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This site is full of ideas. Some of them might make you cringe. They may not align with your worldview, perspectives, or experiences. That’s a great thing.

How to build a thriving city – 2022

I recently hopped in my car and drove from Seattle to Boise, Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, Flagstaff, Vegas, Bakersfield, then San Francisco, and back to Seattle. Coming from Seattle, a city that is clearly thriving in nearly every way, I started to notice little similarities in some of these other cities. Boise had a small tent city near the Capitol. Salt Lake City had obviously consolidated it’s roadways for bike lanes. And on it went. I was also recently in Milwaukee, and noticed this same trend. It was starting to adopt some of the ideas that made Seattle…

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Sharing your conversation with the world… at 7am

I’m in a hotel, and outside of my room I hear someone talking. At first, I think they’re walking by, so I pay it no mind. But then it just persists, getting louder and softer, almost like someone is running by my door having a conversation. It was 7am, and I was already up. But I went out to look at who was talking in the hallway. When I opened my door, I saw guy talking loudly on the phone, pacing around the hallway. Apparently, it never occurred to this guy that no one on the floor wanted to…

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Happy 2022

2021 was an amazing year for the sheer amount of horrible that went on. In comparing notes with others, I believe I won for the worst 2021 of all. (Hardly a contest I’m proud to win…) But that’s all behind us, and the time to look forward is always now. Last June, I stopped writing here regularly to focus on my new book. It’s just about finished and undergoing the fine tooth comb of an amazing editor, as we speak. Likewise, our crack design team is putting the finishing touches on the cover. Last year, we said we’d publish…

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The lessons of Pat Fish

On Saturday, August 2nd, 1986, a few friends and I found out that The Jazz Butcher was going to be playing that night at The Underground, a bar (at the time) in downtown Milwaukee. The Jazz Butcher was the brainchild of Pat Fish (aka Pat Huntrods), who along with lead guitarist Maximillian T. Eider and the rest of the band was touring the United States for their first time ever. Pat Fish was an absolutely critical player in my youth and my wide and deep interest in music. Back in the 80s, when I was in high school, any…

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Definition of common sense

Many have attempted to define “common sense,” so I figured… why not? Ideally, “common sense” would be something that was, well… common. That means most people have it. I’m not sure how much “common sense” is left in this country, so it may have morphed a bit into a nostalgic romantic ideal. A sort of way of thinking that seems to have passed us by. Some will tell you “common sense” is gone because we tend to over-think or over-engineer everything. We have too much time on our hands, and we make all sorts of assumptions that usually end…

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A simple IQ test

Today, I was driving in the parking lot of a strip mall when I came across a simple, but very effective and reliable IQ test. I was in my car, driving toward the Subway in the picture when a car came at me traveling in the opposite direction. As you can see, there’s an entire empty lane to the side of the speed bump. One traveling toward where I was to take this picture could either travel over the speed bump or simply drive around it. There are no parking spots where I was standing and the only way…

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Celebrating 800 posts

Today’s post marks the 800th entry into The Bubbler. For more than three years, the goal here at The Bubbler has been to make you think. Not agree. Just think. (Though we’re not sure how you couldn’t agree…) There are plenty of conservative news sites out there, and I wasn’t sure we needed another. (Though we definitely need more people reading them.) So our goal is different. While there are plenty of places to find real news, there aren’t any sites we know of dedicated to teaching conservatism. The Bubbler was built for that. On this site, the goal…

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Clearly labeled

Liberals aren’t known for taking responsibility for, well, anything. But ironically, they do love to take responsibility for one thing. Liberals love to put their causes and voting choices on everything they can. Their cars are full of bumper stickers. Their t-shirts carry their slogans. Their yards display signs with their favorite mantras. The one good thing about liberals is that they’re clearly labeled. We know who they are. We know who’s responsible. The latest entry into their symbolism is the vaccine passport. This weekend, my family was invited to a graduation party. On the invitation, it clearly stated…

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If the world were mentally ill

Based on all of the ridiculous emotional and divisive behavior running rampant in the United States right now, I think many are wondering if we’re all suffering not from COVID, but from mass mental illness. The problem is, if most of us were mentally ill, how would we know? What would be the indicators? Who would make the diagnosis, and who would even stop to consider or trust it? Man, this may be worse that I thought…

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Three marriages in one

It’s amazing marriages last as long as they do. Especially for those who have kids. When you first get married, you commit to living with another person and growing with them as you both advance through life. You assume (or hope) that given the foundational elements of your personality and interests, you will grow in relatively the same direction and evolve, together, in a way that may change you both, but not so much that you grow apart. That lasts for a bit, but then you have children. Children fundamentally alter the relationship as they take your attention away…

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