Where did we Go?

Hello Everyone!

I would kind of be amazed if people are still checking in to this little journal. As you can see posts started slowing down, and then kind of died out...

I am fine with that. This blog has served it's purpose. It was a great way to stay in touch with family when I was far away from home. And while I am still far away from home, having Gwyn around makes it seem much closer.

I think that trend of the past few months will continue, there will be a large lack of updates. Everything will stay here as long as Google will let me keep it up. I may post a recipe or two as they come up. But things are dying down on the Bard of Lincoln/Stained Tartan. In the future, things may start up again. We shall see.

Thanks to everyone for the support!

Best Part of Wedding Planning!

Today Gwyn and I are doing it. We are going to go out and start the awesome process of planning the Gift Registry. I am stoked. You all should be excited too!

Nemo Can't Keep Me Down

So some of you may know that the North East part of the US got some snow. Interestingly, here in New England, whenever 'they' worry about something they name it. So they called this one Nemo.

Starting about last Wednesday, people started freaking out. The weather forecasters were upping the accumulation rate about 4 inches every 6 hours. First it was: "There will be snow on Friday" then that moved to "There will be accumulated snow on Friday" progressing to "There will be 6 - 18 inches of snow on Friday" to "There will be 1 foot to 2 feet of snow accumulation on Friday" all the way up to "GO RANSACK YOUR GROCERY STORE! THERE IS GOING TO BE A STORM!"

In all seriousness, the last estimate on Thursday evening was 2 to 3 feet. This caused the mayor to yet again tell everyone to stay home. That was announced on Thursday. A whole 24 hours before it was even forecast-ed to start snowing. There was also a driving ban that was to start 4PM on Friday.

This meant that Gwyn and I got a great extended weekend of relaxing, eating, playing board games and watching movies! To be exact: Breakfast in local Diner, FryDay Friday, Pancakes and Eggs, Home Made Chicken/Pepperoni/Pepper/Onion/Buffalo Pizza x 2; The New Science, Twilight Struggle, Fluxx, Carcassonne, Cosmopolis (horrible movie), ThunderBall (007), Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (as a result of playing Twilight Struggle)

On Saturday (after it dumped all night Friday to Saturday) we decided to venture out and check out what Woburn looked like in the snow.

So presented with few comments, the images from Saturday:

Powder Snow + Wind = Snow Gets Everywhere.

A view from our Kitchen

The back deck

Surviving Nemo

 So this does require a little description. We got all bundled up, we got the garbage, we locked up our apartment, and we walked down our stairs to leave, to find that the snow had drifted up against our door. This meant that we could not open our outward opening door. For our apartment, this is our only way out. In an emergency, we could climb on to the building next to us, but that is not really optimal. So I asked our downstairs neighbors if they would not mind me walking through their apartment and using their back door (that exits on to ground level). They said sure, but they had not shoveled out the back yet. I did not let this hinder me. So after getting through a snow bank up to my chin, I was able to come around to the front door and dig out our door.

There is a car in that

Only a few business were open, the  convenience shop next to us was... this meant all of the now removal people would stop and get some coffee or cigarettes.

No coffee today...

So all in all, I would estimate that Woburn got 8-14 inches. Now, growing up in Spokane where 6-12 inches is a heavy, but normal dumping, this may seem like very little to get excited about. But, what Nemo brought with it was wind. And a lot of wind. There was hurricane force winds the entire storm. This meant that snow did not 'dump' it drifted. That up-to-my-chin snow bank up there, was right next to a bare spot. This combination makes for interesting problems, effects. Our cars, that were in a line of other cars, parallel with the wind, had almost no snow on them. But as you saw, door were drifted shut, there was snow in our mail box, Snow between the screen and the glass of our windows, and worst of all was that as soon as you moved any snow, it would blow back to where it started.

The city of Boston also has the added struggle of dealing with parking and cars. There are too many cars, and not enough space... and that is before any storm affects things. Then add snow to that, and it could have been chaos. The officials were most worried about the Friday evening commute getting snowed in and having a city's worth of cars snowed in on the highways.

