Comfort food, indeed. Great to catch up with Cheryl and Josh in Eagan

Thanks for the awesome afternoon, Jim!

Now that I’ve been in my new role as systems engineer at TPT for a month, I figured it was a good time to reflect on this change and write about my experience so far. The organization’s post-COVID return to the office has been branded as a “Return to Lowertown” and it literally is for me too. Hard to believe it’s almost a year already since we left Rayette Lofts to head on down the river…

The commute back and forth has been great so far, usually taking under 15 minutes each way. Next spring, I hope to ride my bike a few days each week if I can sort out the storage issues. I splurged on the expensive parking option in the Lowertown Ramp, which is easy-in on Sibley and easy-out on Jackson (plus covered spots with no winter scraping). I’ve never really had any security trouble in Lowertown, but it is convenient to have a parking spot right next to the office entrance.

Some other logistical things: currently working a hybrid schedule of four days in the office and one day from home (Wednesdays), which has been very nice. While every day has been focused on getting up to speed on systems and technology, I’ve been trying to use the work from home day as a deep-dive research day (which is easier alone). TPT has a nice lunchroom, so I’ve mainly been bringing in frozen lunches to eat. The reawakening of the downtown St. Paul lunch dining scene has been slow, but there are pockets here and there. Still exploring the skyway, but always open to suggestions and recommendations.

Totally digging the culture and mission of the organization:

Enrich lives and strengthen our community through the power of media.

How can you not smile walking into an office with a two-story Big Bird on the wall? I grew up watching Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The Electric Company and 3-2-1 Contact, while my kids were raised on Teletubbies, Arthur, Caillou, Zoboomafoo, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Sagwa and Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman. Our family was addicted to the old Action Auction they produced in the former studios across from the fairgrounds on Como, regularly bidding on 25-pound salted nut rolls (among other things).

Looking at some of the other pictures and signs around the office bring back a flood of other positive memories: Downtown Abbey, Rick Steves’ Europe, Nova, Nature, Austin City Limits, Lowertown Line and Almanac. So much good content has been broadcast from this PBS affiliate and I’m really excited to help such a talented and creative crew. My high school friend Terry Gray has been at TPT for 15 years and was a major influence on me considering this role. Super excited to work with him again (we worked together at HSRA Minnesota and I saw him occasionally on the sidelines at U.S. Bank Stadium).

The Information Technology team at TPT is solid and I really enjoy being part of a larger group again. Former McNally Smith veteran Nick Kaihoi is great to work with and we have so many shared tech experiences and philosophies, it’s scary. The team picked out a new M2 MacBook Air for me to use, which was just perfect. I also appreciate that the HR department has an actual “No Jerk Policy” and find the overall vibe just so refreshing. It reminds me of this Mr. Rodgers quote:

There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.

“Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and contributions to your PBS station from Viewers Like You”

Twitter is really having a moment, isn’t it? Too bad it feels like the verge of implosion, as it has been my favorite social media platform since I joined back in February 2008. Not sure of all the dates, but I think I joined LinkedIn (the first time) just after Twitter, followed by Facebook in December 2008 and Instagram sometime in 2010. I deleted my Facebook account in June 2020, followed by Instagram a few days later. Dropped off LinkedIn for about five years, as it became a huge source of spam and unsolicited sales pitches. I rejoined last year for career reasons, but it seems rather sad that may be the last one standing if I decide to drop Twitter.

Now, I don’t really want to leave Twitter. I likely use the service differently than 99% of the rest of the world, and it has served me well. I’m rarely on the actual twitter.com website, using the awesome Tweetbot client on both macOS and iOS. For reasons I don’t fully understand, using those tools means I never see ads and my timeline is always in chronological order (with only accounts I want to see).

I currently follow about 400 accounts (many of those, it turns out, have been inactive for some time) and I’ve carefully curated what accounts I follow to get useful and timely info in my personal areas of interest (music, sports, food, travel, running, casinos and technology). There are friends and family on there that I know from real life and a bunch of real people that I only know through Twitter. Some of these people I’m connected with on LinkedIn, but I’d miss out on so much if Twitter was out of the picture. Hoping for personal blogs to make a comeback – RSS is solid tech and NetNewsWire is still a great reader on macOS.

