A few days ago, I went with my family to the Redstone Grill near Ridgedale in the Twin Cities. Once again, it turned out that I went to a restaurant far underdressed: while most of the other patrons (and indeed, my family) were in business casual or better, I arrived in shorts and a t-shirt. I knew I made a faux pas with my wardrobe when I saw the type-996 Porsche 911 Turbo parked out front. However, my fears were unfounded, and we had a nice dinner. I had the pan-seared ahi tuna salad, which is basically sashimi-grade tuna served chilled and very rare beside a collection of baby greens. Very good.

Today I had my first day at Medtronic. The day was filled with orientation presentations and paperwork, but I enjoyed it. Medtronic makes a big deal about the quality of their atmosphere, and for good reason: everybody I met — new employees, established employees, everybody — was cheerful, knowledgable, and upbeat. I was extremely impressed.