So all in all, it we were fine. At the moment, it is sunny and warm, I would guess 60%-75% of the snow has melted (it rained the last few days).

Not quite as pristine as a fresh snowy morning in Colbert, but still a fun weekend.

Happy New Year!!!

This post is specifically in honor of Stan and Laura. They called me out for not posting for the entirety of December.

It is true, life tried to get in the way of logging life here in Boston. Some of the major things that were going on:
1) Christmas! Planning/traveling/gift buying/decorating/and honest to goodness vacation took up a piece of the pie
2) Thanksgiving! I know this is more of a hold over from November, but there was a lot to do for that too.
3) Engagement Stuffs. I don't like planning things. More on this later...
4) Work. Work for me is still going really well, it just got really busy as we prepared for a presentation. I was working right up to my flight to California. Now, things have gotten back to normal pace.
5) FTC. I am, apparently, in charge of putting on a qualifier for the FTC program I am helping mentor. Turns out this is much more than I could handle, and I am struggling though it. I know event planning is not one of my gifts. I don't know how I ever said yes to this... oh wait... yes I do... I didn't know I was saying yes to!

and the lamest excuse ever: I cannot put pictures up! I have had a few recipes come up, but when I go to post pictures, Google dies and Picasa throws up. So my blog writing time is eaten by picture management time.

Christmas was great! I love being home, and I love spending time with family. Awesomely for me, Gwyn got to join me! She got the grand tour of Santa Rosa and Spokane, seeing wineries, Boo Radley's, Roccy's, A Zag's basketball game, Downtown Spokane with the falls... it was great! All of the time in between was spent eating, playing games (Yeah Twilight Struggle and Ticket to Ride!) and spending time with family. Oh, and moving TVs.

Gwyn and I are in the thick of wedding planning. We are trying to get our act together to see if a 2013 wedding date is possible. Ill let you know when we know more... I have read a number of things saying that I am not supposed to say too much about the first stages for fear of hurt feelings and missed expectations... maybe I will just let Gwyn inform you all on wedding stuff. Regardless  we had a wonderful party hosted by my mother in honor of our engagement when we were in Spokane. Thanks to everyone who was able to be there. And we are having a great time planning and dreaming.

An Answered Question

Hello There Friends.

Its been a while. Im sorry I have been gone for so long but I thought I would return with great news.

We are ENGAGED!

Crazy Town! We are both very excited. There will be pictures posted later (a friend of ours was snapping shots but we have not received them yet) There are pictures now! Read on!

The story from my point of view:
Scott and I traveled to Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving with my mom and sister. We will be heading up to Spokane and California for Christmas so decided that Thanksgiving would be a great time to see my family. After a few days of food and fun and way too many hours in a car Scott told me that we would be spending Saturday night together on a date night. The only thing he told me was that we would be getting milk shakes and that I should dress warm. So using my limited wardrobe I brought with me, I bundled up in a t-shirt, two sweaters, two pairs of socks, leggings, jeans, a scarf, gloves, and a large winter jacket... I may have overdone it but I wanted to be prepared for whatever was in store. After a delicious milkshake from Burgatory we headed off on a secret trip. Scott had me close my eyes and promise not to look as he drove me to a secret place. It was hard but I promise I did not peek! I had no idea where we were headed. After a little bit turning and going in circles in parking lots we ended up at our destination. Scott lead me out of the car and told me not to open my eyes until he told me too. He walked me across gravel and pavement and grass, and even took me down a few steps. When we stopped he turned on music and told me to open my eyes. When I did I was surrounded by people holding lanterns with candles and flashlights. I still did not know what was happening... and didnt until he took of my gloves and knelt on one knee. He asked me, and through some sobs I said YES! I then found out that the people behind the candles were some mutual friends and my family. AND he proposed at Mellon Park, the place we had our first date. It was such a perfect night and it ended with CUPCAKES and drinks with friends. I am so lucky to have Scott and I am so thankful to all of you that are now a part of our life.

