Allow me introduce you to...

Ryan Horton. That name has been given new meaning to all us Milwaukeeans lately. A year ago, I simply called him a "friend." Now he's much more. Ryan, and his passion for making Milwaukee a better place or his passion to pay his bills, has become a local celebrity. Freeway, Pepperoni Cannoli, Crazy Ray. Each have created their own place in our town. Now, they have competition for the most recognizable face in Milwaukee, Ryan Horton. Ryan, pictured below, can be heard on the radio giving his report on Milwaukee economic growth, can be found in the Milwaukee Business Journal contributing his vast, seemingly endless, knowledge to stories, or as you see below, used in the UWM newsletter as a virtual carrot dangling in front of people saying "if you attend school here, this is what you can become." If you see him on the street, stop him and say "thanks for making our city a better place." Thank you Ryan Horton, thank you.


Ryan Horton, more than just a researcher

Talk to me Goose...

Ouch. Too many cocktails last night. About all I remember is dueling pianos and serenading some girl with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." I hope there aren't pictures...

Top 3

I just cannot for the life of me think of anything interesting to post today sooooo it's time to go to the conversation that shows it's face seemingly everytime I am out with my friends. Top 3 (reduced for blog) Rock bands of all time.

1. Led Zeppelin
2. Rolling Stones
3. Nirvana - Just to stimulate some opposition

Let the discussion/comments begin....

My New Toy

So, like what seems like the rest of the world, I am slowly falling into the Apple Cult. I picked up an Airport Express today and within 5 minutes, I had it up and running. You have to hand it to those people, they build a nice, easy to use product. What it does, is allow me to play music from my laptop through my stereo, wirelessly. I ripped a couple CD's, starting with Led Zeppelin IV, into their iTunes software and it played great. Also, I can use it to extend my current wireless network which will come in handy when I move into a new house. A third thing it does is work as a wireless print server. Once I pick up a printer, I'll test that out. So far so good..quite a nice product.


Airport Express with AirTunes by Apple

Double Down!

No turning back now! My best man Emmett fired off the email for my bachelor party in Vegas. Hopefully he'll (we) get mostly positive responses. We went there for his bachelor party last year and had a great time. I know it's a lot to ask for people to go on a trip for a bachelor party so if most people "can't" go, I would be just as happy having something around here. When my friend Mike had his in Milwaukee, we went on a brewery tour, to a Brewers game and then out on the town. It was a great time.

On the move again...

Well it's Saturday night and Kirsten and I are back at Mocha's coffee shop again. Nice place.

Today we had our "Engagement Retreat." It was actually pretty good. There were various speakers talking about things like commitment, communication, conflict resolution and finances. The speakers, who were just members of the parish we were at, were really good. They told good stories which made the day go by pretty fast. Probably the best was a couple who was originally from Ecuador. They spoke about conflict and conflict resolution between a married couple. They have been married 25 years so they had many stories to share. Their big words of advice at the end of their time was "Never leave your bed...the love happens between the sheets." It was funny because they had some troubles with English since they were from Ecuador so I don't think they were implying what the rest of the room thought they were. :)

Tomorrow morning we are heading down to Crate & Barrel in Chicago for something they call "Engagement Sundays" where they block off two hours in the store so engaged couples can register for wedding gifts without fighting the crowds. We'll see how our first registering experience goes. Adios...

Starbucks launches alcoholic drink

As if they needed another way to get people hooked...

NEW YORK - Starbucks Corp.’s on Thursday will introduce nationwide an alcoholic coffee drink, Starbucks Coffee Liqueur, the New York Times reported.

The newspaper said the drink will be sold in bars, liquor stores and restaurants in 750-milliliter bottles for $22.99. In April, the Seattle-based coffee shop chain said it was developing the coffee liqueur in partnership with the Jim Beam unit of Fortune Brands Inc.

Starbucks said at the time the coffee liqueur would not be sold in its retail locations because it would create a range of logistic hurdles, including seeking permits to sell alcohol.

Go Panthers!

