StartupGarden: Tag in the Blogosphere

OK, this is not Lean related, but I try to show a little personality around here once in a while. My friend, and fellow blogger, Tom Ehrenfeld, was pulled into a blogger game of “publish 5 things about yourself that most people don’t know.”

I’ll bite. Sorry to anyone who finds this not “Value Added.” Maybe this post is a goofy Christmas present of sorts, or just a waste of time.

1. I’ve met and shaken hands with Vanilla Ice. I was seated directly behind him on an America West flight from Phoenix to Fort Lauderdale (in first class) in late 2002. He was pretty happy to be recognized, especially since I knew his real name, “Rob Van Winkle.”

2. I am a classic “band geek,” having played drums in my high school marching band for 4 years and the Northwestern University Marching Band. Before the movie “American Pie” came along, I actually told stories that started with the phrase “This one time, at band camp….”
3. I’ve met and shaken hands with MC Hammer. Met him in a Daytona hotel lobby in 1996 or so. He was happy to talk about my hometown team, the Detroit Pistons (who were associated with “Hammer Time” back in the 1989-90 championship season, or so).
4. I sat in the front row (right behind home plate) for all 19 innings of the 1984 Detroit Tigers loss vs. the Cleveland Indians. I was 10 years old, I refused to leave the game before it was over, to the chagrin of my family. The game was one of the 5 losses in the Tigers 35-5 start. Just my luck, eh? But still, a very memorable game. I remember most of the details, including how Tigers pitcher Glenn Abbott committed two fielding errors in the 19th to basically lose the game. Can you blame him, it was 1 AM or so (I remembered that before googling it).
5. I’ve been seated at a Roulette table next to the rapper Flava Flav (at the Bellagio in Vegas, 2004). I was about to say hi when the guy sitting to the other side of him tried to say hello and Flav said “Don’t touch me when I’m playing.” I decided not to say hi.

All true. I swear it.

Maybe I can get fellow lean bloggers, Bill Waddell, Kevin Meyer, Joe Ely, Jon Miller, and John Hunter to play, by posting 5 things about themselves on their blogs (or posting comments here).

About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.