Tag Archives: Event

Sometimes I organize events through this site.

Foreign Film Night!

20 May 2020 Nathan Ruffing

FFN is an effort to get some culture from around the world – and have an excuse to hang out on Wednesday night. Subtitled, never dubbed.

Upcoming Film Ideas

The Black Book – Dutch

The Wind Rises – Japanese, heart-wrenching WW1

More Studio Ghibli

More French, they have been good.

Das Boot – German

More Zhang Yimou – Chinese director who has been banned multiple times in China.

Wolf Warrior Two – recent Chinese propaganda movie.

Past Films with Rating (out of 4 Stars)

Parasite – 3.5 stars for South Korea. Everybody liked it. Funny and dark.

Dostana – 2.5 stars for Bollywood. Funny and entertaining.

Der Untergang – 3 star for the Germans. Film about the final months of Hitler. Includes famously-memed scene of Hitler ranting to his generals.

Coco avant Chanel – 3.5 stars for the French. Another great French film. The life of Gabrielle Chanel.

The Resistance Banker – 3.5 stars for the Dutch. WW2 Amsterdam Resistance finance.

Mongol – 4 stars for the Russians / Kazaks. About the rise of Ghengis Khan

Amélie – 4 stars for the French. Chick flick, but good.

Spirited Away – 3 wild stars for the Japanese, Studio Ghibli

Bullhead – 1 star for the Belgians. Traumatic scene not outweighed by the movie quality.

Edge of Democracy – documentary about Brazilian politics. Re-watch in person to keep track of characters. Where did the footage come from??

Man of the Year – 2 stars for the Brazilians. Nate’s favorite to learn Portuguese.

The Bird Cage – 3.5 stars for the French.

Force Majeure – 3 stars for the Swedish. Interesting. Deep? Funny?

The Farewell – 3 stars. Pretend Grandma isn’t dying. Chinese culture.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon – 3.5 stars, Chinese.

La Sombra y La Tierra – 2.5 stars for the Colombians.

Dangal – 3.5 stars for the Indians for female wrestling!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night –

Ratatouille – not really foreign but takes place in Paris. Watched for kids present.

Princess Mononoke

Hero – 3.5 stars for Zhang Yimou.

Raise the Red Lanterns – 3.5 stars, Delaware Hayes classic for Zhang Yimou.

To Live – Nate’s favorite Zhang Yimou. 4 stars. What a period in history for the Chinese.

The Fall of the American Empire –

All, News Organized

2020 Calendar of Events, Sports, Etcetera

26 September 2019 Nathan Ruffing

2020 sports schedule that is mostly not happening!

January

13: BCS National Championship Game

February

1-2: Tennis Australian Open Finals, men’s final starts ~0030 EST Sunday morning (Sunday evening in Melbourne)

2: Super Bowl LIV, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens Florida

March

15: March Madness selection Sunday

April

6: March Madness Championship Game

9-12: Golf Masters

May

14-17: Golf PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco

June

6-7: Tennis French Open Finals, men’s final starts ~0900 EDT Sunday morning (Sunday afternoon in Paris)

18-21: Golf US Open, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, NY

July

11-12: Tennis Wimbledon Finals, men’s final starts ~0900 EDT Sunday morning (Sunday afternoon in London)

27 June – 19 July: Tour de France

16-19: Golf British Open

24 July – 9 Aug: Summer Olympics, Tokyo

August

1-5 August: SCRABBLE NASPA North American SCRABBLE Championship, Radisson Hotel Downtown Baltimore

9-20 August: Chess Magnus Carlsen Tour Final. Organized by Magnus Carlsen, advertised by FIDE, online at Chess24

September

12-13: Tennis US Open Finals, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York

October

Late Oct: Baseball World Series

November

None

December

14: Total solar eclipse visible in Chile and Argentina

There are no total lunar eclipses in 2020.

2022: Winter Olympics in Beijing, 4 – 20 Feb 2022

2022: Soccer World Cup in Qatar, 21 Nov – 18 Dec 2022

2023: Women’s Soccer World Cup, location TBD.

2023: Rugby Union World Cup, France 8 Sep – 21 Oct.

All, Technology Implementation

Columbus Area Technology Club

17 April 2018 Nathan Ruffing

About this Club

In technology, less is more, and knowledge is power.

Hi. I am Nathan Ruffing, the founder of this club. I graduated from Ohio State, Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2006. I served in the US Marines from 2007-2015. I do not work as an engineer. My friends from college are shaping the tech world in which we live. I started this club to bridge the gap between the rapidly advancing tech world and the average person. We are all tech consumers, like it or not. We can like it a lot more if we understand it.

Please understand that the goal of this club is actually “how to choose tech,” “which tech to choose,” and “how to use tech and be finished with it and move on with life.” It is not “how can I do more with tech.” Less is more!

This club is modeled off of the Tampa Bay Technology Center (in Florida). Click here for the TBTC website. My uncle is a member of the TBTC. He is in his 70s. He also happens to be the president of the homeowner’s association of his building. The club enabled him to create an informational website for his building. Click here to see the simple, effective website he learned to make from a template. You do not have to make a site. He is the most tech-savvy 70-year-old I know, but the site actually makes his management responsibilities easier and gives him more time to hang out by the beach and golf.

For now the club is free while I gage interest. One day, there may be a small fee for membership.

Future Topics

Your smart phone: How to keep it clean and under control.
Your digital camera: How to get the most from your DSLR camera. Click here for an example video.
Technology terminology: Internet, domain, Wi-Fi, Internet Service Provider (ISP), software, hardware, operating system, etc.
Your space on the internet: your own domain and basic website for ~$10 per month.

