Dear James, Daniel and Emily
Everything looks rosy at a convention. I will never forget my parents sitting and watching the 1984 Democratic Convention, and thinking to myself "who are they kidding?" despite their rosy 'we are going to win' proclamations. But last night I felt that the convention this year is doing what it's supposed to do: unite the Party, show an excited group, and lay out the reason why they are better than the other guys.
I was surprised and disappointed to hear that the only speech from last night to be broadcast on Network TV was Biden's. I really thought that the Clinton speech was big, for him to come out and really shoot down the experience issue was crucial. As I mentioned in a forum discussion earlier in the week, no one is ever truly 'experienced' enough for the job of President, unless you are talking about a sitting President. And I thought Biden's line was the best answer: "We don't need a good soldier, we need a wise leader."
I don't think CLinton is necessarily going to sway any conservatives, a lot of them dsilike Clinton for a variety of reasons, but his speeches and support will help draw in the Independents who aren't sure of Obama's leadership skills. THe people who were bombarded for several months with lines about how Obama doesn't have the right experience etc. compared to McCain.
I probably won't watch quite as much of the Republican convention, but I will watch some of it, because I want to watch enough to get a fair comparison. Because I truly don't knwo that much about McCain's style yet. And because I am a firm believer that the biggest role of the President is setting the tone, and his use of the 'bully pulpit' I am interested in seeing how McCain can pull off that tone.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
More reasons this nation may not survive 4 more years of Republican leadership
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
There is this article demonstrating some facts about household income. When the Median household income declines over an 8 year period, and the poverty level declines as well, that tells me that people cannot answer yes to the question famously posed by Ronald Reagan in 1984: "Are you better off than you were (4 years or 8 years) ago?".
This is just another demonstration of how the Bush administration has taken a country that was in good shape, and mishandled things so badly that everyone is affected. Couple this with the insane budget deficit increase and you have some excellent examples of why change is necessary.
There is this article demonstrating some facts about household income. When the Median household income declines over an 8 year period, and the poverty level declines as well, that tells me that people cannot answer yes to the question famously posed by Ronald Reagan in 1984: "Are you better off than you were (4 years or 8 years) ago?".
This is just another demonstration of how the Bush administration has taken a country that was in good shape, and mishandled things so badly that everyone is affected. Couple this with the insane budget deficit increase and you have some excellent examples of why change is necessary.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Obama, Biden and ABB '08
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
I managed to catch the introduction speech and Biden's first speech on Satuday, I was impressed. I think it was a good speech. And I think it is a good indication that he will be able to take the 'low road' during the campaign and just hammer away at McCain's positions over and over.
It's an exciting week, I wish I could spare the time to watch more of the convention, but I have to fight Kim's voter apathy in order to get control of the remote. So I will save my time for tomorrow night and of course Thursday night, I will watch.
I read an interesting, and troubling analysis yeasterday that probably the one thing that is holding Obama back, more than anything else, is his race. That there is still an underlying current of racism in this country. That if the Democrats had chosen a more traditional white male this year he would be running away with the race. That the closeness at ths point can be attributed to the fact that there is a large voting bloc that just isn't comfortable electing an African American yet. I sincerely hope this isn't the case, but deep down in my heart I think it has an element of truth.
I managed to catch the introduction speech and Biden's first speech on Satuday, I was impressed. I think it was a good speech. And I think it is a good indication that he will be able to take the 'low road' during the campaign and just hammer away at McCain's positions over and over.
It's an exciting week, I wish I could spare the time to watch more of the convention, but I have to fight Kim's voter apathy in order to get control of the remote. So I will save my time for tomorrow night and of course Thursday night, I will watch.
I read an interesting, and troubling analysis yeasterday that probably the one thing that is holding Obama back, more than anything else, is his race. That there is still an underlying current of racism in this country. That if the Democrats had chosen a more traditional white male this year he would be running away with the race. That the closeness at ths point can be attributed to the fact that there is a large voting bloc that just isn't comfortable electing an African American yet. I sincerely hope this isn't the case, but deep down in my heart I think it has an element of truth.
Weekend Recap
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
In keeping with the Monday tradition I will go over the events of the weekend. We had a good weekend. James spent the night with Dennis Friday night and got to spend time with Dillon on Saturday before being brought home. I got a few projects done, Kim worked, overall nothing too stirring.
So my friend R.D. was able to fix our old PC and gave it back on Friday. So Saturday morning I was able to get it set up and running. Then networked it with the new PC, and got the wireless network running again. So I was able to reconnect the Tivo to the network and publish pictures on the TV again, which is nice, people don't have to go downstairs and wade through kids toys in order to see pictures. That kept me busy most of Saturday.
Jay came over on Sunday and was able to quickly connect the replacement wire for the big freezer so it is up and running again. Which is good news, it is nice to be able to see in the freezer and know what is there and grab what you want. Having the freezers is a big part of our overall budget which depends on being able to hold most of our shopping to an every 2 week cycle.
Kim is in the middle of working 9 days straight due to inventory at the store. She's having her usual hard time with working real hard all the time, then having set that expectation with her bosses, getting kind of chewed out when something falls thru the cracks. All I can do is support her and keep her focused on what's important.
James got to go to a buddies birthday party on Sunday, he had a good time. Which was nice because between spending Saturday with Dennis and then the birthday party James wasn't stuck at home. He was kind of funny when we went shopping for the birthday present, all he could talk about was how bored he was with his current toys and how he wants this or that. Part of it was just the complaining of a 6 year old, part was his way of lobbying for new toys (which can be pushed off with the reminder that his birthday is in a few months) but part of it is a genuine interest in doing something new. I had been thinking about taking out some of my miniatures and maybe teaching him one of the more basic games, and this little episode gives me incentive to do so, now all I need to do is decide which game is the easiest to teach..
In keeping with the Monday tradition I will go over the events of the weekend. We had a good weekend. James spent the night with Dennis Friday night and got to spend time with Dillon on Saturday before being brought home. I got a few projects done, Kim worked, overall nothing too stirring.
So my friend R.D. was able to fix our old PC and gave it back on Friday. So Saturday morning I was able to get it set up and running. Then networked it with the new PC, and got the wireless network running again. So I was able to reconnect the Tivo to the network and publish pictures on the TV again, which is nice, people don't have to go downstairs and wade through kids toys in order to see pictures. That kept me busy most of Saturday.
Jay came over on Sunday and was able to quickly connect the replacement wire for the big freezer so it is up and running again. Which is good news, it is nice to be able to see in the freezer and know what is there and grab what you want. Having the freezers is a big part of our overall budget which depends on being able to hold most of our shopping to an every 2 week cycle.
Kim is in the middle of working 9 days straight due to inventory at the store. She's having her usual hard time with working real hard all the time, then having set that expectation with her bosses, getting kind of chewed out when something falls thru the cracks. All I can do is support her and keep her focused on what's important.
James got to go to a buddies birthday party on Sunday, he had a good time. Which was nice because between spending Saturday with Dennis and then the birthday party James wasn't stuck at home. He was kind of funny when we went shopping for the birthday present, all he could talk about was how bored he was with his current toys and how he wants this or that. Part of it was just the complaining of a 6 year old, part was his way of lobbying for new toys (which can be pushed off with the reminder that his birthday is in a few months) but part of it is a genuine interest in doing something new. I had been thinking about taking out some of my miniatures and maybe teaching him one of the more basic games, and this little episode gives me incentive to do so, now all I need to do is decide which game is the easiest to teach..
Friday, August 22, 2008
Not a happy start
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
So today I had this great idea for a post, about friendship and expanding circles of friendship. And I will talk about that. But first I have to tell you about the really irritating thing that happened to me on the way to work. Everything was going well for me this morning, I dropped Kim off at work, then headed to work. Then as I turned off the Highway onto Academy all I saw on the side of the road were people with anti-abortion posters. Apparently they had decided to make a big splash right there today. Now normally I don't care if these people are standing around in front of Planned Parenthood, but when they get in my face on the way to work, even going so far as to try and come up to my car while I was waiting to turn...
To say the least I was mad, when that woman made as if to come up to the car with her leaflets I made sure to make eye contact and shake my head so she stopped right there and went on to the next car. Needless to say I am strongly pro-choice and I find the fear tactics of these people extremely distasteful. And to have to face them on the side of the road on my way to work angered me considerably.
********************************************************************************
This morning an interesting idea occurred to me. The idea was how our friendships develop in a circular pattern. And how I am starting to see that develop with James.
