My blog n'at

This past weekend was the first time in over a month that I was able to spend a weekend with Lushie and Teaspoon without having any other commitments. Felt kinda weird actually knowing that I didn’t have any impending deadlines to spend more time huddled around a laptop with . I finished up my final for a Flash/Actionscript class I was taking around 9pm on Friday and for the first time felt lost. I wasn’t sure what to do next.

Saturday we came up with a plan, we need new carpeting for Teaspoon’s room and for the nursery. We hit my go to store of Home Depot and wait… and wait… ask for help and wait… and wait… Three workers looked right at us and walked away. I finally get this lady’s attention and show her my measurements of the walls in the rooms. We find a sample we like and she quotes me $860 (incl install and delivery). We’re feeling fairly confident that this is the way we’ll go and before we leave we want to find a gate door for our railing so we can cage Teaspoon in. We’re told to go to gardening and they can help us. We wait, and wait, and wait and finally realize that there are 8 other customers roaming around doing the same. 15 minutes later I found a stock girl and ask her about the gate door which apparently was a HUGE inconvenience since she huff and puffed the whole time. We go to the area where fencing is to find out they sell everything BUT the door! Asked where we could look for one and she says “i dunno, but we don’t have it” then she walks away! Irritation level was at an all-time high so we leave and Lushie is hell bent not to buy our carpeting there. Don’t even mention Lowes because that place is even worse.

On our way home we pass Remnant City and it was like the heavens parted. Not only did we find carpet we liked BUT they also said Home Depot’s measurements of yardage we needed was way off (she showed me the math) and they were going to save us $300. Sold!  I’ll let you know when its installed.

As if that wasnt exhausting enough Teaspoon was sleeping in the backseat so we went for a drive to Bloomfield. Hoping to catch some Italian days we ended up passing on it when navigating through Bloomfield was impossible. It was the first time I had people walking into my car while driving on a major road.  Food smelled good though!

When in doubt on what to do in Pittsburgh, go to the Strip. I’ve been itching to try the new Pittsburgh Public Market since it was first announced they were opening. Its in an area of the Strip that was once occupied by Good Apples (yeah, that was weird walking in and not seeing Griff there) and has been transformed into a market area with vendors from around the area showcasing foods and arts. To be fair we got there around 3:30 and most things were already picked over but I can see the potential of the place if you get there early enough. Don’t bring a stroller though because there are so many people its tough to navigate.

Fact remained we were still hungry and thats when I zeroed in on Rowdy BBQ. In fact as soon as we crossed the threshold to the market I could smell BBQ. I think its a natural reaction, if there is BBQ present I’ll find it. We had passed their store on 51 twice that day while carpet shopping so I knew this was a sign. Be still my heart as right next to it was Gosia’s Pierogies. I got the pulled pork and Lushie got the pierogies for a family buffet at a small hightop table. If you need any reason to come to this place its these 2 dishes. The bbq was some of the best I’ve had in years and the pierogies were melting like buttah… in buttah.

Now here’s the kicker, soon you’ll be able to get your growlers filled by East End Brewing. That’s right Scott Smith is in the process of bringing his delicious craft beer down to the market. Guys, while the ladies shop you can get BBQ, pierogies AND CRAFT BEER!  This could turn into one of the greatest places ever.

I took 3 pics with my crackberry

5 years of podcamping already. I can’t believe it has been this long since I first made my trip to Pittsburgh Filmmakers with sickpuppy on that chilly November Saturday morning in 2006 for what would be a life changing event known as Podcamp Pittsburgh. For you young bucks this was before Chris Brogan became the social media superstar that he is today.  He even socialized with us little people. (haha). I was just a spectator star struck that these people who made content I watched were here at one place. I admit, when the Tiki’s came in my jaw dropped.

Fast forward to Podcamp Pittsburgh 5. I’m now sponsoring the beer for the Meet n Greet for the 4th straight year, giving 3 presentations and I’m making a living with skills I’ve learned over the last 4 Podcamps. This year was a completely different experience for me and being more involved in sessions than attending gives you a different perspective of the event. Before I decided to public speak (which I don’t like to do in general but for some reason beer and social media comes easy for me to talk your ear off about) I looked at the schedule and wondered if there was anything left for me to get out of Podcamp. The event, much like myself, have evolved over the years. I was now starting to get back experience as a presenter and getting over my speaking fears where as before I was learning the skills I would end up talking about. Wait, did that make sense?

Meet-n-Greet – For the first Podcamp there was a Meet-n-Greet at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh which had sandwiches and a couple beers. SIDT was just getting started and I think we had St. Nick Bock and Penn Pilsner.  Since Podcamp Pittsburgh 2 we (SIDT) have been the suppliers of craft beer for the events. Each year we’ve provided 4-5 different offerings from Erie Brewing Company. This is our time to really showcase the podcast and do my favorite thing, talk to people about craft beer. I love giving someone new to the product their first taste and to explain the features of the beer. If I didn’t love it so much I could never do it. Plus I love talking to people. Have I mentioned I like talking? Seriously.

So for me here were the sessions I did and my impressions afterwards. All of which were on Saturday. If you’ve ever been to Podcamp you’ll know that Sunday is not a very functional day for me BTW, all of the sessions were recorded and will be online soon.

10am: Social Media in Higher Ed – I wasn’t sure where this was going to go and honestly to have 5 people would have made me happy. Mmmmm yeah I walked in to a full room. One thing I’ve noticed is that no one is talking to Higher Ed people on social media on how to use it, what to do, what not to do, and basic strategies. Well there are some people who charge out the ass to say “you need on facebook”, take your money and run. Podcamp is FREE and I was giving you that knowledge. I had 45 minutes and made it through 1/2 my slides thinking I wouldn’t have enough to fill the time but it turned out that the conversation was incredible. The video will be available soon and I’ll release the slides then also so I won’t spoil what happened. It did make me aware that I’m in a unique situation where my administration is very open minded and trusting in me to let me do the things I have so far. Some schools wont get in social media because they think they don’t need it.  If you say that, you need it more than anyone.

11am: We’re Still Here: How to Keep Your Podcast Kicking – This was a discussion panel with myself, Sorg and DJ Lunchbox from the Wrestling Mayhem Show and Hutch from Burgh’s Eye View. Our shows have been running since the first Podcamp and we’re still around so we shared what’s made our them survive. The main thing to take away was that you need to do what you love and you need to take a breather or change things up before it becomes stale. Since SIDT started I”ve moved twice, bought a house, lost a father, gained a son, lost job and gained a kickass new career.

We had a very attentive audience who asked great questions about the creative process and why we do the voodoo that errr we do.

Lunch – Food was provided (That’s right, its a FREE event AND you get FOOD!) but the line was really long so I struck up a food run with Shell and Jen from Burgh’s Eye View and the always kickass Tall Cathy. We traveled to the culinary kingdom with a lotta porn known as Smithfield News. Cathy got the win of the day when she found this gem.

2pm: Podcasting 201 – Sorg asked me to join him for this session and I wasn’t sure what to expect. We had chatted a couple days earlier about an outline and from giving presentations together in the past figured we would wing it. Worked out perfectly for us as we focused building your community and some tech issues when having guests/co-hosts who are worlds away. Sorg does incredible things with the WMS that there were moments I stepped back and marveled. This is why I love Podcamp, you’re always learning something new!

Afterparty – This was the first year that I didn’t go. Instead I spent time at home with Lushie and Teaspoon since I hadn’t seen them for more than 5 minutes in almost 3 weeks. After everyone went to bed I headed to BEV Lounge and mmm yeah it was a long night.

(Thanks v-rock for the awesome pics!)

BEV Lounge is now my new favorite place to go for a beer. Hutch records his hit podcast Burgh’s Eye View in the room next to the lounge and I must say, when I eventually have a man cave I can only dream of it being as cool as the lounge!

Sunday – I went to some sessions but I’m not sure which. I actually arrived at 10am which is a first for me and scarfed down cold pizza and a special present from Erie thanks to Locobone.

Once again it was an incredible weekend and huge props to Missy, Jennie, Rob, Sorg and all of the organizers for putting on yet another huge success of a Podcamp. A huge hi to all of the new people I met this weekend and the multiple hugs from the not so anon Secret Agent L. Now that it has been a week and I’m done with classes I’m motivated from Podcamp to start new things and improve on what I have now. I have time to focus on what I want to do next.

cheers!

P.S. Here are all of my Podcamp recaps. Man i missed that shaved head.

Podcamp 1 | Podcamp 2 | Podcamp 3 | Podcamp 4

Like most instances at Podcamp Pittsburgh this is one of those “things just happened” that has now become a staple of the establishment. Waaaay back at Podcamp Pittsburgh 2 we met a fine young Canadian gent by the name of Tommy Vallier. Tommy is not only a social wiz but an instigator and purveyor of fine alcoholic libations.  It was on this night all of us would learn how the Great White North stays warm, you mix whatever you have together and drink until you’re blind.

Justin Kownacki, Podcamp Pittsburgh founder and helluva model American when the laces are out, explains exactly what a 6-4-9 is.

Scared yet? Probably should be. Tommy said to us it has to do the lottery, we say its a cruel trick to test the fortitude of your liver.

Below is the short, yet official, history of the shots along with video so you too can see how its done.

Sunday morning when you wake up with the worst hangover of your life just remember, 6-4-9

As the last post kinda hinted I’m taking a breather and for the record the show is not over by any means no matter what you may hear on the internets. Both of us have a lot of things going on in our lives so we decided on no more fests for a bit. If you do see one of us at one its because in the almost 5 years we’ve done the show we haven’t been able to enjoy a fest without working it so. We’ll be at a few smaller ones this fall but as fans, no recorders in hand (this doesn’t mean we won’t pimp your fest if you ask). Also after this show is released we’re going to try a new format. We’re going try a few things that fit our schedule for now and in between I’m going to focus more on my writing and filming . We haven’t left the formula for almost 5 years so for us creatively we were getting bored.

If it works out it could be great for us and if the fans hate it then we’ll figure something out. You’ll still get your main show but now there will be smaller personal reviews. (Jesus, this actually sounds like more work as I type it). I’m working on the new Studio B at my new house and we’re in the process of upgrading equipment (I LOVE our HD camera already). Come to think of it, this is more like in between seasons of a TV show but for us Season 1 was 4 years long and the off time wont be spent on a beach, it’ll be in Pittsburgh.

SIDT has grown into its own beast and like anything else you start, you need to grow with it and not act against it. If you want to know specifics you can come to the 11am session at Podcamp Pittsburgh I’ll be a panel on called “We’re Still Here: How to Keep Your Podcast Kicking.”

Is it jumping the shark? Christ I hope not but if it is I’m SO buying a leather jacket and going water skiing.

(click here for the whole gallery)

Ahhhh the Steel City Big Pour. I’ve been to the previous 3 and once again it lives up to expectations. This year we took a different approach and had a booth at the front door. Wow what an experience! For the Big Tap In we were at the entrance of Brewers Alley which was perfect but this was the main entrance of the event. The downside to being at the front though was that we weren’t in the main room with the brewers. Turned out that was a good thing.

The crowd in the main room with the brewers, art and music was very loud so for recording purposes it would have never worked. We also poured some firkin beers from Erie Brewing which would turn out to be another great decision. While people were waiting in line our banner was the first thing they saw. The beer would then bring them in and we’d pitch the show. The thing to keep in mind for beer fests is that the first session is usually beer geeks and the second is more of your party crowd. You still get beer geeks but they’re in the minority. We also had a great visit from Mr. Baconpants and Justin Kelly who organizes a monthly meetup for craft beer fans at OTB Bicycle Cafe.

First session was non stop busy and we had zero time to record but the bonus was that I finally got to meet Thirsty Girl. What a kickass blogger and if you haven’t been reading her site you should check it out. Also going on while we were selling the show, meeting fans and pouring beers social media was in overdrive as Chris from Bocktown had the first ever Twitterfall that I have seen at a fest. The official tag for the event was #bigpour4, Foursquare was buzzing with checkins and the Beerby guys were having a great day with people downloading their app. At our booth we had deals where if you joined our facebook fan page you could win $30 The Pear Cares dollars, $20 Bocktown gift card and 2 VIP passes to Podcamp Pittsburgh 5 ($50 value). We had at least 10-15 people sign up at the booth plus Twitter was smokin with event exclusive SIDT giveaways and all calls to the drunk dial hotline could get you a free shirt and pint glass from Main Street Brewing.

