Category Archives: Blather

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 →

Happy Halloween!

Or, as I like to think of it (since we never get trick-or-treaters), “Day before NaNo!”

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ll be doing NaNo but the blog will still be updated a minimum of once per week. You can look forward to some nifty guest posts and some updates about how NaNo is going.

Also, dog photos. One or two of those.… Continue reading →

What Does NaNo Mean for MetaCookbook?

As I mentioned in the previous post, I plan to tackle NaNoWriMo (NaNo) again this year. So, what does that mean for blogging?

It’s pretty simple. Like last year, I’ve solicited several guest posts. Unlike last year, I also have three posts scheduled already that are the longer answers from my questions about Beer Bloggers’ Conference 2014. While those are not precisely guest posts, they are interesting writing from other folks. With some luck and some prodding and some nagging (and maybe some writing!), I plan to get you guys a total of six posts that aren’t update posts; those three in the queue certainly help.

There will also be update posts, expect a minimum of two of those. Probably not more than once a week, though.… Continue reading →

What Composes Autumn

The Northern Hemisphere is almost halfway through autumn, but it only starts feeling like autumn to me sometime in October. And then, being as I live in Chicago, it feels as if winter is mere moments away.

This autumn, in particular, has been interesting. The feel to it is very much as though it is nearly gone, but I am present for so many individual moments. It’s surreal to feel massive pressure about the changing of the season, while also so slowed down.

I think this is happening because of the things that make “autumn” a thing for me (in a way that spring, summer, and winter simply are not). And, this year, those things taken together are giving me an awareness of autumn, my favorite season, like I haven’t had in a decade or so.… Continue reading →

What I’m Reading Now

I just started a new job on Monday. It’s nothing glamorous (the hiring manager was, in fact, emphatic about that), but it’s with great people and at a company (Cicerone) I am highly interested in. It’s also about an hour away from my house on the bus, so I have had to start contemplating reading material.

Combine that with having had had several folks mention they’d either love to know what I, specifically, am reading (usually due to the things I write about here), or that they, generally, just get a kick out of seeing what anyone else is reading. And a new tag/series on MetaCookbook, “What I’m Reading,” is born.

Currently, I’m reading The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food by Garrett Oliver.… Continue reading →