What I'm Up To - Vol. 49

1. Happy 243rd Birthday!

‍We kicked off July by having friends over for barbecue and pool time for the 4th. After the past 18 months, another trip around the sun for our democracy is worth celebrating. I grilled chicken and “quick ribs” and savored a few IPAs, which have been rare since our big diet. Lonnie asked for the recipe so here it is. I skipped the wood chips and homemade rub. For flavor, use coarse salt and pepper, store-bought rub, and mix with whatever BBQ sauce we have for basting at the end. Great, moist ribs every time and it’s only 90-minutes from start to finish. Speaking of celebrations, I had my jury duty canceled that week too! And there was much rejoicing!

‍

2. Three Quick Hits

‍a. Around 2004, Wendy and I started our investor journey with a goal of owning 10 rental properties. It took longer than we expected, but we made it!

b. My buddy, Brent, celebrated his birthday that week. And a bunch of neighborhood dads went to Butler Pitch & Putt. The nine-hole course is a frisbee throw from Lady Bird Lake in the center of town. It is a testament to Austin’s unique vibe that it has survived wave after wave of development for 70+ years. If you’ve never been, add it to your list. They now serve beer and Michael Fojtasek of Olamaie’s legendary biscuits. I must note that years ago Wendy hit a hole-in-one on the final hole. It was a grass-cutter but it counts.

‍

c. In a previous volume, I waxed poetic about Katy Milkman’s book, How to Change. I got to interview her on a live webinar that same week. You can listen to it on The One Thing podcast. She had a bad connection so the audio isn't great. I was delighted to hear she got on a new call with Kaelyn on our team and rerecorded all her answers in high def. That, my friends, is what commitment to excellence looks like!

‍

3. Wobegon Days

‍We made our annual pilgrimage to Franklin Lake, MN, mid-month. Time always stands still there. It was great for the kids to see Grandpa Milt and Grandma Kathy. Milt spent the week with us at the lake house and Kathy got a day pass from her memory facility to visit.

I read, slept, walked with Wendy, and generally didn’t work. We also played lots of Farkle. On the second night, I needed 3,200 pts on my last roll (we play to 10,000) to win. I rolled 3,400! I declare GOAT status!

We also enjoyed a couple of days with our friend Kim Zurhoff and her wonder dog Hank. She was driving home after spending many weeks tending to her mother in her final days. We always suspected Kim had a halo. We know it now.

‍

On one of our walks, Wendy discovered a clutch of eggs by the roadside. We later determined they were Turkey eggs and made them into breakfast tacos.

‍

Oh yeah. I also celebrated my 52nd birthday. No biggie. Wendy joined me for birthday burpees (52 plus one to grow one). And that evening, we cooked steaks on the grill and watched Nobody at home. My kinda bday.

‍

4. Reading, Watching and Listening

‍July was a good month for reading. I finished a political history book, The Storm Before the Calm by economist George Friedman. The author is trying to make sense of our recent turmoil and division. While I didn’t buy all his theories, I did enjoy the detailed history of how our country came to be and the perspective that comes with it. In short, America has been here many times before and we have always found a common path forward. Don’t give up hope!

I also enjoyed listening to Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Pollan sums up his own book with the simple phrase, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”  By food, he means “whole foods” as they occur in nature without too much engineering. I found it quite simple and enlightening.

In the fun category, I enjoyed Tom Sweterlitsch’s The Gone World, which successfully weaves time travel, murder, and space. I read the next book in the Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight series, Edgedancer. I spent some time with Oslo detective Harry Hole, in The Leopard by Jo Nesbo. And finally, I hitched a ride on Dennis Johnson’s award-winning novella, Train Dreams.

Like many, we’ve watched a fair amount of the Olympics this month. To be honest, we haven’t gotten swept up in it as in years past. Maybe it’s the odd hours? Maybe it’s the lack of fans? I did follow the women’s national soccer team as closely as the DVR allowed. Keeper Alyssa Naehergets my MVP vote for multiple, spectacular saves, including several PK stops.

I was also delighted to watch the men’s team win the CONCACAF Gold Cup fielding a young, inexperienced team. What made me proud was their public statement of support for equal pay for women. If you haven’t watched the LFG documentary on HBO, it’s an accounting of our world champ’s plight for equal pay. They have to work three times as hard as their male counterparts to earn the same paycheck. While the US Soccer Federation may represent the best of FIFA, it falls woefully short on equity. The “best of the worst” is no badge of honor.

On the subject of female superheroes, we caught Black Widow at the Alamo Drafthouse. Perfect summer popcorn fare. The action is about what you’d expect, but the ensemble's chemistry gives it a nice lift. We also enjoyed Tomorrow War with Chris Pratt and an incredibly ripped JK Simmons. Is he really 66? I’m almost ashamed to admit that I watched The Ice Road with Grandpa Milt. Just don’t.

The best flick we caught this month by far was Cruella. Emma Stone is electric. Everything about the movie works: the story, the characters, the costumes and even the exemplary soundtrack. Go watch it.

And finally, it’s an end of an era. We watched the final season of Bosch. IMDB is picking up the series with a focus on Bosch, Maddie and Money Chandler. We can hope the new series is half as good.

That’s it for this month! Please hit reply and let me know what you’re up to!

In the meantime, be well, do good deeds, and eat tacos!

‍Jay

‍