Category: post

We had driven by three other brunch options in the neighborhood before choosing this one.

The first was too crowded. It’s a small place as it is, but the food is very good and we had suspected it might be despite the cold, rainy, dreary weather we have today. Even with that, there were a few people standing outside as it was too crowded to wait for a table within.

We drove past, hooked a u-turn, and headed towards the place we’d pre-established as a plan B. Yet, upon pulling up there we saw a turned off open sign. A squint at the door revealed that their hours had changed and they now were closed on Sundays. So, that was out.

My wife mentioned a third possibility but she wanted hashbrowns and nothing on their website indicated they had them on offer. So, we drove right past and headed to a place we’d not even really considered but was also in the area and we suspected they’d have both hashbrowns and an available table. They did.

We walked in the door and were quickly seated at a nice table by the window. It wasn’t crowded but there was a large party behind us. We were willing to be patient, understanding the server may have her hands a bit full. Yet, within minutes, the manager stopped by to great us, explain that our server was a bit tied up but would be over as soon as possible, and offered to get us started and grab some water and anything else to drink we might desire.

She came back with some waters and, seeing that the server was still juggling the large party offered to take our order and try to make sure she got it right having nothing but her memory to rely on. We, helpfully, made it easy and both ordered the exact same thing (which is what we were planning anyway but nice that the dual priorities aligned) and she pleasantly thanked us for being understanding and agreeable.

Afterwords, the server finally was able to stop by and make sure we were taken care of and apologize for the situation and not being able to do so herself. No problem! We understand, Thank you for checking in!

She brought us a couple of complementary mini doughnuts as a gesture of thanks.

Our order arrived in the time expected. Large portions and delicious. My wife and I had great discussion, found the atmosphere comfortable, and it was exactly what we were hoping for to begin with.

The server checked in after the food arrived as did the manager to make sure all was well. Even after we finished and paid and were lingering around to finish our conversation the manager stopped by one final time to make sure the order was right and we had everything we needed.

This is how you make your business one that isn’t even a consideration into one that will, next time, be top of mind. Good service, checking in, stepping in even if it’s not “your job”, making sure the expectations are met. It doesn’t take much.

I was in the middle of the Serengeti, about to witness a kill.

Our guide received word of at least two lionesses stalking the edge of the great wildebeest migration, which has come several weeks earlier than normal this year. Tens of thousands of wildebeest stretching to the horizon as far as the eye can see. A lesser, yet still large, number of zebras intersperse the herd as well. They are a cooperative species and the zebras provide some protection as they have better senses than the wildebeest and can alert them of such a danger.

Yet, with numbers this large it is still fairly easy picking for the lions and, with the migration starting early and the grasses still very high, today was going to be easy work for them.

When we arrived on the scene, we quickly spotted two lionesses in the grasses, watching and waiting. Carefully scanning the herd for the right mark. This was a patient game, for them and for those of us watching. Every few minutes, they would move a few steps forward, stop, sit, wait, and scan. The wildebeest herd, moving and shifting — oblivious. The zebras, beginning to sense danger slowly shifting deeper into the herd, as if to sacrifice a weaker wildebeest or two to save themselves.

I was shooting the scene with my good camera. Trying to get the shots that would tell the story well. I wanted to capture every single moment once the lions decided to strike.

Then, my camera died…

Dead. No backup battery. I had decided not to charge the one I had the night before as it was a little over half full and I thought it would survive another day. I was wrong.

This is the last shot I took with it before it died:

My wife offered her condolences and empathy. My daughter was slightly incredulous I’d let that happen. She knows I’m usually better prepared.

But, here’s the thing I said to them. Your mind is the true camera and the one you always have with you. A camera may take a snapshot of a moment but it is your senses that really are the record. Pictures are simply a trigger to be able to recall the experience in the future. A way to spark the story you’ll tell. Now, with the camera dead, I can be fully in the moment and take in the full fidelity of this once in a lifetime event that I’ll never be able to witness again. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but that’s true only if there is a story worth telling with them.

I have, right here inside me, the only camera that matters. I have the one that tells the story.

Because I have that, I can tell you that one of the lionesses sensed an opportunity open up and pounced on it, weaving around our vehicle into a blind by a stream, taking one of the smaller beests down into the water. As she held it down and it whined and whimpered as much as it could with a paw on its submerged throat, a dozen other lionesses suddenly sprang forth from the grass one-by-one to join in the spoils. The same grass we’d been scanning and watching intently for nearly 45 minutes and the whole time and could only see two. Obviously, they had the herd surrounded and were so good at using the environment for cover even we could not see how many there really were. Unbelievable.

Thirteen lionesses weaving around our safari vehicle and the couple of dozen others safari jeeps now joining us on the scene. It was a sight to behold. Wondrous.

To top it off, this is one of many such once in a lifetime moments we experienced on our trip. And, though I have the pictures to trigger the memories, the experience is a part of me now and I was a part of it and I don’t need a photo to know how that feels.

There’s no camera that can do that.

I’m tough on socks. I always have been. I had a friend tell me about Darn Tough socks and their commitment to be the best, toughest, socks you’ll own and that come with a lifetime guarantee. I’ve purchased nothing but for years now and they’ve absolutely been the longest lasting ones on my feet by miles.

As of this writing, I have now returned four pairs of socks to them under said lifetime warranty (which I’ve worn for years before having any warrant to do so) and received four pairs in return, fee and hassle free (besides the cost of postage to send them from my end).

Buy Darn Tough socks (this referral link will get you $5 off). If you see them on sale buy more. Trust me. Worth every cent.

This is not a paid sponsorship post I swear! I’m just a very happy long time customer.

There are very few chances that arise in life to achieve a dream. Sometimes, the universe puts one of those dreams in front of you that seems at first read to be just outside of your grasp. It is these times you have a choice, give into fear and walk away or to stretch just a little bit further, beyond your comfort zone, and snatch it.

That’s what my wife did today and I’m so proud of her.

Execupundit.com: Cutting In Line

I like and respect Micheal Wade so I feel compelled to call out a couple of things mentioned in his piece about illegal immigration (which is worth reading for perspective sake).

Think of how many news stories you have seen on the plight of illegal immigrants that even mention individuals who are trying to enter the United States through the legal process.

How many stories was it? Ten? Twenty?

Zero?

This is essentially a “straw man” argument.

How many news stories have you seen on the house that doesn’t ever get broken into? How about the store that didn’t get shoplifted? How about the car that never got into an accident?

How many stories was it? Ten? Twenty?

Zero?

The answer, of course, is also zero. The reason is simple. No news is no news. The news only reports things that are different from the norm. Otherwise, it’s not news. The norm is that the vast majority of houses don’t get broken into. The vast majority of stores don’t experience theft. Most cars never get into an accident.

But you’d never know that from looking at the news because normal isn’t news.

Therefore, you may not be aware that about a million people (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) become legal permanent residents of the United States every year through the process we’ve established and have since the 1980’s.

That’s not news so why report it?

You also may not be aware that there are an approximately 10 Million Unauthorized immigrants currently in the United States and that that number has remained mostly stable for almost 20 years.

But here’s a key fact that isn’t reported regularly by the news quoted directly from Pew Research:

Between 2007 and 2021, the unauthorized immigrant population decreased by 1.75 million, or 14%.

Meanwhile, the lawful immigrant population grew by more than 8 million, a 29% increase, and the number of naturalized U.S. citizens grew by 49%.

(emphasis theirs)

But illegal immigration going down doesn’t make a good news story. Neither does lawful immigration going up.

It also doesn’t make a good “us vs. them” campaign point if you’re trying to get certain votes. It also doesn’t fit in with the narrative that we are being overrun by illegal immigrants. That it is a “crisis”. That people are “cutting in line”.

But, and hear me out here, it also will do nothing to assuage the fear that once those people do become citizens they will vote for the people who made that process easier for them, not harder.

Now that I’ve said that, what do you think all this concern about illegal immigration is really about?

As you know, I rarely discuss politics.

I’ve been seeing this piece by Jamelle Bouie (who is someone who I have respect for as a journalist and op-ed writer) making the rounds:

Opinion | Trump Wants Us to Know He Will Stop at Nothing in 2025 – The New York Times

Here’s a pull quote to use as an example:

With the help of these unscrupulous allies, Trump plans to turn the Department of Justice against his political opponents, prosecuting his critics and rivals. He would use the military to crush protests under the Insurrection Act — which he hoped to do during the summer of 2020 — and turn the power of the federal government against his perceived enemies.

Now, I’m not going to discuss whether I agree with it or not, because that is unimportant to the critique I’m about to provide. It is something that, frankly, large journalism as a whole continues to fail at time and time again when discussing these ideas. It is missing some very important context. Because, if you’ve not been paying close attention, here’s what you need to understand about not only Trump’s and his allies plans but, also, why his supporters and, frankly, the majority of modern Republicans/Conservatives are A-OK with those plans…

They believe this is already happening. They believe that the administrations of Obama and now Biden have weaponized the justice department and used it to punish its political enemies already. This is why it’s important to listen when they discuss “the Russia hoax” or “the stolen election”.

This is the tell. This is them telling you that Democracy, as they know it, is already dead. This is them explaining to you that all of these charges against Trump are not because of anything he actually did — they are only due to the fact that he’s the leading candidate (by far) for the Republican nomination.

Therefore, who cares if Trump not only does it in return when he is President again. They believe that he should do it even better, go even harder, and end Democracy even further? I mean, at least he’s doing it to the people they don’t like instead of the other way around.

Seriously, if you don’t understand that, to them, Democracy died almost 20 years ago already then you won’t understand why talking about saving it doesn’t matter to them now.

Yet, I rarely see this context really discussed in the media. The “what” makes a better sound bite but is useless without the “why”.

Can I take a moment to talk about how useful and awesome YouTube is for DIY stuff? Yes? Good!

This morning I started with having never installed a dryer vent before. I watched the above video and in less than a couple of hours had a freshly and properly vented dryer. How cool is that!

I’ve had at least a dozen different times during the Hague House restoration where, like that one scene in the Matrix, I went from complete lack of knowledge to success thanks to DIY videos on YouTube.

This feels like the future.

The very first post on this site is dated November 7th, 2003. Of course, I had been blogging before that, and there used to be posts dated slightly earlier. But, this blog actually began as an internally hosted one at the college I used to work for and I lost those earlier posts when I moved to a different platform and brought it public… Gosh, that seems like it was just yesterday. Not 20 years ago. Such is life.

This blog has had many different points of focus over the years. From geeky, mainly Apple, tech stuff to GTD-driven personal productivity stuff, to practical/actionable life advice stuff to the anything goes sort of thing it is now. And, that’s exactly what a blog should be — a reflection of your interest and attention over time. A reflection of who you are right now and where you’ve been. Blogs are living things that should grow at the same rate we do.

I don’t want to make too much of it. I just wanted to mark the occasion and reflect a little on how long 20 years is but how short it seems.

I’m still having a lot of fun here. More than ever. Let’s do it for 20 more!