Tag: Steelers

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Assorted Bob Restaurant Bob

Chowing down at Pho Peace Ranch …

John Hurl (left) and Jorma Kaukonen sing and play while diners discover that pho is a great way to fend off freezing temperatures.

One of the many advantages to living in southeast Ohio is being neighbors with Jorma Kaukonen, the guitarist who fueled the musical explorations of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. He and his wife, Vanessa, created an oasis about 20 miles outside Athens that they’ve dubbed Fur Peace Ranch.

The ranch is mostly a guitar camp, which draws incredible guitarists to town to serve as instructors. This results in great shows at their intimate concert venue (a few hundred seats, at most). They also boast the Psylodelic Gallery, a collection of ’60s art and memorabilia that’s in silo.

But it’s their most recent endeavor that prompted me to jump in the car on a 10-degree day and drive out there: Pho Peace Ranch. Apparently, Jorma is a pho fanatic. Me too. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the ranch offers chicken, beef or vegetable pho out of its kitchen. I had the beef. Lara the chicken. Great stuff. Even better: Jorma and the incredible John Hurl serenaded us during lunch.

As a side note, I was wearing my favorite Steelers Your Face hoodie, and Vanessa instantly booed me, just as she had when she spotted me wearing the hoodie during a show about a year ago. I assumed she was a hapless Browns fan, but she’s a Patriots fan. We talked football a bit during lunch, and she confided that Jorma roots for the Steelers.

Another reason to love this place.

Lara enjoys the chicken pho before Jorma and John start playing.
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Assorted Bob Media Bob Techno Bob

YinzCam … it’s a ‘Burgh thing

Pittsburgh startup YinzCam is getting a little love from Mashable. Very cool idea. It gives sports fans the ability to see different angles/replays on their mobile devices while they’re at the game.

The interesting stat is that when they first rolled it out at a Penguins game at the beginning of the 2009 season, 10 fans tuned in. More recently, 55% of the fans at the game were tuned in.

I think they’re on to something …

Forget the JumboTron — Startup YinzCam Gives Fans Control Over Replays.

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Paddle Bob

Paddling Callville Bay on Lake Mead

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My first kayak trip on Lake Mead taught me a quick lesson in scale. I thought Lake Loudon was a big lake. Mead dwarfs it.

For some reason, I decided to put in on the north shore of Mead instead of near Boulder City. I was wanting to avoid a trip across Hoover Dam, which can be a pain when there’s traffic, and I also wanted to explore a bit. I settled on Callville Bay, which isn’t too far from here. But I was wondering why I couldn’t find much on kayaking up there.

Now I know.

I put in at the marina there before 7 a.m. on Sunday. It’s a nice facility, but launching the kayak was a little tricky. The area near the boat ramp is rough. In fact, it looks as if the boat ramp itself is pretty rough as the’ve extended it numerous times t chase the drought-depleted waters of Mead. But I set off, out of the bay and after surveying my options I decided to head southwest, mostly to keep the sun at my back and because I could see chunks of shade in the mountains up there.

It wasn’t long before I spotted Sentinel Island. I started paddling toward it. And paddling. And paddling. It was a lot farther off than I’d realized. It started dawning on me how big the lake was when I noticed how tiny boats motoring along the south shore appeared. Just crossing the lake