Question (Yep I'm still writing... well, maybe occasionally)

I know, I'm sure you thought I would probably never write again. But alas, here I am. Of course it is only fair... given that circumstances that you may not be reading this anymore. I get that. And I'm ok with it. But I've been pondering a question, and I think it would be interesting to find out what people think about it.

Yep, you guessed it... It's a dating question. Kind of a dangerous topic, and could easily take a turn for the worse, but I think it could be helpful, both to me and to those who respond (or perhaps not to either, but still...)
As a preface I have to say that I know I'm not a perfect dater, And I'm not entirely sure what I think the answer to this question is, or perhaps even what I think the answer to the other side of this question is. Though I have been giving it some thought, but for now, I'd kind of just like to hear what you think. whoever you are. Ü

So here's the question:
What is a girls role in dating? or if you prefer, what is her job, or responsibility, or any other words that seems to fit better (though I will say if you choose to answer a somewhat modified question, I hope you will share the question as well).

I welcome your thoughts.

We interrupt you're regularly scheduled programing

For a PSA

Ah, Who am I kidding,
There's no regularly scheduled programming,
Heck we're lucky if there's any programming at all.

But since my parents up and bought a car last weekend, I thought I would take a minute to share some thoughts on driving.

(the car is being built right now... if everything is going as it should be)

You're probably worse than you think.
Actually it has long been my contention that we are, as a society, not really very good at driving.
It would be nice if there was a drivers re-ed class, to break some of our bad habits and to remind us of some of the laws that we totally forgot shortly after our amazing Drivers-ed taught by Herr Corry.

Maybe you didn't have the Herr, maybe you don't know about grandma walking home with her ice cream.
But even if you did, and as good as he was, I still think a little drivers re-ed would be nice.

I was actually lucky enough to have such a course.
In fact it was mandatory for my short stint at the post office, and it was actually pretty useful.
So here are three simple things that I learned that may be useful to you as well... and of course may make the road a little bit safer for the new CR-V.

Ok here's a test. How fast are your reflexes?
I remember when I was younger, (perhaps not much, but some) I used to take a stopwatch and see how quickly I could get it from off to on, and off again. most of the time I could get it under a one tenth of a second.  But I controlled all the variables, and I knew it was coming.  In the real world it's not so smooth. First you have to recognize a problem them you have to respond to it.  And of course there's that other bit... The laws of Physics. No matter how quickly you can react to your situation, your car is not designed to stop on a dime. So most safe driving courses will recommend that you follow  seconds behind the car in front of you.  The post office recommends a four-second gap.   This may not seem like much, but try it sometime, it will probably shock you how far back you have to be. (To count pick a spot on the road or something by the road, and count from the time the car in front of you passes it until you get to it)  For inclement weather leave more space.  I can pretty much guarantee that this alone would greatly decrease the number of accidents.  For bonus points make the car behind you give you some space too. At the post office they told us to slow down if someone was crowding us. Almost every time the other guy would go around.

#2 Do you actually come to a complete stop?
I totally thought I did this the right way, until I took the Post office driving test. I guess old habits really are hard to break, I knew they'd be watching for it, and I still missed my complete stop more often than I should have.

#3 If you have to stop behind somebody, at an intersection for instance, leave more space. Ok, maybe you are doing this one correctly. But this is what they taught me. Always make sure you can see the bottom of the next guys tire. This will help you if they roll back, or if you get rear ended.... which you can't always control.
When you get ready to leave a read light give it a second or two (especially if you're in New York). Yeah people will honk, but it's better than running into the idiot that thought he could beat the light... Yes, that idiot may be me, but I almost always do beat the light, and I only go for it if I think it's my safest option.

Well that's all for now. I can't wait to see the new car. And hopefully the roads will be totally safe by the time it gets here. Oh yeah, and I want a unicorn, and world peace.

Bougatsa, I'm not posting it for you, I'm posting it for me.

This is close to my real recipe, but there are some differences.
I'll fix it some time when I... well have time.

