Responsibly Wild Blog

The American people are blind. We're blind to the real interests of our elected officials. We're blind to the political process that empowers them to protect those interests from public scrutiny. We're blind to the mountains of corporate and special interest dollars that have polluted our government. What's worse, we don't even care. Two months ago we saw the conclusion to an ugly, contentious, and disheartening election where the popular narrative contends Americans voted for fiscal conservancy, transparency, and change to an obstructive federal government. Congress is supposedly half-full of socialist liberals who force the electorate to accept progressive values they aren't comfortable with and a healthcare law that picks the pocket of every family and retiree in nation. To that logic and flag-waving nonsense I say one thing; Cromnibus. The U.S. congress just force fed the American taxpayer the most disgusting, destructive law-masked-as-an-appropriation-b

For the last seven years How I Met Your Mother was one of the few TV shows in my life that was appointment viewing. Every Monday from the first night I discovered the show I tuned in. For five seasons I was blissfully on board with every Barney catchphrase, every Mosby dumb romantic gesture, and every other shenanigan that made the show so unique. Then season six hit the airwaves, and slowly but surely all my blind enjoyment eroded until the cataclysmic ending. Over the last four seasons HIMYM doubled down on the failings of the final seasons of friends. The show's writers embraced the worst parts its characters idiosyncrasies: Ted was a whiny, often moronic sap, Marshall was an over-the-top loveable dope, Lily was a sweet but vindictive menace, and Robin was a straight up mess with too many faults to recount. Thankfully Barney remained his madman self and was actually redeemed in a believable and slow manner. Before I get to the broadcast ending/alternate ending that inspir

To celebrate my birthday, a gaggle of coworkers and I went out for lunch. As is tradition, the birthday celebrant was tasked with choosing where to dine, and as far as I could see there was only one choice; Applebee's. Over the last few months Applebee's has been using Fred Hoiberg's "The Mayor" celebrity to sell hamburgers and raise money for the United Way of Story County, and as mandated by law the burger has the perfect pun name; the Hoiburger ™ .  So we hop in our cars, make our way to the local AppleBee's and as fate would have it I end up sitting below a sign selling the very sandwich I specifically came to consume. Being a big goober, as soon as my Hoiburger ™  arrived I saw it as my civic duty to snap a picture with sign, mimicking Fred's pose. Kissed by serendipity, I instagram my picture –including The Mayor's Twitter handle– and prepare myself to eat my half pound of chuck topped with sliced ham, american cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle

Kids and I get along like potato chips and cottage cheese, so good it's scary. Every time I go to a family function, friend's party, or meet new people I always end up becoming their kids best friend. There's no secret to my awesomeness, I just play with kids the way they want to play . Want to pretend the backyard is the ocean? Great, let me grab my imaginary surfboard. Have a load of dragon toys? Fantastic, I've been itching to burn down a castle. Want to draw or make a ton of noise? I was going to do that anyway. One of my longest running fans is a fun kid named Nolan, who is the son of my wife's best friend from high school. On our fifth or sixth date Marieta submitted me to her friend for approval. On the whole I'm a generally likable guy, but introduce me your kids and there is no way to say I'm anything but the coolest guy in town . Nolan might have been 18 months old, but we hit it off practically as soon as we introduced and have been buds e