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Giannis Is A Blue Dolphin?

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Giannis is a Milwaukee Buck. An outstanding one at that. Or is he? One reporter claims he is a Blue Dolphin, or at least uses the concept whether he knows it or not. Giannis has shown the ability to shake of the doldrums of 'failure' such as losing Game7 of the Celtics series and being taken out of the playoffs by turning the problem in its head and looking instead at positives. Justin Bariso of Inc. Magazine posits in a recent article that this ability by Giannis is a tool we can all use in our own lives. From his dad jokes to his general positive demeanor, there is little not to like about the Bucks superstar. He seems a genuine person without some of the usual flaws we see in professional athletes. But even someone of his caliber will deal with negative situations, usually compounded by having to talk to reporters about them. But Giannis always seems to remain positive, or at least see something to learn from the situation. According to Bariso, this is called the blue dol
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Do We Even Understand What A Billionaire Is?

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In today's world, we marvel at billionaires, yet very few actually understand what it means. I know its a ridiculous number we cannot fathom, but the more I looked into it, the more it shocked me how much these people really are worth.  Among the general populace, making 'six-figures' or $100,000 is a benchmark of success and wealth. Millionaires are truly wealthy. But what is often misunderstood is how exponentially large adding another, let alone 3, or 6 a number becomes.  The wealthiest aren't just billionaires either, they are hundred billionaires. Elon Musk is worth 265 billion. That is 265 with 9 zeroes after it. 265,000,000,000. It would take someone making six-figures 2,650,000 years to amass that wealth with no expenses. 2.65 MILLION years. To reach Jeff Bezos' wealth would only take them 1.77 million years. Even someone who makes a million dollars a year (which is wealthier than a millionaire which is just a net worth not annual salary delineation) would
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Sports Inspiration Isn't Always About Winning

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There's a lot going on in the world right now, a lot of bad news. In times like this we look to hobbies and interests for distraction, and following professional sports has long been one of those activities. For as many fans there are of major league sports, there are as many detractors. I'm not here to say either side doesn't have its points, rather, to say that for all the negative in professional sports, they do have their moments. And its not just about the successes of teams or players, its not all about winning. The past few days have displayed moments of true sportsmanship in its best sense from baseball to basketball to golf, in moments that show perseverance, but more importantly caring, and vulnerability. Something we need more of, especially among men. Freddie Freeman consoles opponent José Iglesias photo cr. USA Today
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A Reflection on Labor Day & the 911 Anniversary

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The 20th anniversary of 911 and Labor Day were in the same week this year, within 5 days in fact. During that time I was doing the great American past time of touring, specifically in an area replete with national identity in South Dakota. The experience of 'getting away' but also being in and among monuments and reminders of what we have accomplished during those dates made me reflect on where we have come recently. The trend I see is away from service and community to self-centeredness. The back of a CCC pin packaging I just bought.
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Home Sweet Home: A Love Letter to Wisconsin

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I just spent a week visiting South Dakota, and while places like the Badlands and Black Hills are impressive, it was another case of making me appreciate my home state of Wisconsin even more. This is a place to appreciate Milwaukee, but MKE is in the state of Wisconsin, and its home state is to be celebrated as well. While Wisconsin is known for its outdoor recreation as one of its features, I think it is underrated for its grandeur. It may not have the scale  of natural features of some states like mountains, canyons, or the ocean, we have a lot of variety and beautiful landscapes. I have visited many regions of the nation now in my early 50s, at this point really just the Northeast rural/wilderness areas (outside of the metropoles) and as I already stated, none of them have tugged at my heartstrings more than my home state. What makes Wisconsin so great in my mind? The cliffs of the Apostle Islands
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Starship Analogy: Acceptance By A Skeptical Introvert

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Yesterday I attended a sold out concert in an amphitheater. While I generally enjoyed myself, the experience made me not only accept that I am an introvert, but it inspired what I think is an analogy that may help non-introverts, aka extroverts, understand what its like to be introverted. Or should I say capital I Introverted? I call it the Starship Analogy, based on how deflector shields are typically described in science fiction.  I'll explain it a bit later. First, let's talk about the whole Introvert thing.
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No Festivals That Cancel Aren't Taking Away Your Freedom

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A photo of the street festival I organize.  We saw them all last year, and they are cropping up again this year. Festivals small and large cancelling. A common reaction, at least in social media announcement post comments is something like this: "Why don't you just have the festivals? If people want to go, they will go." Is it that simple? Just hold the festival and let however many people are comfortable going show up? Of course it's not. But people with this reaction won't even take a minute to ponder the consequences, and not from a public health standpoint but to the festival itself. They have no idea what it takes to put one on and what is involved and what you can lose if you even have only 75%, let alone 50% or less attendance. Or if they even have the capability to put it on still.  Let's take a quick, very quick, look at what goes into making this decision.
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