Diversity is key

I’m not one for small talk. I’m not good at it and I rarely see the point. All the idle chatter is time better spent reading in my opinion. Unless the talk is about books, of course. Then pull up a chair. Let me buy you a drink. If you’re the type of person that views carrying a book as a necessary escape hatch for any excursion outside your front door, then you are my people, no questions asked. There is little I like more than reading, browsing, chatting or arguing about books. Book stores are my pilgrimage and book clubs are my catnip. At my day job, the one meeting I will not view askew is the monthly book club. It’s one hour where time doesn’t drag on and business buzz words don’t choke the air. It’s my oasis in the management wilderness.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to cultivate and maintain such a swath of erudite discussion among the cubes. After two years, I’ve come to some conclusions about the best ways to run a successful book club.

1. Seek Out Different Opinions

Just like conflict drives a good novel, different opinions drive the discussion in book clubs. You don’t need to come to blows or hurt anyone’s feelings, but if everyone is in constant agreement and just coming to affirm everyone else’s sweet opinions, the meetings will get dry and dull really quickly.

2. Read Widely

You know the best, sure-fire way to generate different opinions? Read all sorts of different books. Use the book club pick as a time to read outside your comfort zone. You’re sure to piss off someone. Graphic novels, romance, Twilight, Dan Brown. It’s all fair game. You don’t need to make the books difficult or intentionally hard, but make a conscious effort to seek out works in different genres and let the opinions flow.

3. Be Consistent

The one exception I’ll make is around the holidays, where we typically combine December and January, but otherwise you need to make it a real habit. Hold meetings like clockwork and make a commitment to consistency.

4. Do Some Research

If you’re the leader, or making the pick for the month, do a little background research. Maybe you won’t need it, but if the conversation lags, be sure to have some questions or comments ready to lift the discussion.

Never hurts to bribe

5. Bring Treats

When all else fails, bribe your audience with sugar and butter. Baking is a close second to reading for me, so this might not work for everyone, but it’s a rare office that doesn’t appreciate some a free sugar rush.

Bonus tips: Thought of two more right before posting. First, don’t be afraid to branch out beyond books as part of the discussion, we’ve had great success bringing in adapted films and talking about the different mediums and the choices the screenwriters had to make. Second, embrace social media. More and more authors are actively on the web and looking to engage with readers. Email, Twitter, GoodReads or Facebook the author and see if they are interesting in talking or interacting with the club. Never hurts to ask.

flickr cc photo attributions: kimberlykv, horiavarlan, robertcouse-baker

5k braved the monsoon

The Half Marathon needs a better name. It sounds like a cop-out, doesn’t it? Oh, you couldn’t do a full marathon, huh? Opted for the halfsie? By the end of 13.1 miles this past Sunday, I was quite ready to take any abuse, any insult, just to be done. I staggered across the line, legs like dead wood, chest heaving, eyes zeroed in on that finish line with a zombie-like stare. Sounds like fun, right? Why would I possibly subject myself to this? Good question.

Why?
In the days leading up to the Providence Rock N Roll Half Marathon, I asked myself this question a lot and came up with two reasons. I blame my co-worker and Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run. The co-worker because he innocently handed me the book and McDougall for writing a very convincing and very entertaining book that certainly made distance running seem fun and romantic. Before I go further, let me say I’m not a barefoot acolyte. I do own a pair of minimalist trail shoes and I did make a conscious decision to change my stride this year to more of a mid-foot strike to ease the burden on my knees, but please don’t attack me with do’s or don’ts of barefoot running. My advice? If you’re running without pain (or little pain) there is probably little reason to change. If you find yourself bogged down with injuries or returning to running from a long layoff, you might give the arguments in the book some thought.

The second reason was more esoteric and tangential. I play basketball once a week with a group of like minded, competitive guys. We recently switched leagues from the open league to the over-35 one. Seems rather banal, and definitely a good decision given how the 20 year-olds were buzzing by us like we were playing in cement shoes, but I think it triggered some sort of urge to still prove I could compete. Even if I was only proving it to myself. Like I said, esoteric, but better than buying a Corvette or something, right?

