Coming Back to Blogging and What's to Come?

Photo of me after a
long night at the NHC

I'm probably the worst blogger in the world.  I have these grand ideas about things I want to write about, then by the time I get to writing it a few weeks, if not months, have passed.  This was the case with a review I wanted to do on the National Homebrewers Conference (NHC) that I attended in June, as well as a piece I wanted to write about craft beer in the ballparks.  While it is still baseball season, I could still write a piece of craft beer in ballparks and have it still be pretty timely (something I should still do), but a review of the NHC most certainly has been overcome by events.  Plus how much do I really remember after drinking all that awesome homebrew?

I really do like writing/typing things that are on my mind.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's cause I think that everything that I like is the most interesting stuff in the world and I feel the need to share it with everyone.  This is apparent in any face to face conversations that people might have with me when I go off obsessing about weather, beer, sports, music, travel and grilling/smoking meat.  I could go on for hours and hours!   But what can I say?  I'm a passionate guy!

So right now I have a few things that I want to write about, but they'll have to wait til I have some time.  Right now though, I'll create a checklist of things that I think I'll be writing about in the near future (i.e., Goal of next 2 weeks).

1. What I was thinking back in March when I picked the Orioles to finish 2nd in the AL East this season? Trust me, my baseball forecasting abilities are not representative of how I forecast the weather!!!!
2. What will be on my menu for tailgating at Maryland Terps football games this season?  With the 2011 season beginning in 3 weeks, I really need to get my act together and figure out what I'll be making for my menu this season.
3. What do I think are the best live classic rock albums of all time?  Those who know me know how much I love live albums.  Recently I've found 2 albums that have completely floored me.  Mountain's "Twin Peaks" and Gov't Mule's "Mulennium."
4. What did I learned about making my first mead?  When I was on vacation in Massachusetts a few weeks ago I bought a bunch of honey at the farmer's market with the intent of making some mead.  I sure hope to make some within the next week or so.  I'll let you know how it goes.
5. What is up with the craft beer scene in baseball stadiums now a days?  I've been to games in 6 different baseball stadiums this season and want to share some notes on what I found.

Anyways, if any of these topics tickle your fancy, please leave me a comment so I know which one to start with.  Otherwise I'll probably just go in a random order.

Cheers friends!

-Brent

The Rebirth of this Blog

Long time no talk.  Yeah I know, I haven't written things here in a while.  I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I spent a lot of time working on building the CSI Homebrewers Club website over the winter.  Actually, nah, who am I kidding?  I've just been lazy and unmotivated over the winter.  But like Spring wakes up all the hibernating elements of nature, I too have been woken up and am ready to get back on track here.

I've found my way back here because of an event I went to yesterday.  As I went through my daily lunch routine of reading the Elkridge Patch (great local newspaper by the way!!), I stumbled across a posting advertising a HoCoBlogs.com happy hour / meetup occurring at the Stained Glass Pub in Elkridge.  Being that this event was taking place around a mile from my house, I figured I could swing by and do some promotion of the CSI Homebrewers Club website while drinking a beer and chatting with some local HoCo (Howard County) folks.  Little did I know how awesome this event would be. 

I don't know what I expected.  Maybe a handful of computer geeks like myself sitting around talking about the topics they blog about.  All I knew was that the first $200 in drinks were on the house and I liked the sound of that.  What I walked into was a huge gathering having somewhere on the order of 40-50 people chatting it up, having a great time, and networking.  Sure I knew no one there, but then again, I'm not very shy.  So I just hopped into conversations and started to talk to people.

I soon realized that there were other people like me out there.  In fact, I think one of the most interesting conversations of the night had to be with a couple of wine enthusiasts, Terry and Kathy, who write a blog about all aspects of wine, called WineTrailTraveler.com.  They were the wine world's version of me!!!  With a beer in my hand and glasses of wine in their hand we talked about a lot of the similarities of making beer and wine.  They were a step or two beyond basic wine making and were talking about embarking on the jump to the winemakers version of going "all grain."  I got a lot of great ideas from them on content I can add to my website, as well as the CSI website with regards to reviews of various breweries.  So that was a lot of fun. 

Another person I met there was TJ from the Elkridge Patch.  I know I probably rave too much about the Patch's coverage of what is going on in Elkridge, but I've really taken a liking to the writings of TJ.  His Patch postings are always good food for though and I find myself frequently commenting on his content.  It was great to finally meet him and talk about a passion we both have in common, the Boston Red Sox. 

Of course, I met others too...too many to name, but I had great conversations with all of them.  It's amazing how often my "just another day" turns into a new adventure of some sorts.  The only comparison I can make to that is with my beer making.  My goal is to always make something drinkable.  What I commonly find though is that the final product ends up being something really good, not just drinkable.  Maybe it's chance or maybe it's luck.  It's probably a little bit of both, but to me, that is what I love the most about life.  Finding out how something can go from ordinary to extraordinary in the blink of an eye.