What would make this story better?

Pictures!

There is an art installation in Mellon Park where an artist put LED lights in the ground to form constellations.  The lanterns, flashlights and LED lights made the whole park seem to glow

The big moment. 

The aftermath. 

The cupcakes. Key Lime, Chocolate, Vanilla, Coconut, Peanut Butter- Yum.

The ring. It was CHILLY- so my hands were starting to shrivel and turn a beautiful shade of purple.

The people Scott schemed with to surprise me.

And Athena comes next

At the moment I can only see about 100 yards out my office window. This is due to the fairly heavy snow that is swirling around outside. Upon looking up the weather forecast, I learned that the next storm to be jealous of the inland area of the North East is being called Athena. Dang. It looks like for us, it will be dying off soon and turning in to rain. But for New York it looks like they are getting a little salt all over their wound in the form of Snow.

Last weekend was awesome! I got to go to Portland for a wonderful wedding. Congrats Amy and Ben! You two were so beautiful, it was an honor to be a witness. Along with that I got to hang out with Jamie! Which was an awesome surprise. We realized that we had not seen each other since she and Bill and Danica visited me in Pittsburgh. It really was a great weekend. Portland was awesome. The plane rides were bearable.

But then Sunday night was no fun. Something happened to my designational track, either in the form of a stomach virus or food poisoning. This rendered me helpless Monday. But then yesterday and today I have felt 90% of normal health.

Last night Gwyn and I spent the evening watching election coverage and getting to know our new game Agricola. A game all about agrarian society. I called up dad, told him. He knows.

It is interesting that my entire family is apathetic to the election this year. Don't get me wrong, Chelsea is not that out spoken, but Caleb? My parents don't seem to care either. It is an interesting contrast to our apartment. I think Gwyn cares more about Democrats winning, and I just seem to care about the whole process.

I also talked to my father last night, after which Gwyn asked: "Wait... so when we go to Spokane, your Dad and I can share a joint? Yes!"

Sandy was a big wet blanket.

I was going to write a witty tongue in cheek post about our hurricane experience, but it felt wrong to do that with so many people actually suffering, and people who have lost loved ones. My prayers go out to the family of people lost to the storm, all the way from the Caribbean up to New England. I hope everyone who is without power or shelter finds relief soon.

Onward: Most of you know (more than me as it turns out) that there was a major hurricane that decided to crash into another storm right over New Jersey. I was not really paying attention to this until work sent out an email on Friday telling everyone to take precautions.

Gwyn and I were at some friends' house for a game night when both of us got texts saying that work was canceled for Monday. The next morning I would find out that the Governor told all of Massachusetts to stay home and a significant portion of the population followed the suggestion. In preparation we filled up the cars, made sure we had some food, collected our candles and flashlights, located our passports, checkbooks and a light pack of clothes. Also, in fear of loosing power, I baked the Rocky Rococco's pizza that was in my fridge. I was not having that go bad if we lost power for the freezer.

The whole week before Sandy made her appearance the weather was rather fall-ish, upper 40s to lower 70s, overcast, rainy. And Monday was no different, in the morning at least. Around noon the wind started to pick up, and then the alternating cycle began, the wind would pick up, then the rain would hit, then they would both die down, each cycle lasting 20 minutes or so.

Not much to look at... except those trees flying all over the place.

Our activities included making cookies for a Halloween party, baking a pie, playing lots of board games and watching the news.

Check out the new table cloth!

During the afternoon we lost power twice, but only for 15 or so minutes each time. Then later in the evening Gwyn and I were standing on our balcony watching the storm when we saw the power go out for the whole complex. It was a eerily cool thing to watch.

By the morning the wind had died down. The commute to work was interesting. It was obvious that there was a storm, from downed branches to power lines across the street. Only a little off roading.

The rest of the week has been back to the similar dark fall weather.

Certainly an interesting experience. I can add that I have been effected by hurricanes and tornadoes (in Pittsburgh)... to my list of natural disasters.

