do it. Yes, I kept track of it….