40th Anniversary Pale Ale

A few years ago, I was on a brewing schedule where I'd brew 5-10 gallons every 2 weeks. I was constantly rotating taps, and having friends over to sample the beers regularly (obviously pre-kids days).  I've slowed down considerably, but haven't lost the touch.  Getting things organized was the toughest part, but after I started the process went as easy as ever.

I brewed this beer for my buddy +A J Ski's 40th bday bash.  I actually bumped it up to a 10 gallons, taking 5 with me to the party, and keeping 5 on tap at home.  I'm glad I did that, because it turned out pretty good.

Everything was spot on for a Pale Ale style,  except for the IBU's.  I went a little over on that, 52 IBU's, a Pale calls for a 30-45 range. So, I suppose it's not technically a Pale, but close enough.
The grains are kind of a mix of recipes I found online, and some things I had on hand.  I added the 120 more or less to give it a little bit of color.

40th Anniversary Pale Ale

Grain:
• US 2-Row Malt - 20lb 0oz
• US Caramel 40L Malt - 1lb 0oz
•  US White Wheat Malt - 1lb 0oz
•  German Caramel Pils - 10.00 oz
•  US Vienna Malt - 10.00 oz US Caramel
• 120L Malt - 6.00 oz

Hops: 
 • US Columbus(Tomahawk) - 1.50 oz - 60 Min From End
 • Citra - 1.00 oz - 15 Min From End
 • Citra - 2.00 oz - 5 Min From End
 • Citra - 2.00 oz - Dry-Hopped

Yeast: 

• Wyeast 1056-American Ale

Further concert July 18, 2012

Running the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day 2012

For the past few years, I've entered my name into a drawing to run Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day.  Each year, the lottery type drawing selects 500 qualified runners to participate.  

This year, I finally got the magical email.  "I won a major award!"  I told a few friends.  After I finally told them what it was I won, they all looked at me like I was crazy.  They reminded me: "You do know that a small car was blown off that bridge before, right?"   I'm quite aware of the stories, but, I'd say it's worth the risk.

Winners of the lottery to run the bridge have to pay a $45.00 entry fee, which gets them a free pasta dinner the night before.   I had reservation of paying for a race that isn't a timed/sanctioned run, but after giving it some thought, figured it would be a fun way to spend the holiday weekend, and the chance to say I ran the bridge.

The day will start with a 5 a.m. shuttle over the bridge to  St. Ignace, where we'll begin the 4+ mile trek over the bridge.  The run kicks off at 7am, just before the walkers walk the bridge (the walk is an annual event, on it's 55th year, attracting thousands every year).  


I'm going to take the run easy and enjoy the scenery. Maybe snap a few pictures along the way, and pray it's not too windy!   Just to be safe.. anyone have a parachute I can borrow?   :)  

Cornhole 101

Tis the season for the popular midwest backyard game Cornhole.  Every year, I dust off my boards, drag them out to the yard and pace off the 27 foot distance between each board.  And, every year, as the first bags start to fly, the same conversation begins:  "Do I get 3 points for that going in the hole?" .. "Does that one on the board cancel the one in the hole out?"   "Do we need to get to 21 exactly for the game to end?" ....   every year, we all argue the same thing.

Everyone of course has their own rendition of the scoring rules.  I played by different rules in every back yard I was in when I first started throwing the bags.  I decided there has to be some solid scoring base structure somewhere, so I turned to the internet.

I quickly found the American Cornhole Association website, which seems to be the mecca for all things cornhole.  They have an official rules page.   Like it or not, this is the standards of scoring:

Section C - Value of the corn bag
- A corn bag in-the-hole has a value of three points
-  A corn bag that is not in-the-hole but lands with any portion of the corn bag resting on the cornhole platform is in-the-count. A corn bag in-the-count has a value of one point. 

Rule 7 - Scoring - Section A.  Cancellation Scoring

In cancellation scoring, corn bags in-the-hole and corn bags in-the-count pitched by opponents during an inning or half of an inning in doubles play cancel each other out. Only non cancelled corn bags are counted in the score for the inning.
- What this doesn't fully explain is, that the ACA counts the in hole points and on board points different. On board points can not take away from in hole points.  
"Lastly, if the first contestant lands one corn bag in-the-hole and none in-the-count and the second contestant lands two corn bag in-the count, the score for the first contestant would be 3 and the score for the second contestant would be 2 as only bags from the first contestant landed in-the-hole and only corn bags from the second contestant landed in-the-count and there is no cancellation."  (virtual cornhole match link - ACA)

After posting, it was pointed out my interpretation of the rules was different, and seems to be one method of scoring widely used and posted on the internet.   The other method is that points from the board, can negate points in the hole.  Examples below:  

Explained similar, on another popular cornhole site Cornhole-game.org - 

"The only minor wrinkle to this easy scoring system is that scores from any given round “cancel” each other. If the first bag tosser put all four bags “in the count,” and the second player placed one bag in the hole (missing with the other three shots), the first player would be awarded one point. His or her four points would be offset by the opponent’s three."