Decided to spend some time this week studying what content has been hitting my timeline since Electric Rocket Boy took over. There are a few friends that I follow that use the service *a lot* and I don’t think I fully realized just how much they shape my Twitter experience (hello @rstanzel, @russohockey, @bynkii and @peril_in_pink). I’m closing in on 23,000 lifetime tweets, but Russo is nearing 200,000. I respect how everyone uses the service – you can always unfollow or mute if you don’t like the frequency (or the content). Of course, the new ownership may have other plans. Seriously wondering just how long third party clients like Tweetbot will be allowed access to the system…

So where do I go from here? Just like I did with the other services, I requested a download of my data (which you can do on this page). The Twitter archive you get is actually pretty nice – it creates a local web page you can open with your browser and view all of your tweets, likes, replies, direct messages and media files. I would like to find a way to take this archive, strip out the private stuff and just have a page with all the tweets (like I did for my old Instagram pics here).

I’ll likely stay on the service as long as Tweetbot works the way I’m used to, my favorite people continue to post and it remains free to use. If any of those things change (or the “Chief Twit” makes me as mad as the “Meta” joker did), I will deactivate & delete the @kingsbury account, pour one out for the bird and get to work on improving this little corner of the internet…

7 Minute Miles Twitter Hall of Fame

@4waytest
@acidprime
@acpage_77
@adenab
@alanbergo
@amanjo
@andrewrcraven
@arekdreyer
@badbanana
@bgervais
@bigdad3233
@bigriverpizza
@billamend
@bloomcounty
@blushnbashfuls
@bradleysklein
@brandon_seekins
@briankrebs
@brianstucki
@bryanhansel
@bryanrossi1
@bynkii
@cedge318
@charley_walters
@chuckgoolsbee
@cmkingsbury
@cookcovisitors
@ct_turf
@dailyangst
@danielle_ottman
@danothebeach
@dasharez0ne
@davidkingsbury
@davidshamaminn
@deardara
@derushaeats
@drunkhunk
@dskoglund_mn
@erheil
@ericsieger
@fairmontsprings
@fallon
@firstavenue
@fortunebay
@grandmasmara
@grayter1
@gregneagle
@gregswan
@grlitman
@gruber
@hammen
@harvdog1
@hazeltine
@hewittstrib
@hsra_mn
@jakeaune
@jefflagrua
@jeffshelman
@jemsekgolf
@jessflem
@joebissen
@johntdrumjr
@jonbream
@kerifromkansas
@kevinleecy
@kilbo
@lamppag
@letsreallylive
@linebackrbarbie
@lovesbassets
@lutsen_tofte
@lutsenmountains
@macshome
@mauioceancenter
@mfpip
@michaelguille
@minikahdaturf
@mlindstrom
@mnstatefair
@mnzoo
@muccisitalian
@munsongs
@myprontopup
@mysticlake
@niess_lisa
@nihilist_arbys
@nkrnz
@nwstwincities
@officialwilbury
@palacestpaul
@pashcam
@patricktalty
@paul_brinkman
@paulkaps
@peril_in_pink
@peterdog5
@pmdigolf
@pooserville
@richwang3
@ricknelsonmn
@riverviewtheatr
@robertcrayband
@rossraihala
@rskohner
@rstanzel
@russohockey
@ryanmathre
@schweitzerid
@saintdinette
@samcrut
@sarahmariette
@schoun
@schutz
@skatergirl916
@stephmarch
@stpaulsaints
@summerofjumbo
@susanruns
@tapinbirdie
@tbridge777
@tbtduluth
@tcmarathon
@tdelibassis
@techgrltweeter
@tenaciousd
@thecedar
@thecharlieparr
@thefitztheater
@themasters
@tjdsbtom
@tldresen
@tniver
@tompetty
@tonyminnieapple
@turfclubmn
@twindependent
@twinsprez
@twodots
@usbankstadium
@wtipradio

