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The three most popular roller coasters at walt Disney World are Splash Mountain, space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain Railroad. Each of them has a different feel. Sometimes it's hard to decide which one to go on first.

Thunder Mountain Railroad, in Frontierland, is themed as the gold rush days in a flooded mine town called Tumbleweed, and you are seated in a runaway mine car. It is relatively gentle and geared towards adults and teens. The ride is about 3.5 minutes of hairpin turns and dark descents; where you feel like you are falling and you go around corners quickly enough to be tossed from side to side. There are 20 audio-animatronic figures including donkeys, chickens, possums, and a rainmaker called Professor Cumulus Isobar. There is antique mining equipment, falling rocks, an earthquake, and the smell of sulphur as you pass phosphorescent pools. You careen through a dinosaur's ribs, under a waterfall, past spewing geysers and over a volcanic pool. You really need to be paying attention to catch all the detail. The lines are long but move fairly quickly. It is best to go during parades, or use a FASTPASS, or go late in the day (many people say it's even better after dark). The queue can get pretty hot in the summer so a mister fan could come in handy.

Space Mountain, in Tomorrowland, is an indoor attraction, themed as a ride through outer space. You enter a space station and board and exit the ride at a space port. There are two almost identical tracks in disney World. Controlled lighting selectively hides portions of the track, so the element of surprise keeps this roller coaster as exciting as an outside one would be. Space Mountain was the first rollercoaster that was completely controlled and operated by a computer system. When you enter Space Mountain, there is a dimly lit queue that seems endless. It is a good idea to use Fastpass, especially at peak times. The best times to ride are during parades or late at night. Eventually you get to board six passenger "rockets", seated single file. Your vehicle goes through a tunnel of strobe lights and colors before "blasting off into space". You dip and swerve through the galaxy for two and a half minutes with peak speeds of 28 miles an hour, riding past shooting stars and glowing planets. The ride may be too intense for young children.

Splash Mountain, in Frontierland, is themed as walt Disney's classic 1946 movie "Song of the South". The crafty Brer Rabbit is chased by Brer Fox and Brer Bear through swamps and woods all the way to the Laughin' Place. You should definitely use Fastpass for this ride. It is best to ride it during parades, either in the day or at night. There is a long queue through the inside of "Chickapin Hill" (this is one of the most popular rides in the park, especially in warm weather) until you reach the eight passenger "log" that will take you along the flume for 11 minutes.

There are 100 audio-animatronics figures, (some taken from an old attraction at Disneyland), as you travel through caves, swamps, and bayous. You see that initially Brer Rabbit outwits his pursuers but he is headed for trouble. He plunges with you from the top of Chickapin Hill, down five stories into the briar patch, at descent speeds of 40 mph. There are several familiar songs to clap, and sing aloud to. During the ride there are three lifts and five drops in total. Getting wet is inevitable. If you want to get really wet, though, ask if you can sit up front. There are ride photos taken just when your log begins to tip down the 45 degree waterfall. It is pretty funny to see your expression after the ride, at Splashdown photos, as you exit.

Which roller coaster will you choose? Splash Mountain is an obvious choice on very hot days. It is fun to sing along to as well. Space Mountain is basically a fast, bone rattling roller coaster that is indoors and largely in the dark. Thunder Mountain Railroad is relatively gentle (which I like) but has plenty of the details that make disney Theme parks so much better than others. I would choose all three, especially on your first trip. They all have their own special pleasures and should all be experienced at least once.

Tracy Crowe has been on all these rides and loved them.

Football? Sure. Baseball? Yep. Cycling? Definitely. Track & Field? No question. But golf? Thats the question now that the PGA tour will begin implementation of their own anti-doping plan in 2008 as part of an overall World golf Foundation policy.

The World golf Foundation not only includes the PGA tour but also the european tour, LPGA, the USGA, Augusta national and the Royal and Ancient golf Club. With the Asian, Canadian, Japanese and Australasian Tours all signing on to support the plan, weve essentially got an anti-doping plan that reaches every corner of the globe.

PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem had long held fast to the belief that there was no need for anti-doping intervention but has changed his position during this past year. Said Finchem earlier this year theres no sport thats inherently immune to doping. Its a sad commentary, but its true.

Is it true? And is it really necessary? golf has always been looked on as a gentlemans game, one equated to honesty, integrity and good sportsmanship where players self-police and in many instances, call penalties on themselves for unseen infractions. But times apparently are a changing!!

Is this merely a sign of the times, a preemptive strike to keep up with the policies of other professional sports or is there some evidence of cheating that the PGA is hiding from us? Is there a potential Barry Bonds-like abuser lurking on the PGAs leader board? The only player as beefy as a steroid popping ball player is tiger Woods yet hes also the most vocal proponent of this anti-doping plan and has publicly volunteered to be first in line for testing.

I cant think of another player out there who looks or golfs the part of a doping violator. The guys that hit it 300 yards seem to have reached this mark via advanced technology (i.e. Hotter club faces & balls) mixed in with a bit of exercise but even assuming there is substance abuse on tour, you still have to hit the ball straight! And once the driver is in the bag, players dont really need muscle, they need technique. They need to hit a wedge 100 yards to a tightly tucked pin location and Im not sure theres a drug out there that can help with this. And just how will any banned substance help a professional read and sink a 15 foot putt with a double break in it?

The illegal substances that generally get all the attention are the muscle pumping, strength inducing drugs so prevalent among the Popeye forearmed baseball players of recent years but what about some of the other prohibited substances on the list for testing? The list includes everything from anabolic steroids and hormones to beta-blockers. Now I can see how beta-blockers may be of help to a PGA tour professional as they basically block the affect adrenalin has on your body. In other words they make you relax! Additionally they facilitate smooth muscle control which explains their prevalence as being a treatment for various heart ailments including cardiac arrhythmias and heart attacks (prevention post-attack).

Woods recently reminded reporters that Nick price once admitted to using beta blockers but said they actually hurt his game rather than help but drugs have varying effects on people so whos to say it wont help the next guy? A few beers usually help calm me down but it certainly doesnt seem to help my game any! Its not farfetched to think that beta-blockers may help someone down the road.

Its better to be proactive rather than reactive so Finchems making the right call here but Im betting on betting on the players and believe golf will not be shamed and dragged into the mud like so many other sports these day.

About the author - golf fanatic Greg Shaw is the VP of sales for Tattoo Golf ( http://www.tattoogolf.com/ ) and has extensive experience in trend marketing. Greg also owns http://www.thegolfshirtfactory.com He can be reached at greg@tattoogolf.com

Much hype surrounds trendy workout machines, as seen in infomercials. There are so many to pick from, and while the various systems offer different exercises, they all promise the same thing: the body you've always wanted, as well as an overall improved lifestyle.

There's a hurdle to climb, however: some systems may not be practical for the way an individual wants to work out.

Nautilus has been producing Bowflex systems for about 20 years as of this writing, and these systems are extremely popular. They are not cheap, though, so be prepared to part with considerable cash when buying a new machine. While the company has a trial period and will refund your money if you're not satisfied, they won't refund the shipping charges, which can be immense for products the size of exercise machines. So, it can be helpful to try out the product you're interested in, if possible, before buying it.

Is there any merit to a home workout machine? Only if used as directed, as often as specified, and stuck to as a habit. That is what most consumers just won't do. One reason could be that the exercise is never enjoyable or convenient enough to become a likely habit. Another could be laziness. Yet another could be that the equipment is so large and cumbersome that it takes up too much living space, creating resentment, and would actually get more use if the person were to go to the gym to use it.

Bowflex has a system that mimics traditional weights through the use of various discs with built-in tension coils, as opposed to bars. When purchased new, this system, the Bowflex Revolution home gym, comes with 220 pounds of discs and is capable of around 100 exercises. How many people will actually take advantage of all 100? Probably very few. Most will probably do the basics: bench, leg extensions, curls, etc. It can definitely do some good, although there is no real sense of weight balance because everything works through two pulleys. The Bowflex Revolution works off resistance, so it's not as specific a workout as you would get from free weights, or a machine with a fixed bar.

Revolution is also not meant for tall people. Those over 6' will very likely find it to be too small. There just won't be quite enough extension to do proper leg presses, for example.

There are pros and cons to any equipment, and no product is entirely perfect. The Ab Lounge for example is highly coveted for what it can do for abdominal strengthening, but some people find it to be so comfortable that they end up using it as a chair to watch television from instead of working out. It's good that it's comfortable -- that's the whole point, to make it comfortable to do crunches -- but that comfort may signal to some that they need to kick back instead of work out. So, it's impossible for every machine to be a winner for every person.

The bottom line: do your homework and take opportunities to try out equipment before you buy it. You know yourself better than the infomercial writers do, so do what is best for you and will serve your ultimate fitness goals.

Kathy Hildebrand is a professional writer who is easily bored with her "day job" assignments. So, she researches anything and everything of interest and starts writing. Writing about an extremely wide variety of subjects keeps her skills sharp, and gives her food for thought on future paid writing assignments.

More of her research and articles can be found at www.lasertargeted.com/bowflex and other sites around the internet.