Up portland november 2016

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November 2016

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November Events Tuesday, November 15th New Mom Discussion: Staying Healthy Naturally During Cold And Flu Season with Naomi Skoglund, L.Ac. and Tricia Albert, OTR/L, CLC

Follow us for event and product updates and health information. www.facebook.com/coastalpharmacyandwellness

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Wednesday, November 16th The Future Of Medicine – Genetic Customization with Dr. Rudy Mueller

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Sauntering With Mat

By Mat Robedee / Up Portland Commentator

Knowing that Baxter State Park closed mid-October, I had to summit Mount Katahdin, one of the greatest and most challenging peaks in the Northeast. Ever since I was a small child, I have been drawn to the mountain and its surrounding lands. I imagine this is due to Lost on a Mountain in Maine, the story of Donn Fendler. If you grew up in Maine, you know the story very well, as it was required reading. In 1939 12-year-old Fendler was hiking with his family, got separated from them on the mountain and was lost in the wilderness for nine days before being found. The story of Fendler was one of hope, challenge and perseverance; it inspired me, along with many other generations.

hobbit pulled from one of Tolkien’s tales set out on an adventure to save the day.

There are several trails up the mountain and each is as magnificent as the next.

This time up, I decided to take Cathedral Trail — the most direct route to the summit from the base. Personally, I love this trail but it is a lung crushing, leg burning experience to be had and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Baxter State Park is my personal slice of heaven. A rugged, often cold and remote heaven, with over 215 miles of trails and over 40 peaks and ridges, there are endless adventures to be had. Obviously though, the crown jewel of the park is Mount Katahdin. Not only is it Maine’s largest mountain at 5,267 feet, but Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine. I have been fortunate enough to watch hikers reach the summit, ending their 2,200 mile trek. Even though hiking the entire Appalachian Trail has not been my top bucket list item, it is humbling to watch someone accomplish theirs. Katahdin is certainly a sublime end to such a massive endeavour.

I have hiked Katahdin several times now; in fact, I believe this was my 9th time making the trek. Other than the Winter (which I will eventually do), I have reached the peak in all weather conditions and during each month of the park’s season. My favourite time to Katahdin is in October, when the weather cools off and the leaves shift colour. Luckily for me, I timed this trip perfectly and was able to catch the colours at their peak (no pun intended). But the colours just add to the overall feeling I get from these lands. The mountain itself has always been very fantastical (Is that a word?) to me. I can’t help but feel as if I am a

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The summit of Katahdin is a magical place to me. I feel like a king, standing upon the top of his granite fortress overlooking the lands. What made this trip especially unique for me were the bursting colours from the forests below. Every angle and in every direction, was a postcard worthy visual. The entire moment had me in awe. Twenty or so people sat upon the summit in near silence, bundled up in warm clothing and nibbling their well-earned lunches. The moment I got to the top, I noticed an entirely different energy that I have never experienced before. All the previous times I summited Katahdin, the voices and chatter from groups at the top circulated throughout the air.

This time though, a beautiful and raw silence overcame everyone. Smiles were exchanged along with head nods of acknowledgment but other than that, people respected and embraced the silence. Truth is, there was nothing to say that day — only so much to observe... and we all knew it. Have I mentioned that the colours were astonishing?

We are more than just copies… and

The last two miles back to the vehicle were the worst, as they usually are. Luckily I was able to catch the sun setting, which illuminated the leaves, and cast a bright orange hue throughout the forest floor. Approaching hour ten into the hike, I was thinking about how frightening, yet secretly thrilling, getting lost would be. My mind went back to the story of Fendler and the challenges he faced.

I was always impressed that he survived nine days in the woods without food. I mean — seriously now — if I go nine hours without food I am ready to call quits…

and and

G HU

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BROC

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PRINTI

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It was the 9th of October when I did this hike. On the 10t, I awoke to the news that Donn Fendler had passed away in at the age of 90. Rest in peace ol’ sport.

PROGRA

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Food For Thought...

On the restaurant scene, we got a whole lot more than turkey for this November edition... and most of our news is good, though a bit not-quite-so-good, if you are of the impatient type.

First the good news: Our pal Rabbi Gary Berenson over at Etz Chaim Synagogue wrote a great commentary about the recent Jewish high holy days and in it he mentioned his almost daily visits to the Q Street Diner in South Portland at (where else?) 9 Q Street.

It got us to thinking we’d tried this diner once after moving here and then it fell to the back of our minds. We’ve been dazzled by Marcy’s and Miss Portland, bitten by the Becky’s Diner bug (meaning we like it there, too), but we just never seem to get back to Q Street. This was a mistake we recently remedied and with happy results: the food at Q Street is good, the pricing fair and the staff are so attentive that rarely was anything empty or dirty on our table. That’s a lesson a lot of other spots would we well to learn from.

The good news about Q Street is that like most of the diners around here they serve breakfast anytime. I am always a sucker for an omelette or any good egg dish. And when the hour is noon or even one or two hours after I am even happier as I am awake to eat and enjoy every bite of that breakfast-for-lunch meal.

My partner is not as keen as I am on breakfast, but in full disclosure, he has a mild egg allergy so he stays away from most things which might feature the hen’s fruit anything less than totally, completely cooked. Cake with eggs? Sure.

Pancakes? Yep. Omelettes or poached or fried eggs? No way!

But no problem: Q Street has an awesome lunch menu, too, and they serve the whole thing from open to close Mondays thru Fridays from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m. and weekends 7 a.m. till 2 p.m.

That only leaves two issues. First of those is the choice of what to get. And the British expression “spoilt for choice” applies as the menu here ranges from scrambles with three eggs to omelettes, PB&J sandwiches (yes, really and for $1 you can add banana to one or — wait for it — bacon!) and most everything imaginable in between — tuna melts and hot dogs to burgers and hot and cold sandwiches. Oh, and as the portions are somewhere between ample and huge, prepare to come hungry but do not prepare to wait long. Have we mentioned the great service yet?

So what did we have about two on a recent weekday afternoon (which accounts for the emptiness in the photo at left)? True to form, I did a breakfast

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in the form of the Q Street Diner’s 3-egg “scramble” with bacon and American Cheese, which came with a huge portion of home fries and an English muffin.

That’s it above and what can I say aside from the fact I am hooked.

As far as my partner in dine (that’s like a partner in crime only more delicious) he was also true to form and did the lunch so it was a very delicious Hot Pastrami sandwich and — as he’s watching his carbs — a side salad. He proclaimed both “delicious” and as there was nothing left on his plate in short order, I’d say he put his mouth where his money was.

And speaking of money, you will need cash as like several of the other diners (Marcy’s comes immediately to mind) they do not take plastic on Q Street, but they do have an ATM... not that you will need a lot of cash as pricing is more than fair. When combined with bottomless tea glasses and coffee cups and a 20% tip for the staff one can still escape for two under $20, though we went a bit over with the extra salad and a fair tip for great service.

Our suggestion: Try Q Street! Oh, but there’s one problem... most of my friends can’t find it, so we will tell you the easy way: It’s more or less behind the Shaw’s in South Portland on (where else?) Q Street, which runs in between E Street and Market. It’s worth the hunt or at least the inputting you will need to do if you get lazy and let your GPS find it for you.

Now what was that we were saying about being patient? You will need to be if you want to experience our part of the coast the way it was in the late 1800’s, as the Chart Room at Black Point Inn on Prouts Neck has closed for the season, as has the inn itself.

We managed to make it in for a lunch at the Chart Room the week before they shut the doors for the year, leaving us with the question: Why in the heck does the place close? They are an easy 20-25 minute ride from downtown, have (we were told by a staffer, assuming that’s correct) heat and could be open all

Up Portland 11.16 On The Web At: www.upportland.com

Winter, yet somewhere in some office someone decided that they should not be year-round any longer. We were told back in the day (the hotel’s been here since 1878 though the name’s changed a time or three) they were year-round.

The place (that’s it at right) has history — from its past as a fave relax spot for artist Winslow Homer, who lived down the street and whose studio still stands, to high-power officials who visited (and still do) but who have to wear dress clothes like everybody else in the evenings. So enforced and longlived is that code that even the inn’s website boasts, “In 1969, two gentlemen in short sleeves were asked to leave the cocktail lounge as it was after 5.30 p.m. No matter that they were the governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island...”

So what’s the place like now in season? A combination of a throw-back, a lovely setting with great food and a bit, in our way of thinking, stodgy — not because of the dress code, but because the audience is so senior that one of my dining companions in his mid-40s probably brought the average age down a good ten years when we had lunch.

If you are reading this and have young kids, you might want to opt for Q Street or somewhere they might feel more at home.

And that’s in the Chart Room, which is the lessformal of the inn’s two dining options; the other being The Point, which serves a more formal dinner.

The above said, the good news is the service is impeccable, the staff friendly and the food is fantastic. We will confess we were touted by a neighbour to try the lunch on the porch overlooking the sea, but we were so late in the season (and it was a cool, foggy mid-October day) that the porch had closed. It gives us a reason to go back as soon as the place reopens in the Spring.

That said, we did get the feel of Black Point Inn and the feel was something we’d have expected in our youth or even before. Think the roaring 20s, and yes there are tales of what it was like here in the Prohibition Era. So what’s on the modern day lunch menu? First off, the website calls it “pub dining with a Maine twist” and we’d say that’s accurate. Oysters, chowders, salads and things like a “Mediterranean Platter: Roasted Pepper Salad, Grilled Marinated Vegetable, Hummus and Goat Cheese Fritter and Grilled Flat Bread” per the menu make for some interesting reading.

But we came for the burger. Yes, the burger. Several friends have been talkPlease continue on the Next Page

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More Food For Thought...

Continued From The Previous Page ing to us for months about the to-die-for burgers offered at Black Point Inn, and they were not fibbing, though I do not want to die waiting to have another as it’s gonna be some months before they reopen. The menu says: “Black Point Burger.

Short Rib and Sirloin Blend, Lettuce, Tomato, Pineland Farms Cheddar, Crispy Shallot, Horseradish Aioli…16” and this reviewer would say that’s not the half of it. The ones we had at our table were all cooked as ordered (say that word: Perfectly) and they arrived promptly, with sides and with a huge smile on the face of our waiter.

A word, too about the dining room at Black Point: Reserve. They do take walkins, and we walked in, but ended up in a high-level corner table in the bar, which in hindsight turned out to be a blessing. Not only was it quieter than in the nuts-to-butts dining room next door (they had a coupon which seems to have brought every over 65 in the world in, including this reviewer) but the service was better as our staffer had fewer tables to look out for and our requests for extra ketchup for the house-made chips and a caesar salad to go all were honoured promptly and with a smile.

Was the meal the best I have ever eaten? No, but it was in the top tier, served well and the burger (below) was really worth going back for, though next time I will venture a bit further onto the menu — especially as far as the chowder or the French Onion Soup, which readers know is a fave of mine.

Pricing was fair and even without that coupon would have been more than honest for what we had. I do think in the Spring I’ll want to go on a slower day, ask for an outdoor table and maybe close my eyes while sitting on the veranda and imagine what it would have been like here back in the late 40s when mom & dad would visit this area and talked about spots like Black Point Inn.

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Up Portland 11.16 On The Web At: www.upportland.com

The Standard Reviewer

Disenchanted with his prospects in New York City, Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) decides to move to Hollywood, where he takes a job running errands for his uncle Phil (Steve Carell), an influential talent agent. Phil introduces Bobby to his secretary, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), who helps Bobby settle into Hollywood life.

By Bill Elliott / Up Portland’s Film & Theatre Reviewer

I spent the month of October catching up on Woody Allen. There were a couple of recent films of his that I’d missed (Blue Jasmine, Café Society), and I was eager to watch his new television mini-series streamed exclusively by Amazon Video.

Allen is perhaps the most prolific and mercurial filmmaker alive today, having directed 47 films in his 80 years. Since about 1971, he has directed films at the rate of about one per year. As a result, the quality of those films fluctuates wildly from magnificent to mediocre. There have been spectacular highs (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Match Point, Midnight in Paris, Radio Days) and near-desperate lows (Scoop, Magic in the Moonlight, To Rome With Love, and Whatever Works).

A number of the low points in Allen’s directorial career have taken place in the last ten years. Is he getting past his prime? Has he lost his comic touch? That is up to each viewer to decide. My own view is that he simply makes too many films and makes them too quickly. No one can fault Allen’s work ethic (allegedly he gets bored very easily), but surely the sheer volume of his work takes a toll on its quality. Imagine a starting pitcher playing every MLB game. Would you want your pilot to have crisscrossed the Atlantic three or four times without taking a break?

Critics generally place Blue Jasmine (2013) and Café Society (2016) in the top 50% of Allen’s output. Both of the films between these two bookends (Magic in the Moonlight and Irrational Man) were disappointing. Judging by that, a three-year break between making films might be a good idea for the director to think about in the future.

While Blue Jasmine has moments of dark humour, it belongs with Allen’s more “serious” dramatic works like Interiors and Another Woman. While not as Bergman-bleak as Interiors, it nevertheless recounts the downward spiral of a rich Manhattan socialite, named Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), who is forced to move in with her working class half-sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), after a major lifechanging event. Jasmine’s husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin), has seen his real-estate empire collapse amid a corruption scandal, resulting in Hal’s eventual suicide in prison.

Despite her social fall from grace, Jasmine is an unrepentant member of society’s elite, looking condescendingly on Ginger and her friends, especially her choice of partners. She disrupts Ginger’s current relationship by filling her head with ideas of finding “better men” and embarks on a new relationship with an ambassador with political aspirations, by lying to him about her past. Jasmine’s whole romantic Ponzi scheme comes crashing down when she and her new beau run into Ginger’s ex-husband who exposes her, sending her ambitious fiancé fleeing before their nuptials.

Blanchett’s naturalistic turn as the fragile and self-deluded Jasmine is a marvellous creation, a 21st century Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire. Sally Hawkins is just as memorable, given that the British actress never misses a beat as displaced working-class New Yorker, Ginger.

In Café Society, Allen returns to his more familiar romantic comedy stomping ground, set in 1930s New York and Hollywood. A huge jazz fan, Allen loves the period, its characters, and its music.

Bobby falls for Vonnie’s unpretentious charms but is rebuffed as she claims she already has a boyfriend. Vonnie is actually carrying on an affair with Phil, who has promised he will leave his wife for her. When Phil decides he cannot go through with a divorce, Vonnie finds comfort in Bobby’s company, and their friendship blossoms into love. But, Phil cannot let her go and when he finally breaks off his marriage, Vonnie is forced to choose between Phil and Bobby. She chooses Phil, and Bobby goes back to NYC to open a nightclub with his gangster brother, Ben. Sometime later, a happily married Vonnie and Phil visit Bobby at the nightclub and Bobby and Vonnie share a kiss during a walk in Central Park.

Both, however, return to their separate married lives wondering how things may have turned out differently.

No one does nostalgia and unrequited love better than Woody Allen and Café Society finds a return to form after Blue Jasmine. As Allen surrogate, Jesse Eisenberg is better than most, avoiding the usual pitfall of trying to emulate Allen’s trademark neurotic tics, stutters, and asides. If only Allen took some time to gestate his ideas, he might produce films like Blue Jasmine and Café Society without the intervening dreck.

Café Society was partly distributed by Amazon Studios and this relationship led to a slightly new venture for Woody Allen — a TV mini-series, Crisis in Six Scenes, released exclusively on Amazon Video, an Internet video on-demand service. Crisis in Six Scenes is a light comedy with some serious political overtones. Set in the late 1960s, the show addresses the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam and the social and political upheavals that reverberated throughout the country. Allen plays writer Sidney J. Munsinger and Elaine May plays his marriage counsellor wife, Kay. Into their rather humdrum life comes Lennie Dale (Miley Cyrus), a radical young hippie agitator who is on the run from the law.

The interactions between Sidney and Kay appear to be largely improvised and, while the dialogue may not be the polished prose expected of modern digital pay-to-view television, it has a naturalistic charm that harks back to an earlier time (the 1960s to be exact). In a wig and pant suits, Elaine May makes a mockery of her 84 years, and makes one wish it hadn’t been 16 years since she last appeared on screen (in Allen’s Small Time Crooks). Allen and May work well together because they are both essentially stand-up comedians who learned their trade through improvisation.

Miley Cyrus lacks Allen and May’s experience and comedic timing, but she exhibits a Hannah Montana-like charm as the dogmatic pseudo-intellectual spouting leftist slogans as if they were candied tweets. Just check social media if you think the U.S. has moved beyond Soviet-style sloganeering — it has simply been coopted and finessed by marketing companies.

