And we're off

Leaving in less than 2 hours, first driving to Denver, then in the plane to Vegas!

I am really looking forward to some time off, away from the everyday pressure of work, kids etc. Kim & I have both said we would be content just spending the time in the hotel room, although we probably won't do that. It will be nice to have some nights sleep without listening for the cry of a child, or the pitter patter of little feet coming down the hall to get in bed with us. It will be nice to have someone else cook our meals, and no worries about having to rush to get something done because we have to get home to meet the kids.

I love the kids, but I really need some time away from them to recharge the mental batteries before soccer season starts and James goes back to school etc.

As an aside, congratulations to my friend Andy who welcomed his new son, Lee, into the world yesterday. Now pretty much all of the 'Bagheads' are married with children. And if that isn't a scary thought I don't know what is.

25 Ways to Simplify Your Life with Kids | Zen Habits

25 Ways to Simplify Your Life with Kids Zen Habits

We actually do most of these already, so hurray for us! And the ones we don't do all seem to be good ideas that we could implement fairly easily.

Holiday Pictures up

Just a quick note

I finally got all of the Easter pictures up, from the Egg dyeing on Satruday night to the Easter celebrations at our house and Dennis'. DIdn't get the camera out at Dad's, although he did get some shots up on his SNapfish site.

In one of the pictures from Dennis' you will see Daniel dwarfed by his cousin Brandon, a mere 2 week difference in age between them! And there is an action shot of James being shoved to the ground by Austin, learning a valuable lesson of just how far you can push the older cousin.

He's Growing up

So in recent weeks James has begun to display some more mature habits/practices. In the past he was always insistent that a parent be with him when he went downstairs to play or go outside to play. And we tried to encourage a sense of independence, coupled with telling him that he could just have Daniel join him. Well in the past month or 2 that is what has finally happened. Now every morning or afternoon it's "I'm going downstairs Daniel, come on". And of course Daniel, like any little brother just goes along, happy to just get some attention from his big brother.

So on Easter we were over at Dennis' house and James was trying to play with Dillon & Austin, the 2 11 year olds. and like any kids playing with a younger cousin, they weren't exactly playing fair. So James called them out, said he wasn't going to play anymore, that they weren't playing fair and they didn't even know what he was talking about. So Dillon at least eased off, and was forced to adjust what he was doing so James would still play. Which really made me proud of James, to see him stand up for himself, which is not the easiest thing to do.

Adding another link today, apparently one of my hero's, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, writes a blog for the LA Times. And it is a very thoughtful blog, with not a lot to do with sports.

Happy Easter Weekend

So we had a good weekend overall. The boys got to look for Easter Eggs in 3 different locations, good food at 2 different locations. Everyone had a good time (except for poor Connie who got sick and was unable to do anything but sit at home).

And I was able to actually play some pretty energetic family basketball. My legs and back are sore as a result, but not my foot, hurray! It was a good game, no hurt feelings, everyone had fun.

So now the countdown week for Vegas begins. There were a few times over the weekend when I just kept reminding myself that in a week I would be relaxing in a nice hotel with no children around to stress about or cause me stress in less than a week.

It's Spring Break for James, but he might not have as much fun as he hoped because of Kim's work schedule, it will be a little harder for him to just spend all day every day playing with JonDel. Because she will be going to work every day around 1, so he will need someone to watch him, and can't just play with Jon. I am hoping to work something out so he can have 1 or 2 afternoons of play time.

I should be uploadiong the weekend's pictures to Picasa tonight for those of you wanting to see some shots.

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlocks births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlocks births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

I won't go to into detail, except to say that as a witness to just this sort of situation in my own life I think it is pretty clear that what she says is true. Although I am a pretty biased observer, I do think my children are in far better shape for the future having a stable mom & dad who are married and live togehter versus their cousins who have no father figure to amount to anything and a mom with pretty much zero economic prospects.

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlocks births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlocks births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

I won't go to into detail, except to say that as a witness to just this sort of situation in my own life I think it is pretty clear that what she says is true. Although I am a pretty biased observer, I do think my children are in far better shape for the future having a stable mom & dad who are married and live togehter versus their cousins who have no father figure to amount to anything and a mom with pretty much zero economic prospects.

