Lifestyle Blog

Have you ever wondered what Americans do with their leisure time? I certainly have. I always like to be in the know. For some reason, hobbies fascinate me. I’ve got friends who assemble remote control car kits, fly drones around to capture video, and even make hand crafted fishing flies. What prompts people to do things like this? How did they become interested in their hobbies in the first place? Why do they stick with them and continue doing what they do? I answer all these questions in this post. I also clue you in to America’s current favorite pastime. For better or worse, it’s here and it’s likely to stay. But beyond all this, I let those of you who are interested know how to keep busy. If you’re looking for a hobby, I provide a list of the current favorites. After that, I give you some clues as to how to settle upon your own. So if you’ve got an itch to do something new with your free time, this is the post to read. Click on through. Continue reading…

I was gifted a new (used) book this year for Valentine’s Day that I’m super excited to read. It covers the entire American Revolution, from the very first whispers of dissent all the way to the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war. The book is titled The American Revolution – First Person Accounts by the Men Who Shaped Our Nation, written by T.J. Stiles. In this post, I discuss the book and my reasons for wanting to read it. What’s more, I also discuss a specific type of New England home that was built before, during, and after the Revolution – the Connected Farm. If you’ve ever driven through the hills and valleys of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, you’ve surely seen this type of home. It’s long and winding and utterly beautiful. You’ll need to see the photos I’ve included inside. Toward the end of this post, I discuss a few interesting features of John Adams, our second U.S. President. What a hardworking, magnificent man. To start things off though, I offer an interesting story about my own history – one about my time working in radio. It’s a must read and one I hope you thoroughly enjoy. Continue reading…

A post about many things beautiful. A library, an art exhibit, a college building, and then a discussion on the philosophical branch of aesthetics. Somehow, an ordinary day turned into an extraordinary one. Cameras are wonderful things. They encourage us to do what we wouldn’t normally do and go places we wouldn’t normally go. In the case of this day, we visited and photographed our local library, stopped by an art exhibit, and then explored the oldest building on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington. And during the process, learned a few things; who built the library and what materials were used, who is Markeith Chavous, who is Lillian Nordica, and what any of the above has to do with aesthetics. If you think you’d be interested in the above or if you’d like to see lots of photos of the interiors of local buildings you may have driven by hundreds of times, please click through. I never thought I’d see what I saw and I have a hunch you might like to see it too. Continue reading…

Raking your roof is one of those things you’ll want to do early on in the season, before previous snowfalls have frozen and are impossible to remove. In New England, snow can accumulate on a roof rather quickly. That snow is heavy and it doesn’t melt very fast. Storm after storm can have a profound effect on the structure of a home and if not tended to, all that snow can actually have devastating effects – and by that I mean the roof can collapse. Since none of us want that, we rake. Raking is simply pulling a shovel type thing that’s attached to a long pole in a “raking” fashion. That shovel collects the snow and removes it from the roof. To see photos of this in action, please click through. For loads more commentary on why, how, and when you might want to rake your roof, again, click through. It’s not the longest post in the world, but it may just teach you about something you didn’t know you should be doing. By all means though, if you’ve got a roof that consists of asphalt shingles, be very careful when raking. You don’t want to touch those shingles with the shovel because they can wear away extremely quickly. Continue reading…

I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2008 and began teaching in 2016. Since then, I’ve taught hundreds of students countless techniques, concepts, and theories. I pride myself on my class preparation as well as my thoroughness and depth of knowledge. It’s simple enough to head into a class as an instructor and have students roll around for an hour, but, in my opinion, it’s touching on the topics that are often overlooked that have the most impact. Yes, a student can learn general self defense in a BJJ class. Yes, they can learn techniques and perform lots of drilling. But what about the “grey” area of Jiu-Jitsu. The shifting of weight and the transitions between positions. Those are the areas I like to focus on most. My primary area of expertise is the many different guards that BJJ has to offer as well as submissions from those positions. If you’re a student and would like to read about how another school does it, please feel free to click through. If you’re one of our students at The Foundry and are looking to review previous classes, this is the right place. If you’re an instructor and are looking for inspiration and ideas, check out what I have to say. And then leave a comment so I can learn about what’s going on in your mind too. Thanks! Continue reading…

I’m going to venture a guess here and say that I’m not the only one who feels like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gets more difficult after the age of 40 (more specifically, 45). When I began at 35 years old, things were easy. I relied on my athleticism, which, believe me, helped a lot. These days, I can’t move nearly as fast as I used to and every time I try to, I feel like I’m going to pull a muscle. Because of this, I’ve been forced to slow down quite a bit. Unfortunately, this slowing down thing isn’t nearly as productive as I thought it might be. The younger, stronger, and lower belts are taking advantage and giving me a run for my money. I suppose that’s expected, but what a bummer. Click through to read about my thoughts on this topic. And be sure to leave a comment if you’re in the same boat that I’m in. Continue reading…

Eventually, every man will look for a hobby that defines him. This moment may arrive in his 20s or it may wait until his 40s – but make no mistake, every man will search for a hobby at some point in his life. Hobbies make men feel good about themselves. It gives them a sense of ownership, satisfaction, and sometimes, completion. Hobbies can become an extension of a man. They can be overwhelming and fun or they can become boring and fade out. If a man finds a hobby he loves and sticks with it for life, that’s great. If he finds hobbies that aren’t interesting to him after he dabbles a bit, there are more to choose from. In this post, I list a few of my favorite hobbies and I ask that you list yours too. Good hobbies are tough things to find and settle on. Sometimes it takes some help from posts like this one to locate something truly enjoyable. Continue reading…

Years and years ago, my sister called me up and asked, “If you were to tell a person they should read just one book their entire life, what would that book me?” I recall telling her that everyone should read “The Road” or “Atlas Shrugged” or something like that. I missed an opportunity to think about her question and to give her a proper response. Today, if she asked again, I’d tell her that Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People” is the must read. It’ll make anyone a better person and it’ll help anyone look at life the way it’s supposed to be looked at. I first read this book a few decades ago and have again and again through the years. It’s a book that’s embedded itself into my mind and I find myself following its principles more often than not. That’s a good thing because all of the principles contained within are beneficial to just about everyone. Click through to read a wonderfully written summary of this legendary manual for life. Continue reading…

The stages one must travel through while training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be exciting, fun, and entertaining, but they can also be long and arduous. The end result can be worth it though, if the person who initially joined didn’t quit half way through. I began training BJJ in 2008 in Connecticut and since then, I’ve trained in Florida and Maine. Thirteen years later, I was awarded my black belt by The Foundry in Farmington and since then I’ve been training and teaching others what I know. In this post, I share my story as well as lots of photos that were taken along the way. Boy, it’s been quite the ride. One I wouldn’t trade for anything else. Enjoy. Continue reading…

While this book does discuss actually investing in gold and silver, you’ll likely not find that the most interesting part. More likely, you’ll find the history of gold, silver, and fiat currency much more fascinating. Where did fiat currency come from? How does it relate to gold? How does it affect an economy? How does war affect an economy? Currency? Gold? There are many questions that you most likely didn’t even know you’d like the answers to in Michael Maloney’s “Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver” book. It’s important to know the history of gold and money if you’d like to become a successful investor though. Otherwise, you’d be flying blind. If you’d like to learn all about this thrilling metal, click through to read all about it. I’ve written a comprehensive summary of the book. Continue reading…