Risley Ranch

Joe holding history

Joe is holding one of Jackie Robinson's bats at the Louisville Slugger museum. Awesome place.

It's gray in Louisville

We've got a great view of the Ohio river from our hotel. We're going to start at the Louisville Slugger museum, then the science museum.

We made it to Louisville

Having some dinner, and yes, a Maker's.

The adventure begins

We're off. I'm holding two Kentucky icons: Hunter S Thompson and Maker's. And Joe is holding on for dear life because he knows this is going to be a crazy gonzo trip. Well, a 40 year old version anyway.

The adventure begins

We're off. I'm holding two Kentucky icons: Hunter S Thompson and Maker's. And Joe is holding on for dear life because he knows this is going to be a crazy gonzo trip. Well, a 40 year old version anyway.

On turning 40

I turn 40 today.  I always wanted to be 40.  Well, I guess I just always wanted to be older.  To be an adult.  When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up.  I wanted to make money, drink, stay up late, make my own decisions...all the wonderful things I saw adults doing.  Not sure why.  I had a wonderful childhood.  Boring at times, but still wonderful. 

So when did "adulthood" really start for me?  Definitely not at 18; I was mostly a punk.  Not even at 26, when I got married; my wife was the adult in our relationship back then.  I think it happened after we adopted our son.  And now, at 40, with my work and family responsibilities and debts and college savings and investments and taxes, I'm in full-on adulthood.  I've arrived.  And I'm happy.

My co-workers posted 40 photo-shopped pics of me around our office -- one for each year -- to memorialize my time on the planet.  I work with funny and creative people, so it was funny and creative:

 

And they tied it all into the big, adult theme of my 40th birthday: bourbon.  Specifically, Maker's Mark.  Yes, tomorrow Amy, Joe and I leave for Louisville, KY, for the weekend.  I'm making my first trip to the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto.  My barrel is mature -- yes, a barrel with my name on it -- from which I will take 2 two-liter bottles home.  It will be a blast. 

So keep following me, and I'll let you in on the journey -- the one to bourbon Mecca and the bigger one of my now adult life.

w00t!

Congratulations to IPREX-brethren JohstonWells Public Relations in Denver and their recent move to new digs downtown.  We know how tough a move is, so nicely done!  I'm also impressed with their new emerging media site, w00t!  First off, cool name.  And the site itself is clean with interesting content.  Keep it up guys.

Invest in aluminum

From my cousin, Rosemary, in Denver (And I checked it on Snopes...nothing there):

"If you had purchased $1,000 of AIG stock one year ago, you would have $42 left.

With Lehman, you would have $6.60 left. 

With Fannie or Freddie, you would have less than $5 left. 

But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago,
drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling refund,
you would have had $214. 

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. 
It's called the "401-Keg" Plan."

The Kansas Cosmosphere

We attended the 9th annual Risley Family Reunion in Hutchinson, Kansas, this past weekend.  On Saturday we spent the morning at the Kansas Cosmosphere.  If you're a space-buff, and you've never been, go.  Because in the middle of Kansas, you can see the coolest space museum next to the Smithsonian Air and Space in DC.  I hadn't been since I was a kid, and boy was I amazed at the progress it has made.  Here's what we saw:

• A replica of the SR-71A Blackbird, the world's fastest syplane.
• A replica of the Titan Rocket.
• THE Liberty Bell 7 -- the actual Mercury capsule flown by Gus Grissom and recovered from the Atlantic in 1999 and restored by the Cosmosphere.
• THE Command Module, Odyssey, made famous by the Tom Hanks movie, Appollo 13.  It was purchased and restored by the Cosmosphere in 1996.
• And actual moon rock brought home in 1969 by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from the first moon landing on Apollo XI.

Check out the photos:

10 Things I Learned at the OIA Rendezvous

Here's a quick deck that highlights some of what I learned last week at the Outdoor Industry Association's Rendezvous in Boston.

Download ten_things_i_learned_oia.ppt