Gord Downie Battling Brain Cancer

Gord Downie, lead singer and creative genius behind the Canadian rock group The Tragically Hip has recently announced that he has terminal brain cancer.  For those of you unaware of The Hip, they're Canada's version of U2 - slightly similar style and slightly similar tenure.  Unfortunately for the band and for US music fans, they never really crossed over to any extent.

Too bad.  The Hip has a masterful library of work, and I'd encourage any music fan to delve into it.  Regardless of tastes and genres, you'll be likely to find something that resonates with you.  They are that diverse and that good.

For Downie, the news has to be devastating.  How could it not be?  So what does he do with his last days, with cancer eating ever further into him?  He goes on the road.

Concerns about his heath also translate to concerns about his ability to perform.  However, a neurologist familiar with the case weighed in: 

The tumour, lodged in the left temporal lobe, interferes with the area of the brain that controls both speech and short-term memory. But Perry explained that lyrical memory — which controls the ability to sing and remember songs — are stored differently, and he said he did not anticipate any problems in those areas.

That's why my Dad, mired in Pick's Disease and unable to speak, could clearly belt out "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when prompted.  Amazing.

For music fans, there has been so much loss of late.  Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey.  Hence, get out and see Gord and the boys before it is too late.  As a three time Hip show veteran, I guarantee it will be on of your "favourite" concerts ever.

In the mean time, keep fighting, Gordie.  You're a treasure, and we're praying for you.

Saturday Song Share: Brad Paisley - When I Get Where I'm Going

Not much that I can add on this one...

At What Age are We Happiest?

A recent study by Bank of America / Merrill Lynch shows the ages in which folks report their level of happiness.  It's pretty interesting stuff:

I suppose this data is intuitive: kids and seniors - those with the fewest responsibilities, reported the highest levels of well being.  Those of us at the age where worries like parents, kids, career, and impending retirement have us with the least amount of satisfaction.  

Unfortunately, I'm clearly in that group.  Work responsibilities are tough, and there's very little overt satisfaction.  Once one hits a certain level, the "atta boys" given are few and far in between.  One is just expected to kick butt, or be fired.  Hence, job satisfaction needs to be intrinsic.  However, as my own worst critic, that's not always a good configuration.

The good news in all of this is that I'm at the bottom, and that things get better from here.  In fact, things absolutely take off upon retirement, and it looks fabulous.  Thus, I need to leverage the last of my earning years as best I can, and get to that point.  

Where are you on the graph, and does it match how you feel?

The Biggest Walleye of My Life

In fishing Leech Lake last Sunday, I hooked into the biggest walleye of my life.  

Ever since I was young, I've wanted a walleye big enough to be worthy of hanging on my wall.  My self-imposed limit for the size of this fish was 30", and while I've caught many up to 28" in my 45 years of fishing, I've not boated a 30".  Oh, I may have hooked into one which broke my line, but I could never be sure it was my wall-hanger.

I take you now to the lake.  The day was incredibly rough, with winds blowing over 20MPH from the south.  As such, we were fishing the south end of the lake; it was far too rough to venture elsewhere.  The spot we were fishing shouldn't have held fish as the wind was way wrong, but it was the only place where the water was calm enough for us to be safe.

While our water was somewhat calm, the wind was still howling.  Our boat was a pontoon, and was being skipped across the water at a really fast rate, hence we were using massive jigs to try and have our bait maintain contact with the bottom, where the fish live.

We made drifts for a couple of hours, and watched some other boats land fish, but we could not raise one ourselves.  Then, near the end of our stint, something smacked the living hell out of massive jig.  We were at the end of our drift, and had now drifted south enough for us to be taking big swells against the boat.  

I knew I had a massive fish right away, and I changed my reel to allow me to back-reel and offer the fish some room to fight.  And fight me she did.  She made a couple of big runs which stripped line, and with us moving so fast in the boat, it made it all the more difficult to gain ground on her.  

But gain I did.  As much as the fish was fighting, I believe that I caught a massive northern, or perhaps even a muskie.  However, that all went out the window when I first spied her - she was a walleye, and a complete monster.

She was nearly played out, and I soon had her at the surface to be netted.  We all got a great look at her, and my biggest fish of the day just a day prior - a large 26" - looked puny in comparison.  She was all of 30", perhaps much larger.

Our borrowed net was too small, and my buddy manning it was having a tough time with the fish.  Likewise, since we were in a pontoon in heavy waves, it was hard to get a good angle on the fish to net it.  I moved back in the boat in attempt to drag the fish closer, and then shifted to the left at the request of the netter in order to bring the fish in.  Just then my netter stood up just a little, and his shoulder touched against my line which was now over him.  That's all the taught line needed, and it immediately snapped at his shoulder.  

My dream fish - my wall fish - sat there at the surface for a second, with my massive green jig in her mouth, and then disappeared to the safety of the bottom.  Just like that, she was gone.

The good news is that I indeed got not only a good but a great look at her.  And with the day's previous perspective of a 26", I had a really good idea about her size.  Hence, there is no guessing as to what she was.

The bad news, of course, is that she didn't get landed.  No picture exists.  It is like hitting the stick on a par three with your drive - nice shot, but if the ball didn't end up in the hole, it's not an ace.  Hence, no replica will be developed, and the wall remains bare.  

The only other good news is that I saved myself about $700 on a fancy replica.

