Despite my local gas station recently upgrading its pumps with video screens and blasting GSTV – Gas Station TV for those who fortunately have never heard of it – nothing below came from what I was sucked into viewing for the brief periods of refueling the minivan over the past few weeks.

Swim Spox – As I have eluded to in the past (which some say too often), every year my kiddos swim team puts on 2 major swim meets in the summer. Well, except for last year. We were allowed to host them again this year (with a mere 8 weeks to pull them off, but I digress). As these meets means a lot to swimmers and the community, I had the honor to once again be interviewed by a local radio program, Fresh Take on WHBY, and its host Josh Dukelow. You can hear the segment on the WHBY Web site at the 38-minute time code. It’s been a while since I have done an interview like this, and listening to it I thought it turned out well.

To Books and Beyond – Speaking of the community, a little pat on the back to myself as I was chosen to be on the Library Building Project Advisory Committee for the reimagining of the Appleton, Wisconsin Public Library. I applied for this volunteer role and was selected after a call from the city’s mayor. We had our first meeting this past week virtually and I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts and meeting my fellow community members as the city moves towards a new library.

Twenty Years of That’s Weird, Grandma – For a couple of years I had the honor to be on the Board of Barrel of Monkeys, an arts-education organization in Chicago who teaches inner-city school kids creative writing, then takes what the kids writes and adapts sketch comedy from them. It really is as awesome as it sounds. On August 5 there will be the celebration of the 20th anniversary of That’s Weird, Grandma, the show that PlayMakers Laboratory (their recently rebranded organizational name) puts on to showcase this comedy. It will be held in person at The Annoyance Theater in Chicago as well as streamed online. Tickets and making a donation is available here. Where That’s Weird, Grandma is best seen in person, seeing it online with a live audience will be equally awesome.

Master Change – Where we all know a change will do you good, many people don’t make that change. Specifically for small businesses, this can be to their detriment. Barry Moltz is a small business consultant and someone whom I worked with years ago for my past business. He has written several great books on small business and his newest one, ChangeMasters, is coming out this fall. Though I am not in my own business anymore I have pre-ordered a copy as I know there will be much in there I can lean on for my own job. You can sign up to receive free chapters from ChangeMasters once they are available.

Make My Favorite Meme – I don’t always make memes, but when I do it’s either with the Dos Equis beer guy or the Change My Mind scene – where podcaster/comedian Steven Crowder is sitting at a table, sipping coffee, with a sign that has a statement and closes with, Change My Mind. I found this site where I can create my own Change My Mind memes, and you can too.

What’s In a Name? – PBC is a horrible auto-immune liver disease that primarily inflicts women, and I lost my Mom to it many years ago. The acronym used to stand for Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, but new to me is that it was renamed to Primary Biliary Cholangitis several years ago. Why? Apparently the Cirrhosis part only happens late in the process of having the overall disease. Plus, Cirrhosis has a very negative connotation with drug or alcohol abuse, which for someone with PBC may never come into play. I can attest to that, as that came up every time someone asked and I had to explain it. Also new to me is this cartoon video that came out a few years ago where a piano-playing liver named Liverace describes what PBC is. It’s a long 4+ minute video, and still need to show it to my kiddos, but I am interested in hearing anyone’s thoughts on this one. Especially as I am not sure this is the best way to talk about something so deadly.

Fighting Fish Fallout – A headline came and went across my bow a few weeks ago that Subway sub shops weren’t serving real tuna fish, and whatever the substance was didn’t have any tuna DNA in it. Honestly I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it, although the idea of DNA testing it seemed odd to me. Apparently this wasn’t exactly a true story, and the global sub franchise giant has come out with this Web site to combat the fake news on their tuna. I thought this was a well-done, straightforward site detailing the case at hand, the falsehoods and offered the names of their tuna suppliers. Why stories come out like this is baffling to me, but sadly not that surprising. As many Subway sub shops are owned by entrepreneurs, I wish them well.

Go HOMAGO! – When I was on the first Library Building Project Advisory Committee meeting this past week, I learned the acronym HOMAGO, which stands for Hang Out, Mess Around, Geek Out. It is used by the YOUmedia learning labs that are part of the Chicago Public Library system. Where I was familiar with the labs, I wasn’t with the acronym. It harkens back to my days growing up with LEGOs and my TRS-80 computer.

Taking Suck to a Whole New Level – The other day I visited the local Tropical Smoothie Café for lunch, and noticed a couple of summer flavors that came with a lime straw. The staff mentioned it is indeed edible and lasts about 40 minutes. What the heck, so I tried it and saved the straw wrapper to look up what it’s made of. Its brand name is Sorbos, and after looking at the ingredients, I’ll stick with plastic or paper, or heck, just remove the lid and slurp. I’m not even including a link to these things. It’s a bad way to try to add the taste of lime to a drink.

His Beat Was What I Needed – I learned that hip-hop artist Biz Markie died this past week. He was known for the song “Just a Friend” that came out in 1989 and was a favorite on the R&B shows on my college radio station. I saw him perform at SUNY-Albany in 1990 in an on-campus concert series where the Red Hot Chili Peppers also performed. Biz Markie was the last performer, and as we left the venue we saw him come down the steps near us and hopped thru the open window in the back of a station wagon, something to this day I clearly have never forgotten.

Of Course – As I mentioned a few months ago, I have been working out of a great co-working spot in the downtown of my fair city, and as a result I have noticed architectural gems I never did before. Another one is the above-pictured horse’s head atop a building that now hosts a tea bar and a law office. Was it a stable at one point? Not sure, but I am sure it was put there for a reason.

"Privacy isn’t something I’m merely entitled to, it’s an absolute prerequisite.” – Marlon Brando

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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