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The second time I worked at summer camp, each year I would put together an end of the year slideshow as a gift to the staff. I’ve taken that tradition, and started it anew in my own life. 2013 marked the first year, but I hope to make it a yearly tradition.
2014:
2015:
I’m a fan of loose-leaf tea, this is a page for me to keep track of my notes about different varieties, brewing times, etc. I tend to prefer weaker teas, so my notes and steep times reflect that. Feel free to let me know if you have any suggested varieties to try!
| Brand | Tea | Steep time | Notes | Re-steep |
| Teavana | White Ayurvedic Chai | 2 min | Good for mornings at work | Steep up to 3 times |
| Teavana | Peachberry Jasmine Sutra | 1 min | Good iced, not hot | |
| Teavana | Caribbean Calypso Mate | 5 min | Only good mixed with white avurvedic | |
| Teavana | Golden Monkey | 2:30 min | Easy to oversteep, good basic black tea | Steep up to 3 times |
| Teavana | Pumpkin Spice Brulee | 3 min | Smell much stronger than flavor | |
| Teavana | Tropical Nut Paradise | 6 min | Make sure to steep for entire time, otherwise weak. Good blended with Golden Monkey | |
| Elmwood Inn | Pomegranate Black | 5 min | Awesome morning tea at work | Steep up to 2 times |
| Elmwood Inn | Chocolate Mint | 5 min | Smells a little stronger than it tastes, but very good | Steep up to 2 times |
| Fineline | Wedding | 4 min | Very strong, needs teaspoon of sugar | |
| Teavana | Strawberry Grapefruit Xue Long | 2 min | A little sour (grapefruit), weak when iced | |
| Teavana | Fig Rose | 5 min | A little sour, smells better than it tastes, may want to add some sugar | |
| Giant Eagle | Sun Moon and Stars | 4 min | Smelled great, tasted horrible | |
| Giant Eagle | Hibiscus Blueberry | 5 min | Sour when brewed, needs sugar to mask. Better second time. | Steep up to 2 times |
| Giant Eagle | Hibiscus Key Lime | 5 min | Sour when brewed, needs sugar to mask. Better second time. | Steep up to 2 times |
| Teavana | Weight to Go | 3 min | Not bad, a little bland | Steep up to 2 times |
| Teavana | Cacao Mint Black | 3 min | A little bland, Elmwood Inn’s is much better | Steep up to 2 times |
| Teavana | Peach Tranquility | 6 min | Good, but a little weak | Steep once |
| Rishi | Pu-erh Vanilla | 5 min | Steep 6 minutes after first steep | Steep up to 3 times |
| Teavana | Earl Gray Creme | 3 min | Very good, not overpowering like regular Earl Gray | Steep up to 3 times |
| Teavana | Honeybush Vanilla | 5-6 min | Good tea for work | Steep up to 2 times |
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After graduation, a group of us wanted to keep reading, so we formed the Post-University Book Club as a chance to get together once a month, discuss a book, eat and drink. The only rule is that no one (who is present at the picking) can have read the book before.
