Go Got Game

By norm | Published: January 23, 2010

Do you think you’ve got game? Apparently not. Only one person responded to my Go challenge, but I wouldn’t feel too bad about not playing. The act of playing Go is incredibly simple, just lay the stones on the board. However, understanding who is winning or controls some of the board is the difficult part. I say that because Laura and I had no one to explain the game to us and spend considerable about of time discussing the game state. I do have a call out to Jia, letting him know that when he gets back to Pittsburgh he will have to teach me is secret family Go strategy.

I did find a Go club in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Go Association. Maybe I’ll hit them up for a quick lesson or two. There are a lot of Go tutorials on YouTube.

As much as I gripe over not know thing the rules Go has been really fun to play. Again if anyone wants to sit down for a game just let me know.

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Chad Henderson on D&D and life

By norm | Published: January 16, 2010

Just watched this great video about living life and taking chances.

All I Need To Know About Life I learned From Dungeons and Dragons. An IgniteOKC Talk. from Chad Henderson on Vimeo.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Avatar in 3D

By norm | Published: January 8, 2010

Is awesome.

Caught the movie in 3D with @jamilbroom last night and was really impressed with how good this movie looks. I was expecting it to look good but bore me with the story. I was only annoyed with the story when it tried to make a US invades Iraq reference. Otherwise it was an excellent piece of entertainment as everything about it looks amazing.

Posted in General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Merry Post Christmas

By norm | Published: December 29, 2009

I was hoping to get a cherry Christmas post together on or before the 24th but we had a busy holiday. This week I’m taking off work to get it together and tend to my blog-o-sphere.

As I type this I’m enjoying some spicy tobacco I received from my sisters boyfriend. He’s trying to buy his way into the family and he’s off to a good start. Actually I asked Lucille if she knew of a good place to get some fresh stuff and I don’t think she wanted to support my habit herself. Anyway good stuff and if you want to join me for a pipe lets talk.

I enjoyed a great family filled weekend with out any family feuding. Not always the case when you cram a bunch of people into a van and drive off to see the grandparents. On Christmas Day I learned that I’m loosely related to a guy from Pittsburgh who is on track to command the next NASA mission to the moon, Mike Fincke. We are related through my dad’s sister’s husband cousin’s mother (I think). You can read about his exploits in the trib. And watch this video if you haven’t seen it already where Steeler Nation extends beyond our little planet.

Don’t worry I won’t be hitting him up for shuttle rides.

Finally I was given Go from a coworker and I’ve yet to find someone to play with. Anyone want to try a game of “oriental strategy?”

Posted in General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Portraits of the Past

By norm | Published: December 16, 2009

bookLast week we had a gala of sorts at AiP. Not just for the holidays but to celebrate The Art Institute of Pittsburgh written by Jacquelyn Felix Fisher and E. W. Goodman of AiP. This book is an Arcadia Publishing product that is part of their Campus History Series.

I’ve been a part of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh since fall of 2000 when I entered as a student. Now a few years on the other end of student life I’ve come to appreciate our rich history.

Here is my sales pitch; If your a grad or friend of AiP visit our website, Friends of AiP, and order your copy. This could be a great gift for mom and dad or the grandparents, who still maybe wondering why the heck you went to AiP. The book is a collection of images that span from 1921 through today showing many interesting elements of the college.

Did You Know
AiP once had a basketball team? True fact. Back in the day they used to play against Pitt and Duquesne. From what I hear they would win, sometimes. That was before those schools went all D1 on us. The best story about the basketball team is when they went to the old Allegheny County Jail to play against the inmates. True story I swear. I bet the jail story isn’t in the book, I haven’t read mine yet.

Gallery
This month in our gallery we have an awesome show that is related to the book. Tons of artifacts and art that goes back to our founder. We even have some of his hair, so swing by and check it out. If you need an excuse to come downtown we are having an Author’s Discussion Afternoon Tea complete with fashion show January 21st as a final celebration of the book. It is open to anyone so RSVP if you are interested. This show even has Creation Rex’s interest.

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Housekeeping

By norm | Published: December 16, 2009

This week has been a big week of getting those little to-dos done. Including writing to this blog and various other items:

1. Finishing a grant contract between the City of Pittsburgh and my church. For those of you who are close to me you know the congregation has been struggling financially this year. In the face of hardship we have seen a very steady stream of folks benefiting from our food bank. This mission distributes food to needy families on the North Side, or anywhere if you come to us. The grant I’m working on is for $4,000 form the city that is earmarked for such services. While the paperwork is pretty annoying it is in place to protect against organizations who get very large sums of money, like Pittsburgh Food Bank.

An interesting facet has been the guy who is the contract coordinator or manager or whatever they call him. I was expecting his office to function like the DMV, it is in fact the opposite. Extremely plesent fellow who was happy to swap stories about traveling by train and an interesting video project he’s working on. So if you ever need to coordinate a grant contract with the city give me a call and I’ll give you his name.

2. I finally got my computer back and boy is it a screamer. It isn’t actually the same computer but who cares. I’m jacked up on 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. So part of that to do list is getting my files back in order on the new machine.

3. Last of the list worth talking about is a blog site for AiP’s Student Development Department. The site is online but lacking in content so I’ll share a link when it is up to speed. It has been fun teaching people around the office about wordpress. I’ve got two wp noobs using timethumb, posting, tagging, and categorizing right off the bat. Cool I know.

Posted in General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Waffle Shop

By norm | Published: November 21, 2009

Yes, we really serve waffles. The sign in the window reads. Open on Saturday and Sundays for brunch and late for after hours revlers.

The best part is that they also have their own talk show. Check it out at waffleshop.org.

Posted in General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Winter Harvest Beer Pairing

By norm | Published: November 20, 2009

I basically lifted this post from the AiP announcement. Beer Pairing! Need I say more? I will. All the proceeds go to our scholarship foundation for students currently enrolled. This foundation is one of the few scholarships we have for students who are already taking classes. So if you are feeling thirsty and are free on December 2 drop by for refreshment.

This event has two parts; a dinner and a reception. The reception will precede the dinner and feature Prima Pils and Hop Devil. If you register for the dinner the reception is included, the dinner has limited seating so first come first serve. If you can’t get a dinner ticket you can come for just the reception. I’ll have to get ticket prices and post an update. If you are interested call Roger below.

UPDATE Tickets are $20 for the Reception only, and $75 for Dinner and Reception. The Reception is from 5:30 – 7 p.m., and the dinner is immediately following the reception.

Tickets are now available for The Art Institute of Pittsburgh’s second annual Winter Harvest Beer Pairing. The event will take place on Wednesday, December 2 and is produced by The International Culinary School at AiP and sponsored by Victory Brewing Company to benefit the EDMC Education Foundation. Dinner guests will enjoy a six-course dinner paired with a selection of Victory beers.

Contact Roger Levine at 412-291-6200 x7532 or email: rmlevine [at] aii.edu for tickets and information.

Beer Pairing Menu Reception:
Vanilla Bean butter poached salmon crustini with shallot vinaigrette caviar, field greens, and crème fraiche

Mushroom filled fried wonton served with orange glaze or togarashi aioli

Charcuterie with whole grain beer mustard and cranberry ale relish

Artisan cheese assortment with house made crackers

Apple lefse with beer braised pork and sauerkraut

Beers: Prima Pils and Hop Devil

Dinner Menu
 Amouse: Spiced duck with bleu cheese stuffed figs
Beer: Festbier

Soup: Butternut Squash Cider Bisque
Beer: Moonglow Weizenbock

Seafood Course: Scallops Three Ways – blackened with coconut ginger, grilled with beet vinaigrette, and seared with honey glaze
Beer: Golden Monkey

Salad: Winter Harvest Salad – chiffanade of romaine and raddichio with roasted beets, apples, candied walnuts, peppers, tomato gelee, and taleggio cheese served with a vinaigrette
Beer: Old Horizontal

Main Course: Beer Braised Lamb Shanks with sweet potatoes, turnip greens, and an apple and dried cherry reduction
Beer: V-12

Dessert: Chocolate Cake with chocolate truffle mousse, cashew crunch, storm king stout ice cream, and a chocolate and vanilla tuille
Beer: Storm King

Posted in General | Tagged | 4 Comments

Reunion Invitation

By norm | Published: November 13, 2009

Recently my boss has been telling me about her upcoming 20th high school reunion. Not because she is interested in telling me how awesome it was to graduate in 1990 (although the hair was still pretty big and bad back then), but because of what someone is doing on facebook. Apparently one of her classmates started an anonymous facebook profile for the graduation year and friended the whole class.

This is interesting because this profile has become a rallying point for the ensuing midlife crisis train. I’m kidding, but seriously the whole situation is intereting to learn about as generation X is embracing social media.

So being the natural event organizer that my boss is, she is working with some other members of her class to organize the class reunion. She enlisted me to create some designs for the invitation. Here is my first crack at the invite. I did get my hands on her 1990 yearbook so that is where the images came from. Too bad she is too willing to embrace the past for black mail on photos.

c-invite1

Posted in Design | Tagged | 1 Comment

Wordpress for iPhone 2.0

By norm | Published: November 11, 2009

Just downloaded the new app. Looks great and I can tell is much easier to use.

Huelsman approved.

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment