For Just a Moment One Can Watch the Sunset-Art in Pictures

The other day I took this picture and put it up for a vote. Most people liked this one so I'm putting it out for you to enjoy. Art is a hobby for me, sometimes I sell something, and most of the time not.  If you would like to purchase the picture you can at For Just a Moment Sunset on Redbubble where you can peruse different products with the picture on it. 

You can also send me a message to the right and/or $35 to my PayPal and I will print any size up to poster size. Free shipping! If it is a smaller size I will include a mat frame (If available.) Pay Pal Link

illustrative picture

Delta County MI. Commissioner Meeting (10/07/2025): Airports, Open Positions, Veterans, and Investment Interest Continues to Rise

Entrepreneurial Corner
(How ideas start)
Tom states,
"Hey Joe, If we make custom wood 
pieces and furniture could we put a storefront
downtown to showcase our products?"
Joe replies, 
"Thats a good idea. I think 
I saw a storefront that was affordable".
Tom smiles,
"I bet we could
export these downstate and overseas".
Joe thinks for a second,
"We have rail, airport, port, highways, T1 lines
and even a new distribution center
coming. Now seems to be the time
to think of starting something."

Recently, I came across the county agenda, which is a great resource for understanding the latest updates, changes, and adjustments happening within the community. However, if you’re someone considering investing in the area or starting a business, I highly recommend watching the local government meeting videos online. Since COVID, many of these meetings have added a virtual component, making it easier for people to stay connected and engaged.

There has been interest in airport investments, veterans, and much more. 

Delta County Agendas and Minutes

Let’s say I’m an investor and I like what I see. People are working together, local governments are financially stable, there’s a skilled labor force, a strong sense of community, reliable transportation infrastructure, T-1 lines, vibrant harbors, well-maintained parks, events that promote retention, accessible ports, affordable buildings, and an administration that appears open to sound investment ideas. While there’s still room for greater coordination between city and county officials to attract new investment, overall, it’s a clear thumbs-up.

Industrial and Logistics Investments

The county offers an industrial park, a downtown area ready for new ventures, and several buildings suitable for refurbishment. Recent investments include the House of Ludington, a potential martini bar, new roads near the park, new apartments at Cats, updated marina signage, improved water lines, fun activities and more. Finding the right site for your business could be as simple as a phone call or email away.

The Right Investment Sites

Pumpkin Pie Baking on a Boat-Camp

For not having the right stuff
it turned out well.

Cooking is a skilled craft that’s becoming increasingly lost among younger generations as prepackaged, highly processed foods offer quick convenience. Many believe that this shift has contributed to various health issues stemming from a lack of access to fresh, whole local foods. 

To improve my fitness and maintain a healthier lifestyle, I’ve been getting more into cooking — and I also have a deep respect for homesteaders who embrace self-sufficiency (I like convenience so a little do-it-yourself is just fine for me. Our ancestors had it tough!).

This particular pumpkin pie was made on a boat — no full kitchen, no canned pumpkin, and definitely not much space. Still, you can make some surprisingly good food in small places. Boat cooking reminds me of camp cooking: it’s all about improvising with what you have.

illustrative/decorative photo

I didn’t have any eggs on hand, so my pumpkin pie was egg-free, but it still turned out well. I skinned and boiled the pumpkin, drained and mashed it, then mixed in sugar, a bit of syrup, cinnamon, powdered milk, and a little oil. After blending it together, I poured it into a makeshift crust made from a low-carb flatbread. Baked it for a while till it firmed up. Drizzled some honey or syrup wih a sprinkle of powdered sugar and your good.

With the leftovers, I made a pumpkin roll. Somewhere around 300 cal for the small pie and 200 cal for the pumpkin roll. 

 If you’re looking for a more concrete version of a similar recipe, try this Pumpkin Pie Recipe. 

Hot and Cold Strategic Decision Making in Leadership [Podcast]

One could say that executives and entrepreneurs build their success through the quality of their decision-making, which ultimately shapes long-term outcomes. Resources, social connections, and finances are all important, but it is the decision-making capacity of an organization’s leadership that most strongly influences sustained performance. Consistent high performance leads to recognition, credibility, and long-term stability. Gaining a deeper understanding of how hot and cold cognitive processes affect decision-making can strengthen consistency, performance, and leadership ability.

Utilizing resources to meet market needs is rarely a straightforward path—it often requires a series of adaptive decisions and continual adjustments. Much of an executive’s day is spent putting out fires and managing crises. These rapid responses rely on what is known as hot process thinking—quick, emotion-driven decision-making under pressure. However, each of these quick decisions should align with a broader, cold process strategic framework to ensure long-term effectiveness. Why flail in the water when you can have a sense of direction to swim ? The hot should serve the goals established by the cold.

There is a clear distinction between emergency decisions made on the spot and those derived from deliberate, long-term planning. Successful short-term decisions often depend on a solid foundation of knowledge and accumulated experience that allows leaders to make fast, intuitive, and strategic choices—even without complete information. The more knowledgeable your internal team, the better they can contribute their knowledge to make decisions. Likewise, the more experience and knowledge you gain throughout your career, the better you become at making decisions that generate new options and opportunities—assuming you remain a lifelong learner and avoid rigidity.

Differences in how team members view issues, explore problems, and draw conclusions can lead to greater insight and improved decision outcomes. Having a team of independent thinkers encourages creativity and innovation that would be unlikely derived from a single person or source. While business decisions are typically guided by strategy and logic, variance in individual perspectives enhances discovery and fosters better solutions (Hitt & Tyler, 1991). Executives on the same team may arrive at different answers—and that diversity of thought is a strength that improves long-term performance.

Further, executives often make decisions under uncertainty, with limited information and time pressure. The ability to balance one’s thinking—whether or not supported by others’ input—requires awareness of one’s cognitive and emotional processes. Emotional factors, both hot and cold, influence our choices beyond intelligence or reasoning alone. Understanding how these two processes interact is crucial for improving decision quality (Colautti, Antonietti, & Iannello, 2022).

One essential caveat: leaders must possess the humility and willingness to listen to others’ insights, weigh them against internal and external data, and evaluate their practical value. Openness to new information enhances understanding and fosters collaboration and trust (Kluger & Itzchakove, 2022). This mindset supports engagement, coordination, and overall organizational success. The best cold process knows how to gain, undersand, and utilize a collective of knowledge to enhance hot process thinking. 

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A Few Tips for Balancing Hot and Cold Processes

• Develop a clear long-term organizational plan that defines your mission, capabilities, and direction.

• Before making quick decisions, consider how they align with long-term goals.

• Even under pressure, strive to move toward strategic objectives—progress, however small, is better than stagnation.

• Consult with others when developing long-term strategies. Diverse viewpoints generate insight and lasting solutions.

• Delegate effectively, relying on your team’s expertise for short-term decisions while providing clear guidelines.

• Reflect daily on what went well, what could improve, and how to better handle similar challenges in the future.

Hitt, Michael & Tyler, Beverly. (1991). Strategic Decision Models: Integrating Different Perspectives. Strategic Management Journal. 12. 327 - 351. 10.1002/smj.4250120502. 
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227896490_Strategic_Decision_Models_Integrating_Different_Perspectives

Kluger, A. and Itzchakov, G. (January 2022). The Power of Listening at Work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 9(1). DOI: 10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-091013

Colautti L., Antonietti A. & Iannello P. (2022). Executive Functions in Decision Making under Ambiguity and Risk in Healthy Adults: A Scoping Review Adopting the Hot and Cold Executive Functions Perspective. Brain Sci. 2022 Oct 2;12(10):1335. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12101335. PMID: 36291269; PMCID: PMC9599766. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9599766/

Mentors that Help Veteran Entrepreneurs Succeed

It’s one thing to have a business idea and another to have the skills to turn that idea into a profitable, sustainable venture. Some people have strong practical skills but lack the business knowledge needed to make those ideas work. How can you take a good idea and a useful skill and transform them into something tangible?

Courses, mentoring, and participation in business groups can help formalize your ideas and turn them into actionable strategies. In communities like Escanaba, there are opportunities to start businesses both downtown and in other areas. Veterans can be one source of new business development with the right support.

Local veterans, in particular, may want to take advantage of this free opportunity to explore launching their own business ideas.

How mentors help veterans succeed as entrepreneurs

About DAV

Working on My Old Boat Engine: Getting it to roar back to life!

 Old boats are beautiful, but they require a fair amount of work. If you don’t have mechanical skills or the patience to tinker until things are right, you’ll likely end up spending a lot of money on repairs. I’m frugal, so I try to do as much as I can myself—whether it’s working on cars or boats. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of bringing something back to life that wasn’t working, or fixing up something inexpensive and making it run like new.

In this case, I was working on my boat, which hadn’t been running well and wouldn’t start for a while. I checked all the cables, cleaned the connections, tested various components with a voltmeter, ensured it is getting fuel, inspected the fuses, and changed the oil and filter. This time, it started right up. A little love seems to have gone a long way. There is a big difference between a boat with a working inboard engine and one that doesn't have a working inboard engine. 

The Funeral Sail Painting for Sale-Art as a Pathway to Insight

 Art doesn’t need to be perfect to contribute to our personal or collective understanding. It allows us to explore topics and ideas on a deeper symbolic level. Whether it’s one of our ancient ancestors drawing buffalo on a cave wall or a modern piece like this, art reflects aspects of life. When we challenge ourselves to view problems and questions through new lenses, we often discover solutions that others might not see. One doesn’t need to be a perfect artist to benefit from exploring art as a way of shifting perception.

The Funeral Sail: Sad in a Happy Place
8x10 Acrylic

Let us consider this piece I created a few days ago. My goal was simply to paint as a hobby. I’ve always liked lighthouses, sailboats, and the ocean, so I naturally gravitated toward that theme. After sharing the piece on my social networks—still very much a learner in painting—I received an interesting interpretation.

Someone described it as “sadness in a happy place.” They said, “The dark features and gray demeanor feel like a funeral sail with a loved one.” From that, the piece became titled The Funeral Sail: Sad in a Happy Place. It represents, in many ways, the balance of life and the acceptance of it as we live it. We are beings who experience both joy and sadness, and sometimes those emotions intertwine.

As I continue to improve my paintings, I offer some pieces for sale. Shipping is included. Often, I donate part of the proceeds to various charities, memberships, and events. You can message me directly and send $35 via PayPal with your address, or purchase through Etsy or eBay. If a piece doesn’t sell, it’s eventually repainted or repurposed. The best works are saved for the long term.

eBay Paintings

The Wooded Pathway-Etsy

Just in case you were interesed in art and leadership,

How Art Helps Leaders Shift Thinking In A Rapidly Changing World