I’m Baaack!
It’s December 12, and I’m here to announce that Days That End in Y is officially back. I’m restarting my regular posting and have absolutely no plans to stop again.
The past week has been quite the roller coaster ride, and I’ve been seriously stressed. However, I think I have most of the server issues under control. Hopefully, apache won’t crash today, spammers will be held at bay, and traffic won’t bring my server to its knees. (Fingers crossed!) As I alluded to in the previous post, popularity of Today’s Reason to Drink (which you can see in the upper left-hand corner of the page) along with spambots caused my web host to shut down Days That End in Y and subsequently throttle visits to the point where the site was basically unusable. The gadget is currently getting about 1.4 million views per week, so that’s understandable. I’m now using a virtual private server with Slicehost, which is much more flexible and powerful than the shared web host I was on before. Unfortunately, it’s also more expensive. As a result, I’m looking for sponsors for Today’s Reason to Drink. Sponsor ads will be unobtrusive, brief text ads that show up at the bottom of the gadget, replacing the Days That End in Y link. If you are interested in getting 200,000 page views per day, then please contact me! If you know absolutely anyone who might be interested, then send them this page! I would greatly appreciate any monetary help to keep this site running.
Also, I’ve switched to WordPress. I think I managed to import and set up everything correctly. Previous permalinks will continue to work. However, if you’re linking to a page, please update your links to the new ones to help decrease load on my server.
Anyway, what’s been going on since August 13, which has kept me busy? Well…
- I backpacked through Western and Central Europe for one-and-a-half months. Some but not all of the photos I took are available. Not only did I meet lots of great people and see lots of great sights, but I also partook in lots of the local drinking culture. In Dublin, I stopped by Stag’s Head, toured Guinness, and went to the Jameson Distillery. In Lisbon, I drank plenty of Super Bock. In Madrid, I went out for tapas and sangria. In Germany, I stumbled my way through clubs and bars in Berlin. In Venice, I stopped each afternoon for a refreshing sprizze usually made with Aperol. In Bratislava, I bought and drank ridiculously inexpensive but good beer. In Belgium, I made sure to stop by lots of bars to drink incredible Belgian beers that cost so much in the USA that the price difference practically paid for the plane ticket. And in Amsterdam, well, I shouldn’t really publish those sorts of things in public under my name. Don’t worry. This wasn’t a complete itinerary and drink list!
- I went to San Diego and Los Angeles to a wedding and to visit family. Unfortunately, I arrived in San Diego the day that those huge wildfires started consuming everything in sight, so I was unable to visit Stone or any of the other great breweries in the area. However, I did have the opportunity to go to Father’s Office in Santa Monica, which is definitely on my must-visit list for any future trips to LA. Not only do they have a great selection of draft and bottled beers (where else are you going to find a peach lambic on tap???) but they also have the absolute best hamburger I’ve ever had on the West Coast. Unfortunately, I was in California when the Red Sox won the World Series (argh!), but I was able to watch the game with fellow Sox fans at Barney’s Beanery, which has an excellent beer list (132 total!) and more TV screens than Circuit City.
- I visited San Francisco twice. I apologize to anyone I couldn’t see there: too many familial obligations. Then, there was also my girlfriend’s family. Unfortunately, one of those visits was punctuated by hurling in a sink after having a little too much gin.
- I swung by New Haven and New York. In New Haven, I had the opportunity to go to Delaney’s for the first time, which I do recommend. Their drink menu isn’t as extensive as some of the other places listed here, but if you’re in New Haven, it’s a good choice. As for New York, I was really mostly just passing through.
- And of course, I’ve spent some time here in Boston just relaxing when not stressing over money and my server. I’m looking forward to a bit of quiet time interspersed with work, skiing, and drinking. I’ve already been back to a number of my favorite spots such as The Publick House, which is even agreeable with my girlfriend due to their great vegetarian-friendly appetizers and frites.
Anyway, that’s more than enough rambling about website updates and recent events in my life! Let’s get back to talking about booze!
I have a lot of catching up to do, so I apologize in advice in case I miss anything or rehash something that’s just plain old news.
