Shorts Weather

The Bob Harris Episode

Buckle up, pod fans, because this is (probably) the best episode yet! In Emily's return to Shorts Weather, she shares the mic with Bob Harris, Iowa entrepreneur and auto racing legend. As Emily's former employer, Bob is able to dive right in and let the stories start rolling. From humble beginnings of junk yard cars and meat packing jobs to a stint with Joe Gibbs Racing on the NASCAR circuit, Bob has no shortage of tales to tell. And, if you make it to the end of the episode, you'll even get to hear Bob's retelling his and Emily's Gilligan's Island-style trip home from a racing school in Wisconsin. The episode may eat up a few hours of your time, but there's plenty of sidebite to keep you locked in! Bob Harris has been involved in the racing world for more than 30 years and has truly become an expert in the industry. His modified chassis design has become legendary with over 10,000 recorded feature wins in two different countries. His research and development has redefined the racing industry. Starting his racing career out as a crew member for the late Bob Shryock and then moving into the cockpit himself as a late model driver has helped Harris to learn all aspects of the race car. Many well known late model drivers such as Ken Schrader, Willy Kraft, and Steve Kosiski have benefited from Bob's  experience and set-up knowledge. His expertise has launched race teams to national, regional, and Super National titles, as well as numerous area & track championships in IMCA, NASCAR, UMP, USMTS, WISSOTA, and many other sanctions. Today, he owns and manages Bob Harris Enterprises (BHE), headquartered in Ames, Iowa, and also leads in-person and virtual training seminars through his education platform Race Tech Info. Enjoying my tangents and taste in guests? Subscribing to the pod and leaving a five-star review is an easy way to support Shorts Weather for free! More midwestern rants and rambles at www.shorts-weather.simplecast.com [https://dashboard.simplecast.com/accounts/2a8ce679-e016-493f-b7fc-eb21a4473989/shows/dd029ac6-84c1-4dbb-ba10-61813ec09e93/episodes/2944bd59-d2e9-4465-8a47-3a14a2d499da/www.shorts-weather.simplecast.com]. Send me a note at shortsweatherpodcast@gmail.com [shortsweatherpodcast@gmail.com].

I'm Feeling Uninspired + Upcoming Hiatus

No excuses here.. Emily procrastinated finding a guest for this week's episode during her busy season so it's another solo-hosted hosted episode. This week, she takes advantage of the situation she's created for herself by diving into her thoughts behind taking a break from creative projects and the burnout that can come without it. Knowing when your schedule, mental space, or abilities are asking you to take a step back can be challenging, so Emily breaks down her experience with feeling uninspired to work on things, even when she knows they are a passion of hers. Come for the reasoning behind the upcoming hiatus, but stay for the comparisons drawn to Top Gun: Maverick and the Catholic church's teachings? Yep.  Sit back and enjoy the fruits of the episode that almost wasn't and see you back here in a month!

The Back to School Special

Prepare for second-hand embarrassment: As a consolation prize for another solo-hosted episode, Emily pulls out all the stops with her middle school yearbook. As we adventure through expert advice columns from 2007 like "Top 10 Ways to Get the CUTEST CRUSHES" and rating systems for said middle school crushes, we also toss in some funny school memories and a shallow dive into the effects middle school can have on us today. Most importantly, however, Emily unravels the fever dream that was DUSO the Dolphin and some questionable primary school counseling tactics.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Hellish Record Keeping: A trip down 4-H memory lane

Well, sometimes procrastination gets the best of us.. in this historic solo-hosted episode, Emily pulls out her old 4-H record books and dives into some of her favorite stories from her years with the clover. As the famous Iowa State Fair takes place in Des Moines this week, we walk down our own fair-tastic memory lane. We also deep dive into some of the meaningful takeaways for 4-Hers (besides learning that peppers *aren't* an edible garnish??). Most importantly, Emily shares her dialogue on why county and state fairs are so important to our communities and makes a case for getting back to the fairs of years gone by... if you want to hear that conversation and forget all the reminiscing, you can skip to the end of the episode! Enjoying my tangents and taste in guests? Subscribing to the pod and leaving a five-star review is an easy way to support Shorts Weather for free! More midwestern rants and rambles at www.shorts-weather.simplecast.com [https://dashboard.simplecast.com/accounts/2a8ce679-e016-493f-b7fc-eb21a4473989/shows/dd029ac6-84c1-4dbb-ba10-61813ec09e93/episodes/2944bd59-d2e9-4465-8a47-3a14a2d499da/www.shorts-weather.simplecast.com]. Send me a note at shortsweatherpodcast@gmail.com [shortsweatherpodcast@gmail.com].

Operation T-Bone and the Beef Industry (with Dale & Duane Sloth)

The best way to learn something is from the source, and that's exactly the mission of this episode. In this week's edition of Shorts Weather, I sit down with Audubon County cattlemen and father-son duo Dale and Duane Sloth to discuss the (somewhat) recent history of the beef industry in the midwest. As a follow-up to our last episode covering the Union Stockyards in Omaha, Dale is able to provide some firsthand stories and memories of selling cattle at the yards in the 50's and 60's. Our conversation also lends itself to deep-diving into the background and history of Operation T-Bone, which proves to have a much deeper meaning than the town celebration I grew up with. Finally, we discuss the historic highs and lows of the beef industry, Dale's return to the farm after his time serving as an Army medic in the Korean War, and why being a cattleman is a special title to those who hold it. The end of the episode also features some more first-hand stories of Operation T-Bone from the history books. If you grab a cup of coffee and gather around the kitchen table while you listen, you'll truly feel like you're a part of the conversation in this episode! Dale Sloth is an Audubon County cattle producer, Korean War veteran, and proud proponent of the beef industry in Iowa. He and his son, Duane, fed cattle together for many years and are passionate about the promotion of quality, Iowa-raised beef. Both played integral roles in Operation T-Bone throughout their careers. Enjoying my tangents and taste in guests? Subscribing to the pod and leaving a five-star review is an easy way to support Shorts Weather for free! More midwestern rants and rambles at www.shorts-weather.simplecast.com [https://dashboard.simplecast.com/accounts/2a8ce679-e016-493f-b7fc-eb21a4473989/shows/dd029ac6-84c1-4dbb-ba10-61813ec09e93/episodes/2944bd59-d2e9-4465-8a47-3a14a2d499da/www.shorts-weather.simplecast.com]. Send me a note at shortsweatherpodcast@gmail.com [shortsweatherpodcast@gmail.com].