2016s
Wordless Wednesday 12/28
*Sometimes what appears to be the path less traveled still has great views from the top (July 2004, North Ridge Trail Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor, ME)*
*Views from the top of Cadillac Mountain (July 2004, Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor, ME)*
At the top of the play structure with the girls
First day using the rink and the kids were loving it #backyardrink
I may have misjudged the weather this morning by wearing shorts on my run 😬
Really could use some help from the @uspondhockey Pond crew.. Well I guess it is good practice! #backyardrink
My Traveling Myth
I am flying back from a 3-day work trip, and thanks to the WordPress offline app I can write while at 10k feet.
One of the strange tricks my mind tells me is that when I am going to go on a work trip I will have more free time. Â It tells me I will have time to explore the city, write, read more, watch a movie at the hotel or even work out more. Â However, most of all that is a myth as what ends up happening is going to the office at my normal time but staying much later than normal. Â Then that is normally followed up by going out to dinner with consultants or co-workers which always lasts much longer than anticipated. Â Now I am not saying I don't have fun eating and chatting with others (much better than eating by myself) but it is things my mind always forgets happen when I am thinking/planning for an upcoming trip.
*Flying over Milwaukee, WI in route to Buffalo, NY (December 2016)*
In the upcoming months, I will be traveling about once per month and I am hoping it will allow me to do more of the things that I have hoped to do when traveling. Â Since I have found with most things so far this year, creating a habit or setting a goal would be a great start. Â I will make sure to keep you posted on how it goes and hopeful can share any tips/tricks I might have found helpful.
Have you ever fallen into this travel myth?
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I am on the second day of my vacation and am finally finding time to finish/publish this post I started. In case I don't write another post before Christmas, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Wordless Wednesday 12/07
*Peaceful night listening to the flowing water fill the outdoor rink while watching the freezing at the same time (December 2016)*
Finally it’s that time of year again… #floodtherink #backyardrink
The builder hanging out with Frosty the Snowman
After we built frosty the snowman M said we had to build our family #snow
Wordless Wednesday 11/30
Looking out over the Tree Farm and remembering all the weekends I spent there as a child. Look in the distance to the large pine trees that 25 years ago were only saplings and now overgrown. (November 2016, G&R Plantation, Osceola IA)
It’s Not This Time of Year Without… a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm (i.e. G&R Plantation).
Checking out the Light Display that supports a great cause #makeawish
Trip down memory lane running through the streets of my hometown on Thanksgiving
Snow tracks
Wordless Wednesday 11/23
*Early morning running tracks in the snow (November 2016, Eden Prairie, MN)*
Re: Electoral College
For anyone that found the last post on the Electoral College interesting in any way, I felt that I needed to share this as a follow up as I stumbled across last Friday evening. Â It appears there is more than meets the eye to the Electoral College as you will find out in the CGP Grey video below.
After watching the video it points out a couple more overall flaws that are part of our current system. Â It is interesting to think that in the current system, in December the Electoral College could reverse the decision made by the “Public” (States Electoral Votes) a little over a week ago. I agree this would be bad to enact as it could cause a further divide in our country.
The current system benefits no citizen and protects no states
All of this is very interesting to point out as some of it I never knew before and honestly can’t believe that we have a system in place today that allows it. Â I do hope in the near future there are more discussions on what a modern election should look like. Â I will be watching as all of this has really sparked my interest as well.
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Wordless Wednesday 11/16
*The rink is patiently waiting for more cold weather (37°F in this picture), before flooding. (November 2016, Eden Prairie, MN)*
Where the Heck is Matt? - 2016
With everything else that has happened in the last couple of weeks, I managed to miss that the new “Where the Heck is Matt” video that launched.  I am a big supporter of the work Matt Harding does mostly because I think the overall concept of dancing in all different locations is awesome.  Even though it is only a brief couple of seconds he shows himself dancing at different locations it goes to show you how the world is not always as scary as everyone makes it out to be.  He sums it up nicely in the caption of this new video by saying “We’re stuck on this planet together and we need to take care of each other.”
If you liked the video be sure to check out his website (WhereTheHeckIsMatt.com) or follow him on Twitter @WhereTheHisMatt
Also, feel free to check out what I wrote about his 2015 Kickstarter at the end of last year and his Where the Hell is Matt - 2012Â video as well.
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Some of you might not want to believe it.. but it is time #backyardrink
Electoral College
I am not one to normally talk about politics nor do I want to bring up a large discussion of right or wrong regarding the outcome of who won.  I feel strongly that each person has a right to vote as well as vote for a candidate they feel strongly about.  However, after seeing the final results Wednesday morning, my very curious 7 1/2-year-old son had a lot of questions about the Electoral College.  Not to mention how could someone win overall without winning the popular vote.
Now maybe everyone else is more versed in politics than me but I feel every election I try to remember why we use the Electoral College and what is a good way to explain when asked about it.  Yesterday, I was reminded of this great CP Grey video about the Electoral College and thought I would share it, as it really does a good job in showing why it was established as well as the potential flaws in using it today.  In fact, if you watch it till the end you will see why specific states were targeted on election night as they are every election.  Also, as a bonus, CP Grey updated parts where he gave percentages to give context after this election.
via The Trouble with the Electoral College - YouTube
ÂDo you feel the Electoral College is working as intended or should we just change to a popular vote where each vote is equal? Â
Ok after writing everything so far I have to put one political plug.  We can’t change the results of the election and need to find a way to work together as a country.  The popular votes were still pretty close and that means a lot of us are not in agreement on some of the issues discussed during the election.  I hope in the upcoming months/year we work together as a society and address some of these key issues that seem to be bothering both sides. Finally, as the election cycle is now over I have seen lots of hate shared in my Facebook and Twitter feeds.  This is not going to help us unite as a country so I am going to try hard not to share those in an effort of not continuing to spread the hate.  I fully understand it is happening and I am not pretending it doesn’t exist but because I want to be more focused on positives going forward as we do need to find a way to make peace so #OnlyShareLove (this idea was taken from my wife and you can find her little project about it here).