When we are born and very young, our friendships, the people we play with is very limited, like an inner sphere, to the members of our family. Which geographically can be limited to our homes. We don't develop tight friendships with people outside the home in most cases.
When we progress to a certain age we look beyond our homes, but not very far. At this stage our friendships generally come from the area just outside our homes, the neighbors, be they next door, across the street or a few houses down. Generally this next line is what is in reasonable walking distance for a youngster up to 6-7 years old.
The next circle comes when kids start to enter school, and how the next circle is the friends you go to school with. They may not be right next door any more, they may live several blocks away because the geography of schools in most cases works that way. So while initially they may not be within walking distance, by the time the friendships have really taken hold they often are, or at least within bike riding distance. James likes to talk about being able to ride his bike to his buddy Miles' house (of course he has to learn to ride the bike first). This circle is probably one of the largest in terms of time, because it generally spans Elementary school and in some cases Middle school.
Next is the big jump that comes in High School and eventually learning to drive. Because High Schools encompass a much larger area geographically you pretty much have to drive or be driven to visits with a lot of the friends you develop in this age group. I would call this the mobility circle, because friendships develop that would never develop without the mobility of a car.
The College Circle is stranger. You have the larger range of friends in that they will probably come from all over the place, in some cases coming from other countries. But because you are in college, and the commonality is therefore a pretty small area geographically it is a different dynamic. And because there is a likelihood that the friendships will scatter after college it almost looks more like a star than a circle.
Then comes the Job circle, where your friendships often come from people you meet at work. Which becomes a smaller band and circle, which becomes a trend. After the far flung friendships that come from college your life and groups of friends begin to contract geographically. Oh the friendships you made earlier can still be there, and with the aid of the Internet nowadays it is easier than ever to maintain those long distance friendships. But your day to day friendships contract to those people in your immediate area.
The last big contraction of the circle comes from having your own family. Coming back to the smaller inner sphere of your own home. Most of your life becomes zeroed in on your kids and spouse and things you do with them, and also those friendships that you can find the time to maintain whilst keeping the family focus going.
Here is a (very) raw sketch of what I am talking about:
.
So today I had this great idea for a post, about friendship and expanding circles of friendship. And I will talk about that. But first I have to tell you about the really irritating thing that happened to me on the way to work. Everything was going well for me this morning, I dropped Kim off at work, then headed to work. Then as I turned off the Highway onto Academy all I saw on the side of the road were people with anti-abortion posters. Apparently they had decided to make a big splash right there today. Now normally I don't care if these people are standing around in front of Planned Parenthood, but when they get in my face on the way to work, even going so far as to try and come up to my car while I was waiting to turn...
To say the least I was mad, when that woman made as if to come up to the car with her leaflets I made sure to make eye contact and shake my head so she stopped right there and went on to the next car. Needless to say I am strongly pro-choice and I find the fear tactics of these people extremely distasteful. And to have to face them on the side of the road on my way to work angered me considerably.
********************************************************************************
This morning an interesting idea occurred to me. The idea was how our friendships develop in a circular pattern. And how I am starting to see that develop with James.
When we are born and very young, our friendships, the people we play with is very limited, like an inner sphere, to the members of our family. Which geographically can be limited to our homes. We don't develop tight friendships with people outside the home in most cases.
When we progress to a certain age we look beyond our homes, but not very far. At this stage our friendships generally come from the area just outside our homes, the neighbors, be they next door, across the street or a few houses down. Generally this next line is what is in reasonable walking distance for a youngster up to 6-7 years old.
The next circle comes when kids start to enter school, and how the next circle is the friends you go to school with. They may not be right next door any more, they may live several blocks away because the geography of schools in most cases works that way. So while initially they may not be within walking distance, by the time the friendships have really taken hold they often are, or at least within bike riding distance. James likes to talk about being able to ride his bike to his buddy Miles' house (of course he has to learn to ride the bike first). This circle is probably one of the largest in terms of time, because it generally spans Elementary school and in some cases Middle school.
Next is the big jump that comes in High School and eventually learning to drive. Because High Schools encompass a much larger area geographically you pretty much have to drive or be driven to visits with a lot of the friends you develop in this age group. I would call this the mobility circle, because friendships develop that would never develop without the mobility of a car.
The College Circle is stranger. You have the larger range of friends in that they will probably come from all over the place, in some cases coming from other countries. But because you are in college, and the commonality is therefore a pretty small area geographically it is a different dynamic. And because there is a likelihood that the friendships will scatter after college it almost looks more like a star than a circle.
Then comes the Job circle, where your friendships often come from people you meet at work. Which becomes a smaller band and circle, which becomes a trend. After the far flung friendships that come from college your life and groups of friends begin to contract geographically. Oh the friendships you made earlier can still be there, and with the aid of the Internet nowadays it is easier than ever to maintain those long distance friendships. But your day to day friendships contract to those people in your immediate area.
The last big contraction of the circle comes from having your own family. Coming back to the smaller inner sphere of your own home. Most of your life becomes zeroed in on your kids and spouse and things you do with them, and also those friendships that you can find the time to maintain whilst keeping the family focus going.
Here is a (very) raw sketch of what I am talking about:
.
A true sign of intelligence...
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
My Grandmother Ruch used to say (and I paraphrase) "A true sign of intelligence is the ability to see 2 conflicting arguments at the same time." And I agree with her. It's about how having an open mind. I have a little knick knack on my desk here at work which has the following phrase on it: "a mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
Both quotes point to the same basic concept: keep an open mind, listen to what the other people are saying. This election is a perfect example of this. The election is in danger of people making up their mind on certain points, and closing their minds as a result. Refusing to listen to what the other person says.
I have been pretty open in my support of Obama, or at least in my opposition to the Republican candidate pretty much the entire year now. But recently I have tried to wade my way through what exactly the McCain campaign is offering just so I know what is there. And I think that is crucial to pretty much everything in life, take the time to listen to someone that you may disagree with, because they might have some good points.
I spend a good portion of my free time each day here at work involved in political discussions on a Forum site. And if someone were to go back through all of my posts at that site for the past 7 years I would feel safe to say that a good chunk of what I said on there 7 years ago is different and opposed to what I write now. And that is a good thing in my opinion. Because it displays my open mind and willing to embrace new ideas and realize when a position I have taken is incorrect.
However, there are some people I know who have decided how they will approach things, and refuse to open their minds to the possibility that they are wrong. And as a result I think they stop learning and stagnate.
I think the main point of this is that you need to keep an open mind, keep learning, and never close your mind to an opposing point of view. If for no other reason then it makes it that much easier to refute that view or opinion when you know where it is coming from and what it's foundations are.
My Grandmother Ruch used to say (and I paraphrase) "A true sign of intelligence is the ability to see 2 conflicting arguments at the same time." And I agree with her. It's about how having an open mind. I have a little knick knack on my desk here at work which has the following phrase on it: "a mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
Both quotes point to the same basic concept: keep an open mind, listen to what the other people are saying. This election is a perfect example of this. The election is in danger of people making up their mind on certain points, and closing their minds as a result. Refusing to listen to what the other person says.
I have been pretty open in my support of Obama, or at least in my opposition to the Republican candidate pretty much the entire year now. But recently I have tried to wade my way through what exactly the McCain campaign is offering just so I know what is there. And I think that is crucial to pretty much everything in life, take the time to listen to someone that you may disagree with, because they might have some good points.
I spend a good portion of my free time each day here at work involved in political discussions on a Forum site. And if someone were to go back through all of my posts at that site for the past 7 years I would feel safe to say that a good chunk of what I said on there 7 years ago is different and opposed to what I write now. And that is a good thing in my opinion. Because it displays my open mind and willing to embrace new ideas and realize when a position I have taken is incorrect.
However, there are some people I know who have decided how they will approach things, and refuse to open their minds to the possibility that they are wrong. And as a result I think they stop learning and stagnate.
I think the main point of this is that you need to keep an open mind, keep learning, and never close your mind to an opposing point of view. If for no other reason then it makes it that much easier to refute that view or opinion when you know where it is coming from and what it's foundations are.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
McCain's houses
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
By now we are used to the idea that anyone who is running for President as a major party candidate will be rich. You cannot run without having at least some money of your own. So when people start throwing around charges of 'elitist' or 'out of touch with the common man' it is all relative. But this latest little escapade of McCain's is pretty bad.
First of all, one of the tactics that has been used against Obama, first by Hillary and now by McCain is that he is somehow elitist and out of touch. Probably just because he speaks well, has an erudite vocabulary and is Ivy League educated. And in realtive terms it really has been a charge without much foundation. Yes Obama is well educated, as is his wife. Yes he is a multi-millionaire. But when stacked against his opponents he is relatively poor.
And this latest sound bite from McCain, it's really pretty outrageous. It's going to take some real convincing on his campaign's part now to show that he isn't the rich elitist one. If I was a poor person, struggling to make ends meet, and I heard a candidate state that he didn't know how many houses he owns, I think I would have a tough time thinking he really understood my struggles. And when he starts talking about tax cuts I don't think he is really worrying about tax cuts for people who are renting their houses or who are struggling to make the payments on that ARM mortgage some slick talking mortgage sales person talked them into. Not a lot of credibility for him any more.
By now we are used to the idea that anyone who is running for President as a major party candidate will be rich. You cannot run without having at least some money of your own. So when people start throwing around charges of 'elitist' or 'out of touch with the common man' it is all relative. But this latest little escapade of McCain's is pretty bad.
First of all, one of the tactics that has been used against Obama, first by Hillary and now by McCain is that he is somehow elitist and out of touch. Probably just because he speaks well, has an erudite vocabulary and is Ivy League educated. And in realtive terms it really has been a charge without much foundation. Yes Obama is well educated, as is his wife. Yes he is a multi-millionaire. But when stacked against his opponents he is relatively poor.
And this latest sound bite from McCain, it's really pretty outrageous. It's going to take some real convincing on his campaign's part now to show that he isn't the rich elitist one. If I was a poor person, struggling to make ends meet, and I heard a candidate state that he didn't know how many houses he owns, I think I would have a tough time thinking he really understood my struggles. And when he starts talking about tax cuts I don't think he is really worrying about tax cuts for people who are renting their houses or who are struggling to make the payments on that ARM mortgage some slick talking mortgage sales person talked them into. Not a lot of credibility for him any more.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
One (of the many) reasons you will be going to public school
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
This article highlights many of the personal arguments I have over the issue of your education. To be honest, economically we didn't have much choice, we cannot now, and probably will not ever be able to afford Private School. But this article really speaks to me as far as the many issues that spring to mind.
The biggest issue here is to explain that I personally attended private school for 9 of the 13 years (K-12) of my primary education. And as a result I got an excellent education, and access to some really amazing learning opportunities. And all of that was great. So yes, I am personally a little biased to think very positively about Private schools, and to be honest, if we won the lottery you would be attending my alma mater in a heart beat.
But, that isn't the case, we are not winning the lottery. So we have to make do like everyone else. Now is where the genuine philosophical issues begin. I am a strong believer in the Neighborhood. And I want you to get the same feeling I had from attending school with the neighbor kids, having the opportunity to walk home with your friends etc. And I also want you to have an amazing education. You are genuinely fortunate that we lucked into having such an excellent neighborhood school. But I think a big part of that is the parents, for a public school to be great the parents have to step up and play an active role, both in their own child's education but also as volunteers when necessary. Which is one of the reason's it's termed a public school, it is really oneof the main reasons our republic has held so strong, because the public schools have maintained themselves as melting pots and symbols of Democracy.
Unfortunately 2 trends threaten that, especially in our community: The anti-tax crowd and the people who view their children's education as a status symbol. I really dislike the anti-tax crusaders whose stance and policies have made it almost impossible to keep the public school system running. These people seem to feel that they should not pay for the upkeep of their community, and as a result services fail. This is a failure of the Social contract in my opinion, I feel it is our duty to pay a certain amount of taxes in order to maintain a certain level of services in areas that the private sector simply cannot provide effectively for everyone. And the anti-tax folk like Doug Bruce simply refuse to accept that duty.
The other more insidious threat is kind of an extension of the cliche of the Dad who pushes his son to excel in sports, like he never did, so he can live vicariously through him. This article has a great point in it where the interviewee talks about interviewing people about their greatest educational moment and these 'soccer mom' types all talk about Graduate school, and act like that is what they want for their Kindergarten kids. The threat comes from people who want to make a child's education a status symbol just like clothes or what car you drive or how many toys you have. And it is not only crazy, but it really threatens the kids. Instead of asking 'what can I do to improve my child's education' people are saying that that improvement can come from throwing money at some private school. What makes this so ludicrous is that if the people who are throwing all of this money at Private schools instead took that money and invested in ways to improve their public schools, voila, they would get the same effect, and help other people who can't afford to make that choice.
So, you will not be attending private school. Primarily because we can't afford it. But also because killing ourselves to send you there just so we can apply that Private School label to you isn't justifiable. And there is a certain moral imperative to sending you to public school, keeping you a part of the community..
This article highlights many of the personal arguments I have over the issue of your education. To be honest, economically we didn't have much choice, we cannot now, and probably will not ever be able to afford Private School. But this article really speaks to me as far as the many issues that spring to mind.
The biggest issue here is to explain that I personally attended private school for 9 of the 13 years (K-12) of my primary education. And as a result I got an excellent education, and access to some really amazing learning opportunities. And all of that was great. So yes, I am personally a little biased to think very positively about Private schools, and to be honest, if we won the lottery you would be attending my alma mater in a heart beat.
But, that isn't the case, we are not winning the lottery. So we have to make do like everyone else. Now is where the genuine philosophical issues begin. I am a strong believer in the Neighborhood. And I want you to get the same feeling I had from attending school with the neighbor kids, having the opportunity to walk home with your friends etc. And I also want you to have an amazing education. You are genuinely fortunate that we lucked into having such an excellent neighborhood school. But I think a big part of that is the parents, for a public school to be great the parents have to step up and play an active role, both in their own child's education but also as volunteers when necessary. Which is one of the reason's it's termed a public school, it is really oneof the main reasons our republic has held so strong, because the public schools have maintained themselves as melting pots and symbols of Democracy.
Unfortunately 2 trends threaten that, especially in our community: The anti-tax crowd and the people who view their children's education as a status symbol. I really dislike the anti-tax crusaders whose stance and policies have made it almost impossible to keep the public school system running. These people seem to feel that they should not pay for the upkeep of their community, and as a result services fail. This is a failure of the Social contract in my opinion, I feel it is our duty to pay a certain amount of taxes in order to maintain a certain level of services in areas that the private sector simply cannot provide effectively for everyone. And the anti-tax folk like Doug Bruce simply refuse to accept that duty.
The other more insidious threat is kind of an extension of the cliche of the Dad who pushes his son to excel in sports, like he never did, so he can live vicariously through him. This article has a great point in it where the interviewee talks about interviewing people about their greatest educational moment and these 'soccer mom' types all talk about Graduate school, and act like that is what they want for their Kindergarten kids. The threat comes from people who want to make a child's education a status symbol just like clothes or what car you drive or how many toys you have. And it is not only crazy, but it really threatens the kids. Instead of asking 'what can I do to improve my child's education' people are saying that that improvement can come from throwing money at some private school. What makes this so ludicrous is that if the people who are throwing all of this money at Private schools instead took that money and invested in ways to improve their public schools, voila, they would get the same effect, and help other people who can't afford to make that choice.
So, you will not be attending private school. Primarily because we can't afford it. But also because killing ourselves to send you there just so we can apply that Private School label to you isn't justifiable. And there is a certain moral imperative to sending you to public school, keeping you a part of the community..
How the election tactics are beginning to annoy me
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
So the electoral campaign is in full swing. Which means we are being deluged with campaign ad after campaign ad. And they are really beginning to annoy me, not because I don't want to watch electoral ads, but because the Republican ones are getting so one tracked and almost blatantly wrong minded.
Here is my generic Republican campaign Ad circa August 2008:
"The Democratic candidate (Obama, Mark Udall etc.) wants to raise taxes, and she/he is also behind the rise in gas taxes. So if you elect him/her you will be paying more taxes and the price of gas will increase (cats and dogs will start living together, the oceans will dry up, there will be a plague of locusts upon the land... sorry I may have stretched things a little but that is the type of imagery we are bombarded with)."
This is pretty much all they have, almost sad really if it wasn't so important.
Here is my response:
1. Taxes: in the 8 years our country has gone from a national budget surplus to a record deficit. The surplus was left to us a legacy of 8 years of a Democrat in the White House. And yet things are supposed to magically get better with a Republican whose approach to economics is a carbon copy of the current Republican administrations. Which means more deficits and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. It's a classic example of political sleight of hand.
