My blog n'at

One thing that I’m bad at is remembering the year. I kept thinking it was 2010 for some reason and have no idea why 2012 doesn’t seem far fetched. Maybe I have a thing against years with odd numbers? This past year was eventful personally but when it came to blogging it was kinda meh. Either way here’s a quick recap so my kids don’t have to sift through archives.

January 2011
Year started off great with the Winter Classic (even though Pens lost) and spending the first 2 weeks home with my new baby. I also decided that I would attempt to go a full year without drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors product. Not to be some elite prick but to see for myself how tough it would be. With the amount of picnics we attended and moments of weakness for going cheap I’m proud to say I’ve made it a full year and some days.

February 2011
Kept the busy pace with a quick trip to Baltimore to pick up the first of what would be many awards for a website I made. Even thought it was winter I was falling in love with the city. I will be going back soon. I also hit my mid 30′s while only suffering a minor “oh shit, I’m getting old” moment and Teaspoon got his first haircut while hitting the terrible 2.

March 2011
2 things happened, we got sick and I ate a lot of fish.

April 2011
My mom wanted to know why I didn’t invent Facebook, the internet or cure cancer. I had some views on the sale of Iron City which turned out to piss off a bunch of yinzers and Pittsburgh purists. Eh, it happens.

May 2011
Should I Drink That turned 5 years old on the 5th and we had a whirlwind bash in Boardman, Ohio as we took over the Big Tap In after party. We cracked open a 101 oz bottle of Double Arrogant Bastard that we have been sitting on for 4-5 years. It came with a padlock. Nuff said. I figured out how you can take a trip with Megabus to Erie (or Pittsburgh from there) and have a very low cost time. I celebrated national Craft Beer Week and if you haven’t heard me talk about it yet, am on the planning group for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week coming in 2012. This month also was record breaking numbers as we raised money for March of Dimes which helps preemies such as my boys.

June 2011
After many years of hard work I graduated cum laude from college. It was incredibly stressful when I threw work and the family into the mix but the support was fantastic! I’ll probably have my student loan bills paid off when Teaspoon is starting school.

4 years of a huge weight will be off my shoulders.

While I’m on the Titusville memories here is a really cool event going on this weekend as part of the 150th anniversary celebration.

You need to get to Titusville, PA tomorrow for what will be a great bash of craft beer, history and pure deliciousness. The Blue Canoe will hold a beer fest from 1p-4p and 5p-8p. I know all of these guys coming in to serve you and can say with confidence that you won’t be disappointed. Most of these names may look familiar because we’ve reviewed them on “Should I Drink That?“.

The price tag is pretty sweet with the beers you’re going to be served. Go check it out along with the other events as part of the celebration. You can even swing by UPT and see where the real history was taking place 15 years ago

Most married guys, when faced with a weekend as a bachelor, would most likely go and let out the “Frank the Tank” in all of them. Lushie has been gone since Friday afternoon and I have barely left the house. On top of finals this coming week which I’ve been getting ready for I’ve also been putting in long hours at work on a project to keep things organized. My weekend has been sleeping, studying, watching the Olympics and spending plenty of time for late night tiki chat.

Friday I worked until 6:30pm so a decision was made to start the weekend off right. Made a quick trip to Gamestop to purchase Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and to compliment it, a bottle of Jager. I don’t know about you but Jager is great for a night when you’re throwing a spear through someone’s chest or laying the carnage gauntlet down on some 4 armed sub primal biatch. Using Scorpion while tasting Jager is an adventure and I highly suggest it.

From the pics above there were 2 other things I did. 1) recorded video for Should I Drink That 2) cooked chicken wings.  The video was very difficult as I had to stomach a Chelada. Not just stomach, but chug it. I won’t ruin the upcoming video by going into details but will say that Chelada is Bud Light, clam juice and tomato juice. Apparently it’s big in Latino communities but personally I cant see how anyone with a soul drinks it.

The wings were fun to make. Most know that I’m always working on a new rib or wing sauce so I take advantage of the time I get to play around. Also I bake my wings, not deep fry them. Healthier (yeah I know i still pour sauce on) and I think they stay juicier longer. The sauce was made with buttermilk ranch, honey mustard and horseradish. The horseradish was key as it was homemade from a mom and pop store that I visited while at a foodie convention last year. Oh yeah, I’ll be revisiting this one again. Sheer deliciousness!

Today I’m going to detail Lushie’s car for her, do dishes, vacuum and make sure the house is ready for when she gets back later tonight. I should be working on a couple of sites that I bought recently but really, it’s too damn nice out. I should work on Studio B but I don’t want to spend the day in the basement. I should do a lot of things but I won’t because this is my day and I have a patio, a book and a chair calling my name. And a craft beverage of course.

cheers!

I was all set to scan an incriminating picture of me as a kid until Mr. Whiskey, uber fan of my podcast, sent me an IM about an entry made on Wikipedia for my birthday. Click the image above for a full view of the entry under Births for February 21st. Take THAT Kevin Rose It should be noted that at first I was listed as dead in 1978. Wikipedia, in their infinite monitoring wisdom, removed both entries but I was able to screenshot it ahead of time.

While we’re at it, here’s a gallery of my 22nd birthday from 10 years ago. This is actually on my old site and didn’t feel like moving just for this. I was living in Erie at the time and this pretty much solidified my need to move to Pittsburgh. Which I would do 10 months later.

What do I have to look forward to this year? Well The BeerGoddeess & Intern Nick are inducing labor today so I’ll get to share my birthday with Bella’s little brother. Starting in a little over a week the first issue of a foodie magazine will be out which I’ll be co-writing a craft beer column for and also a super secret nightlife thing that I teased about last night. The podcast made it onto G4/Tech TV (there’s an early announcement to fans of the show) and I should have the video soon. I want to expand this site and develop a couple more for craft beer cooking and reviews. Anyone wanna buy me a HD video camera?

School is absolutely kicking ass. I think I’m doing so well this time around because I actually care about the coursework. Not saying I didn’t before but I REALLY wanted to get enrolled in this program for digital media. Most of my general classes are completed so I can focus on all of the fun AV classes I’ve been dying to take. Plus I’m really interested in learning more about internet law. Since the podcast is growing I need to make sure our butts are covered

I know that New Media is the next big thing because my family thinks it’s a fad and no money can be made. Why’s that? Well I was told that I would never make a living with computers… and I did. I was told that the Internet is a fad and I would never make a living on it… and I have. Why not shoot for the trifecta! I believe in it. I believe it to be the next level in communication. Besides, in a few months when they’re asking me how to start a podcast/vidcast/blog I’ll have to show them. Just like i did with computers… and the internet… so if there is anyone looking for a director/producer of new media, let me know. NHL and MLB teams I’m looking at you Gotta keep up the Derda tradition of working for a sports team!  If you need some other marketing buzz words for “I make digital media” I’ll see what I can whip up.

Cheers!

I couldn’t resist that picture. Lushie took it while on our way to visit her family last weekend in central PA. That’s right, an Amish buggy on a flatbed and that guy walking would be the Amish guy.

So here we have it, the last day of 2007. I’m at work for a few hours today fixing a couple of things and decided this would probably be the only time today I could write. I plan on a Hendrick’s martini haze come this evening. This past year wasn’t too bad. We found a new place to live, we have our health, had the one year anniversary of my dad’s passing which was rough, went back to school and finished the year as a A student, watched the Pens finally make the playoffs, welcomed some new babies into the family, podcast soared to whole new levels with downloads and publicity, made some great friends through Podcamp Pittsburgh and took on new responsibilities and title at work. So yeah, it was a good year.

When I started to think of what 2008 will bring my wife was quick to remind me that in 08 it will be 13 years since we met in college, 10 years since I moved to Pittsburgh and 3 years since we got married. The college thing amazes me because I remember feeding Griff’s plant with Killian’s Red for a whole semester like it was yesterday (It finally died when he gave it water).

Hrm so what to look forward to… I guess I can spill the beans on some here. Some are tentative but if they pan out will be a damn good time.

Podcast
An overhaul of SIDT website along with hardware/software upgrades and new gear. Studio B will be finished. You will see us on national cable TV and also a quarterly beer article in a new publication. We have road trips lined up with breweries, live recordings scheduled and of course hella more promotions we’re throwing together. We also will be doing our part to promote Pittsburgh as the best friggin place to go for all your new media needs. We’re not going to change the way we do the show but after 30 episodes we have set some goals for what we want to accomplish next. I want to WIN the Podcast Award this year and not just be a finalist!

Food and Drink
I’m going to start home brewing. As I’ve been told, it’s addicting and worth it more than I can imagine. I’m sure I won’t have a hard time finding people to sample. I’ll be cooking more now (with beer) since the arrival of our new toy. I’m still perfecting my BBQ sauce from scratch and plan on attending a couple cook offs. Phil, Grace and the Big Foamy Head guys have all been a great inspiration for me to do more.

Personal
Work will have me busy in 08 as will keeping up my “A” average at school. This year I’ll get deeper into Interactive Media so I’m very psyched for it. Yeah, me excited for school. I want to get more involved with some of the new groups and people I’ve met over the last year or so to promote new media and this city.  Heh, that’s why I love Podcamp so much. Well, when I’m not being hit in the chest.  I have a goal for a healthy lifestyle that Lushie and I have been working on organizing the last couple of weeks.  I know it’s cliché to start on 1/1 of the year so I’m starting on 1/2   Nick and Tara are expecting their 2nd child in Feb so Bella will have a brother to play with. Lushie and I will be traveling more than we have in the past so the Burgh doesn’t dive her completely nuts this summer. I’ll finish moving superunknown content over and do more with this site to market myself.

There you go for now. Now I’d like to know, what are some of your plans for 08?

cheers!

I say after hours because Lushie was in bed by the time I finished so she didn’t see the mess I made of the living room. May not look like much but it’s a start!

Since I started back to school I’ve been exposed to a whole new side of Pittsburgh that I was oblivious too. I’ve been talking/hanging out with friends that frequent the Creative Treehouse and I’m completely amazed with the amount of art in this city that they’ve shared. Right now I’m in a color theory course and my friends have been great with telling me about the best places to go for hard to find supplies.

Prism was my “go to” store but it closed down this last year so honestly besides Michaels I’m not too familiar on art resources. Griff gave me a heads up on Utrecht down on the South Side and what a great store this is. The staff was more than accommodating on giving me help to understand what all I needed in this course and to explain what all of the different styles of paints were.

Honestly if it wasn’t for the great experience here I may have just given up. This is one case of where great customer service can go a long way. While I’m finishing my coursework I’ll be doing my shopping there.

Now, off to paint a freaking color wheel.