It seems impossible that it has been nearly a year since my last update on this site. I guess I use Facebook for frequent small updates, typically via phone pics and whatnot. Well, I guess it is time to give a proper update …

Late last year I started dabbling in 5K’s for fun. I ran a few, but to be honest running down a straight road for miles makes me feel a bit like a lemming. I then saw an ad that would forever change my view of what a 5K actually could be. The ad was for an “offroad 5K” that has military grade obstacles, fire, mud, barbed wire, and more thrown in to make things a bit more interesting. Aptly dubbed “The Warrior Dash” you are greeted with a medal and a huge beer at the finish line. What more could you ask for ?

After talking one of my best buddies into attending the event with me and putting in a solid top 20% effort, I was hooked. I began looking for other similar events that were within driving distance that would test me both mentally and physically and be something more then the vanilla weekend 5k  I was growing accustomed to. Below is my complete run down from 2011:

5K’s:

- Blues Fest
- Bellbrook HS
- UD River Run

Adventure Races:

- Warrior Dash – 1st ever adventure race. Great pre/after party with live music and turkey legs. Coarse and obstacles were epic ! Highly recommended – 5 stars

- Mud Athlon – Most obstacles of any adventure race I have done. Tough to pace due to tons of natural terrain variations. A really good time overall and great finishers medal. Highly recommended – 5 stars

- Rebel Race – Small race in Indiana. A lot of corn field running. Obstacles were run by military, so that was cool. Overpriced and not sure if I would go back. Crap medal and t-shirt – 3 stars

- Swamp Stomp – Was it’s inaugural event, with minimal turn out. Some great obstacles but could be greatly improved for next year. The final mile was all corn field. Was freezing and tough though – 3 stars

Dirt Bike:

- Ironman GNCC – My 5th year running this race. Always a blast !

- Muddobbers National Enduro – My 1st finish out of 4 attempts for a Natl Enduro. Very proud of this accomplishment. Previous ones cost me an ACL/Meniscus and some bike repairs.

- Peace Pipe Enduro – 120+ miles of pristine singe track w/ some great weather.

Other:

- Urban Athlon – A 10 mile race throughout Chicago. Every mile or so is another mini-obstacle course to complete. This was a huge event put on by Mens Health Magazine & Gatoraid. It included Navy Peer and 1 mile of stairs inside Soldier Field. This is the furthest I have ever run and one of the most memorable events I have ever competed in. My buddies and I will be running this annually, so you are invited to come with !

In short, it was one heck of a year getting out there and competing in all of these events. The days of wrestling and martial arts may be long gone, but it is still nice to get out and test yourself. Even more important then competition is spending time with friends and family and creating new memories along the way. I am already looking forward to what 2012 holds, so if you are interested just let me know. Thanks for reading !

Unordinary: A 24 hour death race … Check this: Link

After watching a few episodes of a new TV program called “Brewmasters“, my passion for home brewing has been seriously reinvigorated. I have been reading up and even attending the odd brewing class to brush up on my skills. I currently have a batch of Scottish Red Ale in the secondary fermentor, and a batch of India Black Ale in the primary fermentor.

In addition to brewing my own beer (with the help of a few friends) I am getting much more adventurous in trying new craft and micro brewed beers as well. I read Sam Calagione’s book where he explains the basics of tasting, and also pairing of beer with certain foods. Great read, and highly recommended for anyone interested in getting started brewing.

I have to admit that finding Dogfish Head, Sam Calagione’s craft brewery, has given me a new view regarding what “real American beer” actually is. It’s not Anheuser-Busch (now owned by a Belgian company) brewing up urine colored,  tasteless, boring, beers for the masses … It is the small breweries who are pushing the limits of what a beer can actually be. I challenge you to try one of Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA’s, Chicory Stout, or Raison D’etre and see if you don’t agree with me.  Your taste buds will certainly thank !

I just might have a little idea “brewing”. About this time I bet you are thinking “oh no, here we go again” … Well, to all the naysayers, you will just have to wait and see. Stay tuned, more on that to come.

Unordinary: Want to know how jacked up the beer business really is ? Click Here

They say that hindsight is always 20-20 … and I would be inclined to agree ! It was 2 years ago this week that I decided to sell my majority stake in a server support outsourcing company (ClearLogix Technologies Pvt. Ltd – www.logicsupport.com) that my business partner Vivek and I started in India. It was a tough decision, as we spent 5 years building it from a crazy idea we had into a successful offshore corporation.

We started in a 2 bedroom apartment with a couple part time techs, and upon concluding my tenure we had over 40 full time admins running 24x7x365 at a custom built, fully redundant, office facility. Fighting things like: constant power-outages, internet connectivity loss, oppressive heat were just a few of the interesting variables we had to find solutions to.  We definitely had our fair share of obstacles throughout the 5 years I was involved, but the experiences and lessons learned are priceless.

After flipping through some of the pictures I took during my trips over to India, I am reminded of so many good times I had during my visits. The visits were not all business and everyone in the company went the extra mile to show me what their great country had to offer. Sights and sounds that you could never experience anywhere else in the world really opened my eyes.

I went ahead and created a new image gallery on here to share some of those pictures with you. Please take a look if you get a chance, as you will surely see something of interest. Whether it be elephants in the street, a massive festival, a severely bug-bitten hand, or just picturesque scenery, the India  gallery will give you a little peak into my experiences during the trips.

