Turn It Up!

Geography and place

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:37:00 +0000

I think about this a lot... You might already know that I've worked in commercial real estate development for over 25 years. I came up through accounting and finance, and long ago learned important investment concepts like opportunity cost, time value of money, capital cost and risk premium.

But did you also know that after graduating from Northern Illinois University (summa cum laude), I undertook post-graduate study there in accountancy? ... I confess that I never finished this. My primary motivation was to buy time so that I could directly assist in the home birth of my first child. I worked in the hospitality industry as a night auditor for University Guest Rooms, and studied obstetrics in addition to my accounting theory texts.

At that time, I was also deeply involved in the local community food cooperative - Duck Soup Coup. So naturally, I gravitated to studying "human value" and "ecological value" in my accounting theory work. That's when I first recognized how significantly flawed are current financial reporting systems. Only reporting value for "financial capital" and ignoring these other economic values? That's ridiculous! We all know that human resources are an investment. We all know that pollution creates a cost upon our society. But financial statements don't reflect this, and bad decisions are made as a consequence!

By the time I got involved in real estate, I had also connected these values to the importance of "quality of place" in our quality of life... Quality of place affects people at their soul. In my mind, "quality places" are inviting, welcoming and comfortable, soothing or enriching, and appropriate to their surroundings. Like human value, quality of place has value too - even if it is not recognized in the equation.

One of my joys in working for The Fiore Companies over the years has been the opportunity to participate in developing a number of really nice additions to the community. These developments have all been authentic in material and design, functionally practical, and appropriate to their place. Fiore earns a modest return and the projects work. I'm proud of this.

Most recently I've been thinking a lot about "home" and "roots." I just returned from "a trip of a lifetime" where I saw my daughter marry a great guy in Ireland, toured the country, and felt a deep connection with my family history... We stayed three nights in Ennis - a 750 year old city that has held a weekly farmers market every Saturday since obtaining permission from the King of England in 1609! While there, I mentioned to a wonderful Irishman - Paul Corey (who photographed my daughters wedding) - that I thought it must feel amazing to be surrounded by so much history. And he said, "Sure, but we are all just humans right?" That made me really think about how "my people" are from Chicago (by way of New Orleans, Canada and Roscommon), but my place is now here in Madison Wisconsin - my home for the past 30 years - and the birthplace of both my children with Aszani.

I live on a street named after an insightful urban planner (Phil Lewis) who long ago foresaw a future where Madison and Chicago are part of a continuous megalopolis. He thought we should recognize this and plan accordingly - protect our environmental resources by building vertically. Chicago - Milwaukee - Madison already form a single regional triangle, don't you think? ... I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago - Chicagoland. But from a broad perspective, Madison is also part of Chicagoland - it's one region.

Likewise, Madison's metropolitan service area (MSA) includes all of Dane, Columbia and Iowa Counties. That's Madisonland! The political boundaries between Madison and surrounding communities are simply historical anachronisms. We've got to recognize this because, in the end, we will rise and fall together. So I am hopeful that in the future we will work together for the common good within "Greater Madison"!

This is a very good place... it's worth nurturing!

My new favorite sweater

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:16:00 +0000

I don't usually care much about "shopping" when I'm on vacation. That's just not how I relax. But I do like my comfy clothes ... so when in Kinsale, Ireland last month I bought a really beautiful blue Aran Sweater.

We made good fun of the fact that it came with a numbered and signed "Certificate of Authenticity."

I saved it of course, because on its back is a key with the meaning of a selection of Aran stitches. I only recently looked closely at the certificate... This little detail made me laugh:

Nonetheless, it is still my "new favorite sweater." Beautiful stitching, cotton lining and fleece collar - the wool sweater perfected.

Just as true today

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:24:00 +0000

A co-worker sent me a copy of this email today, which I sent nine years ago to our corporate staff ... We had recently concluded a significant "visioning" process, which had affirmed the importance of human values within our company in addition to the financial capital objectives. I then wrote a series of emails to all-staff unpacking the elements of the "vision" that we adopted. This was one of them...

Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 10:33 AM
Subject: Thoughts and Ideas

Greetings.

In recent weeks, I have reviewed with you the elements of Fiore’s vision statement, and discussed some of the development and investment activities of the company. In the next few memos, I plan to focus on each of the functional divisions in the company. But first I thought I would share with you some food for thought from an address given last fall as part of the executive-in-residence program at the University of Notre Dame by Elmer W. Johnson, who is a former Exec VP and Director of GM. The purpose of his talk was to take moral stock of our economic system. After making a powerful case for capitalism, he went on to discuss several contemporary moral concerns, one of which was the question of “character and the market mentality”:

“In The Battle for Human Nature (1986), Barry Schwartz, a psychology professor at Swarthmore College, argues that the disciplines of economics, evolutionary biology, and behavioral theory have converged on a frightening conception of human beings as self-interested, rational, economic individuals living in a world of social Darwinism very much to their liking, a conception that has come to be so widely accepted that it threatens to undermine the traditional conception of humans as moral beings who are obligated to choose the right, regardless of self-interest. As the modern conception becomes ever more pervasive, Schwartz says, our social lives and democracy itself are tainted and transformed by the market mentality: everything becomes a commodity. Thus, a false conception of humans becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yet as Schwartz says, the commercialization of noneconomic goods is ultimately self-destructive. Society cannot hold together, and even the market cannot exist, without conventions of social responsibility and mutual trust.”

So his question is: How do we prevent (both individually and as a society) the all-pervasive “culture of the market” from eroding our institutional and personal lives and frustrating our higher purposes?

I believe, that if we really “buy-in” to our corporate vision and live out these values, it mitigates the worst aspects of this market mentality. And just as some of the early defects of capitalism – such as cartels, investor fraud and exploitation of workers - were remediated by reforms over the past century, we can help to bring about a corrective to these continuing moral concerns by the way in which we carry out our business.

What do you think?

Regards,
Bill

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Fiore Companies
William J. Kunkler, Executive Vice President
wkunkler@fioreco.com

My Hero - My Spouse

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:39:00 +0000

Aszani and I recently celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary - and we've been in a committed relationship for 26 years. Obviously, we love each other.

Why is she my hero? ... Because she has such a generous spirit. She believes in people, and trusts them - despite the rough treatment she has occasionally suffered at the hands of what I would characterize as "un-evolved" persons... That is inspiring to me.

Aszani has been working in the birth community for over twenty years - as a doula, labor-delivery nurse, and for the past seven years as a certified nurse midwife.

And she is truly a women's health pioneer. Aszani conceived, designed and opened the first free-standing birth center in Wisconsin in 2002. Madison Birth Center is nationally accredited and recognized as "Baby-Friendly."

Where midwives providing out-of-hospital birth in our region previously hid in the shadows, she did not. Instead, she openly challenged the health care system to change - meeting with insurance executivies, political leaders, and healthcare administrators to educate them about out-of-hospital birth and the benefits of midwifery care. Although acceptance of out-of-hospital birth in Madison's very conservative medical community has been slow, the presence of Madison Birth Center has helped to significantly expand midwifery awareness in our community.

Those who know Aszani, recognize that she is a truly caring person - and you'd be hard pressed to identify any provider who gives more thoughtful attention to the health and well-being of her clients. Unfortunately, that is more rare than it should be! She offers the same gracious care-giving to family, friends and employees. She has worked 80 hours a week - without financial compensation for seven years - so that MBC's resources could be spent first to provide her employees with good pay and working conditions.

Aszani is a special person - and I feel blessed to be her mate.

How I Became A "Dog Person"

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:05:00 +0000

This weekend we helped ease our family dog - Abby - into the afterlife. It was very difficult and sad. But it was the right thing to do, at the right time, and we did it the right way. The vet came to our house, and Abby was surrounded and strongly loved up by Aszani, Mo, Dan and me as she lay in one of her favorite spots from where she passed over.