Crisis in Six Scenes has been almost universally panned by the media for being embarrassingly unfunny. But that misses the point. This is not the high comedy of Allen’s past. It’s true, there are a lot of recycled Woody Allen jokes on display. And there is one ongoing rib-tickler of an in-joke involving Kay’s octogenarian Long Island book-club friends espousing everything from radical feminism to New Left and Black Panther invective. But, essentially, Crisis is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the current political situation seen through the lens of the 1960s. In the 60s, many middle class Americans felt like the very fabric of American society was breaking down. There was civil disobedience, a breakdown in law and order, distrust of mainstream political institutions, and a distrust of U.S. foreign policies around the world.

For Woody Allen, in Crisis in Six Scenes, it seems what goes around comes around.

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Processed Media

By Randy Dankievitch — TV Critic / TVOvermind

NBA 2K17, and Why the Yearly Sports Game Model Needs to Change NBA 2K17 is a fantastic sports video game, by most conventional measures of the genre. It pushes the series forward mechanically in a number of important ways, without sacrificing what gave it the distinction as the best, most realistic basketball simulation available (an honour that’s become somewhat more dubious as EA’s NBA Live series flops around like a dead fish in their extensive catalog).

The controls are tighter, the animations smoother — and, to tout their most marketed new feature this year –— the face-scanning technology looks muchimproved over last year. More modes, more creative tools in General Manager mode... every single traditional barometer for progress and success NBA 2K17 meets or exceeds, and yet as a whole, NBA 2K17 feels like a lesser game than previous installments.

Why does NBA 2K17 feel fresh and stale, seemingly simultaneously? With handfuls of new features, one would seemingly have to press real hard to find flaws within what is generally considered a binary evolution of the series. That is, unless one happened to play NBA 2K16, 2K15, or any of the 2K games before it. As tends to happen with sports games, the new, exciting features generate more audience interest than promises to patch and update what was broken or glitched, in the previous game... take ball-hawking power forwards, who became defensive superstars when 2K13 introduced new AI structures and behaviours for defensive players. For four years of 2K games, thousands of layups have been thrown away by 6’9” players with hands seemingly magnetised to any ball floating or bouncing through the lane or anywhere near the paint, causing some of the most egregiously cheap forced turnovers one could ever see in a sports video game.

Or how about the game’s animation system, which is clearly cracking underneath the strain of 2K17’s demanding code, pushing the game’s ability to complete the arithmetic of its physics to its absolute limit. For years, unblockable dunks and animation exploits (like the infamous Backcourt Violation bug, where players could force opposing PG’s into multiple turnovers by timing defensive animations) have ruined the game’s claim to realism around the basket — something 2K17 tries to rectify with all-new “in between” animations, which simulate player contact at the basket, and lead to more diversified animations around the rim.

In theory, a fantastic idea: but the game’s first attempt at creating the “chaining move” equivalent from fighting games is lackluster at best. Trying to execute two dribble moves in a row has become a chore of timing animations properly, lest a player repetitively bounce the ball off of a defender’s thigh anytime their animations end up overlapping each other. Same goes for trying to execute a crossover into a bounce pass down the lane: wacky, ill-fitting animations + previously mentioned defensive balancing. Yeah, that’s going to lead to a lot of ridiculous turnovers.

The “in between” animations begin to expose a larger issue with the 2K series as

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a whole: that a short development window hinders innovation and creativity and leads to consumers paying for a product every 12 months that is never actually in a full working state at any point in the year.

This is an issue for all games in the Patch ‘Em Up era we live in, but for sports games, this is becoming a major issue: the in between animations, of which there are about a dozen, all of which I’ve seen in two weeks playing the game, are but a Band-Aid® for larger issues with player model interactions and realtime physics... the latter of which NBA 2K as a series won’t touch with a ten-foot pole. With only nine months to develop a game every year, this leaves 2K and developer Visual Concepts in a very tough position to fix the bugs in the game (like the eternally broken, lame All-Star Weekend events in myPlayer mode that haven’t worked properly in three years) or to continue to push the envelope in terms of graphics and game play, hoping the game’s back end monetization will carry it through bad buzz and increasing gamer frustration with one continuous set of issues after another.

Combined with half-assed features like the aforementioned animations, 2K’s ever-increasing reliance on in-game purchases (beyond the $60 sticker price to buy it in the first place) to generate revenue is becoming an issue. At this point, there isn’t a single mode tied heavily into the game’s VC currency, which can be bought in large quantities for real money, or earned in smaller quantities through different game modes. In 2K17, “innovation” mostly boils down to “paying more for everything” - VC is everywhere, from unlocking players in myTeam, to improving a player in myCareer, right down to charging for every single animation players want to customise their digital baller with. In the past, each animation had dozens of free animations, along with others which players could purchase with VC. Like Apple, with its new policy of removing popular features and calling it “innovation”, 2K’s policy to each new 2K game has become increasingly troubling in what it means for fans of sports games, and just how much it will cost to actually enjoy each new release every October.

Maybe the solution is one suggested by Madden NFL Mobile, a pared down version of the console game, itself suffering from Yearly Release Burnout (or Assassin’s Creed Disease, as many would call it): instead of releasing a new game every single year for full price, offer an update for the new season and extend the life of the game’s code, engine and player base. With so much monetization built into the back end, offering players a roster and UI update for $10-30 a year seems reasonable, and then frees up development teams to begin working on truly evolutionary sports games... projects that could take the time to resolve issues of the past (like 2K’s net code, some of which is 15 years old) while thinking of new ways to bring these massive digital sports franchises into the future.

EA’s struggles with NBA Live may be unique, but their continued failure shows just how easy it is for it all to fall apart – and once it does, how hard it can be to get back on the once-a-year money train Madden, 2K and FIFA have enjoyed for the past two decades.

I don’t know what the answer is, but the experience of playing 2K17 is an illuminating one. There are certainly moments of pure pleasure where everything clicks into place the way a developer would envision it; but those moments are too often interspersed with head-scratching periods of frustration that repeat year in and year out, to the point where deep-seeded bugs and flaws are just accepted by gamers as “the way things are”, years after they first appear in action.

Like the rest of the video game industry, it seems the old habits of sports video games aren’t quite working anymore, especially in a world of increasinglycomplex and expensive game development . For proof, look no farther than 2K’s gorgeous, awkward, occasionally life-like, lumbering, thoroughly entertaining and hair-pulling basketball game... a game which captures both the real NBA one and the frustrations with modern game development, often in the same immaculately-animated breath.

Up Portland 11.16 On The Web At: www.upportland.com

Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag

By Stacy Begin / Owner, Two Fat Cats Bakery THE SCOOP ON THANKSGIVING I don’t know how it happened, and probably you don’t either, but November is here. I know, I know. That means Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Since that’s the case, let’s talk a little turkey.

Maybe you’d be surprised to learn that Thanksgiving is our biggest holiday at the bakery — bigger than Christmas, bigger than Easter, bigger than the 4th of July. There’s one reason and one reason alone for that fact and it can be summed up in one word: PIE. Pie making consumes us from mid-October until 1 a.m. on the Wednesday before Thursday when the pie makers leave to allow the morning bakers to use the oven at 3 a.m. It’s a six-week marathon filled with trials, tribulations, worry, sore hands and lots and lots of dough! So, in honour of our most challenging and most exciting holiday, here are a few fun facts about Two Fat Cats Bakery at Thanksgiving time: • This year, we will make close to 2,000 pies to grace holiday tables.

• In addition, our morning bakers will make 750 biscuits , 600 whoopie pies, and 660 cupcakes over the course of two days. That does not include muffins, scones, pumpkin rolls or pumpkin breads – or as my bakers call these items “the easy stuff.”

• We have to stop making chicken pot pies for awhile in order to prepare for Thanksgiving.

• We bake our pies at two locations and need an 18 foot U-haul to bring the pies back from the 2nd location to sell that day.

• We use about 1,500 pounds of apples. Yes, you read that correctly. 1,500 pounds!

• It is all hands on deck – everyone at Two Fat Cats, and I mean everyone, learns how to make pies. That includes the dishwasher and office manager! And sometimes neighbours and friends.

• We have to cut off pie orders early every year. That means the sooner you order, the less likely you’ll be shut out. Of course, you can always just walk in and see what we have – but you take your chances!

• We eat a lot. Pretty much all day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and yet somehow we all notice that we lose some weight. I haven’t figured out how to turn this into the next diet craze, but I’m working on it.

• Railroad tracks are not a friend to U-haul trucks as we discovered when our truck crossed a line of tracks and all the blueberry pies took a dive. There were tears and gnashing of teeth and blueberry juice was everywhere. A tragedy of epic proportions!

