Summerfest Day One Recap

414 Golden Tee

Day One of my quest to attend Milwaukee's Summerfest for at least an hour per day for all eleven of its days is in the books. Unfortunately weather was not Summerfest's friend and rain continually threatened the festival. No sooner would we take off our plastic ponchos then the sky would start dropping water again. We left the fest around 6:30 PM and, good thing, because after that the really strong storms rolled in. I cannot imagine what it must have been like in the lawn seats at the amphitheater because the rain was coming down in buckets. We pulled into our driveway around 8:30 and the rain was coming down so hard that our house's gutters were overflowing. It was torrential.

For our first day we spent time discovering what's new. For the most part, not too much, but here are a few highlights.

The new Miller stage is quite nice. I particularly like their little pavilion to the right of the stage. I know it's all advertising, but I do like that Miller highlighted Milwaukee so much in the design of the pavilion (including Too Much Metal's 414!). I also prefer to buy my Miller products here. It's seven bucks for a big cup and you can use a credit card. I'm not sure how much beer is in the "big cup," but I'd guess 20-ounces. It seems like a much better deal than the normal cup that's six bucks, or the 16-ounce aluminum bottle that's $7.50.

TMM's 414 Represent!

Also at this Miller pavilion one can walk right to the front of the stage. It's standing room only and after 5 o'clock you'll need a pass to access this area, but it's good to know if you're at the festival before five.

Speaking of beer, there are not many choices outside of Miller-produced products. However, Lakefront Brewing has a significant tent roughly at the centter of the grounds. For $6.50, you can get a Riverwest Stein, IPA, East Side Dark, El Wisco lager, Lakefront Pils, or New Grist (gluten-free pilsner). For an additional $3 you can upgrade to a Clutch Cargo Double IPA or Daily Firken (on day one it was Hullmelon - a single hop ale with strawberries). Outside of Lakefront the only other "beer" that I saw was Leinenkugel's.

RHCP's Chad Smith
Introducing Denim Matriarch

One funny highlight of the first day was my wife seeing a guy she recognized while I was making a pit stop. Some guy arrived at the Johnson Controls World Sound Stage in a golf cart. An assistant pulled apart the gate and the guy entered. My wife thought it was unusual the way it was done and thought that she recognized the guy as a member of Milwaukee's 'Johnny On Washday' -- a ubiquitous summertime band that would rove the streets of Milwaukee's festivals in the 90's. But only a few minutes later did we discover that the guy she recognized was introducing Denim Matriarch. He was Chad Smith, the drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose band was headlining the amphitheater later that evening. Haha. Johnny on Washday, Red Hot Chili Peppers, same thing! We had a good laugh about this throughout the day.

Summerfest also has an upgraded merchandise tent where I scored a new Summerfest '50' baseball cap. One particular piece that I think will be popular is Too Much Metal's Summerfest golden anniversary tee. It's eye-catching and when we visited the merchandising tent, it was getting a lot of oohs and ahs.

New Summerfest '50' Cap

Heading back today for Throwback Thursday. There's lots of bands from 80's highlighting the venues but I've got my eye on Soul Asylum. They're taking the Miller Stage at 5:30 and they were a stalwart member of my 1980's soundtrack of life.

Celebrating Five-Oh at Summerfest's Five-Oh!

I am about to check a box on my Milwaukee life bucket list: I am about to attend Summerfest at least once every day during its 11-day run. In order to count, I must be there at least for one hour per day. This should be no problem. Only on one day do I see a conflict, but I've got a workaround -- I will just arrive later than most other days.

This is the year to do it, too. I’m 50 just like Summerfest is!

I don’t do Summerfest like may others. I tend to go early and leave early. There’s not many days that I stay there until after 8:00. Oh sure, I have. But those are usually nights I wind up regretting: I stayed too late, spent too much, drank waaay too much and usually, I say to myself the next day, “Never again.”

Of course, that means that I’ll likely miss the headliners, but I'm okay with that. If there’s a band that I really would like to see, Summerfest is not the best place to see them. I’m better off waiting till they come to town and play at the Pabst or Riverside or some other venue (though I do really like the BMO Harris Pavilion). I find myself more enjoying the “vibe” of Milwaukee Summer at Summerfest. That said, I’m a HUGE music fan and I’ll work hard to discover something unique and interesting each day while I’m there. I may spend a lot of time at the Emerging Artist Series at the Johnson controls World Sound Stage with 88Nine RadioMilwaukee. I like that they’ve assembled a playlist of the emerging artists on Spotify. I’ll spend a few hours listening to this playlist and picking out some new must-see artists. The cool thing, too, is most of these artists play early in the day, so it will be easy to catch them without staying until 10:00 PM.

