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 day outside Paseos, and not just during lunch time. Me and my preoccupation with business models, but can you imagine the revenue/profit this place generates?  Recognize anyone in the line?

Arizona Sunset

When there are clouds in the sky, it gets even better:

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 website, etc., seems a little off-strategy. Anyway, it’s that time of year, and here’s the pic of the day:

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 incredibly powerful, and weigh about double a Peregrine Falcon! This photo, taken by Aldo Raul Contreras Reyes, was taken at the perfect time during the release of the bird.

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 poor performances?

And what about all the penalties.

This team is absolutely no fun to watch.

Peregrines!

Today I saw over 20 Peregrine Falcons taking advantage of 30-40+ mph westerly winds migrating southward along the coast of Lake Michigan. A longtime hawk watcher at Concordia College summed it up perfectly: “Other than the female form, there’s nothing more incredible than a Peregrine, tilting into the wind, screaming right past you.” Looks a little like:

Harley Davidson Museum - Milwaukee

A week and a half ago we were the guests of Glen Ringwall and Mark Mannion and got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Harley Davidson Museum. First time visit for us, and it was terrific. They have in storage close to 300 bikes ‘representative’ of previous models, going back to when the company first began in 1903. The museum itself is great, and well worth visiting if you’re in Milwaukee. As an added bonus, Willie G. Davidson, who is the Chief Styling Officer of the company and designed the Super Glider and the Low Rider, was part of our group. Very fun.

Asheville, North Carolina

Even though I grew up and went to college in Virginia and became quite familiar with the mid-Atlantic states, over the years I never made it to Asheville, North Carolina. Until last week.

For the past several years I’ve kept reading and hearing from friend about Asheville being a fun city to visit and a great place to live. So after Reunion Weekend in D.C., we headed down for a few days to check it out including having dinner with my cousin Ellen and her husband Keith. As is customary with my style of numbered takeaways of travel life experiences like this:

1. Asheville is well worth checking out; there’s good reason it keeps showing up in “Top 10 Best Places to Live” magazine articles. City has a terrific highway ‘beltway’ around the city for easy travel. Downtown has a 'hip’ area with nice shops and some excellent restaurants. Almost like a Portland of the South. Asheville was a major reason Barack won North Carolina, so for me it felt very comfortable!
2. We stayed at both The Grove Park Inn (long known as the grandaddy resort spot on a hill overlooking the city), and the Inn at Biltmore Estates (a continuation of the fascinating business model of the descendants of George Vanderbilt). The Grove Park Inn has that aging feel of a Homestead or The Greenbrier before their renovations, but has a nice spa. The Inn at Biltmore Estates is smaller(opened around 2001), newer, with a Ritz Carlton/Southern decor vibe, with great fews of the countryside.
3. Two standout restaurants: It’s very interesting that there haven’t been enough individual member ratings yet of any restaurants in Asheville to get rated on Zagats, but the two restaurants we went to are winners, with food ratings of at least 25, and excellent service: Rezaz and Cuchina 24.
4. If you’re visiting Asheville for the first time, you have to check out the Biltmore Estates (picture above). I had known about the story for a long time, but driving through the estate and touring the house, it’s just sort of surreal. Really incredible. And if you’re like me and always evaluating stuff in terms of a business model, absolutely fascinating how the descendants created sort of an attraction empire: winery, hotel, retail stores abound selling the Biltmore 'brand’.
5. Asheville is well known as a haven for artists, many who have set up studios in a very cool area called the River Arts District. Potters, painters, mixed media. Well worth checking out.

Visiting The West Wing

On Sunday, September 13th, Jen and I, along with my Uncle Al and Aunt Claire, had a private tour of the West Wing, to include walking on the Colonade and visiting The Rose Garden. An amazing experience. Standing at the entrance to the Oval Office, you could see the President’s family photos behind his desk, and through a window, the swing set right outside. Thanks so much to Michael O'Neill for taking us through the West Wing.

Back to Posting Entries

Well, it’s been about a month since my last post, but I’m about to publish a few entries highlighting some very fun things happening of late. I have been trying to finish my book, and have been attempting to pull back on stuff that takes me away from writing. But I’ve taken a lot of pictures in the past few days and I want to share!

Two Truths

Updated, to reflect the changing times.

First, with respect to investing in stocks:

TRUTH #1 - THE STRATEGY OF ‘BUY & HOLD’ NO LONGER WORKS.

The amount of money that has gone down the tubes in the last decade because investors followed the advice of their money managers to 'hang in there’ is staggering.

And secondly, with respect to politics:

TRUTH #2 - TRYING TO ATTAIN BI-PARTISANSHIP WILL NOT WORK.

There are simply too many fear-mongering, undereducated wingnuts to allow both parties to work together. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

An Open Letter to Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.)

(September 15, 2009 Update:

Please disregard my earlier note to you. After your reaction to President Obama’s recent address to the joint session of Congress, I take back all the nice things I earlier wrote about you.)

Dear Senator Graham:

I should preface this by telling you a couple things about me. I was born and raised in Virginia, and went to UVA in the 1970’s. I am familiar with Southern politics, and have seen the change of late in states like Virginia and the Carolinas.

I am also a supporter of our President.

I am writing to tell you that what you said yesterday at the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Judge Sonya Sotomayor was a class act.

Your “Barack won, get over it” attitude is pitch perfect and in stark contrast to the hate speech of so many of your colleagues and leaders of the Republican Party. Alienate Hispanics and Independents – is your party crazy?

I encourage you to continue to take a leadership role in attempting to dampen the vitriol of the ‘wingnuts’ and lunatic fringe: the Birthers, the Glenn Becks, the guys who scream 'no’ just because it’s oppositional.

Again, what you did yesterday was impressive.

Sincerely,

Jeff Rusinow

USAF Thunderbirds

I have been posting a lot of videos on YouTube which are automatically downloaded on my Facebook page, which is very cool; wish it also did the same on my blog. Went down to the breakwater wall for a second day to catch the USAF Thunderbirds. Here’s the best video of the bunch:

The Winning Putt

Here is the winning putt in the playoffs by Mike Sweeney, the brother of Paul Sweeney, at The OZ annual member guest at Ozaukee Country Club yesterday evening:

The Fray & Jack's Mannequin at Summerfest Last Night

A big thanks to the security guys at Marcus Amphitheater. We have been to a lot of concerts all over the country the past couple of years, and the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee is the BEST VENUE BAR NONE to see acts up close with terrific sight lines and not have to deal with ‘intruders’ crashing your party:

Quitter.

7/9 Update: Actually, the more I read about this, the more sense it may make for her to break away from Alaska, where her negatives with Alaskans were rising. She can go out and make a ton of money, pay off her legal expenses, and still maintain some kind of presence at all of the fundraisers throughout the Lower 48. Whatever she does, and no matter what comes out of her mouth when she speaks, there will always be the hard core base of say 15% of the electorate that will love her forever.

Common Nighthawk

A very accommodating bird south of Malta, Montana: