Excellence Out of Adversity: Keith Jarrett: The Koln Concert

I originally wrote this blog as part of an unpublished podcast back at the start of the pandemic. In true content management fashion, I'm reusing it for newer purposes, which happens to be in the wake of company-wide layoffs by my former employer.

Jazz listeners will know about Keith Jarrett's 1975 Koln Concert. Even if you're not a big fan of jazz you may be familiar with it. The Koln Concert has gotten a resurgence of attention; being featured on NPR, the BBC, and Malcom Gladwell's podcasts.

Jarrett's recorded concert also happens to be the best-selling solo album in jazz history, and the all-time best-selling piano album.

I bought the 2 album set at the start of the pandemic. It's an original pressing from '75. It's the closest I will ever get to that midnight concert nearly 50 years ago. No digital optimization. No copy of a copy of a copy. It arrived in the mail just as we were entering lockdown mode. 

The album's cover was once white. A photo in grayscale shows Jarrett hunched over a piano. The piano in the foreground is blurred, while Jarrett's head hangs down as if asleep. If his eyes were open he'd be looking directly at the keys. The white album background is now yellowed and shows signs of aging, wearing and tearing. But who doesn't after 49 years?

The sleeves are mix-matched—the first sleeve’s label hole is empty and the second sleeve has a wax paper cover. Both have tears around the edges from when the records were dropped too hard into the album cover. The second disk of the album shows signs of water damage. But after cleaning it a couple times I find that the extra static just adds character--no other copy of the album has the same pops and static.

Besides being an incredible performance, here's what else you should know about that night in Germany:

• First of all, the piano provided to Jarrett was a mess. Not only was it not the piano that he stipulated in the contract, but it was a piano in bad shape. This was a rehearsal piano--old, beaten up. The sound was thin and the pedals didn't work.
• Secondly, Jarrett was a mess. He had had a long day of driving from Switzerland to Koln, Germany. He hadn't slept well for several nights because of back issues. He was hungry, and he was tired.
• Jarrett's first reaction upon seeing the rehearsal piano was to threaten to cancel the show. But the promoter, a 17-year jazz fan named Vera Brandes, convinced him to keep the booking.

After all, the show must go on.

So they spent the next few hours trying to tune the piano--to put lipstick on that pig. They couldn't fix the issues with the upper and lower registers, and the sustain pedals still didn't work. But they did what they could.

Jarrett broke for dinner at a nearby restaurant but the kitchen was backed up. He left before ever getting his food.

Jarrett finally went out on stage at 11:30 that night--wearing a back brace--and gave a concert to last the ages.

What impresses me about the album, in addition to being a beautiful piece of music, are the sheer number of obstacles Jarrett had to overcome to give the performance of a lifetime; contract failures, exhaustion, an imperfect tool, physical pain, hunger. And you can hear him playing through all of it. Sometimes he grunts his way through it. 

This is the music I listen to in my quiet. The music is soothing and the story behind it shows how obstacles can sometimes help us to achieve greatness. And in this time when the economy is in a downturn and companies are laying off their workforces, maybe our current imperfect situations help us to be the best versions of ourselves. Maybe we do something great that makes everyone around us a little better.

Should we choose to do so.

Congratulations if you've made it this far--I would love your feedback. I'm also in the market for a new job, so if you're interested in adding leadership and storytelling to your team, send me a message.

Let's talk.

My Hike to the Kendall Katwalk

 Kendall Katwalk by the Numbers:

• 5,400 Foot Elevation 
• 2,400 Foot Trailhead Elevation
• 450 Yards Katwalk Length
• 3.5 Hours from Trailhead to Kendall Katwalk
• 2.5 Hours from Kendall Katwalk to Trailhead
• 2 Bottles of Water Consumed on the Hike
• 1 Pika
• 0 Problems

I arrived at the Snoqualmie Pass parking lot off Exit 52 at 7:15a on a Thursday morning. There were 24 cars in the parking lot already, not counting mine and a couple of small groups were assembling to set out on the Pacific Crest Trail North and Commonwealth Basin Trails. I had copied the WTA's trail guide into Evernote and also had downloaded the WTA app as backup, not knowing how signal access would be on the trail.

The first two miles of the trail were exactly as the WTA guide described it; a steady incline through old growth forest and just one switchback. I was disappointed to see the first bag of dog poop on the side of trail just 75 yards in from the trailhead, and I saw another bag about a half mile later. Following that bag, someone had left their dog's upchuck mix of kibble and grass right in the middle of the path. People if you're going to bring your dog, then pick up after it. Leaving a bag on the trail is not better than grabbing a stick and sweeping your mess off the trail.

Recent trip reports on the WTA website suggested bugs were an issue on this hike, so I grabbed the last bottle of Repel hanging on the shelves at Fred Meyer. It reminded me of its presence at about one and 1/4 miles in when it started seeping into my right eye. That was more irritating than the few bugs I encountered on the hike.

Most people on the trail were not wearing masks, though some were. I let groups pass me by pulling off to the side of trail, as much as I could give, which wasn't much. In the first group of three I let pass, the two women pulled up their gaiters and were very friendly because they saw I was waiting for them. The guy at the rear carrying hiking poles was not friendly and made no effort to shield his breath. About 3/4 of a mile later, I was passed by a couple who looked like they were fresh from a fight; the woman in front didn't acknowledge me while her hiking partner gave me a nod. I followed them for a while, keeping a good distance as they pulled away. Still no conversation though the entire time. That must have been some fight.

I hit the first talus field, or Pika City, at the two-mile point. The little marmots were chirping the entire time I passed through this section. I saw them pop up near and far, though one surprised both of us on the way down by emerging from the bushes a couple feet away.

The WTA guide talks about crossing a waterfall just past the talus field but there was no water falling on this day, though I could hear it splashing a dozen or so yards below. There was more water above after the switchback so clearly there are underground channels for the water.