One interesting challenge will be transportation -- just how will I get myself to and from the fest everyday? I see four means as my best options: 1) motorcycle, 2) walking, 3) public transportation, and 4) ridesharing. Driving my own auto and parking nearby seems the worst possible choice for a multitude of reasons.

Let’s look at the pro’s and con’s of each…

Motorcycle. How can you beat free parking right outside the main gate of Summerfest’s main entrance? You can’t. I’ve taken my BMW motorcycle there for many years and it’s always been great. And now that I have a Harley, my parking spot might even be just a tad bit more preferred. The con? Getting home. If I know that I am going to imbibe a very limited amount of adult beverages, motorcycle is the best option. (Another con: stay too late and you have to navigate through the crazies around the Third Ward -- especially hazardous on  weekend nights. More than one motorcyclist has been severely or mortally injured leaving the festival grounds due to some crazed drunk car driver. Sad.)

Walking. If any of you follow my me and my wife’s walking exploits, you know that we often walk from our house in Wauwatosa to downtown Milwaukee. This is a hike of about seven miles. There’s a few  pro’s about this method: 1) we get good exercise, 2) it’s cheap, and 3) we are absolutely removing any possibility of driving ourselves home should we choose to overindulge. The con is related; we are forcing ourselves to find a ride home (walking is an option, too, but not a very appealing one by day's end). With the advent of ride-sharing services like Lyft (my preferred rideshare partner) or Uber this has become very easy, but a little costly. An rideshare from the Summerfest grounds to our home in Wauwatosa is about $15, but can be higher during peak times.

Public Transportation. This normally is a GREAT option, but in 2017 it’s less great. The bus route near our house (route 31) has had its eastbound length truncated forcing riders to disembark at 10th Street. Before the construction that shorted the route’s length, one could ride eastward to darn near the north entrance gate of the grounds. Still public transportation is a nice and inexpensive way to travel ($2.25 per person each way), but also requires knowledge of the schedule and route. I see this as a great way to get to the festival -- combines walking with public transit -- but is not so great for the return home. We’ll see. I’m sure we’ll take it down at least one or two times.

Ridesharing. For convenience, you cannot beat this option. Essentially picks us up at our homes and drops off right at the main gate. Easy-peasy, but just costly. A round-trip using Lyft or Uber to and from the festival is bound to cost in excess of $30, so we’ll opt for this means only when convenience and timing is of the utmost importance.

You know there is a fifth option too: shuttle service. This is an excellent option, but does have a few cons: the consistency of the schedule being first. I have taken a few shuttles to the fest and it has always worked well for arrival at the grounds, but if you stay too late and try to catch one back it can become a nightmare. A few years ago we just said “screw it” and just walked back to our car parked in Milwaukee’s Fifth Ward (Walker’s Point). Waiting for a shuttle had become futile and there were a what seemed to be a million others waiting too.

 And as I was writing about the fifth option, I remembered a sixth and seventh: riding my own bike or renting a Bublr bike. Dang -- there's a lot of ways to get the grounds! (Bublr's convenient, but darn near as costly as rideshare if you don't have an annual pass.)

 So anyway, wish me luck as I’m about to embark on this ultimate Milwaukee bucket list adventure. If you're going to be down there during the day, feel free to send me a message -- perhaps we can meet up for a right-to-the-line cup of Milwaukee good cheer!

What's Got Mike Hacked Off Today?

In the current issue of 'What's Got Mike Hacked Off Today?' is Walgreens' Memorial Day television commercial. At the end of the advertisement, a sing-songy happy voice narrates, "We wish all of those who served a very happy Memorial Day!" (I'm paraphrasing and may be off a word or two, but that was pretty much it.)

What gets me is many people don't get Memorial Day and Walgreens' ad proves it magnificently. Memorial Day may be a National holiday and the unofficial kickoff to Summer -- hopefully we will spend it well and with our loved ones -- but it is actually a somber day; a day to reflect in memoriam at those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country: their lives.