2. Gas Prices: This country needs a Ross Perot like lecture on Economics 101 when it comes to gas prices:
"You have a finite resource, oil, there is only so much of it on this planet (and what we might get from ransacking the North American environment isn't much more than a relative drop in the bucket). And you have an ever increasing demand as developing countries like China and India, and the rest of the Third World use more and more oil and petroleum based products. That is classic Supply and Demand. And when you look at a classic supply and demand curve, if demand increases while supply is static, prices increase. There is no way to change this (short of starting major wars all across the world, destroying the economies of the developing countries so they can't use more oil), it's the closest thing you can find to a hard and fast iron clad economic law. So gasoline prices will increase until demand decreases, period."
This is what happens when you have campaign managers who can't actually say something positive about their candidate, and count on the idiocy of the general populace. I really detest negative, attack ads. It is one of the reasons I left the Republican Party, the ads they ran against Clinton in 1992. I can only hope that the debates will give Obama a chance to break this down and address these ludicrous assertions about his supposed policies.
So the electoral campaign is in full swing. Which means we are being deluged with campaign ad after campaign ad. And they are really beginning to annoy me, not because I don't want to watch electoral ads, but because the Republican ones are getting so one tracked and almost blatantly wrong minded.
Here is my generic Republican campaign Ad circa August 2008:
"The Democratic candidate (Obama, Mark Udall etc.) wants to raise taxes, and she/he is also behind the rise in gas taxes. So if you elect him/her you will be paying more taxes and the price of gas will increase (cats and dogs will start living together, the oceans will dry up, there will be a plague of locusts upon the land... sorry I may have stretched things a little but that is the type of imagery we are bombarded with)."
This is pretty much all they have, almost sad really if it wasn't so important.
Here is my response:
1. Taxes: in the 8 years our country has gone from a national budget surplus to a record deficit. The surplus was left to us a legacy of 8 years of a Democrat in the White House. And yet things are supposed to magically get better with a Republican whose approach to economics is a carbon copy of the current Republican administrations. Which means more deficits and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. It's a classic example of political sleight of hand.
2. Gas Prices: This country needs a Ross Perot like lecture on Economics 101 when it comes to gas prices:
"You have a finite resource, oil, there is only so much of it on this planet (and what we might get from ransacking the North American environment isn't much more than a relative drop in the bucket). And you have an ever increasing demand as developing countries like China and India, and the rest of the Third World use more and more oil and petroleum based products. That is classic Supply and Demand. And when you look at a classic supply and demand curve, if demand increases while supply is static, prices increase. There is no way to change this (short of starting major wars all across the world, destroying the economies of the developing countries so they can't use more oil), it's the closest thing you can find to a hard and fast iron clad economic law. So gasoline prices will increase until demand decreases, period."
This is what happens when you have campaign managers who can't actually say something positive about their candidate, and count on the idiocy of the general populace. I really detest negative, attack ads. It is one of the reasons I left the Republican Party, the ads they ran against Clinton in 1992. I can only hope that the debates will give Obama a chance to break this down and address these ludicrous assertions about his supposed policies.
Weekend Recap
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
Here is the weekend recap (a day late due to a day away from the PC). Had a 3 day weekend due to James' first day of school and taking Daniel to the eye Dr. So it was a good weekend overall, wasn't quite as productive as it could have been due to the weather. But it was good over all.
First, I really enjoyed the Star Wars Movie Friday night, it was everything I hoped for. It was enjoyable, with plenty of action and excitement, and some cool visuals. James really liked it, and even Daniel seemed to enjoy it afterwards. All James could talk about the rest of the weekend was seeing it again, and when will it come out on video? I think it is a worth while addition to the canon, and in some ways better than the prequels, well at least better than number 2.
Saturday I didn't get a lot done,the weather kind of socked us inside so I just relaxed most of the day, didn't try and do anything dramatic. Just tried to keep the house from being destroyed, and watched the US men's basketball team destroy Spain.
Sunday we did our big grocery store trip, and then Kim went into work for the afternoon. I got the boys ready for school, got the house ready for school. Again, no big projects.
Monday James went into school, he was happy with it, I think he was glad to be back in school. We took Daniel to the Eye Dr. all good news this year. Then went to lunch and home for project time. I got the yard trimmed and mowed, which was a lot of work. Then we moved the big deep freeze in the laundry room, which involved some sawing and hammering, and then we got the toy boxes to just about the point where we can paint them and put them back together for the boys. And the only problem was that the plug one the freezer gave up the ghost, so now I will have to re-wire it, and we were fortunate we still had the little freezer around to throw stuff in.
Last night we went to a farewell party for Alex, as he leaves today for college. It didn't really click with James until we were heading home what that meant, not that he sees that much of Alex, but he is very fond of him, and doesn't like the general idea that he won't be around. It was a good party, some excellent food, and the boys enjoyed themselves.
Here is the weekend recap (a day late due to a day away from the PC). Had a 3 day weekend due to James' first day of school and taking Daniel to the eye Dr. So it was a good weekend overall, wasn't quite as productive as it could have been due to the weather. But it was good over all.
First, I really enjoyed the Star Wars Movie Friday night, it was everything I hoped for. It was enjoyable, with plenty of action and excitement, and some cool visuals. James really liked it, and even Daniel seemed to enjoy it afterwards. All James could talk about the rest of the weekend was seeing it again, and when will it come out on video? I think it is a worth while addition to the canon, and in some ways better than the prequels, well at least better than number 2.
Saturday I didn't get a lot done,the weather kind of socked us inside so I just relaxed most of the day, didn't try and do anything dramatic. Just tried to keep the house from being destroyed, and watched the US men's basketball team destroy Spain.
Sunday we did our big grocery store trip, and then Kim went into work for the afternoon. I got the boys ready for school, got the house ready for school. Again, no big projects.
Monday James went into school, he was happy with it, I think he was glad to be back in school. We took Daniel to the Eye Dr. all good news this year. Then went to lunch and home for project time. I got the yard trimmed and mowed, which was a lot of work. Then we moved the big deep freeze in the laundry room, which involved some sawing and hammering, and then we got the toy boxes to just about the point where we can paint them and put them back together for the boys. And the only problem was that the plug one the freezer gave up the ghost, so now I will have to re-wire it, and we were fortunate we still had the little freezer around to throw stuff in.
Last night we went to a farewell party for Alex, as he leaves today for college. It didn't really click with James until we were heading home what that meant, not that he sees that much of Alex, but he is very fond of him, and doesn't like the general idea that he won't be around. It was a good party, some excellent food, and the boys enjoyed themselves.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Star Wars is for kids... of all ages
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
So tonight, we take the boys, James & Daniel, to see the Star Wars-Clone Wars animated film. And honestly, I am pretty darn excited about it. Tonight is normally my role playing night, but the game was cancelled, so I had the choice of going to see the Dark Knight alone, or taking the boys to see Star Wars, and it was no choice at all really.
A number of my friends are kind of snobbish about Star Wars. They take the view that the only worth while parts of the Saga are the first 3 films. By first three I mean the first 3 releases. Some of them grudgingly acknowledge the animated Clone Wars (not the new movie) are OK, but the main focus is that the 3 prequels were all garbage, and not worth watching or spending money on.
I disagree rather vehemently with this view point. I have a fairly simple approach to movies: I want to be entertained. If I want great dramatic acting I will find an older classic drama, or go see Shakespeare in the park. This approach has governed most of my movie choices over the years. Which means I tend to watch a lot of blockbuster action films and comedies. And recently the best drama I have encountered has been on TV: The HBO series, like Soprano's and Deadwood, the AMC series Mad Men and Breaking Bad. If I am going to take the time and money to go watch something on the big screen I want it big, and loud and entertaining, with lots of action, not something slow and thought provoking.
Which is why I argue that the Star Wars prequel trilogy were good movies. I enjoyed them in the theater, they are exciting with lot of cool exciting action. I want to see something on the screen and go "wow" or "cool". And that is what I got from those prequels. And I believe that is what George Lucas has wanted from all of the movies and shows in the Star Wars universe. He wants to hearken back to the era of the B movie serials where people went to the movies to be entertained.
And to be honest, to me the best part of Star Wars is it is something that I can enjoy and share with my sons. Because the mind of a 6 (and 3) year old doesn't want to sit and listen and think great thoughts, or worry about subtleties or be scared, they want to see big bright explosions. And the prequels contained that, and I anticipate that this movie contains more of the same, and the coming TV series will continue it all. Star Wars is not meant to be some great political commentary.
