Reading the Forest Floor: Wolves or Dogs in the UP?

About 4 inches long

I went out hiking to scout a few spots for future bow hunting and trapping. I usually like to follow lakes, rivers, and trails just to see where they lead. Keeping an eye out for deer trails and other animal tracks helps me get a sense of what kind of game might be in the area. While walking through the woods, I came across a few tracks that caught my attention. 

My first thought was whether they were wolf tracks or dog tracks? I don’t consider myself a tracking expert, but I do know that wolves and dogs move differently. Dog tracks are often found near where people travel, and the gait tends to look less purposeful. Wolves, on the other hand, walk in straighter lines with more consistent spacing. There may also be a size difference — it would take a very large dog to make some of the prints I saw. All in all, I’d guess they belonged to a big dog, but it’s hard to rule out wolves entirely, especially since some scat with hair in it can be found nearby, suggesting a wild animal had eaten game nearby. There were not enough other prints to determine gait.

Some extreme sports
were never good ideas.

Whether or not I find the perfect place to set a trap or a good overlook for deer, I’m just glad to be out there. Spending time outdoors not only improves health but also helps put things in perspective. While I can appreciate fine dining in the city, there’s something equally satisfying about simple camp food cooked under the open sky.

Outdoor Tip: Don't smear yourself with left over steak and go sprinting through the woods if you are unsure if there are wolves in the area. While they generally don't bother anyone I tend to give nature its space and avoid interacting when unnecessary. Protects them and protects me.

Common Animal Tracks in the UP-Manistee News

Tracking the UP Wolf

Wolf Facts: The UP

Reflecting on Corruption and Hate and How to Improve

A philosopher in modern times.
Encouraging people to believe in justice
and its positive impact on society.
We swear oaths to our values
and built institutions to 
protect those values. Praise
where they do well and encourage
development when they are lacking.

I’ve been thinking about what corruption looks like — and about the potential solutions that remain undiscovered or discussed but never implemented. When corruption is uncovered, we have a responsibility to challenge it, even when such misconduct is protected by entrenched systems or “clan courts.” But it goes deeper than that. The real danger lies in people accepting corruption as normal, as a sanctioned outcome of decision-making, which undermines the very purpose of our existence. People are quick to hate and engage in corruption but really slow to correct when it is discovered. 

I’ve been using a hypothetical, philosophical thought experiment to explore what corruption would look like in a system with a complete justice default. Certainly, there are those who make decisions for financial gain — putting vulnerable people at risk, engaging in sexual misconduct, bullying, retaliating against whistleblowers, or deliberately harming victims. Let’s imagine that people reported these behaviors, only for them to be swept under the rug. Worse still, those who spoke out were placed on target lists designed to silence moral conscience and maximize harm. A clear entitlement, intent to harm, and social pecking order. People damaged victim's employment prospects, social networks, allegedly followed underage girls, targeted adults, undermined a sense of safety just to ensure they and their friends received rewards and to keep the corruption networks sheilded from accountability. The patterns of poor behaviors of some members spanning years and many victims. In some cases the court was aware and some have dubbed them "clan courts". 

We should never allow or foster such behaviors. When institutions tolerate this, people who believe in their true purpose — those who reject discrimination based on race, religion, politics, or any of the divisive “-isms” — are often treated as undesirables (They are actually the one's we want in society. Develop more!). When they are minorities and this pattern of misuse of authority continues openly, a class of second-tier citizens emerges — people who will never receive justice, no matter how blatant the wrongdoing. If you ask the many people in this group they would know what it is like to be an out-group member while those in the in-group recognized no such difference. The misbehaviors continue because people believe in enforcing these differences where we could instead be indivizible (We should always seek to be unified in certain values and avoid division by poor actors, politicians, or officials.)

Personally, I believe all people, regardless of race or religion, have inherent value. Great nations are built by drawing on the best and brightest, not by silencing or excluding them (Freedom of speech and religion being fundamental to who we are.). When that doesn’t happen, there is always room to improve. Even if those who benefit from wrongdoing don't see the need. Improvement is the name of the game. Yes the mistakes of the past have created chaos on people but ensuring we are doing what is right going forward is a must and correcting the wrong doing is a signal that a hypothetical clan based court is going to try and serve society the way they were expected and commissioned. 