How?
I wasn’t starting from scratch. I was pretty fit and had a solid base of 15-20 miles a week of recreational running. Still, I knew I needed a plan for a half marathon. Sure, I could probably wing it and complete it, but being a type A personality, I had goals and ambitions of running it well. There are numerous plans out there on the Internet for free. Pretty much a plan for every type of runner, I think. I choose Hal Higdon’s Intermediate plan for a couple reasons. First, it wasn’t overly complex. A lot of plans had days (or multiple days) dedicated to speed workouts or splits or intervals or tempo runs. Undoubtedly that would probably help, but I the more I searched the more I realized I wanted less of a plan and more of a road map on how to  ramp up to sufficient miles without risking injury. Second, I have a full-time job, a toddler and lot of other demands on my time. Higdon’s plan was flexible. It allowed for me to slot in my weekly basketball game as cross-training and for flip-flopping training days when necessary.

With the training now in the rear view mirror, I can say Higdon’s plan was successful and the right one for me.

My form at the end of the race

Let me also pass along a few tips on the physiology of long training runs. I did come to welcome these runs (proves how short term my memory is) each weekend, at least until mile 9 or so, and definitely came to recognize a certain pattern:
Mile 0 – 3: This is a good pace. Nice and easy. I can do this all day.
Mile 4 – 7: Damn! I am flying. Half marathon? Screw that, I’m going for the full monty.
Mile 8 – 11: Where did these elves and their little knives come from? Why are they jabbing me in the knees, ankles and hips? Aw, gawd, it hurts!
Mile 12 – 13: Mental boot camp. Your numb lower body is on autopilot. A death-march to the finish.

Two final things, having a time goal did help me. It gave me a tangible measuring stick to track my training progress. Second, I always thought the idea of a mantra was kind of silly, but in those last three or four miles when your mind is a blank slate of pain, they do help bring a kind of focused determination to finishing.

When & Where?
On further reflection, picking New England in August for my first attempt, was pure folly. If I had to do it again, I’d aim for September or October. Hot and humid were not just a possibility (despite the 7 am start), but a probability. Not a lot I could do about it. I had trained through August, sometimes timing longer runs at midday to acclimatize a bit. The one thing I didn’t count on? The rain.

What Happened?
Well, I did finish, but Sunday August 7th in Providence was a monsoon. And that is barely exaggerating. Fifteen to twenty mile an hour winds with driving rains for a good three quarters of the race. It did build a sense of solidarity among the five thousands that turned out, but man it was less than ideal, especially for a maiden voyage. Despite a fifteen minute delay at the start, leaving us packed and shuffling in the corral, the race was otherwise well organized on all fronts. They could have used more post-race shelter for runners, but I can’t fault them for not anticipating the storm. I would have liked to see them put the gear bags under tarps or something as finishing and picking up your soaked gear was a downer. The on-course stations, timing, and post-race recovery spread was good.

I made it around the course a few minutes under my goal time and despite some pacing issues (like an eager beaver I went out waaay too fast) will definitely be running another half again in the future. My last piece of advice? Reward yourself. Running 13 miles is nothing to sneeze at. Take a few days off recover and reward yourself. Me? I spent the next day lounging, stuffing my gut with BBQ and cupcakes.

The finished product

I love to bake. Bread, cupcakes, cookies, pies, count me in. But our house does not have central air and flipping the oven on in July and August for any length of time is an invitation to self flagellation. A cocktail party in Hell. I do my best to avoid it. Still, we do our best to only indulge in sweets we make ourselves, so how to satisfy the sweet sugar craving for dessert  when our kitchen turns into a sweat lodge? There’s only one answer.

I want you to head down into your basement. Are you there? Good. Now head to the back where you stored that waffle iron, platinum candle sticks and champagne toasting flutes. Find them? Okay, nearby should be the ice cream maker you also register for, received and maybe used once in a fit of newly wed bliss. Dig it out and bring it upstairs because it shouldn’t be locked in the land of little used appliances. That bucket and churner should a summer staple.

Now some ice cream recipes are complicated and some can be very finicky. I’ve made both, but sometimes I’m tired and slowly heating up yolks without curdling them is just a bridge too far. I want something dead simple that I can make with a toddler screaming in my ear and hanging off my arm.

The raw materials

Lemon Verbena Sorbet
(adapted from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein. By far the best and most reliable homemade ice cream recipe book I’ve found.)