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The Untouchable by John Banville A cold-war, spy novel. Not bad, but a bit dense. |
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Animal Farm by George Orwell A classic that we all made it through school without reading. |
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The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch Local CMU professor presents his last lecture. Amazing book. |
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Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan I was the only one who like this, probably because of my years in retail. The last day a Red Lobster is open happens to be during a snowstorm. |
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The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield A good story, pretty good and ranked high on our list. |
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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vognegut I was not expecting the aliens. Didn’t see that coming. |
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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus Alternative history of the United States, and the only book every member has loved. |
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The Fuck Up by Arthur Nersesian Not believable, and kind of strange. |
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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle To coincide with the release of the first movie, we read this Sherlock Holmes novel. |
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Balzac and Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie Not bad, but a little strange. |
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Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes More about recipes and home renovations than anything else. Not at all like the chick flick. |
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Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau None of us made it through this. Very dense. |
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Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins Not bad, but does not leave a lasting impression. |
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Bear v. Shark: The Novel by Chris Bachelder We met over drinks to argue both sides of this book and got the bar staff involved as well. |
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Inferno (The Divine Comedy, book 1) by Dante Alighieri Awesome to read, and fun to see what circle of hell I belong in. |
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If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell A lot of fun to read, and we cussed it while watching episodes of Xena and Hercules. |
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The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein Everyone else said it was too sad, but I liked it. |
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Really cool book, I just wish I had more time to listen to the podcasts. |
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The Abbey (e-Book only) by Chris Culver Thankfully, we only paid about two bucks for this book, that’s pretty much all it’s worth. A detective novel with a very immature main character. |
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A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe The first of our international series (Ethiopian restaurant, Abay), although the nation this is set in is never revealed. |
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Kingdom of Make Believe: A Novel of Thailand by Dean Barrett Universally reviled. I couldn’t make it through this book it was that bad, everyone hated it. Second in our international series (Thai Restaurant, The Green Mango) |
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Diary of a Part Time Monk by J. Wilson Based on the blog of the same name, and the second half is basically a reprinting of the blog. Third in our international series (German Brewhouse, Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh) |
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The Shack by Wm. Paul Young Heavy handed and supposed to be “mystical Christianity.” I disliked it greatly, I felt it belittled the true loss of a young child. |
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Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin A fun mystery novel with a few unexpected twists. Probably a good summer read. |
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The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn Is it possible to white-wash the history of a fictional character? That’s what this felt like. The whole book tried way too hard to be relevant. |
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The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez Back to our Cold War roots, although this was very dense, I didn’t have a chance to read much of it. |
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White Fang by Jack London Better than I anticipated, and glad I finally read it. |
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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Wasn’t that impressed, seemed a bit heavy handed with its “wisdom” it wanted to impart. |
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The Dovekeepers by Alice hoffman A long and dense, but very good read. Well paced and enjoyable throughout. |
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The Blogs of Today’s Mighty Oak
A former boss once described me as one of the most influential bloggers in Pittsburgh. I don’t believe it, but I’ll try to let my ego take the compliment.
Here are my blogs. They all aggregate in the main blog RSS feed, or you can subscribe individually. Comment, add links, interact, but most of all, enjoy:
- Yesterday’s Nut
- Warhol’s Phone
- The Great and Secret Show
- Metblogs Global Conspiracy
- Pittsburgh Metblogs
- The King of Spades
- Global Entropy
Yesterday’s Nut
Easily distracted and always looking to experience new things, no matter how mundane, Mike’s writing is sometimes irreverent, oftentimes seemingly irrelevant. Mike enjoys camping, SCUBA diving, geocaching, reading, strange music, even stranger television and jumbo paper clips. Mike is a firm believer in the power of web 2.0 and runs and contributes to a multitude of websites scattered across the internet. Oh yeah, Mike sometimes writes in the third person.
Mike’s personal blog. Musings, media and lots of links. I try not to get up on my soapbox too often, nor do I recount every detail of my day, unless something especially exciting happened. Mostly, this blog is a look into how I interact with the Internet and things I find exciting.
The title is the continuation of the phrase that makes up the entire site, “Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground.” The titles of each post come from my massive quote file and more often than not, do not have to do with the content of the post. It’s kind of my thing.
Warhol’s Phone
I’ll be looking at Pittsburgh Communication in this blog. Any and all communication, either coming from, or about Pittsburgh. It’s a work in progress, and for now, I’ll probably be focusing on communications coming from Pittsburgh companies, but we’ll see how it evolves.
I took the name from a combination of the Progresso soup commercials, and Pittsburgh native, Andy Warhol. And, I’d also like to make a phone from two Campbell’s soup cans and some string, just like in first grade.
The Great and Secret Show
Here’s the deal. One of these days, I will go back to school for my master’s and doctorate. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of how the Internet has the ability to form and strengthen communities, bring people together, and allow us to interact in ways we would have never dreamed of a few years ago.
