Friday Donuts

Friends, Gratitude begins with attitude — unless you’re being literal, in which case it ends with attitude and starts with “gr”. If you view existence as a gift, it’s easy to give thanks for everything that comes with it. Eyes to see the beautiful sunrise. Health to enjoy the fresh morning air. An open heart to appreciate the folks who surround you. Blessings everywhere. But trade that mindset for entitlement, and gratefulness goes out the door — after all, I deserve all these things and more. On this second day of Thanksgiving, I choose to see the world through the eyes of a child and take nothing for granted. As I bite into my sweet morning donut, I sip my hot coffee and think of you. Thank you for your friendship — and for putting up with all the random ideas I choose to share every Friday. I appreciate you (even though we may not have the opportunity to interact on a regular basis). Happy Friday!

Friends, The world’s largest twine ball lives in Darwin, MN. I’ve never taken the detour but do wonder what drove Frances Johnson to spend 29 years of his life gathering and wrapping 8.7 tons of cord into a 40" sphere. Did he set out to establish a record, or did he just not know when to stop? The first few inches of circumference must have taken a few days. That last inch probably took years. In a way, I can relate. Last night I added the 100,000th person to my family tree. I hate to admit it but there may be an irrational behavioral trait I share with the twine rolling man in MN. My tree is certainly nowhere near the largest, but with five zeroes resembling half a dozen donuts – minus the one that I ate, of course – it felt appropriate to celebrate this milestone with you. Happy Friday!

Friends, Collaborate with AI long enough and you’re bound to start feeling infallible. The positive reinforcement with every response can be quite the ego boost – “good call", "you're exactly right", "great instinct”. Eventually one can’t help getting suspicious. If the option I chose is truly "the right call", why did the AI bother giving me that choice in the first place? Had I chosen option B, would it have said "that's a stupid idea, but, whatever, it's your article, so what do I care?” Or would I have received yet more sycophantic praise? I guess we’ll never know – a downside of being so darn smart! Speaking of great ideas, I’m gonna go grab a donut to start my day on the right note. I’m sure Claude, Chat and Gemini would all agree. You can almost hear AI saying "great shot, that basketball is ready to pop the net"  . Happy Friday!

Friends, What’s in a name? Well, if that name happens to be Juan González, chances are you’ll get escorted to a cozy Interpol back room whenever you try to enter or leave Perú. Yup! It appears I have an evil namesake on the watch list. Of course, treacherous homonyms lurk in all walks of life, not just airport watchlists. These seemingly benign words are out there wreaking havoc and creating confusion – often to comedic effect. A sign with the word “income” or a breakfast buffet with a dish labelled “mold bread” bely dictionary translations where the wrong homonym was used (“entrance” and “pan bread” respectively). Then there’s the grammar fiends. Accept for Sam lose wards, language isn’t stationery. I realize the preceding sentence may have upset some of you, so having made my point I will head out to Donutsville to go get me some fried pastries.​ Happy Friday!

Friends, As days get shorter in the northern hemisphere, the splinter of mortality creeps up on the collective subconscious. Whether you call it Oiche Samhna, All Hallows Eve, or Día de Los Muertos, today’s celebration reminds us of one of the two certainties in life. Taxes. Why are my hard-earned dollars being used to build haunted houses? (e.g., Alligator Alcatraz). Feels like a cruel trick. That said, I’m off to fetch a treat (i.e., my obligatory Friday donut). Clandestine photos taken by yours truly at the Catacumbas de San Francisco in Lima, Perú, where the bones of some 25,000 souls are laid to "rest".

Friends, Hundreds of miles from the ocean and over eleven thousand feet above sea level, Cusco feels like an odd seat for an empire. Yet, walking down the narrow streets where cars must do a three point turn at the corner, evidence abounds. Walls built with perfectly joined stones of capricious sizes and shapes boast masterful skills. The church of Santo Domingo integrated with the Qoricancha temple complex is awe inspiring. The megalithic Sacsayhuaman complex almost makes alien conspiracy theories seem plausible. Even though the empire lasted less than 100 years, it left a deep mark on the entire Andean region. As I visit the cradle of the Inca civilization, I enjoy my picarón (a local version of the donut) and process all the rich local history. Happy Friday!​