February 2012
5 posts
New Window Tape Reduces Bird Collisions at Home
Every year, up to a billion birds die in the U.S. crashing into glass windows. For the last couple of years we’ve been working to design, manufacture and distribute a window tape at a reasonable cost to significantly reduce bird collisions at home. Supported by the Rusinow Family Foundation, a new tape is now available through the terrific efforts by the folks at the American Bird...
Allen Stone on Jimmy Kimmel Live March 13!
Well, they’ve already performed late last year on Conan; next up: Jimmy Kimmel!
1 tag
Live Video of New Death's Door Distillery
I’m on the board and lead investor of Madison, Wisconsin based Death’s Door Spirits. The company has begun building a new distillery, as well as launching an aged whiskey production program, to complement the current stable of award-winning gin, vodka and white whiskey:
Video
Four States, Four New Birds
Lots of travel this past week, resulting in four new birds to my ABA life list. Last Wednesday, Nutting’s Flycatcher near Lake Havasu, Arizona (at this spot):
A break on Friday in Washington, D.C. for a meeting with the President:
Then off to Ocean City, Maryland to see Purple Sandpipers feeding along this shore:
Had to take a photo of what real lump crab cakes look like:
Then...
Meeting with the President
This afternoon I was part of a group who met with President Obama. An incredible experience. This photo was kindly taken by a really nice guy to my left as the President was beginning to respond to a question I had just asked:
January 2012
1 post
Dimitri, a 76 and a Deal Closed!
Last week’s highlights included a lifetime low round of 76 (at Renegade), seeing one of the top singers in the world - Dimitri Hvorostovsky (below) - perform at The Orpheum in Phoenix, and closing the sale of ModernMed to Paladina Health (link).
December 2011
2 posts
October 2011
5 posts
WatchBrent on Conan!
Save the date: next Wednesday night!
How big of a hoot is this? The best bass player I know performing as part of Allen Stone’s band on a national stage!
Birdgasm!
Okay, maybe that’s stretching it. But when you see hundreds of raptors fly over your yard over the course of the day (with some peak times of a rate of over 100 per hour!), it’s pretty darn exciting. I am slowly getting back into bird photography and took some photos toward the end of the day. Here’s one photo of a Merlin; these guys are often like bullets zipping through the...
Release!
Big thanks to Crystal and Scott with the Wisconsin Humane Society for their help yesterday. Here’s a photo in the yard of the ‘release’ of a just-banded, rehabilitated Cedar Waxwing, which was joined by three other waxwings that were also just returned to the wild:
September 2011
2 posts
The storm has passed, but the raptors are just...
We’ve endured an unusual cut off low pressure system that hung around for over a week, with winds from the east almost the entire time. And incredible amounts of rain. But now, a strong front from the north has arrived, and with it, heavy winds………and RAPTORS zooming down the coast. Finally!
Trips Recap
Been traveling on both coasts the last few weeks. Some highlights, with photos taken from my iPhone:
At chef’s table at Rioja in Denver; terrific meal with head chef Jennifer Jasinki frequently roaming food prep stations and clearly in charge:
Located new life bird ABA #635 at Salton Sea - Yellow-footed Gull:
In NYC during Hurricane Irene weekend:
Radio City Music Hall (seeing...
August 2011
3 posts
The Pack at the White House
Yesterday flew to D.C. to attend President Obama’s welcoming of the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers at the White House. Some gentle trash-talking between the President and Charles Woodson! The President, an avid Bears fan: ”This hurts a little bit…you guys coming into my house to rub it in…enjoy it while it lasts!”
WatchLast week I was part of an extraordinary four day birding trip in California hosted by The American Bird Conservancy, which started in San Benito County (Prairie Falcon, California Condor, Golden & Bald Eagle) and culminated in an 8 hour boat trip 18 miles off of Monterrey looking for pelagic birds (my six new lifers: Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed Shearwater, Ashy and Fort-tailed Storm...
