finite speck

No, this is not about work. My wife and I watched the movie, "The Intern", last night and it was really good. The basic idea of the movie is a 70-year old takes a job as an intern, for a young CEO. The CEO, Jules, doesn't know if she can keep the company going and is experiencing a lot of stress. Ben, the intern, is the guide that she needs that's had a ton of past experience. He helps her make it through with a few surprises and laughs along the way. I think one part that makes this movie enjoyable is playing a 70-year-old male and a late 30-something female together. A 70-year-old working in a 20's work environment is just a fun thing to watch. We don't watch a ton of movies and a lot of times when we do we're like it was alright. This was closer to a 5 out of 5.

Time. We all have it... and it's all less now than it was when I first started writing this blog post. Not just for me, but for anyone that would ever read this. We only have so much of it. It's also like money in a way, because we "spend" it. We spend it doing something. Whether that's sleeping, staring, eating, creating, writing, talking, anythinging... How will you spend your day today? What will you do first? How do you decide? What's important? What's not important? As I think about this year so far there are ways I wanted to spend my time. I'm making a little headway, but there are other things that have evidently taken my time too. My regular workouts haven't happened, although I've gotten some in over the last few weeks. My wife and I have started a study together. Still, only 1 book read. No more progress on the family mission statement or the kids' book. Finalize a family mission statement. Regularly workout.  Bible stud

I was getting my teeth cleaned by my wife (always have to throw that in there) yesterday at the dentist's office. They have TVs on the ceiling so you can watch something as you're getting your teeth cleaned. But, the TVs have a slideshow playing. And the slideshow is of the dentist's vacations and then there's trivia. All the photos don't show any people it's just scenery. Honestly, it's pretty boring. I said if you're gonna make me watch a slideshow why don't you at least put people in it from the office? Put photos of their families in there. I would enjoy seeing that. It gives a more personal connection to the office. Maybe I'll run it by the dentist. I think it's true though... people like seeing people. In marketing, people tend to resonate much more with photos of happy people than with images that don't have people in them, even if it's a beautiful landscape.

So one of the first questions I ask people when I meet them is, "How much do you make?" said no one ever. At least not anyone that I know. In fact, I don't know very many people that I know well that I've asked that question to. Why is that? It's super taboo in the U.S. to ask that question and it seems like most other places in the world as well. It's seen as rude and judgemental. I've joked before in our friend group that a fun thing to do would be to go around the room and everyone guess who makes the most money and then have every tell how much they make. Even that made the room a little uncomfortable. But, there is something that's not uncomfortable about divulging a lot of financial information to your financial planner, banker, lender, or business partner. And I think the reason is it's for a different purpose. In order to help you make a purchase or invest the other party needs to know what you have. On the other hand, when some other

Should I wait until the last minute? Should I work right up until the deadline? Or should I turn the work in early? Should I try to get ahead? Should I wait or don't wait? I would say it depends. I think many would argue that the best work often comes towards the very end... right before the deadline. And there's something to be said for that. But, there's also something to be said for getting ahead of things if it's more of a regular task, so that you can focus on something else or so that others aren't waiting if they are also depending on your timeliness. If your decision to work right up to the deadline is causing others to also work after your done to still meet the deadline and it's a regular occurrence, you need to figure out how to get ahead and stay ahead. You don't want to be holding up the process and risking poor quality work, because you're working to close to the deadline. On the other hand, if this is a one-off request and the othe

We took my grandparents out for dinner last night to Culver's. Actually, they paid for our meal, but we drove them (since they don't have a car anymore). My grandpa, Al, doesn't remember a lot anymore. I was asking him how they ended up living in Morton, IL since both he and my grandma were from Cissna Park, IL. He couldn't remember. He then went on to talk about he just can't believe his kids took away their car so they can't drive anywhere anymore. But, he then went on to say, "I've got a lot to be thankful for though." Saying at least he and my grandma have lots of families that live really close that they can rely on if they need anything. It is somewhat unique. They have 4 of their kids that basically live in the same town, plus 9 of their 15 grandkids live close by in Morton or a surrounding town. Well, we had a great time with them at Culver's last night and I'm reminded every time we go visit them, that it's always worth i

