Norfolk County, Ontario
Joined January 2020
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Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
How do you know what situations your team needs to practice?
Keep track of them.
One tool we use in our practice planning is a series of checklists covering team situations, individual positional plays, offensive concepts, and team routines.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
This is what happened: Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife Victoria spent their honeymoon in Aranjuez. In 1939, they were expecting their first child, who was stillborn, and she nearly died. The Concierto de Aranjuez expresses all that pain in the face of such tragedy.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
Being an exceptionally talented musician is one thing. But to stand before such high-caliber fellow musicians, a large audience, and cameras—all while remaining composed, communicating skillfully and effectively, showing genuine enjoyment, and staying focused on the creative process—that is what truly amazes me.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
How often do you see an orchestra give a kid a standing ovation? How often do you see grown men cry? This is far and away the best I've ever heard this sung. The arrangement is exceptional. Way better than the original
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
Easy Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
- 4 slices thick-cut sandwich bread
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 12 slices pepperoni
- 2 tablespoons marinara or pizza sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions:
1. Prep the bread: Spread 1 tablespoon of marinara sauce evenly on one side of each bread slice. Don't use too much or the bread will get soggy.
2. Layer the filling: On the sauce side of one bread slice, layer half the mozzarella cheese, then arrange the pepperoni slices, and top with the remaining cheese. This ensures the pepperoni stays in place.
3. Assemble the sandwich: Place the second bread slice on top, sauce side down, pressing gently to help everything stick together.
4. Butter the outside: Spread softened butter evenly on both outer sides of the sandwich. This creates that perfect golden, crispy crust.
5. Start grilling: Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Place the sandwich in the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and crispy.
6. Flip and finish: Carefully flip the sandwich using a spatula and cook the other side for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and the cheese is completely melted.
7. Rest and serve: Remove from heat and let the sandwich rest for 1-2 minutes before slicing diagonally. This helps the cheese set slightly and prevents it from oozing out.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
Bacon Ranch Mac Cheese Quesadilla
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked macaroni and cheese
- 6 strips crispy bacon, chopped
- 3 tbsp ranch dressing
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
Instructions:
1. Make the Filling: In a mixing bowl, combine your cooked mac and cheese with the chopped crispy bacon and ranch dressing. Mix everything together until well combined - this creamy, bacon-loaded filling is going to be amazing inside those tortillas.
2. Assemble the Quesadillas: Lay a flour tortilla flat on your work surface. Spread a generous portion of the mac and cheese mixture on one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle the cheddar and mozzarella cheese over the filling, then fold the empty half over to create a half-moon shape.
3. Cook Until Golden: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place your quesadilla in the hot pan and cook for 3-4 minutes per side until the tortilla is golden brown and crispy. The cheese should be melted and bubbly inside.
4. Slice and Serve: Remove the quesadilla from heat and let it cool for just a minute, then slice into wedges. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve immediately while it's still hot and the cheese is perfectly gooey.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
Pizza Tortellini Skillet
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 19 oz frozen cheese tortellini
- 24 oz jar marinara sauce
- 4 oz cream cheese (½ block)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup mini pepperoni (plus extra for topping)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions:
1. Brown the Beef: In a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning while the meat is cooking.
2. Add Pepperoni: Add about ⅓ cup of mini pepperoni to the skillet with the beef. Let them cook together for 2-3 minutes until the pepperoni starts to get crispy and releases its oils for extra flavor.
3. Drain and Add Aromatics: Drain any excess grease from the pan, then add the minced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to let the garlic burn.
4. Create Creamy Sauce: Add the marinara sauce and cream cheese to the skillet. Stir well, breaking up the cream cheese and mixing it in completely until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.
5. Cook the Tortellini: Add the frozen tortellini directly to the skillet and stir to coat with the sauce. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the tortellini are heated through and tender.
6. Add Cheese and Finish: Top with the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese, plus extra pepperoni. Either broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes until bubbly, or cover and let sit on low heat until the cheese melts completely. Serve hot.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
A guy worked at Costco for 6 years 3 as a floor employee, 3 as a manager.
He said 90% of members walk the same loop, grab the same items, and leave thinking they got a deal.
"Costco has 11 pricing, return, and membership tricks built into the store. They don't hide them. Members just never look past the free samples."
He told me: "Most members think Costco's value is buying in bulk at lower prices. That's the surface. Underneath that, there's a pricing language on every tag that tells you exactly what's a deal and what isn't, a 30-day price adjustment policy that gives you money back if you already bought something, a return policy so generous it would bankrupt any other retailer, a pharmacy that doesn't require a membership and beats insurance prices, and a travel portal that undercuts Expedia on vacation packages."
"I watched members overpay for years not because the deals didn't exist, but because nobody taught them how the store actually works."
Here are the 11 things Costco employees know that most members never figure out:
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
Infielders:
Keep your chest forward when attacking the ball.
Get your eyes and nose behind your glove on the catch.
Keep your back flat.
Get IN the action.
You want to be under control, but under control doesn’t mean standing still.
Move your feet through the catch.
The catch isn’t the end of the play.
Good infielders catch the ball.
Great infielders catch the ball with rhythm, transfer, and throw
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
Loading to hit isn't just "getting your weight back."
It's preparing the body to turn.
A few things I look for:
✅Back pocket toward the pitcher.
✅The hips coil slightly closed. For a RHH, think about the hips closing slightly to the right of the pitcher. You’ll often see the belly button / belt buckle and rear knee turn toward the catcher.
Think: screw into the ground. Don’t just sway back.
Good hitters look CONNECTED to the ground. Poor hitters often look like they’re skimming across the surface or hitting in ice skates.
✅Rear elbow behind the top hand.
For a RHH, the right elbow works back behind you, toward the spine. You should feel the rear side of your back engage.
✅The knob of the bat points towards the catcher.
✅The front shoulder rolls in as the torso slightly coils.
A great load isn’t a passive move backward.
Think more around and less back.
Simcoe~SR~Giants retweeted
When Shohei Ohtani was a 15 year old high school freshman in rural Japan, he filled out a grid.
Nine squares across, nine squares down. Eighty one boxes.
In the center he wrote his goal: be drafted in the first round by all eight NPB teams.
Not one team. All eight.
That is roughly the equivalent of a high school freshman in America writing down that every single MLB franchise would take him first overall.
Then he broke it down.
Around that center goal he put eight pillars. The obvious ones were there. Building the body. Control. Sharpness. Speed of 160 kilometers per hour, which is about 100 miles an hour.
But look at the other four.
Mental. Humanity. Love of baseball.
And luck.
A 15 year old put LUCK in a box and then treated it as something he could work on.
Then he filled the outer 64 squares with the specific actions required for each pillar.
Under luck, he wrote things like picking up trash. Taking care of his equipment. Greeting people properly. Being thankful.
He decided that luck is not something that happens to you. It's something you earn by how you behave when nobody's watching.
That is why you see him picking up trash on major league fields. It isn't a PR move somebody invented for him. It's box 63 on a piece of paper he filled out at fifteen.
The framework is called a mandala chart, part of something called the Harada Method, developed by a Japanese junior high track coach who took a team ranked last out of 380 schools and made them number one in the region in three years.
Now here's what happened to the plan.
At 18, Ohtani was drafted in the first round by the Nippon-Ham Fighters, even though he had publicly asked Japanese teams not to draft him because he wanted to go straight to America.
He also wrote out a separate list of life goals by age.
Age 18: join an MLB team. Age 20: get called up. Age 26: win the World Series and get married.
He was late on that last one. He got married and won the World Series at 30.
Everything else, more or less, he hit.
Two-time MVP in Japan. Multiple MVPs in America. The first player in history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. A $700 million contract. A World Series ring.
Harvard's business school now teaches his chart.
The most talented baseball player alive sat down at fifteen and wrote out, in 81 boxes, exactly who he intended to become.
Then he went and did it.
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