Drawing The Line

With anything, you need to know when to draw the line. Somewhere, there is a specific word for the myopic view I am about to share but I don't know what it is, nor do I care.

I have always been amazed when going to a fast-food caliber Chinese buffet or even at a mall "buy 3 combo plate" Chinese eatery to see people using chopsticks. I have picked on some of you directly and you know who you are. That is just in fun (at least for me). I completely admire the chopsticks and nimbleness required to eat rice and noodles with them. Cool. But, to go to a place where dinner is $7.95 and use them is a little weird.

Even weirder yet, is what I saw in our break room last week.

I see someone heating up a $1.89 Asian meal that is one step above 10 cent raumen. Here, this person stands with chopsticks to eat the mostly water "lunch". Yes, this is one of those where you add water to the line, mix in the mystery spices and oil and microwave. Not only did they have chopsticks but they were the reusable plastic kind. It was so hard not to laugh, point and mock the person. Thinking about our recently attended diversity training, I held back. This is a point where we really need to draw the line!

Here is a counter example. I have been to the homes of many friends from India. There and in many Indian restaurants, I have watched how they will sometimes eat rice with sauce or curry with their hands. This is their custom and should be followed. That does not mean I should do it.

Why does this bug me? I think in this particular situation, the person wants attention. Like someone that has odd tattoos on their face or piercings all over where it is beyond an accessory, I think this is a way to get attention. Be different...make people notice.....get under Lyle's skin!

Yep, some of you think I am a pretty shallow, closed-minded person. Oh well. I can admit where I have a shortcoming but do not understand the need to use chopsticks when we have highly functional forks, spoons and knives sitting right there.

Failure Can Be Fun....

Boy is that a loaded title. Who in their right mind would want to fail? What is so fun about that? OK, think about it....going to the bar, trying to pick up someone of the opposite sex (or the same....not that there is anything wrong with that) and you fail. Maybe that is fun in the process of trying and we all can laugh about it later.

No, you are right. I did not come here to advise on the ways of getting shot down and laughing about it later although it brings to mind some good stories to blog about later.

I did not get to watch the game, but I saw the score. Guess I can delete the game from my DVR now. Vikings lose again....not that I am surprised.

OK Senior Orracle....get to the point of the blog!

In life, at work, in sports or in big companies you see in the news, changes are made all the time. The new guy comes in and has all the answers. The owners get all rocked in their socks about how THIS IS THE GUY!

There is a grace period. Nobody can change things overnight.

Then the grace period starts to age like a dead deer on the side of the road. Nothing has changed and things are starting to stink.

Secretly, when you saw the new guy come in, you knew that the leaders were either fooled or just pretending like this was the perfect solution even when they knew it was not.

Let's take our Vikings. New owner. New coach. New ways. New results.

People secretly knew that nothing would change. In a way, seeing the failure is kind of fun. "Ha ha! I called it!" Now, I do believe Brad Childress is better than Mike Tice. Mike was pretty much a dumas on the sideline. But Brad is the chosen one now! Brad makes more money in a game than Mike made all season. The results are the same.

I think it is like the movie One Crazy Summer. Nobody likes the cute and fuzzy bunnies and one day, when THEY finally get it, you are so pleased! If you don't get the movie reference, I suggest you go rent it. High quality flick with John Cusack, Demi Moore and Bobcat Goldthwait.

It happens at work too. EMPLOYMENT DISCLAIMER: I do not feel this about our current leaders at my job....but think more about the past.

Everone has witnessed it at work. THIS guy....he is the one. He is as much the one as Neo was to the Matrix. Well, Neo was the one. This guy was not. When this happens to us at work, we see it coming. Sometimes, when they come in and take the bull by the horn, make everyone's lives miserable with their bosses completely hoodwinked and you have to just silently shake your head to prevent getting fired, you secretly await the day of failure. Then once again, you can say that you knew and you were right.

This my friends is how failure can be fun.

The Art of Vacationing

Vacation time. It is negotiated in employment, it is advertised on billboards and is the fodder for many conversations.

I excel in vacationing. I received the highest marks in this class right behind Mechanics of the Keg which was a natural course for me in college.

I think the highlight of a vacation to me is the planning. Sure, getting on the plane, embarking on a cruise, visiting a port of call, seeing Mickey Mouse is the completion of the objective.

There are three types of vacations imacting different classes of people.

1. People that have cabins nearby or even reachable by airplane plus lots of vacation need less planning since the objective is just to get there and sit. Nice but in order to have this and option 3, resource$ are a must!
2. Some people have lots of vacation and no means to get there or do anythig, so they burn their time by sitting at home. I have done this once and it is for sure one of the most underrated types of vacation.
3. Option 3 is most of us. This is the group that is fortunate enough to have enough vacation time and the means to take a trip or two every year. BUT, we MUST make the most of this time. No relaxing - get the worth out of every last dinero.