1 c. sugar

2c. water

1 egg white

3/4c. fresh lemon juice (~3 lemons) or to taste

2-3 T. of minced lemon verbena

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat to create a simple syrup. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then raise the heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add the herbs at the end

With a hand mixer, lightly beat the egg whites for 10-20 seconds until foamy then slowly beat into the hot syrup. When the meringue/syrup cools slightly, add the lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate till cold (best to do it over night, but you want it cold, no less than 6-8 hours). Don’t worry if there’s still foam, it will be incorporated when mixed and frozen.

Add to the chilled mixture to the little used ice cream maker and run according to the mixer’s instructions. Add the minced herbs in the last few minutes.

The same dungeon everywhere

Look as much as I’d like to spend my days puttering around the garden, baking, reading, writing, running or picking up more hobbies the fact is aspiring to be a career serial hobbyist doesn’t  pay the mortgage or day care bills. I have a day job. One that I really like with creative and competent co-workers, but it also has meetings. Lots of meetings. As much as I like my job, I really hate meetings. The vast, vast majority of these confabs wind up a meandering useless waste of time that just sucks the productivity out of a project. For what it’s worth, here’s how I try to run all my meetings when I’m forced (at knife point) to have any at all.

1. Objective
First, for the love of God, have an objective. A very concrete objective and purpose for the meeting. Remember by their very nature meetings should be a two way street of information sharing. Anything needing to just go one way could (and should) be handled via email or with one on one contact. One of my biggest corporate pet peeves is the regular recurring meetings that often exist just to get people in the same room.

2. Right Participants
Invite the right people. Invite the decision makers. On small project teams this often isn’t a problem, but in large companies and on sprawling projects this might take some due diligence, but worth the time not to run into decision moats were the meeting essentially grounds to a halt because no one present is empowered to make a decision.

3. Meeting Prep
Meeting time should be spent on tasks and useful discussion so prepare both yourself and participants prior to the meeting. Sitting around the conference room table is not the time to spring traps or argue over approach. You should discuss sensitive issues or agree on approach with key participants before the meeting.

4. Know the Technology
Part of your prep should be knowing how to use the technology in the room (phone/AV equipment) and any software you are using to present. Nothing deflates a meeting or takes the burnish of both a presenter or presentation than seeing them fumble their way through buttons, connections or cords before they get started. Take five or ten minutes to practice (preferably in the same room) and avoid the stumbling start.

5. Agenda
Don’t confuse this with an objective. The agenda is the flight plan. It’s the table of contents of what is to be covered in the meeting and should be provided BEFORE the meeting. Remember #1, a meeting is a team activity, a two way street. Save tasks that require a team effort for your meeting agenda.6.

6. Introductions (optional)

Know the tech

If you’re in a kick-off meeting or a large stakeholder meeting where it’s obvious the players might not know each other, as painful as it is, it makes sense to run through some quick introductions along with responsibilities. Note, if some folks have dialed in, as meeting emcee it’s a good idea to prompt them rather than wait in awkward silence as three people then try to talk at once. If people enter or join the call late, don’t break up the flow to ask who joined unless you’re waiting for a key stakeholder or there is a natural break in the conversation.

7. Stay on Track
You called the meeting. You set the agenda (and sent it out ahead of time). Manage to it. Don’t prejudge or dominate discussions and be polite but firm in taking the reins back when discussion begins to veer off track. Also, start on time. Respect other people’s time and they will respect yours (in theory).

8. Recap & Action Items
The last agenda item should always be a recap of the discussion along with a review of the pertinent actions items and who is responsible. If you meeting had a clear objective and agenda these items should come out organically as the meeting progresses and you need only to refer to your notes and make sure everyone agrees. I know that’s easier said than done. Don’t put off decisions or assume they will be covered in another (shudder) meeting. Things will pile up, time will be wasted and frustrations will mount as the project careens off course (which will doubltess lead to more meetings).

9. Follow Up with Meeting Minutes
It might feel redundant to do minutes, but it’s not. Especially not weeks (or days) later given the avalanche of meetings most people attend. As quickly as you can, write up some brief minutes and re-iterate discussions that were tabled (for the good of the meeting), action items assigned and other issues or follow up items.

10. Hold People Accountable
Don’t the let meeting fade away only to be repeated in two weeks. Actions were assigned, people agreed, hold them accountable. Politely follow up and remind them (okay, badger them) until the task is complete.

That’s it. It may look like common sense for the most part, but hold up a few of the meetings you attend this week to this list. It’s not hard, but it does take some effort to have effective meetings. Far better to hold off until really, really necessary.

Flicker CC images used clagnut, andresrueda, jblyberg

Garlic scapes, a rite of spring

In the side yard garden space is at a premium, so I decided to try overwinter garlic late last year. Six month later I think it’s doing okay. This is my first go round with garlic so the whole process is a bit of a mystery. We’re still feeling each other out to see if we’ll date again next fall. So far, so good.  I sunk three types of cloves into the ground around Halloween last year, covered it up with a good blanket of salt hay and then scoffed that anything would grow given the utter avalanche of snow we had in New England this year. But lo and behold, it did grown and it’s still growing (turns out cold stimulates the formation of the bulbs). Garlic is a hardy plant and given it’s preference or tolerance for cold, it’s a great way to extend the short growing season up here. Here are the five simple steps I followed (or plan to follow):

1. Get it in the ground
Plant it later, but before the ground freezes. That’s the one golden rule with garlic. This one I’m pretty sure I did right. If you’re in the Northeast, you’ll likely want to go with the hard-neck variety. The other variety (the one typically found in supermarkets is soft-necked). Garlic isn’t overly picking, like most veggies, it likes rich, well drained soil. I amended the rows with compost, added some additional soil and layered on the salt hay to control weeds and give the cloves a little insulation. Be sure to plant each clove flat side down, pointy end up. I kept the soil moist till the snow came. Then I just crossed my fingers.

After the winter...

2. Spring time maintenance
Around March, I pulled off a lot of the hay and was happy to find a number of hardy green shoots. I added a little seaweed fertilizer and largely left them alone other than some light weeding.

3. Scapes anyone?
This is like the trailer before the movie. Scapes are the curling part of the plant right before it flowers. Cut them off before they flower to force more energy into bulb development and to add some mild, garlic flavor to any number of dishes like stir-fry’s, eggs or pesto. I’m anxiously awaiting scapes now. This is a signal that the growing season is winding down.

4. Harvest
Once the leaves start to brown, it’s best to stop watering. When the stems start to collapse (but while still a little green), your garlic is ready to harvest. You can carefully dig down and check on the bulb size if you’re not sure. Be careful not to let it go too long or bulbs will start to rot in the ground. While some people like to use fresh, green garlic, most will want to dry and store cloves. I plan to try a bit of both. Place the bulbs on screens, or loosely braided, to cure in a dry, dark, airy place until thoroughly dry with papery skins. The bulbs can then be stored under cool, dry, dark conditions. Don’t forget to plant some of these cloves for next year’s harvest.

5. Enjoy
This is the whole point right? A little homesteading. Here are a few recipes I’m looking forward to trying with my garlic (and other veggies):
Roasted grape tomato and garlic pesto

http://homegrowngainesville.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/roasted-grape-tomato-and-garlic-pesto-dip-recipe/

• Garlic pickles
• Baked Garlic appetizer
• Flatbread with fiddleheads, scapes and pecorino
• Garlic scape pesto
• Spicy garlic relish
• Garlic Knots

Never take an unrecorded step

As I’ve crept closer to my mid-thirties I’ve become better at curbing my instincts for buying up the latest gadget. Having to pay a mortgage and daycare bills will have that sort of mitigating effect. After seeing the new Garmin Forerunner however, I’m seriously fighting the itch. While mulling over my argument to Michelle about why I really need to upgrade my “virtual coach and training partner” I thought about how the Garmin (I have a now antiquated 305 model which feels like carrying a grandfather clock on your wrist) has changed the way I run the past three years.

Record Keeping
Even if you’re just running for health maintenance and not training for a race or other goal, not tracking and recording your runs can be a mistake. I’m not talking about religiously recording every step like a deranged fitness accountant (more on that in a minute) but not keeping any record of progress makes it hard to measure improvement and easy to slip into a rut and simply plateau.

PR’s
There is a dark side to being able to capture all those stats. In those first heady months after you strap a GPS to your wrist you’ll be setting all sorts of personal records and pushing to reach new goals. It’s fun. It’s invigorating. It’s enticing. Up to a point. Eventually you’ll reach a barrier and those PR’s and goals become harder and harder to accomplish. In and of itself this is not a bad thing and can help keep you pushing, helping you avoid that plateau. But it can also lead to disappointment and drain the fun out of running. Beware.

Sweet, sweet technology

Tuning
One benefit of pushing for those PRs and having constant access to pace and heart rate is the more closely you tune into your body. You’ll soon learn to judge your turnover in relation to pace and when you’re having a good day and a shot and when it’s not there. The latter is the harder lesson to learn. Not every time out is going to be a PR. Some days it will enough to just log the miles.

Letting Go
Something happened in the third year of running with the Forerunner. I started leaving it home more. I started running to just to run. I knew instinctively when I was loafing and when I was pushing. Some days I just plain didn’t care. I just wanted to go for a run and not be tethered to time and distance.

Did I just talk myself out of it? Maybe I just need to go for a run.

With the price of chocolate going through the roof to a thirty year high (c’mon you’re telling me intervening in the Ivory Coast isn’t in our national interests) I’m increasingly turning to these versatile molasses cookies as my go-to staple for a cookie fix. In our house we aspire to two food rules. One, the Epicurean rule of everything in moderation and two, the Pollan principle of indulgence is okay as long as you make it yourself.

These cookies are simple (Cecilia like to help) and hard to really screw up (the biggest no-no is over cooking). Photos and recipe (adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Jan 2002 issue) to follow.

1/3 c. granulated sugar, plus 1/2 c. for dipping

2 1/4 c. AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

spice mixture
(this can be adjusted and substituted to taste, sometime when the craving strikes I just use what I have on hand):

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp table salt

12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1/3 c. dark brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c. molasses

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment. Place the 1/2 c. of sugar in a dish or shallow bowl for dipping. Set aside.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
   

   Flour and spice mixture

3. Cream butter with sugars at medium high until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes)
4. Add vanilla and yolk. Beat for 20 seconds. Add molasses. Beat for 20 seconds.
   

   Grandma's dark molasses

5. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. 20-40 seconds. Stir the batter with a spatula to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
   

   Ready to roll

6. Using a tablespoon or teaspoon (depending on how big you want ‘em), scoop a heaping mound of dough, roll between your palms then roll in the sugar and place on the parchment.
   

   Sugary balls of goodness

7. Bake 1 sheet a time. Rotate halfway through. Here is the key, do not over bake. Bake for about 9-11 minutes (depending on the size you chose) until edges are set, cookies are puffy and cracked, but centers still look a bit underdone. If in doubt, take ‘em out.
   

   Ready to eat

Spring in Boston (maybe)

Yesterday was forty and frigid, but last weekend was nice and today promises to be warm enough to at least let my mind consider spring. Looking out the window right now, most trees have tentative buds and clumps of daffodils are risking blooms. The 18 foot slush pile in the driveway from the incessant winter snow plowing is down to mere inches and with any luck by next weekend will just be a melting memory. Spring in New England means the marathon, dressing in many, many layers for the fickle weather and shivering through those first few weeks of landscaping and yard work. It’s not a long growing season here, so every weekend counts, which means I have a list. A confession, I’m a big believer in lists. Need to get something done? Make a list. My ‘get-outdoors-it’s-finally-friggen’-spring’ list looks like this:

