Al Franken to Demagogue and Waste More Time

It was announced last week the the esteemed Minnesota Senator Al Franken is going to hold a hearing on "stalking apps" - phone applications that collect geolocation information from mobile devices.

It seems that to Senator Franken, such functionality is just way too intrusive.  Here's his money quote: “The companies that make the software on your phone, including apps, can access extremely sensitive location data that reveals where you live, where you work, where you drop your kids off at school, the church you attend and the doctors you visit.” 

I'm shocked - shocked, I tell you - that Franken failed to mention any concern whatsoever about the NSA, or any other government spying (Hi, NSA!)



"Big" business "spying" = bad.  Government spying = good.

What a tool.  But we should expect nothing less than inaction and demagoguery from our elected officials.  It seems it is the only thing they can do with effectiveness anymore. 

Fr. Don on Communication (or Lack Thereof)

Fr. Don came up with an outstanding post today that I felt necessary to share:

"Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me" (Luke 1:43)? In the gospel event that we call the visitation, these words are Elizabeth's response to a visit from her cousin Mary. The pregnant and elderly Elizabeth doesn't give a self-centered response: "Where were you? It's about time" but "How did I ever deserve this?" Elizabeth receives the gift of Mary's time and effort as an unexpected, most welcome kindness, a gift.

Daily life offers all of us opportunities to give generously and also to receive with gratitude and joy what others give. In our day phone calls and letters as well as convenient mobility make it possible for us to bring consolation, light, even some excitement to the lives of the lonely, the ill, the neglected, the suffering in any way. Yet with so many technology-enhanced opportunities for communication and contact, we still plead "no time." Visitation in some form or other of those who would benefit from it is a snap for us today compared to what it was in Mary's time. What keeps us from doing more of it? Perhaps it's our lack of identification with the selflessness of Christ, something He learned at least partly from His mother.

Interesting take, no?  Technology affords us more and easier communication than ever before in history.  But do we actually take advantage of it and communicate more, or less?

What busy, lonely lives we lead.

10K!

I started running 7 months and 40 pounds ago, and this morning I just cranked out my first 10k.  It has been a long road, but there are not many other accomplishments in my life in which I'm more proud.  

Now for the race coming up in two weeks...

Elizabeth at Vittles and Joe

If you find yourself in Hackensack, Minnesota anytime soon, be sure to bring yourself and your appetite to a little establishment called Vittles and Joe.  Their specialty is a heaping plate of steaming, homemade blueberry pancakes like you can get no other place, and while the calories of said meal are likely of your daily allowance variety, they're worth every damn bite. 

Trust me, you won't be disappointed in either those vittles, or their joe.

And, in the event you have her as your waitress, you won't be disappointed with Elizabeth, either.

At a recent breakfast with a buddy, I was struck how Elizabeth approached our table.  She did so looking each of us in the eye, and offering us a huge, genuine smile.  It stood out so much (think about it - how many times in the past have you had someone in the hospitality or retail industry REALLY smile at you) that I watched how she interacted with other tables.

We weren't a fluke.  Every table, and every interaction with that table was done with this massive smile.  And when she left the table and her back was turned, that smile didn't leave.  

Holy smokes, who does that?!

By the time our meal had ended, I was so struck that I had to go up to Elizabeth and ask if I could take her picture as I wanted to write about her.  She smiled (imagine that) and agreed.  Hence the photo above.

In the time since my meal, I've had three pressing thoughts.

1. The power of a sincere, genuine smile cannot be overstated.  It taps into a core human emotion and absolutely, positively changes things and makes them better.  Think about that for a minute: it changes things and makes them better.  Talk about powerful.
2. I'm convinced that if I had an army of Elizabeths and a retail or hospitality business, I'm quite confident that I could conquer the world.
3. I wonder what is stopping me from being an Elizabeth 

For the first time ever, my waitress left me with a tip.  Now it is up to me to spend it wisely.

Quick Trip to New Orleans

Last week I was fortunate to have a conference in my favorite city in the world (outside of Minneapolis): New Orleans.  It was a quick trip, but I was still able to get a lot completed:

 The trip starts in the cab, where you are reminded not to kill a taxicab driver.  Yikes.

 Here is just one of the many riverboats that tour the Mississippi

I did quite a bit of running in the city while I was down there.  It was good in the respect that New Orleans is extremely flat, and by running in the French Quarter, there is plenty to see.  Here I am with Andrew Jackson in Jackson Square, for example.  The bad is that it was damned hot and humid, which made running hard.  Really, really hard.  I'm not sure how folks do it.

The reward for all of that running.  Here are New Orleans barbecue crab claws from the Red Fish Grill.   If there is a better appetizer in the Big Easy, I've not found it.

Santa Barbara Killings - Another Gun Killing. Plus Knives. Plus Cars

With the recent, horrible events in Santa Barbara, there have come outcries for what we, as a society, are going to do about guns.

Unfortunately, the psycho that killed all those people didn't do it all by firearm.  He gleefully killed (or attempted to kill) people via knife and motor vehicle.

Given his actions, is there any cogent argument that, if all guns were banned, he still wouldn't have found a way to pile up a massive body count?  Oh, one may argue that guns made it easier to kill.  That may or may not be true.

But what is most definitely true is that guns certainly were not necessary for this psychopath to commit mass murder.  

Given that, what do we as a society REALLY want to do to prevent the next incident like this?

Ireland Day 6

Day six of our Irish trip had me on the golf course.  I was fortunate to play Dooks in County Kerry; a true links course right on the ocean.  For more on Dooks, you can see their website here.  

The scene from a tee.

An Irish hare hangs out on the tee box

A tough looking hole

The course is a true links course, and is built directly on the sand, and this ground under repair shows

My caddie, bless her heart.  She was with me for all 125 of my strokes.

Despite my massive score, I'm still smiling.  In fact, I couldn't stop grinning the entire time.

The 19th hole, and the best post-golf drink I've ever had

King Puck, the famous savior of Killorglin

Life members at Killarney

A golf buddy at Killarney

Fishing Opener Report - 2014

The Gang of Four held our annual Minnesota Fishing Opener up on Leech Lake, and it was another highly successful event. Below is some of the documentation:

A nice first day stringer which ultimately led to a rare first day fish fry,

JP with a nice 24" fish

Pauly outfished us again this year, and this was just one example

The fish of the weekend was this 29 1/2" monster.  For Leech Lake, walleyes typically don't come much bigger.  

The boys with yet another fish caught by Paulie.

The weekend went by too fast, but it was good to have the gang all back together again.  I can't wait until next year.