Backyard pools are popular with many homeowners, especially in hot climates and resort areas such as Florida.  As a result, Tampa pool builders and Orlando pool contractors are in high demand.

If you are working with a Florida pool contractor to get your pool built, you already know that having work done in your backyard can be a little stressful and overwhelming.  To help lighten your mood and remind you to look forward to the advantages of a backyard pool, here is a list of what NOT to do in your backyard pool.

1. Drive your truck into it.  Yeah, someone really did this.
2. Murder someone and bury them under the pool.  Okay, I got that idea from a movie: Sexy Beast, starring Ray Winstone.  He kills Ben Kingsley and buries him underneath the tiled floor of his pool.
3. Commit suicide.  A.J.’s botched suicide attempt in The Sopranos comes to mind.
4. Get stuck in a drained pool.  Russell Crowe’s character does this in A Good Year.

Well, you get the picture.  But on a more serious note, do make sure you use your common sense, and set pool safety rules for your family to make sure that no one gets hurt in your backyard pool!

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You may have played Capture the Flag when you were a kid, at summer camp or day care or simply with a group of friends.  It’s a popular childhood game, used for teaching strategy as well as for entertainment.

Fortunately, there are many grown-up versions of Capture the Flag that are just as much fun.  Here are some tips for putting together a good Capture the Flag game.

1. Play in interesting terrain.  Woodsy terrain is a lot of fun, because it gives players places to hide and makes the game more challenging.
2. Make team members easily identifiable.  Especially if you are playing in terrain that makes people hard to see, you need an easy way to identify your teammates.  A brightly colored bandana tied around one arm (i.e. "the blue team" and "the red team") is the classic way to identify players.
3. Add a grown-up element.  Adult versions of Capture the Flag often include airsoft or paintball guns.  For instance, you can use airsoft sniper rifles to take out members of the opposing team, or classic army airsoft guns to give the game a more genuine feel.

Capture the Flag isn’t just for kids!  Of course, you could also apply the argument, "Bigger kids, bigger toys" — being adults means that we get to make the game more fun, not that we have to stop playing it altogether!

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