Between the "would-be-fall" and the creek above, I was passed by another young couple. When they saw that I had pulled to the side and was wearing my gaiter, they gave me a "hello' and scrambled up the trail to put some distance between us, which I thought was a nice gesture.

After the creek, I encountered a father and daughter coming coming down the trail. We had a nice chat near the first field of fireweed flowers. For the next 2 miles, I maintained my way up the "Steady Eddie" trail. Having hiked the Pacific Northwest for the past 11 years, I've grown used it's beauty, but I always try to renew my appreciation for the new combinations of magic when discovering a new trail. This trail offers lots of surprises along the way; sword ferns of all sizes, alpine flowers, and open vistas--each one better than the next. 

It was about this section of the hike that my right knee was starting to send me signals. But these were on the inside, not the usual outside spot, so I kept leaning on the hiking poles as I climbed and monitored my knee for potential issues. Fortunately, I started the hike with a preventative mindset by wearing a soft knee brace and taking Motrin. I was also wearing my new Salomon X Ultra 3 Mid GTX hiking boots. I know this will sound like an ad but I've never had boots this comfortable and with this kind of support. And you definitely need good boots for this hike.

The second talus field; Kendall Gardens, is a great spot for spotting pikas and squirrels and listening to their calls and marks a transition in the hike--rather than forests with occasional views, there is more open hiking with patches of forest. When Red Mountain comes into full view, you know you will be close to the Katwalk.

I don't do well with heights, but the Katwalk was a good combination of exhilaration and anxiety. I walked the entire 450 yards alone and stay right in the middle of the trail. I could have passed another hiker, if it came to this, but they would have gotten the outside ledge.

At the end of the Katwalk, I found a rocky perch for lunch about 10 feet above the trail. It was nice and flat and other than a couple of hikers passing below me, I had it all to myself. Following lunch and another hot of Motrin, I made my return journey, including walking video of the Katwalk. The remainder of the hike was a pleasure. I pulled over for a lot of uphill hikers and I got a lot of positive comments about my Seattle Kraken t-shirt. I stopped at a makeshift campsite about 2.5 miles from the bottom for water and protein. By the time I reach the trailhead, I had been out for 7 wonderful hours.

Using Agile Scrum in the Home for ADHD

A couple of months ago, I shared two articles on LinkedIn that showcased one couple's use of Scrum to help organize their home. What attracted me to the articles was that the husband in this case, Francis, is diagnosed with ADHD. Together, he and his wife, Sally, employed Scrum to organize their lives. If you really know or live with someone who has severe to moderate ADHD, you know full-well the challenges those people face every day. Their families also face significant challenges.

This is where I identify with the couple: ADHD is prominent in my family. And in the wake of reading their story, I started looking for opportunities to try it in my home. This article is about our first experience.

Living with ADHD
If your family has children in school who regularly complete all of their homework every night, who never have to pull all-nighters because they suddenly remember a major project DUE TOMORROW, and enjoy the intellectual challenge of seven classes a day, congratulations. Your life is probably calm and steady. Or at least calmer and steadier than mine. For us, spontaneity is the Rule of the Day. There is always an unforeseen priority to address.

You may even look upon families like mine with envy ("They are always so active") or pity ("I can't imagine what it must be like to live in that chaos"). Your judgement is your own. In our house, we have learned to place support ahead of judgement. Scaffolding above scorn. We work with the activity and embrace the creativity.

We have tried numerous ways to help the kids stay organized in school. But until I read the story of Francis and Sally, it never occurred to me to use Agile SDLC practices as a tool to teach my kids how to manage their lives. Fortunately we had the perfect opportunity: DEVOtional 2019.

DEVOtional is an annual fan gathering of the music group DEVO in Cleveland, Ohio. This year it was on July 26 and 27 at the Beachland Tavern and Ballroom. Members of the band make guest appearances, there's memorabilia, and two days of DEVO-inspired music performed by bands from all corners of the US (Though you will not hear their most popular tune "Whip It"). And this year, my 17-year old's band was invited to open the Saturday festivities. He had a lot of prep work to do.

Our first attempt of making a plan was to document all the steps needed using Google Sheets. I sat with him and listed all of the tasks. We had multiple tabs for each topic; set list, equipment, costumes, performance requirements, and a trip itinerary. We agreed on everything that needed to be done and I set him on his way.

The Google Sheet went untouched for a month.

Enter Scrum
It was about this time that I read the Scrum for ADHD articles and realized that the best tool for the job was the one I use at work. So after talking about it with my wife, we created our first family Scrum Board.

DEVOtional 2019 Scrum Board: Week 1

Scrum can be an ideal tool for people with ADHD for several reasons:

• Occupy the Field of View. Those with ADHD have difficulty blocking out distractions--auditory, visual, smell--and creating a physical board can occupy the field of vision and help reduce visual noise
• Sensory Satisfaction. Creating stories with sticky notes and moving them across the board is a satisfying feeling, like moving game pieces across a board game
• Celebrate Success. ADHD sufferers learn to live with frustration in school environments because they process information differently--getting stories squarely in the Complete column equals accomplishment and a great way to boost someone's dopamine levels

Taking a purist approach for this project would have led to disaster; we needed to work within our environment (Recognize the Culture), with our family members (Understand Your Resources), to achieve a finished product--(Minimum Viable Product) which was getting my son's band on-stage with all of their equipment, music, and visuals at 2:30 pm (EDT) at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland. I've been in plenty of Agile work environments and each is always a little different, by necessity. And since this was our first attempt, and we wanted to make it a positive experience for my son.