• I force my children to help out. I’m not proud of this (well, maybe a little).

They help with folding boxes and making deliveries. They seem to enjoy it, especially all the eating.

• I force anyone with any relationship to me to help out. Remember, it is all hands on deck after all. So, don’t say to me “If you ever need help, let me know” unless you really, really mean it.

• We can’t wait to eat pie on Thanksgiving! You would think that my entire crew would be sick to death of pie, but it seems to have the opposite effect. We just can’t wait to dig in!

And, that is our Thanksgiving. Except for one thing: we give thanks for all our wonderful customers, community friends, family and neighbours. We are blessed to be in the sphere of such gracious people. From Two Fat Cats Bakery to your family, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Up Portland 11.16 On The Web At: www.upportland.com Page 11

Beyond The Forecast

By Jack Sillin / Weatherman & Meterology Student Hello everyone!

After a wild open to Fall storm season with flash flooding, vivid lightning, and gusty winds on the evening of the 21st of October, it is time to attempt to answer the question on everyone’s minds: what will this Winter look like?

The short answer is bound by two extremes. We will not have a repeat of last year’s sleeping baby season nor will 2014-15’s roaring beast of a Winter make a triumphant return. Minimal analysis is needed to see that, and no two years (or storms) are ever alike. To get any more detailed though, we’re going to need to dig a little deeper. Before we do, however, I would like to offer a word of caution: Seasonal forecasting is a science still in its formative stages. The ideas presented here are merely ideas. There are many folks out there who know way more about this than I do and if you need to make any important decisions based on long range forecasting, you should check with them. Some of them include Michael Clark of BAM Weather, Stephen DiMartino of NYNJPA weather, Ed Vallee of AccuWeather, and of course, the folks at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Centre. With that said, here’s what I think this Winter will look like and why.

The main theme of this Winter will be volatility. There are a few factors that argue strongly in favour of cold weather and a couple that favour warm weather.

The result is most likely to be deep cold blasts punctuated by short bursts of mild weather. Think of last year except that frequencies of warm and cold periods will be switched. Instead of mostly mild weather with a few cold blasts like last year, signals point to this year being mostly cold with a few mild blasts.

This of course is also in contrast to two years ago when there were no mild blasts and supremely cold weather dominated. Storm tracks also appear to be volatile with a mix of clippers, nor’easters and inside runners. This of course contrasts with both last year (only inside runners) and two years ago (only nor’easters/clippers). Now that I’ve gone over the general theme of the Winter, let’s look at some of the ‘why behind the what’.

First let’s look at the factors in favour of cold weather. Notice I’m not talking about snowy weather, just cold weather.

Of course you can have cold without snow but you can’t have snow without cold so I’ll discuss snow potential in a few paragraphs.

The first factor that argues in favour of cold weather is that there is a lot of snow in Siberia currently (see Figure 1, above). When there’s a lot of snow in Siberia in October, cold air in that region gets colder due to the snow and pushes south.

That pushes warm air north over the Gulf of Alaska which then pushes cold air

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south over Eastern North America (us). The black line on Figure 1 represents the rough boundary between warm and cold air. The blue arrows are where expansive snow growth pushes cold air south (causing more snow growth) and the red arrows show where a lack of snow growth lets warm air run north (preventing further snow growth). Also note that this cycle is a feedback loop meaning that the patterns it shows/causes are likely to stick around. The description I gave of this process is, of course, a gross simplification and I point you to the research of Judah Cohen from MIT for analysis that does the process justice. The point is that, in general, strong Eurasian snow growth promotes cold weather here and there is currently strong Eurasian snow growth.

Another factor is the current Pacific Decadal Oscillation (note: it was named the Pacific Decadal Oscillation because it was originally thought to move on a decadal (10 year) timescale, however observations indicate it moves in a one to two year timescale, much like ENSO (El Nino/La Nina) phase. The PDO is currently positive as shown by the so called “blob” of warm water just off the Alaskan coast (figure 2, below). This “blob” helps push warm air north in the Gulf of Alaska. As we discussed in the previous paragraph, when warm air goes north over the Gulf of Alaska, cold air comes south over Eastern North America leading to cold weather here in Maine. One thing to note about the current positive PNA pattern is that it is showing signs of weakening. Cold water is moving

east from Kamchatka and undermining the blob of warm water. This indicates that the PDO pattern could be trending towards neutral or even negative by the time we reach the tail end of Winter. This could act to bring Spring in on time, compared to the lethargic approach Spring has taken in recent years. Despite what may happen in the springtime, we know that at least through the first half of the winter, the +PDO pattern will be going strong.

Now that we’ve established that we’ll have at least some cold air, let’s take a minute to look at the factors that promote some intrusions of warm air from time to time. The first important thing to note is the warm ocean temps just offshore (again in figure 2). With such warm water in the Gulf of Maine, all you need to bring mild air into the region is a quick flip of the wind to east, south east or south. This indicates that there is potential for mild periods here and there — especially along the coastline.

The other factor that argues in favour of some warmer temps is the forecast presence of a weak La Niña. La Niña occurs when water off the west coast of South America is cooler than average. Notice that currently, that is the case (figure 2). The CPC and climate models (figure 3, next page) continue to forecast the development of weak La Niña conditions for this Winter.

What does that mean for us? Years with weak ENSO (background oscillation of Equatorial East Pacific, the positive phase El Niño, negative phase La Niña) values are highly dependent on other factors to drive the pattern. However, weak La Niña events tend to favour slightly warmer temps and average precipitation (figure 5 above). The weak La Nina may help to get a few periods of warmth

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Will this year feature the same slow start we’ve seen the past couple years?

The answer is a bit complicated as two important factors are giving conflicting signals.

One important thing to look for is how warm (or not warm) the waters of the Gulf of Maine, the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay are. If the waters are warm in the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay, cold air masses moving in from the NorthWest will have a hard time staying cold as they move over warm water. We’ve already gone over the impacts of warm Gulf of Maine waters, so if you missed that, look up a few paragraphs. The water this year in all three locations is quite warm (see figure 4, below). Hudson Bay is only moderately above normal but the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Maine are downright balmy compared to average. This means that as cold air masses move south, they will modify (become less cold) as they pass over the waters. This would argue for another slow start, but as with anything in weather, it’s never that simple.

The other important factor in the early season behaviour is Canadian snow

going but it’s not the same setup as last year’s El Niño that flooded the entire continent with warmth. Also note the deep cold that usually lurks to the west during weak La Niña events. Proximity to cold air is a dangerous proposition in Maine in a Winter forecast and it wouldn’t take too much to send some of that our way, despite the overall La Niña pattern arguing for warmth. Also remember that in weak ENSO years, ENSO is rarely the driver of the pattern. It is merely an influence; one of many vectors in a pile that must be correctly added up to determine the eventual outcome.

As with any ENSO (La Niña/El Niño) event, there are complications. Notice in Figure 2 that there is cooler water on the western edge of the La Niña “bubble”.

This indicates a west-based La Niña. A west-based La Niña shuffles up the longitudes which thunderstorms form at or near the equator. This impacts the MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation, an eastward propagating disturbance that enhances tropical convection) phase which has been shown to impact our weather.

A west-based La Niña predisposes the MJO phase to be favourable for cold weather in Eastern North America, however that’s not a rock solid connection.

The MJO often has a mind of its own and could also be negated by other factors we’ve talked about. For more on that, check out Stephen DiMartino’s Winter forecast from NYNJPA weather.

growth. If there’s snow just to our north in Canada, cold air masses can become colder and stay colder for longer as they travel south. A check of figure 1 reveals robust Canadian snow growth, which would tend to support very cold air masses spilling south.

Soooo, given all that what do I think will happen? Currently we’re seeing cold air masses spilling south and being significantly modified by the time they get here (if they get here at all). By December, I think the air masses will have become cold enough to bring the water temps down to a point where they will have negligible influence over the incoming cold. That means I think we’ll start slow, but not nearly as slow as last year.

How about storms/snow? There are a few clues to storm track/characteristics and snow but it is important to remember there’s just simply no way for us to tell exactly where a storm will go — even a couple days before it hits. The storm tracks I describe on the next page are generalisations. For example, I think we see at least a few intense nor’easters, but will these track inside the benchmark and bring us rain? Possibly. Will they track just offshore and bring us heavy snow? Possibly.

Will they track farther offshore and miss us altogether? Also possibly. The point is to outline a general pattern, not to throw darts at a board for specifics.

With that said, let’s look at some of the clues, so turn the page and stay with me... this is too exciting to stop now!

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Beyond The Forecast

By Jack Sillin / Continued From Page 13

The warm sea surface temperatures (SST’s) off the East Coast go both ways for cold and snow here in Maine. First, they argue for intrusions of warm air: not good for snow. However, they also provide intense fuel for powerful storms.

Energy in meteorology comes almost exclusively from gradients or differences.

The greater the difference between characteristics at two places and the closer those two places are, the more energy there is for storms to develop. You see this in thunderstorms, for example. The greater the difference in temperature between the surface and aloft (lapse rate) the more energy there is for a storm to develop. In the case of Winter storms, the greater the temperature between the ocean water and the cold air mass moving over it, the more energy there is for coastal storms to develop. Figure 2 shows us that there is PLENTY of hot water off the coast to fuel developing storms. This means there is increased potential for nor’easters and redeveloping clippers. That doesn’t mean we’re in for the powderfest known as 2014-15, though.

Notice the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico and just off the Southeast coast.

These waters could act to help prolong a current phenomenon known as the South East Ridge which is an area of high pressure that stretches across the SE U.S. and northeast into the Atlantic. This ridge, combined with warm SST’s up and down the coast are likely to force at least a few storms west of the area, following tracks we saw last year. I do not think these will be nearly as frequent or dominant as last year but I also think they will bring us some of the warm periods the winter of 2014-15 was missing.

To summarise, my forecast for the upcoming Winter calls for: — A slow-ish start but not as slow as last year. No December snow blitz but no shorts like last Christmas Eve, either.

— Alternating periods of fairly intense warm/cold. Slightly more cold than warm.

— An on-time arrival of Spring. No dragging out of Winter like the past few.

— An active but variable storm track. Mix of clippers/cutters/coastals, but none dominate.

My forecast is based on: — A weak, west-based La Nina.

— A +PDO moving towards neutral and eventually perhaps weakly negative.

— Robust Siberian and Canadian snow growth.

— Warm SST’s in the Gulf of Maine, the Great Lakes and off the Eastern Seaboard So, we’ll see how it goes! Meanwhile, enjoy the last vestiges of Fall and I’ll be back next month with more weather.

— Jack

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Every month I define a couple terms that will help you increase your knowledge of the weather jargon you will see in both my forecast discussions and in those of others. Here are this month’s terms. If you have further questions or have a weather term you would like explained, shoot me an email at jack.sillin@gmail. com or send me a note on twitter @JackSillin. You can also drop a comment on my blog at forecasterjack.com.

The Benchmark — I used this term in this month’s column and roughly speaking it’s an imaginary spot formally called the 40/70 benchmark — 40 degrees north latitude and 70 degrees west longitude. It’s importance is helping meteorologists determine what effect a storm along the East Coast might have on New England, including Maine. If a storm passes too far west, we most often get cold rain. Too far east and clouds, but little or no snow. If a storm passes right over the benchmark it’s time for the shovels.

Baroclinic Zone — A Baroclinic Zone is an area where temperature changes rapidly along lines of equal pressure. Check out the chart below for an idealised representation of what this looks like.

When this setup occurs, there is lots of potential energy stored up in the atmosphere that can be ignited by an upper level disturbance passing through. Baroclinic zones are strongest when the difference in temperature is greatest along the same pressure contour and across the same distance.

The Eastern U.S. is a natural baroclinic zone because air just offshore is warm due to the Gulf Stream while air over the continent can get really cold should an arctic air mass spread south.

When the edge of an arctic airmass sits along the East Coast, storms are more likely to form and develop rapidly due to all the available energy from the baroclinic zone.

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The Gossip Column

We Live In A Place Unlike Anywhere Else

By Britain & Sydney / The Office Gossip Cats

We cats have been doing our best to stay positive and happy during this brutal election year, especially since for awhile we were scared as pussies about getting grabbed by one of the candidates. Luckily for us that never happened, but we were prepared and made arrangements with our pal Spotty to hide us if that guy came calling. Speaking of prepared, what all have we found of note in the past few weeks? First off we have been doing a lot of research, as the photo on this page indicates. Syd reads all of the newspapers while Britain considers the stories, for us to cover, though some of us are convinced she is really sleeping because since it got cold Ted & Ivan turned on the electric blanket. That said, this dynamic duo has noticed some construction down on Commercial Street and we have found that this tiny kiosk just east of Franklin Street is under repair and is set to become an ice cream stand in the Spring. At least that’s what the guys work-

ing on the place told Ted & Ivan (and they told us!). We have yet to find out who is behind the change of what used to be a ticket office for the Maine Railway Museum and their weekend and holiday trains... Speaking of trains, we cats have been trained to find out all the facts and the latest we discovered is that there is going to be a comedy club opening down on Middle Street right next to Anthony’s Italian Kitchen. From what we pussies are told, it should be open early in the new year and offer drinks of the alcoholic variety, along with a wide variety of pizzas and more from their next door neighbour. More details when we cats find out...

Speaking of finding out, we are really curious to find out how well a couple Portland restaurants will do after they change staffs from tips to a mandatory 18% service charge on their diners’ bills. We pussies sure hope the owners here do not try that as we bet it’s gonna be a real pay buster and not a good thing, so we will be watchin’... And finally we are glad we were not walking on Commercial Street when whatever (or whoever) ran right over this pedestrian crossing sign did it.

The poor sign looks the worse for wear!

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New Portland Book Pu History At Your Feet

There’s a religious line about walking past miracles daily and never noticing, and that’s lik for most of us. But here on the Peninsula in Portland, we have something new to help us n and to tell us the stories about those miracles — small and large — at the same time. The a new book by Munjoy Hill based author Paul Ledman called Walking Through History: Po Maine on Foot.

The book is unique because it features tours and routes (and a removable map) so those o who enjoy walking around the Peninsula — be it Commercial Street now that the tourist h are wrapping up for the season, or Congress or the Eastern Prom or Munjoy Hill — Ledm there with tips, descriptions and more to make the places we have all passed dozens, hund thousands of times come alive... and for that we must be most grateful.

The author, who did not arrive in Portland until 1991 from New York City, takes a fun, inf and graphic look at the various streets we all wa drive and visit. And by graphic we mean with ph which often compare the very same spot “back w and today — like the one at right with a then & look at Congress Street. He also doesn’t scrimp finer, but fun points of our buildings, either.

A few examples: The Woodman Building, at 133 Middle Street was rapidly built after the 1866 fir its architect George M. Harding “signed” the cas corner support. Look for it when you walk by... and if you are like this writer, you have done so a zillion times and never noticed it.

This is but one of Ledman’s fun details. He goes into painstaking facts which both entertain and explain things like the oak and acorn theme of the 1867 Thompson Bu ing at 117 Middle Street (acorns and their mighty oaks showing strength, phone on Page 1 and the reason there is a huge stone wall and two piles of what now just look like rocks (o shown below left) along the Eastern Promenade, but which were originally built as a dock the Great Eastern, an almost 700 foot long sail and steamship (it had both and Ledman ha sketch) which was supposedly going to be docking in Portland. Sadly, the ship was a failu a passenger vessel, but, as the author out, the huge size made it just perfect the miles of cable needed and thus the Eastern laid the very first transatlantic telegraph cable, linking the U.S. to En in 1866. The ship, he notes, was broke in 1889 without ever once docking at piers (or anywhere else in Maine), tho October 1860 the then Prince of Wales future King Edward VII of England a in Portland via rail, took a carriage alo Commercial Street and boarded a Bri military ship at those piers. Ledman’s has a copy of one of the very few phot ever made of this event to back up the

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And the book goes on... There are reminders to look up and back as one walks. How many folks ever looked up at 591 Congress Street? If you had, you’d notice a mansion behind the Sun Market.... a business space which was built in what was the Dr. Horatio N. Small mansion’s original front garden! The mansion, now and for many years the Marshall Apartments, remains but not many folks know the history or, when walking or driving by or shopping at Sun Market, think of what was here and what remains.

We took a stroll around back, too, (below) and saw the mansion/apart-

ments sticking out above the urban clutter added later. Who would have ever thought... had Ledman not told us.

Just down Congress Street, the intersection of Congress & High streets gets full treatment from Ledman as he shows all of the various developments and changes at the corner, which he terms “one of the city’s busiest.” Hotels built and owned by the Rines Family (who had a department store, Rines Brothers, just down the block) still stand in the area today, including the now residential Congress Square Hotel and the more famous (and fairly recently redone) luxury Eastland Hotel (these days often jokingly called the Westin Eastland due to its affiliation with the Westin Hotels brand). The famous Top of the East lounge remains also.

So what prompted a transplanted Portlander to do this book? And how did Ledman figure out what to include and what not to? Apparently, from speaking with the author, a lot of sleepless nights and tough editing as he expressed plenty of “wudda” and “shudda” and “cudda” to us.

He said he would have included the Victoria Mansion and the Western Prom, for example, but that area is, he noted, a bit far to walk from the centre of the Peninsula around Monument Square, “and remember this book is a walking tour, though this is totally subjective. I had many more things I could have included than what I did,” he said, adding that the opportunity for a second or even third volume is out there, along with the possibility of an e-book and even an app (which this writer would love to see) which could use a phone or iPad’s GPS and then display pertinent historic photos or info on the screen to read while one was on the spot.

Please continue on the Next Page

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New Portland History Book Wants Readers To Look Up & Down Continued From The Previous Page But for now, the book is a fascinating and interesting historic look at the city’s central area. Asked if it was meant to be read (as in cover-to-cover) Ledman noted that’s not the case. “Some will read it that way, but it’s really meant more to be a guide,” though he also admitted that there’s a lesson hidden in the pages — the lesson of changing times and of a society here which has gone from manufacturing to consuming products.

Ledman noted that Portland can be seen clearly as a place where corporate loyalty is a thing of the past and where firms often refuse to pay a living wage here (as they did in the 1800s and early 1900s) and instead make goods cheaper elsewhere for us to buy.

He noted, for one example, the Commercial Street changes and the fact that what are now shops aimed at cruise passengers and tourists were once spaces for manufacturing and heavy industries. In fact, a freight train used to run right down the middle of Commercial Street... a train which existed until sometime close to 2000 and whose legacy can still be seen in the white concrete centre (where the tracks ran) on Commercial Street. “I look at the context of what happened here then and what does now,” Ledman said.

One of the best examples is on his tour of the wharf area, where the still alive and well 1863 Thomas Block has made a full transition from what’s seen in a 1900 photo where Burgess, Fobes & Co. (which sold white lead and colour liquid paints) occupied much of the space where upscale offices, restaurants and shops now hold forth. He also loves “connections” so takes great pains to note that the Burgess firm dates to Munjoy Hill and an 1858 start in the spot later occupied by the Adams School at Munjoy and Wilson streets.

And he notes, bringing us right up-to-date, “When the Adams School was torn down in 2006, considerable environmental contamination was discovered, a legacy not only from the lead paint factory, but also from a hand grenade factory and gas station which once operated there...”

tour or three (with or without Pokéman) before the snow flies, so check the historical society’s website or sign up there for the society’s periodic event e-mails to find out if and when.

A reminder, too, that Ledman’s book would make a wonderful Chanukah, Christmas or birthday gift for anyone wanting to log a few extra steps on their Fitbit or Apple Watch while learning some fun facts about our Peninsula at the same time.

And finally, about that photo below from Exchange Street between Middle and Federal streets... Most folks fail to look up, but those who do will notice that there’s a cannon ball (yes, a real one) embedded in the side of a building in this block. And further, it’s one of two cannon balls which are (to this day) parts of downtown buildings. To find out the full story about this one — and the other — grab a copy of Ledman’s book and get our your walking shoes so you can experience the miracles which await on the Peninsula, if only you take time to look up, down, ahead and behind.

Again, Ledman makes the connections from what was to what later was to what is — in this case 16 Avesta Housing condos built on the site up on the hill after the major environmental clean-up was done.

We could go on and on, but there are a few better ways to find out more. Best, of course, is to buy a copy of Ledman’s book ($20) yourself, either online from Amazon or in person (remember those local businesses still need our support) from the Maine Historical Society gift shop by the Longfellow House on Congress Street, from Sherman’s or Longfellow Books or from the gift shops at The Observatory on Munjoy Hill or at the Victoria Mansion.

Also, check out the Maine Historical Society website at www.mainehistory.org as Ledman has done several walking tours of the city to explore sites in person, and he’s also (to appeal to younger history buffs) done a couple of Pokéman Go walking tours, which the society’s website describes as “a one-hour walking tour of historic places in Portland. The tour starts at Maine Historical Society and the route includes Pokéstops lit up with lures for maximum pocket monster catching. Your tour guide is Paul Ledman, author of Walking Through History, the perfect companion guide to any trainer looking for a little history while trying to catch ‘em all.” Ledman told Up Portland he hopes to do another walking

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The Buck Stops Here

to you. There are many factors that determine the amount of coverage you need. To start, look at your annual income, outstanding mortgage, future amount you intend to put toward retirement, estate taxes, uninsured medical expenses and funeral costs.

By Luke Reinhard / Advisor — Ameriprise Financial

Get Ready for Open Enrollment Season For most people, employer-sponsored benefits are a sizeable chunk of their total compensation. That’s why making the right choices is critical and it’s worth spending the time to create a plan and get it right. From mid-October through early December, most employees will have the opportunity to review and make changes to their benefit options.

Disability and long-term care insurance — Many employers also offer disability income coverage. This is a valuable benefit to provide an income stream if an accident, injury or illness prevents you from working for an extended period. Any option to purchase additional coverage is worth considering to have more complete protection. Some employers also offer the opportunity to purchase long-term care coverage with a group discount.

Compare the costs with coverage you can purchase on your own to determine where you will get the best value.

Open enrollment season is a good time to talk to your employer’s benefits administrator if you have questions about your options. It also makes sense to consult with your financial advisor for perspective on how your benefits fit with your overall financial plan.

Many of us simply check the boxes to continue our current benefits. Maintaining the status quo takes less time and is an easy way to validate the choices we’ve made in the past.

Of course, if you have experienced a major life event, such as a significant job change, health issue, marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or a child leaving the nest, it’s likely you’re going to need to make some adjustments.

However, even if you haven’t had major change in your life, it’s wise to take a hard look at all your benefits. Here are some key areas you should consider during your open enrollment period to ensure you’re maximizing your benefits: Retirement savings plan — Open enrollment is a prime time to consider boosting your retirement plan contributions and assess your investment choices. In 2016, individuals under 50 years old can contribute $18,000 to their 401(k) or 403(b) plan in 2016, while those ages 50 and older can contribute $24,000. You may also want to consider a Roth 401(k) or 403(b) as a way to build up retirement savings that may qualify to be withdrawn on a tax-free basis when you retire. It’s important to note that the 2017 limits for both health care FSAs and retirement savings plans are indexed to inflation and have not been set yet (as of 14th September 2016).

Health benefits — Insurance coverage is a top priority for most of us.

Think about your own health and what your anticipated medical needs might be in the coming year and pick an appropriate plan. You might want to choose a plan with lower deductibles if you expect to address specific medical issues. A high deductible option may be best if you don’t anticipate any major medical issues (although we never know when such problems may occur). If you go the high deductible route, look into a Health Savings Account (HSA). It allows you to set money aside on a pre-tax basis that can be used to meet current eligible out-of-pocket medical expenses, but can also be invested to grow and help pay future medical costs.

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) — Your employer may offer the ability to use pre-tax dollars to fund spending accounts to help pay for medical and child care expenses. In effect, this reduces your out-of-pocket expenses in each area. There are limits to the amount you can put toward a health care and dependent care FSA each year; the dependent care limit depends on your marital status and age of your children. Check the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website so you know what your limit is.

Life insurance — If you have family members who rely on you for financial support, life insurance should be a priority. Life insurance helps protect the lifestyle and future goals of your loved ones in the event something happens

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Eric’s Optimal Corner Eric Hilton / Optimal Self Community Health and Wellness Center

Go Ruck!

Recently, I set out to challenge myself and restore some sense of adventure into my life. Since I left the Army, I found that I have gotten a bit too comfortable in my body and I have been sitting too much. I was starting to feel old and stuck.

I know that when I become sedentary in my life I always need to shake myself out of the usual, old patterns with a challenge, so I signed up for the Go Ruck Challenge!

What is Go Ruck? Back in 2012 I completed the Go Ruck Challenge here in Portland. Go Ruck is a group of Prior Military Special Operations Cadre that hosts events around the U.S. and in other countries, bringing military skills and principles to everyday people seeking a challenge and taste of an adventurous life.

The Go Ruck Challenge is a mission-orientated team event, where a group of people meet at a designated point for an intense 12-hour nighttime physical fun fest. The fun consists of carrying a backpack all night long filled with 30 pounds of bricks. This is to imitate a function of being a military soldier under stress.