Memorial Day should be a lot of things -- reflective, appreciative, thankful, honorable, respectful, enjoyable, etc. -- but happy? I don't know. Walgreens' wish for happiness runs askew of the reason for the holiday. It's disaffected corporate advertising prattle, but I know it also reflects many's misunderstanding of the holiday.

The millions of honorable men and women that serve and have served deserve our recognition and gratitude every. single. day. Their service to our country is a tough and noble task and one that many of us elected not to pursue. We are all indebted to their patriotic service and we should be thankful for them always and not just on their holidays: Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day.

But please take a moment tomorrow to think of our service members who have fallen in service to our country. If you've been fortunate to never had lost a family member during service, think of those who have. And if you have, please know that you have my highest gratitude for the sacrifice you have borne.

Looking Back with Patent Sincerity

It's fun to reflect on the time that I spent with my dad right after graduating college (1989). We were off pursuing his dream to patent and sell a unique product. While the concept was all his, I was the doer/experimenter/engineer/co-patenter. We bought a lathe; conducted electrical tests while standing barefoot in puddles in his garage, frequently shocking ourselves senseless; and we roared with delight when I designed and created a new piston on our pump that was able to shoot water out of a small hose up to a length of 25'. I remember that day well. I persisted until the late evening hours designing and building my creation. I finally hooked it all up and flicked the switch and... ta-dah! Water squirted across the driveway. I ran into the house and said, "Dad, you gotta see this!" It was our biggest technical victory and we were proud to show it to anybody who feigned interest.

Sadly Dad's health and well-being diminished and I finally had to tell him "Dad, I've accepted a job at another company. I'm starting in two weeks."

It's too bad I didn't have the knowledge that I have now back then. I could've taken this thing to great heights, but it's fun to look back what an awesome experience it was. I particularly enjoy looking at our patent, #5,085,563, and the drawings that I painstakingly labored over to create. It would be so much easier today with CAD, but I created these on a wooden drawing board with T-squares, compasses, and templates. Honestly, sitting at my desk crafting these images was about the most satisfied I ever was in my career. Good memories; I hope to carry Dad's innovative spirit and engaging personality within me as I move onto my next venture.

You'd Be Nuts Not To!

The amount of tech, financial, career guiding, and leisure articles that I (we, I'm sure) get bombarded with daily can be overwhelming. And because of that, every so often we read about something that's really cool only to forget about it in the next article we browse.

Hearing about Acorns the first time was like that. I read about it and thought "That's really cool; I should do that!" and then quickly forgot about it. A recent conversation with a pal caused me to recall Acorns and, this time, I didn't forget.

Acorns is the modern, digital equivalent of throwing the change in your purse or pocket into a bedside jar every evening. You do this by rote and before you know it... ta da! You've got a few hundred bucks of change in your jar. With Acorns you link your credit cards and other accounts and set the round up amount up to a whole dollar, e.g., pay for your $4.45 grande Iced Chai Latte at Starbucks with your bank card and Acorn rounds up the amount to $5, depositing the difference (55 cents) immediately into your account. Acorn does cost something: $1 per month, but after using Acorns for only 4 days, I've already squirreled away a thoughtless, painless thirteen dollars and seventy-one cents. At this rate, I'll have sacked $1,250 in a year!

Another interesting item is Acorns' Found Money™ program. There's a bunch of stores including The Gap, Walmart, Airbnb, Walgreens, Old Navy, Nike and so on that offer to kick more into your account. For example, I think The Gap's is pretty good: They'll kick 2% of your purchase price when you pay with an Acorns linked card into your account up to $40 per month. Hey, if you were going to buy something there anyway, why not?

Personally, I see little risk but you should know that your money doesn't just go into a jar, it goes into an investment account. There are five accounts ranging from conservative to aggressive. So like any good adviser might advise: if you are risk averse or uncomfortable with digital security, Acorns may not be for you. Also, read the fine print.

I've got nothing to gain by promoting Acorns other than hoping you'll give it a quick study and see if it is for you. I think most of you could find it beneficial and a very simple way to save a little money.

https://www.acorns.com/

McGuire

The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's presentation of Dick Enberg's 'McGuire' was fantastic. Milwaukee actor Anthony Crivello was spellbinding and had the audience believing they were looking at Al McGuire by show's end. I had a chance to talk to Anthony after the performance and I shared my Al story with him; he added a new wrinkle. The abridged version is as follows...