In getting started, we agreed to some basic parameters:

• The Scrum Board would be time-boxed up until we boarded the plane from Seattle to Cleveland--this meant 4 weeks in which to work (4 weeks = 4 rows)
• Work would be organized in one-week sprints
• User Stories would fit onto stickies and would contain a simple task, person accountable, and estimated level of effort (Small, Medium, or Large)
• The stories would be tracked across these stages: To-do, Doing, Verify, and Complete
• We would have (near) daily Scrum Meetings to review progress, identify blockers, and celebrate successes
• No stickies would progress through stages without everyone being present
• We would conduct weekly retrospectives to evaluate progress

A word about User Story Points: we decided to forego points for this introduction to Scrum and opted for t-shirt sizes for the Levels of Effort. After all, my son already had a full-time job as a high school student. By keeping the estimating measures simple, we guaranteed his buy-in. So we agreed to the following:

• Small: Story could be tackled in an afternoon
• Medium: Story would require more than one afternoon, and maybe two days to complete
• Large: Stories that would take more than two days to complete

Our first Scrum Planning session generated nearly 30 stories--two of which were complete before we started (Celebrate success!).

The tactile nature of managing the project really engaged the family--we liked having the stand-ups and moving the stickies across stages. By the start of Week #2, our board looked like this:

As you can see, we still had five stories in Verify (Demonstration) and the same two stories in Complete. So all the stories were moved to the following week's To-do (Backlog) and Doing (In-progress) columns. And as we learned more details about stories, we started moving some to later weeks. We also added five stories.

With the start of Week #3, tensions started to rise. We had not completed a significant amount of stories and the date was drawing closer. And as with most projects, as we got deeper into it, more stories needed to be added to the plan. Key to keeping my son bought-in to this new approach was giving him small wins along the way. So we put some easy-to-achieve stories on the board, and those moved from To-do to Complete very quickly.

Still, we stuck with the methodology. At our weekly retrospective, we moved the backlog of stories down to Week #3 and started evaluating scope trade-offs. Some stories moved to Complete because we didn't have an archive.

There was one major cause of project churn, and it was our own little Epic. My son's vision for his costume on-stage was to wear a Spud Ring. This costume innovation was used by DEVO during their "Oh No, It's DEVO" album and tour. Spud Rings are formed white plastic shells that fit over the shoulders of the performers. They can be constructed by way of vacuum-forming.

Had we ever done this before? No. Did we have access to a suitable machine? No.

Enter "unreasonable project requirement #1."

We threw ourselves at this part of the project. My son was the Product Manager and I was the Scrum Master and Developer. He found a video online on how to build a vacuum-form machine and I set about acquiring the materials and building it while he was at school.

By the end of Week #3, we were really in a rhythm. Stories were being moved from Doing to Verify to Complete on a daily basis. More stories were added as we continued to make discoveries. The sense of success was palpable. We were going to get all of the work completed in time for our flight departure.

Hey, do you remember that vacuum-forming machine Epic I mentioned a little while ago?

Yeah that one. As it turns out, it's one thing to successfully construct a fully functioning vacuum-form machine. It's quite another to understand physical properties of plastic sheets, heating them at the appropriate temperature, and buying enough materials to allow for trial and error. The first two tests revealed all of this. Unfortunately, we we ran out of time and had to shelve this portion of the plan.

Still, we completed nearly all of our stories with one day to spare. Two stories were left on the board and we tackled them on the road.

So here we are, post-DEVOtional 2019. My son's performance was a hit with the organizers and the crowd and his band has been invited back to next year's event.

Now that we've experienced a positive experience using Scrum, We will be applying a version of it during the school year so he can stay on top of school work.

Wins all around.

The boys pose with Bob 1 from DEVO at DEVOtional 2019

Retrospective
Using Scrum to manage this effort proved to be the winning solution. We were all engaged in it, knew which stories we owned, and we could all see the progress day-to-day. In considering what we will do next time, and we will be doing a version of Scrum again for both of our sons this coming school year, we will need to incorporate management of all their classes. And we will be introducing them to story points.

I believe the experiences my son gained through this project will serve him well as he moves on from high school and into college and beyond. Project-based collaboration is the way business works today. Unfortunately, our schools are not yet rising to the challenge of teaching all of our kids how to be successful in these arenas. Lecture-and-listen, a 19th century approach to education, is still de rigueur. Add the increasing frequency of ADHD and ADD in our children, and our society has bigger problems than you might think.

Fortunately, we're going to give my son, and all our children, the tools needed to succeed. This is a surefire way for them to not just overcome a challenge, but to whip it. Whip it good.

Yeah, I went there.

By the way, if you're interested in reading the articles I mentioned at the start of this blog, you can find them here:

• Using Scrum to Help with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Part One
• Using Scrum to Help with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Part Two

My Amazon GO Store Experience

(This post started as a LinkedIn.com update, but I quickly ran out of character space, so here's my full review).

UPDATE for 2/13/2018:

• I stopped by GO on my way into work and picked up a Blazing Bagels breakfast sandwich and protein fruit drink. Total time in-store: 1:10 min. 

ORIGINAL POST:
On Friday (2/9), I stepped out of my new Belltown office for lunch and an experiment: my goal was to successfully navigate the new Amazon GO store in Seattle and emerge with a meal.

Before going any further, I need to recognize the amount of work that obviously went into getting the venture up and running. Creating the world's first cashier-less store for a non-membership store was clearly no easy feat. All of the Amazon engineers, product managers, and user experience experts should be commended for their great work.

I tackled this experiment wearing my user experience hat, which is a blend of a decade of writing for broadcast news, another 2 decades working in digital, and insights gleaned from various experience experts, not to mention Donald Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things."

The first requirement of using the store is to download the Amazon GO app, for which you need an Amazon account. I subscribe to Prime so all my account information; name, address, purchase history, debit card, etc, is on file with Amazon. The app has a really good primer on what to expect with the experience: launch the app and scan your phone upon entry in the store, take what you want, return what you don't want, don't take objects off the shelves for others, and walk out when you are done. Easy enough.

