A Taste of the Cask

So I went to Bold City Last night for a drink after work. They tapped a cask aged Chinook IPA. For those who don't know, this is a beer that has undergone secondary fermentation in a wooden barrel. The sugar sources for this particular secondary fermentation came from honey and grapefruit, and man was there some grapefruit taste in the beer. It was good. Not particularly as balanced a profile as I like in my IPA, but I do love me some grapefruit so that was okay. The malt was there in the nose, but on my tongue I struggled to find it. When I think of this beer in my mouth it evokes images of enormous grapefruits pummeling my tongue with flavor.

So enough about the grapefruit already. NLU plays Tampa tonight. It's Super Bowl Weekend and the big show is in Tampa this year, so I'm hoping for a good turn out. I'm going down and back in the same evening (it's 3.5 hours away) with my bass player and drummer along with a couple of friends in a two seater cargo van with our gear. It will be a fun time with acoustic guitars in the back. I'll be sure to post about the fun tomorrow.

I've also realized that this is not so much a daily blog maybe, but rather an every other day thing. I mean, I'll post daily when the spirit moves me, but some days not much really goes on (read: I forget).

To my readership (which is like, 2 people really), have a wonderful weekend. I sure will try!

-Mike the Ryan

Beating a Dead Horse

And this ones been beat to death. At work. Why is it that people can't just do what they're asked. If you are one of those individuals who are payed by the hour that doesn't, then maybe you should be sent home for a couple of days with no pay to think about it. It's starting to get old preaching the same old mess each day about following the process that's been implemented. It's pretty simple.

1. Follow the process to the letter (because it's been proven and validated to work)
   
2. Continue to follow the process so that we might observe and identify issues and variation
3. If a one time issue starts to recur, bring it to the team and we will work on fixing it
4. Change process
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 indefinitely

What you shouldn't do is try things on your own and then expect us to tell you why it didn't work. We don't even know where to start at that point! It's kind of like loading a DVD. You do things in a certain order so they work. You don't push play and then insert the DVD, you do it the other way. Viola! Picture on screen. I know we're trying to change paradigms here but come on!

Just venting. I've had enough for one day and it's time to go home now. Show on Friday, Golf on Saturday, Superbowl on Sunday. The weekend is looking good.

Part Two (added later, after the previous part, of course)

Just to expand on my previous post, I guess there's some guy that was involved in the plane that crashed in to the Hudson River a couple of weeks ago that is suing the airline. Yeah. It turns out the $5000 check he already received was not enough as he broke his nose in the crash and suffered irreparable emotional damage. Are you kidding? You should be happy you're alive and thankful your family didn't have to suffer some real irreparable damage. Of course I suppose being your family they would then sue the airline for negligence or something like that.

People are disgusting. Stay tuned as I'm sure he won't be the first. Take your five grand and pay off some debt or something, maybe buy your kids and wife something nice. Greedy Americans.

-Mike the Ryan

3 Walmarts. 5 Times.

The day went something like this.

Wake up and get a grocery list together. Shower and get ready to head to Walmart. On the list were vacuum bags as we were out. While at Walmart looking at said bags, Meg and I discussed the state of our current vacuum cleaner and how it could be time for a new one. We settled though on getting the new bags, cleaning the existing cleaner up and seeing if it worked better. It didn't.

So later in the day, back to Walmart we go. We settle on a nice yellow Eureka with a furniture attachment good for dealing with pet hair. Being that we have a dog this sounded good. It also had a duster attachment which was kind of cool and it was on sale. So we buy the vacuum. Fast forward to getting it out of the box. No duster attachment is present. We head back to Walmart.

As Meagen is standing in line I go look for a replacement. They don't have any more of that model. So we get the money back and head to Walmart number 2.

Walmart number 2 does not have our vacuum either. It seems the price was too good for many to resist. Off to Walmart number 3 where we find the vacuum. I open it to be certain after purchasing that everything that is promised on the outside of the box is present. It is.

What's the moral for today? Well, Walmart is simply the same no matter where in the country you are. It's also the same when there are 4 within a 10 mile radius of your current living situation. It's amazing that they're able to keep the consistency between stores. It's especially amazing the level of consistency in the help and type of people employed there (and at Sam's Club). Any of you reading who have ever patronized a Walmart appreciate the satire in this story. Enjoy your week.

-Mike the Ryan

The Age of Aquarius

I just woke up (I know, I know...my band had a show last night okay) and I wanted to share a dream I had before I forget it. It was the most vivid dream I can remember having in a long time, and it was equally as strange.