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks), plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup fine semolina (preferably Greek)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 9 sheets phyllo
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Whisk in semolina, and cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in eggs, one at a time. Return saucepan to heat, and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 to 40 seconds, to cook the eggs. Remove custard from heat, and let cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt remaining 2 sticks butter with olive oil; use some of this mixture to brush an 8-inch round 9 x 13 nonstick springform baking pan. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
3. Stack phyllo on a work surface, cover with parchment paper, and top with a damp kitchen towel. Working with one sheet of phyllo at a time, place one of the corners into the center of the pan and gently press the dough so that it fits tightly in the pan. Lay the corner of the second sheet of phyllo into the center of the pan, slightly overlapping the first sheet of phyllo. Press the second sheet tightly into the pan. Lay a third sheet of phyllo in the same manner, covering the remainder of the pan (one layer of dough is now completed). Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo with a generous amount of the butter mixture. Lightly sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
4. Place three more sheets of phyllo into the pan in the same manner, brushing with the butter mixture and sprinkling with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat process again with the remaining 3 sheets of phyllo (you will now have completed three layers). Fill phyllo-lined pan with custard; spread evenly.
5. Working with one layer at a time, fold phyllo sheets toward the center of the pan. Brush generously with the butter mixture and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat folding, buttering, and sprinkling until all layers have been folded toward the center. Do not sprinkle the top layer as the cinnamon-sugar mixture may burn and darken the pastry. Prick all over with a fork, and bake, on a Silpat-lined baking sheet, until golden brown, about 1 hour.
6. Combine remaining tablespoon of cinnamon with the confectioners' sugar, and sprinkle over the surface of the phyllo when removed from oven. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
   
   Pilferred Borrowed from  Martha Stewart Ü

1. A note about puff pastry.... It takes four sheets or two packages.
2. Note number 2.  Puff pastry hasn't worked as well for me I think I would try it on 400º but
3. i'm not exactly sure, but I'm guessing the cooking time would be less too.
4. 
   

Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur

I guess you could say that I'm an idea guy.
I like to think about things. I think about things that I need,
I think about things that others need,
and I think about things that people might want.
And sometimes I think 'you know I actually like that idea.'

So sometimes when I like an idea, and things start to come together I just go with it. Last fall I had one such idea. I decided our community could use a good game store. So I started the process of thinking it through. I was not really in position to do anything about it, but I thought it would be interesting to explore anyway.  Yes I know that game stores come and go. Yes I even knew that some had failed, but naturally I assumed they were doing it wrong. Not all wrong through, I know they got a few things right.

Well I approached a few business, and gave them my plan.
They seemed interested, but no one was really in a position to do anything,
and as they pointed out, they didn't really know much about the market for games.

Time passed, and circumstances changed.
I earned a little money, and I lost my day-job.
So with all my free time, and some of my spare change I started exploring my idea a bit more.

To make a not-so-long story short. I found a way that I thought I could make work.
I found a partner, and I ordered some board games. 

Yep I started a business called Brilliant Boardgames.
And presently I have 5 games for sale at Braun Books in Cedar City.

Right now my games are all from one company (Rio Grande Games)
which I think is a great company, and they have some amazing game.

Many of their games have won the Spiel des Jahres and other great awards.
I decided to start with five games that I thought would give us a good variety.

1) Dominion Intrigue -- Dominion was the 2009 Spiel des Jahres. Dominion Intrigue is an expansion to this game that can be played by itself, or with the original game. I honestly didn't think I would like this game... until I got addicted to it. It's surprisingly fun, and I see now why it was the game of the year.

2) Coloretto -- Is another great game.  It was the card game precursor to the 2007 S-d-J.  It looks likes it's just a good quick game, that adds a fun twist to liven things up.


3) Bohnanza  -- Bohnanza, or 'The Bean Game' as it is often called, was a 1997 S-d-J Recommended title. It's a whole lot of fun, and you can play it with a group.

4) Space Beans -- is a Bohnanza derivative. Conceptually this game is quite similar to Bohnanza, but you always give your left over cards to the person on your right (If your games get a little heated, this is a nice little mechanism that can temper the tempers. Ü).

And

5) TransEuropa -- You've probably never heard of this game, but if you've played "The train game" with me, we may have played a version inspired by it.  TransEuropa is the European version of the award-winning TransAmerica game (I know you've probably never heard of it either).  It's sort of like Ticket to Ride, but it plays a lot faster, because you don't have to pick cards. It's surprisingly fun, and much to my surprise it came with an expansion pack - SWEET!

So there ye have it. I'm now in the board game biz.  And if you know someone who is looking for something to do... there might be something new at Braun Books that would catch their eye.

Honestly the part that surprises me most : how much I enjoy this.
(yeah I still have moments when I think this is crazy (like when I'm working on my logo)) but I like how the projects all come together and I'm excited to see how it all plays out.

So wish me luck. And have a great day.