Yesterday was a sporadic brainstorm session via video on Marco Polo across 4 states (I think). Illinois to Indiana to Alabama to somewhere between Alabama and Florida (on the road). We were trying to figure out a name for our almost purchased vacation rental property in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We started off with the Big Blue, or something like. Blue Bulega, Blue Lady, and then we started down this path with Lady names. Our property is blue so that's where that was coming from. But we ended up with the "Lazy Lady" as the name for our rental. We were trying to come up with something memorable for those that visit to remember and rhyming and alliteration always helps. Now to come up with a logo, a website, some branding, a look and feel for the place. We've got a lot to do over the next month... but it's coming together.

It's a dilemma. Do you have someone build it, do you build it yourself, or is it already built and you can customize it? It's the world we live in. You need online software systems to help you get the job done. Some of them talk to each other and others aren't friendly. Some continue to have development behind them and others get left behind. How do you pick the right ones and not get left in the dust? I never thought I'd be thinking about things like this and evaluating different systems, but I've been involved in multiple purchases from marketing automation software to digital asset management to print on demand to custom built to video platforms and more. Every time is a process. Research. Initial phone calls. Second phone calls. Demos. Pricing conversations. Selling internally. In-person visits. Sometimes you go with something sometimes you stay with what you've got. It's not an easy process, but I've learned a lot through it. The biggest thing

The last couple of days I've been struggling to get going in the morning. Why is that? I don't really know. Maybe it's that we've had more things on our minds. Maybe it's because I've been getting to bed a little later. Maybe it's because I haven't been as motivated to get going in the morning. Whatever it is I don't want to stay there. I really enjoy getting up early and spending time writing this blog, reading the Bible, reading other blogs, and just spending some time doing a little early morning learning before everybody else is up. When I get up a little later my kids are up, my wife is up, and I can't focus. We'll see how I do tomorrow morning.

We just inherited 2 hamsters for a week from my sister's kids. We'll see how it goes. I have a feeling I'll be doing most of the taking care of them over the week, but maybe my kids will be less scared of animals after the week. Our kids were pretty freaked out when I got them out of the cage last night. Their names are Marco and Polo. And I guess hamsters are nocturnal, so they probably had a big party last night at the new house. Hopefully, we can keep them alive.

Trying something new takes time, but through the process, you're learning. Right now I'm trying to understand the difference between Airbnb and VRBO. Should we list both? Should we only use one for our rental property? How do we give everyone access that needs access to our listing account to make changes? I have more questions than answers and I want to make the best decision. But we also don't have a ton of time, so at some point, we'll just have to pick. I'm also not one that likes to do a lot of research on my own, but instead, uses the experience of others that have already done it.

Taken from an old journal of mine from 8th grade. 2/1/93 "This year for part of my money making jobs I am going to get a piece of land from my grandfather and I am going to grow pumpkins and ornamental Indian corn. It is hard work because I've done it this last year." I would have never thought I'd be working in the agriculture industry in central Illinois way back in 1993 when I wrote this.

Will an extra 8 hours per week make a difference? As a company we're experiencing more demand than we can ship out in the time frame we need to right now and the answer is more people and we can't get them hired quick enough either, so the answer is existing other department employees volunteering for 2, 4-hour shifts a week. The idea is to support this department as well as build relationships over there as well. To say we're here for you. I don't believe it's to say we will always do this and it's a way to get things done cheaper by using existing employees. I'm planning to help out... and look forward to supporting this department through a challenging season of growth. So is will an extra 8 hours per week make a difference? If we have enough employees do it, it most definitely will.

