RyanMM's New Writeups

citrus cordial (thing)

2011-05-10T14:09:57Z

Cordial is quite a brilliant description of this tasty concoction, as if it greets your tastebuds with a bounce and a hearty welcome. It does so, metaphorically speaking, especially if you take the time to make it yourself.

To find the template for citrus cordial, look no further than Rose's Lime Cordial, which actually has quite a history. The process of preserving lime juice was invented and patented by Lauchlin Rose in 1867, and the drink became an integral part of the sailor's ration on British naval ships for its scurvy-preventing Vitamin C content. The ubiquity of gin and lime cordial upon these same ships may be responsible for the origin of the Gimlet. Lime cordial is crucial in making a Gimlet. Fresh lime juice and simple syrup, a common substitute by well-meaning bartenders, has as much in common with lime cordial as chicken bouillon and water do with chicken stock. The Gimlet is genuinely one of the few drinks where a chemical-laden, mass-manufactured…

Solitaire (idea)

2005-02-23T10:25:04Z

I've been playing a lot of solitaire lately. The urge struck me one day while I was at my favorite diner, having just finished reading the paper, and realizing I didn't have anywhere to be for an indefinite period of time.

So I broke out the deck of cards, which I keep in my inside lower right coat pocket. I started carrying a deck of cards there shortly after getting this jacket, attempting to realize the full potential of its dizzying number of pockets. I pulled the cards out of the box, and as I removed the jokers, I realized that this was a virgin deck, placed there fresh at the start of coat-wearing season this year.

It was about to get broken in.

I shuffled them without abandon, no sense taking it easy. Again and again I parted the cards, again and again I shuffled them, until their suit and numeric sequences were random and ready for the dealing.

Some hands of solitaire can't be won by any measure of…

October 23, 2004 (idea)

2004-10-23T09:13:54Z

You Don't Have to Be a Rocket Scientist...the Blog!
Feel free to check out my user profile, friends list, and contact info while you're here!

Previous Week

10/23/14 - 8:53 AM EST

My apologies for not having updated in the last week. It's been like hell in a hand basket, fitting for my first week here at NASA. And I mean that in the worst way possible. First the satellite de-orbit that I was brought in specifically to assist with goes batshit. It got delayed 3 days because of extreme solar flares and the resulting solar winds. Then, when we were finally able to bring her in, she comes apart halfway through the stratosphere. I will neither discuss how long it took to find fragments larger than my testicle, nor that poor farmer's cow. Yuck.

Thankfully, we found the diagnostic pod, and Hank willing, it was intact.

…

FN Five-SeveN (thing)

2004-04-28T01:38:26Z

Call it the black sheep of modern sidearms. Call it obscene. And after going toe-to-toe with a Kevlar-clad enemy assailant and coming out rattled but nonetheless unscathed, feel free to call it your best friend.

The FN Five-seveN, or FN57 for short, was designed by Fabrique-Nationale Herstal while attempting to come up with a new submachine gun and projectile for engagements in the 21st century. It possesses characteristics that set it far apart from most other handguns, and is regarded by most as a bit ahead of its time. To date, it is one of only two small arms designed around the progressive 5.7x28 mm round.

Weighing in at only 1.64 lbs with 20 rounds in the magazine, the gun is nearly a full pound lighter than the 9mm Beretta 92F sporting 15 rounds of 9mm. The gun's light heft can be attributed to its mostly polymer frame. The slide and barrel are both chrome-moly steel. The barrel is two-piece, and moves rearward up to a tenth…

eulogy (thing)

2004-04-21T09:15:14Z

Eulogy
the Background and Numbers

Not to take a huge molten shit on the above noder's lyrical analysis, but he's a bit off. While one could certainly infer from the lyrics they were talking about supposed messiahs, such as good ol JC and definitely the late, great Mr. Hicks, they weren't. This song is not complimentary. This song is not respectful. This song is an indictment of those who wear the martyr label, a shotgun center-mass to every zealot's ego, and of your own.

Song Title:   Eulogy
Song Length:  8:28
Album Name:   Ãnima
Lyrics By:    Keenan/Jones/Chancellor/Carey
Music By:     Keenan/Jones/Chancellor/Carey

Eulogy
the…

Lateralus (thing)

2004-04-16T12:41:50Z

Lateralus
the Background
*~A~*~L~*~T~*~E~*~R~*~U~*~S~*~A~*~L~*

There are four distinct possibilities to look at when attempting to analyze what Tool is and represents as artists and musicians. They are perhaps the greatest merry pranksters ever, dangling some pseudo intellectual nuggets in front of our faces and delighting as we pore over them for a deeper meaning which isn't there. They may be Rainman-esque, not comprehending the depth of their own work. Or perhaps they are the most intellectually, musically, and philosophically-gifted quartet ever to see the face of this earth.

Or perhaps it's some permutation of the previous three. Perhaps they're just being Tool. I don't think we'll ever know, and honestly, that's a great part of the beauty of Tool. One'll never know what shit they're going to throw at you, and whether or not they're…