India 2011

I visited Bangalore, India again in December to conduct another training class for Cerner.  After we taught almost 40 Cerner associates in two weeks, Kate flew across the ocean to join me for a week of vacation.  She has heard many stories of Indian life, food, and the majesty of the Taj Mahal and finally was able to experience it “live action” (to quote the Turtle Man).  We spent a few days in Bangalore, touring the city’s temples, markets, and parks.  We chanted the Hare Krishna Mantra at the ISKON temple, walked the Bangalore Palace grounds where they were preparing for a 1000+ person wedding reception, and were honored with an invitation to a coworkers engagement party.  In an arranged marriage, this is the first time the bride and groom meet, with about 200 friends and family packed into the room.  Each group has a chance to greet and thank the new couple personally, and a large buffet dinner was served at the end.



After Bangalore, Kate and I flew to New Delhi for some North Indian cuisine and views of the Taj.  We stayed at a small, quiet, “boutique” hotel called The Manor where we could escape the noise of the city at night.  One of Kate’s relatives gave us a sightseeing list which was so well thought out that it quickly became our itinerary.  We toured Humayun’s tomb, the Jama Masjid (mosque), and Gandhi’s monument and museum.  We ate Indian-Chinese pad thai, Tibetan momos, and North Indian paneer and masalas, as well as amazing modern dishes at our hotel’s restaurant – Indian Accent.  The chef had an amazing ability to create international dishes with an “indian accent” to each one.  His understanding and use of Indian flavor profiles made me want to pursue cooking school!  We dined there twice.

Pictures

 

Happy Halloween from Kate and Ryan

Photo By DeadTake

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, but the reason changes over time. Maybe that’s why it is so great? As a kid, I always dressed up and brought home tons of candy. Teenage years brought costume parties that carried through college (with sexier costumes and more booze in the later years of course). Now that I’m an old-married-guy-homeowner, life is starting to repeat itself as the kids come to my door for candy…but the fun doesn’t repeat itself. Last year I scared kids so badly they ran away screaming, while others were too afraid to even come up the steps. I hope this year is even more “productive” with the addition of fog and more special effects. Ever had a leaf blower powered zombie pop out of the shadows as you walked by?



Kate and I stumbled upon DeadTake at an art gallery during October’s First Friday.  They take your green screen photo and create beautiful zombie attack scenes.

Warrior Dash Comes to KC

Last weekend, the traveling Warrior Dash event came to Kansas City for a 7,000 person, 2 day event. Waves of 500 people were released every half hour through a 5k trail consisting of grass, mud, tree roots, swamps, streams, balance beams, barbed wire, barricades, monkey bars, rope ladders, wooden towers, bon fires, mud pits, oh and more barbed wire. Kate and I both survived the race, finishing in 56 minutes and 44 minutes, respectively.

Pictures

Kate and Ryan

Snowy Day in KC

Two little birds came to visit last night. I think they were looking for somewhere
to sleep that wasn’t covered in 10″ of snow!

More Home Repairs

I’m a basement guy, probably because I spent so much of my childhood in my parent’s basement, which is great in a new house but not so great in a 90 year old house. In the endless list of home improvements I want to make, I decided to repair the window sill in my laundry room last weekend. What started off as a small project turned into a much larger project after I had pulled 200lbs of rock from the wall with nothing more than my hands and a vacuum cleaner. No worries though, 2 days and 2 trips to Home Depot and the sill is better than expected.

Jello + Mouse = Fun

I’ve been wanting to do this prank ever since I saw it on The Office, and today was the day. I’m glad he took it well.

St. Louis 2010

I took a trip to St. Louis with some friends from work last weekend. We made the traditional stops at the City Museum, Anheuser-Busch Brewery, and 9th Street Deli, along with a some new places – Zia’s on the Hill (laid back Italian food) and Bailey’s Chocolate Bar (surprisingly tasty martini’s made from chocolate).  I also found a new deli to try next time… Blues City Deli on McNair Street!

Pics

I found my next neighborhood

T-Bones Baseball

My team at work spent the day watching the T-Bones win against the Winnipeg Goldeyes.   I think a Goldeye is a fish.  Much better than sitting in a cubicle! I even caught a foul ball, well ok, I jumped the fence and recovered it from the parking lot.  Don’t believe any of my coworkers that say I beat up a kid for it.

Ryan with Sizzle, the T-Bones mascot

Family Reunion

Kate and I spent the weekend at our bi-yearly family reunion.  This time it was held at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City, NE.  Only two hours from KC, it was the closest one ever.  Usually I have to drive 5-8 hours to a different corner of the state.  Not as many family members were able to come compared to previous years, but all the McNairs made it, so I was happy.

Chicken Dinner Road

The Travel Channel recently aired an episode of Food Wars featuring two chicken restaurants in Kansas.  Living only two hours away, Matt and I decided to judge for ourselves which chicken reigns supreme.  To add to our experience, we picked sides and faced off in this  chicken challenge.

Matt went for Chicken Mary's

Ryan went for Chicken Annie's

We ordered similar chicken pieces and side dishes to keep things fair.

6pcs mixed chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, onion rings

4pcs mixed chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes

The results: Matt and I both picked the thinner breading and better flavor of Chicken Annie’s over Mary’s heavy breading.  Mary’s does receive an honorable mention for the green beans, which had more flavor and a better texture than Annie’s.

See all the pictures

Our winner - Chicken Annie's