Has anyone ever told you, "Wow, that's good! It looks like a professional did it."? Was it about something you do for a living? It's happened to me many times. And this is a little bit of a rant, but if what is being claimed looking like what a professional would do is actually what you do for a living then it's kind of a backhanded compliment. Because I take it as wow I'm impressed with what you did, but I don't consider you a professional. I would say you are a professional in the field in which you work. You may not be the top of your field, but you're in it. So, next time you're complimenting someone on their work. Just say, "Wow, that's good!" or something else like that. Don't say, "Looks like a professional did it." Because a professional probably did it.

What words come to mind when you think of Valentine's Day? "I love you" is probably what most would say. Today is a day I think of my wife. Perhaps just a little more than I already do. And I do love her, but it's way more than 3 words. You're the one I can talk to about my day. You're the one that's with our kids more than anyone else. You're the one that figures out most of the food we will eat. You're the one that keeps our house in order. You're the one that helps make sure our bills are paid. You're the one that makes sure we get in on good deals. You're the one that keeps us all on schedule throughout the week. You're the one that comes up with creative ideas for our kids and teaches them new things during the day. You're the one that found our house in Morton. You're the one that remembers things when I forget them. You're the one that helps me see my sin when I get angry or frustrated. You're the one th

So at our property, we were hoping to put in some more concrete for the driveway to allow for an easy turnaround, but we found out about the Alabama beach mouse. I did just a little reading up on it and basically, there's a whole bunch of rules that need to be followed to protect these little endangered guys. We are only allowed to pave so much concrete in order to preserve their habitat. We can't use any kind of material like gravel or loose rock, because it could end up in the ocean. We're also not supposed to put up any decorative outdoor lights because they're nocturnal. My brother-in-law was saying you could possibly buy land somewhere else to allow us to get around this law... we'll see what we end up doing. I'm also not sure if we were hoping to put some concrete around the pool as well, but we may be limited in how much more we can do.

We got back from the Wilderness water parks in Wisconsin Dells last night after a couple days there with the kids and another couple and their kids. I always forget that a "vacation" with little kids is a lot of work, but I'm glad we did it. There's a lot of extra stuff to bring... especially with a baby. And then there's a lot that the parents have to do since our oldest is only four. Keeping track of their stuff. Making sure they get food and get dressed. But they really enjoyed the water parks. They were too little for a lot of the slides, but our two older ones enjoyed the kid areas, the wave pool, and the lazy river. Our youngest on the other hand who is 8 months did not like the water parks at all. Mac just wanted to snuggle close to one of us the whole time. I would recommend it. And I would recommend going with another couple with kids of a similar age as we did. It just helps with kids playing together and even being able to have someone watch the oth

I've heard a few of us say the same thing over the last week. "I can't believe we're buying a house in Gulf Shores." I know I've said it, my wife has said it, my sister has said, my sister-in-law has said it, and the rest of the family that's in it on it has probably thought it. It's not all finalized, but the offer was accepted on Tuesday last week and in about a month we will be closing on the property. Then in less than another month, we hope to have it available to rent. It's all happened really fast and I'm looking forward to learning a lot through the process. "I can't believe we're buying this place in Gulf Shores!"

It's been a year of a lot of change at work. We've hired two new people in the last couple of months. We've incorporated some new platforms for our marketing department. We've had a lot of turn-over in individuals at some of the vendors we work with. We've gained more insight into how things are done. What we like and what's are big hurdles. And we're getting better. Yet I still see more changes as well. I see more platforms being adopted soon or updated to help our marketing department. I'm seeing new marketing efforts deployed soon to better communicate with our customers. I see potentially new partners that will better help us reach those we want to reach. I see even more change this year again, all in an effort to get better. As a team we're definitely not going back... we're going forward!

