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This is a long post. So I considered Friday a #mentalhealth day. I am not usually one to air problems on #socialmedia. But this week I decided pushing myself to run the Chicago #marathon would be a bad idea. I’ve been able to do longer walks with some running but around mile 3 my knee and Achilles act up and force me to stop/slow down. That said, I’ve seen improvement in my stamina, which is good. More on all of that later but, Cliffs Notes: I’ll be back and I’m targeting @rungasparilla’s #halfmarathon as my return to long-distance #running (and Chicago will be on my target list, dammit!). That said, today I spent the whole day at @waltdisneyworld for a much-needed day of recreation. First I checked out #galaxysedge for the first time and was blown away. So cool. Then I connected with my best Orlando friend Gabby at @officialepcotcenter for @foodandwine Festival and @plainwhitets!). I swear my frequency of visits will decrease but for today I feel very fortunate I could just take my mind off everything that’s going on. The realization that you have to admit defeat on a #goal is a tough one. It made me sad, honestly. But believe it or not, the fact that I no longer have this hard deadline to improve helps me deal with that. I can take this recovery at my own pace. I can be at peace with my recovery and be responsible with my recovery. I’ll be back. #Terminator (at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge) https://www.instagram.com/p/B12u2a9B8L9/?igshid=1rnsomdf0xhwi

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Exercised my right to vote today. I try not to get too political on here but it’s hard to keep seeing suppression tactics out there, essentially working overtime to deny some people (even one is too many) their rights today. Our democracy runs like this: you have ideas. You pitch your idea to the public and they vote for you or they don’t. If you have to game a system to create disadvantage for people who might not agree with your ideas, are they worth anything? Go. Vote. (at Orlando, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp2n5WMA4ej/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11ew215uf6f82

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Guys, I’ve started a podcast that I hope becomes something that helps Florida’s startup scene. Give it a listen if you have 10 minutes to hear what my philosophy for podcasts. 

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It has been quite an eventful week, that will culminate with a pot convention tomorrow.

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I spend a good portion of my time at the @OrlandoSentinel speaking with people who are a lot smarter than me, in an effort to share their stories with our audience. Today, that work took me to @LockheedMartin, where an engineer told me the story of a new project the company has been marketing to the military. The suit he is wearing weighs about 20 pounds but, using strategically placed sensors, moves in a way that supports a person’s weight, allowing them to hold a position for extended periods of time. The applications could be big in manufacturing and the military. Lockheed has two of its major locations in Orlando, employing more than 7,000 people there. . . . . . #military #militarytech #defense #army #navy #tech #orlandotech ##manufacturing (at Orlando, Florida)

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Onlookers capture the ceremony at @kennedyspacecenter marking 30 years since #challengerdisaster. Astronauts, teachers, dignitaries spoke at the somber event. #space #museum @visitspacecoast (at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)

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Not a great result but a #rainbow showed up at the #Cubs #Royals game today. #baseball #shadows #chicago

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Abetter shot of the #Pirates show. Note our guy on the left wooing a princess and the other #pirates playing on trampolines. #Orlando #dinnershow #nightlife

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A post shared by Marco in Orlando (@marcosantana77)

Dancing fool at #otronicon today! #technology @aldebaran_news #dance #robots

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I'm watching Marvel's The Avengers

Check-in to Marvel's The Avengers on tvtag

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I just unlocked the American Horror Story: Massacres and Matinees sticker on tvtag

2672 others have also unlocked the American Horror Story: Massacres and Matinees sticker on tvtag

Who arrives at camp looking for Ethel? Thanks for watching American Horror Story tonight. Share this one proudly. It's from our friends at FX.

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I'm watching Cannibal! The Musical

“The genius of Trey Parker”

Check-in to Cannibal! The Musical on tvtag

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An accidental dose of patriotism

There is something to be said for getting out of Des Moines and traveling the rural roads in the great state of Iowa.

On Saturday, May 10, doing so with my girlfriend allowed me to stumble upon a pretty cool project near Greenfield, Iowa.

It was there we met Ray Sorensen, an artist who has been painting a 60-plus ton boulder called the "Freedom Rock" for about 16 years. Side note: He was also one of Redbook's "Hot Husbands of 2010." Thanks Google!

We just happened to drive by while he was painting this year's version. Every year, Sorensen creates a brand new painting on the stone in honor of Memorial Day.

Here is a photo of your favorite vertically challenged reporter, dressed for a round of golf, alongside Sorensen.

As you can see, there is great detail put into the painting (see below for an up-close look at that detail).

Perhaps it's a sign of my own thoughts on how people respect veterans. But I was actually surprised Sorensen is not a veteran. Instead, he was merely an art student inspired by the Tom Hanks World War II movie "Saving Private Ryan."

Very impressive.

It turns out Sorensen started painting the rock, which came from a nearby quarry, 16 years ago.

Every May, in honor of veterans and Memorial Day, he repaints over the previous year's mural with a new creation.

When we got into Greenfield, population 2,000, we discovered "Bubba" Sorensen had loaned his artistic talent to the Iowa Aviation Museum.

We also suspected that he painted a mural just outside of the town's tiny town square but we could not confirm that.

It's so cool to see a guy who has discovered his talent share it with others.

But I digress.

Sorensen has a bigger goal with the Freedom Rock tour, as he calls it. He wants to paint a new rock in all 99 counties of Iowa in honor of veterans everywhere.

So far, he has done so in just more than a dozen counties. 

A chance meeting is not the place to ask how much a person makes on these endeavors. But Sorensen said the tour has become his profession between May and November.

He says he usually can finish between 10-12 rocks per year and that he hopes to have a rock in every county by 2020.

Quick note: on the other side of the rock is this painting of a helicopter that used paint that has ashes of lost soldiers in it. Sorensen, naturally, does not want to paint over that part of the rock.

Sorensen said he received his "formal" art training in excellent art programs of Iowa's school system.

He then attended Iowa State University for his undergrad and started painting the rock during college.

It was a chance meeting that happened only because we decided to get out of Des Moines for a little bit. I took a handful of photos, which are below. Some great detail shots.

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I'm watching Labyrinth

“Sick as a dog. So let's stay in and watch David Bowie.”

Check-in to Labyrinth on tvtag

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The oldest mayor in Iowa: Wallace "Wally" Loney

I accidentally met the oldest mayor in Iowa on Monday.

An assignment related to a story I'm writing with my colleague Jason Noble about broadband connectivity in rural Iowa towns brought me to the small town of McCallsburg, population 333.

The trek through the beginnings of a mild snowstorm took me north to Story City and east through the countryside, about 50 minutes from Des Moines.

I arrived to find four cars outside of a small city hall building. It was little bigger than a conference room in the Des Moines Register's newsroom.

But five gentlemen sat, ready to chat about broadband.

At the nearest chair sat Wallace Loney, who turned 90 this month.

"You're not Norwegian," Loney said.

My reply? "How could you tell?" It broke the ice quickly and Loney seemed to appreciate the casual nature of the conversation.

Loney thinks a build out of fiber connectivity will be a source of pride to his tiny little village. After all, how can you possibly attract families to live in this town without connectivity?

It has been 26 years since Loney took charge of the town. But his grip on the town's leadership seems safe.

Loney drew 98 percent of the vote in the most-recent election.

Loney had an air of authority, even while seated at the table with men less than half his age. 

According to reports, Loney still walks around town, looking for sticks to pick up out of people's yards because, naturally, he wants the town to be clean.

After meeting "Wally" and hearing about his daily activities (he drives around at about 15 miles per hour "looking for things"), my only question about him garnering 98 percent of the vote is, who would vote against him?

This is the latest in a series of posts offering a glimpse into life as a journalist at the Des Moines Register.

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I'm watching Betas

“Watching this show on a recommendation by Tej Dhawan.”

Check-in to Betas on GetGlue.com

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"You can pay with PayPal, Amazon Payments and Odwalla or whatever that other one is. I think Odwalla is the company that makes fruit smoothies. - Louis C.K. on payment options for his website. He was teasing Iowa-based startup Dwolla."

I took a quick run through my Tumblr and, man, what a boring page! I mean, I’m sure you all are thrilled to know which movies I am watching and what I think of them (often, in one sentence).

But there has to be more I can offer that makes this page a bit more dynamic.

For example, I have a lot of non-journalist friends back home who really don’t know what it is like to be a reporter.

In addition, being a staffer on the largest newspaper in any state (and one with ties to a national product like USA Today) provides its own unique challenges and benefits.

So I thought, what the hell? Perhaps making this a place for short posts about life as a journalist could be fun.

Now, my friends are amazing. One of them is going to be shooting photos at the Super Bowl. Another is a reporter with the Los Angeles Times. Still another covers the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Angels for the Orange County Register.

So I definitely am not saying my career is any better than anyone else’s. But I’ve done some cool things, considering 10 years ago I was working at a factory in suburban Chicago.

For example, this week.

Who knew when I was in j-school at Eastern Illinois University that I would one day have reason to track down a Louis C.K. picture to run with a story I wrote? Thanks to Dwolla’s Brian Kil, it happened this week.

The comedian recently sent an email to his fans and playfully teased Des Moines-based startup Dwolla, which is a payment network that is one of just three payment options Louis offers on his website.

Dwolla is Des Moines’s darling startup, with a presence on both coasts and one that is quickly gaining momentum.

Basically, Dwolla lets you set up an expense account online using a bank account. You can then pay using this account at vendors and merchants who accept Dwolla, like Louis C.K. 

Those vendors save processing fees and credit card fees by using Dwolla, which charges 25 cents to merchants for transactions of more than $10.

Transactions of less than $10 are free.

So, considering the money Louis saves using Dwolla, it was pretty interesting to see him tease them. Jordan Lampe of Dwolla has basically given Kil credit for hooking the company up with Louis C.K.

Because he did, I was able to do a quick, fun blog post about how an Iowa startup is piquing celebrity interest.