There are a lot of excellent Star Wars books out there, I have really only read the Timothy Zahn series but there are a bunch of others, and in a lot of cases they bring the dark, dramatic 'great thoughts' that I think people expect from the movies. And I think that is the big difference and why I watch movies just to be entertained, if I want deep thought, I read a book. And the TV provides a combination of the 2, a bridge as it were between pure escapism and thought provoking entertainment.
So tonight, we take the boys, James & Daniel, to see the Star Wars-Clone Wars animated film. And honestly, I am pretty darn excited about it. Tonight is normally my role playing night, but the game was cancelled, so I had the choice of going to see the Dark Knight alone, or taking the boys to see Star Wars, and it was no choice at all really.
A number of my friends are kind of snobbish about Star Wars. They take the view that the only worth while parts of the Saga are the first 3 films. By first three I mean the first 3 releases. Some of them grudgingly acknowledge the animated Clone Wars (not the new movie) are OK, but the main focus is that the 3 prequels were all garbage, and not worth watching or spending money on.
I disagree rather vehemently with this view point. I have a fairly simple approach to movies: I want to be entertained. If I want great dramatic acting I will find an older classic drama, or go see Shakespeare in the park. This approach has governed most of my movie choices over the years. Which means I tend to watch a lot of blockbuster action films and comedies. And recently the best drama I have encountered has been on TV: The HBO series, like Soprano's and Deadwood, the AMC series Mad Men and Breaking Bad. If I am going to take the time and money to go watch something on the big screen I want it big, and loud and entertaining, with lots of action, not something slow and thought provoking.
Which is why I argue that the Star Wars prequel trilogy were good movies. I enjoyed them in the theater, they are exciting with lot of cool exciting action. I want to see something on the screen and go "wow" or "cool". And that is what I got from those prequels. And I believe that is what George Lucas has wanted from all of the movies and shows in the Star Wars universe. He wants to hearken back to the era of the B movie serials where people went to the movies to be entertained.
And to be honest, to me the best part of Star Wars is it is something that I can enjoy and share with my sons. Because the mind of a 6 (and 3) year old doesn't want to sit and listen and think great thoughts, or worry about subtleties or be scared, they want to see big bright explosions. And the prequels contained that, and I anticipate that this movie contains more of the same, and the coming TV series will continue it all. Star Wars is not meant to be some great political commentary.
There are a lot of excellent Star Wars books out there, I have really only read the Timothy Zahn series but there are a bunch of others, and in a lot of cases they bring the dark, dramatic 'great thoughts' that I think people expect from the movies. And I think that is the big difference and why I watch movies just to be entertained, if I want deep thought, I read a book. And the TV provides a combination of the 2, a bridge as it were between pure escapism and thought provoking entertainment.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sports thoughts
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
So Kim & I have had a good time this week watching the Olympics. Particularly the Olympic gymnastics. Leading to a couple of late nights watching the Chinese gymnasts dominate. And this morning I got to watch a little of the US Men's basketball against Greece.
The Men's basketball is actually fascinating, because the US men's team is well past their days of being able to just overwhelm teams through sheer physical dominance. With this team we are seeing the fruition of an actual strategy, a plan to take advantage of the 2 things that NBA players still do better than anyone else: sheer speed and athleticism, and translating that into defense. In a lot of ways it is like watching the last 2 Lakers Championship series losses. Just great great defense totally disrupting the other teams offense. And incredible depth so no one can get tired for long as they can always bring in another all star level player.
The gymnastics has been really amazing. Yes there has been an element of jingoism as I cheer for the US teams, and decry the blatant Chinese age cheat. But despite that it really is astounding what the gymnasts are able to do and how they do it. We tried to interest James in watching, but he wasn't all that excited or impressed (oh to be young enough that you aren't impressed by physical feats, where you can see something and think, oh I will be able to do that some day).
And of course the sheer dominance of Michael Phelps is pretty amazing too. I haven't seen too much else yet, a little weight lifting on Sunday, but otherwise I haven't focused too much on it. But the Olympics overall has been a pleasant diversion for us.
So far my decision to take the year off from Fantasy Football still feels good. It feels nice to read about football without carrying about the fantasy implications.
So Kim & I have had a good time this week watching the Olympics. Particularly the Olympic gymnastics. Leading to a couple of late nights watching the Chinese gymnasts dominate. And this morning I got to watch a little of the US Men's basketball against Greece.
The Men's basketball is actually fascinating, because the US men's team is well past their days of being able to just overwhelm teams through sheer physical dominance. With this team we are seeing the fruition of an actual strategy, a plan to take advantage of the 2 things that NBA players still do better than anyone else: sheer speed and athleticism, and translating that into defense. In a lot of ways it is like watching the last 2 Lakers Championship series losses. Just great great defense totally disrupting the other teams offense. And incredible depth so no one can get tired for long as they can always bring in another all star level player.
The gymnastics has been really amazing. Yes there has been an element of jingoism as I cheer for the US teams, and decry the blatant Chinese age cheat. But despite that it really is astounding what the gymnasts are able to do and how they do it. We tried to interest James in watching, but he wasn't all that excited or impressed (oh to be young enough that you aren't impressed by physical feats, where you can see something and think, oh I will be able to do that some day).
And of course the sheer dominance of Michael Phelps is pretty amazing too. I haven't seen too much else yet, a little weight lifting on Sunday, but otherwise I haven't focused too much on it. But the Olympics overall has been a pleasant diversion for us.
So far my decision to take the year off from Fantasy Football still feels good. It feels nice to read about football without carrying about the fantasy implications.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Never Stop Learning
Dear James, Daniel and Emily,
Your education will not end with your graduation from your last academic institution, be it Graduate school, High school, boot camp or bartending academy. One of the keys to success in life is keeping an active, open mind. Keep learning, keep discovering new things. If need be create a journal where you catalog all that you learn each day.
pla·gia·rize
transitive verb : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source intransitive verb : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
You will hear me say this a number of times, and it is the current tag line on my blog: "I've been plagiarizing my whole life, it's called learning". This is a quote from one of my favorite writers, Hunter S. Thompson. And the meaning can be a little confusing. Because you will be taught in school that plagiarism is bad. And yes, it is bad to consciously steal another persons work and pass it off as your own. But, the quote that I used leads to what to me was the great problem of Academia. If I read, hear and absorb all of this learning, and I am then called upon to write something wholly original it is virtually impossible to not in some fashion plagiarize the work of all of those authors you have read on the subject. My philosophy is that no one in the business world ever really cares about plagiarism. And the second parent to use a 'time out' with their unruly child was not accused of plagiarizing the first parent's idea. Good ideas are good ideas. And closing your mind to learning means you stop hearing those good ideas.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun
In the artistic world: music, TV, movies etc. this practice is not called plagiarism it is called the remix or repackaging of ideas. And so long as people throw in a couple new ideas or twists they are not looked down on by most people. In the software world coders take bits and pieces of other code when compiling their own as a matter of course. Automotive ads talk of 'reinventing the luxury (or compact or sport etc.) car, but the reality is they are not reinventing anything. They are taking the basic invention of the automobile and applying a new twist or adding new features. Again this is not called plagiarism.
What is the point of all this? The point is all of these creative people: writers, musicians, movie makers, engineers, they never stop learning. And the way you can see that is the way they apply all of the new ideas and facts and concepts they learn every day to their work. And that life long learning process is what makes them successes.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Weekend Recap
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
As I do every Monday here is a recap of the weekend's activities. We had a little longer weekend (or at least I did) because Daniel and James were a little under the weather on Friday, Daniel especially, so I stayed home from work to make sure they had a day of relaxation and no exposure to other kids. So I kind of broke up the 3 days into different days: Friday was relaxation day for everyone, Saturday was errand day and fun day, Sunday was work day around the house.
So Friday I literally did nothing around the house except keep the kitchen picked up. Otherwise I sat down stairs, let the kids play, while I played on the computer. It was a good day for the kids, I think Daniel enjoyed knowing Daddy was around instead of the various family baby sitters, plus this way we insured that no other kids got whatever little bug Daniel had. It also worked out because Tammy and Connie were both unavailable so we were going to ask Tracy to watch the kids, which would have been fine, but I didn't want her and her kids possibly getting sick. Plus to be honest, I needed the break from work, because it was a really stressful work week.