I spent a lot of time yesterday putting together some slides and recording a presentation. It was tough. I don't do this very often and I wanted it to be good. But after I was done I still felt like it was just OK. I noticed I said um a lot and I felt like it could have been shorter. I created a script but then decided to go more off the cuff with my slides so I could look at the camera better. I probably could have run through it another 3 or 4 times and got it to a better place, but at some point, you just have to ship. So, the video ships today. My hope is that it gets watched, educates, and eliminates confusion. Fingers crossed.

I remember very vividly a moment early on in my career at Precision Planting. I came from the advertising agency industry and knew very little about farming at all. In fact, I didn't even know how many ears you want to have on a corn stalk. By the way, the answer is one. But Paul (one of our product support guys) took me outside when I started asking him some questions around farming and walked me over to a field behind our building and begin teaching me about a corn plant. Things like where the corn ear typically is on the stalk. What the names of the different stages of the plant are. What the names of the different roots are. He even dug up a plant to teach me about how far down the seed will be. It was mostly over my head at the time, but it was a start to understanding why we do what we do as a company. And it speaks to the kind of people that work for Precision Planting. The kind of people that will stop what they're doing and teach someone who doesn't know a thin

It's not the way I typically think, but it works as long as you work to pay off what you borrow from what you already own quickly. I've taken a loan out on my car before to pay for some renovation work on our home. And we're working on taking a loan out on our home now to pay for part of a down payment on a vacation rental property. I believe it's also a good way to just have some extra cash available if something happens and you need it, as long as your intentions are to pay it off quickly because you have the interest that you also will pay on what you've borrowed. I'm not one to get really excited about debt. We've been debt-free for a while. But, if you can borrow for a short time and know that what you're borrowing it for, in this case, a vacation rental, will pay you enough back to cover what you've borrowed and you'll be making money on it, I say consider it. This is just the start of a totally new journey for us. I'll probably k

I don't think I ever would have thought I would spend as much time as I do with my in-laws, but I do. They are super hospitable and help us out a ton with our kids. The last 3 nights we've had dinner with them. Saturday night we had them over. Sunday night, last-minute we went over there for the Super Bowl and dinner. And last night we had dinner over there again since my mother-in-law watched our kids for us since we both worked. We would never be able to do this if they didn't live so close, but they're less than 6 blocks away... so it makes getting together easy. Thankful for my in-laws today.

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful outside for a February 2nd day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and it was in the mid-60s outside. We took the kids out for a walk. I wore a T-shirt for part of the day. We smoked some chicken wings. I swept the minivan out. And Brittany swept out the garage. We weren't the only ones up getting outside and doing things either. That 30-degree swing brought out everybody. People were working on cars, taking Christmas lights down, playing outside, grilling, and just enjoying it. I'm thankful that it was so nice out because it's back down into the 30s today.

It's been a long time since I've regularly worked out. A really long time. I used to swim every day except Sunday back when I was in high school... maybe that was more than I needed to, but it did develop a very regular routine. Then I went to college and the routine went away. I started working in Chicago and I began running some, which eventually turned into running most days of the week and completing a marathon. And then I made some changes again and eventually ended up in central Illinois and haven't regularly worked out again for probably 10 years. It's time to start a regular routine again. I'm currently 40 right now and I need to not be so sedentary. I plan to run this afternoon, Tuesday morning, and Thursday morning this week. Here we go trying to get back into a routine.

Sitting here on the couch this morning and thinking what should I write about? Staring at a blank page. Again lots of thoughts race through my head and as I keep thinking my mind just goes back to the peacefulness of the early morning where everyone is still sleeping. I have a hot coffee beside me. Blanket to stay warm. Laptop on my lap. Not a sound at all other than sound machines of in the distance in our kid's rooms. There's one lamp on. I enjoy this time. Time to spend a little time reading the bible. Reading a blog. Writing my blog. Thinking about the day that's starting. God, before my family wakes up, prepare my heart for this day. Help me to love my kids. Help me to help my wife. I pray we could have a weekend filled with joy and peace. Help me to use my time wisely, not selfishly. Give me patience. Help me to think of others, not myself.