First Hurricane: Check.

Yay Sam and Andrew!

This past weekend I got the supreme honor of going to Spokane! I know! The honor was actually getting to be a witness to the marriage of Sam and Andrew. The wedding was beautiful, the reception was great. All around a very happy day.

Other highlights:
Hanging out with Alex, Ryan and Daren. I had a hankering for some Tots and a Malt (yep, that meant Zips) they put up with it.
Getting to enjoy breakfast with Jessie! Congrats to her for her new ring! (and fiancee) (@Frank's)
Hanging out with my family, including two super cute dogs. Getting beat at Puerto Rico by one single coin. Checking out Citadels (something that may need to be added to my collection). (some of it @Downriver)

Getting to have lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Griffith! (@Rocky's)

On a side note: Family, have I ever won PR? I don't think I have... I am always crushed by Dad's stunning (and drunk) agrarian society (who apparently dipped in to slavery this last game).

It was super fun weekend. The flights, while annoyingly long, were fine. Nothing super eventful.

I walked in to the apartment to see that it was all decked out for Halloween (more so than when I left). I think pictures are in call for showing off the blood dripping from the walls, and the scary face that greets me every morning (no, it is not Gwyn's).

Kickstarter(Board and Card Games) + Me = 6 Backed Games in 24 hours

I try my hardest to resist internet fads. I don't like them. They seem derived and silly. The only reason I am on Facebook is because Chelsea told me how cool it was... and then told me that I could not join for another year because I was in High School (those were the days....). I have avoided twitter (way too egotistical for me), I actively make fun of Gwyn and Pinterest (I was pronouncing it way wrong in my head for soooo long... she makes fun of me for that. All is fair in love and war), and I detest instagram (way to hippster for that).

I heard plenty of things about Kickstarter. About this e-ink watch, and this 3d printer and a bunch of video games. For those of you who do not know about 'crowd funding' or 'crowd sourcing' it is the idea that the internet brings people together. I know! It is all cute and cuddly. So some guy gets this great idea, but he needs money to do it. In this day and age, there are so many people who are awesomely creative that there are not outlets, not enough venture capitalists (good ones at least) or just simply enough people around them get the support the idea needs. This is where crowd sourcing comes in. Some people (dating back to the 1990's) decided that they would just appeal directly to fans/supporters/interested parties for funds. The idea is that one person giving you $10,000 is awesome, but convincing them to give you that money is kind of hard. But 10,000 people giving you $1 is not as hard (sometimes). This is where a plethora of websites come in. Kickstarter is one of them. Check out the previously mentioned projects to get a scope of how much money a group can raise... those up there, they are all in the millions of dollars. The Pebble, the watch, they had to stop letting people back, because the interest in their product was 10,000% greater than they expected. They were looking to build a modest 300 - 400 watches. Then the internet got hold of it and demanded more than 86,000 watches. Another awesome crowd sourced project was this tribute to a museum for a oft forgotten scientist (lol, Let's Build A Goddamn Museum).

Ok.. so I avoided all of the above for excusable reasons. But then I (unfortunately) found a link on Board Game Geek (another recent obsession) to a game called Zombicie. Turns out this sweet looking game had its humble beginnings at Kiskstarter. Until it raised $761,597 more than they planned on. So I decided to take a look around the 'Board and Card Games' section of the site. Oh. My. Goodness. What a wonderful thing.

So here is how I have gathered it works (specifically for the board and card game section).

A game designer gets an idea for a game. They build up the details, you know game mechanics, rules, balancing the gameplay, the story (if needed). Then the designer comes up with a rough business plan, including funding plans (more on that later), production plans (both publishing and artwork) and shipping/distributing plans. They then fold this all to a Kiskstarter page, most notably the pitch video where the creator lays out the game, basically a sales pitch.

