nadsat » General

Music City Fun

Zachary — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:16:52 +0000

In the past six months I’ve been fortunate enough to make two trips to Nashville, TN. Nashville is one of my favorite places to visit. I’ll be posting a few things about Nashville soon, but in the meantime enjoy The Urbanophile’s take on Nashville.

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Shameless self promotion, Buzz Meets Brutus

Zachary — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:00:04 +0000

A new blog project is underway and this time I have a cohort to help me. Well, actually so far he has done most of the writing. Maybe that’s a good thing? I’m not sure.

If you are into college football, be sure to check out Buzz Meets Brutus at http://www.buzzmeetsbrutus.com. It is a joint effort between me and my buddy, Dan Lamone, here in Columbus. He’s a Buckeye and I’m a Yellow Jacket, hence Buzz meets Brutus.

You can also follow the BMB action on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/buzzmeetsbrutus

I hope you enjoy!

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Support Your Local Bakery

Zachary — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:08:28 +0000

A birthday celebration always calls for a cake, hopefully a good one with plenty of icing. Rather than picking up one from your grocery store (unless you have a Publix nearby) or making one from a box, why not check out your local bakery?

For a birthday celebration this past Friday, I was tasked with finding the cake equivalent of a black and white cookie. A black and white cookie is treat that I associate with NYC. It is a regular cookie (although typically a little more a cakey) iced with one half chocolate (black) and one half vanilla (white). Simple, but delicious.

Not knowing where to turn, I called Pattycake Bakery, Columbus’s local vegan bakery. I’ve tried their cookies before (they are sold at various coffee shops in the area) but had never tried their cakes. I called on Wednesday and they were able to have my black and white cake creation ready to go by Friday afternoon.

I had envisioned a cake that was simply iced half vanilla and half chocolate, but apparently this is harder to do and keep clean than one might originally think. After going back and forth with the helpful staff about my idea, we came up with a concept. A round layer cake featuring one yellow layer and one chocolate layer with a vanilla icing center and a chocolate outer icing. I’m actually kind of proud of our creation and the party guests all seemed to enjoy it.

Yes, the cake was indeed vegan too. No one seemed to notice or care though as they were enjoying it and in my mind that’s the goal. People want to enjoy their cake and if no animals were harmed in the process, I guess that’s okay too. Some might feel more strongly about that last part, but taste is most important for me. This cake just happened to deliver on both fronts.

If you are in Columbus, give Pattycake a try. If you’re not in Columbus, why not look for something different in your neighborhood?

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Podcast Addiction

Zachary — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:22:52 +0000

I grew up listening to talk radio. Growing up in Raleigh the radio was always on 680 WPTF in my dad’s car. We even listened to the weekend gardner despite the fact that neither of us had any interest in gardening. In school in Atlanta my radio was locked into 750 WSB (except on uga game days, ugh). I feel like I’m rare breed, an AM radio listener under the age of 30. There must be others out there like me though or podcasts would not be so popular.

Being an AM talk radio fan, podcasts are a natural progression for me. I still get all the talk I want but I can fine tune it for my schedule and my interests. I use it mostly for news and information, but a lot of podcasts are entertaining as well. Here is a list of some of my favorites. I hope you’ll check them out.

The Clark Howard Show: Clark Howard is without a doubt my favorite talk radio personality, so listening to his podcasts is no a brainer. It is essentially two hours of his daily three hour radio show with the commercial breaks cut out. He focuses on consumer awareness and personal finance. In his words, “Helping you spend less, save more, and avoid getting ripped out.”

Autoblog: Put on by the folks that run Autoblog.com, this is a great way to keep up with automotive news and other happenings.

Engadget: Much like Autoblog, this is also based on a blog, Engadget.com. The guys at Engadget focus on technology with cell phones and other personal technology taking a front row seat. I like gadgets so this one appeals to me.

Wall Street Journal News Updates: I listen to the regular news update, the tech news update, and the your money matters update. National news and headlines in a few minutes and it is updated twice daily. This is how I start my morning commute everyday.

ESPNU College Football: Do I really need to explain this one?

How Stuff Works: I listen to both the standard “How Stuff Works” and the “Stuff You Missed in History Class” podcast. These are entertaining as well as informative.

Since I started my routine of a daily podcast playlist, I find that my commute to work is far more enjoyable and goes by much faster. Sometimes I get the urge to sit in my car for just a few more minutes so I can finish up which ever podcast I happen to be on.

I realize after reader this that I probably sound like the dullest person in the world. Maybe so, but what’s so wrong with that? Check out some of the podcasts available online. You might get hooked too.

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New member of the family…

Zachary — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:31:12 +0000

Four and a half years is long time to own a computer these days, but January of 2005 was when I made the jump from a desktop to a laptop. The little Dell has served me well and has certainly been a great computer for me.

It was time to move on though. The Dell is slow, the battery life is non-existent, and I was more than ready for a change. I had been mulling things over for quite sometime and when the updates to MacBook Pro line were announced it sealed the deal for me.

It’s the new 13″ MacBook Pro just announced the other week. This rounds out the technology family and with the exception of the blackberry, it’s almost an entirely Apple based family. The Dell will still get some work to run the old stuff I used to use in Windows (mainly Quicken) but for better or worse, I’m now a Mac.