All, Nate TV, What to Watch

What to Watch: Super Bowl LII

1 February 2018 Nathan Ruffing

Click here for all Nate TV episodes.

All, Travel

Our Favorite Ski Locations

10 October 2017 Nathan Ruffing 2 Comments

Holiday Valley snow report

Ski Resorts

Snowmass: 3,362 acres, 4,406ft vertical.
Vail: 5,289 acres, 3,450ft vertical.
Breckenridge: 2,908 acres, 3,398ft vertical.
Beaver Creek: 1,815 acres, 3,340ft vertical.
Keystone: 3,148 acres, 3,128ft vertical.
Stowe: 485 acres, 2,360ft vertical.
Snowshoe: 244 acres, 1,500ft vertical. Very difficult drive Greg says.
Holiday Valley: 290 acres 750ft vertical.
Seven Springs: 285 acres, 750ft vertical.
Wisp Mountain: 132 acres, 700ft vertical. Greg and Pat have been. It is an easy drive from the interstate.
Peak n Peak: 130 acres, 400ft vertical. Ed, Greg, and Thad have been. Good?
Perfect North: 100 acres, 400ft vertical. Rachel’s suggestion. 45 minutes west of Cincinnati.

Check out OnTheSnow snow report app. Pat uses it for snow storm alerts.

Click here for skiing tips from expert.

All, Travel

America’s Eclipse!

4 August 2017 Nathan Ruffing

Monday, 21 August 2017 at 1425 Eastern Daylight Time, Centered Near Cerulean, Kentucky

www.eclipse2017.org

Eclipseville, Hopkinsville, KY, home of longest totality and Eclipse Con

You have to see the total eclipse! This guy says it best: http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/close_enough.htm

Click here for a NASA animation of the eclipse. You’ll see why it is America’s eclipse. It could not be better lined up for us.

Click here for a map with Zulu time. Subtract 4 hours for eastern daylight time. Subtract 5 hours for central daylight time.

How fast is the shadow moving? It depends. Answer

NASA Countdown

NASA Map

The Eclipses You (Might) Remember

10 May 1994. I was finishing 4th grade. I remember going outside with the glasses. The view was pretty good for Ohio. However, this was an annular eclipse only. NOT AS COOL.

30 May 1984: This was an annular eclipse that crossed the southeast US. Maybe some people remember? NOT AS COOL.

7 Mar 1970: This total eclipse moved up the east coast of the US. Partial may have been visible from Ohio. NOT AS COOL.

20 Jul 1963: This total eclipse crossed Canada. NOT AS COOL.

30 Jun 1954: This total eclipse started in the US, then went up over the north pole and ended in Asia. NOT AS COOL.

9 Jul 1945: This total eclipse started near Montana and ended in eastern China. Many Americans had a legitimate pass to not travel to Greenland to see this one. The world was kinda busy during July 1945.

7 Apr 1940: Annular eclipse that crossed Mexico, Texas, and Florida. The Nazis were in power, and Pearl Harbor was attacked 20 months later. Anyone drive south see this one? Comment below.

28 Apr 1930: This total eclipse crossed the US northwest less than a year into the Great Depression.

24 Jan 1925: This total eclipse started in Canada and crossed the northeast US.

8 Jun 1918: This total eclipse ended by crossing the US from Washington to Florida. World War I ended 5 months later. Hopefully you weren’t one of the 50 – 100 million people worldwide dying of the flu pandemic that was raging at the time. There are roughly 28 living Americans who were at least 11 years old that day.

22 Oct 2137 BC: 120 years more ancient to Jesus than Jesus is to us. Apparently visible in China, but an unfortunate surprise to the astronomers of the day.

Upcoming

It looks like we actually have some good ones coming up.

8 Apr 2024: Ohio’s eclipse.

12 Aug 2045: over 6 minutes of totality on this one.

All

Delaware to Columbus Bike Ride

1 May 2017 Nathan Ruffing

1st of July 2017

There is an almost continuous dedicated bicycle path from downtown Delaware that reaches to downtown Columbus. Join me to enjoy this path on Saturday the 20th of May.

Leg 1

7:15 – Depart from Havener Park where there is easy parking, for Murphy Park in Powell. 8.0 miles.

Leg 2

8:15 – Depart Murphy Park for Antrim Park. 8.4 miles.

Leg 3 and Brunch

9:15 – Depart Antrim Park for Jack and Benny’s and the Blue Danube for brunch. 6.0 miles.

10:00 – brunch at Jack and Benny’s and / or the Blue Danube.

Leg 4 and Finish

11:00 – depart brunch for the last leg past Ohio State to downtown. 6.6 miles.

12:00 – finish at Scioto Audobon Metro Park for pick-up and shuttle back to Havener.

Total: 29.2 miles.

If rain, make-up day is Saturday the 8th.

Check back here for updates and ore details!

Comment below to tell me where you’ll be joining, or e-mail me at nate@nathanruffing.com

All

Turkey Trot 2015!

25 November 2015 Nathan Ruffing 2 Comments

Who: you

What: Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day 10K, 5K, or around-the-lake walk

When: meet at 845, start at 9AM Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, 26 November 2015 (tomorrow)

Where: start at Antrim Park

Why: to feel good about all that turkey and stuffing we are going to eat, save $45 compared to the corporate-sponsored Turkey Trot, and because it’s too cold to run and it’s our only day off.