For a number of perfectly legitimate reasons, I was a reluctant dog owner... but Maureen and Dan wore me down and I agreed that we could get one a little over 11 years ago. Aszani did all the research and we found a wonderful breeder of Golden Retrievers. We paid for an upcoming "pick of the litter" - and we picked the friendliest puppy (of the friendliest breed). That's how Abby entered our family, and everyone who met her would join me in affirming her lovely and friendly spirit.

My family and friends all know how much I came to love this dog... She was a great companion to me, and I guess its true - she has turned me into a "dog person."

Here are some of the things I learned from her:

Give every stranger you meet an open friendly greeting. Some people won't connect with you, but many will and you will receive much affection and friendship in return.
Walk away from trouble. Some creatures are just nasty, so just avoid them.
Don't be afraid to approach those that you've angered. Simply express your love, and wait to be forgiven.
Pursue your pleasures - and your dreams. Even if you never can catch that rabbit.

Peace, sweet dog.

Why I Take the News with a Grain of Salt

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:21:00 +0000

Here's some typical "reporting" by Bill Lueders in Isthmus - a free Madison weekly. This is from 15 years ago, but he's an editor there now and his journalism is just as good today!

Being described as a "rabid" anything is not so flattering. Informing the community that I was a "rabid, right-wing activist" was simply amazing. . . My friends found this to be hilarious.

For the record - I have never met, wrote or talked to either Bill Lueders or Anatole Beck.

Click on the image to read a pdf file.

I admired Stuart Levitan's response.

My approach to using iTunes track ratings

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:45:00 +0000

I use the track Rating as input to my “fresh mix” playlists. Since my tastes are fluid, I don’t think of the Rating as a “good or bad” judgment - but simply an indication of the frequency with which I want to hear a particular track.

I start all my new music at a 4 rating. Songs that leap out at me, I will bump up to 5 stars. And iff I’ve played out a song, I will eventually down rate it; but never more than one step at a time. Just as frequently, I will find myself hearing an older song that just slays me and will kick up its rating.

Here is the “repeat frequency” allowed in my random mixes for each level:

5 stars –not more than once a week
4 stars –not more than once a month
3 stars –not more than once a year
2 stars –not more than every two years
1 star – not played in my mix

I find this to be very easy to implement and it can help you enjoy fresh playlists with a really nice mix of “hot tracks” – new and old – and a measure of older songs and obscurities to keep it interesting.

Digital Music Encoder and Bitrate Recommendations

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:04:00 +0000

When I got my first iPod, I did not realize that the default setting was to rip music in AAC format at 128kbps - which is a very lo-fi bit rate. Once I realized this, I did some listening tests and even on the iPod I could hear a distinct quality difference between 128 and 160kbps. But I could not hear a difference between 160 and 190kbps - so I began ripping at 160kbps in AAC.

[If you've not reset this on your iTunes player, do it right now: Preferences / Advanced / Importing]

All along my friend Ankur was encouraging lossless formats, but I wanted to balance iPod battery life (it takes more juice to play the hi-fi files), storage (lossless requires 10X the storage space), and discernable sound quality (these old ears have been beaten and abused at live rock shows for decades).

Even so, it wasn't long before I needed to buy an external hard drive to store my music files, and when I did I bumped up the bitrate to 190kbps because the marginal storage demand seemed reasonable and why not improve the audio quality (even if I couldn't obviously discern it).

Years have gone by, storage is cheap and I now have a 500GB drive for music files only and an 80 GB video iPod. I've also built a really fine music system for listening to my digital collection (currently 24,000 tracks). So in the last few months I have embraced Ankur's advice - and I am ripping my new music in lossless format using AIFF encoder. My belief is that music affects us on a number of levels - physical, spiritual, emotional - and the full spectrum of recorded sound should not be compressed without necessity.

My advice: always buy the music you enjoy in the greatest audio spectrum possible: CD, LP or lossless digital. If you must buy "lossy digital" - seek out the highest bitrate available.

My Digital Music Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:24:00 +0000

My wife and children gave me an 4 gig iPod Mini many years ago, and it turned out to be one of the best gifts I ever received... It nudged me into using my computer as a music server and I immediately began ripping my CDs using iTunes.

The Mini was a great first iPod for me, because it forced me into using Smart Playlists to sync a "fresh" portion of my collection onto the device. I really like this element of the iTunes interface, and the random play features occasionally pull some obscure track from my old recordings that I'd forgotten about completely - but really enjoy a lot upon rediscovery. It helps keep my collection in front of me - rather than just the most recent stuff I've been into.

Nonetheless, I've got a very diverse collection of music and some of it does not really want to be played together randomly! So I began using groupings to provide some additional intelligence to the "smart playlists" that I was constructing. I hope that you utilize this feature of iTunes, which allows you to "program" virtual DJs to put together playlists that refresh themselves. In a sense it provides a crude artificial intelligence of sorts - and by providing a a little "feedback" you can tweak how the iTunes compiles the playlist.

I will say that I am not a fan of the stock iPod earbuds, and replaced them promptly with Shure E3 earbuds (with Shure foam sleeves), which made a huge improvement in sound quality. If you listen regularly to your iPod on headphones, good quality earbuds is one of the best investments one can make.

Well, after I wore out the battery on the iPod Mini, I bought an 80 GB video iPod - which allows me to carry a good portion (but not all) of my music collection with me.

Most recently, I replaced my Dell desktop with a Mac Pro - which is an exceptional computer for use as a music server. And I added a Sonos system to tie the music server into my house stereo as well as my new office listening system.

I'm one of those people who worry that too many young adults today have not been exposed to hi-fi sound, and don't know what they are missing. Digital music can sound like crap - but it also can sound fantastic. It's primarily a function of source bitrate, amplifier quality and speaker quality. You've got to hear the difference!

Founding Madison Music Review

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:31:00 +0000

I will soon be coming up on the first anniversary of founding Madison Music Review. Fred got the idea to blog about the shows we were seeing one night when we were at the High Noon together. I quickly agreed, and Ankur was right behind...

We were good friends who regularly went out with one another to shows - as part of a much larger and ever changing body of concert buddies. We already listened to music together, talked about music together, bought music together and saw lots of live music together. .. Now we are also writing about it! . . . Next we'll have to start a band. [That's a joke!]

This has been a really energizing project for me. Previewing upcoming shows always gets me worked up for the performance. MMR also memorializes a lot of the great shows that we are seeing - and its out there for anybody who saw or was interested in the show. Occasionally we also get advance copies of CDs and the chance to interview cool musicians. What could be a better way to spend free time than this?

Why the Grateful Dead was cool... Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:48:00 +0000

The Grateful Dead was all about the live concert experience. Deadheads know what I mean. If you never had the chance to enjoy a live Dead show, the experience arose from many elements:

The Music – The Grateful Dead are originals, and are widely recognized as the prototype improvisational “jam band.” Think bebop jazz – John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, et al – when listening. The band pretty much played “full tilt” and because of the extended improvisational breaks, songs were never the same twice. A song that they played for 6 minutes one night, they may play next time for 10 minutes. . .

The Musicians – The Dead were a guitar fan’s “dream band.” Jerry Garcia was certainly one of the most talented improvisational guitar players in rock, and Bob Weir was and is an exceedingly creative rhythm guitarist. And Phil Lesh plays bass as if it were a guitar. (In fact, he frequently played a custom 6-string bass.)

The Band’s Attitude – The Dead were always low-key performers. They never postured, posed or pretended while they played, and a Grateful Dead audience was never asked if they were “ready to rock n’ roll.” They never had a lead singer, and all band members were talented instrumentalists. Stage lighting was dark and subdued, and typically psychedelic.

The Scene – The Dead were never a really popular band, so the people who attended their concerts were predominantly “fans.” When 20,000 people were brought together who know the repertoire and listen closely, it opens up the possibilities for great energy, great music, and a great sense of community.

The Setlist – The Dead played a unique setlist at every show, which was usually determined spontaneously during the show (at least in the early years). Songs transition from one to the other during improvisational jams. And serious fans listen for musical clues as the band builds consensus about what song they will play next. Their active repertoire was over 500 songs, and one of the reasons their fans saw so many shows was that one could go to every show for a month and rarely hear the same song twice.

The Dead had their flaws, and their fans know them. But its become a truism, there was truly nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.

My "deadhead" bona fides

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:30:00 +0000

I charactize myself as a deadhead - with a small "d." I make this differentiation because I never followed the band for a tour, I never sold shirts or burritos in the lot, I didn't count the shows I've seen, and rarely traded tapes. But I have been a fan of the music for a long time!

My first show was June 26, 1976 at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago. (I was 20 years old, children.) The Auditorium Theatre is a super elegant Louis Sullivan building with fantastic acoustics. This was the Dead's first Midwest show following retirement of the Wall of Sound and their two-year hiatus. The crowd was out of its mind, as you can well imagine. . . and Stella Blue literally brought me to tears.

The Wall of Sound - circa 1974

I saw them often when they played Chicago area theaters during the 1970’s, including many shows at the Auditorium, the Uptown and the Chicago Theater. And I had many magic experiences.

I began to lose interest in the stadium shows that followed the popularity of "Touch of Grey," and my last show was in Milwaukee at The Mecca on April 16, 1989.

My Daily Nature Break

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:51:00 +0000

One of the great blessings that come with caring for a dog is getting out a couple times each day for a walk. I refer to this as my nature break - and I've come to really depend on it to keep me grounded. . . or at least, more grounded. It's just amazing how the natural world can put things into perspective.

Abby has a nice smile - Don't you agree?

There are generally three ways that I walk with my dog, Abby. 1) She follows me on leash (most public spaces); 2) She walks along with me off leash (my home neighborhood); or 3) I follow her (open fields and woods). My favorite is to follow her. It's fun to watch her as she indulges her desire to deeply smell stuff, and she still romps at times.

2007 - The Year of the Music Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:25:00 +0000

It actually started for me in Fall '06 when Monica convinced me to join her (and Kent, Mo, Dave et al) at the Austin City Limits Festival. I usually like my concert environments small and intimate and I wasn't sure that I would like the festival scene. But she methodically overcame all my objections. I went for two days, and had a blast. Highlights were seeing Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Brazilian Girls, TV on the Radio, Iron and Wine, Galactic, Sparklehorse...

Jam in the Dam - in March 2007, I traveled to Amsterdam for 10 days with my 19 year old son, Dan. JitD is really special because it is so small - just 1,500 people, it's indoors at the Melkweg, and the invited bands play 2 hour sets each night for 3 nights. Very civilized.

Movement '07 - Ankur has been raving about the Detroit Electronic Music Festival since I've known him. This year, we went together and had a blast. I've always liked club music and electronica. Nonetheless, this felt like an initiation! For photos/reviews, [click here].

Summerfest - I always go in for 2 or 3 dates during this two-week festival. Highlights this year - Femi Kuti, Ratdog. For photos/reviews, [click here].

10,000 Lakes - a very nice camping festival in northerm Minnesota. For photos and reviews, [click here].

Lollapalooza - Practically in our back yard. Highly recommended. For photos /reviews, [click here].

Hello!

noreply@blogger.com (Mister Bill) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:45:00 +0000

I've just added this blog to my website to create a place for collecting my thoughts and opinions. I'm calling it "Turn It Up" because I really enjoy music, particularly live music, and I'm not at all afraid of volume - provided that the sound system is good! But I also think this expression well captures my philosophy of life - which is to give it all that I can, keep trying to stretch myself, and to be as present to the moment as possible.

If you are reading this, I assume that you are a friend or acquaintance that wants to know my viewpoint... Greetings!