This reflection is meant to encourage those who experience injustice because of their perceived place in society (Value should be by merit and not intentional misperceptions). There are still people who believe in fairness and integrity and who will continue to fight for both (They see the value in different types of peoples and the protections of each). Sometimes they take risks because others were negligent of the victims of the past and present in a way that created new victims. The best and brightest — not merely the most connected — should rise to leadership. Hate and corruption have no place among us, and those who protect or enable such misconduct stand on the wrong side of history, whether or not their lenses is wide enough to perceive it. Rank or status does not free anyone from the duty to uphold what is sacred and just.

I found this an interesting piece to think about and how corruption might be normalized in some places. More importantly its impact when written and unwritten values are sometimes different. It also discusses in some ways how to restore trust and that is important where trust is declining and seems to be directly related to poor decisions. The goal is to build the highest functioning systems we can and ensure that we are developing society the best we can based on our shared oaths be drawing word and deed closer together. 

Court performance and citizen attitudes toward fighting corruption

The Brain and the Corrusive Influence of Hate

Hate is something we should never nurture in any society. When we see others being mistreated, vulnerable people imtentionally damaged, we should pause and ask ourselves, What if that were me—or someone I cared about? It can be difficult to convince some people that every person has inherent value, especially when they hold deeply rooted beliefs that place their own rights or status above others. Even more difficute the written and unwritten rules are clearly different. Hate rarely exists in isolation; it often grows alongside other negative behaviors due to a lack of empathy and the abundance of moral compromises. 

Coordinated hate can spread quickly, particularly when corruption begins to weaken the moral foundations of backstops. A minority of corrupt officials can often undermine institutional trust from the inside (This is generally why we want to remove poor actors. Mistakes are one thing but intent to harm is another. You can train mistakes but you can't train out a darkened soul.). I often use the example of a clan as a hypothetical, philosophical thought experiment to explore what a “justice default” might look like in a microcosm. Reflecting on such scenarios can offer valuable insights worth examining further.

Hate originates from a dark place, and once people learn to hate, they often begin to engage in other harmful behaviors. It doesn’t always need to be spoken aloud—sometimes it’s revealed in the unwritten rules of who we favor and who we exclude or who benefits and who is blocked. These quiet acts of exclusion limit human potential and stifle creativity and progress. Over time, the effects of hate can become deeply corrosive, especially when the moral conscience of individuals who are entrusted with society resources misuse their positions and authority to preference in-group members. 

The good news is that while history is full of examples of hate, it is also rich with stories of people who rose above it. They encouraged a higher moral order and greater alignment of oaths and social contracts to behaviors. The risks they faced while standing for their communities significant. The only true path forward is through learning, growth, and a shared commitment to helping one another become better versions of ourselves. When we do this, the positive effects—what some might call good karma—can ripple far into the future. What we pass on to our children and grandchildren, for better or worse, is ultimately up to us.

A wise founding father Benjamin Franklin who eventually became an absolutionist and was against mistreatment of Native Americans said,

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

A Brain Mechanism for Hate

Michigan Female Veteran License Plates Released November 10th.

 For all the female veterans out there, consider getting one of these new Michigan license plates — they’re set to be released on November 10th. I often share updates like this on a site I run for veterans, and this one really caught my attention. If I were a female veteran, I’d definitely want to get one. Thanks again for all that you do.

Michigan Fish Report: I changed my rigging and still didn't catch anything!

This morning, I went out fishing and, shocker—I didn’t catch a thing. At this point, it’s becoming more of a personal tradition than a hobby. I’m starting to think the fish are running a secret group chat warning each other when I show up. I’ve tried everything: mornings, evenings, different bait… maybe I am not doing something right. So I decided it was time to do some research and figure out what color bait might actually convince a fish to ruin its day for me.

There I was, standing in the cold like a confused woodsman, wearing my brand-new insulated duck bibs—because nothing says “serious fisherman” like looking like you’re ready to build a cabin. I dug through my bucket and found something bright and colorful, which didn’t seem like the right setup, but at this point, I figured, why not? It’s not like the fish were biting my “serious” rigs anyway.

Fishing around here is more of a community pastime, which is a polite way of saying we all go out to “not catch fish” together. For me, though, it’s about being outdoors—mixing in a little hiking, maybe some bow hunting in the near future, and pretending I know what I’m doing. The snow hasn’t hit yet, so I can’t break out my snowshoes or skis, but it’s still the perfect time to fish from the shore and admire the fall colors… while the fish admire my failure from below.

You’ve got your Kindle, your bobber, and the sound of birds laughing—uh, I mean singing. A light breeze, cold fingers, and a reminder that our ancestors used to do this for survival. At least when they didn’t catch dinner, they had a good excuse: “the mammoths migrated.”. I just go out for about a half at a time just to see if I can catch something before I go to Elmers or another grocery story to buy my fish. 

Still, I feel like I’m getting closer. The more I switch spots and mess around with my rigging, the better my odds. One of these days, I’ll actually catch something—and when I do, it’s going to be the most surprised fish in the lake.

(Oh, and if you’re curious about lure colors, I found an article that might help. It probably won’t help me, but hey—maybe it’ll help you.)

Bait Colors

You may also be interested in Michigan Fish Report

October ADP Jobs and Wage Report Reminds us to Fill Jars and Start Businesses

A person with a savings account
and a business plan to increase earnings.
Investing in his own business.

The latest job report, released on November 5, 2025, showed that the private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, with pay rising 4.5% year over year. This continues a generally positive trend of job growth over the past decade and a half. Employment gains were seen across companies of different sizes—those with 20–49 employees, 250–499, and 500 or more all experienced increases. The strongest growth came from trade, transportation, and utilities, followed by financial services and educational services. I was also pleased to see gains in natural resources, mining, and construction (Invest in the UP/Delta County).

From a broader perspective, rising wages are a positive sign, but inflation continues to erode much of that progress. That’s why many people still feel like their paychecks don’t stretch as far as they once did. Large companies continue to grow, which is good for international business, but I prefer to see more balanced growth across businesses of all sizes. Over consolidation should be thought about. When small businesses expand, they strengthen local economies, often laying the groundwork for midsize and, eventually, larger companies. Small business has a more direct relationship to family wealth. Larger companies are more stock oriented and therefore increase wealth of investors. A balanced growth portfolio across the economy would be ideal for feeding both as they both can provide benefits for economic development. Too much of one or the other creates consolidation problems and inequity of wealth.

It’s also encouraging that trade, transportation, and utilities are up, along with natural resources and construction. These sectors represent the movement of goods and the creation of inputs, suggesting possible future growth. I’d like to see more of this reflected in export numbers. The growth in education and health services is interesting too, though I couldn’t find a clear definition of what’s included in those categories—it might be buried in the report notes somewhere. If you’re into the technical side, there’s an intriguing formula in the report that calculates industry-level changes.

Source ADP Report

As for me, I can’t say I feel any richer yet—but that’s all right. Where I live, life is relatively affordable, and since I do most of my own work, I don’t spend nearly as much as I would in a big city. Lately, I’ve been thinking more about saving money, and I came across this “jar method.” Mine’s an actual glass jar, and I occasionally cash it in to move the money into an investment account. I think if we bought less but bought better, avoided overusing credit cards, fixed up what we already own, and stopped trying to keep up with the neighbors, our jars would fill up faster.

At the same time, wealth concentration continues to rise, so if you really want to grow your own income, starting a business might be one of the few ways left to do it—with all the joys and challenges that come along with that.

Oct. 2025 ADP Report

The Jar Method of Saving-Yahoo Finance

Human Capital in a High-Tech Military World (Open Positions in the Marines)

The military relies heavily on human capital, and as technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, high-tech skills are becoming increasingly essential. This is likely why we’re seeing strong incentives in fields such as electronics maintenance, cyber and crypto operations, and other high-demand technical specialties.

This trend highlights the importance of continuously updating the skills of those serving in the military—something that virtual education and training could greatly support. Many of these skills are also highly transferable, allowing service members to transition successfully into civilian occupations after completing their service.

For individuals, it’s worth considering how the skills the military needs align with major innovations in artificial intelligence and the broader digital age we’ve entered. We are living in a time when technology evolves quickly, and the knowledge we have today may become outdated within a year. Continuous learning is no longer optional—it’s essential.

If you’re interested in using your skills to serve your country, consider exploring some of the opportunities listed below. Many talented individuals—whether in college or looking for an alternative career path—may find the military to be a challenging, rewarding, and deeply meaningful option.

F26 Enlistment Incentive Program

Find a Recruiter