At this point they know how much it is going to cost to publish and distribute the game. So they have an idea of how much funding they need to make the finished product. So they set a goal, give it a time (a month. normally) and let the internet in. People can back the project for whatever dollar amount they want. If you want to give a dollar to the project you are more than welcome to, but in most cases (and particularly in the game domain) after a certain point of backing, the designer will send you the product, in this case the game (or two or three depending on the pledge). Often times the designer will add incentives to get people to fun a little more, like if you back a certain amount, your likeness will be used in the game, or you will also receive the original art for the game... or the game designer will fly to you and play with you (if you really want to throw down the cash).

The most important thing about Kickstarter is that if the goal is not funded (which happens 56% for Kickstarter over all) then the money is not collected. Nothing happens. But if the goal is met, then the backers credit cards are charged, and the creator gets the money to start in to production. In a lot of cases, when funding is well over the goal, the designer will enhance the product because of the increased interest. This can take form in expanding the game. Or higher quality parts. Or another game altogether.

 Ok, so up there I said that I backed 6 game projects. That is very true. And they all look sweet. I cannot tell you about all of them, because some of them are going to be gifts! Take a look at some them for yourself:

With only 54 hours to go: Lost Valley
Well funded, already established game (this is a re-print for the US). This also means you get all of the stretch! But it is almost over, so get it now!

Salem
A very interesting looking logic style game, along the same vein as Clue, but much more involved, and based on the very historic Salem Witch Trials. One of the ones I am most excited about.
Mom, Chelsea, take a look. I think you will find it interesting.

and

Kaboom
A simple, yet amusing card game. And for a great price ($6 at the moment).
If you mention me when you back, I could get a free deck! And you know that I will just end up giving that to someone else!

I am sure that I will find more awesome looking games and post them here... it is inevitable at this point.

Second Ever

I witnessed my second earthquake today. It was unremarkable enough that Walking Dead, Dexter and the Debate got more attention from this apartment.

Gwyn and I were standing in our kitchen re-heating some enchiladas, having a detailed discussion about board games (I have been fixated on them recently, more on that later...), when there was a loud groan, and then rattling. Kind of like if Sasquatch was walking around upstairs. The plates shook a little, some glasses clinked... Gwyn got a little frightened, she asked what it was. As you could barely feel it with your body, I said it was probably an earthquake or an explosion. I then clarified that I hoped it was an earthquake, and no one got hurt.

Take that California. Unless the entire state of California ceded by natural tectonics from the continent, and we were just feeling the after shock. Then I feel really sorry for all of you, and I feel really bad for making a joke about it.

UPDATE: Check it out. Apparently this is the first sizable (4.0) earthquake in New England since 1940. Any yet still.... Walking Dead, Dexter and the Debate won over the interest.

Garden Box Stuffed Peppers

You have all seen my garden boxes. They have been doing great. But as the first freeze hits New England, these guys are going to have to be cleaned out. But, a while back we harvested some peppers! And what do you do with a bunch of peppers? Make stuffed peppers! Well apparently. This is kind of a big deal here (on the east coast), I saw them all the time in Pittsburgh, and they are popular here too. Gwyn said she had them growing up. I never did. This may just be my mother didn't make them on behalf of her two kids not really liking peppers when they were young... oh wait Chelsea still does not really like peppers. But I love them! So on to the recipe:

This was completely made up by me. I had only a little foreknowledge, and a lot of improvisation.

Garden Box Stuffed Peppers

Bake Time: 30 Mins +/- 20 mins depending on filling
Prep Time: 30 Mins

I am not going to add quantity to the ingredients, as the size of your peppers is the biggest constraint. If you have huge peppers you need a lot of filling. If you have small peppers, you don't need that much. Use your best judgement. Also, if you like a lot of meat, add a lot of meat, if you really like beans, add more beans.

Bell Peppers! Good Ones! You can get whatever level of ripeness you want (i.e. color)
Italian Sausage (or other savory sausage)
Sweet Onion
Black Beans (can)
Brown Rice (cooked)
Corn (from a can, or fresh)
Cheese (we always have mexican blend on hand)
Bread Crumbs

Tomato Sauce

Added Garden Herbs:
Chive
Basil
Oregano

Pre Heat oven to ~375. A little higher if you have large peppers, and a little cooler if you have small guys.