During the 2hr break of the 2 sessions we were slammed with interviews of brewers who came to us. This turned into a round table discussion that turned epic and you can hear when we release the show in the next week.

2nd session started and was just as crazy as the first for traffic. I met more fans, Pittsburgh’s newest badass, and a fan from Houston, TX who said that he loved the show and his friends would die for a pic with me. Apparently the DFH120 Chug is a favorite of beer lovers in Houston so I was humbled that’s for sure. If he posts a pic to the SIDT wall I’ll share it.

The night ended around 9pm for us and after 12 hours of being on our feet I was ready for my bed. Ironically as soon as I started my car the rain came down hard. With all of the equipment that we carried that could have been a huge mess but that didnt happen.

Thanks to all who stopped over to see us (Always a blast chatting up Lindsay and Andrea too!) and some of you I don’t have websites for or I’d link ya. It was a rewarding night and also my last one. You can read more about that tomorrow…

I’ve been under an incredible amount of stress lately and serious lack of free time. My day job is in overdrive which I love, the days are getting shorter on when the next baby arrives, I need to dedicate more time to school since I graduate next june, the house needs some serious unpacking attention, and as my buddy Phil told me “how the hell do you do so much? You’re stretching yourself too thin”

There are a lot, correction A LOT of side projects I’ve taken on over the last year and unfortunately many of them are because incompetent  people are involved and I have a knack for being a problem solver (which is why I was brought in in the first place most cases) and I have this need to fix something I see half assed.

I have a beer fest this weekend which is not going the way I want at all because I haven’t had time to dedicate to it and have a lack of support and Podcamp Pittsburgh has me down for 3 sessions. I want to do all three really bad but since I’m now flying solo for the Meet-n-Greet (Thank GOD my dear friend Chris is helping me pour) and I have other swag to get delivered my head is turning to goo.

I usually get a lot of gripes because I don’t go to that many social events but this is kind of the reason why, I’m up at night pounding away on my laptop working deals and the weekend is the only time I get to spend with my family. I won’t go into it yet because I still have a few more details to iron out but it will be a unique experience.

I like to think of this as a restructuring. I have a new house and new opportunities so I want to make sure that I don’t rush into something for the sake of doing it. After seeing myself on TV tonight (more on that next post) and doing a few interviews I realized what I have to do. I’m not quitting my day job but reshaping my night time gigs.

This is gonna be fun

I’m going on record once again as saying I have no freaking idea who 90% of my team is but they seemed ranked high on Yahoo. All I know about football is what I watch of the Steelers so let me know what you think of this team.

I always draft Romo, don’t know why. Hines was a panic pick when WR were going fast. Heath Miller is my favorite TE. Kellen I think was a Cleve Brownie, Devin has a cool last name, Donovan was a pick up so Woy (whom didnt have any QB by the 7th round) would have even a more limited selection at QB, and the rest no clue. Oh wait i had chester Taylor last season and I think he bombed every game.

No idea how I’ll do but eh the trash talking is why I do this.

Now if it was hockey… all your asses would be mine! MUWHAHAHAHAHA!

This is how I spent my Labor day when I wasn’t busy working. I really miss family picnics. We don’t do them enough up there.

Someone got a new bed that daddy put together. The crib is gone and now my little guy is up to a toddler bed. We weren’t sure if this was the next step since he just hit 18mo but the doc told us if he won’t sleep in his crib and he can make it on/off our bed to go for it. He’s at an idea weight and obviously has the skills to do it so why not.

Within 1 minute of showing him his new bed he was running around like a madman. He was able to get on and off his bed with zero problems and would do laps around the room screaming “aye aye aye aye aye aye”. The excitement in his face was something I have never seen before and you could tell he was so proud. I had the biggest smirk on my face as I saw baby turn into a little boy.

Here are a couple before and after. His crib will be used for the new baby and is over in the nursery.

(click to enlarge)

It’s gonna be a boy! Asked Teaspoon if he was ready for a little brother, he said “NO!” and walked away.