Ryan McNair.com

Jello + Mouse = Fun

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:41:02 +0000

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

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:27:06 +0000

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

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:27:43 +0000

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

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:39:34 +0000

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

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:01:19 +0000

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

Far Out Bout

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:28:30 +0000

Kate skated in last weekend’s roller derby bout, scoring a ton of points and winning over NW Arkansas. I made it on the KC Star’s website in their photos section.

Matt and Ryan watching the bout. Photo: Steve Yates

Indy Car Race

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:57:40 +0000

I went to my first, and possibly last, Indy Car race last weekend at the Kansas Speedway. About half way through the 200 laps, I realized the race is much more exciting if you pick a drive and cheer for them. I picked Danica Patrick because I’ve paid for more of her advertising than any of the other teams in the race (GoDaddy.com). She finshed 11th place, but made a nice comeback in the final laps from around 20th place.

One highlight of the day – we got to ride around a drift track in a 2010 Mustang. A large tobacco company, who can’t advertise in public anymore, hosted the event for “smokers” so they couldn’t be blamed for trying to recruit non-smokers. After signing my life away, and providing 100% accurate personal information, I was sitting in the passenger seat sliding sideways across the pavement.

Sushi

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:05:22 +0000

Kate and I took a crack at making sushi for Valentine’s day. Instead of going out to a fancy restaurant, we find an incredibly complex recipe and spend the afternoon/evening cooking. Time well spent, and a tasty product at the end. I had made sushi before in college, but it wasn’t as elaborate as this time. We spent an hour and a half just making the rice! Luckily Kate brought home a sushi for dummies book from the library, and it guided us through all the steps.

Sushi Pics

From the left: Shrimp Nigiri, cucumber roll, spicy tuna battleship pieces, spicy tuna, spicy crab

India part 4 – Mysore Palace

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:07:09 +0000

For my last weekend in India, 5 guys from my team and I went to nearby Mysore to visit the large palace. We had breakfast along the way, where I had some of the most tasty Indian food of my trip. A quick stop at a summer home of an important warrior (who really remembers the details!), a drive past the local catholic church, and then we arrived at the palace. Of course my entrance fee was ten times that of Indians, but it was worth it to see all the intricate wood carved doors, paintings of parades, and stained glass windows. Afterward, we rode a camel and elephant, stopped for Chinese food, and went swimming at sunset underneath a wide set of waterfalls. A long but fun day to wrap up my trip to India.

India part 3 – Taj Mahal

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:18:24 +0000

Another check mark on my lifelong list of things to do – the Taj Mahal was truly awesome! I traveled to Delhi this weekend, and spent Saturday touring Agra. I saw the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort (still actively used by the Indian Army), Akbar’s Mausoleum (built by Akbar for himself when he died), and the Itmad-ud-Daulah Tomb (contains the tombs of seven family members). The Shatabdi Express took me to Agra in 2 hours, and served breakfast and dinner – very nice service compared to US trains (but the bathrooms have some room for improvement). I’ve added many pictures with comments to my India album.