Is the world ready?

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Busy Weekend in the C-Bus

Zachary — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:07:39 +0000

It has been about three weeks since I made the move from Dublin to the Short North and ~1100 sq ft to ~650 sq ft. There have been some set backs in the unpacking as some things fit and others didn’t. Some furniture choices were good and others were not so good. Overall though the move has been very positive. I’ll write more about the ongoing trials and tribulations of moving later. For now I wanted to provide a few highlights on the transition:

my commute is definitely longer, but traffic isn’t bad as I’m going against the grain
my monthly expenses have increased mostly due to parking fees but also because of my ever expanding appetite for new restaurants (I used to think I really enjoyed cooking and I still do, but I’ve since discovered I enjoy eating way more)
the noise can be bothersome especially when trying to sleep on a weekend night
Goodale Park is fantastic
Gallery Hop is so much more fun when you don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot
random things like the Zombie Walk can be enjoyed without much effort (I didn’t participate but did enjoy watching).

So is a longer commute, higher monthly expenses, and the added noise worth it? At this point my life, those are indescribably minor compared with everything else downtown living offers. I see myself being down here for some time to come especially if the rest of the summer continues like this.

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Young Professionals – still opportunists

Zachary — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:46:08 +0000

Interesting post over at Indie Columbus regarding what attracts people. I think it’s an interesting, realistic look at the reason people move. Economic opportunity is definitely important. It is certainly what brought me to Columbus. However, I think it’s the culture, charm, etc that makes someone stay. You can’t replace those intangibles about a city. Those factors may not work on everyone, but I think they are certainly vital for the ” young professional, urbanite crowd” that downtown Columbus desires.

When I was living in London, my friend and then-flatmate Manic, who works in IT, once complained that Bristol had far better opportunities than London did for someone in his field. We asked him why he didn’t just move there. He talked about all the arts, culture and entertainment available in London that he wouldn’t be able to find in Bristol. In response, we pointed out to him that most of his leisure time comprised the same few pubs and Indian curry houses and playing Xbox, not London’s great museums or nightclubs. Upon further thought, he corrected himself: “all my family and friends are in London.”

Read the rest.

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Don’t worry, it’s just a buckeye

Zachary — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 04:21:39 +0000

Upon moving to Ohio, especially Columbus, one might wonder whether there was a large Grateful Dead following or just a bunch of stoners in Ohio. Why would someone get this impression? Perhaps the following logo attached to 1 in every 3 cars:

Don’t worry, it’s just a buckeye. Get used to it. I’ve come to accept it but Old Gold is still in my blood. I’ll take the Ramblin’ Wreck over dotting the i when it comes to college traditions any day of the week.

Fun fact, did you know there is a Buckeye Township, Michigan but no town named after the beloved state symbol in Ohio?

Is it time for college football yet?

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Giving Columbus a shot

Zachary — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:22:27 +0000

When Sandy and I first moved to Columbus last May we chose to live in Dublin due to its convience to our respective places of work, nice setting, affordable living, and general “niceness.” We toyed with the idea of living downtown. It appealed to both us but we did not think it made sense at the time.

Dublin is textbook suburbia but it was the logical choice and it was “nice.” Sometimes there is more to it than just logic though and so, against the advice of many, we’ll make the leap inside 270 this spring and truly experience life in Columbus…

It’s not that Dublin is bad. It’s actually a really nice place to live. But that’s just it, it’s nice… and that’s about it. My first taste of urban life came while in college in Atlanta and since then I’ve gravitated towards more urban style living (I even tried to do it in Augusta). The more we thought about it and the more we talked about our options for the future, the more it seemed like we should actually experience life in the heart of Columbus and not just nag about it from the sidelines.

Downtown living is not without its sacrifices. The two biggest ones will be a significant increase in my commute to work and a significant decrease in our living space unless we want to increase out budget for rent (we don’t). For us though, the benefits outweigh the negatives. Besides, why not take the risk? We’re both young, in a new city, this might be the best time in our lives to take that risk.

Downtown Columbus is a little bit of a misnomer. When I say downtown, I’m actually refering to downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods/districts. Think Urban has a great section about all the various downtown areas. Our search consisted primarily of the Shorth North, GermanVillage/Brewery District, and Downtown.

We liked all these areas with German Village offering a little more residential feeling, Downtown offering the truist urban experience, and the Shorth North being an art/cultural center with a vibrant nightlife. We looked at a lot of places over a relatively short period of time and found places in each neighborhood that we liked.

This past weekend we agreed to a place in the Short North. It is actually the smallest of all the places we’ve looked at but the location is fantastic and it met the rest of our criteria. I’ll be focusing a lot on our living situation over the next few months as we plan, move, and adjust to our new location. It will certainly be a challenge, but I think it will be a fun challenge.

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Still working…

Zachary — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:41:43 +0000

Turns out I need more of a WordPress refresher than I though. It has been way too long since I did any real editing or customizing. I would definitely appreciate any tips, feedback, or other suggestions about the new look/layout if you have them. Related posts:Single Guy’s KitchenAn update Related posts brought to you by Yet Another [...] Related posts:

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