Saturday we got out of the house. First I had James empty his piggy bank, where he had accumulated a pretty sizable amount of money, and take it to the bank. He knows that he can get the money back when he wants to spend it, but it is safer in the bank. Then we went to the park, had a good time playing in the sand, even Emily got into the action in the sand. I posted some pictures of this on the Picasa site under the Summer 2008 Park photos album, then we went to the game store, then lunch and home for a little while before we went to Dennis & Megan's for a family BBQ.
Which was different than usual, for one they didn't invite any of their friends. For another Jay & Tammy were there for the first time as a couple. And last, Connie didn't stick around very long, which meant the drinkers felt a lot more free to get pretty smashed. The group dynamic really changes when Connie isn't around to provide that moderating influence.
On Sunday we had a stay at home day again, but I actually focused on some house projects I had been wanting/needing to do. For one, I finally decided to say the heck with it, and stop waiting for us to paint the kitchen before hanging the pot rack in the kitchen, which was a fun little project. And I also got the bottom fixed on James' toy box, which will allow Kim to move on to the next step with that project. Plus I helped James get the basement picked back up again so it is in the kind of order we want moving forward.
So we had a good weekend overall. Daniel got feeling better, Daddy got some much needed rest from work. And a few little projects got worked on around the house.
As I do every Monday here is a recap of the weekend's activities. We had a little longer weekend (or at least I did) because Daniel and James were a little under the weather on Friday, Daniel especially, so I stayed home from work to make sure they had a day of relaxation and no exposure to other kids. So I kind of broke up the 3 days into different days: Friday was relaxation day for everyone, Saturday was errand day and fun day, Sunday was work day around the house.
So Friday I literally did nothing around the house except keep the kitchen picked up. Otherwise I sat down stairs, let the kids play, while I played on the computer. It was a good day for the kids, I think Daniel enjoyed knowing Daddy was around instead of the various family baby sitters, plus this way we insured that no other kids got whatever little bug Daniel had. It also worked out because Tammy and Connie were both unavailable so we were going to ask Tracy to watch the kids, which would have been fine, but I didn't want her and her kids possibly getting sick. Plus to be honest, I needed the break from work, because it was a really stressful work week.
Saturday we got out of the house. First I had James empty his piggy bank, where he had accumulated a pretty sizable amount of money, and take it to the bank. He knows that he can get the money back when he wants to spend it, but it is safer in the bank. Then we went to the park, had a good time playing in the sand, even Emily got into the action in the sand. I posted some pictures of this on the Picasa site under the Summer 2008 Park photos album, then we went to the game store, then lunch and home for a little while before we went to Dennis & Megan's for a family BBQ.
Which was different than usual, for one they didn't invite any of their friends. For another Jay & Tammy were there for the first time as a couple. And last, Connie didn't stick around very long, which meant the drinkers felt a lot more free to get pretty smashed. The group dynamic really changes when Connie isn't around to provide that moderating influence.
On Sunday we had a stay at home day again, but I actually focused on some house projects I had been wanting/needing to do. For one, I finally decided to say the heck with it, and stop waiting for us to paint the kitchen before hanging the pot rack in the kitchen, which was a fun little project. And I also got the bottom fixed on James' toy box, which will allow Kim to move on to the next step with that project. Plus I helped James get the basement picked back up again so it is in the kind of order we want moving forward.
So we had a good weekend overall. Daniel got feeling better, Daddy got some much needed rest from work. And a few little projects got worked on around the house.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Know Your Dragons
Dear James, Daniel and Emily,
Here is part 2 of the 10 things I want you to know.
When James was born your great-uncle Jim sent me the following poem. It is an excellent poem and it meant a lot to me when I got it. And when I read it out loud to James I still occasionally get a little choked up. Here is the poem:
The time has now come to explain to you, James,
Why you were given that name, of all names,
Your parents, who named you, did not really know
Why you had to be "James", and what makes it so.
But each one of us has a secret you see,
Which determines what kind of person he'll be,
And, if you're a James, well, deep down inside
Is a boogery place where your dragon does hide.
Every James has a dragon, indeed, it is true,
And because you're a James you will find-so do you.
Do not believe anyone, not in the least
Who tells you a dragon's a mythical beast,
For, as sure as you're James, I'm sure you will find
The magnificent dragon who lives in your mind,
In a place where you think and wish and you feel,
Your personal dragon there. And he's real.
Dragons can be powerful, fearless and bold
When they are constrained to do what they're told.
But dragons untamed, and this is most sad,
Can think and do things that are terribly bad.
For a James to be happy, successful, and bright,
His dragon must learn what's wrong and what's right.
Thus, what kind of dragon your dragon will be,
Only you can determine, it's not up to me
Or to anyone else. You're the one who must train
That remarkable dragon, which can be a pain
When you tighten the reins to bring under control
A hot-headed dragon when he's on a roll.
But, when you control him, there's nothing that you
And your Jamsian dragon, together, can't do!
So-early in life you need to be brave
And openly face the beast in the cave.
He's your dragon, your friend on life's glorious quest.
If you tame him, you'll both be the best of the best.
Now while the poem is about James and his dragon, and makes sense coming from one James Ruch to another, I like to think the main message is not just for a James. I like to think the central theme applies to all children in one way or another. We all have a part of us that generates both our energy, desire and creativity, but also our anger, our temper and willfullness. And part of growing up is learning to face that Dragon. To Daniel it might be an Eagle, or to Emily it might be a Lion. This is like a New Age interpretation of the idea of Totem's. This animal or spirit guides us, helps determine what kind of person we are, and how we handle different situations.
Whatever it is, the important thing is that part of growing up is learning to face that part of yourself. Learn to harness the source of your creative energies. And also learn to keep control of that part of yourself that also wants to roar and rampage and wreak havoc, often at the wort times.
From personal experience it can be easy to harness your Dragon, but the hard part is knowing when to give him the reins. As a child I became quite good at repressing my anger and tempter, but sometimes at the cost of also repressing desires and creativity in other areas. And it took a lot of work to restore that balance. So the advice in the poem is very good and you should all take it to heart: Know your Dragon (or Eagle or Lion or Wolf), learn to control Him (or her), and your life can be a joy.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Relearning to love sports
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
I have generally always been a pretty fanatical sports fan. Loving Football, basketball and baseball in that order (although my love for baseball has waxed and waned over the years). Unfortunately while my love of sports has brought me great joy over the years it has also brought me some awfully low points.
The most recent NBA Finals was a warning sign for me if you will. What should have been a fun and exciting moment for me: my beloved Lakers were finally back in the Finals, turned ugly, stressful and bitter. And not just because they lost, although that certainly didn't help. No, I just found that I couldn't watch at all, I couldn't enjoy the games, and relax, win or lose. That was the first time that has happened to me. When I was younger, at the height of my sports fanaticism, I suffered through more dreadful losses, but I could always at least watch the games.
So after that debacle I was determined to get my priorities back in order. So while I have been following sports in the paper and online very day I was still surprised to realize that the first preseason game was on on Sunday night. And I was actually pleased to know that and just not care. I want to focus my fanaticism into what I read rather than what I watch. My goal is to watch a game involving one of my teams and just enjoy the game, win or lose. I don't know if I'm there yet, (probably not) I think it will be a slow process. But my annual excitement level about the beginning of preseason games is not nearly as high as it normally is, so I will take that as my first good sign.
As another step today I decided to forgo all Fantasy football this year. It's kind of disappointing to some members of my league but I want to spend at least a year of just watching football without caring about stats and wanting certain players to get yards or catches etc.
I have generally always been a pretty fanatical sports fan. Loving Football, basketball and baseball in that order (although my love for baseball has waxed and waned over the years). Unfortunately while my love of sports has brought me great joy over the years it has also brought me some awfully low points.
The most recent NBA Finals was a warning sign for me if you will. What should have been a fun and exciting moment for me: my beloved Lakers were finally back in the Finals, turned ugly, stressful and bitter. And not just because they lost, although that certainly didn't help. No, I just found that I couldn't watch at all, I couldn't enjoy the games, and relax, win or lose. That was the first time that has happened to me. When I was younger, at the height of my sports fanaticism, I suffered through more dreadful losses, but I could always at least watch the games.
So after that debacle I was determined to get my priorities back in order. So while I have been following sports in the paper and online very day I was still surprised to realize that the first preseason game was on on Sunday night. And I was actually pleased to know that and just not care. I want to focus my fanaticism into what I read rather than what I watch. My goal is to watch a game involving one of my teams and just enjoy the game, win or lose. I don't know if I'm there yet, (probably not) I think it will be a slow process. But my annual excitement level about the beginning of preseason games is not nearly as high as it normally is, so I will take that as my first good sign.