My alma mater, UW-Milwaukee beat Butler University tonight 64-53 clinching the regular season conference title. They are turning into quite an impressive program given the fact they haven't been Division I for too long. Unfortunately, the Horizon League isn't really considered a "powerhouse" conference so they will most likely have to continue their hot play and win their conference tournament to get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. There is an outside chance they would get an at-large bid, but that may be a bit of long shot. Go Panthers! Raar Raar!

Mobile Blog

We're coming to you live from Mocha's coffee shop in downtown Milwaukee on the corner of Wisconsin and Plankington...

My first blog entry outside of the condo. You gotta love Wireless Internet. I stayed home sick today from work. My cold that appeared this past weekend really kicked into gear today. I was going stir crazy from sitting home all day so I had to get out of the house for a little bit so here we are, Kirsten and I, giving this relatively new coffee place a shot. So far so good. Sitting here sipping on a tasty "Milky Way" and listening to some soothing music while Kirsten reads her nurse magazine. She occasionally lets me in on what she is reading, but it is always only the most disturbing articles. Not sure why she feels compelled to share those with me. There's a reason I went into computer programming and not anything related to the medical field.

I'm trying to research some things for my Dad while I'm here. Sounds like he's going to start a new company so I volunteered to look into the startup steps and the tax implications and stuff like that. Stay tuned for more information. I think it's pretty exciting!

In Good Company

Yesterday Kirsten and I went to "In Good Company" with a couple friends. I thought it was a good movie. Dennis Quaid is great as the 25-year working man who, as a result of a company acquisition, gets demoted so the new company can send in a new hot shot, 26 year-old Carter Duryea (Topher Grace). Grace represents well the Porche-driving, young professional with a know-it-all front and inexperienced, insecure internal reality. And then there's Scarlett Johansson, who will just have to have a blog entry all to herself. :) Good movie, check it out!


"In Good Company" starring Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace

NHL is Breaking News?

So the National Hockey League announced today that it is cancelling the season. Is this really "breaking news?" I thought in order for something to qualify for that, people actually have to care about it. :)

Happy Almost Valentine's Day

The Hallmark holiday that is Valentine's Day is upon us so here's to you and yours. Kirsten and I got each other watches last week when we were at the mall however I am smart enough to know that that doesn't necessarily get me out of a "romantic" type gift. So this afternoon I surprised her with a nice chocolate candy layout when she woke up. (She works nights as a nurse). She was very suprised and liked it a lot. The best part is that I get to eat some of it. Have a good one!


Candy Layout including chocolate-covered strawberries, caramels, and "Ultimate" Bear Tracks

Just Another Post

OK, even though I don't have anything to write about, I am posting something, anything, so I don't have to go to the Blog and see the prior post every time. Time to move on...

UWM came back and won last night on the road at Loyola-Chicago. That assures them the #2 seed in the conference tournament. That's great and all, but we need #1 so we can host the championship game, provided they make it that far.

Let's see, what else...Kirsten (finally) found her wedding dress which is a big relief. She was getting pretty crabby, I mean..stressed, about that. Next up I would imagine is the bridesmaid dresses. It's coming together. 8 months to go.

That's all I got for now. Sorry for the uninteresting post. I just needed to get something in front of that last one.

Rest In Peace

Sad day for the DeGroot family. We had to put down our dog, Ernie, who we've had for almost 15 years. He will be missed dearly :(

My Houseguest

My neighbor is out of town for the weekend so I have the pleasure of dogsitting her pug, Rocky, until tomorrow night. So far so good. As you can see, she's a cute, chubby little thing. Yes, it's a "she" and her name is Rocky.


Rocky

Congratulations Gina!

My sister called tonight...she got engaged! Her fiancee's name is Chris and I am very happy for them both. No word yet on a date. My poor parents. Now they have another wedding on the horizon. :)

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Or in other words, my groomsmen. The five have been chosen, asked, and have accepted so that's been taken care of and I'm excited about it. Two of the five, Todd and Charlie, can be seen in the "Photos" section of my personal website located under "Tools." On to the next part of wedding planning...

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday. The big 2-8. Oh where do the years go. I didn't do too much to celebrate. Last night Kirsten and I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Mo's, for some big old steaks. Friday night I am meeting up with friends at a bar, The Hi Hat Garage, for some birthday cocktails. I think I should cancel any plans I have for Saturday...