1. Check the oil and sharpen the blades on the lawnmower
   This is an easy one that I’m sure way too many people overlook. Checking the oil, well, that’s no problem, but getting the blades sharpened really isn’t much harder. Most shops will take the whole mower and take care of it for you along with a seasonal tuneup. Well-sharpened mower blades drastically reduce mowing time. Well worth the effort.
2. Check and fill all gas cans for lawnmowers and other tools
   While you’re dropping the mower off, fill up the gas can in the garage. Nothing worse than stalling out on a hot day in July halfway through mowing the back yard.
3. Check garden hoses for cracks or leaks
   This one is especially critical for climates with harsh winters. Most people bring the houses in the garage around here, so checking isn’t a big deal unless the hose is getting old, but if you have any drip hoses buried in garden beds (or an irrigation system) it’s worth the time to check for leaks now and patch ‘em up before you wake up one morning to a flooded plain where your peonies used to be.
4. Examine outside wood or exposed wood for spots that may need repair or painting
   After the brutal icing we had in the northeast this year, I’m sure everyone is very aware of their roof conditions. Take some time to walk around your home and look up. So often we’re looking down with our yards, so it’s easy to miss spots that may have mold, mildew or just chipping paint.
5. Check outside vents
   Another simple thing that can save a lot of time and money later. Make sure any outside vents are clear and make sure the attic (if you have one) is still getting proper airflow. Check the interior wood and insulation while you’re up in the attic too.
6. Check gutters and downspouts
   Living right below a number of large, mature pines, this one is the bane of my existence. I call a service for the third floor ones, but the lower ones and downspouts are easily cleared with a hose and a ladder. Clearing the gutters of debris to make sure it’s properly draining can save you a number of much more expensive home repair bills.
7. 

   Planting peas

   Prepare the lawn
   After being covered in snow and going dormant, the most important thing you can do for your lawn is to give it a vigorous raking to remove any thatch (picking up stray branches and debris goes without saying right?). If you do nothing else, do this. I also spread some corn gluten, an organic weed controller (do this as early as possible), and grass seed mixed with clover. With pets and small children patrolling the lawns, I’ve tried to reduce chemical treatments I use. I’ve found the videos at safelawns.org a great resource.

8. Prep and plant early garden beds
   This is typically the first one I tackle, so I can try to squeeze in an early spring crop. I’ll pull up the stray weeds, turn the beds and then add additional compost, fertilizers and soil before planting the cool weather crops. If I’ve overwintered any crops (garlic this year), I’ll check on them and remove some of the straw at this point.
9. Mulch, prune and spray
   After the garden beds are done, I’ll look to prune bushes that have either died or been damaged by the winter weather. Pruning in the spring is typically best as plants are growing and regenerating. Next I’ll spread a good 2-3 inches of mulch in all the beds. This not only keeps down weeds, but helps plants retain moisture and it helps the soil as it breaks down over the year. It’s tempting to skip this or do it every other year. Fight that urge. Finally, As spring really gets going, be on the lookout for for aphids, aspens, and other hungry bugs that can wreak havoc on young leaves. These pests are easily eliminated with an application of liquid Pyola spray. I try to get most trees and flowering bushes an application earlier, rather than later. Then repeat the spray every two or three weeks.

That’s it. Most of it can be knocked off in a solid weekend of work and you’ll get the growing season off on the right foot. It’s not all you have to do, but not doing it can set you up for disappointment or frustration later. An ounce of prevention now, saves a pound of problems later. Did I just quote my grandmother?

Gone now, but this is a good representation

Rain. Just buckets of it. Back in mid-October, the Northeast had days of vicious, torrential, Judgement Day rain. Enough so that my parents’s basement, bone dry for twenty years, flooded. Lots and lots of things had to be thrown out. Among the soggy items that were subsequently tossed were my college textbooks and notes. Notes, mind you, so neat and adhering to the Cornell system that they had my now wife questioning the wisdom and sanctity of our marital bond. Don’t lie, we each have one of those questionable pseudo-serial killer traits. Mine is an overly orderly note taking tick. Greg has those creepy, dress up, paper dolls of the ’88 Yankees under his bed. Regardless, it wasn’t that box that was the true loss. It was the box next to the useless, yet expensive, college crap. No, not my 10 Nomar rookie cards or my complete ’86 Topps set. Those are kept warm and dry in a fireproof safe. The tragic loss was my early scorebooks.

Yup, I’m one of those. My name is Mike and I keep score at baseball games. It’s another of those great defining divides in our society. Chocolate or vanilla, Yankees or Red Sox, Bird or Magic, Ginger or Mary Ann, Red Shoe Diaries or Emmanuelle. It’s one or the other, there’s just no in between with some choices. Some people grow up with a security blanket or stuffed animal. My binky was a scorebook. I took it everywhere. I could blithely toss away my collection of moldering Ground Round sundae cup hats, my creased and yellowing pennants, or assorted Starting Lineup figures I can hardly identify now, but those books were a diary not just of a freakish, orderly and nerdy personality, but a testament to a fledgling baseball fan. Yes, half the notations on the first few pages make little sense or peter out after an inning or two. And yes, the glorious, tri-masted schooner on page six and the bloody stick figure battle royale on page nine probably don’t quite dictate what actually happened on any baseball field. But that’s half the point. The diary and maturation of a fan.

Those books captured my first visit to Fenway (a John Tudor start versus KC), a family vacation to Disneyland including a California Angels game (Rod Carew poster day), a youth soccer tournament in Niagra Falls with a trip to the new SkyDome (Pete Harnisch had a no-hitter into the eighth) and a PawSox extra innings affair ended by a Mike Greenwell homer in the twelfth. Flipping through the pages, you can almost see my interest in the game take root. Notations begin to make more sense. Batters no longer advance on the bases in a star-like pattern. Less ice cream is smeared over the pages. Outs no longer are recorded in the mysterious 17-8-2 fashion. Innings are tallied. Errors are meted out. Games are completed. History is recorded. A dork is born.

Keeping score in the bronx got me some respect

I suspect my Dad first taught me how to keep score as a way not to bankrupt him on hot dogs or cotton candy. Now he’d probably just package me off to the KidZone behind right field or tell me to watch the bloopers on the JumboTron. Back in the day though, Fenway barely even had any ads to distract a young kid. It was a choice between John Kiley’s organ stylings, rorschach tests of questionable seat stains or deciphering stanchion graffiti. But whatever the intentions, his ploy worked. Scoring kept me anchored to the action. It still does. Even the most ardent fans will admit baseball is not a speedy game. It may be a game of inches, but the strategy and makeup of a game unfurl slowly. Scoring in basketball is not the same and not really necessary from a fan’s perspective. In football it’s not even really possible, too much is going on. But for baseball, I find it an integral cog of attending. Pitch, hit, catch, record it. Scoring keeps me involved. It blocks out the increasing entertainment-first detritus of the modern “ballpark”; helps dull the migraine enduring the sound of another”Yankees Suck” chant and keeps me from assaulting the loud woman on the cell phone in the row behind me. For me, a mostly antiquated ritual is now a balm for the distractions of the modern game.

Unless it’s two-for-one beer night. That’s also sweet, sweet medicine.

Flickr  CC image attribution for photos used in this post: mwlguide, Caitlinator, terren in Virginia

Just fill in the blanks

Three things that make you feel old: Falling asleep halfway through Criminal Minds on a Friday night, having to shop for life insurance quotes and creating a will. The first two are easy. The last one is hard. At least I thought it was. The legal profession has a knack for sometimes obscuring the simplest tasks. Nolo’s books and software, while not a replacement for a lawyer or professional (they take pains to say that themselves), do make many situations much clearer and easier to understand.

Given that I’m climbing the ladder towards 40 and have a small child dependent on me providing fresh Mac N Cheese and sparkly clothes, I figured it was time to make some arrangements. You know, just in case. Fate never liked a betting man. So I did what anyone of my generation would do. I googled it. Turns out even the simplest will would cost anywhere from two thousand (an actual lawyer) to at least a couple hundred (an online will mill). Turns out there was a third alternative: Nolo and the public library.

Think of Nolo’s Simple Will Book and Software as sort of like TurboTax for wills.

“Over 40% of Americans over age 45 do not have a will. Presidents Lincoln, Andrew Johnson and US Grant died without wills.”

Chapter One: Making Your Own Will
An introduction to the book, as well as the what you can and cannot do with a will. It also discusses the situations that go beyond the scope of the book, where you may need a lawyer. Finally it walks through a typical standard will and explains each section.

Chapter Two: An Overview of Wills
This chapter goes through the the process of making a will and includes discussion on: How to Make a Valid Will, Types of Wills, Explanatory Letters and What Happens to Your Property After You Die (sequence of events).

Chapter Three: Special Property Rules for Married People
Did you know your spouse may already own a part of that restored Mustang or that mint Ken Griffey Jr. Donruss Rated Rookie (blech, she can have it)? This chapter talks about the impact of marriage on property law. Found it rather interesting reading to be honest. It looks at same sex laws, common misconceptions about common law marriages, community property, and common law states.