As another step today I decided to forgo all Fantasy football this year. It's kind of disappointing to some members of my league but I want to spend at least a year of just watching football without caring about stats and wanting certain players to get yards or catches etc.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The neck saga continues
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
So I saw Dr. Adler today about my neck, I gave him the full run down of everything, symptoms etc. He did an exam, looked at his records (it turns out that I did have an X-Ray done 5 years ago when this first flared up). And after going through all of that he gave me a couple of things to do and a diagnosis.
1. Taking medication to control the pain isn't a bad thing per se, so continue with the ibuprofen once a day and the occasional ice pack.
2. He recommnended some exercise to improve my muscle strength in my shoulders and neck. Ideally swimming would be best, but if that is not an option then rowing would also be good for improving the strngth in the muscles where I need it.
3. But, and this is what made me happy, he admitted that since the pain has been there for 5 years now, that there might be something else going on, or at the least that the therapy etc. needs to be stepped up a notch. So he is referring me to physiatrist who will do the additional testing to really locate the source of the pain and better diagnose what can be done to alleviate or cure it.
So there is a hazy light at the end of the tunnel. Until I see this other Dr. and they run the tests I just have to be careful to not stress the neck, take my pain killers, and probably see the massage therapist every week. And try to figure out when I can find time in my schedule for some exercise.
So I saw Dr. Adler today about my neck, I gave him the full run down of everything, symptoms etc. He did an exam, looked at his records (it turns out that I did have an X-Ray done 5 years ago when this first flared up). And after going through all of that he gave me a couple of things to do and a diagnosis.
1. Taking medication to control the pain isn't a bad thing per se, so continue with the ibuprofen once a day and the occasional ice pack.
2. He recommnended some exercise to improve my muscle strength in my shoulders and neck. Ideally swimming would be best, but if that is not an option then rowing would also be good for improving the strngth in the muscles where I need it.
3. But, and this is what made me happy, he admitted that since the pain has been there for 5 years now, that there might be something else going on, or at the least that the therapy etc. needs to be stepped up a notch. So he is referring me to physiatrist who will do the additional testing to really locate the source of the pain and better diagnose what can be done to alleviate or cure it.
So there is a hazy light at the end of the tunnel. Until I see this other Dr. and they run the tests I just have to be careful to not stress the neck, take my pain killers, and probably see the massage therapist every week. And try to figure out when I can find time in my schedule for some exercise.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Older kindergarten.
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
This is an intriguing article about the timing of when children enter Kindergarten. I don't have to worry about this for you kids fortunately. Because of your birthdays (early April and October) you will not fit into the group that even has this option. Daniel will always be one of the younger kids, by virtue of his birthday. While James and Emily will be the older kids.
As someone with an early October birthday I was always older than my class mates, and I think that helped me. When I changed schools in elementary school my parents were given the option of putting me in with the older kids, but they chose against doing so, and I have to say in retrospect that was a good decision.
I have a nephew who did jump a grade and as far as I know never really experienced any major trauma as a result so I don't think that's a bad things. I think it really comes down to challenge and interest. As long as the child is interested and and challenged by the subject matter then they are at a good level. Right now James is at that point. It will be very interesting this year as he moves into a different class room. He has become used to being the leader and ahead of the class so to be back at the lower end of the group will certainly challenge him. I think this year will give us a much better idea as far as how he will handle school.
If there is any concern it is for Daniel, because he is the small one, and socially pretty timid, so I hope he handles this year in preschool well. Intellectually I don't think it will be a problem. The problem will be socially, how does he handle the other kids? He has such a hard time with Brandon, who is only 2 weeks his senior but is bigger and far more precocious, I worry about he will handle other kids.
Of course we have no idea what Emily's personality will be like at this point. So I am glad that the idea of holding any of you kids back has not even been an option. Because I am not sure how we would handle it when the time comes. I do think that it is something that has to be handled on a case by case basis. And that is one of the reasons I am glad the boys will be in a Montessori class room, because there will not be as much distinction due to age and grouping. They will be given to the chance to learn and excel more at their own pace. And that, as much as anything, is why I am a supporter of the open class room setting, like I had in K-2, then Middle and High School. Because it is so hard to tell how a child learns (or doesn't learn). And rigid grouping by age group and grade can make it very easy for some kids to get left behind, even as they nominally advance in grade. Or get stuck in an atmosphere where they are not challenged intellectually.
This is an intriguing article about the timing of when children enter Kindergarten. I don't have to worry about this for you kids fortunately. Because of your birthdays (early April and October) you will not fit into the group that even has this option. Daniel will always be one of the younger kids, by virtue of his birthday. While James and Emily will be the older kids.
As someone with an early October birthday I was always older than my class mates, and I think that helped me. When I changed schools in elementary school my parents were given the option of putting me in with the older kids, but they chose against doing so, and I have to say in retrospect that was a good decision.
I have a nephew who did jump a grade and as far as I know never really experienced any major trauma as a result so I don't think that's a bad things. I think it really comes down to challenge and interest. As long as the child is interested and and challenged by the subject matter then they are at a good level. Right now James is at that point. It will be very interesting this year as he moves into a different class room. He has become used to being the leader and ahead of the class so to be back at the lower end of the group will certainly challenge him. I think this year will give us a much better idea as far as how he will handle school.
If there is any concern it is for Daniel, because he is the small one, and socially pretty timid, so I hope he handles this year in preschool well. Intellectually I don't think it will be a problem. The problem will be socially, how does he handle the other kids? He has such a hard time with Brandon, who is only 2 weeks his senior but is bigger and far more precocious, I worry about he will handle other kids.
Of course we have no idea what Emily's personality will be like at this point. So I am glad that the idea of holding any of you kids back has not even been an option. Because I am not sure how we would handle it when the time comes. I do think that it is something that has to be handled on a case by case basis. And that is one of the reasons I am glad the boys will be in a Montessori class room, because there will not be as much distinction due to age and grouping. They will be given to the chance to learn and excel more at their own pace. And that, as much as anything, is why I am a supporter of the open class room setting, like I had in K-2, then Middle and High School. Because it is so hard to tell how a child learns (or doesn't learn). And rigid grouping by age group and grade can make it very easy for some kids to get left behind, even as they nominally advance in grade. Or get stuck in an atmosphere where they are not challenged intellectually.
Weekend Recap
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
We had a good weekend I think. Everyone got to enjoy the first weekend with no organized activities that we have had in a long long time. Which was nice because there will be some craziness this week, what with Tammy undergoing surgery today.
We didn't accomplish much around the house. In fact all I really did was some minor picking up. We did our every 2 week shopping trip on Sunday morning. We have developed this habit of 1 big shopping trip every 2 weeks, along with making a menu and list, as a way of controlling our grocery budget. Because with Kim working at the store every day it was getting a little expensive to have her kind of spur of the moment pick stuff up every day.
We then took the boys to play mini golf. It was Daniel's choice, we owed him a day of fun since James had a couple of opportunities to get out and do stuff and Daniel was starting to feel left out and left behind. Then we went home and kind of crashed.
James is definitely ready to get back to school though, he is starting to show the signs of boredom with being home all day, starting to get bored with the play station games and cartoons. But he has 2 more weeks before he goes back. I think he will survive, there is a part of me (my parent's part) that thinks he should be limited in the amount of time he spends playing electronic games and/or TV. But I think that he actually does a pretty good job of monitoring when he is bored with those and goes and plays other things on his own. And I think after all of the Y camps etc. he deserves a few weeks of totally down time from all of the organization and scripted 'fun', he's going to be getting enough of that when school start. However, when school starts I do think we will need to establish some daily time schedules, just not sure what they will be yet.
We had a good weekend I think. Everyone got to enjoy the first weekend with no organized activities that we have had in a long long time. Which was nice because there will be some craziness this week, what with Tammy undergoing surgery today.
We didn't accomplish much around the house. In fact all I really did was some minor picking up. We did our every 2 week shopping trip on Sunday morning. We have developed this habit of 1 big shopping trip every 2 weeks, along with making a menu and list, as a way of controlling our grocery budget. Because with Kim working at the store every day it was getting a little expensive to have her kind of spur of the moment pick stuff up every day.