This planning, is an art form. Some people just might take it to extremes with spreadsheets, research and analysis. Theme parks require sheets that tell you when things are happening. Road trips require mapping, gas planning, food planning and sight planning since you are the El Capitan of the ship.

Even a short trip to Vegas of 3 days requires immense planning.

Gambling - what is so hard to figure out? You have come to the right place to ask that question!! Considerations include but are not limited to: Who has the best comps for low rollers? Who has the best video poker pay tables? Who gives out the most free stuff for the least amount of play? An idea of the places we'll hit would be Terrible's, The Cannery, El Cortez, Ellis Island and The Silverton.

Eating - Who has the best buffet? Who do I have a coupon for in the list of top buffets? Where can I get a free hot dog and Heineken with a coupon? Who has the best, cheapest, steak or shrimp? We can be found at The Rio (2-1 buffet), Slots-O-Fun (hot dog and beer free), Ellis Island for steak and The Golden Gate for shrimp.

Sleeping - Who sleeps in Vegas? Seriously, you need a place to rinse off and breathe for a few hours to prevent emphysema. Requirements are cheap and clean and preferably with a casino that fits a gambling situation (see above). Coupons play into this decision as well. We like to nap at Terrible's. We always find a free night coupon, the rooms are great, they are close to the action, the comp well and the free drinks come quickly (handy to do most drinking where you will be sleeping!)

Shows - Now, shows seems easy - just find the one you want and go. I prefer afternoon shows and cheap shows and you guessed it, shows with coupons. I have been to many $100 shows and have enjoyes $7.95 shows much more. Dollar for dollar, acts like Mac King www.mackingshow.com/, Ronn Lucas www.ronnlucas.com/ (both afternoons and cheap), The Rat Pack (usually 2-1 coupons) www.ratpackvegas.com/, Forbidden Vegas (closed but one of the best ever for me) and Larry G Jones, The Man of 1,002 Voices www.lasvegasacts.com/ all exceed shows like "O", "Mystere" and "Celine Dion". Finding these gems requires deep digging. Their advertising budgets is small so their presence on the web and papers is small. Lots of PLANNING!

So you see, the shorter the trip, the more planning is required to hit all the places, see the shows, eat the food and drink the drinks plus sleep occasionally. I spend hours planning. It is worth every minute and more fun than the trip sometimes. On family trips, seeing everyone have a great time and getting the most of the trip is the biggest bonus yet.

So I am off to Vegas 11/14. A short trip with very short notice. Still, the job will be done.

Does This Gift Keep Giving?

We often see where individuals or estates give very large gifts to nonprofits or colleges. Just today, a couple gave 60 Million to St. Thomas University which can be viewed in the following story. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1506010.html. This is the largest donation to a Minnesota university ever surpassing the previous high of $50 million also donated to St. Thomas.

There are stories of the numerous people that win the lottery that become bankrupt not long after their large windfall.

Do the nonprofits do the same? Will St. Thomas have to raise tuition or start a big fundriaser in 5 years?

I recall a large gift given to Como Park Conservatory in Saint Paul some years ago. Within months of the gift, a large construction project began, adding a large new area to the conservatory. Did Como shoot the whole wad on one project or did they put some away for a rainy day (or hail-y day with tons of broken windows on the conservatory ceiling)?

It would seem that an institution that probably was not rolling in the cash up to that point would want to have the terrific interest as a residual source of money to maintain the great Como facility. A modest facility could have been built with the remainder earning interest. I should confess, that may very well be the case with the Como situation. From the outsider's view of the annex, it would seem they spent all they had.

If the money donated was specifically earmarked to a project, building or stadium, full allocation is warranted. Often, these gifts are simply nothing but a donation.

Now we look to universities. $110,000,000 between these 2 gifts! What will a relatively "rich" system do with that money? Build something all at once? Provide financial assistance to students that deserve a school like St. Thomas but could never afford? The StarTribune story indicates that the "lagest part" of this fund raising goal is to provide financial assistance to students of the future. This donation is part of a larger fund raiser.

Assuming this is true, and St. Thomas allows this money to give and bless for years to come, it clearly makes the generosity of these individuals much more monumental than the even the initial donation. I hope St. Thomas makes good on their word with this windfall of money and more importantly that other entities follow their example.

Define "Litter"

Have you ever thrown something out the window of your car? If you say no, you are probably lying. Sometimes, things blow out, or you just have to get rid of it. Nobody is perfect, right?

Most people would vehemently suggest that littering is a bad thing. I bet if you polled 1,000 people of which 500 were smokers, that still, more than 90% would say littering is a bad thing.