Chapter Four: Taking Inventory of Your Property
If creating a will for you means deciding who gets what. This chapter is about the what. The main point is to be clear about what property you own. The CD included with the book includes a property worksheet to help you organize what you have (this isn’t a legal document, just an aid to get you moving). Along with a description of the property, the worksheet includes columns for: ownership, percentage owned, and estimate of net value. There is also a section on the type of property you can and can’t leave.

Chapter Five: Your Beneficiaries

Since '71 Nolo has worked to demystify the legal system

This is the who part of the will equation. For many people, myself included, the beneficiaries are pretty clear, but the book includes sections and examples where the beneficiaries aren’t so clear. This book is about simple wills, so most of this chapter talks about what you can’t accomplish with the book (just as important as what you can do). After talking about who you can leave it to, this chapter also talks about how including gifts, organizations, minors, pets, alternate beneficiaries and a host of other situations.

“Heinrich Heine left his property to his wife with the condition that she remarry so there would be one man to mourn his death.”

Chapter Six: Choosing Your Executor
It’s not enough to have a will, you need an executor, a person to oversee the probate process and make sure the property in the will gets distributed as you desire. This chapter goes through the expected duties of the executor, factors to consider in choosing one and specific state requirements.

Chapter Seven: Children
Having minor children was the primary impetus for me to get my act together and create a will (same with additional life insurance). This chapter is divided into two sections: providing personal care (who will raise the minor) and providing financial care (providing financial support). The bulk of this chapter talks about Uniform Transfer to Minors Act and creating a trust or family pot for children.

Chapter Eight: Debts & Taxes
You’re not quite done with bills and taxes just because your dead. Typically this isn’t a big deal and if you’re doing your own will, I’m guessing you can breeze through this chapter. If you read it, you’ll find a discussion on debt responsibility after you die and how to choose specific assets to pay debts along with everyone’s favorite estate taxes.

Chapter Nine: Choosing the Right Form
Till this point the book has been background information on the process and gathering the necessary information. Chapter nine moves into the actual preparation by discussing the available will forms. Nolo offers seven basic will forms along with an extensive selection of clauses to pick and choose from to make a customized will.

I chose form 1: will for a married person leaving all or bulk of property to a spouse with the children as equal alternate beneficiaries. With this type of will, each spouse needs to prepare his own will.

Fancy pen not required

Chapter Ten: Using the Fill-in-the-Blank Wills
This is essentially the user manual for the will templates provided on the CD-ROM.

If you have the most recent version of Microsoft Word 2007, you’ll need to convert the Word files provided on the CD (I’m using Nolo’s 7th Edition from 2007) to a Rich Text Format to open it. I was also able to open the forms with OpenOffice with little trouble.

The template forms themselves do a good job of leading you through the choices, but if you run into trouble, the book walks through the specifics of each clause and how to handle any special situations. Any tricky situations were usually covered in more detail in a prior chapter. There is also a sample will included that can also serve as a guide.

Chapter Eleven: Making a Customized Will
Given that I used the fill-in-the-blank version in chapter ten, I skipped this chapter, but it appears to walk you through the various clauses you can cherry pick to make up your own, non-boiler plate will.

Chapter Twelve: Making it Legal
This chapter walks through signing, witnessing and use of a notary public to make things all nice and legal.

Chapter Thirteen: Changing or Revoking Your Will
Skipped this one. Guess I’ll check the book out again if I need to.

Chapter Fourteen: Estate Planning
While making a will is the first step, there is a lot more to estate planning. At least a whole chapter’s worth on probate, estate taxes, property, and “final arrangements.”

Chapter Fifteen: Working with a Lawyer
The last chapter talks about working with a lawyer or seeking advice online.

The rest of the book is a glossary and tear out worksheets and wills if you don’t want to use the CD ROM versions.

Conclusion
For or a younger person with a straight forward financial and beneficiary situation, this is a no brainer. I found this book really helpful and worth the time both for the money saved and the knowledge and insight gained into the will and probate process. I wouldn’t recommend it for people who were straying much beyond the fill-in-the-blank templates as it can get pretty complicated very quickly.