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Catch up with good times past, here, with previous bradbrunner.com content.  I'll prune the head page periodically, and put what used to be there, here.  Therefore you won't lose any of your favorite witty dialogue or catchy photographs.

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Tips for Your Trip to København

(For Fredrik)

1.  Always bring your hat.  Even if you are told otherwise when you leave Malmö.

2.  Remember to keep 10 Kr. in your pocket.  This way you won't have to use your credit card to buy one more beer (that you certainly do not need) so that you can get your jacket back from the coat check at The Dubliner.

3. When Patrik's girlfriend and sister (who looks like Rachel Ray )shows up, keep an eye on Ola.  The sister and Ola make a good couple and even if you don't understand their Swedish you can get a pretty good idea what is going to happen.  They may suddenly disappear.

4.  Do not start chatting with the woman who says she can tell your fortune.  She is full of shit and only wants a free cider and to tell you how she hates Indiana.

5.  The bouncer is an ass who won't listen to reason.  You will have to pay 10 Kr. to check your coat only if you want to go back into the pub one more time (for 3 minutes) to try to find your missing mates.

6.  Do not take directions from the woman at coat check, the drunks puking in the street, or the punks fighting over their girls.  Find the helpful man on his bicycle at 5 AM as he will give good directions to the train station --even if it is closed at that hour.  He will be very surprised to see an American in a hat at that that early in the morning.

7.  Screw the antenna on your cheap mobile phone all the way down.  That way you can call or SMS your friends when you are lost at 5:15 AM.

8.  Don't bother trying to get a room at the Radisson SAS at 5:30 AM as there are no rooms available.  The concierge will tell you that no other hotels have rooms either, and that he doesn't know of any warm air vents you can sleep on.

9.   You really can get on a train when the station is closed.  You have to walk around the station and find your way down to the track.  Don't be fooled by the people waiting for the doors to open.  Just go around.

10.  Wear your best sad-eye look and play up your predicament when the train officers notice your ticket is for yesterday and you have no Danish cash.  You will know you are successful when they confer in Danish then say "It's okay, Copenhagen is a very big city and anyone could lose their mates and get lost in the middle of Saturday night".

11.  Keep your head and plod along.  A warm bed waits for you at the top floor of  Fredrik and Ann's flat on Admiralsgaten in Malmö and you can find it, no matter how many wrong turns you make.  You can even get there before the sun rises!   Your good friends are there--keep going!

12.  Don't wake Vidar up when you get home.  You want him to be a happy kid like this:

 

End of the Season

The bow hunting season has come to a close for your webmaster in a cold and fairly fruitless way.  I hunted the Madsen's property in Rochester this past weekend and the temperature didn't get above 10 degrees F.  This required me to wear 2 pairs of long underwear, 3 pairs of pants, and 5 jackets.  That's me above with hot pads in my boots and mittens waiting for the deer that didn't come.  But...

What happened defines my season very well.  I sat quietly all Saturday afternoon knowing where the deer would come from.  They cross the road, go around the quarry, and then come up the hill right under where I sit in the picture.  10 minutes after legal sunset I am excitedly waiting when I hear a car coming.  "Thump" rattles through the woods and the car stops.  I hear angry voices get out, putter around, and then drive away.  Yes folks, the deer did cross the road where I expected it but it didn't get across safely.  It was whacked by a car instead of my arrow.

Even still I learned a lot this year and had many adventures.  I am hooked on bow hunting and will spend even more time on stand next year.

Also, be sure to get your fish house reservations in soon.  2 of the ten weekends are already claimed and if you want a specific time you should soon reserve it:

 

City Hunting

This past weekend I tested my mettle in a city bow hunt for Ramsey County.  This required me to sit in windy trees at temperatures below 10 degrees F.  I didn't see many deer and the highlight for Friday and Saturday was my thermos of hot chocolate.  I would wait until I was so cold that I couldn't take it any more, and then pour a cup.  I would raucously sing this song (in my head) as I devoured the satisfying sweet drink:

 

On Sunday I sat in my ground blind in a very good spot.  I was absolutely convinced that a deer would walk by and I would arrow it.  I watched the sun rise, sat all morning, and my anticipation grew as the afternoon passed.  Suddenly I heard a sound in the distance:

"Tink!  tink-tink-tink-tink!  Tinker Tinker Tinker!"

This repeated for some 15 minutes and the noise came closer.  Suddenly, out of the snow came a teenaged boy and a white dog that was the size of a loaf of bread.  Ten yards in front of my well camouflaged blind they stopped and the boy kneeled down.

"Oh Tinkerbell, you're the best dog.  The cutest dog.  I love you, you're such a good dog"

They played around in the snow for 10 minutes, then ran about in the snow in a chase--right in the area where I expected the deer to come from.

I considered sending an arrow over the bow in a warning shot like the Navy is famous for.  But in city hunts we need to avoid conflict with the neighbors and I just waited for him to leave.  I almost said, in a booming voice from the hidden brush "Would you take Tinkerbell and get the hell out of here!", but I chose not to embarrass or scare him.

No deer came out, obviously.  And Tinkerbell didn't have enough meat on him to harvest so I went home empty.

Brrrrrr....

It's the day after Thanksgiving and I'm procrastinating this morning before another cold day of bow hunting.  Above you can see me yesterday morning in my frosty position 20 feet up a tree.  It's currently about -6 C outside and I need some encouragement to get me out of the warm house and into the frosty wind.

Better you than me, I assume a lot of you are thinking.  But once I run out of excuses I'm off to Willow Lake with my  bow and broad head tipped arrows.  Back in September when I was boiling hot and dehydrated myself in the ground blind I dreamed of weather like this.  I suspect while I sit up there today I'll be dreaming of sitting in the ground blind with the bugs and the heat.

2 Does!

Firearms deer season ended last Sunday and I came out with two does.  One for me, and one for Brennen and Tracy.  Apologies for the gory picture but this was the least gory one that I took.   Suffice it to say that both does were quickly dispatched, and that the tastiness of each will be enjoyed throughout the coming year.

I'm still bow hunting and have 3 great weekends ahead in fantastic spots.  Twice I'm hunting in the Twin Cities, and I'm taking a road trip to Rochester to help some relatives with "problem deer".

In between all this exciting hunting I'm going to work.  I've been trying hard to change the culture of the company and am yet undaunted.  But it is a very difficult rock to move and only with time and patience will it budge.  Suffice it to say that I'm cheerfully doing some of the most boring work that they can throw at me.  One of the tricks to a happy life is to find humor and wonder in things that are absolutely, mind-numbingly dull.  Between 8 and 4:30 on weekdays I'm doing that in spades.

I Rock!

I've been deer hunting every weekend, spent a week hunting in North Dakota, but the photo above shows the real reason why I haven't posted lately.

Get yourself one of these: and join me in an online contest. 

Next up is this:

 

 

Bad Hunting Weather

I was back at it again this weekend with great hopes of arrowing my first deer.  Friday afternoon I raced up I35 and made it to my hunting grounds with about 2 hours of daylight to spare.  I changed into my scent-free clothing on the side of a pasture and had a herd of yearling cows walk up to me with some interest.  Although I was assured by the farmer that they were hungry and wanted grain, it was a bit unnerving to be naked and under the eyes of several dozen big-eyed cows.

Alas, no deer were sighted or skewered.  I set up by a small pond in an area where I knew deer had been crossing.  Were I hunting wood ducks I would have been successful.  But I wasn't.  No deer crossed.

Saturday, I headed back out and put in 11 hours.  It was extremely windy and I know that deer don't move in weather like that.  But I stuck it out and saw nothing but crows.  Were I a lesser man I would have been extremely frustrated.  But hunting is about patience, and this gave me a great opportunity to practice being patient.  If any of you want any tips in patience, let me know.  I'll get back to you after a while.

On Sunday there was no reason to go out.  I woke up to strong winds and rain--conditions where deer also do not move.  So instead of exposing myself to the curious eyes of  wet cows, I stayed in and watched #4 get his 421st.  Now I can't honestly say I "watched" it.  I more accurately can say I stared at and tried to decipher grainy shadows.  Since the audio didn't come in, I listened to the game (details 2 seconds earlier than the video) on the Packer Radio Network.  Here is a prime example of how FOX comes in on the deer camp TV:

He's running from right to left, with his right hand in the air.  You can kind of see the 4.

It was a worrying game like Packer-Vikings games always are.  I always dislike watching them as I really hate the Vikings and, of course, am a Packer fan.  Too many times I have watched the hated Vikings seize Metrodome victory, and it almost happened again today.

But it didn't.

 

I have two more weekends where I'll be bow hunting my primary area, and I still hope to provide you with evidence of my success.  I'll keep trying.

 

Learning to Bow Hunt

All summer I have been practicing with my bow in preparation for deer hunting.  I read 5 books, shot 4 days a week, and felt prepared to take up this new pursuit.  I missed opening weekend due to work travel, but was out in the dark this past Saturday morning ready to arrow a deer.

I was not at all mentally prepared for hunting in the heat.  The view above is from my ground blind, where I sat for 12 hours in 80 degree heat.  I didn't bring nearly enough water and I was dehydrated with a massive headache by the time I was done.  I wore scent reduction carbon clothes that apparently don't breathe, and sat in a tent with little air circulation.  Ugh!

I saw 9 turkeys, millions of crows, and 1 skunk.  For those who think deer are defenseless and hunting isn't fair, all I can say is my day was more representative of real hunting:  hour after hour of seeing nothing.

I'll be back at it next weekend, and every weekend until the season closes.  I am optimistic and hope to provide you with photos of deer I shoot.  But for now, I'll just sweat and watch the crows.

Best Mileage Run Ev-ah!

Relegated to weekend-only mileage runs I spent half of Saturday and most of Sunday on my most aggressive one.  For a very low fare I flew MSP-DTW-DUS-DTW-MSP leaving at 5 PM on Saturday afternoon and originally scheduled to return at 8 on Sunday the next day.

I arrived at the airport early in order to spend some time talking with Melinda June in the Concourse C World Club  prior to her trip back to the UK.   I got a upgrade to the front on the first leg and went to the gate seen above in DTW.  Due to the knowledgeable chatter on FlyerTalk I knew that a coach seat on the 757-200 is not the best in the fleet. I steeled myself to endure 8 hours of pain over, and 9 back.

The gate agent was making announcements in German and my ears picked up when I heard "something in German Herr Brunner something more in German".  I walked up to the podium and handed a lady my boarding pass and asked if they had called me.  After a short delay, I was handed a new boarding pass, a smile, and told "Thank you for being such a good customer of our airline".  She had a Frau Blücher accent, but those were sweet words on her lips.

Holy Farking Crap!  My new boarding pass said seat 4A.  The most rare of things had happened--I was given a World Business Class upgrade!  So I parked my butt in a huge comfortable seat, dined on Beef tenderloin with apple bacon crust, and slept like a baby in its horizontal recline until the announcement for landing was made.  And my fare was only $5,600 less than the guy I sat next to.

The turn in DUS was quite easy and I had no trouble with customs.  I stepped out of the airport for about 10 seconds to alleviate any controversy that I had actually been to Germany on this trip.  This photo is part of my proof:

I re-cleared customs, bought some chocolates, and got back on the plane.  This time in coach, but well rested.  I then flew 9 hours back and ran out the battery of my video iPod watching Mad Men..

Back in DTW, I spent some time at the WorldClub watching football.  I had one of those proud to be American moments when I watched men and women, of all ages and races, watching the NFL with excitement on their faces.  It put a smile on my face and I left the club with Detroit leading Oakland 17-0. 

Off to the gate, then, with a stop for a banana-nut ice cream cone at a nearby shop.  With cone in hand,  I heard the gate agent request volunteers to take a later flight due to the flight being oversold.  I jumped up and said "I'll take it", and was then handed a $300 voucher for a future flight.  When I went back to the WorldClub I found Oakland in the lead and a mileage run that had suddenly become significantly cheaper.

I was home by 11:30, and many thanks to my mom who gave me a ride home.  I fell asleep instantly, and made it to work just a little later than usual.  With bonuses and promotions I earned over 28,000 miles for a price equal to approximately two fills of my truck with gas.

It really was the best mileage run possible!

 

Last Day of the Fair

My mom and I spent the last day of the fair today and had a fine time.  We ended it in the heat, by dining on what is seen above: a meatball sundae.  While you Swedes may find this horrific (certainly as it is sans lingonberries) it is a tasty treat.

