My daughter is twelve, dangerously close to thirteen. OMG a teenager!

Girls are just nasty to each other at this age.

Check out this film Finding Kind which addresses this single topic of the bullying which girls inflict upon each other. This issue just dovetails into teen suicide which has hit home recently -- a freshman boy who my wife and daughters know took his own life last week. A FRESHMAN. Very popular kid, well regarded, good student and all that. How popular? My wife stood in line over three hours greet the family (she'd worked with the mother at a previous job). In an instant his precious life was gone.
 
Then a few days earlier another freshman boy in Sioux City did the same, though his was under somewhat different circumstances as it happened just a few months after disclosing that he's gay. That's simply vicious bullying, and it seems Facebook is just gasoline on that fire. Add in some texting for the perfect accellerant where things are said which we normally wouldn't say in person. Facebook is the stage or spotlight on these dark skirmishes.

I do blame social media for some of this nasty behavior because stressed out, paranoid kids might misunderstand a perfectly harmless post or phrase because they can't hear the voice inflections of how the poster may have intended. A written post on these channels can get so misconstrued in a hurry. Then the fact it is so public and embarrassing the reactions become overreactions, etc... Just pick up a phone, or better yet talk to that other person in-person. Communication stands a much better chance with the added cues of tone of voice and facial expression. Kindness stands a better chance in person.

Girls, take a deep breath. Consider going see this film next week. Please be kind.

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While I'm not sure how helpful I was, it was great to see my wife in action -- as the church's Christian education director touches such activities across all age groups. Typically we've had a pair of volunteer parents who step forward to lead the day-to-day activities of the senior high youth group. Now we're heading into a transition phase where our good friends the Nelsons are now stepping back after many years of devoted service to focus some time on their new baby granddaughter out of state. Their youngest kids are in their early 20s, so it's time to move along. This will be the first Sr. High summer mission trip they're not leading in over a decade. Not sure if I'm called to step into that void, but I do look forward to helping out in other support roles.

We're at a critical juncture at this church with plenty of drama as we move ahead with new leaders in key roles. Incredibly talented and dedicated people, just a different approach than their predecessors in some ways. I'm realizing how much of this fresh thinking was long overdue. I think I'll be praying for these leaders and the kids who look to them for guidance -- you're welcome to join me. It's critical these kids build a positive connection with a church community and other kids their age.

Actually, I'm blessed to have an amazing group of friends from a variety of social circles. There's my football officials, MU Alumni group, social media club of Des Moines, church, plus my old church...

But work friends are special -- you spend most your waking hours with them. Today I'm rather bummed to be "losing" one. More accurately and in Google+ parlance, I'll have to move my friend Keith (@kkmett) from one circle (Coworkers) to another (Former Coworkers). We wish him the best of luck in a great new opportunity over at my former employer, The Principal. Keith has been a formative member at 2RM having started here right out of college in 2000. The guy has seriously left his mark and knows a great deal about virtually all the digital projects we've ever delivered or supported. The last few weeks have been a reluctant brain dump to document most of that stuff. Keith has taught me a great deal and pushed me to learn even more. He was also my #1 cheerleader last year when they saw an opportunity to rehire me. Together we went through some pretty tough shit. Not always did we see eye-to-eye, but the end results were usually impressive. You'll be tough to replace and we'll do some things differently.

Yeah, I'll cultivate other 2RM friends. I know you're not going far, but I'll really miss you. Very proud of you for growing your skills and having the sack to seize this opportunity.

Adios amigo!

I happen to have a friend who flies one of the F-16s in this unit, and ironically they deployed this unit to Afghanistan just a few days ago. He's told me that drones are the wave of the future, and that's exactly what they have planned here starting in 2013. That will cut the staff in half, down 500 jobs. Iowa's politicians have given this proposal an overwhelming and bipartisan thumbs down.

My pilot friend is Lt. Col. Travis Acheson, aka "Chick" who was blessed with an awesome special vocal performance by his three daughters last Sunday in Church. My daughter and a few other friends were there. Here's a KCCI news clip from a couple years ago that featured Travis and flight on his bird.

It's got to be difficult for Travis and his unit to hear this news and concentrate on giving their very best effort knowing this could be one of the last times they're needed. There are many performance reasons why this particular squadron should be spared ahead of others. Make sure your elected officials know where you stand on this -- it's not a done deal. Nobody wants their local outfit to get the axe, I just hope that it gets additional scrutiny. We'll breathe easy when they're home again safely.

Yesterday I had sort of scary or startling moment: over my lunch hour I hit a deer. More accurately, she hit me (as my friend Yiloiz pointed out). I'm tooling down court avenue on the east side of Des Moines, westbound near the Judicial Branch and the State Capitol just at the crest of a hill. Out of my left blind spot comes a huge doe who tries to leap over my car, slams onto my windshield, slides across the hood and tumbles off in a somersault fashion. She instantly sprang up and bolted toward the Capital lawn. We're both fortunate that it was a low speed encounter - maybe 25 mph.

Great news, she didn't appear to be hurt, but she's probably going to be damn sore the next morning. I was unhurt as well, just a few minor scratches on my trusty Malibu Maxx. I paused for just an instant after having such a sudden stop -- the nice lady behind me was kind enough to not rear-end me. An odd tuft of deer hair stuck out from the outer edge of my headlight. Apparently the only damage was to my underwear.

Having lived in Iowa or Wisconsin my whole life it's sort of amazing I've never hit a deer before now. But you don't expect it to happen in such an urban setting. Hope I'm done with such close encounters.

Somebody's looking out for me, I guess. Clean living? That, and lucky. Life's good.

A priceless picture. Vote here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DHR22K3

Just ran across this from @mashable - Face Match is a pretty wild. Still very much in beta, but imagine the possibilities.

The last few days a frenzy of media coverage has documented the Penn State football program story. A scandal, really. In case you've been living under a rock, legendary coach Joe Paterno has been shamed into saying he'll now retire at the end of the season. Many feel it's a travesty that he's being given this option to hang on and leave on his own terms. Update: it's now official that Penn State has indeed fired Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier.

First off, JoPa is not the criminal in this story: Jerry Sandusky (alleged rapist/monster), witness Mike McQuery and others in the administration should be deemed more guilty. Legally, Paterno fulfilled the minimal obligations and was convinced by many in his circles this matter was taken care of -- a non-issue. Morally, that's a whole different story. 

Tell us, Joe, that you tried to do the right things at the right time. That you didn't place the game of football, your coaches and players, on a higher plane of importance that trumps the physical and mental health of young boys, at-risk youth who didn't stand a chance.

While I'm not a Penn State fan, I've always admired Joe Paterno and looked to that program as one of the best examples of all that's good with college football. Let's hope that we've now seen the very worst of it and everything else they find in other colleges will pale in comparison. Lord, I'm going to leave the judgement in your hands. Please give comfort to the many victiims of these sad and tragic events. Yes, including the Paternos.

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The Brewers are my team mostly through family ties. Having lived in Milwaukee proper and then the 'burbs for about seven years, it's a town I really enjoy. Growing up in Eastern Iowa I found myself a Cubs fan, mostly due to the charm of Harry Caray.

Then later in the mid '80s I warmed up to the Brewers in college. The first big season I remember was the one where they started off the year with 15-game (I believe) winning streak. Molitor, Yount, Fingers, Cecil Cooper and big Gorman Thomas were among the stars. Again it was the broadcast personality that sealed the deal: Bob Uecker is a dude. And he had to be especially entertaining to keep so many listeners and viewers interested in some pretty bad teams over the years. He's the reason the radio in the basement or garage was tuned into Brewers games. Uecker is such an asset and it'll be a sad day when he finally retires.

Photos above courtesy of Topps (ironically Bob was a Cardinal ('64, '65) in between his two stints as a Brave ('62, '63 and '67)), Baseball Almanac.