Amazon stations employees at the entrance to hand out shopping bags. Having not experienced it before, I wondered if the bags were somehow required for the experience. Were they tagged with sensors? No, as it turns out. Just a convenience. Right outside the store was a line of stanchions--not in use that day--which is kind of funny; you may have to wait in line to enter the store that doesn't have checkout lines. This was my first indicator that Seattle has a new tourist destination.

So upon entering the store, I was immediately struck by the number of people who were shooting video and taking pictures, rather than shopping. It reminded me of Times Square in NYC with people spending more time getting a photo than watching where they are walking. The amateur photographers were the second indicator that this is a new tourism "must do" in Seattle.

So, with my phone in one hand and shopping bag in the other, I conducted tour of the store perimeter. This didn't take long because it isn't a big store. But it is new and clean and nice. Think of it as a high-end convenience store. A Better Bodega. A Super 7-11. Or a Half-sized Whole Foods. The offerings include a wide-selection of pre-made sandwiches and meals, alcohol, sides, and various other foods. I went with an Italian Grinder and bag of Half-pops. Along the way, I experimented with removing items from the shelves and returning them to see if the app would show the changes, but nothing ever appeared on the app to indicate that I have made any selections, which led me to wonder if I was doing it correctly. I was, in fact, and had to rely on my memory of the app demo and my own sense of right and wrong to get through this first time. I would recommend an improvement to the app in a future release that displayed customer selections in real-time.

A ceiling of sensors

After wandering the store a little more, I decided to test my comfort with walking out the door without the cash register experience. It was... weird. No alarms went off, expect for what was programmed into my mind through a half-decade of commerce. It was when the French TV news crew approached me outside the store that I suddenly felt like that this was a big Candid Camera joke.

But no joke, they were interviewing all sorts of customers. They did have to show me where to find the record of my transaction in the app. Again, this is a natural opportunity for the app to give me a "transaction complete" alert once I'm free and clear of the store. As it was, the receipt was emailed an hour after my visit. Immediate gratification for acknowledgement of the transaction will be needed for this to really take off.

So if there's a word I would use to describe this experience, it would be "novelty." This is not to denigrate in any way all the work that went into the store, but it introduces a new way to shop that is one-of-a-kind, and it feels very much like a pilot of what could be a larger and more immersive experience.

So how was the lunch? It was OK. I don't think the grinder was made by someone who ever had a real East Coast grinder; a few slices of salami does not a grinder make. But I'm going back again, you can be sure. I'll try other foods and bring friends and family.

What else would you do with a tourist attraction?

The Left and Right News Spectrum

In 1993, I was working as a writer at WCIX in Miami. South Florida was still recovering from Hurricane Andrew's destruction the previous August and there was never a shortage of post-storm stories. South Florida news stations loved any kind of sensational story back then--flash-n-trash always ran at the top of the newscast--but it was a real surprise when the 6pm producer ran a wire story about Stephen Cook accusing Chicago's Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of sexual molestation.

This was the time of repressed memories. Patients would undergo hypnosis and suddenly remember events from their past. Even if that event never happened. This was the case with Cook, who claimed to have a repressed memory uncovered through hypnosis of being molested by Bernardin. Only it never happened.

Cook was encouraged to make accusations against Bernardin by a third party as way to get money from the Church. Only 2 people knew this when the story came out; Cook and the third party.

When the story broke, the WCIX news producer declared that she "hated the Catholic Church" and led the newscast with it: lead story with an edited video segment. Her comment has stayed with me for three decades.

About six weeks later, Cook announced the truth; that he'd lied and Bernardin was innocent. I looked to the producer for her response. It was this: the story would run as a 20-second reader leading into sports and weather. And no regrets for having run the original story.

It was at this point that I lost interest in my news career. It was clear that any sense of objectivity was dead. And being objective was a goal of the highest ideals that we were taught in our college journalism classes.

Funny thing about the idea of journalistic objectivity--it was a marketing ploy publishers in the early 20th century used to sell newspapers. Before this time, newspapers were roundly viewed as subjective publications. You read a newspaper, or pamphlet, because it reinforced your viewpoints on the world. Yellow journalism was the norm and two of the biggest players were Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal.

An example of New York Journal's famous yellow journalism. 

Seems like we are living through a second coming of yellow journalism. Biases lead news judgement and no one is willing to admit they are skewed.

CNN is overwhelmingly liberal and has a justifiable axe to grind against Trump. Fox News is overwhelmingly Trump friendly and ignores 99% of the stories critical to our current Administration. InfoWars isn't news and MSNBC breathlessly delivers every story as melodrama. And I haven't even touched on fake news.

I find its best to keep news sources in rotation, moving among the outlets and compiling truth from various sources. But which ones to trust?

There are a few efforts on the interwebs for scoring the major news outlets on their political biases, but even those evaluations are skewed. What I find most interesting is that NPR is now considered to be fairly mainstream. It used to be far left.

If you want to have your opinions reinforced, then by all means, rely on the sources with whom you agree. If you want to be challenged, read material from the neutral zone of news. Or even the opposing views.

Here are a few sources who have categorized the various news outlets. Not all agree, but they have plenty of similarities.

• Quora: Is there really any non-partisan news sources that don't have such a liberal or conservative "twist"? If so what are they?
• University of Michigan Research: "Fake News," Lies and Propaganda: How to Sort Fact from Fiction
• MarketWatch: How does your favorite news source rate on the ‘truthiness’ scale? Consult this chart

1,250+ of you

More than 1,250 of you took the time to read my blog posting endorsing Byron Shutz, Tanika Padhye, and Jeralee Anderson for Redmond City Council. For those of you who have still yet to vote, I urge you to fill in your ballot and vote today.

Thank you for participating in our community elections!

City Council Candidates for Redmond's Future

(Note: the seat numbers have been updated).

