The Twins are making it really hard to get excited about 2026.

Communication Monday Introduce your topic early and get to the point www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #communication #publicspeaking

Communication Monday Use ethos, pathos, and logos to improve your arguments www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #publicspeaking #communication

I get way too much enjoyment from pro sports teams doing social media videos with weird viral memes with their players (and the players having fun with them!).

TIL that there is a difference between a labyrinth and a maze

I don't know if this is actually going to happen, but I find that watching homer announcers on the regional sports networks for baseball is a much better experience than what I get for college football and the NFL.

The Tuesday night Big Ten Tournament games are going to be lit. 🔥 apple.news/Aw7VXxDtLQr6...

There are no Dairy Queen locations in the District of Columbia. So some poor staff had to hoof a Blizzard all the way in from suburban Virginia. Iowa's Chuck Grassley, 3rd in line for the presidency, turned 92. Here's how he celebrated www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/p...

This was a nuanced conversation about free speech that really made me think. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

I refuse to run in place at intersections while waiting for a break in traffic. No one is forcing me or even really encouraging me to do so, but I am not succumbing to any pressure.

Communication Monday Show emotion with your voice and your body www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #publicspeaking #communication

Communication Monday Use only one visual aid at a time www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #publicspeaking #communication

Grimm's diatribe near the end against the fun haters is more than worth the price of admission. (The rest of the interview is good also.) #RTB #SkiUMah #GoGophers podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The weather was absolutely gorgeous for twelve straight days and it was still only good for fifth. We need more buses.

Former #MinnesotaStateFair Grandstand performer gets engaged

This is one of the most underrated buildings of the Iowa State Fair

Communication Monday Incorporate any needed exposition into your stories www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #storytelling #publicspeaking

I feel like I have given the Iowa State Fair very generous laud, because it is a very good State Fair. But can we stop pretending that Barksdale's cookies are good? Every batch I have ever had has had something off about them.

Many years ago I was visiting my mother-in-law in NE Iowa and we started watching the Iowa PBS show about the State Fair. I was immediately hooked because the show is amazing. A few years later I am being interviewed at the Scotcheroo contest and I get on the show. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqKx...

The butter cow is a ridiculously good mascot for a state fair.

Communication Monday Talk about a specific instance instead of only general topics www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #communication #publicspeaking

One of the things that I miss about living in the country is actually being able to see celestial events at night.

It took me a hour to get out of the Iowa State Fair parking lot this afternoon. There has to be a better way to get people out of there.

It is a little surreal to be making a pie for the Iowa State Fair listening to a national podcast about the Iowa State Fair. www.thisamericanlife.org/839/meet-me-...

I got an alert five minutes into my run that it was going to rain in fifteen minutes. If I had looked at the radar before I left the house, I probably would have hopped on the treadmill. But instead I stayed outside and got absolutely drenched.

I wish people who complain about gerrymandering would define what they actually want. Do you want compact rectangle districts? Do you want competitive elections for most seats? Do you want like communities to be in the same district? Because those are three very different maps.

I am not ready for it to be August.

Communication Monday Review your outline before you speak www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #publicspeaking #communication

I am trying to decide if I should care about JJ Mccarthy preseason discourse or not.

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

We don't give enough love to Byron Buxton. #MNTwins

I have tried not to be a Pohlad basher, but they are not making it easy on their way out. #MNTwins

Based on the pictures, I thought there was going to be a Pedal Pub at the Minnesota State Fair. I was preparing a rant on how it is going to kill someone. But further research indicates it is just a booth for the business and not the vehicle. Carry on. www.mnstatefair.org/new/at-the-f...

Rooting for a selling team at the deadline is depressing.

The list of active MLB players who are older than me is getting depressingly shorter.

The fact that @twinsdaily.com Twins Off-Daily Podcast "Is Chris Paddack Still a Twin?" bit is actually going to pay off is kind of amazing.

Communication Monday Make sure you have enough distance from your story www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #publicspeaking #storytelling

I was hoping this episode would be a good discussion on tipping and how to move away from it, but instead it was just a one-sided hammering of the tipped minimum wage and support of "no tax of tips", which just exacerbates the problem. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Deep thoughts from #RAGBRAI - Today I was served a plain bratwurst on a stick using a coffee filter as a container. I did not think that was weird until several hours later.

Deep thoughts from #RAGBRAI - I should write a book on what small town Midwest soft serve ice cream shops call their knockoffs of DQ Blizzards. The Cedar City Creamery has "Snow Creams".

Deep thoughts from #RAGBRAI - I heard a bike riding up behind me playing “Pink Pony Club” on a speaker. But when he passed me I saw he had a pink stick horse attached to the front of his bike. I appreciate the bit, but is he listening to that song on loop all day? That seems like a lot.

Deep thoughts from #RAGBRAI - I had two different root beers made by local brewers today. I know I like root beer and I know they are not all the same. But I can't tell you what makes different root beers different.

Communication Monday The challenges you speak about should be relatable to the audience www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-d... #communication #publicspeaking

Deep thoughts from #RAGBRAI - Today an Australian guy gave me a cookie while we were riding because I was wearing a Cookie Monster bike jersey. That doesn't happen in normal life.

Deep thoughts from #RAGBRAI - I don't spend enough time lying in the grass.

Packing is way more stressful that it should be.

Everyone is reporting this at face value. Isn’t the more logical explanation that if they use weather as an excuse it probably saves them fees they would have to pay if they broke the contract for no reason?

The three finalists look pretty good again. I am a little bit worried about sweet stuff on the ham balls, but it is worth trying.

SWING OFF!