Maszman Speaks!

ROC Brewing is Brewing the American Dream

Tom — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:00:27 +0000

ROC Brewing, the new brewery on Union Street, has been selected to receive funding, training and more as part of Brewing the American Dream, a program sponsored by Boston Brewing Co., makers of Sam Adams. Jim Koch, the head of BBC, has his detractors but you can’t ignore what he’s done for craft beer and craft beer brewers (like buying hops during the shortages a few years back and selling them to craft breweries).

Money vs. Interesting Work | Jeremy Zawodny’s blog

Tom — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:37:01 +0000

Money vs. Interesting Work | Jeremy Zawodny’s blog.

#200 Kick In The Pants « Adventures of the Insider Box

Tom — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:15:44 +0000

#200 Kick In The Pants « Adventures of the Insider Box.

Atomic Bread Baking at Home

Tom — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:52:46 +0000

Aaron Bobrow-Strain writes a fascinating article about USDA White Pan Loaf No. 1, the epitome of 1950s Cold War industrial white bread.

The New Normal for the US Labor Market

Tom — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:54:49 +0000

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke thinks the US labor market is a ‘Long Way’ from normal. Sounds like there’s room for improvement, right? Wrong. The labor market isn’t far from normal, it is normal. The problem is that the definition of normal has changed and a lot of peoples’ understanding hasn’t changed.

Short of a miracle, 10% unemployment is the new 5% unemployment. And, as we all know, that’s just the measure of people still hoping to find a job.

Kodak Eulogy

Tom — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:56:29 +0000

Michael Chiusano writes a Kodak Eulogy.

In the mid-1990’s, I was involved in a consulting project with Kodak, having to do with some digital imaging initiatives. A group of us, including a high-level Kodak product manager, sat in an executive conference room high above Rochester at their corporate headquarters. …At a certain point in the discussion, the product manager made this observation about digital imaging: “How do we stop this thing?”

Why I’m a NY Giants Fan

Tom — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:45:53 +0000

[Note: This is going to be kind of rambling and personal, feel free to skip if you don’t care much about football or me.]

I’ve been a NY Giants fan about as long as I can remember. My dad wasn’t much into football, but my uncle Joe was and he the biggest Giants fan ever. He was a season ticket holder back in the days when the Giants played in the Polo Grounds though by the time I was old enough to go to games they were playing in (old) Yankee Stadium. I would get to go when one of the other season ticket holders would surrender their ticket for a game. Our seats were way back under the upper decks and part of the field was obscured by one of the supporting posts. When the wind blew it came up our backs but were never in the rain or snow. We would park his VW Beetle on the streets of the Bronx and walk to Yankee.

The 60s Giants were terrible. It was a tough time to be a Giants fan, especially when the Jets signed Joe Namath and won the Super Bowl against the Colts. But we persevered. Every summer we’d go watch the Giants practice at Fairfield University in NJ. This was back in the days when teams didn’t treat practice as a business and you could just show up and watch. My uncle knew many of the players and coaches (who were frequently former Giants) and we would talk with some of them as the walked from the field to the lockers. I even once bought a pair of Puma shoes directly from the trainer who provided them to the players. It was just a great time to be a kid and a football fan.

By the 70s I was old enough to have my own season ticket, just in time for Yankee Stadium to be renovated and the Giants to move their home games to the Yale Bowl in Connecticut. It was a long drive, given the traffic, and totally open to the elements. And, of course, the Giants were still a long way from the Super Bowl. But it was still great to see them play. But eventually it was time for me to head to college upstate and I had to relinquish my ticket. The Giants, tired of playing in a baseball stadium, built their own stadium in the Hackensack Meadowlands and I only managed to see them play there once, again thanks to my uncle Joe.

You can’t possibly imagine how thrilling it was to see the Giant’s first Super Bowl victory. It really did make up for all the Sundays I spent cold and wet in the Yale Bowl. It was great for my uncle, too. He had seen the great Giants teams of the 50s and was once again witness to his team’s triumph.

I think I might have enjoyed the second Super Bowl victory, against the Bills, more than him if no other reason than I live in Bills country and I’m constantly bombarded with Bills news.

Sadly, Joe didn’t get to see the third Super Bowl victory, against the Patriots, having passed away in 2000. But I’m sure he would have loved it, and perhaps loved yesterday’s victory, also against the Patriots, even more. I wish he was still here to see it.

Super Bowl vs. The Big Game

Tom — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:18:08 +0000

Every year, the NFL sends out cease-and-desist letters to advertisers who mention Super Bowl in their ads. As a result, most advertisers use some euphemism like “The Big Game” (which the NFL was unable to trademark) knowing that everyone knows exactly what they mean. But does the NFL have the legal rights to do that?

Probably not, since in almost all cases the use of the term Super Bowl falls under fair use. Still, until someone with deep pockets decides to go against them in court, the NFL is likely to continue its questionable legal practices.

Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl.

Untitled

Tom — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:56:54 +0000

There’s a little creek that runs near my house. The path that runs next to it is a veritable highway for the local deer and other wildlife.

Lack of snow postpones Snocross event

Tom — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:06:21 +0000

When I saw the “Snocross” (I use quotes because I don’t think this is really a sport as we normally use the term) event advertised my first thought was this was going to be difficult to do thanks to the complete lack of snow this winter. I was right.