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlocks births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlocks births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

I won't go to into detail, except to say that as a witness to just this sort of situation in my own life I think it is pretty clear that what she says is true. Although I am a pretty biased observer, I do think my children are in far better shape for the future having a stable mom & dad who are married and live togehter versus their cousins who have no father figure to amount to anything and a mom with pretty much zero economic prospects.

Feeling good

So I just finished my third day in a row of doing my mile and a quarter walk on my lunch hour and I have to say I am feeling good. The foot feels completely normal, no pain whatsoever. The legs are protesting some from the unexpected exercise but otherwise it feels good to be moving again.

With spring being here, the weather warming up and it staying light later maybe we will find some time for some after dinner walks with the family. Of course with the boys starting soccer practice (2 nights a week) in 2 weeks that is 2 less days for it, but I think we can manage the time. I know Kim would feel better if she could get some more exercise, of course first I have to convince her to actually follow the Dr. directions for caring for the planar fasciitis.

And also Happy Birthday to Bam Bam, otherwise known as my nephew Brandon, Daniel's bosom buddy.

Transcript of Obama's speech - CNN.com

Transcript of Obama's speech - CNN.com

Wow, what a great document. What a great way to address the issue and answer it. This man needs to be our next President, and our country needs him.

Transcript of Obama's speech - CNN.com

Transcript of Obama's speech - CNN.com

Wow, what a great document. What a great way to address the issue and answer it. This man needs to be our next President, and our country needs him.

A new Paradigm

So in recent weeks I have been pondering issues that are being addressed in the election, although some are not. And one of the odd angles comes from the big news at the end of the week last week. Anyway from one of the links I posted last week comes the biggest issue/quandaries we face as a country.

How do we change our country and/or culture so we don't live in fear? How do we change things so a kid who does everything right doesn't have to worry about being gunned down in his front yard just because he's black and the passers by are Hispanic?

I do not have all of the answers but I have been pondering some and one of them was flippantly suggested in a forum I frequent last week, and in light of recent events is maybe not so shocking. With all the brouhaha last week about Elliot Spitzer and the prostitute there has been a kind of groundswell for legalizing prostitution. And I wonder if that might be the case for some of the other criminal acts that lead to the problems we see in our country.

From a non moralistic point of view (and I won't discount that is important) legalizing a number of crimes in this country might really change a few things. Prostitution for example, legalizing it would likely make it a much safer proposition for all involved, and could produce a new revenue stream through taxation of services.

In some cases legalization is not the answer, the drug or practice is just too harmful. But in some of those cases maybe a decriminalization of minor possession would help. Too often police look for any small amount of an illegal drugs as an excuse to hold somebody over and/or threaten them, resulting in higher incarceration rates for minor non violent offenses.

The goal of all of this would be to break the back of the stranglehold violent gangs have in this country. Take away or reduce their revenue and they start to lose their reason for being. I have been watching the History channel show: Gangland, and in pretty much every case the gangs survival can be traced to criminal activity, and their biggest source of income is drugs. Take that away and they lose their allure of easy money. It's a lot harder to maintain rackets like protection, or burglary rings etc. and easier for the police to bring down.

I have no vested interest here, I personally don't do any drugs now and only occasionally dabbled while in college. But I do want my children to grow up in a world where they don't read stories about promising young men or women being gunned down for no reason because of a drug war. And I don't think the current approach is working. Spending trillions of dollars fighting to prop up a foreign government while our own cities are falling apart is nonsensical and that is where we are right now. We need a shift in our priorities and a new political paradigm.

Weekend recap

So, not quite the productive weekend I had hoped for, but it was a good weekend nonetheless. The weather cooperated (sort of) for the Parade. The boys had a good time, although not quite as much candy as last year. I was not real impressed by the parade itself, more and more it is just businesses and organizations advertising themselves, there were almost no actual floats or attempts by people to do something neat and original. Plus the rudeness of many of the people there was pretty amazing. There was one couple that basically walked up late, and then just kind of moved in front of us and then stood in the way of the boys the whole time, so they could barely see the parade. And had I not kind of moved up and not so subtly gotten them to move over at all they would have just stood in front of the boys. But I got some good pictures, posted them on the Picasa site.

Kim had to work Sunday so I didn't try and do much other than get the house picked up some. Daniel decided he did not want to go to Sunday school so I had him & Emily. But they were both pretty good so long as I didn't get too ambitious.

