I'm not actually very close to making this happen - it's probably years away. But I wanted to write it down before I forgot.
I want to retire early. Maybe at 55. But I know I'd be bored quick, so I'd fire up a freelance business, doing three things: cartography, graphic design (like for fliers and musicians), and music (solo, bass in bands, etc). The flier above, which I designed for our upcoming album release party at Icehouse on 11/5, is what got me thinking about this.
And I'd have one rule: No AI.
If I could make just a few hundred bucks a month, I bet that would be enough to pull that off. I pretty much would just need to supplement my savings until I could get full pension and SS bennies. Maybe that's a pipe dream.
Yesterday, January 12, 2026, I got laid off from my job with
the State of Minnesota due to budget constraints. Looking around at the state
of the world today, and the actions of a remorseless federal administration,
that probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to you. But it was a giant
surprise to me. For over 6 years, I had worked with the IT team supporting the
Department of Education. I completed a major cloud migration, modernized our
spatial data and services, automated processes, and pinch hit on several
projects. One might say I was too successful, because maybe I
made my own job look too easy.
But all the high quality work I did makes me feel even worse
about getting the axe. Was all that effort not valued? Did my customers not
appreciate what I accomplished? It resembled the governor’s logic-defying RTO
order issued on March 23, 2025: like a giant stab in the back. I’ve only been
in this position for 6 years, but I’ve worked for the state for over
TWENTY-FIVE years. And these two actions just feel…senseless.
Let me be clear: I know this wasn’t an easy decision for my
boss (and his boss), and I could tell that they absolutely hated having to
deliver this news not just to me, but to another 6 colleagues. They are two terrific
people in an organization full of great people. They assured me this was entirely
due to budget problems and wasn’t a reflection on my performance. They are rare
leaders, in my opinion, because I believed them.
And I know that a bunch of my customers definitely do appreciate me, and they’ll miss my work when I’m gone. So, I don’t really think
anyone actually “betrayed” me, I’m just venting and processing the inevitable
feelings of anger and sadness that come with such a dire moment.
But here’s the thing: I’ll be OK, and I can say that with
extreme confidence. Do you know why? Because I’m in a union. Not just any
union, but a strong one – one of the largest independent unions in the country.
That means I won’t be on the street. Instead, I’ll be taking
about a 10% pay cut to go work in a similar position, just with a different
team. (I’m even a tad excited for the change in assignment because it’s a great
fit for my skills, and I know a lot of folks on that team.) I get to keep all
my benefits, my vacation time, my sick time, and my pension. Most likely, not
all my colleagues will be that lucky, but they will all have some
protections from the union. And those protections are better than none.
I’ve had friends ask me over the years a question along the
lines of “what do unions do for us?” And this is the answer. My union does this
for me, but in a small way it ALSO does this for YOU, even if you’re not in a
union job. Because if nobody had a union, all employers could treat us like replaceable
cogs in the wheel, every day. But with more, stronger unions, they think more
carefully about how they treat you, because you might leave for a job with
better protections. It’s a basic concept of the job market: the more power
employees have, the more respect they get, across the board.
A long time ago, unions fought for the 40-hour work week.
They fought to reduce child labor, for better workplace safety, and for basic
respect. We honor those fights with Labor Day. And today, unions stand with our
neighbors for justice, because a harm to one is a harm to all. (And yes, I’m
writing this from Minnesota, where the only ICE we want to see is on the hockey
rink. This past week’s events make my job loss seem like a picnic, and if you
aren’t upset about our communities being terrorized by federal agents, you can
just keep scrolling.)
So, if you’re not in a union job, maybe you should be asking
yourself why that is. Maybe you should talk to your colleagues about what that
would mean. Are unions perfect? No, but what human construct is? Belonging
to an imperfect organization full of colleagues, neighbors, and friends that
look out for one another and step up when times are tough is WAY better than
not belonging at all.
So don’t just get mad, my friends. Get organized, too.
UPDATE: It's now relatively public knowledge that I'll be moving to a MNIT team supporting the DOT.
You can follow me at https://mapstodon.space/@mmdolbow
or if you're on the Skies of Blue, you can follow me via the bridge at
https://bsky.app/profile/mmdolbow.mapstodon.space.ap.brid.gy
Make it rain!
Leading up to October 2022, I said to myself, "If that dork Elon actually buys Twitter, I'm done." Then he did it. So I archived my account (@mmdolbow) and blew that sucker away. Never been happier. I'm on Mastodon now - https://mastodon.social/@mmdolbow at least for now (might migrate to another server in the future). Hope to see you there!
Over seven years after joining Twitter, I've crossed the 500 follower mark. I'm sure to anyone with tens of thousands of followers would snicker at that total, but I'm going to take that risk, because I doubt many of them will be reading this post. Instead, this post is for my followers who have given me so much valuable interaction on Twitter, because I want them all to know that I appreciate them very much. Especially because, if they've looked at my profile, they've seen that I only follow 100 Twitter accounts at a time. And yet they've still chosen to follow me...even if there's only a small chance that I'll follow them back.
So, on this occasion, I feel compelled to explain why that's my practice. You see, except when I'm on a digital detox, I try to read every Tweet in my timeline. It's a customized news feed for me. Most of the people I follow are in the geospatial arena, or open data and technology fields. I follow a handful of sports/comedy/entertainment accounts, musicians that I am in a band with, and my employer...but that's about it. This way I hear about news that I wouldn't hear about anywhere else. If you search Google News for "GIS", you get information about General Mills and the Ghana Immigration Service before you find anything about maps. But by following the people I follow, I hear about stuff like when MapQuest removed free access to their basemap tiles, and that's extremely important for me.
Every few months or so, I remove one account and add a new one to mix things up. I've gotten to the point now where it's really hard to decide who to unfollow. I value so many of the interactions I've had on Twitter and I've learned something from almost every person I follow. There are people like Erin Kissane, who I followed, unfollowed, and now am following again. There are local colleagues who have private accounts, and there are my partners in GeoHipster. The mix is about 50/50 men/women, but I could stand to follow more minorities and people of color. Because the ability of Twitter to increase my awareness of injustice and discrimination is one of the things I value the most. (And it speaks to my privilege to say that I've not experienced much harassment by bro trolls, bots, or other jerks.)
A lot of the people I follow Tweet fairly frequently, so my feed fills up pretty fast, but I can still get through it most days, usually just over breakfast and on my bus ride home. And I like it that way. But if I followed 200 people, or followed back all 500+ of my followers, that wouldn't work. Because like the goofy aliens dude above, I'm just not that smart. I'm a pretty slow reader, and my noggin only has so much room in it. So, this is the way I "slow consume" a very "fast" social media platform.
I know this makes me weird. It might even lose me a few followers. But for those I have gained over the years, I thank you. If you Tweet a lot about geo stuff, there's a chance I'll follow you back in the future...but I hope you'll forgive me if it doesn't happen right away!
OK, so maybe I'm not old enough to be composing "bucket lists" just yet. But I do care a heck of a lot about music, something that has been an integral part of my life since I was a kid. And some of the musicians who have made a big impact on me aren't exactly aging in reverse Benjamin-Button-style, so I figured I'd better get this list down before I regret it. Because, you know, that might actually win me some tickets or something. In an alternate universe.
This is a unique list. It's not a list of my favorite artists, which is insanely long and heavily peppered by relatively obscure acts like Toad the Wet Sprocket and completely obscure and practically defunct artists like The Deliriants. No, this is a list of (rock) bands that I haven't seen live, but want to, somehow, somewhere. Admittedly, some of these are probably pipe dreams. But others aren't, so let's take a look:
1. Led Zeppelin
I know what you're thinking: "Ha ha, very funny Mike. One of them is dead, and they'll never tour again." But hear me out. In 2007, Led Zeppelin reunited for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert with Jason Bonham on the drums. They considered touring but Robert Plant backed out. But outside of John Bonham obviously, they're all still alive! It could happen again! I would totally see basically any combination of these guys if they came to the States - even if Jason Bonham couldn't be on drums. (My personal fantasy would be if Dave Grohl could be on drums.) But wouldn't it also be cool if Page, Jones, and Bonham toured with some young punk like Andrew Stockdale who could still hit all the high notes? Let's just pretend it could happen and leave it at that.
2. Peter Gabriel
Right, so here's another long shot. But I can't make a list like this without including the Sledgehammer. I've watched enough YouTube videos of his tours to know that any live performance by him would be epic to witness in person. Try finding one of the videos of "Come Talk To Me" (particularly with Paula Cole singing the harmony parts) and tell me I'm wrong. Heck, I bet he could even deliver a compelling performance from a wheelchair. He toured the States in 2012 so maybe it'll happen again.
3. Sleater-Kinney
And now we're not only getting realistic, but completely changing the dynamic of the list! After reading the first two entries, this has to throw you for a loop, right? Well, I have to admit that after seeing the video at the top of the post and reading this review, my interest has been piqued.
And, let's be honest, I simply can't bring myself to make a list like this that's full of dudes when I've enjoyed so many concerts by female artists or female-fronted bands, like these:
Letters to Cleo (multiple times)
Liz Phair
Jonatha Brooke
Sarah MacLachlan
Patty Griffin
Tori Amos
Jonatha Brooke was on an early version of this list, and then I saw her at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, which was an excellent show. So, let's hear it for the chicks. They've made some seriously excellent rock over the years, and S-K is just one example that I'd like to see. Any band that makes use of D♭ tuning gets my respect.
4. Cake
Let's stick with the quirky West Coast alternative bands for a bit, shall we? These guys are nothing if not unique, featuring a trumpet in almost every song and a deadpan delivery that probably turns off most music fans. But I once heard that their typical club show includes full-blown crowd involvement, particularly on the songs where there's a lot of "callback" shouting vocals. Whenever I listen to their songs from Prolonging the Magic and Comfort Eagle, I can't help but picture how awesome that must be.
5. OK GO
How can dudes who came up with this idea be anything but brilliant in concert?
And that's just ONE of their zany videos! Have you seen the Rube Goldberg one? Or the one with the treadmills? How about the drone one? Sign me up.
6. Pearl Jam
Thankfully, these guys have continued to produce excellent music and continue touring. And I think they've finally found "their drummer" with Matt Cameron. So I'm really hopeful that someday this will come together. Cost might be an obstacle, but really, shouldn't something on a bucket list be worth spending money on?
7. Del Amitri
As far as I know, these guys are broken up. The lead singer gets out once in a while, but I think this is also a long shot. I'm a bit pessimistic at times. Probably because I've listened to a lot of Del Amitri.
8. Carbon Leaf
So let's find some optimism! I only know a few of these guys' songs, but what I have heard is really, really amazing. That rare group that can make upbeat, poppy songs without sounding like Hanson.
9. Beth Orton
All right, I'll admit it, once I got to like seven on this list I started coming up with reaches so I could get to ten. I have a few of Beth's songs, and love them, and she'd probably be great in concert. But I won't be heartbroken if I never see her.
10. Muse
England's loudest band!!!! Here's another confession: I ran out of steam talking about these groups. What's that saying on writing about music? Forget it...just watch the video already. And turn it up!
I'll skip the obligatory comment at how infrequently I blog and jump right to the topic I want to discuss.
When I was in high school, I played on the tennis team, starting out at the bottom of the totem pole my sophomore year, but getting to the 6th slot as a senior. Anyway, my coach and opposing coaches noticed how much better I played in practice than in matches. When just "hitting", I was loose, placing solid ground strokes and firing decent serves. But in matches, I tensed up and was easily beaten by almost anyone who could chase down the ball and get it back over the net. My coach asked me why that was, and I had no good answer.
But I didn't have to wait long to get one. As part of a writing assignment in college, I interviewed a sports psychologist. I described my problem and asked her why I had it, expecting a complicated answer. She replied very directly.
"Mike, that's simple. What's going on is you are changing your focus. When you practice, your focus is on your performance. When you are playing, you are worried about the results of the match. Your focus has shifted to the outcome. Nobody can play well when they are constantly worried about the score."
I was flabbergasted. It all made so much sense. Why hadn't I thought of that before?
She went on to tell me all kinds of pertinent stories, such as how the legendary John Wooden would address the same topic in the huddle with his players. They would say, "But Coach, look at the score, we're losing!" And he would reply, "I don't care about the score. Do what I'm asking you to do, and the score won't matter." And ironically, by focusing on performance, Coach Wooden had tremendous success - you certainly can't argue with his results.
This concept would prove very valuable to me later in life, even in relatively low pressure situations. When I was in a young rock band and we'd be getting ready to play to a tough crowd or open up for a really good band, some of the guys would get nervous about the gig. I would say to the them, "Listen, forget about that other band. Forget about how the audience reacts. We're a good band, and we've practiced these songs over and over. Let's focus on playing them as well as we've practiced them. If you frig up, laugh at yourself and move on, because if we have fun, the audience is more likely to have fun. But if we're not having fun, they won't have a good time no matter what we sound like." I'm not sure if this helped the other guys or not, but I know it helped me.
And now, in my professional career, I'm lucky that I'm not in a lot of high-pressure situations on a regular basis. But sometimes I am, and when I have time to prepare, I can focus on my performance to deliver my best. Let's take public speaking, particularly delivering prepared speeches or presentations. I generally get quite a charge out of it; the bigger the group and higher the profile, the more excited I get. But I won't kid you, that excitement is accompanied by serious nerves - my hands shake and my throat goes dry. If I start thinking about how the audience will react, I'm dead in the water.
So I keep my focus on my performance. When I received an award from my peers in 2011, I had to give an acceptance speech in front of about 400 of them, many who I admired greatly. I must have practiced that speech about 40 times, including a dozen tweaks. I wanted to inspire them the way they inspired me. And when it came time to deliver, I was a wreck. But I focused on my performance, remembering each point, recalling each transition in order. No notes. It probably lasted only 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
Pretty sure I nailed it, though. Folks couldn't stop talking to me about it the rest of the conference.
But that's enough of me puffin' out my chest. That's not why I'm writing this piece. No, I'm writing to pass along this bit of advice that has served me so well for so many years. Develop your skills, practice them over and over, and then when it comes time to deliver, make sure your focus stays where it should: executing the task at hand. Forget about what might happen if you screw up, or if folks don't like the results. If you focus on the performance, the outcome will take care of itself.
This can apply to sports, public speaking, writing code, or just about any job you can think of. None of us is good at everything, and those of us who are really good at something have probably practiced it quite a bit. Sure, talent can take you to the game, but it's hard work that lets you take home the trophy. And you won't win every time; sometimes you miss the basket, sometimes your product fails on launch, sometimes you sing an amazing song in front of the wrong audience. But if you set aside the worry and focus on delivering what you've practiced, you'll succeed more often than not.
And there's always something new to practice, something new to learn. Heck, I'm still not very good in those classic high-pressure, confrontational situations that others seem to handle like second nature. I may never have the quick wit of Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet character in The West Wing, or be able to keep my cool like Liam Neeson in Taken.
But maybe one day I'll be able to play a match of tennis just as loose as I am in practice.