Even more of a work in progress than Warhol’s Phone, more of a dumping ground for some of my thoughts and ideas. I’ll be looking at a lot of ideas stemming from The Cluetrain Manifesto, Web 2.0, JoHo and all things related. It will be a strange journey, but we’ll see where it goes.
Things won’t be thought out, I may post things with very little explanation. It will be my own little sandbox to flesh out some ideas, even without the guidance of direction. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but I’m excited.
The title comes from one of my favorite books, Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show. One of the ideas in the novel is how the world can be manipulated and changed, and how that power is dealt with by seemingly ordinary people. It’s the first book of a trilogy that was never finished, but I still have hope he’ll write the third book yet. Very fitting all around.
Metblogs Global Conspiracy
I was the (uncredited) Northeast editor of the short-lived experiment that was the Metblogs Global Conspiracy. These are the posts that I wrote. Hopefully it comes back, but in the meantime, it’s a launch pad for a much tread-on subject. Here is how the project was described:
Newspapers are dying. Journalists are being laid off by the thousands. Local news is suffering. Filling this void are citizen journalists, often people without a background in writing who have found a need and passion to report on their community. Everyone is learning as they go. Metblogs Global Conspiracy is a guide for anyone interested in the constantly evolving and shifting world of non-traditional journalism, by providing advice from writers who’ve been able to apply their life experience to local reporting, to highlighting examples of CJ’s in action around the world.
While there is no agreed upon definition of “citizen journalism,” the Global Conspiracy blog will emphasize amateur, unpaid individuals around the world who have taken efforts to report on a story or subject around them using original reporting (not simply pulling and rewording info from other media), with a focus on community news and social issues.
Purpose
To encourage and improve “citizen journalism” worldwide by highlighting good examples, discussing the issues involved, and providing tips and advice for experienced bloggers and journalists.
While the exact definition of “citizen journalism” is elusive and debatable, this blog’s focus will be on average citizens using non traditional media to gather and share news on their community or a particular social issue, with particular interest in situations where regular people were able to cover and report on a situation better, faster, or more unique way than traditional media outlets.
We’ll also be keeping an eye on these traditional outlets that are trying to co opt the methods and people who set out to do it on their own.
Pittsburgh Metblogs
I started writing for Pittsburgh Metblogs in the spring of 2007. Currently, I’m the only writer, but I’m hoping to gather some more troops! I am the Pittsburgh Captain, and am happy to bribe people to write with me. Seriously, I’ll buy you drinks of the alcoholic persuasion (or, if you’re under 21, some very nice mocktails). These are being brought in behind the scenes. The powers that be over at Metblogs don’t like the writing being cross-posted, and that’s fine. I’ll keep a copy of my writing just in case, and I’ll be able to turn it on with two clicks behind the scenes here. Anyway, here’s that official description:
Metroblogging started off as a more locally focused alternative news source in Los Angeles and has turned into the largest and fastest growing network of city-specific blogs on the Web. We got sick of reading local news that was syndicated from the other side of the country, or was just repurposed national chit chat that had nothing to do with our city. We created our first blog as a throw back to the days when a local news paper focused on local issues, and you could walk down to the corner coffee shop and chat up the reporters whose column you read earlier that day. This idea didn’t stay in one city for long and before we knew it there were Metblogs in Chicago, Portland, Karachi, and Vienna. Today there are over 50 Metblogs in countries all over the world. Local politics, event reviews, lunch recommendations and ways to avoid that big traffic jam downtown. If it’s happening in our cities, we’re on it.
We are bloggers first and foremost, and we love our cities. Even the parts we hate.
The King of Spades
A look at LGBT equality and the fight for our civil rights. As a gay man working for the Boy Scouts of America, it was a stressful time for me (student loans however, wait for no one to be repaid), and I kept a hidden blog to help release some stress and organize my thoughts. While I did what I could behind the scenes to make it a safer and more accepting place for everyone, I could only do so much.