Today while coming to work, I was tailing a semi that was really creating some turbulence. Besides the sand and dirt, I was in a snowstorm of cigarette butts that his wind had given flight. Follow cars on any road and you'll see people throwing their butts out the window. What is wrong with their ashtrays? Does the collection of ash and butts make their car messy or stinky? Is it unattractive to have a tray full of butts? I bet. If they are so gross, then why is the roadside sufficient?

UGLY BUTTS!

I have thought for years that reporting of butt throwing should be done by the people that see it. A simple website to capture auto information would do the trick. After 2 or 3 reports on you, a ticket would be mailed. Every additional report would generate another fine.

I thought I was original in this thought until I researched it online. It turns out that Victoria, Australia has that exact platform in place. Read about it at http://www.litter.vic.gov.au/www/html/2336-the-epa-litter-report-line.asp

In 2005/2006 they issued over 22,000 fines with 90% being for cigarette butts. HOORAY FOR THEM!

Those of you that do this....you know who you are. Sure, one butt is so small, so inconsequential. It is so miniscule that I thought it was snowing this morning on 494. Think about it before you throw the next one out to the roadside.

The Weekend

I must say, although many expected guests did not come to our party, we had a great time with those that came. Certainly, those that did not, missed out. The problem with the lack of guests is an overage of beer, booze and 2 kinds of chili for me to deal with. The upside to the party was the inspiration to finish the curtains and final decor to the home theater. Wow, it looks nice. Jess does some amazing things with sewing and her own creativity.

Now to discuss some of the personal things learned.....
Seriously - did you think I'd actually share? You know who you are. For those of you that don't know, it is because you did not come and therefore cannot know.

To those that came, thank you for making the trek to the sticks.

VIKINGS
They suck. Defense was relatively OK but the offense is non existent! You'd think we were the Bears.

Something to think about....

I was reading in the Las Vegas Advisor http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com and in the member's section, there is a stat about pan handling.

"According to an interesting survey of 107 Las Vegas homeless panhandlers conducted by Applied Survey Research, a California-based social-research company, the average monthly income from panhandling is $192. Also, 42% of the 1,000 residents surveyed by telephone gave an average of $14 per year to panhandlers, adding up to an estimated $8.4 million in 2006. Nearly 12,000 Clark County residents are homeless and 20% of them panhandle."

Battery Drainer for 10/19

County Projects....

There is something that has been bothering me for more than a year. I saw something today that reminded me of it and I realized that this is ther pefect forum to SHARE it with all of you.


A while ago near work, a relatively new building was almost completely knocked down and renovated. Every day we drove by in anticipation of who the new tenant would be! Then the sign went up...."FUTURE SITE OF HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY - EDEN PRAIRIE BRANCH"


Huge arches, stone inlays on the outside wall, big windows....very extravagant.






For those of you that don't live locally, Hennpin County is large and ranges from blue collar, ghetto and upscale. Eden Prairie would represent the upscale division.


A while after this architectural wonder opened, word came that the library budget was tight. Hours would be cut. Branches would be closed. Anyone want to guess where? Blue collar neighborhoods and the ghetto.


One might argue that those neighborhoods need the library resources and programs more than that of the rich, upscale Eden Prairie area. I personally think, everyone needs that resource but if I had to choose, I'd give it to the inner city kids.


There are some that may say I should only worry about how I spend my money. Heck, I've never lived in Hennepin county and I currently live in Wisconsin!


I think it should be obvious the point that I am trying to make. Entites at all levels of government quite often make decisions that fail take into account the big picture.

Yes, the Eden Prairie library is beautiful. I hope the families in Minneapolis can make the trek out to the burbs to enjoy it.

Today's Notes

I think it was a fun day here in rainy Seattle, WI. Todd's (CIO) 40th birthday surprise. Pimping Ashlie's band stuff at work. Rushing home (a challenge with today's traffic) to get to the last NR football game.

These poor kids play their heart out. They won just one game this year. I think we have talent but the coaching is terrible. Reminds me of my coach in high school.

A girl from Ashlie's marching band was hit by a car in town tonight...rumors flying around did not sound good for her. You have to cherish every minute of your life and the people around you >>>> because one day, *poof*.

Big party on Saturday. Anyone want to come and help finish up the remaining tasks around the house? I am running out of time.

As you can see, no big news today....nothing "grinding my gears". Biggest decisions today were whether or not to take the back roads to avoid traffic (did not and should have) and whether or not we should go to Vegas in November.

Speaking of Vegas, if someone can lend me $100,000 so I can treat Jessa to front row seats at the Hattfield-Mayweather fight. She loves boxing and it is on my birthday (12/8 for those still shopping) so it really would be the perfect gift. Cash is accepted or tickets can be purchased directly from http://www.stubhub.com/boxing-tickets/?event_id=456104

What "Drains My Battery" for 10/17/07

The trend for football players to have the tuft of hair hanging out of their helmet! Troy Polamalu of the Steelers, Al Harris of GB and now a plethora of others. Last year, Polamalu was tackled by his hair. He was upset about it and I am sure it hurt. If you don't like it, don't give the opponent the option and cut it off or tuck it in your helmet.

Perhaps this is very myopic to the big picture. Perhaps I should only judge them on how they play the game. Perhaps that is beyond my capability.

The problem for me is that I link that look to discipline. I think of Tom Landry. I think of Bud Grant. Tight, disciplined teams.

Bring back the old days. Tough players that looked clean.

Let's All Hide From The Truth....

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).....

They cannot find a "smoking gun" to determine why the walleye population on Mille Lacs has gone down in their net counts. Huh? Below is my response to the news story. I included the DNR reps that contributed to the story. Needless to say, I did not receive any responses.

Original Story in the StarTribune. http://www.startribune.com/outdoors/story/1478810.html


Credit where credit is due. Creative writing, A+. Fiction A+.
I wish these stories were not sugarcoated. If you or anyone else wants to see an example of a smoking gun of the past, see Red Lake. Walleyes were nearly extinct from that lake because of netting. When will we learn our lesson?
My parents owned a resort on Mille Lacs for 20 years. We sold before the historic Supreme Court decision where they proved they know nothing about Minnesota Lakes or the impact their decision would have on a perfect resource such as Mille Lacs.
Slip in a comment about unseasonal temperature. Sure, why not just blame global warming, everyone else is. I remember summers where the summer walleye fish kill was so great we had to clean our beach 2 times a day, yet our fishing did not suffer the next year. Net counts were not down. Limits were not reduced. Slots were not created.
Mille Lacs resort owners did everything to bring Mille Lacs Lake after the "Home of the Quarter Pounder" jokes. The 20" limit. The spring night fishing ban. These were ideas by resort groups and leaders to make Mille Lacs a fruitful, never having been stocked lake. All of that progress is gone now.
Tradition? OK. Spear fish like 1837 with a wooden stick in a canoe. I am not being insensitive, I believe the Native Americans were victims. Making their rights come back with 2000 technologies and nets is the cause for this loss of walleye. Now, the resort owners, dependent on fishing have to find a new way to make money. Best of luck.
My mother proved the shenanigans and hidden agenda of the MN DNR 21 years ago. Doug, you can find an article in your Star Tribune archives about her success vs. MN DNR. Her name was Barbara Orr. We wanted to build a harbor. Corps of Engineers gave us a permit as our due diligence was in good order. MN DNR fought us. They claimed "roughfish studies" in letters to us delaying their decision hoping that tying it up in red tape would force us to give up. In the hearing we paid for, we proved that MN DNR only sent those letters to us. There were no studies. There was only lies. After we won and our our harbor was built, we agreed to testing for roughfish annually. The test results only yielded 1 bullhead in 10 years and countless walleye that used the harbor as a spawning area.
Perhaps leaders have changed, perhaps Rick was not at the DNR then. What confidence should I have that this story is truthful? Truth is, I do not. I think everyone knows why Mille Lacs is hurting today. Let's tell the truth.

Moving Day

Hi! I am Lyle and have officially stolen my wife's idea for a blog name of "The Orracle". I had previously been posting on myspace but that site is not my idea of a blogspot.

I am sure you can read my profile but in a nutshell, I am looking for a place to rant about things going on in my life and in this world. By that, I am not terribly political but I do hold some areas where I think politics is involved and it should not be.

I like things like the Pussy Ranch blog by Diablo Cody (right here on Blogspot), good movies, Howard Stern, my home theater, my job, my family and having a good time. I play piano to ease my mind and read to go to sleep. I have one child that is a self professed Band Geek and one that is autistic.

People think I splurge too much. OK, maybe I do. We have a wonderful house full of toys. Why not live life like you want if you can though? Enjoy things while you can instead of living like peasant and saving every last penny?

I hunt, fish, camp and travel. I love to travel. I probably do it too much.

Favorite vacations are Disney (for me, not my kids...duh) and Vegas. That pretty much sums me up. I like family stuff and I like very grown up stuff.

We have taken one cruise and loved it. I travel a ton for work also and generally enjoy it although the cities I visit are not vacation meccas as a rule (Omaha, Richmond VA, Indianapolis, various New Jersey cities, Houston, etc).

From me, you can expect posts about sports, family, travel, Howard Stern, global warming (I think it is a joke), hunting, fishing and general crap.

Thanks for looking - drop me a line to say hello!