In the late 90's, Kay and I braved an absolute white-out blizzard to indulge in our favorite pizza and a jug of chianti at Barbiere's on Bluemound. We lived nearby, so it wasn't much of a stretch for us to make the one-mile trip even though no one else appeared foolish enough to be out on the roads. As we dined in silence, we barely noticed that we were not the only guests visiting Barbiere's: there was another couple engaging in quiet conversation three booths away. After nearly an hour with no additional patrons, I excused myself to use the washroom. As I passed the other couple's table, an unmistakable voice called out, "Hey, buddy. Have you got the time?" I knew whose voice that was before I even turned around, but turn around I did and I looked Coach Al right in the face and replied, "Um. Ah. Er. Oh. Um.... *looks at watch* Eight o' clock, coach." "Thanks, buddy," was Al's reply.

I turned and visited the washroom a-tizzy thinking, "Wow. Championship Coach and famous broadcaster Al McGuire just asked me what time it was on a blizzarding Wisconsin evening!" I got back to the table and told Kay, "See that couple over there? That's Al and Pat McGuire!"

Anyway, that was my encounter with the iconic coach and famous broadcaster, but the wrinkle Anthony Crivello added tonight was this... He brought playwright and Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg to Barbiere's recently and said, "This was one of Al's favorite hangouts," and Enberg said, "No way. This isn't Al's kind of place."

 Mr. Crivello grabbed his omnipresent pocket notepad and scribbled my story and said, "I'm calling Enberg and telling him this. I knew that Barbiere's was one of Al's favorite Milwaukee haunts!"

Take that, Enberg.

(Note to self: If you ever become famous, carry a pocket notepad, scribe fans' comments, thank them, and tell them you will act upon their with their input. Fans love this kind of shit.)

http://www.milwaukeerep.com/Tickets--Events/201617-Season/McGuire/

Snores. Smooches. Stupidity. Travel!

Today was unique, that's for sure.

Started by meeting an Iraqian. A truly amazing man who has accomplished a great number of things and was a joy to meet. I hope to see him again, just not in Baghdad, where he wants me to visit.

Then spending the afternoon with an Aussie, Brit, and young Swede and getting doused in kiwi lemonade from head to toe just before the young Swede took me to the airport in his BMW sports coupe at tremendous speed.

The airport was fascinating. Usually when I fly in and out of Dubai I'm flying out of Terminal 1 that has flights going to Sydney, Paris, Manchester, Chicago, etc. So you see a wide variety of ethnicities and cultures, but also many westerners. Terminal 2, however, is totally different. It serves flights mainly between the Gulf States: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, etc. In Terminal 2, I STOOD OUT. With my sport jacket and tan slacks, I couldn't have looked more American if I would have dressed in Captain America's leotards singing 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' with Toby Keith's warble.

The flight from Dubai to Doha was an adventure. Atlanta to Dubai at 15 hours, no problem. Dubai to Doha was an hour and ten minutes and felt like an eternity. First, the flight was terrifyingly rough. Second, myself removed, the collective intelligence quotient on the plane was a number lower than the amount of pounds I've lost since New Years. When the pilot says "Turbulence ahead, please return to your seat and fasten your seat belt," don't get up and walk up and down the aisle demanding a cappuccino. (Yes, this happened.) Plus I was sandwiched between a smelly loud-snorer and a love-struck smoochie-smoochie Arab couple. Honestly, an hour and ten minutes of kissing noises is way worse than five minutes of a Ted Cruz/Donald Trump dialogue.

One other thing about the plane. You know how some people get up and begin removing their belongings from the overhead bin before the plane comes to a full stop at the gate? This happened on this flight too, but the difference was that they left their seat and opened the overhead bins while the plane was still doing about, oh, 200 miles an hour. One flight attendant freaked, shouted "Sit down!" and ran down the aisle slamming all the bins as the plane slowed to only ludicrous speed on the landing strip.

Upon deplaning, a man with five wives (FIVE!) were nonplussed by an escalator. The women stood at the bottom, fearful of taking a step onto the moving stairs. After 30 seconds, they gave up and looked for an elevator. (Why??) And the female half of smoochie-smoochie inexplicably fell on her ass (not related to the escalator). Giggles and smiles ensued between me and a group of nervous, new-to-Qatar Nepalese laborers.

Last but not least, my Kenyon cab driver unwarrantedly laid on his horn ten times whilst delivering me to my hotel.

Least, now that I'm at my hotel, America is waking up and the normal workday email chaos begins.

Phew. I'm having a beer and going to bed.