A to B through Z

It's hard to remain optimistic about the nature of man in the face of horrible tragedies like today. There will be a lot of talk about gun control and second amendment rights in the coming days and months, perhaps all the better. Honestly I just don't know where to come down on the issue. It's one of those debates like unions, teachers, and immigration that seem to have no middle ground. Why can't we have common sense gun laws that the NRA and most of my Cambridge neighbors will hate, but everyone else would agree on? Again, I just don't know. I feel as though something should come from this. Twenty kindergartners getting gunned down has to mean something. It has to be more than just one man waking up, aiming to do evil. But then again maybe it's just that. Mankind has free will and twenty kindergartners are now dead. Twenty families are facing the worst Christmas of their lives. A hurricane rolls through and drives us to heroic acts of charity, then toda...

Got some old pepsi kegs on the Cape this weekend. Ann wanted to be a part of the picture and is also a massive dork. RAIN BOOTS!!!!!!11!!!!?1!!!! Lovingly, Bryan

So Ann's up here now, and she eats at a man's time like a theoretical puppy eats at an Asian girl's heartstrings. Not that that's a bad thing, unless you happen to be a diehard blog enthusiast. In a funny twist of fate, after writing those first two sentences I got side tracked making smoothies. Like I said, not a bad thing. Now I have a smoothie, so that's nice. The Brewery My dream brewery is nearly complete, and I was able to brew up 5 gallons of pale ale and 1.5 gallons of what I'm calling a "German IPA." If you're familiar with Sierra Nevada's famous pale ale, the former beer is a clone while the later is an interesting inversion of their classic recipe. After making the first batch by the book, you would typically throw out the remaining grain and usually lose some of the sugars or as I call them "pre-alcohol." This time, I circulated some more water through the grains to pick up this sugar and had about enough to make a ...

So after all the frantic tourist-ing I went through while my parents were here this week, it felt good to kick back and relax on a sunday afternoon. Oh and the jug of beer didn't hurt either. I have some more pictures and interesting stories, but it's beer time. Driving to the airport at 5:30 am + 64 oz of beer makes for some epic napping. Also, I've been trying to figure out how I feel about Perry's big "Prayer-a-Palooza" today. After much deliberation and 64 oz of beer, here's all I've got: lol. Insightful, no? Bryan

No clever introduction. My mom called me a foodie the other day, and I've been mulling over whether or not she may be on to something. Why I'll never be a foodie A. I refuse to take pictures at restaurants/bars/etc. I'm the kind of person who hates cameras. Now, I like being able to look back at pictures (especially of myself) as much as the next (arrogant) guy, but there's something very intrusive and unwelcome about pulling out a camera. Nothing sucks the air out of a room like flash photography. It forces an immediate self-awareness and reflection on a moment that previously had been unburdened by thoughts of future consequences. Coincidentally, this is also how I feel about cell phones omnipresence. Which is an odd opinion for a young tech-savvy guy to have, I understand. I remember when Ann and I first started dating, it took me many frustrating months to break her* of constantly  texting during dinner. Maybe my notoriously bad phone skills are a pendul...

Time for some more pics! Its gorgeous here in the summer, and I'm also cheap so my commute is a 20 minute walk from my house to MIT. Unfortunate exercise aside, it's actually quite a pleasant walk. While I try to vary my route on the way back home, this is the path I generally stumble down in the not-so-early morning. Flower shop and random bits of street.  Super awesome pie shop and fire station mural.  One of many random old towers that Cambridge/Somerville seems to love.  Hipster bar Lord Hobo, and a physical store for Edible Arrangements (wtf?)  Bus that I should have been riding on if I wasn't so damn green .  One of many slick biotech firm buildings. So slick.  Trees! McGovern Brain Research building. Stata Center. So. Much. Whimsy. Whimsy, etc. Cancer research center, and my building in the background.  Stairs stairs stairs. Reading room, no pipes allowed.  My corner of the lab, and my sexy index finger. A virtual tour, fun f...

Times is tough. Luckily there's Craigslist, the online bazaar of free crap and creepy perverts. Let's focus on the former, and leave a broader discussions involving online ethics, sexuality, and your creepy uncle Carl for another day. Look at what people fleeing the Northeast have left for me! Commence the free! The sweet orange chair was a gift from the landlord and I am already very attached to it. The AC unit in the window was one of two, and is much appreciated since we actually broke 100 degrees this weekend. The fridge in the closet may be my most favorite, as my brewery can now expand into lager fermentation. Sexy teal chairs, which I actually had to pay $10 for but you can't win them all. The desk, the small bookcase peeking out on the left, and the five growlers were totally free though. So. There's. That. Other odds and ends. Some books, a really old board game, and an even older electric pencil sharpener. That wicked mahdern end table and the american...