Fourteen Rules for Nut Ridgers

The Pratt family has spent every summer of their lives for 4 generations and 70-some consecutive years at our cottages on the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. These two cottages - one red, one white - are purely summer homes for entertainment and relaxation. But there are some rules:

1. Never call it a mosquito bite.
2. Beer cans only.
3. Wetsuits permitted only if water temp + air temp < 120 degrees
4. All putts break towards the lake.
5. No Mets fans.
6. It's always Happy Hour.
7. If it's yellow let it mellow.
8. No sleeping in the Indian Cave.
9. Never admit that it rained.
10. Always tie two half hitches.
11. Bathe in the lake.
12. Never bid 5 unless your opponents bid 4.
13. Lift the yellow raft by the bottom ring.
14. Only cook over a driftwood fire.

Voluntarily breaking these rules will result in an immediate revoking of the Nut Ridger title and permanently temporary ban from having fun.

Nine Facts about Nut Ridge

Nut Ridge is a small community on Cayuga Lake in upstate New York. My family has had two cottages there for four generations.  Over those 70-some years, nine facts have always rung true:

1. There are no mosquitos.
2. The water was always warmer last week.
3. 2 bid = 3 trump and no bower.
4. It never rains.
5. It will blow off the dock and into the water.
6. Voices carry farther than you think.
7. Wind out of the north blows for 3 days.
8. Everything tastes better over a driftwood fire.
9. There's never been a more beautiful sunset.

There is no debating this. It is the word of Pratt.

Nut Ridge Six-Handed Bid Euchre

Nut Ridge Six-Handed Bid Euchre was invented by my grandparents in the 40s or 50s in the village of Nut Ridge on the east shore of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York. They devised the game to solve the problem of having too many euchre players at weekend gatherings. According to all who have tried it, Nut Ridge Six-Handed Bid Euchre will make you forget all about it's bland four-handed cousin. The following description assumes you know how to play four-handed. Six handed is not the place to learn euchre, although four experienced six-handed players can have a decent game with two "never-evers" who don't know a bower from a beer nut.

Two teams of three each are seated alternately around a table. Teams start at 21 points and try to get to zero. Teams that successfully take the number of tricks they bid have that number subtracted from their score. Tricks taken in excess of the bid are not counted. A "loner" (playing it "alone") counts 10. If you are unsuccessful in making your bid, your score goes up by the number you bid and your opponents' comes down by that same amount. Euchres are painful, but then, so is under-bidding.

The deck consists of 32 cards - seven through ace. Cards are dealt in groups of three and two so that each player gets five cards. There is a two card kitty, which goes to the person who wins the bid. Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table one time. Each bid must be higher than the preceding. All suits are of equal value. Of course anyone can pass. After discarding the two unwanted cards from the kitty, the bidder leads the first card - almost always a trump.

Bids:
One bid = You have the right bower, little else.
Two bid = You have three trump, but no bower.
Higher bids (3,4, 5 and "alone") = You should have more than a one or two bid unless you're building on a partner's bid ... or you're a certified Nut Ridge lunatic like Betty Jeanne Pratt or the Pafesser. In general, you're bidding the number of tricks you think you and your partners can take. An example of a three bid is a bower and two other trump. A four bid might be a bower, two trump and an outside ace. If you yourself have enough to take five tricks, you should play it "alone", since you get ten points instead of five. Five bids are normally attempted when you are building on a partner AND your opponents have bid four. This is because five bids are hard to make unless you have a real powerhouse yourself , and in that case, you should be playing "alone".

Finer Points of the Game:

• It's OK to cheat fair.
• When one of your partners makes a mistake, even a small one, you should be as vicious as possible in pointing out the screw up. This will not only make them better euchre players but better prepared for life.
• The bidding "rules" are generally just guidelines that are often broken for poor reasons.

Hi, My Name is Ryan Pratt, and I Am a Sleep Talker

Unlike the snorers of the world, I can admit I am a sleep talker. But why isn't my girlfriend terrified when I wake up in the middle of the night, point to the corner of the room, and say "Who's that"? Granted, it's not a rarity. And often times the lights are still on in the room. But when someone sits up in bed at 3:41am, points to a shadow created by the bathroom light and the robe hanging on the door, and sounds truly concerned, you'd think I'd get a reaction other than laughter. Then again, I do sometimes think there's a troll in my lap as well.

The Price Doesn't Have to be Right

On a Wednesday morning four years ago I made my way up the 405 from Laguna to LA to stand in line for "The Price is Right." I had a plan. An ingenious plan. If I could just get a yellow price tag with my name it, and impress the producers enough to call my name to "come on down," I was certain to make it on stage and spin that wheel. If the first four people on contestants row just make a pact to overbid each other by $1 every time it guarantees them all a chance at the wheel! Brilliant, right? Well my ingenious plan didn't account for the 405 morning traffic and I was 2 hours late, and the 255th person on standby to get inside.

The Perfect Kayak for You

I was recently asked by two completely different demographics of people for kayak purchasing advice, and my response was exactly the same to both. Whether you are married or single, a man or woman, physically fit or obese, on the ocean or on a farm - the Malibu 2XL Ocean Kayak is the perfect kayak for you. It is a long tandem kayak that can comfortably seat 2 adults plus a child in between, and can also be paddled solo on a calm creek or in 20ft swells. I bought mine from AustinKayak.com and couldn't be happier with my purchase. They even offer a bundled package on sale with seats, paddles and life jackets all delivered directly to your door. It's a great deal and the best grand I ever spent.

Surviving Survivor

It always amazes me that contestants on the reality TV series "Survivor" can't keep cool long enough to make it to "the merge." It's the only thing you need to do to survive longer than half of your competitors. Maybe I am just speaking for myself, as a level-headed long-fuse - and granted the producers cast the most dramatic personalities they can find - but for a million dollars? C'mon! Then again, I do get pretty cranky when I haven't eaten.

Should I Buy an iPad?

Hm... some background on how I use my iPad might help.

I've had mine for just over a year now. At first, I used my iPad for everything - read, write, consume and create. I never even turned on my computer at home (though I still needed a PC between 9 and 5). My iPad was my coolest newest toy.

It is not anymore.

Today, I have found the perfect balance between iPad, computer(s), AND iPhone. This is a key point, because if you don't have an iPhone (or smartphone for that matter) you will use the iPad more often and much differently than I do.

Today, I use my iPad almost exclusively to consume: read news, check Facebook and Twitter, surf the web, do research (aka Google stuff), and shop online. If I didn't have an iPhone I would probably use it to listen to music (iPod, Audible and Pandora) and watch movies (iPod, Netflix, Hulu, Slingbox and YouTube) as well. And I don't read many books, but if I did, I am sure I would use it for that as well (Amazon just announced a milestone that they are now selling more eBooks than print books).

The iPad is not a great tool for creating: typing is awkward, functions aren't intuitive, apps don't exist, and file management is a mess. If you want to write documents, edit spreadsheets, create presentations, or edit photos and movies, your computer will still be your main tool (though the iPad can add some cool new features to this process). I will say that my iPad has completely replaced pens and notepads in my life - which I used to have beside my bed, on the fridge, and on my desk. At the office, I ONLY need my iPad for meetings - no need for a laptop or a notepad, and it often comes in handy to quickly look something up that someone forgot to bring or wanted to know.

I can't really speak to how you might use it, because our lives are likely so different, but as a multi-tasking millennial and early-adopter of all technology, I love my iPad. It has simplified and and streamlined so many processes in my life - and am quickly nearing a time and place where, like my iPhone, I can't imagine living without it.

May the Fourth Be With You

May 4th is Star Wars Day. And this year, fanboys around the world anxiously awaited a “big” announcement from George Lucas and co. This was going to be the “Luke, I am your father” of announcements. A Jabba the Hutt-sized surprise. It turned out to be a Jar Jar Binksish disappointment - the Star Wars trilogies were coming to Blu-ray in September - old news to anyone with an Amazon.com account or any blog-reading cinephile or techie.

In the days leading up to Star Wars Day - aka May 2nd and 3rd - my mind was optimistically pod-racing with ideas. Was George going to announce he’d finished the script for Episode 7? Was the live-action TV series finally coming to FOX this fall? Did he decide to release the original films, un-re-mastered? Maybe the films were finally going to be available as an official iTunes digital download - instead of ripping your copies with HandBrake or downloading the files via LimeWire? I would have even been more excited about an official timeline for the 3-D re-releases in theaters. But once again, as per usual with the Star Wars universe lately, I found myself - as many fanboys did - disappointed. Fingers crossed for the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game!

555-FILK

Thank you Cosmo Kramer! You inspired me.

In an episode of “Seinfeld” titled “The Pool Guy,” Kramer receives numerous “wrong number” phone calls, and soon learns that his new phone number (555-3455 or 555-FILK) is just one number off of the MovieFone phone number (555-3456 or 555-FILM). He embraces this ironic mishap, and becomes an uninformed movie critic, advising random people whether to see or skip the movies currently playing in theaters.