Back story. I like a good conspiracy. One might go so far as to say that I love them. I also like to research things sometimes, and in this case I'm talking about the potential impending end of the world in 2012. I've done a good bit of reading about it and there's a lot of interesting theories as to what could happen on December 21 of that year. It turns out the Mayan calendar ends on that day and so it got people thinking. I won't get in to it too much, you can do that for yourself if you have an interest. Google 2012. One other point before I go on. If you follow the zodiac and are in to astrology, we are entering the age of Aquarius very soon. From Wikipedia:

Ages are believed by some astrologers to affect mankind while other astrologers believe the ages correlate to the rise and fall of mighty civilizations and cultural tendencies. Aquarius traditionally "rules" electricity, computers, flight, democracy, freedom, humanitarianism, idealists, modernization, rebels and rebellion, mental diseases, nervous disorders, and astrology.

So the dream went something like this. Meagen and I went out to the beach to watch the sunrise. When we got there we sat down at a picnic table with two other people, a man and a woman. We did not know them. We were making small talk and the conversation went something like this.

Woman [to me]: What is your sign?
Me: Pisces.
Woman: Ah, Pisces. Welcome to the age of Aquarius!
Man [to Meagen]: How about you?
Meagen [extends hand to greet him]: I'm a Virgo, nice to meet you!
Man [pulls away]: Ah, we wouldn't get along too well.

So we continue to sit there and the sun starts to rise. As this happens, I look out in to the ocean and the waves start to increase in period and size. Soon I see dolphins and whales jumping out of the water and moving toward the shore. As the sun continues to rise the waves get bigger. At this point I'm thinking something very strange is happening. The sun makes its final push over the horizon and at that point I see a very large tidal wave approaching. We all stand up.

Me [thinking to myself]: Oh my god we have to run.

Then I become calm.

Man: Time to say your goodbyes.

Then I woke up. One other thing I learned this morning before posting is that it is currently the age of Pisces, which happens to be my sign Again, I did not know this before this morning. I did some checking because I want to make sure my posts are factual. The reason I thought it was important is that the woman made a point of recognizing that I was a Pisces and welcomed me to the new age.

Who knows what it means. It probably means that I read too much about this. Or it might mean I'm starting to come to grips with my own mortality. It's something I've been thinking about lately. We all will die at some point. It's just a matter of how, when and where. At this point in my life I don't care for that. It makes me sad to think of all that I'll miss out on. Or maybe not. Who knows.

-Mike the Ryan

Bold City Brewery

Can I just say how excited I am that there is a microbrewery now open in Jacksonville?! They brew beer. That's it. No menu is a part of the experience at this establishment, just beers that run the gamut from a Rye Wheat to an India Pale Ale to a Porter.

I stopped in there yesterday and wanted to mention it because as I said, I am very excited. It's a small tap room, a modest operation, but the beer was really good and has big potential in my opinion. They are debuting a new cask ale next weekend, a barrel aged Chinook IPA. It's an IPA fermented with honey and grapefruit and hopped with nothing but Chinook hops. How excited am I? Very.

I'm going to be telling everyone I know about this place. In addition to having good beer, we'll be supporting the local economy which is important right now. It's a family run operation as I understand and though I only interacted with the bar tender, she was very nice. All new patrons get a free sampler to try too! How excellent is that.

Bold City Brewery. Go check it out if you're in the area and take home a growler or two.

-Mike the Ryan

Not much for today. I know the purpose of this is to chronicle the days and look back in a year. It sounds like Disney is cutting a lot of employees. I can't say that I'm surpirsed but it's saddening in a way. The happiest place on earth is affected by the economy as well.

The band plays Freebird tomorrow. I've been wanting to play there ever since we started playing live. Now we're opening and we're going to slay it. I'll post pictures on Saturday. Cheers to all and I'll talk to you soon.

-Mike the Ryan

The Relationship As It Relates to Hearing a New Record (or albums that fit like sweaters)

So I put in a new record today, something I've had but haven't listened to. Glasvegas. Darn good band many say. I was listening to it on the way to band practice tonight. It made me think of how funny it is to hear an album for the first time. It's like the beginning of a new friendship or romantic affair. At first you get to know eachother. They talk, you listen. You ask questions and they provide answers. It's a learning experience.

The next couple of listens will either make it or break it for you. You either begin to fall in love with what they're doing or you don't. Will this be a fast and furious but torrid affair? One that is short lived and doomed to crash and burn. Or will it be more like that slow falling in love when you've found that special someone you just can't imagine being without. You spin it over and over because you can't get her smell out of your head.

Within a few listens you know this. The album will either become part of your regular rotation or it will be relegated to a spot in a sleeve in a book you don't ever really open come to think of it.

Some albums are like a favorite sweater for me. They're old friends I keep coming back to time after time. They just fit in the right moments that call for them. And I look good in those sweaters. Others are good for the moment and get placed in the archives (or dresser droors) only to come out when placed on a genius playlist or party shuffle. You're happy to see them sure, but by the end of the night you may be reminded why they were put there in the first place.

More recently I've been really digging the british pop / rock scene. Bands like The Wombats, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Glasvegas and The Zutons seem to make fantastic genius lists. Don't believe me? Try it. You'll shake it till your pants fall down. Another favorite of the moment is Thriving Ivory. Something about his voice. And speaking of favorite sweaters, try on The Working Title or some of Lovedrugs earlier material (I'm not a big fan of the new album, it just didn't fit right). The Cool Kids provide some good Hip-Hop and I feel like Santogold just can not be ignored right now.

At any rate, happy hump day to anyone reading. See you tomorrow.

-Mike the Ryan

Harmony

Wow. What an historic day it has been. They say you will always remember where you were when....

Well for me it was in my car, listening to the inauguration on Sirius CNN. People came from all over the country, check that, from all over the world to see him. People watched and listened from everywhere imaginable. And his speech? Inspiring. Calling Americans to take responsibility for themselves, their nation and the world in which they live. But I won't go on about this. There are plenty of other bloggers who will take care of that for me.

For those of you not familiar, BJ Frost, a great friend of mine, does excellent things with film. Check out his blog. More to my point though, a piece of video he posted inspired me to share with you a creation of my own.


This picture was created for my dad and his partner as a thank you for giving Meagen and I a place to stay over the Christmas holiday. There's a lot of symbolism in the photo for me. The contrast in clothing represents the differences they share while the hands on the keys represent their commitment to moving through life together. The reflection of the hands represent the past and the upturned corner on the piece of music represents those things still to come. The music speaks to the bond they share and how without the both of them playing in unison, the song might be unrecognizable.

I hope it might mean something to you as well. More importantly, I encourage anyone reading to find beauty and meaning in things you might ordinarily pass by. There's so much to appreciate in life and most of the time we move so fast we don't take time to reflect on it. Thanks to BJ for reminding me of that this morning.

All the best to all of us as we move forward with a renewed sense of promise tonight. Bravo, Barack. Bravo.

-Mike the Ryan

Post posting

So I got sidetracked yesterday, my mood was foul, plain and simply I did not post because I did not feel like it. I was just in a funk last night and didn't want to spew forth my anger on the interweb.

So to recap yesterday I worked. I did some training at work for Microsoft Outlook 2007. It turns out not much has changed, just the fancy interface and some ribbon bars. What was interesting to me however, was the fact that they put so much time in to redesigning the front end, but many of the pop-up menus and dialog boxes remain in the Windows 95 era. For examply, I pressed the fancy new spell check button with all of it's animation and contouring, and the dialog box I get is cold, grey, blue and boring. What a let down. Same program, just repackage.

In other news, it sounds like my beer is going to be okay. It turns out the grommet on the fermenter lid breaks often. I should have wet it first before attempting to insert the airlock. You live and you learn. It was bubbling vigorously yesterday though. The promising sign of yeast feasting on sugars and creating carbon dioxide in the process. Bottling day is now only a few days away. I'll keep you updated.

At any rate, there will be much more exciting things to blog about this evening. And as Meg pointed out to me in my previous post, I spelled Barack wrong. My apologies. GO OBAMA! GO AMERICA!

-Mike the Ryan

The First Beer

No post for yesterday. For that I apologize. Scrabble was played, and some highlight words follow.

Grafting
Zenith (as in the apex of a mountain)
Operand

Sunday was spent looking for a new place to live with a fenced in backyard and brewing my first beer. Things went really well for the first 3 1/2 hours. At the last step (placing the airlock in to the lid of the primary fermenter before securing it) the grommet in the lid pushed through and broke. After some careful searching via google it looks like all is not lost. However I won't know until I check in with my local home brewing supplier tomorrow. Beginners lack of luck I suppose. I'll let you know how it all works out tomorrow.

Until then, I look forward to the impending inauguration of one Barack Obama. Peace and love.

-Mike the Ryan

It was a good week

Just a quick one for today. The week was good. I got a good bit accomplished at work and I'm feeling good heading in to the next week. I'm looking forward to some much needed downtime with Meg this weekend. I'm also going to make my first attempt at brewing beer on Sunday. I'll post pictures for sure. In the mean time, enjoy this.


There's just something terribly endearing about a cat holding a pistol. Thanks Dan.

-Mike the Ryan

Bro-dar

brodar |brōˌdär|
noun
a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of bros, frat guys, and other short spiked haircuts, by sending out pulses of high-frequency electromagnetic waves that are reflected off the object back to the source.
• an apparatus used for this.
ORIGIN early 21st Century: from bro d(etection) a(nd) r(anging)

This is a term I coined tonight whilst talking with Meg and cleaning the kitchen. I'm sure I'm not the first to coin it, but I hope I'm the first to define it in terms of a derivative of the term radar. This came up for a couple of reasons.

First, we were at a bar on Saturday after my bands gig and you couldn't have gone from one extreme to another in a bigger way. I drive from a metal club full of really cool punked out rock people where I just played a great show to a bar full of dudes in either a.) Surfer cuts and t-shirts or b.)Button downs and short spiked hair wearing sunglasses inside ala "My New Haircut" (see you tube if you don't know what I'm talking about).


Second, Brody Jener, the super cool guy made famous for being the love interest of Lauren Conrad (of The Hills) who was formerly a friend of one of the girls on Laguna Beach (a terrible take on reality TV on MTV) was on Howard yesterday morning. I mean really?! When did it become that cool to be like this guy? And as Meagen has pointed out, who the fuck is this guy to begin with? And now he has a show called 'Bromance' on MTV in which several guys (read: bros) vie to win his friendship and adoration. Now I think my Gaydar is going off.

The moral of this story is, I appreciate my true friends for who and what they are. Not what they have or what their status is. I hope they feel the same about me. Those who know me well and have been around have stuck by me through a lot, both good and bad. Many times they've told me how much of an idiot I am when I needed to hear it most. They've also been around to celebrate good times and pick me up when I'm down.

And they'll be around for years to come because real friendship like that can't be won on some game show. How shallow must that guy feel...

-Mike the Ryan

The Merits of Dropping Out of High School to Pursue a Professional Career in Video Gaming

So on my way to work this morning, the idea of blogging about how my dog woke me up three times last night to turn on a thunderous outpouring of liquid duece seemed like a great topic. You know, go on and on about the joys of owning a puppy but talk about how he does things like getting in to the bathroom trash to chew on Zeus knows what (use your imagination here). Following said chewing of course the madness of doggie diarrhea ensues. And of course once he's done it once you know you have to wake up to let him out when he whines because if you don't, well, we just don't need to go there.

However, while listening to Howard Stern (as I typically do on the way to work these days - bless Sirius and all satellite radio)I heard about young Blake Peebles, the 16 year old kid whose parents allowed him to drop out of high school to pursue a career in professional gaming playing Guitar Hero (Google). Now this story broke some time in July so I'm late but hear me out.

Parents any more (or at least it seems to me) are coming issued out of the box with a fundamental flaw. They love the idea of being a parent, but they want nothing to do with raising a kid. Another great example is that of babysitter Arielle Smith of Harvey, LA. She put a five month old baby in a dryer and turned it on because the baby was allegedly getting in the way of her TV watching. Now she too is of course a mother. As reported by the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog:

Nineteen-year-old Arielle Smith, of Harvey, La., near New Orleans, is facing murder charges for putting 5-month-old Andre Jenkins in a dryer and locking his 18-month-old brother and her 1-year-old son in another room.

The baby was in the hot dryer for at least three minutes and received skull fractures and burns, according to authorities.

Initially, the teen said the baby was burned by scalding water. She then admitted putting the baby in the dryer during a hide and seek game, but blamed her 1-year-old son for turning it on.

"Pressed further by detectives," the Times-Picayune reports, the teen said the children were "rambunctious and interfering with her television show."

After pulling the unresponsive child out, she called her boyfriend and the baby's mother before dialing 911, the paper says.

Of course then the saga continues and she admits to the TV thing and turning it on. Really? This is ridiculous. People that aren't ready to raise children need to stop having them. And don't even get me started on religious reasons for not using contraception. Those poor kids won't even have a chance so just stop having sex. I call for reform! Maybe Obama can help to pass a bill requiring a thorough examination of any two people hoping to conceive.

Now that I'm off of my soapbox, I'm pumped to go to band practice tonight. I feel a renewed energy with them. Come to think of it, I'm feeling a renewed energy for a lot of things. I'll leave you with a picture.


It's of my new guitar. Yeah I bought an Epiphone. It still plays like a dream. Finish. Honey Burst. Mmmmmmm....Honey. Love that thing!

-Mike the Ryan

Being a rockstar is the intersection of who you are and who you want to be

Or it went something like that anyway. Slash. I'm a good third of the way in to his autobiography and I must say it seems that the rock and roll cliche' holds. Not that it isn't interesting. It's an entertaining read. So far the kid has been in to alcohol, marijuana, blow, heorin and a number of other things I can't recall right now. And he's only nineteen. The beginning of Guns & Roses, one of my favorite bands.

Slash is definitely one of the reasons I picked up a guitar to begin with. Appetite is one of my favorite albums and his guitar tone is one of the best in my mind. It's fun to get lost in someone elses life. But then again, it's a reminder of how nice things are in my own.

Give it a read if you have the time

Michael the Ryan