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Episode 36 was a bit of a college reunion; joining us my were fellow Hobart grads, New York Times Tech columnist Bob Tedeschi and ESPN producer Steve Petyerak. Rounding out this manly conclave: cohost Duo Dickinson, software engineer Justin Gill, and rugby coach and new media man John Broker. We met in a great spot with an extremely manly beer selection – The Cask Republic on Crown Street in New Haven – and we talked about everything from self-check out etiquette to the proper way for parents of athletes to behave at sporting events.

Bob, Steve (in front with Bruce) ), Justin, Duo, and John Broker

For the past 13 years Bob Tedeschi has been a weekly technology columnist for the New York Times, and for many of those years he’s also written  weekly or monthly columns on other topics, including travel, mortgages, small town life and, currently, do-it-yourself home improvement. Bob is also a high school lacrosse coach and a longtime youth basketball and lacrosse coach in Guilford, where he lives with his wife and four children (two boys, two girls), whose ages range between 10 and 23.

Steve Petyerak writes and produces predominantly on the 8pm and 11pm editions of SportsCenter, ESPN’s signature program. His responsibilities include selecting and driving content, writing the open of each program, collaborating with anchors to prepare the program, and working in the control room. Before working at ESPN, Steve was a Producer/Writer at Good Morning America, where he received 2 Emmys, as the show was named Outstanding Morning Program.

Justin Gill is a software developer who has worked for the NHL and ESPN. 15 years ago he met a girl from New Haven. Together they own a house in Westville. Although Justin considers himself an urbanite, he plans to have a small farm with goats and miniature donkeys. He loves hockey, Apple computers and only grills with charcoal. Follow Justin on Twitter @newhavengill.

John Broker, General Manager for H2H Media, has been a dedicated sports professional for over 10 years in progressive endeavors including broadcast, marketing, events, high performance athlete development, and athletic organization development.  John is also the coach of Yale University Men’s Rugby. Prior to entering the sports field, John worked as a Project Manager in the A/E field, developing operational plans for communities to address infrastructure needs through transit solutions across the United States.

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We laughed a lot in Episode 35, recorded on a bright sunny day at the recently reopened Stone House in Guilford. The Stone House took a direct hit from Irene but is open for business and looking better than ever. The views – and the food – were SPECTACULAR, and we had conversations about about coping with difficult times, handling the smaller emergencies and prioritizing home improvement projects.

Our guest editors included design firm founder Amy Graver, author Lisa Lelas, and two wonderful sisters – Kerry McDermott Holmes and Kimberly McDermott Esty.

Kimberly, Bruce, Duo, Lisa, Kerry and Amy (Photo by Kim Grehn)

Kimberly Esty, a native Nutmegger, currently lives in Madison, CT where she and her husband have been for 20 years. Their two sons are off at college, so Kimberly’s current project is adjusting to the “new normal” of their empty nest. While she has had a myriad of jobs, her most demanding, successful, challenging, and rewarding vocation has been as a wife, mother, and friend.

Lisa Lelas is an author & speaker on the subject of Organizing Time, Space & Goals. She is the host of ‘Simply Organized’ on local cable channels and does the organizing segments for both Channel 8 and Channel 30 news. Lisa is also the editor of West Hartford Magazine. Listeners may know Lisa from her weekly “Life Styling” organizing columns in the shoreline pages of the New Haven Register. She has appeared on Oprah, the Today show, and more.

Kerry Holmes is the President of Harbor Promotions, a promotional products company based in Madison, CT that caters to businesses, schools and non-profits nationwide. In her spare time, Kerry volunteers for Middlesex Hospital and Madison Fireworks, builds gingerbread houses and enjoys word games. Kerry is married to Matt Holmes; together they have three daughters and two high-strung dogs.

Amy Graver is the President and Creative Director of Elements, a marketing communication and graphic design firm based in Branford, Connecticut. Prior to founding Elements over fourteen years ago, Amy has become a nationally recognized leader within the design and marketing community. She served as the President of the Connecticut Art Director’s Club, helped found a Connecticut Chapter of the AIGA (the largest professional design organization in the country), is on the Advisory Board of Package Design Magazine, has won national and international design awards, is a frequent speaker and writer and she just completed co-authoring her first book on graphic design due out in July.