It's time for you to fill out that voter ballot that recently arrived in the mail. The current races for City Council are as exciting and contentious as they've been in the nearly 10 years I've lived in Redmond. Also in that nearly 10 years, I've seen tremendous change in our City, most of which I really like.

It's my observation, from conversations with neighbors and friends, that this election is as much about Redmond's past as it is about the future. So, I'm offering my recommendations for City Council for each of the contested seats. The recommendations are based on talking with you, attending the Education Hill Neighborhood Association Candidate Forum on Oct 5th, reviewing the candidate websites, and reviewing campaign contributions as recorded by the State.

If you have yet to vote and are on the fence, please consider these candidates on your ballots.

Before the recommendations, let me first share a thought with you. There's a poster in my house with a quote I've always loved. It was put to press as part of a change management campaign I ran for a Fortune 100. It's a reminder that no matter how much we want things to stay the same... they never do. The best we can do is be a part of the future.

To the candidates who have committed personal time and money running for City Council, "thank you for getting involved." This is a tough gig. For the challengers inspired by wanting to make a change, I hope--should you win--that the endless hours of time that you will be committing to the City don't weigh you down. And I hope that you are able to stand up to the criticism that is going to be lobbed your way. You know, glass houses and all.

Here are the candidates I am supporting for City Council, and I encourage you to vote the same.

Seat #6: Jerlaee Anderson
Jeralee brings a fresh slate of ideas to the campaign. She wants to improve transportation for Redmond, and do it in a progressive, technology-smart fashion. She supports a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math learning, especially for girls, in private and nonprofit collaboration with the City. She is also an advocate for small business.

I don't know Jeralee, but she has my vote. Please vote for Jeralee Anderson for Seat #2.

Here is Jeralee's website: https://www.jeraleeanderson.com/

Seat #4: Tanika Padhye
Tanika recognizes and promotes what Redmond residents have come to experience: Redmond is the #1 City in Washington. It didn't happen overnight--it occurred because of the families who have lived here for years and the families who are still coming to live here. Tanika is the candidate for all of us, not just some of us.

Tanika was appointed earlier this year to this position as the former member of Council stepped down from duties. She was chosen from a broad slate of candidates. Tanika brings diversity to our Council, in perspective and background. She recognizes that our City has changed significantly, and must hold onto its roots.

On a personal level, I have known the Padhye family for years. They are committed to our community. Please vote for Tanike Padhye for Seat #4.

Here is her website: http://www.tanika4council.com/

Seat #2: Byron Shutz
Byron is a levelheaded and responsible member of City Council. He speaks to the facts and has developed a sound track record of leadership in government, education, and human services.

Byron has given his time to our City and our schools for years, having served on the Lake Washington Schools Foundation before joining City Council. He is deeply involved in our community, serving on the Board of Hopelink, the Redmond Kiwanis, among others. Byron's list of volunteer positions is much longer than I could list here, but visit his website if you want to see all of his community activism.

Byron and I met when he was elected to the City Council and I was with the Redmond Arts and Culture Commission, and I've always enjoyed talking with him at City events. It's my hope that Redmond residents make the right choice and vote for Byron Shutz for Seat #6.

Here is Byron's website: http://www.shutzforcouncil.com/

A final word... about the campaigns running up to this election: I've not been a fan of the tone some campaigns are taking; there have been accusations and claims made without basis. The City Council never debates issues? Baloney. The City won't listen to residents? Nonsense. Candidates are vilifying City Hall and thereby attacking the people who work and volunteer there. These are our friends and neighbors who drive the same streets and shop in the same stores and send their children to the same schools. They deserve more respect than they've been afforded. I urge you to carefully consider rewarding a campaign that engages in this type of behavior.

All of us want a better Redmond. I encourage you to vote for these three candidates to build on the success of our community and move us forward together.

Rob Leavitt is a private citizen and was not compensated for these endorsements. He is former Co-Chair of Cub Scout Pack 591, former President of the Redmond Lacrosse Club, and two-time Chair of the Redmond Arts and Culture Commission. He and his family live on Education Hill in Redmond.

Moments in the Sun

This morning I was rushing out the door with a little more than an hour to run a set of errands before my next call for work started. With the front door of the house no more than 6 feet behind me, I stopped dead in my tracks for a moment.

The late Fall sunlight was streaming through the trees, casting long shadows across the yards and catching the morning dew on the front lawn grass, creating a field of morning stars. The temperature was in the mid-forties and steam rose from the peaks of my next door neighbor's house. It was quiet, apart from distant traffic that created a steady rushing sound; more like a low ocean shore or the sound wind makes when blowing through the evergreens on a mountaintop. It was a Moment.

I wrestled on what to do--keep going to the car and get my errands wrapped up or stay on the front porch to absorb the Moment for all it was worth?

Instead I ran back inside the house and called my wife and daughter to join me. "Just come out front!," I urged them.

My wife joined me back on the porch. The daughter unit made it as far as the point where the house heat stops and the cool air started before voting with her feet back inside. Not even the dog would venture outside. Don't get me started on the cat.

So my wife and I stood there in the morning Moment. No talking, all sensing. After a few seconds, I decided it to be photo-worthy.

Within two photos the Moment was gone. We were still there, as was the cool air, trees, houses, morning dew-laden grass, but the sunshine had faded behind thickening clouds. And with that, I bade the wife goodbye and sprinted out to the car, Moment behind, but still in my memory.

One Person's Difference

(This is an excerpt from my weekly newsletter to the Redmond Lacrosse Club.)

What kind of impact can one person have on someone's life? How impacting 10, or 100, or 1,000? It's possible and happens everyday.

