It's been a bit since I've gotten around to posting an update and, seeing as how there'll be things happening in my life soon that will impact the blog, now seems to be a good time to give you one. In this post I'll be talking about my plans for the blog this year, big events coming up in my life, and my social media management.

You do know I don't own The Simpsons, right? That'd be Fox or Matt Groening or whoever. This is just here as a fun, enticing picture.

Are you all set? Great. Here we go.

First of all, though, because we're not done talking about it yet: Go to battleforthenet.com. Contact your representatives. Please, do your part to ensure the internet is an open resource.

Now, assuming you've done that, let's talk about the blog. As you may have noticed, aside from my big holiday bursts, things have been a little slow here. That's because I've been super busy (we'll get to why in a second). My goal is to still get out at least two posts a month (look for the second January one this week!).

Speaking of posts, looking at the ones I made in 2017 it becomes apparent that the vast majority of them were seasonal or super limited release affairs. I got to drink and write about some cool brews, but I'd like to open it up more this year. Sure, you'll still see some cool things here. I'll still drink and write about a fair share of seasonals. But I'd like to focus more on core offerings--I want you to be able to find most of the beers I talk about here without much hunting.

Lastly, in terms of the blog, when it went through its update a few years ago (who here has been reading that long?), Michelle implemented a "Beer on Deck" widgit on the bottom right of the screen. While this is really cool, I have found it to be somewhat limiting. For example, soon I'll be picking up a beer that I really want to write about but I'd like to wait until a major snowfall to do so. As such, I can't really Beer on Deck it. Going forward, I'd like to use this portion of the blog as a guideline, not a rigid thing. Soon I'll change it to read "Beer Coming Up." That'll give me some more wiggle room.

Phew. Done with the stuff exclusive to the blog. Now, in terms of personal updates, Michelle and I are getting married this year! And we're buying a house! And even though I'm pretty well adjusted to my professional job that I got last July I still have some ropes to learn! So yeah. Big things. Please bear with me if my posts get a little sparse or droughty this year.

Okay, onto the last little bit: blog-related media. First, my New Year's resolution is to check every single beer I drink into Untappd. And, you know what? I've kept up with that! So, although the blog may be a little droughty between now and the midyear mark, my Untappd will be ablaze. Check it out if you feel so inclined.

I'd also like to start using Twitter more. In the past, my account was pretty much just for post promotion. This year I've started to post some irreverent beer-related things. My goal is to use it about as much as I use my Instagram. So, not much--it won't take the place of the blog or anything--but enough.

And... I guess that's about it? Yeah? Yeah. Like I said, I have some cool things planned, so please stay tuned!