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We recorded Episode 34 about a week before Valentine’s Day, so “love” was on the minds of our guest editors, dating coach Ronnie Ann Ryan, entrepreneur Danyel Aversenti, media personality Matt Scott, and freelance writer Sarah Kyrcz.

Making matters even more romantic was the fact that we recorded our gathering at John Davenport’s on the 19th floor of the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, which possesses what I believe are some of the best views of New Haven.

We discussed topics ranging from spinsterhood to dating mistakes and the meaning of love…

Sarah, Duo, Ronnie, Bruce, Danyel and Matt (Photo by Cindy)

Sarah Page Kyrcz is a freelance writer based in Madison. Her bi-weekly series, “Moms’ Talk” – designed to address issues that affect parents, neighbooods and the community at large – ran on eight local Patch sites in Southeastern Connecticut. When she is not writing she is spending time with her two active teenage daughers and her husband.

Ronnie Ann Ryan woke up on her 40th birthday and realized she might be single for the rest of her life. It was at that moment she decided to turn things around. After dating 30 men in 15 months, she met her husband Paul. Having figured out the key to midlife dating, she knew others could too – which was why she became a Dating Coach and founded It’s Never Too Late for Love. Ms. Ryan is a Certified Coach, marketing consultant, writer, professional speaker and workshop leader. She has worked in Marketing for 20+ years with Fortune 500 companies, agencies, small businesses, and individuals to develop strategies and implement programs.

Danyel Aversenti is the founder and CEO of Our Empty Space, allowing owners of empty city-spaces (mainly storefronts) to showcase empty space to people in their community for use as a temporary venue. She has also launched a Kickstarer campaign for a restaurant concept called r-evolving restaurant.

Matt Scott is a washed up broadcaster. Seriously. Since 1995, he’s been a likeable, and somewhat irreverent weatherman. He’s worked from West Virginia to Boston, recently on WTNH in Connecticut. Now, he’s recovering from all that. He still delivers sassy (and sometimes odd) forecasts on social media, on the not-yet-award-winning “Meteorologist Matt Scott” fanpage on Facebook, and @themattcast on Twitter. He occasionally appears on Cablevision’s News 12. His latest project is”Matt Scott Productions”, which takes old school broadcasting, moving it onto new platforms. As creator of “Twivia”, he has launched Twitter’s first Trivia game show (follow it at @twiviact).

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We had a lively editorial board meeting over delicious Mediterranean cuisine at The Greek Olive in New Haven’s Long Wharf section. (They’re a neighbor to the renowned  Long Wharf Theater!)

Our guest editors this week were Erika Horne, Gaye Hyre, Sallie Kraus, and Paul Schatz, and the conversations ranged from coping with family dramas caused by aging parents to cars, commuting and renovation nightmares!

Erika, Duo, Gaye, Sallie, Paul and Bruce

Erika Horne is a life-long Connecticut resident; she grew up in Guilford, but recently moved to Suffield. She is a Supervisor of a Client Service Department for a large medical laboratory, where she has been employed for over 25 years. She has been married for 15 years, and is a mother to one 12-year-old son, James.  In her spare time, Erika is a self-proclaimed “foodie,” and she and her husband like to entertain and cook for friends. She frequently likes to read cast-off books from friends’ book clubs (that way she doesn’t have to participate in the discussion and gets to save loads of cash by borrowing the book).

Gaye Hyre is a cancer survivor, and an organizer of last October’s successful ArtBra New Haven auction to raise funds for the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital.  She is already beginning work on the encore, coming this October. Gaye took the Sustainable Building Advisor class (two sessions taught by Duo), and is working on turning her passion for sustainability and conservation into her next career, using her own home as a lab project. At this time of year, she is eagerly awaiting the return of the flea market season. Gaye and Sallie are lifelong friends, have shared various visisitudes, and have lived to tell the tales.

Sallie Kraus is a lawyer and urban planner specializing in complex environmental/toxic tort insurance claims. She also writes on  issues like climate change.  Sallie grew up in Stratford and met Gaye Weinstein Hyre in Hebrew School. They have survived  high school German, career crises, home renovation, aging parents and lately, breast cancer.  Sallie’s favorite gift ever was a toolbox from Gaye.  Sallie lived in NYC, now resides  in Stamford, recruits Stamford Symphony volunteers and loves the arts. She never sits in the quiet car on her Metro-North commute. She says: “six degrees of separation is for amateurs.“

Paul Schatz is President and Chief Investment Officer of Heritage Capital, LLC, an award-winning personal investment management firm dedicated to growing portfolios and protecting the assets of individuals, trusts, and corporations. As a 21-year industry veteran, Paul has managed over $100 million in collective assets for a broad range of clients. Paul lives and works in Woodbridge Connecticut.

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We recorded this week’s episode at Bentara in New Haven’s Ninth Square (thanks to Niza for hosting us!), and our guest editors were Mary Elliot, Amy Nawrocki, Eric Lehman, and Paul Sessions.

Niza, Paul, Eric, Mary, Duo, Bruce and Amy (Photo by Cindy)

Mary is a stay-at-home Mom with four children, one husband and no pets unless you count that ant farm on the dresser in her son’s bedroom.  She has a Yale B.A., a Ph.D. in English from Boston College, and—in her old life—taught writing, English and American lit courses at B.C., Gonzaga University & Whitworth College in Spokane, WA.  Upon the birth of her twins in Colorado, she perished rather than published, but has written a couple of novels that need serious rework before they see the light of day.  She likes to play the fiddle, hike, bike-ride and unwind with good friends.

Poet Amy Nawrocki teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Bridgeport. She is the author of three poetry collections, “Potato Eaters,” “Nomad’s End,” and “Lune de Miel” (forthcoming) and two prose works, of “A History of Connecut Wine: Vineyard in Your Backyard, and “A History of Connecticut Food” both coauthored with her husband Eric D. Lehman. You can reach her by email at nawrocki@bridgeport.edu or Facebook.

Eric D Lehman is a travel and history writer, and Director of Creative Writing at the University of Bridgeport. He dabbles in many genres, and has been published in a wide variety of journals and magazines, from the International Henry Miller Journal to Antiques Trader. His books on Bridgeport, Hamden, and A History of Connecticut Wine are available from The History Press. Forthcoming books include A History of Connecticut Food and the Insiders Guide to Connecticut, both of which will be out in Spring 2012.

Paul Sessions is Director of the Center for Family Business at the University of New Haven. He is also a trusted advisor to a number of family businesses, dealing with succession, communication and conflict, and has been spending a fair amount of time lately coaching individual family members and key employees. He loves his work with families, his partner Gayle, his son Gabriel, his music, great books and good food and wine.

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This week’s conversations took place at one of our favorite restaurants in New Haven: Union League Cafe (thanks Jean-Pierre!), and our guest editors were Cynthia Lyon,  Susan Jacobs, and Cynthia’s sister, food critic Todd Lyon.

Cynthia, Duo, Bruce, Susan and Todd (Photo by Cindy)

Cynthia is the founder and leader of Eight To The Bar, where she is also the primary songwriter and arranger. She has also played with Amyl and the Icons and The Dirty Blondes of New York City.

Susan has practiced law for more than thirty years, devoting her practice to Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Law.  She is active in community theater and has served on numerous boards and commissions in the Town of Woodbridge.

Todd  has been covering the local restaurant scene for 20-plus years, for The New Haven Register, The New Haven Advocate, Connecticut Magazine and now the newly-launched Daily Nutmeg. She has authored, co-authored and/or ghost-written 17 books on subjects as diverse as Champagne, business and kissing. For the last seven years, she and co-owner Nancy Shea have run Fashionista Vintage and Variety, a clothing store for eccentrics.

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We gathered to record Episode 30 at Cafe Romeo, the hip, delicious East Rock coffee shop. We were joined by Anne Witkavitch, Kristin Huffman, and Mark Branch, and hosted by Chris Mordececai.

Bruce, Anne, Mark, Kristen, Chris, and Duo (Photo by Cindy)

After getting her MFA, Anne Witkavich left Corporate America and started her own communications & change management consulting business. She also compiled and edited the award winning book, Press Pause Moments, and began teaching writing at WCSU. Anne is a health and wellness enthusiast and stays active with her husband, two children, dog and cat. Her philosophy is that if you have a vision and a plan, you’ll get where you’re going no matter what life throws at you.

Kristin Huffman is a multi tasker who really doesn’t like to multi task.  She is a producer, Broadway performer (in the Tony Award winning show “Company”), Artistic Director and founder of The New Paradigm Theatre which is hosting the “So ya wanna be a Broadway Star” competition Jan 28/29th in Stamford. Kristin is a professor at The University of Hartford (Hartt school) and Western CT University.  (She was also Miss Ohio and a runner-up to Miss America which paid off all her student loans at Northwestern University!)

Mark Alden Branch is the executive editor of the Yale Alumni Magazine and a writer with a special interest in architecture and design. He is the father of two boys and lives in the East Rock section of New Haven.

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Episode 29 was recorded on a busy Sunday afternoon at the incredible Modern Apizza on State Street in New Haven.

Ted, Duo, Bruce, Debby and Cristin (Photo by Cindy)

Our guest conversationalists were Debby Wan, Cristin Siebert and Ted Koppy.

Debby is a Connecticut native but has recently moved to the New Haven area. She’s a mechanical engineer by trade and is also the Vice President of the Friends of the New Haven Animal Shelter.

Cristin moved around extensively both in the U.S. and abroad before settling down in New Haven seven years ago. She is the Director of Yale Academic Programs Abroad, which means she spends her time sending undergraduates to study all over the world.

Ted Koppy served as an anchor and general assignment reporter for News 8 [in New Haven] from October 2004 until April of 2011. Prior to joining News 8, Ted was in Phoenix, Arizona, where he anchored KPHO’s morning and noon newscasts. Ted is currently a financial advisor at Waddell & Reed.

We talked about this week’s featured questions – conquering vices, exercise, winter power outages, tax documents, heating costs and civic duty – while munching on a few of Modern’s truly amazing pies…

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Episode 28 was recorded on December 28th, 2011, as we dined on sustainable seafood at Miya’s Sushi on Howe Street. (Thanks, Bun!)

Gary, Bruce, Duo, Kristen and Ed

Our Guest Editors were Kristen Cusato, Gary Choronzy and Ed Bartlett;

As this new year begins, Kristen Cusato begins a new gig. No longer on News 8 in the morning, she is now following her passion, and working as the Southwest Regional Director for the CT Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Her main goal is education, in that many people get diagnosed with dementia, go home and say…now what? She wants to make sure people know there are resources out there, like the helpline, support groups, help for caregivers. (Here is the website.)

Kristen credits her Mom, who has younger onset dementia, as giving her a second career, and a chance to help people dealing with this mind robbing disease.

And Personally, she is a huge fan of sushi and sake.

Gary Choronzy is the Chief Web Guy at Connecticut Websites, and has built projects for folks like Ann Nyberg’s Network Connecticut, Ed Bartlett’s CT Out and About, and most recently, George Gombossy’s CT Watchdog.

Gary became a “friend of the Guide” in 2009, when he redesigned the website and programmed it to run on WordPress, the leading content management system on the web.

Ed Bartlett  is President and CEO of Shoreline Out and About LLC publishes two Arts, Entertainment, and Event websites, CT Out & About and Shoreline Out & About. Both websites focus on anything and everything fun to do in the State of Connecticut.

In this episode, we talked about information overload, winter vacations, and social networking (a lively discussion!) - as well as tasty (yet healthful) foods and New Years resolutions…