Now, please excuse me as I hit the water in search of a massive walleye sporting a big green jig in her cheek.

Fishing Report from Leech Lake

This past week marked the Gang of Four fishing trip.  While it has not been annual, it has carried on for 4 decades now.  

Day one found us with limited wind, but enough to push us into a couple of keeper walleye and a massive amount of northern pike.  Indeed, we were able to ice our needs for our fish fry in the first day, so the pressure to produce was off the remainder of the weekend.

The next day held little wind as well, and we trekked across the massive lake in search of some kind of breeze that would push our boat and baits around.  After logging many miles, we happened to the east end of famed Pelican Island and started a drift on an ever-so-slight wind.  

It proved to be enough.

In the next two hours, we caught nearly 20 walleyes.  Not a one of them were keepers as they were all too big, but again, we already had what we needed in the freezer.  So we stayed there and caught and released fish like these (which were caught simultaneously):

Our buddy Pauly was on fire as well, and landed this beauty:

The following day, we met with massive winds, which limited our options.  Here are the boys doing their best to keep Pauly warm:

While we didn't catch a lot of fish on our last day, I did end up hooking into the biggest fish of my life.  More details on that tomorrow.

Saturday Song Share: Holly Williams - Drinkin'

Songs pretty much don't get more country than this.

Stellar

Prince's Dream Factory Shines a Light on His Death

Prince's death shocked a lot of people.  We just flat didn't see it coming.

I was on a run yesterday morning when Prince's Dream Factory came on.  Based on the lyrics, maybe we should have known:

This is what it's like
In the Dream Factory, oh

Hollyrock ain't all it seems
(Lordy)
Don't get too serious, it's just a dream
Don't forget your friends, they're all you've got
(Lordy)
Listen to the story of a man I am not

Party all night, hangin' out
In the streets more than I be at home
I take a pill to wipe away my doubts
But a pill can't cure my bein' alone

Vodka and 7 straight to my brain
Put me under false impressions
Hide all my pain
Somebody help me, I'm losing control

This is what it's like
In the Dream Factory, oh

Everybody got the big dreams
(Hey lordy)
But nobody got the bucks
Love and trust will help you make it in a world
(Everybody)
Where there ain't no love, ain't no love

Dig, a man came up to me
Smile in his eyes, he told me
I was a saint, so I'm quittin' my friends
Much to their surprise

I can't live up to the picture that they paint
Ah, somebody help me
I'm losing control
(Ow)

I guess I'm just a sucker
In the Dream Factory, oh

Lordy
La, la, la, la, la
(Sucker)
Got to drive

(It's just a dream)
(It's just a dream)
(It's just a dream)
Look out

Do you wanna party?
Do want a pill?
How about a false impression?
(Thrills, spills, chills)

This is what it's like
In the Dream Factory, oh

Ow, yeah
Up a little bit
(Dream Factory, oh)
Party all night, hang up on the side

I said uh
(Do you wanna party?)
I can't make up my mind
(How about a false impression?)

I can't seem to live with no pictures
(Thrills, spills, chills)
Somebody got to help me
(Just a sucker)

I'm losing control
(Just a sucker)
I guess I'm just a sucker
In the Dream Factory, oh

Guess I'm just a sucker
In the Dream Factory, oh
(Just a sucker, motherfucker)

A Great Interview Technique for Leadership

During a job search last year, I happened to be presented with the best interview question that I think I have encountered in my career.  As I was conversing with the recruiter in my second round with him, he asked me the following: “In one word or small phrase, please provide me three examples of the best boss that you ever had.”

I have been fortunate to have worked for some incredible CEOs in my history, thus I provided the recruiter with an amalgam of their traits. “Humble,” I said as my first example. “Impeccably, honest, ethical and moral. Finally, deep care about his team.” “Tell me more about ‘humble’,” the recruiter inquired. “Easy,” I replied, “This CEO was extremely comfortable in his own skin, and confident in his leadership. As such, he didn’t have the need to be the smartest guy in the room. In fact, in many instances, he didn’t want to be. He hired experts, then depended on them to execute. That being said, he was constantly seeking knowledge, and was never afraid to learn, even by asking questions that to others may have seem rudimentary.”

“Great,” the recruiter responded, “Let’s do the same exercise, but this time for your worst boss.” Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), I had good experiences with CEOs that were, in my opinion, train wrecks. Again, I presented an amalgam of their traits. “Massive ego. A chaos creator. A vulgar screamer.” “What does ‘chaos creator’ mean?” asked the recruiter. “This particular CEO wasn’t happy unless there was conflict. He’d take overt steps to pit departments against each other. I believe he felt conflict made for a better result, but in actuality, the amount of time spent posturing and playing political games ended up taking far more time than what was spent on actually driving the business.”

At that point the recruiter went about asking more mundane questions, and in the middle of it I interrupted him, as I was curious about the exercise we had just completed. The recruiter stated, “I ask these questions of all of serious candidates. In my experience, those positive traits of previous leaders are the things candidates model their leadership after. Likewise, the negative traits are those things that have been burned into the candidate to the point where they’d never employ them in their leadership style. In essence, instead of a candidate telling me what kind of leader they are, I dig a little deeper and get what I feel is better insight, and see for myself what kind of leader they’ll be.”

What great insight! Is it perfect? No, there’s not an interview question or technique that is. But it does provide a unique perspective. Likewise, for the candidate, it gives a lot of fodder for examining what they have learned by the leadership of others.