We’ve Reached Peak Brewery

Posted on by in Beer, Current Events

From WBUR last week, the number of US breweries has now passed the five thousand mark: The number of American breweries topped 5,000 for the first time last year, with craft beer makers accounting for 5,234 of 5,301 U.S. breweries, according to new figures from the Brewers Association. Just five years ago, there were only about 2,000 U.S. craft brewers, which the Brewers Association defines as small or independent beer makers. Last year alone, more than 800 opened for business. The history of American breweries is interesting. I did a small research project on the market in 2012 while in grad school, and the momentum that was just starting then has continued through today. The Brewers Association has a few well-made

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The Town of Framingham: 318 Big Years from 1700-2017

Posted on by in General

After a great 318-year run, I just learned that beginning next year, my hometown will no longer be a town. Framingham will become a city. For me, the main reason this is notable is that Framingham has long held the distinct title of being the “biggest town in the country.” It’s one of those things that everyone from Framingham learns at a young age, and then proudly repeats whenever given the opportunity. When two strangers from Framingham meet in some distant non-Framingham place, it’s often the first thing they bond over and share with anyone who will listen. Here’s an example. A few years ago I went to a bar in Palo Alto with my good friend Ed. We started talking to

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What about people at home?

Posted on by in Politics

From Bill Maher’s monologue last week: “Paul Ryan wrote a healthcare bill that somehow covered fewer people than just repealing Obamacare and replaced it with nothing, and it still wasn’t good enough for the Freedom Caucus. It’s like if you wrote a highway bill that made all the bridges fall down, and they said, ‘Yeah, but that only kills drivers. What about people at home?’”

East Austin, the ArModelo & Longhorn Caverns

Posted on by in Bars, Beer, Photography, Travel

I spent last weekend in Austin with a few good friends from grad school. We’re spread across the country at the moment – two in Boston, one in Boulder, and one in San Francisco – and decided to get together somewhere that (1) is fun and (2) had cheap direct flights for all of us. Austin delivered on both fronts, easy decision. Before continuing, I have to thank my amazing wife Laura, who encouraged me to have one last weekend away before our son arrives. So, a quick recap on some highlights. I’ve been going to Austin at least once a year since 2012 to visit Laura’s family, and I’m still excited to find excuses to go back. No other US city has Austin’s mix of

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Everglades National Park

Posted on by in General, Photography

I was in Florida visiting family last weekend, and took off one morning to go check out Everglades National Park. It was more interesting than I expected, and I only had a chance to see a small portion in Shark Valley, and some areas between there and the Gulf Coast visitor center. There were gators everywhere. In some of the swamps there were dozens swimming around. I’ll try the airboats next time. Here are some highlights:

Ramen Recipe

Posted on by in Food, Recipes

I recently made my first ramen, and think it came out well. I found a number of recipes online, primarily leveraging this one, and combined the ones that sounded good and had ingredients I could find in the neighborhood store. I’ll definitely continue experimenting, but here’s what I went with in my first go, for a serving of two: Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, skin on 32 oz. chicken broth 1 jalapeno pepper 2 oz. mirin 1 oz. soy sauce 1 oz. chili oil 3 cloves garlic 1 inch fresh ginger 6 oz. ramen noodles 1 spring onion 1 egg 1 cucumber 8 shitake mushrooms 2 tbsp black sesame seeds Salt Steps: Broth: Finely mince garlic and ginger and add to large

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fitteR happieR – How Depressing are Radiohead Songs?

Posted on by in Music

Via Freecodecamp’s weekly email, I came across this R-based analysis that estimates and charts how depressing and sad Radiohead songs are, grouped by album. The level of sadness is determined using a function that accounts for both melodic factors (i.e., is the music sad) as well as the lyrical content. An interesting read from a coding standpoint, and after listening to a bunch of songs and comparing with the results, I think it’s about right. A lower score is a “more depressing” song.

We Drain Pipes, Not Wallets

Posted on by in Photography

A sign design firm, Dynamic Image LLC, recently contacted me to request to use one of my photos for a vehicle wrap project. It’s a shot I took in 2011 while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park: I sent them the high resolution file, and asked to see the results when it was finished. Yesterday, I received an email with two photos. Turns out it’s a plumbing truck. I’m a bit biased, but I think it looks great:

Hamakua, Waipio, and Pololu

Posted on by in Nature, Photography, Travel

For our final two days in Hawaii Laura and I stayed at a B&B on a ranch in the Hamakua region up north. The drive up to the ranch was six miles off the main road, three of which was through a eucalyptus forest: Here are a couple of horses on the ranch: We drove out to Waipio Valley one afternoon, and did the mile hike down and back up: Afterwards, we drove out to Pololu Valley. Unfortunately the weather turned overcast when we got there, but we had some good rainbow sightings on the way: Many more pictures on my photography site.