We rearranged the furniture in the boy's room in the hopes that would get Daniel to stay in his bed, but after 2 nights no luck. We have a few more things to try and then it may just come down to our patience and willingness to get up and take him to his room every time he gets up.

If it's snowy and wet outside, it must be March

Things to ponder and plans for the weekend

1. We plan to go to the St. Patrick's Day parade tomorrow, unless there is too much chill and/or overcast for Emily. Even then we might work something else out.

2. Hard to believe it's the Ides of March already, and St. Patrick's Day, with Easter right around the corner. Where did the year go? This morning I was noticing how amazing alert Emily is now, just laying on the floor, propping herself up with her hands and just looking around, staring at whomever is talking.

3. If Kim has Sunday off we might finally get started on the kitchen now that we have some good drywall sandpaper.

4. Walked the last 2 days, foot feels fine, my legs are a little tired, not used to the exercise. But I think I am ready to really start exercising again, daily walks etc. Would have walked the boys to school today, but the weather did not cooperate.

ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: 'To An Athlete Dying Young'

ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: 'To An Athlete Dying Young'

Wow, just wow. If this doesn't bring a little tear to the eye of any parent...

More D&D commentary

Re: yesterday's link to the article on Gary Gygax
The thing I found most interesting is that Gygax himself had reached basically the same conclusions about the games and rules that most of us long time gamers had also reached: don't let the rules get in the way of having a good time. There was a time when D&D and most other games had reached a point where you it felt like you had to carry a library to play and there was a rule for just about every occasion. And the trend since the mid 90's was away from that, and it is comforting to see that even the Great Gygax had reached the same conclusion.

Also, it is fitting to note that my favorite fictional series: The Malazan saga by Steven Erikson, apparently started life as a long time D&D campaign world, run by the author. Which explains so much as far as how in depth the world is, and why the characters seem so much like players in a role playing game.

The Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax

The Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax

This article really covers just about everything a person should know about D&D, it's origins, and it's impact. And it also tells the story of Gygax at the same time, making it very interesting from that perspective as well.

Moving on up

So Kim's patience paid off, she will be changing jobs at Kings in 2 weeks, moving to the Dairy as a clerk. There will be a pay increase that will offset the fact that the position is nominally part time. If she works the minimum 20 hours at the new rate she will make basically the same as if she worked 35 hours at her present position. And I doubt she will work only 20 hours. Especially once she gets in there and shows what a willing and hard worker she is, plus understands the key concepts like rotation, and mark down dates. It has been tough but she persevered and it has paid off, and will probably continue to pay off for her.

Otherwise we had a pretty calm weekend, Kim had to work both days so I was home with the kids, except for when the boys went to Sunday school and piano lesson. While we didn't try and do too much it was nice to kind of relax around the house with the boys.

Media control

So with my linking to the TV control tool yesterday I have begun to ponder on things to do to ease the hit for the kids when I start turning off the TV/Video games. The thing is it looks like James is like me when it comes to silence: we don't like it. Ever since I can remember I have disliked doing anything in silence. I listened to music when I read or played games. I used to drive my mother crazy by listening to music and/or watching TV while doing homework.

So my new resolve (brand new as of this morning) is to show James how to turn on the stereo and/or Tivo music. And encourage him to listen to music when he is playing with Lego's or other toys instead of having cartoons in the back ground. This will also help Daniel's development and Emily as well.

It also means I have to re-establish my network and reload the Tivo connection so I can access my music in the living room. I also may have to look at investing in a small stereo for the living room anyway since I can't leave the PC running all the time (burnt out motherboard on old PC).

Role playing: D&D and beyond

So with the passing this week of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons , and really the face of the game in it's formative years, there have been a lot of tributes and obituaries. Here are a couple of good ones:
A Slate writer recaps D&D

Steve Jackson recaps the impact of Gygax & D&D

So I got to thinking about Role Playing games and their impact on my life. I can credit Role playing games for most of my friendships where I see the friends on a regular basis, including one of my best friends, Forrest. To some extent I credit Role playing with helping keep alcohol from dominating my social life in my twenties. And Role playing games have driven much of my reading and movie preferences of the years.

I was introduced to D&D the summer between 6th & 7th grades by a cousin and was quickly hooked. While I didn't really 'play' as much during my junior high and high school years I did play some and much of my spare time was spent in the various role playing worlds of my imagination. I stopped playing in college for a variety of reasons the biggest being I somehow thought it wasn't cool and I was desperately trying to fit in.

My last year living in Boulder I was reintroduced to role playing through my friend little Mark, and quickly immersed myself in it. I used Role playing as a way to introduce myself to people and develop friendships when I was in graduate school, when I came home after graduate school and when I lived in North Carolina.

I still play, albeit not as frequently as I would like, with the same group that I have been playing with for several years now. It is my 'social life' outside of the family. And most sessions are still as fun as the first good games I played 20+ years ago.

TV Allowance - television time manager

TV Allowance - television time manager

A very interesting device, I would ponder getting 1 (or 2) if not for the price tag. I don't think it would work as well for older kids (who would know how to re-wire things). But it would come in handy now, especially with James starting to show signs of video and cartoon addiction (just like me). I have already laid down the law that when the weather improves there will be no day time Playstation and/or cartoons. But this device adds the element of self management, which would be very interesting and I think a good lesson.

Picking back up

So the momentum on the blog is picking back up after a rather sparse February. Just didn't have the same focus last month as I did prior. Part of that has been disappointment over the lack of reading and feedback. I was hoping to generate enough readership to generate some actual income. But that failed miserably, so I am getting back into the saddle with the focus back on keeping up with family news and the occasional item that sparks my interest.

Saw the foot Dr. yesterday and I was given a clean bill of health, saw the X-rays and the bone is back in alignment. So starting today, weather permitting, it's back to walking everyday, and tryng to get the focus on exercise back. The biggest and hardest obstacle is time. My normal schedule is getup, have just enought time to shower, get dressed, eat, make lunch and maybe some minor picking up, then it's off to work. I can walk on my lunch hours, but not time for much else. Then when I get home it is normally do some picking up, prepare dinner, feed the kids, get them in the bath, get them to bed. That leaves me at 8:00PM with 2 hours of time to relax, too late to go to the Y and workout. So for now I will focus on the lunch time walking and see how that goes.

Great article on the need to use tools

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-03/st_thompson

As some one who grew up in a decidedly non-fixer upper/Do it yourself family this rings true. Aside from the house raising when I was in Junior High, I could probably count on one hand minus a few fingers the number of times I saw my father lift a hammer or other tool for something other than very minor repairs. Not that that was a bad thing, I had a great childhood and developed a lot of skills and knowledge that probably a number of other kids didn't. But when it came time to get my own house and/or car my knowledge of basic repairs was sadly lacking, had to learn a lot by trial and error.

Looks like it's gonna be a Showdown

So I was a little surprised by the results last night. Not by McCain, although I had expected/hoped that Huckabee would stay in until the bitter end and then go on to a third party campaign.

I disagree with the 'common sense' approach that the longer the Dimmycrat campaign goes the worse it is. I know that the longer Clinton and Obama go at each other the greater the likelihood the eventual winner gets a bloody nose. But at this point I think that it is unlikely that anything really damaging will occur. Instead I think that the longer Clinton v. Obama dominate the headlines the worse it gets for McCain. Because in this era of short attention spans, and 'what have you done for me lately' the longer the Dimmycrats campaign the more they become part of the collective voter psyche. And eventually people who don't really follow politics but who do vote will forget about McCain.

Weekend Recap

So very busy weekend, lots going on, but a fun time overall.

Friday was relaxing, ordered some Pizza and watched a movie with the kids: Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark. I wanted James to watch it because I think he is ready to appreciate it. He seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday was busy: swim lessons in the AM, then I had a work function so my cousin's girlfriend watched the kids. Then we got to relax at home. It was such a nice day I was not pleased with having to be cooped up in a work function, but oh well. I turned on the grill for the first time this year, grilled up some burgers, and yum, they were tasty.

Sunday Kim & I went to the Colorado Crush game, courtesy of the casino party bus, and Kim's Gold Card Membership in the Player's club. It was a good time, despite having to deal with a curmudgeonly (is that a word?) old man who did nothing but complain the whole time. But otherwise it was fun, Kim enjoyed the game. Then it was home to rescue the kids and/or Grandma Cella and Grandpa Pete.

So it was a fun weekend but, so busy I didn't get much of a chance to just relax a little, which is what I usually do on the weekends. I know that with Spring coming I will get busier what with yard work etc. but that is work I can usually do at my own pace rather than rush around. I did finally get around to uploading some more recent pix on the Picasa site of the kids. so enjoy those.