The policy needs to change, not for me, but for the youth that are being told they aren’t worthy. Being told they aren’t equal. Being told they are broken. Institutionalized discrimination hurts children, make no mistake. I’m bolstered by the stories I’ve heard, the people I’ve worked with, and the lives people have made me a part of. And they’re all worth fighting for. I’m tired. No, I’m exhausted. But the fight for equality rages on, and I intend to help.
I hope you read along, I talk about a lot of different things and it’s a fun journey that we can make together. As a teaser, I talk about stereotypes, beer, Pride, hockey, ENDA, camp, and much, much more. I have a lot to discuss, so please, stick around, I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.
Titles of posts in this section typically (but not always) start with the word “Wherein.” I’ll try to remember to add when I originally wrote the post in the body of it somewhere. Articles signed off with “The King of Spades” were written while I was still employed by the BSA. To see my original coming out post, And truth makes a better man.
Global Entropy
A group blog to which I am an occasional contributor. Started and staffed by my friends, following the tenant that knowledge should be free, we take a look at various political and social issues, as well as cultural. While we do deviate to professional sports, movies and other mass media, we tend to write more about more weighty topics.
My writing there is typically more long-form, with an over-abundance of footnotes, although I do break out of that mold every now and then.
About this site:
This site is first and foremost the online portfolio of Michael Crane (that’s me). In addition, it holds my blog, and some other amusing items.
I’m always interested in doing freelance work. My specialties lie in the areas of pagination, document creation, writing (from technical to creative and most things in between) and graphic design. I also do web development and calligraphy on a per-project basis (if it’s out of my league, I can help you find someone who can assist you). Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for more information regarding my work. To see samples, take a look through my portfolio .
Today’s Mighty Oak by Michael Crane is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Communities:
Some favorite blog posts:
My blog is a personal blog, it doesn’t necessarily have a set topic. However, the general rule is that the title will not relate to what I write about. I have a vast quote file and pull my post titles from there. Here are a couple of my favorite posts, they should give you an idea about my writing style here on my blog:
- You were right in front of me-a mask of silence
- I smile because I have no idea what’s going on
- in the words of FMG, “i’m off to “eff” the ineffable”
- Mike’s 2008 Election Wrap-up
- Now I went to public school, tell me again, why did Japan start the Civil War with us?
- None of us are free until all of us are free
- And truth makes a better man
Recurring Posts
In the fashion of other blogs that I love, I have a few posts that recur each year:
- Good Friday – Because you have to be able to laugh with your religion
- Stonewall – Because I’m proud that I’ve survived
- Remember, remember – Because ideas have power
About me:
I’m very laid back and find pleasure in simple things (also things that are shiny). And now, some bullet points:
- My favorite philospher is Socrates, although I do like a variety, including Hume and Augustine.
- I look good in antlers, or so I’ve been told.
- I love the Myst series of games as well as its spin-off, Myst Online: URU Live.
- I am a certified Scuba diver.
- I love reading, a lot. I read multiple books at once, or else I get confused. And I understand that that makes no sense, I’ve accepted that fact.
- I enjoy odd music, specifically movie/game scores and instrumental music. A tangent: I usually have a soundtrack playing in my head, as if I’m in a movie, although that music alternates between instrumental and garage band rock.
- I keep list of movies that I haven’t seen so I can someday rent them (right now it’s about two pages long).
- I love my AP styleguide.
- I am good at setting up canvas tents, a skill I acquired by working for the Boy Scouts at a summer camp for eleven years, where I became part of the freedom pit crew and everyone really did work for me.
- I spread myself thin senior year, but for good causes (running the campus newspaper, one nationally-recognized retreat, Scouting U and the Ad Club, as well as working with another retreat team, Orientation, PRSSA and three fraternities). While I was able to keep my grades up, I didn’t have much of a social life outside of meetings, it reminded me a bit (in a backwards way I guess) of Bellah’s lament about the decline of civic membership in his work, “Habits of the Heart.” Not that I’m complaining, if I had the opportunity to go back, I wouldn’t change much, just musing I suppose.