July 2011
1 post
Fly fishing in the Northwoods
Last weekend learned how to fly fish for trout and bass in the Wisconsin Northwoods, with some limited success! Thanks Andrew and Diana for a great time.
June 2011
2 posts
Now Available on Kindle, iBook, Nook and Amazon!!
My book ‘What I Really Think - The Business Chapters’ is now available on Kindle; here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Really-Think-Business-ebook/dp/B0056B6IOA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308537102&sr=1-1
The book will soon also be available on iBooks and Nook. It’s companion book, ‘What I Really Think - The Deep End Chapters’,...
Great Music Out of Seattle
Please check out this link on BandCamp of a terrific new album release by Andrew Vait, with support from one of the best bass guys in the country (!):
http://andrewvait.bandcamp.com
May 2011
2 posts
Yesterday at Miller Park
Jen and I had the opportunity to meet and talk with David Axelrod:
The Book of Mormon and Two 29's
I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a Zagats 29 food rated restaurant, if at all, but I was lucky to enjoy incredible food with great company at the following two places these past few days: Sasabune, a sushi place that looks like a dive on the Upper East Side in NYC, where there’s no menu and you basically eat whatever fantastically fresh fish the guys put in...
April 2011
1 post
A 20 Year Project Coming to a Close
I never intended to write a book that would take over twenty years to complete. Started in the late 1980’s, when I embarked on the casual task of compiling hand-written notes, article clippings and ‘epiphanies’ that I thought would be helpful for my kids to eventually read as they were preparing for their adult lives, it has become a far more more time-consuming and...
October 2010
4 posts
And to think this all took off after a meeting in...
I had my annual warehouse tour ‘fix’ today with the CEO of BUYSEASONS, Jalem Getz; the company now has over 500 full-time employees, cranking out an incredible number of orders for costumes and party supplies every day:
Vegas
A city of hoots. Went to see Rick at his shop on “Pawn Stars”, Beatles/Cirque ‘Love’, and then this guy at the Bellagio, using my new Pro HDR iPhone app:
301 Steps and 8 Bridges
The trails are now complete, from the bluff. Thanks Steve and James!
The View from Lookout Ridge this afternoon
There’s actually a Horned Grebe feeding out there!
August 2010
1 post
Turkey Vultures breeding at the Lake!
As the breeding season comes to a close this steamy summer, we were very fortunate to observe two cool highlights. First, while I didn’t find the nest, I’m near positive that a pair of Canada Warblers had a nest by the stream in the dense brush; over the course of about 7 weeks, starting in mid-June, was able to regularly find either the male or female. And how about this:
...
July 2010
3 posts
The Increasing Frequency of the Increasing...
This summer in Wisconsin we have experienced many intense storms that just don’t want to quit. A few weeks ago we were heading back to Milwaukee from attending an event in Madison and witnessed a light show over the course of traveling 45 minutes that had hundreds and hundreds of lightning strikes; it was like watching Summerfest fireworks. Here’s a radar of the intense storm system,...
Fuerza Bruta
In NYC for a night and watched a terrific show near Union Square, sort of a mix of Cirque du Soleil and a dance troupe. No seats, the audience is sort of in this mosh pit! In this photo, we are under this clear floor where the dancers perform in a shallow pool of water. Unlike anything I’ve seen before:
I'm feeling very patriotic going into this 4th of...
President Obama in Racine Today
Wow, what a day. Met President Obama before his town hall meeting at the YMCA auditorium in Racine, Wisconsin, which included having a picture taken with him (to be sent later). Up close, he looks good: his hair is grayer than the last time I saw him. He seems rested! What can I say, this guy seems to be handling all the stress really well.
June 2010
6 posts
It Pays to be Pretty at Petty
We went to see Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers the last two nights at Summerfest, pictures below. These two girls were sitting way back in the arena when the bands’s cameraman approached them and asked them if they were by themselves and if they wanted front row seats to the concert. They jumped at the opportunity, ditching the fiance of one of them who was in the restroom, who no doubt...
Two More Pics of Alaska
13 new species, a lot of interesting people, and some terrific sights. Two more photos from the trip:
When Someone Campaigns or Rants Against the...
Feds reach milestone with TARP repayments surpassing debts
In its monthly Troubled Asset Relief Program report to Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that TARP repayments to taxpayers have, for the first time, surpassed the total amount of TARP funds outstanding.
The department’s report showed that, through the end of the May, TARP repayments had reached a total of $194...
Nome - Days 2 & 3
11 new species to my life list, with one more full day of birding to go. Assorted photos:
Nome, Alaska - Day 1
Trip from Anchorage to Nome in a 737 that is front half cargo plane, back half passenger transport:
Guy next to me, native Alaskan, presumably there being no bakery where he’s headed, bringing along a sheet birthday cake under the seat!
Lunch at Nome - this has got to be the best view out of any Subway in the United States!
For the day, two new birds - Bar-tailed Godwit and...
May 2010
3 posts
Boy do I miss what it felt like back then...
Spill, Baby, Spill
Every time I hear a person say something to the effect of ‘drill, baby, drill’, I wish I could force them to sit down and devote some time getting a true reality check. Here is a very up close and personal blog kept by a guy with the American Birding Association, Drew Wheelan, about the effects of the oil spill:
http:birding.typepad.com/gulf/
High Island, Texas
My friend Mark Gehring and I visited one of the best places in the country to bird during Spring migration this last week. Hurricane Ike had brought down a number of the taller trees in the area, but vegetation seemed back to normal, and the bird counts were terrific. 23 species of warblers, and more Scarlet Tanagers than you can imagine ever seeing in one location. Mark was sans binoculars, so...
March 2010
3 posts
10:45 P.M. EDT, March 21, 2010
Preventing Bird Collisions Into Glass
With Spring migration approaching, there is an urgent need to prevent birds striking into glass windows in homes around the world. It is estimated that over half a billion birds a year perish as a result of collisions in just the United States. The Rusinow Family Foundation has tried to support efforts to get decals into households of concerned owners. With the terrific support of the Wisconsin...
Seattle
Seattle is a great place to visit. Touristy highlights this past weekend? Going to the top of the Space Needle? The Seattle Art Museum? The Pike Place Market? All a lot of fun, but the topper was going to Paseos, a — get this — Zagats 27 food rated dive in Fremont that makes the best Cuban sandwiches on the planet. Outside of Cuba, of course! This is what apparently happens every...
February 2010
2 posts
Arizona Sunset
When there are clouds in the sky, it gets even better:
If you don't understand this chart, I can't help...
December 2009
1 post
The Fairies have arrived!
OK, it’s been close to two months since my last post. Was on hiatus to spend more time working on my book. I also like the idea of taking a break every now and then from all the social media stuff - to work so hard to get to a freedom in your life where you are truly unencumbered by many things, and then to feel the ‘pressure’ of staying current tweeting, on FB, a personal...
October 2009
3 posts
Gyrfalcon!
I saw this photo in a blog this morning and just wanted to post it. Yesterday a birder from Duluth, MN, Erik Bruhnke, was at a place called Hawk Ridge, where they catch and band migrating raptors. They caught and banded a Gyrfalcon, which is rarely seen in the Lower 48. Most of the time these birds stay in the Arctic tundra or similar habitat. I’ve never seen a Gyrfalcon - they are...
Been Over 35 Years!
Over half of the people in this photo I hadn’t seen in over 35 years! Or even longer. Until about three weeks ago, in Georgetown. Talk about a blast from the past. This was the kind of crazy reunion which was terrific. Although, admittedly, there was a bit of ‘where did the time go’ playing in my head. Let’s do it again soon.
The Green Bay Packers Suck
I write this during the third quarter of the Monday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings.
OK, Brett Favre is having an incredible night. Just amazing.
Doesn’t matter. THE PACKERS SUCK. Aaron Rodgers is a very capable and talented quarterback. BUT THE OFFENSIVE LINE & THE PASS RUSH OF THE PACKERS ARE TERRIBLE. How could management and coaches tolerate such incredibly...