This last weekend I attended a memorial service for a Horace Mann teacher who recently passed of cancer. David Wobker was what we hope all educators aspire to be. He was passionate about teaching and possessed a sharp intellect that often left you questioning the deeper meaning of his comments. By the turnout of the service, it was clear that David has impacted the lives of hundreds of families on Education Hill. He was special.

Our lacrosse club continues to build on a tradition that has influenced the lives of hundreds of families in and around Redmond. Our goal is provide your sons with a rich athletic experience, and have fun while they do it. We need volunteers to do it. Whether it's field prep, helping at club events, fundraising, or being a member of the Board, your contributions go a long way.

Can't Talk Now--I've Got an Orca to Catch!

"Whendlegltchby."

 "What?"

"When do the orcas come by?"

This was the start to my brief exchange with a fellow camper recently at the San Juan Island County Campground. It was not going to end well. Before I continue that story, let me set the stage...

It's Wednesday afternoon of my weeklong vacation from work. I had ridden the Tiger to Anacortes and hopped the ferry to San Juan Island for a quick, overnight getaway.

Seven years ago, I had taken the family to the SJI County Campground for our first Pacific Northwest camping trip. We have wonderful memories from that trip. It's location on a bluff above the Haro Strait--the strip of water that separates the US from Vancouver Island, Canada. You can see VI on any clear day. And during one magical moment on the first trip, we were awoken to a pod of orcas swimming by. It's a memory that will stay with us forever.

I wasn't expecting magic this trip, just peace and quiet. And it started exactly as planned. I rolled up to the camping spot on my bike with no one around. There were two reserved spots between mine and the patch of grass that leads out to the bluff. The one closest to the grass (#20) was empty, while the one right next to me (#19) had a medium-sized tent already pitched. The occupants weren't there, but I figured that it probably belonged to a couple who was out exploring the island.

After unpacking and setting up camp, I explored the area (no orcas to be seen) and then retreated to my tent for a nap before dinner. Naps are very important when camping.

"WAAAAAIIIIIGGGHHHH!!!"

What in dear Lord?

"WAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!"

OK, so it seems my next door neighbors included a combination of air raid siren, harpy, and a set of long nails scratching on a portable chalkboard. In other words, a toddler. A very, very unhappy toddler.

Waking up from camping naps is tricky business. You know you've been sleeping and you know that you probably could have been productive by wandering the area and picking up random trash or identifying poisonous mushrooms. If you do not execute your sleep state evacuation correctly, as in gradually and peacefully, you are likely to emerge as an enraged yeti who has not been able to remove hair balls from his nether regions and to which said hair is being pulled out with each movement.

That was me; enraged yeti. 

Once I gathered my senses I realized what was happening and calmed down. I've been that dad before; the one faced with the crying child with no way of understanding how to quiet the child or remove their batteries so the neighbors don't call the cops or protective services. Now I was just a grumpy yeti who has to leave his cave in order to pick up berries for dinner at the local Very Berry store.

Exiting the tent, I gave the dad holding the harpy siren a look that suggested "I've been there--hang in there--it gets better," but I probably just looked pissed off. Regardless, he later apologized for disrupting my yeti nap and we established ourselves on good terms. I kept reminding myself of this each time the harpy siren went into public service announcement mode to let everyone know she was unhappy. This occurred every 90 minutes.

It also turns out that my neighbor did not understand how children are made, because by my count he had accumulated 4 of them and they were all very young. That probably means that he and his wife are probably going to have more. Maybe they have a plan to replace their harpy siren every 18 months with a new harpy siren, and the one on duty was just the latest model. I didn't think of this at the time as I was mostly curious how they all fit into that small tent. They weren't a large-sized type of people, but six human-sized organisms occupying a tent of that size was like watching clowns emerging from a tiny clown car. But without all the creepy clown-stuff that comes with clowns.

Still, my desire for peace and quiet would not be denied. At sunset, I wrote the following in my notebook:

The Sun is a handbreadth above the horizon. Skies are mostly blue and wisped with clouds. I feel the Sun's heat while a gentle wind from across Vancouver Island cools me. Seabirds sit on the rock 100 yards from shore. Silent now, having ceased their dinnertime chatter. Below me and to the north 50 yards, two couples rest in their kayaks. I have sole and temporary use of this park bench, though not the point; another man occupies the other bench while a book occupies his attention.

As the Sun dipped over the horizon and the campground quieted down--quiet hours are 10:30pm to 7:30am--all the campers settled into their nighttime routines, consisting of later dinners and campfires.

Remember that part of about quiet hours? Yeah, well, it figures in pretty soon, so pay attention. Because when you check in to the campground, the park ranger goes through a list of rules. The first one is that quiet hours are between 10:30pm and 7:30am. The second rule is to pack your food away for night. The raccoons are pretty common on the island and pretty bold, so pack your food away in something they can't rip into. When you show up to check in to your spot, the ranger explains this very clearly. Unless, you are late and miss his speech. It's not a problem if you've camped before and understand a basic tenet of camping, which is, animals will eat food if you leave it out. It may be a problem if you are a member of the Black Lung Family.

The Black Lung Family showed up after the park ranger's office closed. I don't know what time exactly, but it was like one of those moments in movies when darkness suddenly falls. Like when the plague of locusts descends on Egypt, Christ dies on the cross, or vampires attack. The Black Lung Family (BLF from now on) arrived in their early 90s model Jeep Cherokee and took the spot on the other side of the harpy siren manufacturing family. There were two elders and two idiots. The idiots live in Olympia, while the elders recently moved from Oklahoma. They seemed to have suffered some sort of horrible disfiguring accident because each only had only arm. The other arm was a cigarette holder. They'd apparently been living like this a long time because they were constantly experiencing prolonged bouts of coughing. I almost named them the Emphysema Family, but this would have given them an unnecessary sense that they deserved compassion. Anytime you light up cigarettes in the company of others, you lose that compassion. Anytime you light up in the presence of children, you lose it, too.

Wait, lighting up in front of children? Yes, our new neighbors. The ones who took the coveted spot right next to the grass that leads out to the bluff were coughing and smoking in the presence of young children. And everyone got to smell the smoke.

And they were loud. Not loud as in, "I want to make sure you hear my voice from 25 yards away," but loud as in "I think we're currently at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert and standing 5 feet from the speakers and I know you can't hear me but I'm going to shout anyway because I've been drinking for 8 hours." They were loud and up past the quiet hour mark. What time was that? That's right: 10:30pm.

Anyway, I was soon off to sleep. It's said that I can sleep through anything. Or so I've been told. Dunno, I'm usually asleep when people say it. My sleep lasted until 4:47am. Why so exact, you ask? That's because it was at that time the following morning in which the BLF was visited by a family of raccoons. I know they were raccoons because I heard the BLF shout this several times and I know it was 4:47am because I hard them shout this several times. Absconded hoy dog buns fit in, as well. The excitement from their campsite lasted about 10 minutes before I uttered and admittedly weak, "Be Quiet!" I was afraid of waking the harpy siren. Just my lucky, she would sleep through the Great Raccoon Invasion of 2016 but my request for quiet would have kept her up for hours.

Sleep, once again, won me over. But by 6:30am I was awake. Early mornings are special times when camping. The nocturnal animals can still be active, everything is still and quiet, and you are aware of being among people still asleep. It's a great time to have coffee and chill. Which brings us back to...

"Whendlegltchby."

 "What?"

"When do the orcas come by?"

It was BLF elder. There she was. In my campsite, lit cigarette stinking up my morning.

It was disappointing that BLF moved into our neighborhood last night. Even more so that they smoked and shouted the whole time. But with the early morning wake-up I had reached my limit. You know that little red guy from "Inside Out?" Anger? Well, he made an appearance that morning--from my brain, past the filters, and directly out my mouth.

"It's quiet hours. Everyone here is quiet. You people were up making noise at 4:47 this morning."

This was not a shouted statement. My sister taught me years ago that it is much more intimidating to speak in a low voice when mad than it is to shout. So I said it low. And I emphasized. Every. Word. It had the desired effect. As soon as I said the word "morning," she spun 90 degrees away from me, dropped her head, and walked back to camp. No one from that camp said anything until I left an hour later.

If I had been in a better mood, I would have toyed with the idea that wild orca pods are on a Seaworld-like schedule. Heck, I would have given her a specific time and place to be on the island. I thought of this missed opportunity while retrieving the water bucket from the campground water spigot. Right there, on the campground bulletin board, was this gem:

Apparently, a lot of people at this campground ask this question. So many that the forest ranger had to put up a sign. I feel for that man.

After dousing the flames of the fire, my adrenalin also diminished and I started second-guessing my response to BLF elder. I resumed packing up camp. A few minutes later, a couple walked by to talk. Gloria and Mark. An older couple traveling with their dog, Zoe. They were in the site on the other side of me and disappointed I was leaving. Seems that they approved of my presence, and they realized that once I was gone, the good behavior would leave as well.

With my final moment of vindication, I saddled up on the Tiger and headed home.

I don't think I'll ever camp here again.

The Motorcycle Man

A quick share of this article: http://www.richmond.com/life/bill-lohmann/article_ee46b2d9-ffb4-50ff-8ff5-c83cc0e00611.html

Greener Pastures, Open Roads, Peace of Mind

It's been nearly 10 years since I kicked my George Bailey mindset.

Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, was the main character of "It's Wonderful Life." Throughout the movie, he struggles to escape his hometown of Bedford Falls for a larger world of adventure:

George Bailey: [George hears a train whistle] There she blows. You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?
Uncle Billy: Uh huh. Breakfast is served; lunch is served; dinner...
George Bailey: No no no no. Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles.

That was me 10 years ago--couldn't wait to leave Northern Virginia. I was born there and lived there most of my life. It was the hub for my spoked wheel life--I would move away only to return after a few years. My final (final?) escape took a dogleg route to Seattle by way of San Antonio. Since then, we've been living--I mean--really living. But it was that 2-year stint in San Antonio that really helped to set me straight.

See, I was working at a company that was not a good fit. I had a great salary, reserved parking space, and country club membership--all perks of the company. But to say I was unhappy working there would be an understatement. To say that I self-medicated through Scotland's Finest would not be incorrect. The toll it took on my health and well-being was visible.

This won't be a list of that company's problems or a few problematic people I encountered; I still have a lot of great friends in SA, and if it weren't for that experience, I might not be where I am today. But the company was a bad cultural fit. There were plenty of signs, but one memory in particular stands out: I was having lunch with a friend toward the end and we were talking about my next career move. He commented that he could see that I was forcing myself to change to fit the company's culture and that he could see that I didn't like it. That was my wake-up call. When your mental struggle manifests itself physically, you are not in the right place. So I got the hell out of Dodge.

In my darkest career hour, I re-evaluated my goals and values and landed on top. Instead of focusing on job titles, salary, and the corner office, my new focus became the Work Experience, the Team, and the Deliverables. The result being the most productive, more rewarding, and most enjoyable years of my working life. And it's enabled me to better enjoy my family time and community involvement. Not to mention my family involvement and community time. It enabled me to take that cross-country motorcycle ride, which launched this blog.

And more than ever, it helped me understand that no man is a failure who has friends.

Bliznarok Day 2: Finding a Tribe

We are less than 24 hours since the White Beast arrived. 

She be constrictor, this Bliznarok. You can see her, plain as day, coming from the distance, yet she is upon you in a blink and you find yourself in her death grip. Mobility near impossible but your brain is still working while she slowly tightens her grasp. Soon she swallows you whole. 

Going it alone during the storm can sound appealing but there is safety in numbers, so my travel companion and I venture out into the storm in search of a tribe. 