Normally this time of year I'm gearing up to head to Canada for a month of fantastic duck and goose hunting.  This year I am unable to do so, as I have to go to work every day like the rest of you.  So today's show that we saw was the closest thing I'm going to get to "the true north strong and free."  Here is a bad quality video I shot on my phone of a very cool horse event:

 

I'll definitely miss all the fine times I've had with all of you up there, and you will be in my heart each crisp morning that I rise and go to work.  On the plus side, there are likely to be many more ducks and geese making it safely to the USA this year.  Go get 'em you Canuks.  Shoot straight and have a great time!

State Fair '07

I missed the first day of the fair this year, for the first time in a very long time.  Work became somewhat nasty last week, as I fought against some bad management and had to settle for a tiny gain and some unnecessary disappointment.  But oh well, it's fair week!

My first day of the fair was a Saturday morning, which really isn't the best time to go.  It is too crowded too soon, but it is still the one of the best things that Minnesota has to offer.

I had the traditional breakfast at the Swedish egg coffee place, bought my deer license at the DNR booth, and spent a lot of time at the duck pond reflecting on life.  I watched this redhead drake for a while and was quite amused.  He kicked a wood duck off the feed pile and had it for his own:

For several years I've been advocating a stroller tax at the fair.  I find them a threat to toes and general travel and think that parents who bring them should have to pay.  They clog traffic, are often used for kids who could damn well walk, and are just an bother to everyone. I think $5 for a single, and $10 for a double-wide would be just about right.  Here is exhibit A in what the problem is:

I hope to make a few more visits before it is all over.  Hopefully at a time when the stroller-jockeys stay in the suburbs!

 

Good Work Week

My past week in Corporate America was a very good one.  As a low level employee I was able to have a one on one meeting with the Chief Executive of a large, successful company.  I prepared well for this meeting and presented him with observations and proposals for fixing what is an embarrassingly dysfunctional culture.  I walked out of his office with him, and left feeling extremely empowered and supported.  He was 100% behind me, and that is unbelievably motivating.

I am passionate about these sorts of things.  Life is short, and I feel I have an obligation to make any company I work for the best it can possibly be for the business and the people.  I learned a lot at entrepreneurial PUR and, with that on top of my leadership experience at Widjiwagan, I feel I have a lot of good to bring.

I am afraid that what I am going to try and do will be fought at every juncture, and that there are ugly politics and big battles ahead.  But with my support from the top, and the confidence I have in how things can be done correctly, I'm going to carry the flag and move ahead.

Potter and Pop

Nothing particularly newsworthy has transpired of late, and tonight finds your webmaster taking a break from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on p554.  So far so good.  It is an interesting enough read, although perhaps not as exciting as the news reports have indicated.  I did fall asleep this afternoon whilst reading and woke up with the book rudely fallen to the floor.  But even still, the lads and lady have just escaped on a dragon and the showdown with Voldemort comes soon.  I still think that Snape is a good guy, but J.K. hasn't left any clues just yet as to this being the case.

Melinda June gave me a great musical tip while skyping a week ago or so.  Stephen Merchant, whole you'll remember as "Oggy" from the British version of The Office, has a neat show on BBC Radio 6 that you may wish to give a listen.  Just click on his name and if you're interweb savvy enough you can listen to his shows.  They're brilliant and play some neat music you might never have heard of.

Next week is my big meeting where I will attempt to do great things.  Wish me well.

 

The Emperor's New Clothes

I do not wish to harp about work over and over again, but since that is what takes up most of my time these days it's my best expert subject.  Furthermore I find the cultural issues I've discovered extremely fascinating so I'll share them with you.

During this past week there were no formal experiments.  I decided that I should space them out for the greatest effect and, since I hadn’t thought of a new one, none were conducted.  As it turns out, I didn't need to think of one.

I had participated the previous week in a secret focus group about culture and leadership, so I let the new week play out and see what I could learn.  This coincided with the quarterly report of vast prosperity and the promise of my first view of leadership at a “town hall”.

This meeting was today, and was not all that much different than others I had experienced, at other companies, in the past.  I was struck by the fact that we heard only from the CEO and the CFO, while I expected to hear from the captains of the other functional groups.   But so be it.

During the presentation our CEO showed two documents to the crowd and asked if everyone was familiar with them.  I was not, and being one wave in a sea of nodding heads, decided not to be the single person who would take his offer.  I figured the documents were likely something in the HR packet I received and didn’t read, or something my boss had given me and I should have been familiar with.  Although the Chief Executive Officer asked twice, everyone in the large room indicated they were familiar with them.

Fair enough, but at the end of that meeting I observed many people asking each other “what were those documents?”  Allegedly, in the room at the other end of the building where ~100 people watched it on video, many people there were looking at each other and wondering what the documents were.  If this is not a real-life example of the Emperor’s New Clothes parable, I don’t know what is.

Even more interestingly, I asked a supervisor shortly afterwards what the documents were.  I was told that I probably saw them on the intranet and observed a colleague being snapped at for admitting uncertainty about what they were. Still not sure, I took the initiative to ask someone I knew in a different department about them and was given a copy of both documents.   I read them, and shared them with my colleagues.  A bit later I was told that when the supervisor noticed them on my desk, copies of the documents were delivered to other people in the area who had never seen them.

The documents were glossy brochures explaining management expectations.  I do not know who was supposed to get them, but either the instructions to deliver weren't clear when they were first promulgated or the managers didn't provide them to everyone.  The fact that the CEO asked the entire company if they were familiar with them indicates to me that it was his expectation that everyone receive them.

This speaks to basic communication, something that is critical for teamwork and a function of good leadership.  Basic openness and honesty come naturally in well-functioning enterprises.  If the company I work for truly wants to grow, be creative, and win they are going to need to create a culture where there is honest top-down and bottom-up communication.  I'm going to try to move us in that direction from my current role, but as I challenge the dominant culture I am well aware that I do so at my peril.

A Puzzle

Today at the new job I conducted an experiment.  I laid out the pieces of a 100-piece children's puzzle on the aisle-side counter of an unused cubicle near my work area.  It is in an area of semi-frequent travel and I wanted to see how people would react to it. I did this in the early morning before many in the company had arrived at work.

I surmised that one of two things might happen.  The most likely option was that many people would walk past it and a few would be tempted to put a piece or two together.  Once a significant number of pieces were assembled I assumed that someone would just then, unable to stand it, put them all together.  Alternately, I thought that someone might grumpily see it, judge it to be unprofessional, and sweep it into the trash.  Since I only spent $2.99 at Target for a kid's puzzle of a kitty and a rabbit I was psychologically prepared for either of the two.

