Tag Archives: publishing

Energy Detectives!

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The September issue of TechDirections carried an article I contributed titled “Energy Detectives!”

The growing field of energy assessment for buildings presents opportunities for teachers to engage students in topics related to current issues, science, technology, and communication skills. And students who find satisfaction in energy auditing might consider expanding their interests into a career.

TechDirections focuses on ways teachers can apply  science and technology topics in their classrooms. The publication is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Announcing “Pint Craft” a Card Game

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Play testing at Corner Brewery.

Last night at Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti – several of my friends tested out a demo version of a card game that I developed named MicroBrew Pint Craft. (Thanks to a recommendation from my friend Dave, I   changed the name of this game to Pint Craft.) Over the past three months, I have  worked closely with my friend Eric (a brewer of beers) on fleshing out this concept. This is the first time I have ever developed a game.

The premise is that each player attempts to put new craft beer recipes on tap. To earn the ingredients required for the recipe the players build up their brewery’s operations. Every round of play corresponds to a season – and brewers who have seasonal beers on tap get additional ingredients as a reward. Every beer recipe has a corresponding value in pints (I couldn’t help myself with that pun). For the game pictured above with six brewers, the first to reach twelve pints wins. (Games with fewer brewers have a higher pint threshold to win.) Continue reading →

Brace Yourself, it’s Best Of season

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“Best of” lists are one of my favorite indulgences. These lists tend to come out in the last week of November and generally keep appearing until Christmas. I am somewhat lazy about my tastes in music, so I keep a close eye on any “best songs” or “best albums” lists.

The longer the better. And if there is an option to play these songs so I can pre-screen them from my MP3 collection, that really is the gold standard.

There are other good, year-end lists to watch for: “under reported stories“, “predictions for next year,” and “fads” all fit into that category. But none of these really have the flavor of the “best of” list.

The journalist or writer who assembles this article can follow an easy to repeat format (hint: it’s a list). Continue reading →