Happy Birthday to Me! Merry Christmas to You! Happy New Year to Us All!

It’s my birthday! It’s Christmastime! The New Year is just around the corner!

I’ll be taking a blogging break until 6 January 2015. Well, a posting break. I’m doing this, in part, so I can get some posts in the queue. Also to spend some of this time with Bill, who has off five days (starting today), and the puppies. Because they are awesome.

I love you all. Thanks again. I’ll be back with some new posts and likely some comments on my birthday gifts. And if you want to see the entirety of my birthday “loot”, look below.

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On Amazon and Advertising

I promised a follow-up to my last post on money, advertising, and Amazon, explaining a bit about the links here, so let me get into it a little bit.

Technically, being an Amazon affiliate (“associate” is actually the term they use now) is advertising. They call it advertising and suggest things I could suggest/link to. I am told what types of things are “best selling products,” for example. I rarely look at these things, though. Maybe I should. But as I don’t think I’d likely be linking to them, it feels a bit pointless. Anyway, possibly because I never link to things I don’t genuinely recommend and because I’d been linking to Amazon even when I was not making any money off of it, these links don’t feel like “advertising.”… Continue reading →

Money

In part due to attending Beer Bloggers’ Conference (BBC) earlier this year, I’m thinking a lot about money these days. The ticket is inexpensive. (Only $95, but attendees must write two posts about the conference to attend at that rate. I hosted a giveaway and I posted about folks’ thoughts on the con.) But, of course, even if it were a more expensive ticket, that’s not the most expensive part of the conference, for most folks. Plane/train tickets or gas, figuring out a place to stay, time off…

At least couple of people who attended made waves this year by crowd-funding to cover their costs. That’s a big part of what’s had money on my mind since then.

This is NOT a post to comment on the validity of those people’s choices.… Continue reading →

Science, Beer, Food, and Blathering Gift Suggestions

Well, after blogging for four and a half years, I guess I’ve started to get the hang of things. Like, in December, a blogger should consider having a “gift guide” or something. Or a good cookie recipe. Or both.

Well, I have several cookie recipes, but nothing new for you, so I guess we’ll have to settle on a gift ideas. I tried to come up with a few things that I have liked, used, or given as potential gifts from each “section” of the blog (food, beer, science, blather).

Mostly, I think these things are neat, fun, or wonderful and I hope to help you find something spectacular for someone awesome in your life. Or, if not find, give you some a springboard for other ideas.… Continue reading →

‘Tis the Seasonal Beer!

Hi everyone! So, I sent out a call for guest posts for NaNo, and then got so sucked into life that I failed to get them up. They’re really good, so I was not going to miss sharing with you all, even if November is over. I’m starting here, with my friend Russ Chibe’s thoughts on seasonal beers and what places a specific beer within a specific season. Russ is a member of HOPS! homebrew club, a lawyer who does both products liability litigation and brewery consulting, and writes about beer for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and over at his personal blog, Chibebräu.

Will 2014 be known as the year that we hit peak pumpkin? I suppose you can’t truly identify a peak until it’s passed, but I will note that this year even I brewed a pumpkin beer, and I can count the number of pumpkin beers I like on two fingers.… Continue reading →