Wikipedia explains the rules similar - "Usually, cancellation scoring is used. In cancellation scoring, bags that fall in the hole and bags that land on the board that are pitched by opponents during a frame cancel each other out."  wikipedia-cornhole 

Other fun scoring facts to know:

- Ending the game:  Section A. Point Limits - The Cornhole / Corn Toss match shall be played until the first team of contestants reaches (or exceeds) 21 points at the completion of an inning. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points. 

- Section D. Skunks - The game shall be played to 21 unless a team scores 7 or more points at the end of an inning before their opponents score any points. It this case the game is a skunk and the team that scores 7 or more points wins the match. 


So what rules should you go by?  It's up to you, but I personally feel the ACA is the king of the rules, and should be the go-to site for the basis on how the game is played.  I site the ACA every year, and frankly, people think I'm crazy.  I suppose taking a fun backyard game, and putting "official" rules to it, cheeses people off, but, there has to be some base standards to games. Regardless, I'll still run into games where people have their own idea of scoring.  I'm ok with that, at least now I have a compiled rules page I can quickly refer to when needed.  I'm sure I'll still get overruled, but it's worth a try!

By the way, for those jealous of my ACA membership card that I pull out quite often - get your own here for free - http://www.playcornhole.org/join.shtml (to be a card carrying member, you must fully understand the rules and live by them - if you can't accept this responsibilities, close the page down right now!).

The BEST Pot Roast you'll EVER have

I remember my first pot roast. I called my mom and had her give me step by step instructions over the phone. I had just received a crock pot for Christmas and was anxious to try it out.  My typical version of a roast called for onions, carrots, maybe some potatoes. I'd add a little water, and let it slow cook all day.  Crock pot roasts are good, but depending on how long it cooked, it could become a little dry or just have that crock pot soggy - everything tastes the same - thing going on.  

I was wanting to try something new so I looked through recipes on allrecipe.com.  I came across this one, and it sounded pretty good so I tried it.  Not only was it fantastic, I don't think I'll ever cook a roast another way.   (source:  Allrecipes.com)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ground black pepper to taste
• 3 1/2 pounds rump roast
• 1/4 cup butter (I've used Olive Oil)
• 1/2 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
• 1/2 cup dry vermouth (mix this up - I mainly use red or white wine now)
• Directions
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and black pepper to taste. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.
• In a large pot over medium/high heat, melt the butter and brown the roast on all sides. Place in a 4 quart casserole dish with lid.
• In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, mushroom soup, and vermouth or white wine; pour over roast.
• Cover and bake in preheated oven for 3 hours or until desired doneness. 

 

1 gallon of Margaritas: Yes please!

It's Cinco de Mayo again, and because it's on a Saturday this year, we decided to stay home and celebrate with some homemade margaritas.
 I did a quick google search for "large batch margaritas." The first link I found was to a recipe by Jeff Morgenthaler called "A Gallon of Margaritas by the Gallon." I'm a sucker for reviews, and this site had a ton of them. Dating back to the original blog post in 2006!
 Every one of them was positive, and Jeff was sure to reply to every question readers had. I was sold. I went out the next day and bought the ingredients.

 Here's the recipe:

6 cups tequila (two fifths - I used Quervo Silver - $19.95 each)
2½ cups triple sec (one fifth)
2½ cups fresh lime juice (fresh limes - do NOT use lime/lemon juice. EVER!)
2½ cups fresh lemon juice 
2 cups simple syrup (you can make this with sugar/water boiled. I bought it. $4)

 Get a 1 gallon milk or juice jug well rinsed. The longest part of making this is squeezing the lemons and limes. You'll definitely need a juicer. I found a hand juicer in the cupboard. It did the trick, but it does take a lot of lemons/limes. I think I probably used about 12 each, maybe more.

 Measure everything out. I used a strainer to remove any excess pulp from the juice, and a funnel to make sure everything made it into the jug.
 First taste was sweet, citrusy with a hint of tequila. Of course, it's warm, so I packed it away in the refrigerator for tomorrow. I'll give a full update once it's chilled and settled.
Serve over ice, in a salted rim glass.

When will Netflix release Lilyhammer Season 2?

We cut cable in the fall, and I mean completely cut it. We don't have an antenna for local stations, so we basically rely on the $7.99 a month Netflix streaming package, and our Roku box for television entertainment. We hardly watch TV anymore, most of our viewing consumption is done via streaming iPad or phone.
Netflix is cool and all, but you get what they give you. There are some cool documentaries, movies and series, but quite a bit are shows that I probably wouldn't otherwise watch - though I do now that I have nothing else to watch..
I was excited to hear Netflix was releasing an original series in February called Lilyhammer. The HBO-like series is based on a main character (Steven Van Dandt - otherwise known for being Bruce Springsteens E-Street Band guitarist) plays a mobster in the witness protection program. He decides to relocate to Lillehammer Norway, basically a snowy, fridged wasteland.
The series moves pretty quickly. It's kind of hard to take the main character seriously at first, he's kind of goofy trying to fit into a foreign land, but not long into the series, he takes on this "Tony Montana" type character, where he basically runs the show. It has it's cutesy parts, and it has some light violence, but all in all I thought it was pretty solid. I blasted through the entire season, warming up to the characters, and left wondering what's going to happen next.
I should warn you, there's a lot of subtitles. They usually bug the hell out of me, but for some reason, this season I didn't even notice them.
Now I begin googling "When will Netflix release Lilyhammer Season 2?" ... When I find an answer, I'll update this post!   Until then, if you've not heard of it, here's the trailer.  Watch the first episode, and I guarantee in a few days you'll have watched all 8 episodes.

Order your pizza from a refrigerator magnet

The future of pizza delivery?

What's this toy saying?!

Some toys are bad influences!

"Don't hit mom's car with a hockey stick!"

Kids playing outside from Rob Gorczyca on Vimeo.

10 Quick Creativity Hacks

I saw this list in an article on WSJ, and thought it was worth pulling out to post on the blog.  Great ideas when you need to get the creative juices flowing!

10 Quick Creativity Hacks

by: Jonah Lehrer

1. Color Me Blue

A 2009 study found that subjects solved twice as many insight puzzles when surrounded by the color blue, since it leads to more relaxed and associative thinking. Red, on other hand, makes people more alert and aware, so it is a better backdrop for solving analytic problems.

2. Get Groggy

According to a study published last month, people at their least alert time of day—think of a night person early in the morning—performed far better on various creative puzzles, sometimes improving their success rate by 50%. Grogginess has creative perks.

3. Daydream Away

Research led by Jonathan Schooler at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has found that people who daydream more score higher on various tests of creativity.

4. Think Like A Child

When subjects are told to imagine themselves as 7-year-olds, they score significantly higher on tests of divergent thinking, such as trying to invent alternative uses for an old car tire.

5. Laugh It Up

When people are exposed to a short video of stand-up comedy, they solve about 20% more insight puzzles.

6. Imagine That You Are Far Away

Research conducted at Indiana University found that people were much better at solving insight puzzles when they were told that the puzzles came from Greece or California, and not from a local lab.

7. Keep It Generic

One way to increase problem-solving ability is to change the verbs used to describe the problem. When the verbs are extremely specific, people think in narrow terms. In contrast, the use of more generic verbs—say, "moving" instead of "driving"—can lead to dramatic increases in the number of problems solved.

8. Work Outside the Box

According to new study, volunteers performed significantly better on a standard test of creativity when they were seated outside a 5-foot-square workspace, perhaps because they internalized the metaphor of thinking outside the box. The lesson? Your cubicle is holding you back.

9. See the World

According to research led by Adam Galinsky, students who have lived abroad were much more likely to solve a classic insight puzzle. Their experience of another culture endowed them with a valuable open-mindedness. This effect also applies to professionals: Fashion-house directors who have lived in many countries produce clothing that their peers rate as far more creative.

10. Move to a Metropolis

Physicists at the Santa Fe Institute have found that moving from a small city to one that is twice as large leads inventors to produce, on average, about 15% more patents.

Corktown 5k 2012 Results & Photos

Michigan Ave. Corktown 2012 Parade - click for gallery

We arrived and parked in a shady abandoned neighborhood behind the train station.  The weather was perfect - high 50's and breezy.  The traffic getting into Detroit was nuts. This race and parade has grown over the years, I think I remember them saying 8000+ runners this year.  Years ago it was 3000.

The run was good. Took a while to get through the thick of the crowd and find a good spot to run. I had forgotten my GPS watch, so I was kind of running blind.  I'd been speed training enough to have a feel of what my pace should be so I held pretty steady the entire time, picking things up here and there when I had the energy.  I cruised around the final corner and sprinted to the finish line.  My goal was to beat last years 23:24. I figured I had beat it, since the clock read 23:31 when I crossed (chip time is what really matters in a race).

Final results:  Chip time - 23:14. 7:30 avg. pace.  526th overall place, 431 place (males), 71 place in my age/sex division.  

Enjoy music on the go? Try Turntable.fm iPhone app

I admit, I'm an app-junkie. I have event notices on my calendar the day apps I read about are going to be released. I sign up to beta test apps, and my iPhone/iPad are probably ready to explode there are so many.

The funny thing is, I don't keep the app around if it doesn't meet my expectations. I get satisfaction out of pressing the app icon until they all start to wiggle and clicking that small red X making the app and icon disappear. Some apps though, I find myself using so much that I push others aside to move it to the first main page of my iPhone.

Turntable will soon be making it's way to my main page. The app released last September completely buzzed by me. I somehow managed an early invite to the browser version over the summer and loved the concept, but somehow missed the iPhone release. Last week, Turntable.fm released some updates to the app. I don't know what the ratings were before this update (which fixed a ton of bugs), but as of now, the ratings are nearly 5 stars.

Here's the gist of it: You create an account (Twitter/Facebook accepted), and are presented with a list of rooms, all with different musical themes. You find a room that is playing the style of music you feel like listening to, and join. Once inside the room you see a table with what looks like DJ's sitting behind computers. The crowd is little cartoon figures standing there, some bobbing their heads. Song/Artist appears on the front of the table. At this point, you could basically use this as a Pandora type listening app. You'll get the music style you want, and hardly ever a repeat. But Turntable takes it a little bit further..

If you're feeling like jumping in to play a song, you wait for an open spot at the table. Some rooms require 1 play, then hop down to allow someone else a turn. Others aren't as policed. Be sure to read the room rules, as each are different. Once up on the table, you can open a search window to seek out the specific song you're looking to play. Have it ready before your turn comes up, and be sure to stick with the genre of music. You can give songs thumbs up (which you receive points for if your song is playing) or thumbs down, which I've seen lead to people skipping songs. Like a certain persons music? You can follow them (kind of like friending).

Another sweet feature: a chat room. I see it's pretty much used for complimenting people on the song they played, but I saw some chatter about a band touring or coming out with a new album.

What's the point? Really, I guess the point for me is a new way to listen to music and participate in playing the music I like. I've discovered a couple of cool bands through it, and am really impressed with the selection (tip: search by band name and song name, you can usually find what you're looking for). The only problem I see now is, I don't know anyone on it. It doesn't really matter, but it might be fun to share music with someone I know. If you join - look me up! robgDJ

The Artistifier

Pretty slick. Add your YouTube video to make it an award winning, silent fim. 

Saturday Love - Angels & Airwaves

This song has kicked off my daily runs the last week. Dig it.

Clik: Turn your phone into a YouTube remote

The title says it all. With a download and a few taps of the thumb, you can be surfing YouTube via your laptop or web enabled television. Clik works like this: You download, you go to clikthis.com on your computer or TV browser. Open the app and a camera appears. Scan the QR code that comes up on the web screen browser, and instantly your phone becomes a YouTube remote. Search any video you want available on YouTube and it will play on your screen. On occasion, I'll hook up my laptop to the garage TV and my friends and I will take turns playing our favorite 80's metal songs. This actually saves us from jumping up each time, and we'll have the next song queued up and ready to play. You can also adjust the volume and save videos to your favorite list. Someone else at the party with an iPhone or Android? Have them download the app, and you have two remotes controlling the screen. Now that's a party!

Love it though, now I wish my living room television was web enabled!

 

 

Amazing Chicken Marinade Recipe

I started marinating some chicken thighs in this mixture early yesterday, and let them soak over night.  I grilled them this afternoon at around 300 degrees until done. They taste amazing, definitely a keeper recipe. Found the recipe on AllRecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have.

Easy Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Sunday mornings I always try to make some kind of a bigger breakfast. I was in the mood for something different today, so I Googled around for recipes. I found one from Food.com. Not a super huge fan of casseroles, but today it sounded good. I didn't have sausage/meat to add, but did find some onions/peppers which made it taste fantastic. This was quick and easy, and with some imagination I'm sure you could spice up.

2 cups of milk
6 eggs (beaten)
2 cups of dry stuffing mix (I used a full small sized box)
1 cup of shredded cheese
Salt/pepper
Onions/Peppers (if you have them)

Directions: Beat the eggs, add the milk, stir. Add cheese, stuffing and mix ingredients together. Add to a smaller sized glass baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
We typically keep frozen onion/pepper mix in the freezer. I pan fried these ahead of time and threw into the mix. You can also add breakfast sausage or ham to the mix prior to baking. 

(Video) Guacamole made at our table - El Vaquero Toledo, OH

Went to El Vaquero in Toledo, Ohio last night. They do this thing where they make fresh guacamole at your table. Of course, I had to record it. The funny part of the video is an example of why you should never turn your back on a toddler. I glanced over to see she had gotten into my wallet and was taking out all of my credit cards.

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing

Jen and I were hanging out at the kitchen table after dinner. She peeked in the other room to check on the kids, and Christian (1) was curled up on the chair with one of my books.  Cracked us up.