The picture you see is that very set-up at approximately 8:30 AM.  As you may note, there are several pieces already assembled and it seems quite clear that my first theory was well in play.  Around 9:30 I stood up and looked down the long row of cubes to where the puzzle was.  There I viewed the lady who delivers the mail stopped, looking down, and assembling pieces.  It was a delightful moment that made me smile from ear to ear.

Around 11:15 or so I walked past on my way to the loo and discovered that the counter was bare.  My heart dropped with disappointment and I checked the garbage, the recycling bin, and all the drawers, finding nothing.  I looked in the garbage at the nearby cubes and found them empty.  Finally, after going through the filing cabinets I found what I was looking for.  Someone had taken all the pieces, certainly clumsily over several trips, and thrown them out of sight in one of the wall-mounted credenzas.

So neither of my preconceived theories happened--or perhaps both half-did?  The curious nature of my co-workers started out impressively, but then the corporate kill-joy response apparently was too strong for someone and he or she squashed the fun.  But why did the fun-killer put the pieces in the credenza and not just throw them out?

Perhaps some day I will find out who did it and why.  Until then 100 pieces of bunny and kitten remain in the credenza and will be, in two ways, still very much a puzzle.

 

Awake, Arise!

Almost everyone at my new job eats their lunch at their desk.

Walking about our building during the noon hour you do not have to take many steps before you find someone in their cubicle eating lunch.  It does not seem to matter which department or pay grade they come from.  Sadly, this seems to be a part of the company culture.

My objection isn't based on the simple microbiological unhealthiness of it.  Nor the suspicion that people who do this are trying to showcase their extreme busyness for purposes of job enhancement or protection.  Clearly some truly are busy, and some days eating through lunch can be justified.  But certainly not every day.

I am troubled by the clear affront to corporate community it represents.

I believe a community of friendship and trust is one of the most important factors that make a company successful.  I base this on my experience in a successful entrepreneurial venture where the "lunch crowd" was an important daily event.  Nearly every day people from the CEO to the line-worker would meet in our dirty, and completely unappealing lunchroom to eat and follow two rules:

1.  There is always room at the table.

2. Do not talk about work.

Throughout all the silly lunchtime arguments, the Isaac Asimov Super Quiz with shifting rules, and the general idle chatter, a level of trust between associates was built.  This translated into good inter-departmental working relationships and friendship, and was something that paid off when the company went through trouble or something important needed urgent doing.  When the going got tough we friends and co-workers pulled together and worked hard because we generally liked each other and didn't want to let each other down.  The community lunch was a clear pre-cursor to this.

At my new job there are two absolutely beautiful lunch rooms. Each are stocked with an array of nice tables, comfortable chairs, and both sport a lovely view of a nature preserve.  During the noon hour these spaces are nearly empty, and workers walk right past the lonely furniture as they visit microwave ovens to cook their food they eat at their desks.  It's quite surprising, and in my mind a rather sad tragedy.

Instead of casting aspersions at these folks for their disappointing choices (as I don't fully understand the culture of fear they have worked under in the past) I am simply going to not do as they do.  When I bring in lunch or food of any kind, I am marching down to that lunch room and I'm going to eat it there.  I'm going to let people know I'm going there and I'm going to invite them along.

I would be interested to find out if readers at other companies have experienced something similar.  Perhaps this is the norm and I just got lucky and spent most of my career to date at a company that, at least, had this part of it working right.  But even if this is the case it is still no excuse.  It is clear to me that the company I work for would be a better one if people got off their butts and went down to the lunch room.  I'm not sure what it is going to take to change the culture in that way, but I am going to try.

 

WorkPerks

Having now completed two weeks back in the real world I thought I would share with you some of the unique perks that my new place of employment offers.  No longer in the position to fly Tues-Wed for WorldPerks Miles and status, I will instead take advantage of those perks I now have access to.

My office is on a campus that is part of a private 290 acre nature preserve with a lake right in the middle of it (shown above as a high-flying bird might see it).  The work is done in the buildings in the upper left.  Subtract the small housing development in the top center and the parking lot in the upper right, as well as the building and parking lot in the bottom left, and all the rest of the land between the highways is the preserve.  While the area is fenced and not open to the public it is open for use by eager employees such as myself.  Personally, I can't imagine a better work perk, at any company, anywhere.

This lake, as you can see, is surrounded by forests, wetlands, and fields and is circled by a walking path with a floating boardwalk on the south end.  While the job I turned down in the Buckeye State did have nearby water and a pretty campus it certainly did not have a lake like this managed for muskies, bass, and bluegills out the back door.  Nor did it have free use of canoes or a rowboat for employees who want to fish.  Or gazebos, or wood-chipped trails with bridges over wet areas.

Lest you think the lake and its angling is the peak of the perks, read on.  I learned on my very first day that employees who have a hunting license and complete a Minnesota archery training course may hunt deer by archery on the property.  With Minnesota's All-Season License that means I can hunt during the week after work, and up in Pine County on the weekends.  Yes folks, the never-ending hunting season may be slowed but it has definitely not stopped.

Today I took advantage of the free canoe use and headed out on the lake for some bluegill fishing. The lake was winter-killed a few years ago (aerator broke) and for this season bass and muskies are closed to allow re-stocked fish to grow.  So I decided to beat up on old Bluegillis horribilis on a sunny, Saturday morning.  I found them spawning, and in big groups right next to the floating bog/cattail shore.  If you could sneak up on them quietly and slowly you could cast into them and catch one after the other.  The majority of the fish were about 6 inches in length and seemed healthy and not stunted.  In a few years there will likely be a bumper crop.  For your enjoyment, here is a representative specimen:

Found Myself in a Strange Town

Although I've only been there for one week now, and "...haven't bought an A to Zed guidebook...", I thought my loyal readers would want a report.

The obvious disclaimer must be that it is yet too early.  Former associates of mine may remember my report from the POW trip to CVG and how glowing it was.  Not to say that I am prone only to the positive, but just that first impressions should be viewed as those of the mildly ignorant.

My appraisal is positive.  The people I have met, interacted with, and will work with all seem very nice, intelligent, and pleasant.  I have now met with most of my department members and all the technology-based managers and through this learned a lot about the internal philosophy.  Although I should have clearly seen this coming, I do find that I will definitely need to Spartan up my philosophy about risk and realize that I am not in the position any longer to take the business risks I once was given the opportunity to take.  My job is to protect the company and, unlike the entrepreneurial environment I was weaned in, there appears to be only bad and not much good in thinking up clever risks.

Enough of the serious work part.  As anyone with a pence and a half of sense knows that human interaction is the bark in the dog of life.  And when new to a job there are many ways you can approach this.  Although I considered the "hide in the weeds/cards to the chest/shut up and pay attention" approach all of you know that is not me.  So you will be happy to hear that I was unable to last much more than 20 minutes before my nature outed and my co-workers were given the data to judge me for the good or the bad.

My opinion on this is thus.  In life, I give everyone I meet and interact with the benefit of the doubt and expect that everyone else does likewise (they don't).  In Corporate America it is always safe to be quiet, serious, productive, and spew buzz words like prunes through a goose until you see how people are likely to make judgment.  But IMHO, that is about as boring as boring could be.  So I'm simply going to be who I am and let it fall out where it does.  That's what I would expect of the FNG and will behave as if everyone else thinks as I do.

For the first time in several years the PUR/Recovery Engineering, Inc.contact list has been updated.  This was triggered by running into Chris Speak on the MSP-SFO route.  I was sitting in row 10 (exit row) when he boarded and we were able to chat a bit.  He gave me his card when the gate agent came onboard to upgrade me to the front, and now we've renewed contact.  He sent me some addresses to update, and I searched my in box and finally updated all the requests I've had for changes.  Should you be part of the old team, and notice that either your address is incorrect or know of another "associate" who should be added, please contact me and I'll do it.

One note about Chris Speak.  He is moving back to Minnesota and was headed out west to bring his family home.  It's a near-truism that everyone who moves away from Minnesota always comes back.  Woody is the only exception to this rule, sadly.

The mileage run was a success in all but the last SFO-MSP route.  The gate agent said that 80% of the flight were elite members and so there was no shot at an upgrade.  I sat next to a large fellow who proceeded to make and eat a Caesars Salad which I found awfully disgusting.  But I made it back and proceeded to go right to sleep again.  Too much flying for me, unfortunately, as I caught a cold shortly after and have felt under the weather most of the week.

It's a good thing that I got sick this week, not next, as the one ahead promises to be extremely exciting.  My sabbatical is over and I begin my new job in earnest on Monday.  It promises to be just as wonderful as the old one, and perhaps even more so.  I really cannot wait for it to start, which those of you trudging away in Corporate America might find hard to believe.  But it's true, I can't.  I'm ready to be back to work and be part of a team achieving something. 

Sadly, you lazy readers didn't provide me much in the way of the requested fashion advice.  The always reliable Melinda June reviewed the annual report of my employer and offered the following suggestion:  "Looks like you can do your shopping online at Lands' End or Eddie Bauer."  She did also note that I "...shouldn't buy too many pleated trousers and polo/golf shirts no matter what anyone tells you."  So I've followed her advice and hope to look sharp.  Well, about as sharp as I could reasonably look in something other than camo.  Sharp enough to impress the "Chicks from the Sticks" I'm not sure, but I'll give it a shot.

 

Last Mileage Run

Tomorrow morning I do my "whiz quiz" for my new job and thereafter proceed upon what may well be my last mileage run of 2007.  Upon my return I will have flown over 50,000 flight miles (51,706 actual) on SkyTeam partners and thus re-qualified for Gold Elite through the end of February 2009.  I am very excited about my new job which I will begin on May 7th, but before that I will take these flights.

When I return it is time to shop for my new wardrobe.  I am not entirely certain what level of dress the new company will expect of me and this is the source of some concern.  As clothing is shocking in how eye-popping expensive it can sometimes be I am inclined to take a Brennen-like approach to my purchases.  Well, perhaps not quite that bad.  But still in my life I haven't thought twice about dropping a couple hundred bills for some sweet looking mallard decoys or a fiver for a Shad Rap while I can't see why a shirt should cost more than $20 (and its not even in Advantage Wetlands or waterproof!).  I'm thinking that I won't be outfitted by Fleet Farm this time, and could use any fashion tips some of you may have.  I'm specifically looking to fashionable Ann Arbor or Cincinnati for this request, so if any of you in those fine cities have any tips please do send them my way?

Sturgeon Fishing

This Wednesday I put on my other suit and went to a second interview at a very promising and exciting company.  More on that in a future update, but for now I'm going to tell you what has happened since.  When I returned from the interview, and was undressing, I received a call from my friend Curt who invited me up to Rainy River to fish walleye and sturgeon.  Why not?  And on Thursday off I went.

For those of you foreign to Minnesota, foreign to fishing, or just plain foreign the Rainy River flows between Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods.  For its 85 miles it forms the international border between the US and Canada, the river flowing between the banks of Minnesota and Ontario.  The lakes on both ends are frozen in and at this time of year the fish move up the river to feed and spawn.

We fished Friday through Monday afternoon.  You could legally fish for walleyes through Saturday night (when the season there ends) and thereafter fish for sturgeon (release only).  Compliant with all Federal, State, and Provincial regulation, we made this our game plan and went out with jigs, bait, and the intent to hook.

The weather was cold and windy with brief and memorable periods of warm sunshine.  We caught 50 or so walleyes on Friday, fewer on Saturday, and then started to "chase the sturge" on Sunday.  Although I have paddled canoes over many sturgeon waters in my time I have never gone after them.  And surprisingly it is remarkably easy to do so.   Put a bottom rig (2 oz sinker, 1/0 circle hook, bead, swivel, gob of crawlers) in a deeper hole with a soft bottom and await the tap-tap in your line.  When he is there, reel the line in slowly and the hook sets itself.

I caught 6 of them in the two days of fishing and countless other bottom feeding sucker fish.  Two of the sturgeon were quite large and it was rather the battle to bring them to the side of the boat.  We were using 50# test Power Pro and stiff fishing rods.  Still, for the first 15 minutes or so of the fight the fish was definitely in control.

Photos for your enjoyment:  (As per usual click the thumbnail to see the photo and the commentary)

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The fight is on!

This was the typical pose with a sturgeon at the end of the line. They come up pretty soon after you hook them, but once they see you they go down fast and pull, pull, pull!