Thanks for all the awesome micro-content and socializing 💜

Congrats to Armon and Molly 🤵‍♂️👰‍♀️

Great to see Armon (and have some “overrated lake fish”)

Vermilion Inn, Soudan, Minnesota

Great to visit with Garrett Gill @ The Kitchen Table

In conversation with Douglas Hegley

Ridges at Sand Creek – such a fun course

Thanks to Cheryl and Matt for the great morning

So great to catch up with Leo and Curtis in the Land of Cheese 🧀 ⛳️

So nice to see everyone in Highland

Great to catch up – good luck with training camp!

Talked about it for years – finally got the Nive Man out to golf (Willingers)

So nice to catch up with Leo and Jake

Fun day out at Mystic Lake (and we both left with more money)

Lunch with DGS @ Zantigo Woodbury

Great to catch up with Mr. Mondale today

Pulls ahead of Willingers (again)

Armon, Boludo, McKinney Roe (RIP)

Really nice to catch up with Jim

CC meeting @ Volstead House in Eagan

Always learn so much from this amazing group of people

Too cool for school 😎

Quick lunch with Danielle @ The Loop

The Burger Place – so great to catch up

What a wonderful return to the press box 🏈

It turned out pretty damn nice 🏈

Florian Riedel

Nice to sit and eat again at “McKinney Roe” with Keri, Scott and SK

Very nice lunch with Jim and John @ Monte Carlo, Minneapolis

As I get ready to go back into concert mode tonight for the Rollings Stones, I realized I never posted my pictures from the Morrissey show last month at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. This was a last minute impulse trip (booked the Wednesday before) and we were really glad we did it. This short five night residency had been postponed during the pandemic and we caught the last show of the rescheduled run.

First time for both of us in the venue built for Céline and we were very impressed – great sight lines and amazing acoustics. We were about 15 rows back on the main floor and loved the production. Second time seeing him live (and we will never forget the run-in at the Las Vegas airport Cinnabon after his House of Blues show too).

Not sure if I wrote much about the rest of the trip, but for posterity sake, we stayed at the Mirage, I golfed with Herm on the Paiute Sun Mountain course, Colleen saw RuPaul’s Drag Race LIVE! at the Flamingo Hilton and we had a lovely dinner at Chef Keller’s Bouchon in the Venetian. Setlist and photos can be found after the jump.

Viva Moz Vegas!

Setlist – Sunday, September 5, 2021

• How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths song)
• Alma Matters
• First of the Gang to Die
• Everyday Is Like Sunday
• Shoplifters of the World Unite (The Smiths song)
• I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
• Knockabout World
• Morning Starship (Jobriath cover)
• Ouija Board, Ouija Board
• Seasick, Yet Still Docked
• Never Had No One Ever (The Smiths song)
• Half a Person (The Smiths song)
• Love Is on Its Way Out
• Satan Rejected My Soul
• The Lazy Sunbathers
• I’ve Changed My Plea to Guilty
• Lady Willpower (Gary Puckett & the Union Gap cover)
• Back on the Chain Gang (Pretenders cover)
• Irish Blood, English Heart
• —
• ENCORE
• —
• Jack the Ripper

https://golf.com/travel/montgomery-national-beatles-themed-golf-course/

Yesterday was my last official day working at U.S. Bank Stadium as the Director of IT. I was about a week shy of six years, but what a wild ride it has been:

• Five plus seasons of Vikings Football (including the Minneapolis Miracle)
• Super Bowl LII
• Men’s Final Four
• Summer X Games
• A.C. Milan vs. Chelsea
• Monster Jam and Super Cross dirt shows
• MSHSL Championships
• Metallica, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Guns N’ Roses, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, U2 with Beck (and many other shows)

It’s been an honor to work in this building from pre-opening through today, partnering with outstanding organizations, working with truly amazing people and learning an awful lot about the sports and entertainment industry.

There are really too many people to thank for helping me succeed in this chapter of my life, but I’d like to call out a few:

• Armon Farrari, who I stole from Apple (h/t Pash) and who became one of the best technology managers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with in any industry.
• Curtis Schmillen, Director of Operations, Leo Pidde (now retired) and Ed Kroics (who took Leo’s place): just an amazing group of coworkers inside the building and great people to be with outside of work – be it on a golf course or at a happy hour.
• Jim Farstad, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority (and former technology consultant during construction): a true renaissance man in every way.
• Inaugural GM Patrick Talty (and HR manager Shelly Wynia) for picking me to join the opening team back in 2015.
• Current GM John Drum, who helped during my health emergency outside the stadium in 2018.
• The CTAC team at CenturyLink (now Lumen) that designed and built the original technology infrastructure: Andy Diment, Mark Olson and Evan Teisberg. Still helping to this day, extraordinary knowledge that always made my job “really pretty simple.”
• Bill Anderson and Wesley Terry at AmpThink: no one in the world knows more about WiFi than these two individuals.
• Mentor Doug Podolak: your continued support of my career (and friendship) means the world to me.
• My wife and daughters: zero percent chance I’d be here today without their love and support. You da best ❤️

Lastly, to everyone at the Vikings (past and present): you’ve been great partners and I can’t wait to see you bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy to the great state of Minnesota. Skol, Vikings!

Emotional day at the stadium ❤️

Last Vikings game @ U.S. Bank Stadium: Vikings 19, Lions 17

Today marks the three year anniversary of my train platform event in downtown Minneapolis. The first anniversary was amazing, I was ultra grateful for my second anniversary and now things are running on all cylinders for year three. Colleen made my favorite bars to celebrate and we will be having dinner tonight at Saint Dinette to toast another splendid year around the sun.

On the health front, everything is great. I’m on my second pair of permanent prism lenses and they work perfectly. Still don’t need them for reading screens, but I do prefer them now for watching TV and movies, riding my bike, golfing and driving (even bought a pair of prism sunglasses). The move streak on my watch is now up to 540 days, I’m at 530 miles on the bike log for 2021 and have even signed up to try another half marathon in 2022.

As the pandemic continues to roll on, some things have returned to (semi) normal. While we had an entire football season without fans, this year has seen a return to no restrictions and four games with thousands of people through the doors. We took our first airplane trips to and from Las Vegas over Labor Day and will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this December on Kauai. We’ve also been building a new house that should be ready when we get back (after an extended construction period).

Lastly, I want to again thank the healthcare professionals who helped get me to year three, along with all of my family and friends who have provided love and support. There is one other big change coming soon, but I’ll leave that for another day…

Doing great things in Montgomery (and elsewhere)

TC @ The Dwan

Farmers Kitchen + Bar ✅

Great service and so nice to catch up with Shelly

Herm’s hooptie

Such a great group to play golf with in Minneapolis

It’s an honor to know those two gentlemen

So nice to see Rich and his crew again

Hopefully many more to come

Thanks to Mike and Courtney for hosting in the park

Brad, Craig and I hit the links in Cottage Grove

Great to see that guy again – thanks, TB!

The barn isn’t too shabby either

Seth took Jeff’s place this week in Golden Valley

Best. Usher. Ever.

Great to catch up with Rich (and Leo and Pete) @ Gross National

So great to catch up with friends

Nice to catch up with JS in Cambridge

Mike: kindergarten friend; John: junior high friend

Congrats to the Dresen Family 🎉

Fun night with Keri and Scott in Lowertown

Thanks, Mikey Boom-Boom for the 📷

Tough walk today in the heat (car said 99F on the way home)

Keller is such a great metro asset

https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/0000393109/?fullname=frances-alexandra-bride-sandy-(ne%C3%A9-boardman)-klas

Good luck to Herm and the Golden Knights against a tough Colorado team

Another lovely day visiting Independence

18 holes with the usual gang

Great afternoon with Rich on the National

This place is special