And buy a chair or two while you are at it…

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This past weekend Emily and I decided to drive down to Augusta, Missouri and take a tour of the wineries in the area. We decided to go ahead and do a little impromptu review of them after we visited each. So here are some of the ratings on the wineries and brewery that are there. Keep in mind that while we have some sense of taste neither myself nor Emily are professional wine reviewers and these are our personal and humble opinions.

Augusta Winery
The Augusta Winery had some very good wines but its location on the corner of two small town streets, while quaint, does not lend to the “winery” feeling. They had a good selection and I enjoyed the Norton “Cynthiana” dry red so well that I bought a bottle. They had some other great wines but not wanting to run out the budget too early I settled for just one bottle each.

• Atmosphere: 5
• Selection: 8
• Quality: 8
• Service: 6

Louis P. Balducci Vineyards
The Balducci Vineyards had a fantastic atmosphere overall with a beautiful view at the top of a hill although the parking lot and path to the main location was long and rocky. Surprisingly neither of us really found any wine we particularly liked while others might. We did however decide to have something to snack on while there and enjoy the view.

• Atmosphere: 7
• Selection: 5
• Quality: 5
• Service: 8

Blumenhof Vineyards and Winery
The Blumenhof Vineyards had a good environment that I preferred more than Emily but overall had a great Missouri Winery feel. I enjoyed both dry whites and really enjoyed the Cyn. So I bought one of each and Emily bought a bottle for herself.

• Atmosphere: 7
• Selection: 7
• Quality: 8
• Service: 7

Montelle Winery
The Montelle Winery had a large tasting area with a friendly staff and the view from the deck was fantastic. The quality and selection was apparent from the abundant customer activity throughout the location.
People seemed to be enjoying the food and Starbucks coffee however we didn’t find time to enjoy it ourselves.

• Atmosphere: 9
• Selection: 10
• Quality: 8
• Service: 8

Mount Pleasant Winery
The Mount Pleasant Winery was probably the most disappointing of the places we visited. While the facilities were extensive and laid out well with plenty of space it did not appear well kept when we visited. The staff was busy packing boxes while we tasted which was distracting. The staff person that tended us was probably the most disappointing aspect. He appeared annoyed and not very friendly although the other staff person at the tasting area seemed a bit more chipper. The most unfriendly aspect was the $5 cover just to taste 5 wines while all other locations had none. While it may or may not have been a result of these things we found no wines we particularly enjoyed.

• Atmosphere: 6
• Selection: 8
• Quality: 7
• Service: 4

Sugar Creek Winery
Sugar Creek had a nice “vineyard” feel and plenty of activity. The tasting area was a little small and appeared to just be a small shop design making tasting a little cramped. I really enjoyed a few of their wines but their selection seemed lacking compared to the others.

• Atmosphere: 6
• Selection: 6
• Quality: 8
• Service: 6

Augusta Brewing
We visited the Augusta Brewery just to round out our tour. While they didn’t serve wine we tried a selection of their brews. I found the Blonde and the Tannhauser quite tasty while the Stout had almost overpowering deep coffee aspects. We had their turkey pot pie and enjoyed the rest of the evening relaxing after a long day.

• Atmosphere: 7
• Selection: 8
• Quality: 8
• Service: 6

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Emily Fergason and I went on our first date together. For several weeks prior we had been talking to each other and sending cute things like candy to each other but had never exactly gotten the time to go on a date. Finally both of us decided to just go for a lunch date on the spur of the moment. Keeping it casual we went to a local Mexican restaurant and proceeded to act as though we weren’t nervous after weeks of anticipation building. Aided by a couple shots of tequila (It was a Friday date!) we finally started to relax and get into some real conversation. Fairly quickly I realized that we would be great together and even heard myself say several times “I’m going to fall in love with this girl.”. Sure enough here we are together a year later and since then we have done wonderful things together. So, here’s to us and love.

I love you Em.

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I agree with just about all of these things. Which is why I haven’t created a MySpace account. Plus, I got this website anyway.

Link [Via Digg]

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So I am going to St. Louis on Friday for my nieces birthday. She is having her fourth birthday party on Saturday. Interestingly enough her birthday is on January 21st just like mine (Everybody, simultaneous “Awwwwwwww!”). We will be driving back on Saturday to Columbia. I don’t know if I am doing something on Saturday night but if I do I will try to let as many people know as possible. Nix that. If I am doing anything I probably won’t be of sound mind enough to dial my cell phone so please give me a call and come on out, or at least wish me Happy Birthday.

Also, Geekdrive 2007 is still rolling along (well, no, I shouldn’t say that, it is probably stopped dead in the water) so if you would like to contribute to a destitute young professional who is lustful of technology you can head on over to teh Wishlist.

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Well some people ask me why I just haven’t up and bought a house yet. Most of my reasons are outlined in this article. Hope you agree with some of them. Let me know if you do.

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I thought I would make this for all you visitors of ryandavis.net

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So, this girl and I have been dating six months. Who knew?

It is always kind of startling to realize that it has really been that long, but it is a good feeling, a really good feeling. Emily is a really wild person, almost as wild as me in fact, which is why we have such a crazy time together.

Heres to more of those.

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If you have been wondering why I haven’t been posting alot to my website lately it is because I have been completely slammed with work. Last week I was out of town for training for Juniper Implementing NetScreen Security Gateways 5.1 training. This week I am in training again taking the SANS System Forenics, Investigation, and Response information security training. Yeah, six day course.

Anyway check out the new hotness below which is what I was in training for last week.

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Link To Article

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This is a picture of the shirt I am wearing today. Strikingly fitting for me isn’t it? You can get it and many more like it over at Threadless. They are all pretty cool since they are nerdy and artistic. I think I pretty much own almost all of them now. :-/

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Well Stacy decided to chime in and send this counter-story from Yahoo News noting that alcohol and plants may not be so bad after all. This of course is in reference to my previous story about the dangers of letting your plants imbibe on a frequent basis. The next thing you know you could find them passed out in a dark alley smelling of all manner of awful things. Trust me, I know this from experience.

By the way Stacy, we don’t need any of those balanced opinions here on RRDN. The internets are chaos and garbage and we like it that way. So don’t go and mess up my program. Mmmkay?

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So, most people know I am more of a dog person than a cat person. I also have always wanted an English Bulldog. I even know I that I would name him Pork Chop. I love this video because it is totally something I could see he and I doing. You know, we get up early on a saturday and go to McDonalds and both of us get a Bacon Egg and Cheese Buscuit. We would sit on the curb of the park while I try to eat mine and feed him his at the same time, and then go skating in the parking lot next to the park. Yeah, that sounds like fun.

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The following picture is a capture I took of a training module for PSTN to VoIP for Voice Telecommunications Equipment. Now, what upsets me the most about the following pictures is not how ridiculous it is (Oh yes, it is pretty stupid) but that A) Someone actually drew this, and B) I actually understand it.

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