During the long night, we move together as a team. Your team is as strong as your weakest link. Working together we are given different objects to carry.

One year half of the team carried couches down Commercial Street, while the other half carried a 20 foot telephone pole. For the most recent Go Ruck, we carried sandbags filled with 80 to 120 pounds of sand all around town for the whole night.

group military principles with a strong sense of urgency and severity for the success of the mission, too. This sense of mission is, I feel, missing in people’s lives today and Go Ruck gives it.

At my first Go Ruck event in 2012, there were only 17 people brave enough to do the challenge. This year, there were 42. It is growing because Go Ruck has built a steady following by establishing a strong community over the years.

Go Ruck brings people together by fostering strong camaraderie from team building events and enduring grueling long nights together. The cadre share their military experiences from deployments overseas in combat, inspiring others to find their inner warrior. The importance of team and mission are vital to military success. and this philosophy can be adapted to any everyday real life situation.

The Go Ruck experience represents different things for everyone. For me, it’s extremely therapeutic and is great for boosting the confidence in myself. I have found that when I go out and challenge myself, I am proving what I can do, which instills trust in me to accomplish anything.

Another important part of the Go Ruck experience is the humility in doing something very tough. I learn a lot when I challenge myself and take a break from my comfort zone to see that I always have something to work on or improve.

I definitely love the feeling of giving myself completely to something and not being able to physically move the next day. Running around with a bag of bricks all night long is a great workout and, believe it or not, is super fun.

If you want to challenge yourself and sign up for an event like this, you should set the goal and go for it! The Go Ruck is tough and it is not for everyone. However, I have seen people train hard and make it through the 12 hours and that totally amazed me.

Regardless, by just completing it, the training for an event like this is so worth it and satisfying. It is good to create a training plan to prepare yourself to really maximise the challenge. Strategise and make this a big deal so you can give the best of yourself. Find a buddy to sign up with and challenge each other.

Remember that life is only what you make of it. If you want adventure, go seek it! Challenge yourself and create epic moments in your life. —Eric

The intensity goes nonstop ‘til the sun comes up, so if we are not carrying things from here to there, then we are bear crawling or crab walking through icy fields or doing burpees and lunges down on the beach. The cadre challenge teaches the group to work together, developing team building skills and leadership. The cadre teaches the

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Hackin’ The Net

3.) That you DO mean what you are saying and 4.) That you are aware e-mails are pretty permanent records.

I know all about a certain candidate’s e-mails and I am not going to comment on those, but I am going to say I see how and why things get messed up, so be aware.

Take number one above, for example. I came out to my desk one recent morning and found (along the many, many others a newspaper gets) two e-mails from a pretty high profile Portland business.

By Ted Fleischaker / Publisher This was originally going to be a 2nd point in last month’s column, but then several things happened to make it even more important (I feel) to get said, so now it gets it’s own spotlight. What’s that vital? Just this advice: Do NOT hit that send button on your e-mail unless you are: 1.) 100% sure of who you are sending to; 2.) Sure that what you are saying is what you really, really, intend to say;

The first contained a very long attached file with numbers and amounts charged to Visa, Master, Discover and other credit cards by customers using the business, along with what was obviously the firm’s ledger report from the day prior.

It was complete with the fact the firm took in $5,430 on the day before and there was a lot of other information I was not only not supposed to see, but which left me wondering why I got in the first place.

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The second e-mail revealed none of the mystery as it said simply: “Ted, Please delete the last e-mail I sent to you immediately. The information was not meant for you...” and it was signed by a name at the business I did not know.

So, after I’d had my tea and toast, I wandered by the business and asked what was up, only to have a very red-faced clerk look at me, say “another Ted” was supposed to get the info and he “guessed” my e-mail came up as I have done business with the company. But the real terror was evident in his stammering: “I guess I shudda looked at which Ted this was going to before I hit send, huh?”

Right now, I know way, way more about that Portland business than I ever wanted to (and their owners would like me to know) and about how that poor Midwest lady needed months to mend her fences with that national charity. I never did find out if the restaurant caught the non-payers, but I hope they did.

Meanwhile on this topic, if you do not believe me or him or her, ask anyone who has ever run for office, including a certain female candidate who looks likely to become our next president. Thus my advice: Think, look and do not hit send or post unless you really mean it! Once it’s out there, it’s out there and nothing (nothing) you or anyone wants to make happen will change it. Nothing!

I laughed and promised not to tell his boss (I haven’t) or share the firm’s business with anyone or even say what company he works for (I again have not) but it did provide a teaching moment for him when I reminded him that not everyone is so ethical and he needs to watch before he hits “send” on an e-mail with the firm’s ledger attached hereafter.

The same was true a few years back in Indiana when a neighbour in our condo building called up all flustered in a state of total panic and gasped into the phone, “Where is the recall button on my e-mail programme? It’s an emergency!”

Seems this lady had some not-so-nice comments about a fellow board member of a national organisation on whose governing body she served, but instead of privately sharing her thoughts with the chairman, in error she hit the “all” button and sent those disparaging comments to the whole board, the executive committee AND (wait for it) the person who she was dissing.

She was mortified that there was (and is) no recall button on e-mail, teaching once again that you can say sorry or disregard or delete or whoops all you want, but once that “send” is hit, you are out there with whatever it was you included.

So impossible is the no recall to believe that one big international firm, for an April Fool’s Day joke a year or three back advertised that they had invented a “recall button” and anyone could use it. The whole hoax played out (and I hear a suit even resulted from someone fired for telling their boss he could recall anything) but at the end of the day users of the fake recall were just as red-faced as those who knew none exists.

Need yet another recent example? This one’s about “social media” which is the name given to such things as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and their ilk. And the example is to watch what you post and who is seeing it. On Facebook one can select who gets to see a post — ranging from one friend in a private message to everyone and anyone who stumbles upon your name while browsing for whatever reason.

An old friend in a city I will leave nameless recently shocked many of us with the post he made in the screen shot I took and placed on this page. In it, he was supposed to be instructing some of the restaurant’s employees to figure out who did not pay their bill and walked out and asking them to go after them and demand payment. Sadly, instead of putting the post on Facebook in messages to the folks he intended, as you can see, he placed it in the “public” area and we all got to view it. Whoops! And such a bad whoops that another of his friends even added in the comments “I bet you did not mean for all of us to see this, did you?”

So that brings this columnist full circle. Rules one, two, three and four I began with remain true and need to be carefully observed.

Be 100% sure who you are e-mailing. Be sure you REALLY REALLY want to say what you have typed (Remember that sleeping on it is not a bad thing...save that e-mail as a draft, think about it again later and change, delete or then send it.) and keep in mind that it’s pretty easy to have an errant e-mail come back and bite you on the bottom days, weeks or even years after you hit send.

Since I have a bit of space left, I wanted to comment on all the new gear Apple has recently put on sale... and my one-word comment is “Try”. Try before you buy (or upgrade) and see if you are getting “improvements” you want, need or even like.

Try and see if the changes fit you. If so, then buy, as this is awesome gear, but only IF you can overcome the changes.... some of which, to this reviewer, seem made just for change’s sake.

In my case, a new iPhone 7+ arrived on the desk, replacing my old, old 5S and while I love the camera’s photo quality (as I am certain readers, too, will notice with pictures this issue) and the optical 2X zoom, I am not fond of the size, weight or that in the Apple design team’s effort to push everyone away from plugging stuff in, Apple did away with the headphone jack. It should be explained that I rarely use headphones, and they do have a converter to use your standard ones with the lightning port in the bottom and they include a set that work without the converter in the box, but why? They say space, keeping moisture out and more, but this reviewer would have liked a 2nd model offered with that “old fashioned” headphone jack in the spot where it always was. That aside, the new phone is good (though I sometimes feel I am holding my iPad Pro to my ear when conversating) but so far I am getting used to it. More next issue, but remember the word: TRY!

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Friday 25th November Papers On Street: Tuesday 29th November

Up Portland is edited in Portland and printed the last week of every month in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We may be contacted at the e-mail or phone number below. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and fairness, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors. Liability is limited to the cost of said ad. Ads not cancelled by published deadlines may be billed at agreed-upon price.

Ads may be edited or rejected for content at the discretion of the publisher. All items appearing in Up Portland, as well as the name, logos and design are copyright 2016 by BBS, A division of High Speed Delivery Fork Ltd. & Ted Fleischaker and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written approval.

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Here’s What We Think...

Up Portland’s Opinion

There’s a lot at stake on 8th November, when we all (Please vote!) go to the polls.

While the presidential race has clearly had most of the hype, Up Portland wants to weigh in on at least some of the rest of what will be on your ballot.

First (and in the fewest words possible) please vote for Hillary Clinton. Not only is she experienced and ready to do the job as President, but Donald Trump is more than a laughing stock — he’s a danger to the world. Also, as we moved here awhile back from Indiana, where Mike Pence is the sitting governor, allow us to say you do not want this extreme right winger a heartbeat away from the White House, either. Recall that this is the man who shoved through the strongest anti-gay and anti-choice legislation anywhere in the nation under the guise of “religious freedom”. Nuf’s said, aside from please do not waste your vote on 3rd party candidates... it may seem a good “protest” idea but in reality it takes a vote away from Hillary and gives it to Trump. We do NOT want a President Trump or VP Pence. Oh, and it’s gonna be interesting to see what becomes of some of the folks at the FBI after supposedly “discovering” some e-mails just before the election. No matter who wins it looks like some fur (and resignations) need to fly.

Moving along, We plan to vote Democrat for offices down the ballot, too. We

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think in District 1, Rep. Chellie Pingree is doing a very good job, and though we can’t in Portland vote for her, we’d cast a ballot, were we able, for Emily Cain in District 2, too. The biggest reasons are we’d like a Democratic House to go with a Democratic President and we find Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s vote switching on an equality bill after the House Republicans asked him to tow the party line to be playing too much party politics at the expense of our rights. He needs to go.

But to us, as important as the President and congress are, the ballot initiatives will hit we Portlanders more directly. You may or may not agree with our comments and do feel free to object, whine and bitch. The e-mail is at the end of this editorial, but this is how we plan to vote and what Up Portland recommends you consider as well: —Ballot Question 1: Legalisation of recreational marijuana for those over 21.

This editor has not smoked any pot in 30+ years (though I think I did inhale back then) and does not plan to start, but this newspaper strongly favours YES ON 1. The reasons are easy: A majority in all polling feel it’s time for the antiquated drug policy in the country and state to change and a lot of we Mainers feel what someone does behind closed doors should be their, not the government’s, business or make the user a criminal.

We do know a lot of friends in the medical pot field fear passage will affect their treatment and availability of medicinal pot, but everything we have read and friends we have talked to in Colorado and the northwest flies in the face of this argument.

Also, we know the governor and some city councils (so far, as of this deadline, Westboook’s being the most, we feel, overly needlessly scare-mongering) do not want pot sales or places to use it to be available to their citizens, but just like

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prohibition in 1930, the tide has changed. They may either ride along or be left behind. Dare this writer remind these nay-sayers that the state law will prevail and while you may feel your negative attitude may “save” your children and citizens by banning sales and smoking lounges in your towns, in reality all you really are doing is driving that business elsewhere and losing it locally.

In conclusion, in Massachusetts, where legal pot is also on the ballot, The Boston Globe editorial board said this a few days ago... and we agree 100%: “Using marijuana isn’t completely safe, and it isn’t completely harmless to others when users drive. But a social consensus is clearly emerging that pot’s real dangers just aren’t great enough to merit outlawing it anymore...Legal marijuana is coming. Let’s get on with it.” Vote YES ON 1.

—Ballot Question 2: This initiative would add a 3% tax on those making over $200,000 to pay for education.

Up Portland’s advice: A strong NO on this one. First of all we have one of the highest tax burdens in the country already. Secondly, taxing high wage earners sends a message that they (and the firms who hire them) are not welcome in Maine. And lastly, the education system is, we feel, poorly spending much of the cash they already have. Please vote NO on two.

—Ballot Question 3: Background checks for gun sales.

This one to us is a total no-brainer: Vote YES. Right now the average Mainer needs a whole lot more checking out to buy a home, get a driver’s licence or fly on an airplane than to buy and use a lethal weapon. While the necessity in today’s times for the 2nd Amendment to even exist may be questionable to some of us, at the end of the day it’s the law, so we should legally screen who gets a weapon and block sales to felons, domestic abusers and those with criminal backgrounds.

We can hear the NRA and their ilk shouting, “What about hunters and legal uses?” And we are gonna shout back: “Those with legitimate uses for guns will still be free to buy, use and possess them, but this initiative can and will save lives by offering some legit, legal checks and permits.” Vote YES.

choice candidates. Those would be ranked so that when the election was decided the winner would have to get 50% plus one vote to win. It would stop a mess such as that which put Gov. LePage in for a 2nd term after two sound alternative candidates split the vote in such a way that he squeaked in with under 50% support... and it would mean what supporters say would be “more meaningful choices.”

We as a newspaper have read a lot about this one and after careful consideration recommend readers vote YES. It will need a lot of T’s crossed and I’s dotted — not to mention constitutional testing, which will likely delay implementation, possibly for years — but on paper and thinking about the last gubernatorial vote, we feel it’s still a great idea. YES on 5.

—Finally there’s Ballot Question 6, which is a $100 million bond issue to support infrastructure — everything from bike paths to harbours, rail, mass transit and roads.

On this one Up Portland is choosing to remain neutral. The pro side is we do need better highways, workable bus systems, improved bridges, harbour dredging and more. The work would provide Maine jobs and the cost of borrowing that $100 million is at an all-time low. On the negative side, do we really want to add $100 million to the state’s debt, not to mention the estimated $33 million in interest we taxpayers will be stuck with during the next decade if this passes?

This is one of those personal choice matters and we wish both sides the best, but for right now, at presstime about eight days before the election, you can say our editor is still “undecided.”

So there you have it... the way in a perfect world (to us) the election would turn out in a few days time. Of course, no world is perfect and we could be wrong on some (hopefully not all) of our choices and again the e-mail to comment is below, but I do hope you will agree on two important points regardless of how you plan to vote: 1.) That we all go out and we do vote — either absentee or at the polls; And

—Ballot Question 4 reads: “Do you want to raise the minimum hourly wage of $7.50 to $9 in 2017, with annual $1 increases up to $12 in 2020, and annual cost-of-living increases thereafter; and do you want to raise the direct wage for service workers who receive tips from half the minimum wage to $5 in 2017, with annual $1 increases until it reaches the adjusted minimum wage?”

We wrote at length on this last issue, but we will reiterate that the tipped worker portion of this one is, we feel, a job killer, a restaurant closer and will be bad, not good, for those working for tips. You can see our entire argument in the last issue in our on-line archive at www.upportland.com but our view has not changed: NO on 4 will send this back to square one, where hopefully it will be broken into two initiatives for a future vote: One to help those working for toolow minimum wages (clerks, back-of-house staff at restaurants and others) and one to make a sensible proposal for those getting tips. The current initiative fails this test and needs to be soundly defeated. NO on 4. It’s not good for business and it’s especially bad for those of us here in Portland who live for our restaurant community’s wonderful food and the locals and visitors it all attracts — in season and out.

—Ballot Question 5: This one has a lot of in’s and out’s and is confusing (not to mention it could be unconstitutional per the League of Women Voters of Maine’s Education Fund Guide) but it would, if it passes voters and constitutional muster, establish so-called “ranked choice voting.”

2.) That we accept victory with a smile or defeat with grace as we all should in a democracy.

See you at the polls!

Ted Fleischaker, Publisher, Up Portland. ted@upportland.com

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That would mean you’d vote for your top and 2nd, or even 1st, 2nd and 3rd

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Food Network To Feature Portland On Brand New Programme In 2017 It’s no shock in the “foodiest city in America” to see camera crews, but it was a surprise to see them at Two Fat Cats Bakery more than once in the same month, though we locals know Stacy and her crew’s cakes, pies and desserts really are “that good”.

This time, though, we can tell what was up (as last time it was confidential) so we are allowed to say we got to see the Food Network a couple weeks ago at Two Fat Cats video taping interviews about their Whoopie Pies.

It's all for a new programme called Good Time on a Dime which the production crew told us is set to start airing late Winter or early Spring. They are doing an entire Portland episode.

The couple in the photo, by the way, were just married and on honeymoon. He's French, she's American and they are living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Doesn't get much more international than that here in Portland.

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Summer’s End Means Time To Relax

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What a season we have had on the peninsula. There were record crowds, over 75 ships — old friends and maiden voyages — and every day it seems there was excitement. Businesses reported an eye-popping season and sidewalks and streets were humming. But now the leaves are about done turning, Thanksgiving approaches, some businesses close until Spring and the pace slows. Enjoy some time with friends and family, until we do it all again in just a few months time!

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