 

The UK is A-OK

What would a trip over the Atlantic be without a visit to a Kebab Shoppe?  Pictured above is a delightful British one, where I purchased a Dönner Kebab from a pleasant gentleman.  British kebab is somewhat similar to a Swedish variety, although inferior IMHO. Remove the pomme frite, add a base of flat bread, some cabbage, and then you have a limey kebab.  Should you like to make a British kebab yourself, view the following

 

I spent a week over there, Tuesday to Tuesday, and had several exciting adventures.  On the first day I took a train to London and visited The British Museum.  I went in expecting a history of the British empire and was very surprised to find that there was little about Britain there.  I henceforth will refer to it as "The Diversity Museum".  Next time I go I'm going to plan ahead and find a museum about England.  I've heard they have quite a history.

On the week-end Mindy and I drove to Wales and rented a cottage from The National Trust.  Mindy had misled me into believing that the only source of heat was the fire.  So upon our late arrival I took to starting a fire with wet wood and coal.  All my years in the bush came in handy, as I was able to do it.  But let me tell you, wet wood and coal makes a stinky smelly mess.  The truth of the matter was that the fire wasn't needed, aside for "ambience".  Nonetheless it was fun to get it roaring.

I am slightly ashamed to admit that my favorite parts of the trip were the many visits to pubs.  There is just something about beer in Europe that is so much better than beer in America.  Our brewers, and those who decide what beer products we are offered, really got it wrong.  Should you be UK bound, try Tetley's.  Lovely.  Very tasty.

Mindy was excellent company and wonderful host.  Aside from doing all the driving (wrong side of the road + wheel and pedal on the wrong side + stops at pubs = bad idea to drive) we visited a kaput Cheese Centre, St. David's Cathedral, a beach, some neat cliffs, and Burger King.  We drove past Cardiff without noticing as we were arguing about politics.  But I guess I can see it again in Torchwood Season 2.

I didn't take many pictures, sadly, but here are a few for you.  I apologize for forgetting to photograph the beautiful scenery of Wales--hills, grass, sheep, cliffs, ocean.

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The living room at our cottage and the fireplace for "ambiance"

Now back in the States spring approaches and I will continue the job hunt.  There will be a few more "trips to no place" (My mother's description) in airplanes for miles, but nothing exciting.  Cheers!

 

London Calling

If you're not a bright-eyed and busy-tailed reader of this site you will no doubt be reading this as I fly MSP-DTW-LGW (2C, 29A)on my way to Robert Blake's "Green and pleasant land".  If you're not a steady reader, perhaps you'll find me already there or home again.

It's just a short trip, where I'll be gratefully experiencing the hospitality of Melinda June and accompanying her on a weekend journey to Wales.  We plan to spend it in Pembrokeshire and, although I have a list of things to do, what we will do has yet to be determined.

I've loaded up the iPod, washed my clothes, and installed new odor-eaters in my shoes.  I'm leaving without a job in hand, and should you be an interested employer doing due diligence on me be assured my answering machine has my European mobile number.  I would be quite pleased to receive your call!

I'll be back next week with photos, stories, and gifts for some of you!

Canoe Repaired!

I picked up my 10 year old Bell Wildfire today and it looks as good as it did when I first bought it.  When we last left this fine craft, it was unusable after being broken in completing the Quetico Canoe Quest.  Now with all new wood, it is ready for another 10 years of happy paddling.

The job search still goes on.  I will say in all honesty that being unemployed and looking for work is much less pleasant than being unemployed and not looking for work.  I guess that's no big surprise.

A few mileage runs to SFO and a trip to Wales in March.  So something for the readers to look forward to is ahead.  And should I find a job, that too.

Still Free!

In case you were wondering I've now lost the aforementioned chip and chair, and the exciting job search continues!  In this case I heard:

"We hired someone internally we already had experience with--who had already worked on some of our projects."

Which is remarkably different than the recent:

"At this time, we have decided to pursue a couple of internal candidates."

Or the even more nuanced response regarding a 3rd opportunity:

"...we are looking internally first.  I'm not sure that we will even look at the outside, but we may."

If I do ever get a real job again where I hire people I think I'll try not to hire any internal candidates  Heck, they already have jobs.  The hell with 'em!

Ultimately, though fear not.  I'm still quite optimistic and positive about the whole thing.  Whoever does ultimately hire me is going to get a sweet deal.  It's just a matter of time and since life is so short, why worry?

Also of note, I installed a little feature at the bottom of the page that shows where on the globe visitors to this site are from.  It's only been running one day, but it does show that someone from Cincinnati took a look.  Out with you Proctoid!  Reveal yourself!

{Note:  As of this morning (2/22) I can see that London, Malmö, New Jersey, and The Pas, Manitoba have all checked in.  This is a great century, eh?}

As Free as a Bird Now

For your humble webmaster, the season is tripartite:  ice fishing, mileage running, and job hunting.  This week, after finishing off a weekend of the first, I did the third of three of the second, and had my most intense experience so far of the third.  In fact, (2) and (3) came together in a rather intense three-day period which really tested my grace under pressure.  Consider the following:

The above picture shows my route which started at 9 PM on Monday night.  In mileage running lingo this would be MSP-SFO-MSP-CLT-DTW-SFO-MSP.  The 9218 mile route began with a night flight from MSP to San Francisco, back on the redeye early Tuesday morning, on to Charlotte, NC, up north to snowy Detroit, then back to San Francisco around midnight Tuesday.  At 2:30 AM Minnesota time on Wednesday I took the last flight back to MSP, arriving at 6 AM.  This, then, gave me 6 blissful hours to prepare for a 4 1/2 hour interview which started at noon on Wednesday.  I took a 2 hour nap, picked up my suit at the dry cleaners, washed the truck, got a hair/beard trim, drank about 3 gallons of coffee, dressed, and headed out to interview on the campus of a company with a 3 in it.  I then had 4 separate interviews (each with different probing, challenging questions*) with about 1 hour per interviewer.

All told, I think it went well and I didn't come off as too big an idiot.  But who knows.  It's always a tough deal when you go up against internal candidates (3 in this case) and with my lack of sleep against me it would be somewhat of a miracle if I was hired for this particular job.  But I'd be good at it, would love it, and as of this moment (3:33 PM on Wednesday 2/15) I still have a chip and a chair.

As far as mileage running goes, I know you're all wondering "why?".  In short the reasons are (1)  It's fun, (2) To get elite upgrades to 1st class on future flights + other program benefits.   My other two routes, in the two weeks previously, can he seen here: 1, 2.  And here, for your enjoyment, is a video a fellow mileage runner made after doing a run which was only 3936 miles fewer than what I flew.  Sally.