First step is to open up and completely clean out the pepper. Be sure to Only cut enough to make an opening, you want to preserve the cup like nature of the pepper for the stuffing part. Clean out all of the white flesh and the seeds. Wash well.

Cook your sausage. You can get this 80% of the way done as the filling is going to cook while in the oven. You can cook it all the way if you want. Pull out cooked sausage.

In sausage grease, cook chopped up onion until translucent.

If you need to cook rice, you should have started a while ago.

In a large bowl mix your sausage, onions, beans, rice and corn. We went about equal part on all of it. We might have gone a little heavy on the sausage, but equal on the rest. Add cheese, bread crumbs and tomato sauce. This is completely up to the cook. If you want really cheesy stuffed peppers, you know what to do here. If the mixture is too solid, you can add more tomato sauce, if it is too liquidy, (drain if it is sitting in liquid) add some bread crumbs. You want it kind of the consistency of dough. Add your herbs and other seasoning if you want (Haha! Hot Peppers!)

In a baking dish, pour a generous layer of tomato sauce to the bottom. Then take each pepper and stuff! Using a spoon, get the inside mixture all up in the pepper. Top with a basil leaf, then a layer of tomato sauce, and then a generous layer of cheese. Arrange so that the peppers hold themselves up, if you need to you can make little foil support structures.

Bake for 10 - 40 minutes (lol, huge span I know). I think I baked ours for 20 minutes. You want it to go until the cheese on top is browning, or the insides are bubbling out.

Pull out, put it on a plate, pour some hot sauce from the bottom of the pan on top and serve.

Gwyn got me sick

More realistically her students got her sick. Then she came home and got sick. And now I am sick.

Dang unhygienic kids.

Always Eating and Looking Good

Hello Again!

So a few weeks ago I was buying supplies for my photography class and came across sun printing.

Its this really cool paper that is light sensitive. Normally people place plants or small objects on top of them and then have a negative left on the paper. What's also cool is that the area touched by the sun turns a beautiful dark blue.

So I had a thought. What if I were to make negatives and then printed them on the sun paper? And the result? Beautiful new artwork for Scott and my kitchen.

I chose photos that showed us eating! So appropriate for a kitchen don't you think?

Anyway here are the pics.

Left of the window

Right of the window

this is Scotts favorite picture... needless to say it is not mine.

Turkey Leg!

I made the negatives on transparency paper. I reversed the image first so the photos would look "normal". Then put the negative on the sun paper and left it in direct sunlight for 2-3 minutes. Then I removed the transparency paper and soaked the image in cold water for a minute. Hang to dry and Viola! 

They make our little kitchen a bit snazzier don't you think?!

Goodbye Summer

Thank Goodness. The humidity is finally gone. I can now walk outside again in comfort!

Many of you know that the changing of seasons also means a changing of hair for me. The Amish beard (or Abe beard, or chin curtain) is back! And it is wonderful.

Out with the old...

In with the new. (It has been trimmed a little)

Our windows have been open for the past few weeks, this is great for me. And most of the time good for Gwyn. But occasionally, right before I leave for work I will walk past Fort Gwyn. Under a few pillows and blankets sits a cozy Gwyn, wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

I have finished up the bookshelf. It looks awesome and is also very functional... you know... holding stuff. Oddly, there are no books on it, but a lot of boxes that were previously just sitting on the floor.

Life is good. I am getting really excited for a few weddings before Christmas. Ben and Amy in Portland, Yay! And Sam and Andrew back in Spokane, Awesome!

I have been helping out with the Robotics Outreach at Lincoln Labs (ROLL) and the First Tech Challenge (FTC) team. For those of you who do not know about this, it is a group of High School students who are competing in a specialized game. You can find more about it here. I think it is going to be really fun to watch them do this. Last weekend I gave a great lecture on the basics of Electronics (Yeah Ohm and Kirchhoff!)

Also, Nachos: