Wow, summer happened

So. I must to be more disciplined.

I'm on a kick now to just put myself out there. Two new projects coming up. The first one is the 1000 beer project. A quest to drink 1000 different beers. We shall see where this goes.

Stay tuned for more excitement.

What do you do with homebrew that's not the best beer?

You experiment and make beer cocktails, that's what.

Try a basic brown, with smoked cherry malt. Too much smoked. Smells good but you can taste the smoke. You actually kinda chew it.
Now add Rockstar energy drink.
50/50 mix.
The tartness of the energy drink is mellowed. The smoke is mellowed.
All you have to worry about now is the upper combined with the downer.

Should even out... Right?
I mean, that's what Speedballs are supposed to do...

I leave you with that picture,

and this picture...

Brodie

If any one would have said to me that our dog would live 10 years I would have dismissed them and hoped she would have 7 good years in her.

We thought we lost her around Thanksgiving. She had two massive seizures in the course of about 4 hours. You end up doing everything you can to keep them alive and going and normal. If things aren't normal. The day to day. If things change just slightly, your world seems to start turning upside down.

Calls to the vet. A serious medication. Constant monitoring. Sleep depravation. More monitoring. More treats. Thoughts about what happens next. Thoughts about mortatily. With the dog. With your family. With anyone who is close.

With yourself.

It's amazing how you...
<No start over.> <Speak for yourself.>

It's amazing how I started to question what I'm doing with my life. Wonder about my job. Who I want to be when I grow up. Fears about not being anything- or doing anything. You know,  something substantial.

But, you put your own thoughts on hold, and focus on others. The dog. The wife. The family coming in for the holidays. The 'anybody out there who needs you'.

Then you realize that the right decisions are always the hard decisions. The ones that hurt a little bit.

January 30, 2013 approximately 9am MST.
It hurts. a lot.

coming soon...
10 Great Years

People I know

For some reason I seem to be on a picture frenzy. Checking out the last couple of years of pictures I've taken on my iPhone. I have to say, it is really handy to have a camera in my pocket. It substitutes for my having to remember anything.

So, here we go, people I know...

The Confused One



The Thoughtful One

 

The Happy One

 

The Disguised One

 

The Hairy One

 

The Grateful One

 

The Thirsty One

 

 

and Kyle.

 

My current obsessions

Unfortunately, it's not work, looking for a job, racking up miles on my bicycle, or any other productive endeavor.

No. It's finding the internet and the thousands of unproductive ways to occupy your time when you don't feel like listening to your inner self. The internet is a fantastic time suck. So is Black Ops, but that's another story all together.

My stream of conciousness, fueled by coffee and a single piece of toast, goes something like this...
... in true James Joyce fashion...

What's up on Facebook, oh that's a funny comment by Zane Lamprey, wonder what his site looks like, no, don't feel like listening to his podcast, last night's show was funny, wish I had been to more breweries when I was in Ashville, NC. We should go back there

Those are funny pictures. Steve McKenna looks very different with out a beard. I'm not sure I can drink that much. He, must, do some sort of detox when hes not on camera. He also seems to be in decent shape. picture. after picture. after picture.

Drinking Made Easy. Like the show. Wish I had that kinda job. I should really find a job. Not really sure what to do next...

Play FEET.  23 points. I'm getting my ass kicked. Grrrrr. I thought I was smarter than this.

Bike Snob comments for bicycling about Lance and Oprah. I too am interested in the programming on OWN. Hmmm, I'm not gay and yet slightly interested in watching the Drew Barrymore interview.
This is better writing that the basic blog. Seems to want to get a rise out of those who read the blog on a daily basis. trying too hard?


This scenerio plays out every morning until I feel I should do something. So I ride my bike. or walk the dog with my backpack on. or something else physical so I can stop thinking.

Here's a question out to nothingness...
The more I keep writing, the better I'll get?

 

Time to walk the dogs... 

Everybody else is doing it...

My thoughts on Lance Armstrong.

He is Arrogant, Egotistical, Narcissistic, Confident, Competitive, a Strong Athlete, a Winner, and the same as 98% of all elite athletes out there. To get to that level you need the desire to be the best. You have to want to do everything possible to win.

Athletes for centuries have been searching for an edge to best others. But, when it comes down to it, they all still put in the work ethic, have the natural abilities, and drive to be successful. There are countless stories about training enhancements in the 50's and 60's. The improvements in reducing weight of bicycles. The gamesmanship of teams working together. Who decides on the line between right and wrong?

I truly believe that if there were no such thing as performance enhancers, the results would have been the same. 1st would be first and 2nd would be pissed.

This concept is not unique to just sport. It's a dog-eat-dog world in business, politics, you name it. Integrity and it's abuse is not just limited to athletes. Look at price fixing and monopolies  by large corporations. Two words: Wall Street. Have we all forgotten the chaotic mud slinging of political ads the two weeks/ two months before the election in November.

Is Lance a worse person than Bernie Madoff? Or (insert your own personal demon here)?

My last thought is...

When it is your time to be judged, how would you want them to look at you?

A few random pics

I really enjoy that my iPhone takes pictures. I can capture random events, important moments in time, or help me remember stuff because I have a horrible memory.
Here are a few that jumped out from the past few months.

Sitting at the bar at New Belgium Brewery.

Sunset in Nebraska driving back to Colorado.

Christmas shopping on my bicycle. Yes, it's snowing. No, I had not planned on it. Yes, I hat a hat and gloves. No, I did not complete my shopping that day. Yes, It was fun. No, I did not stay dry.