 

*And yes, for those in the know, I did tell the "flavor of the spec" story.

Lunkers Aplenty!

Fish house season is in full swing and if you haven't scheduled a weekend, you are missing out.  The above photo shows Tracy Szela with the 24 inch walleye she caught.  Yes indeed, girls can fish!  Tracy showed a real eye for it, picking up on the subtle details of the craft unlike my ham-handed brother Brennen.

The weekend previous, Tom Burket and Andy Mersiowsky came up and we eeked out a few perch.  Prior to that Dr. Aaron Rutzik and Jon Commers came up with home delicious home brew and much fun was had. We were in shallow those times, but now the house is way out on the gravel in big fish country!  Along with Tracy's fish in the photo, walleyes of 17, 23, 24, 26, and 28.5 inches were pulled onto the carpet of the fish house.  In addition, filleted 12 big perch on Sunday afternoon and 16 on Monday morning.  The fish are definitely biting.

Reservations are filling up.  Check the fish house page for availability and make your reservation before it is too late!

Jeff, Hank, and W. Benjamin are the guests this weekend and we are going to whoop it up like never before.

Last Kebab of 2006

Since my last post I've been to Sweden and back, celebrated Christmas, and re-learned how to bake bread.  I have also been aggressively searching for a job but with the corporate slowdown around the holidays I'm not waiting anxiously by the phone for a call back.  Should any of you work for a Twin Cities company with openings in regulatory compliance, please let me know about it.  Champ doesn't really need the money he would get for a referral bonus, but maybe you do?

Seen above is Fredrik, sometime early in the morning, eating the most fantastic of Swedish holiday treats: a Kebab.  This was after a fine evening in Copenhagen eating Smørrebrød, drinking öl and akvavit, and generally having a fine holiday time with Fredrik and his mates.  The strangest part of the evening for me was hanging out in a swank Malmö apartment watching an Ozzie Osbourne video that the Swedish lads were really getting into.  Ozzie's not my cup of tea, but when in Rome...

FYI, should you travel MSP-AMS-CPH on NWA/KLM or the return don't check your luggage!  Three out of 4 times this year they have lost mine on that run, and this time I didn't get it back until the night before I left.

Christmas was fantastic as ever, celebrated with Brennen home for the first time in what seems decades.  I got some car washes, a book,  a solar charger for my iPod/mobile phones, a rechargeable spotlight, a sweet green fleece, my old matchbook collection, and a tool for breaking a car window when you fall through the ice!

Finally, I have started baking bread again.  This is something I did a lot of in the early 90's.  I had this great recipe from the Middleton family in Duluth, and since I found it I decided to make it again.  Should you wish to do so, here is the recipe:

Duluth Middleton Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour, 0.5 cups bread flour, 2 tsp salt, 2.25 tsp yeast, 12 tbsp milk powder, 3 cups lukewarm water.  Sponge overnight or at least >2 hours, knead to proper consistency with bread flour,  1st dough rise: 1.5 hours, 2nd dough rise: 1 hour in pan.  375-400 for 1 hour.  It's real bread, far superior to that you buy in a store.

 

Burn, Baby, Burn!

On Thursday I'm flying once again to Sweden for an end of year mileage run.  I'll just be there for the weekend, but am seriously considering heading up to Gävle with my bic lighter and taking part in a 40 year tradition.  What tradition, you ask?  If you have the time and bandwidth, watch this video CLICK HERE and you'll learn all about it.  If you have less time, read the Wiki reference.  Even less time?  Then just watch this odd Swedish hip hop video which should get you excited about a bock burning.

 

When you have done all this, gentle reader, then you are ready to check the goat daily for a burning.  But this year things have changed, and per this article:

"...officials think they have finally outsmarted the resourceful vandals by dousing the battered ram with flame-resistant chemicals normally used on airplanes.

"It is impossible to burn it to the ground this year, although you might be able to singe its paws," said Anna Ostman, a spokeswoman for the committee in charge of building the goat. "After 40 years, we think we finally found the solution."

The company providing the fireproof treatment is so sure of its resilience that its spokesman Freddy Klassmo told newspaper Aftonbladet that "not even napalm can set fire to the goat now."

Them are fighting words.  I probably won't make it to Gävle, but I'll be cheering for a burning.

See the 2006 goat live via Webcam CLICK HERE.

 

I'm Famous!

Check out this article in The Atikokan Progress!  It would appear that I was indeed the first person to finish the Quetico Canoe Quest and the winner of a fabulous prize sometime in 2009.  I was never entirely sure if I really was the first person, but a Google search for the Quetico Canoe Quest put this link at the top. 

I'm sure that since most of my loyal readers subscribe to the Atikokan Progress you saw this article when it was originally published.  But I just found out tonight, and I couldn't be happier.

New on the Menu

I spent more hours than I care to admit this weekend making goose burger.  I used Mike Prokopchuk of Winnipeg, Manitoba's recipe and a cheap hand grinder.  The end result was 26 pounds of goose burger.  So this winter at the fish house, I have a new item on the menu for you: Goose Burger.

I see why people buy those expensive motorized grinders and widgets for meat processing.  It's a fairly gross and unpleasant process, especially the mixing of meats and spices.  But I did it in a careful, sanitary way and hopefully you folks will enjoy it.

"Bambi. Quick! The thicket!"

Brennen and his little friend.

I'm back from deer season and am happy to report all was successful.  I "harvested" one 8 pt. buck and two does, both shot mid-week.  I shot the first doe near sunset when she walked straight under my tree stand in a grove of trees.  Two days later I went out to the swamp around 11:30 AM, and at 12:15 noticed antlers in a thicket about 50 yards in front of me.  When they disappeared (he bedded down) I watched with the binoculars until I noticed a doe.  She got up and moved about 5 feet, and bedded down again.  The buck (shown above), trailing, stood up and I immediately shot him. The doe jumped from the thicket and I shot her too.

So the freezers are full this year once again.  Brennen took the second doe, and I kept the buck and first doe.  I actually had to buy a second freezer to handle all the meat so come to the fish house this year ready to eat!  I processed most of the meat into hot dogs, Cajun sausages, burger, and steaks.  I've learned over the years that these are the most popular and tasty items for my guests and myself.

John Bradford visited deer camp again this year, now with his own 30-06.  He was unsuccessful once again, his time cut short by a sinus infection.  Better luck for little Johnny next time.  Some photos:

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The buck and the doe I shot at noon. Their amorous adventure was short lived.