The streets are empty as far as the eye can see. That which She allows us to see. We pass a lone worker shoveling snow outside the entrance to Peter's Restaurant. He's been at it a while, his face belying his lost cause. A brief "hello" and "good morning" and we are on the moving. His greeting more a chance to catch his breath than anything but else. 

At the Expo Hall we find our tribe. They've emerged from the drifts and snow banks seeking our same goals; a group, knowledge, and sustenance. The latter being the first we will lose in the coming days. 

Bliznarok Jonas, Day 1

There's a special kind of quiet in the city this morning. The normal hustle and bustle of the morning commute is absent. No impatient drivers rushing to jobs they hate. Tourists are missing; having cancelled their trips or are hibernating in their hotel room. That's my theory anyway--I still haven't left my room.

The end is near.

Bliznarok Jonas is nearly upon us and the City of Baltimore is looking forward to as much as Camp Rock 3.

It had been a rough night. The guy I'm traveling with is prone to conversations both laconic and verbose; he doesn't say much until he gets going. Sentence punctuation is optional. His sleep is very much the same; brief bouts of silence punctuated by rips and snores. Though maybe it wasn't the chainsaw symphony that kept me awake, but the thought of the impending storm. The blizzard's plodding approach has cast more concern and anxiety among Washingtonians and Baltimorites... Baltimorons... Baltimoreans... than rush hour traffic.

Breakfast is functional. Some sort of egg turnover with a slice of cheese in the middle and sausage patties that could be used as coasters. I go for a second serving.

Fox & Friends beats the storm panic drums in the background. A business traveler drones on the phone at the table next to me, while the rest of the Hampton Inn's guests enjoy what could be their last warm meal until spring.

I venture out. It's time to see what this storm has wrought.

What fools these mortals be.

The streets are distractingly... normal. Must be my imagination, or softened West Coast sensibilities. After all, our snow tends to stay in the mountains in a somewhat civilized fashion. Here, the chilled precipitation mixes with everyday life. Ironically bringing that same everyday life to a standstill.

But not here in Charm City, Not yet. Somewhere out there, a meteorological beast closes in on the hunt, seeking sustenance, with an insatiable lust for monochromacy and snow angels.

All we can do now is wait...

The Day After The Day After Tomorrow

DISCLAIMER: This is not a motorcycle posting, so feel free to pop that kickstand and gear up if it's not yer thang. However, I am flying from Seattle to Baltimore for the National Lacrosse Convention (#laxcon) for the weekend.

I have just one request for the weekend that goes out to the greater Washington-Baltimore populace: Can you please keep your scheisse together for one weekend?!

A supposedly monster snowstorm is headed toward DC and Baltimore at this very minute. Chaos is ruling the roadways and there isn't a gallon of milk or roll of toilet paper to be found in any store. Something about snowstorms turns all those meek policy wonks into survivalists

Baltimore Inner Harbor (Conceptual)

I just want to fly in, attend the conference, and fly out. So please, refrain from your snowgasms long enough for me to exit safely and securely, so I can return to Seattle where we have a civilized approach to snow; it stays in the mountains.

That's All, Folks!

This morning's USA Today features a story on the newest attraction at the Warner Bros Studio Tour. Stage 48: Script to Screen unearths some of the studio's best treasures, including Central Perk from "Friends," Christopher Reeves' cape from "Superman," and Jack Warner's address book (opened to Walt Disney's phone number).

Cece and I just happened to take the tour one day after the official opening of Stage 48. Here are my highlights (before my phone's battery died). Unfortunately, Blogger's features are really limited on an iPad, so I can't include captions for all the phones. So just enjoy the photos.

We attended the 4pm tour on Saturday. The backlot was quiet, but we also got to see and do more than if we went on a weekday.

America's Greatest Byways

If you read enough motorcycle magazines, you're bound to come across an article claiming to list the BEST rides in America, or BUCKET LIST rides from around the world. Dig a little deeper and you soon find out that the "best of" lists are based on some guy's experience or favorites from an editorial white boarding session rather than an objectively calculated list of rides that has a quantitative or qualitative formula.

So why can't I have my own Best Rides list?

Well I do, and here it is. Read 'em and weep.

TOTALLY AWESOME RANKING OF RIDES IN THE US*

1. U.S.-129 NC/TN. Known as "Tail of the Dragon"
2. US-14 WY. Passes through Big Horn National Forest
3. US-385 SD. Ride from Sturgis to Deadwood
4. US-719 VA to US-50 to US-17 to US-66. Purcellville to Upperville to Paris to Delaplane 
5. Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway
6. US-20 and US-15 VA. The Constitution Route (Charlottesville-Scottsville-Farmville)
7. George Washington Parkway. From Arlington to Alexandria
8. U.S-202 Redmond-Fall City Road. From Redmond to Snoqualmie

*Ranked by uniqueness, "wow" moments, and my mood at the time.

By the way, there is a source for objective-rated rides. It's called the Destination Highways guide.

Casa du Café

Dried-out wood is a sad sight.

So it's with a great deal of relief--and happiness--that I can look at the exterior of my house now that it is finally painted.

We've been living here for 6 years. When we moved in, Cece and I created a master list of all projects, conducted independent ranking of those projects, and then merged the two rankings into one.

"Obsessive," you say? Maybe. But in all the years together, we've never had a less contentious relationship when it comes to the priority of home projects.

Here's the house before the paint job:

And here it is afterward:

The color is much warmer and the job also managed to repair the south wall (left), which was a battleground a couple years ago between a Northern Flicker and me. It was covered with pock marks, metal plates, and a very attractive hanging net. I'm sure the neighbors are pleased with the improvements.

All of our work on the house has been gradual and it's really coming together. From a time capsule POV, here's what the house looked like 4 years ago (Courtesy of Google Maps):

And here's a similar view today: