Brainjour

Justin Kerby

Colorado Ski Trip

by

I’ve spent every Christmas for the last 28 years with my family. This year, I broke the trend and spent the day with my girlfriend Amanda’s fam. We had a great day and had a white Christmas in Vancouver instead of a palm tree Christmas in Florida. 

Since my family would be apart for the day, we decided to get together after Christmas. We abstained from gift giving this year and everyone flew into Colorado for 5 days to do some skiing. 

10 people seems like a lot under one roof, but we made it work. We skied and partied for 4 days straight – most of the group managed to get 3 days on the hill. I skied Vail the first day, which was beautiful. It reminds me a lot of Whistler. The day pass was definitely pricey and lunch was similarly expensive, but the skiing was great. Relatively quick lines and good snow. 


I also skied Copper Mountain – Colorado is great if you like options. There are literally mountains everywhere. We stayed in Silverthorne which was within 30 minutes of at least 5 major mountains. Copper was half the price of Vail and was also great skiing – some of my brothers actually preferred it to Vail. 


We were in Silverthorne for New Years Eve, and had a party at the Airbnb. All in all it was an awesome idea. I much prefer the travel instead of gifts Christmas present. Maybe we’ve started a new tradition. 

Here’s a few more photos from the trip. Amanda and I at dinner after a long day of skiing, a sunset at Arapahoe Basin, and Amanda posing at a scenic exit on the way back to Denver. 

Edmonton in January

by

Yeah, it’s pretty cold here. I came out to Edmonton on Friday night for a wedding on Saturday. My two old bosses decided to get hitched, so I’m bearing down and trying to survive the -20 Celsius weather.

Haven’t had much time here, but I did get my hands on some Seoul Fried Chicken my first night in. If you’re coming to town, it’s a must try. Their Korean BBQ flavor is the bomb.

The wedding was a blast. We had a great time. Some of us drank too much, but I won’t name names. Here’s my pictures from the event.

Congrats Tu & Jen!

img_0730-1

Thoughts on Fort Lauderdale

by

Yesterday, my home airport was attacked. A young man walked into the baggage claim area at FLL and started shooting people. 

It’s always awful to see these attacks on TV, but I have to admit – it feels more intense when the attack is close to home. 

My business partner and I fly in and out of the terminal where the incident happened every month. I always fly the Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale route that the attacker came in on. It’s a wake up call that this sort of thing can happen anywhere, at anytime. 

I’ve heard a lot of people talking in the aftermath about what has to be done. Higher security at airports, bans on weapons, I’ve even heard people suggest all out war. 

It’s a very complicated issue – and I don’t have all the answers. But, in my opinion, it seems like more security and more bans are short sighted, reactionary responses. 

This country has a mental health issue that needs to – and can be addressed. 

Obviously there is more to the problem than just access to healthcare. But this seems to be one of the areas of improvement that if we invest in, we can actually make a difference. I think both sides of the aisle agree on this one. 

Everyone focuses on ethnicity and affiliation when these things happen – but poor mental health is the common theme. We need to give everyone access to programs and doctors that can help them get better if we’re going to lessen these attacks. 

Just my 2 cents. 

My thoughts are with all those families who lost loved ones, and those still in hospital fighting for their lives. 

The Best Books I Read in 2016

by

This past year, I read 27 books. That’s quite a few more than I read in 2015, but honestly, I didn’t find as many that I loved in 2016. Last year, I wrote about 7 books that I loved, this year, I narrowed it down to 5. Historical non-fiction, self-help, science, biography, and business make up the genres. Here are my favorites in no particular order.

 

1. How to Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big – Scott Adams

Scott Adams is the creator of Dilbert, and in this book he walks you through his path to success via failure. It’s an inspiring read, good for anyone looking to become successful in any area of life. He covers everything from diet to goals in bite-sized chapters that are fun to read. Unlike most self-help books, there are no long-winded explanations of things which I really appreciate. Sometimes these books can be summed up in one paragraph – no this one.

2. Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand

I know I said I wouldn’t rank them, but I’ll be straight with you – this is the best book I read in 2016. Unbroken is fantastic. It covers the story of world champion track and field athlete Louis Zamperini, and his journey into fighting for the USA in World War Two. It’s heroic, moving, devastating and enlightening all at once. Read it.

3. Creativity, Inc. – Ed Catmull

This is a fantastic read for anyone who works in a creative industry. Catmull is a computer scientist who started out working on Star Wars with George Lucas, then went on to found Pixar and work alongside Steve Jobs. He is now the President of both Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, and he has lots to offer in both experience and advice.

4. Why We Get Fat: And What to do About It – Gary Taubes

Taubes is a leading voice against carbohydrates, and his book is a simpler version of the much longer Good Calories, Bad Calories. He breaks everything down so it’s easy to digest (no pun intended). If you’re interested in health and science, pick up a copy. I actually downloaded this book on Audible and found it a great listen.

5. Long Walk To Freedom – Nelson Mandela

This book has been at the top of my reading bucket list for a while now, and I finally knocked it off. The struggles that Nelson Mandela went through are somewhat unbelievable in scope. He was persecuted and imprisoned, and let none of it affect his moral compass or belief in what was right. Often, he chose the path of resistance in order to prove his point or advance his cause. He is certainly the most courageous man I’ve read about. It was nice to fill in some of the history that I’d yet to learn about him.

Key West 2016

by

In November just before Thanksgiving, my family and my girlfriend’s parents decided to take a trip to Key West. We stayed at an Airbnb for 2 nights and had a blast.

The first night, we stopped in at Louie’s Backyard for a five-star dinner. The sun was just setting as we ate, making the very expensive bill more tolerable. Then we went out to Duval Street and checked out the nightlife – there’s always great music in Key West. Day two was spent exploring the city on bikes, followed by an evening booze cruise (with karaoke) and a spectacular dinner cooked at home by Amanda’s dad.

img_0187 img_3435 img_3494

My brother Mitchell put together a quick video of the trip, check it out below.

Key West – Travel Video from Mitchell Kerby on Vimeo.