While I don’t want to go into detail regarding my decision to sell my stake in the company, I will say that the decision was made with a heavy heart and none of it would have come to fruition without Vivek. I miss my business partner Vivek, the friends I made during my visits, and the extraordinary assault on the senses that only India can give you. While the company is in great hands now, I definitely wonder “what if” …

In reference to the hindsight quote earlier, they also say “A good soldier never looks back”, which is especially true in business. So, did the true worth of the business lie in it’s sale, in the lessons learned, the relationships made, or the experiences encountered during the travel ? I would honestly say all of the above !

Unordinary: Ever heard of a flash mob ? If not, check this out !

Every so often I read something that just begs a response:. I just could not let this one pass by without weighing in.

READ: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_school_lunches

This is a perfect example of how ridiculous we have become … In case you were not aware, the US has a major problem concerning the school cafeterias where kids are fed shitty, high-fat food, processed, fried foods, and it is a major contributing factor to child and adolescent obesity. The kids/students get to choose whatever they want, which typically includes french fries and other nasty processed foods on a daily basis. This is a well documented issue across the US, even going as far as spurring a show on national television to help try and change things from Jamie Oliver (famously known for improving the health of the entire UK’s school menu):

IE: http://www.jamieoliver.com/tv/jamie-s-food-revolution

So the US govt says “lets spend millions of dollars on psychologists to figure out how to improve this”. Things like pretty display baskets, hiding chocolate milk behind regular milk, and “cash-only” deserts…  But all of the options are still available to the student, they just have to look/work harder for them or possibly be enticed by nicer display options on the healthy items. So basically, after spending millions and calling in all sorts of know-it-all self-proclaimed experts (psychologists) we are either trying to trick the students or we are relying on their laziness or lack of cash to make them default back to something that is healthier. that is their solution, ridiculous

Here is my solution: Simply remove the shitty food options from their daily lunch choices altogether. Give them only options which are all decent/healthy choices. Remember, healthy does not have to mean boring or bland. They can either choose the good food that the school is supplying or if they don’t like it, they can pack their own. That way the  fatty and unhealthy foods come from the children’s parents poor choices, not from the govt. or state funded school.

Spend millions on psychologists or just remove the unhealthy options, costing nothing. One option gambles millions on the most remote possibility of any dietary change occurring at all. The other gambles nothing, costs nothing, and guarantees the kids cannot choose poorly.

Money & shrinks or common sense ?  Simple !

Unordinary: Anyone remember “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pies” ? In case you don’t, they were a green pie shell filled with vanilla pudding. They also came with a cool character trading card. I can’t tell you how many of those I had at our school cafeteria… I bet if it was not available, I would not have eaten any of them. Hrm …

I recently returned home from one heck of a 10 day trip to the Emerald Isle ! The “reason” for the trip was to visit Niamh’s newest nephew William, and attend his Christening. Even though the trip was only for 10 days, we managed to pack in tons of fun sites and adventures.

Dusty, one of Niamh and I’s good friends, didn’t have much going on so he decided to join us for the trip as well. And with Niamh’s best friends Dee and Noel at the helm of our various road trips, how could we go wrong Check out this summary of the trip, day by day:

Day 1:
- 2 hour convertible ride in rainy 60 degree weather through the Dublin Mountains
- Irish breakfast (fry) with white and black pudding
- Night at Sippers  – Proper welcome w/Guinness and Oysters

Day 2:
- Noel & Dee’s Condo
- Guinness Storehouse Tour
- Temple Bar area (including Goggerty’s & Ring a Ding sing-along)

Day 3:
- Rock of Cashel
- Cork – stayed at Ashley Hotel (click for review)
- Supermac’s for lunch
- Blarney castle and stone (I kissed the wrong stone)
- Oval bar and Oshea’s pubs

Day 4:
- Kinsale and Charles Fort
- Kilkenny Castle and town
- Bociellos for dinner & night on the town

Day 5:
- Christening and after-party

Day 6:
- Viking Splash Tour
- Dublin Tour (Molly Malone, Spire, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Etc….)
- Ate at the Chipper and watched “the Van”

Day 7:
- Bunratty Folk Park and Castle
- Knapogue Medieval Banquet (served mead, sang, and danced)
- Stayed at the Monkswell B & B (lock in)

Day 8:
- Quin Abbey
- Cliffs of Moher
- Burreen (limestone rocks)
- Lisdonvarnagh (matchmaker convention)
- The Bog (drove by)

Day 9:
- Citywest golf outing
- Dublin (Carroll’s gifts, Petersons, Porterhouse, Temple Bar, etc)
- FXB steakhouse for dinner (click for my review)

Overall, this was one of the best trips to Ireland I have ever had. Noel gets a special thanks for getting us a free cart rental at the golf course … even though he scored 0 skins out of 18 holes, he is still a winner in by book. I want to thank Niamh’s family for putting up with our “shenanigans” and also Dee and Noel for handling all of the navigation, organization, and trips out and everything.

Unordinary: Apparently there is a raging debate between who has the best ketchup in Ireland. Half of the people think it is “Chef’s” and the other half think it is “Heinz”. Well, allow me to be the tie-breaking vote: click here to find out !

Leave a comment & checkout the gallery for more pics.