 

I've been gone.

Yes, dear readers, I've been gone for months.  Killing ducks.  Killing geese.  Not working.  Having fun in Canada and North Dakota.  And I'm back for just a speck of time, just enough to say hello and wish you well.  Tomorrow I'll be gone for 16 days with the goal of killing 5 deer before me.

I've had the best hunting ever this fall for waterfowl.  God bless Warren Hicks, his wife Wanda, and kids Michael and Myles.  They gave me in housing, food, and friendship more than I could ever deserve.  I don't know how I can explain it all to you.  I suppose it is impossible.  But here are some videos that give you an idea.

This is the very best waterfowl hunting that one could ever experience.  It really couldn't every be any better than this:

 

 

 

 

Get this Album

 

 

Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet Under The Covers, Volume 1.  It's fantastic and I can't stop listening to it.

Go IDF!

 

State Fair!

Our State Fair is a great State Fair,
Don't miss it, don't even be late.
It's dollars to doughnuts that our State Fair,
Is the best State Fair in our state!

As is our tradition, this morning I visited the Minnesota State Fair with friends.  This year Dooger, Bradford, Britt Bromley, and I entered the fairgrounds at promptly 6:00 AM for the official start of the first day.  T.C. was supposed to come, but called at 5:55 AM with a questionable claim of having "too much to do".  I think that's code for "I woke up too late".

Pictured is Dooger with an alleged "Morning Frank" from Chicago Dogs.  It was described in an official State Fair document as "...a jumbo smoked breakfast sausage served on a toasted poppy seed bun, smothered in fresh scrambled eggs and topped with shaved cheddar cheese!".  This item was to be available at Chicago Dogs in "The Garden".

As you can see from the picture, there has been no smothering in scrambled eggs (fresh or otherwise) or topping with slivers of shaved cheddar cheese.  Plus, it is on a stick and there is no toasted poppy seed bun.  Dooger described it as a Pronto Pup over a breakfast sausage.  Pronto Pups, of course, are hot dogs on a stick coated with pancake batter where Corn Dogs use a cornmeal batter.

I believe this requires further research.  If anyone goes to the fair today please check at Chicago Dogs and ask them about the "Morning Frank".  Perhaps Dooger got something else, as it is possible that the young lady who took the order wasn't fully familiar with the menu yet.  It is day 1, after all.

Now, for your viewing enjoyment try out these two slideshow videos.  The first is historical, the second is from 2005.  And in case any of you are viewing from Ohio, this is one of the 9,000,003 reasons I didn't move there.

 

 

Quest Completed!

I returned this afternoon, after a tow from Saganaga Lake, a drive down the Gunflint, and a further drive to Duluth and Saint Paul, after finishing the Quetico Canoe Quest.  I now have all 6 entry point crests and will be registered in a draw to win a Souris River Canoe in November of 2009.  I may have been the first to finish, but I am not yet 100% sure.  I'm awaiting confirmation from Atikokan, and if I did do it I may have won a neat-o prize.

I had to return from this trip a bit early as I had two "challenges".  First of all, I caught a nice dose of poison ivy (which I must have sat in) and had a rather itchy back and rear.  Fortunately it was bearable, especially at night after a shot of Finlandia Vodka and an Ambien.  Secondly, my well-used solo canoe suffered a break at a structural point in the left gunnel key for allowing the yoke to be used and for sitting on.  I was able to kludge a temporary fix with a clamp and some duct tape, but it just barely got me out.  With every creak on the portages I was afraid my little canoe would come crashing down on my head.

The photo was taken at Cache Bay, and yes, I am itchy there.

It was an old school "Bad Ass Old Widji" trip where I moved a long way each day: Eastern Saganagons to That Man, to Bailey Bay, to Louisa, to McEwen, to the Falls Chain, and back to Cache Bay on Saganaga.  I fished less and just gave it all each day, covering quite a few miles.  I did 12 portages one day, in fact, and it was very satisfying.

The only negative of the whole trip (other than the poison ivy) is the stupid song I had stuck in my head.  I was going to listen to Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" as I drove up Highway 61 but for some reason I put the iPod on Ween and shuffled it.  Bad idea!  As you might get this horrible song stuck in your head:

 

at least it wasn't this:

 

Canoeing the summer away

I'm back for a few days between trips and here's a rapid update.  I just drove up to Ontario and did three separate 2 day Quetico trips.  I'm taking part in the Quetico Canoe Quest, a contest where you need to enter the Quetico from all 6 entry points.  At each, you purchase a crest and register it.  The first one to finish wins a paddle, and when it ends in 2009 all finishers are put into a draw to win a Souris River Canoe.  I have a darn good shot at coming in first, and I'll complete the quest in early August when I'll do a short trip into Cache Bay on Saganagons Lake.  If you are interesting in coming along let me know.  My permit is for August 3rd from Seagull Outfitters on the Gunflint Trail.  You'll need one of these:  CANPASS

But first I'm going to Sweden for Ann and Fredrik's wedding.  I fly out next week, thankfully escaping the hellish heat that is currently frying up the Twin cities.  I'll be back towards the end of the month, so don't expect any updates until then.

A few photos from my recent trip:

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A typical campsite

Here is my usual solo setup. Tent, tarp, and french press for good coffee. This was on Pickerel Lake in the NE Quetico

 

Quetico Trip #3

 

Since the last update I've been once again on trail, this time with my brother Brennen.  We decided to drive up to Atikokan, Ontario and do a 7 night trip in the northern part of the Quetico Provincial Park.  The trip was an unqualified success and it allowed us to visit some new lakes that we had never been to before.

I did two new things this trip, which folks who have paddled with me will find surprising.  Other than a couple of times while fishing, I paddled bow the whole trip.  I usually hate to paddle bow and will use any excuse to get the stern position.  But I was feeling frisky, and decided to give the bow a try.  Secondly, I didn't read the map.  Usually, I am constantly looking at the map and loathe to give it up.  But I resisted my urge and let Brennen read it the whole time.

We did not fish as much as I did last time, so there were not 116 walleyes caught.  But when we fished, we did catch them and were able to dine on a limit of walleyes two of the nights.  The weather was generally warm and pleasant, but we did have a day of thunderstorms, and a day of strong winds.  The bugs were really only an issue on portages, at night, or on small icky streams.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy.  This time I had a person to photograph, so enjoy the images of my brother in all his glory.  Click on the little