We then took the boys to play mini golf. It was Daniel's choice, we owed him a day of fun since James had a couple of opportunities to get out and do stuff and Daniel was starting to feel left out and left behind. Then we went home and kind of crashed.
James is definitely ready to get back to school though, he is starting to show the signs of boredom with being home all day, starting to get bored with the play station games and cartoons. But he has 2 more weeks before he goes back. I think he will survive, there is a part of me (my parent's part) that thinks he should be limited in the amount of time he spends playing electronic games and/or TV. But I think that he actually does a pretty good job of monitoring when he is bored with those and goes and plays other things on his own. And I think after all of the Y camps etc. he deserves a few weeks of totally down time from all of the organization and scripted 'fun', he's going to be getting enough of that when school start. However, when school starts I do think we will need to establish some daily time schedules, just not sure what they will be yet.
Friday, August 1, 2008
10 Lessons to pass along to my children
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
Here is a simple list (some with explanations, some not) of things I want to pass along. It is not exhaustive by any means, and I reserve the right to revisit, revise and redo the list when I want.
1. Lead with your Heart: The point of this lesson is listen to what your heart wants.
2. Know your Dragons. I will expand on this in a later post. But my Uncle Jim wrote a poem about James and the Dragon, which basically was about getting to know those parts of yourself that make you strong and can also cause you to do bad things. And know how to control them.
3. Never stop learning. The Hunter S. Thompson quote I use in the banner I believe says it all: "I've been plagiarizing my whole life it's called learning". Any time you learn anything new is good. I learn every day, and you never know when that learning may come into play.
4. A true sign of intelligence is the ability to see 2 conflicting arguments at the same time. This one came from grandmother Ruch, or at least a variation on the theme. Learn to see the other side of the argument. And it also applies to emotions, learn to empathize with what another person is feeling. Belief in your views is good, but not to the exclusion of different ideas.
5. It's all right to cry. Don't let the media and popular culture brain wash you. I don't mean fall to pieces when your ice cream cone falls on the ground. But when you're hurt, physically or emotionally, crying is a good outlet.
6. Embrace Change. Change will happen, you cannot stop it. In my lifetime I've seen the advent of personal computers, the Internet, the fall of the Soviet Union (and hopefully the election of an African-American man as President). The sooner you embrace change as a constant, and learn to accept it, the better your life will be. Couple that with a thirst for knowledge, and you will live a wonderful life.
7. Reading is reading is reading. When I was growing up my Dad frowned on comic books. And joked about his 'shoot 'em up' escapist reading as not being real reading either. The reality is they are all reading. They all stretch your mind in some fashion and expand your vocabulary. And this will become even more of an issue after you embrace change. Because with the advent of the web, there will be an immense amount of sources of reading, and they are all reading.
8. Learn to write. Not just throwing words on a page, but really write. I am not a great writer, there are some who would not even call me a good writer. But being able to write will get you farther than just about any other skill you acquire. You could be a world class athlete, or a astounding scientist or mathematician, but if you cannot write the chances of people knowing you are one of those things diminishes. And when you get into the workplace, being able to write will be a more valued skill than just about any other skill, except:
9. Be Civil to one another. You will hear people joke about "can't we all just get along" but this is a lesson we all must learn. Learn to get along with your fellow humans, be they male or female, rich or poor, religious or not religious, it doesn't matter. A life where you can't get along with other people will be a poor one.
10. He ain't heavy, he's my brother. The old saying goes you can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives. But you can choose to be friends with your relatives. I have seen families where siblings do not get along, and it is not pleasant. I don't come from that type of family and the same can definitely be said of your mother. Being friends with your siblings, parents and extended family just about guarantees you will never be alone in this world. Take the time to teach your siblings what you are doing, and you have some one you can always play with.
Here is a simple list (some with explanations, some not) of things I want to pass along. It is not exhaustive by any means, and I reserve the right to revisit, revise and redo the list when I want.
1. Lead with your Heart: The point of this lesson is listen to what your heart wants.
2. Know your Dragons. I will expand on this in a later post. But my Uncle Jim wrote a poem about James and the Dragon, which basically was about getting to know those parts of yourself that make you strong and can also cause you to do bad things. And know how to control them.
3. Never stop learning. The Hunter S. Thompson quote I use in the banner I believe says it all: "I've been plagiarizing my whole life it's called learning". Any time you learn anything new is good. I learn every day, and you never know when that learning may come into play.
4. A true sign of intelligence is the ability to see 2 conflicting arguments at the same time. This one came from grandmother Ruch, or at least a variation on the theme. Learn to see the other side of the argument. And it also applies to emotions, learn to empathize with what another person is feeling. Belief in your views is good, but not to the exclusion of different ideas.
5. It's all right to cry. Don't let the media and popular culture brain wash you. I don't mean fall to pieces when your ice cream cone falls on the ground. But when you're hurt, physically or emotionally, crying is a good outlet.
6. Embrace Change. Change will happen, you cannot stop it. In my lifetime I've seen the advent of personal computers, the Internet, the fall of the Soviet Union (and hopefully the election of an African-American man as President). The sooner you embrace change as a constant, and learn to accept it, the better your life will be. Couple that with a thirst for knowledge, and you will live a wonderful life.
7. Reading is reading is reading. When I was growing up my Dad frowned on comic books. And joked about his 'shoot 'em up' escapist reading as not being real reading either. The reality is they are all reading. They all stretch your mind in some fashion and expand your vocabulary. And this will become even more of an issue after you embrace change. Because with the advent of the web, there will be an immense amount of sources of reading, and they are all reading.
8. Learn to write. Not just throwing words on a page, but really write. I am not a great writer, there are some who would not even call me a good writer. But being able to write will get you farther than just about any other skill you acquire. You could be a world class athlete, or a astounding scientist or mathematician, but if you cannot write the chances of people knowing you are one of those things diminishes. And when you get into the workplace, being able to write will be a more valued skill than just about any other skill, except:
9. Be Civil to one another. You will hear people joke about "can't we all just get along" but this is a lesson we all must learn. Learn to get along with your fellow humans, be they male or female, rich or poor, religious or not religious, it doesn't matter. A life where you can't get along with other people will be a poor one.
10. He ain't heavy, he's my brother. The old saying goes you can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives. But you can choose to be friends with your relatives. I have seen families where siblings do not get along, and it is not pleasant. I don't come from that type of family and the same can definitely be said of your mother. Being friends with your siblings, parents and extended family just about guarantees you will never be alone in this world. Take the time to teach your siblings what you are doing, and you have some one you can always play with.
Lead with your Heart
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
This is an odd piece of advice but for some reason it hit me this morning. I know that as children everything is about what you want, and part of growing up is learning to harness that to a certain extent. However, my point and advice is to not forget to listen to those 'I want' feelings and sometimes do what they say.
I am a classic example of paralysis by analysis. I have never been great at letting what I want control my actions. In far too many cases I have let my analysis and thinking take control of my decisions. And that has resulted in many cases where I ended up not getting what I wanted.
Your mother, Kim, does not have this problem. She is far better at deciding what she wants and reaching out and getting it. Often times this is why she gets far more done around the house and why she is the motivator for our projects. Like last night, she decided she wanted the old kids table painted and ready to move into Emily's room. So when she got home that's what she did, she sanded and glued and painted. I on the other hand tend to try to adhere to some inner schedule and project plan on these things, and as a result they don't get done.
I guess the thing that triggered this was thinking about some friends of mine. One couple has 1 child and while they talk in general terms about having another the man tends to say no, because he is worried about money, how is he going to pay for this child to go to school etc. If we had let issues of economics override our thoughts we would have had only 1 child and I would have not had the joy that is Daniel and Emily. The other couple that caused me to think is a couple where the man doesn't want to have kids at all. Because he worries about the little stuff that could happen and things that he can't control. He has paralyzed his actions by over analyzing. Some times you have to let your heart guide you and then let the chips fall where they may, more often than not godd things do happen to good people.
Now I have to interject a note of caution, you can obviously go overboard with this. Your aunt is an example of this, she never pauses to think or analyze any decisions, she just leaps into things, letting her life be ruled by her moods. And as you can see that has not worked out real well for her or her children. So some analysis is good, but again don't be afraid to lead with your heart, often times the best decisions you make are those you make with your heart instead of your brain.
This is an odd piece of advice but for some reason it hit me this morning. I know that as children everything is about what you want, and part of growing up is learning to harness that to a certain extent. However, my point and advice is to not forget to listen to those 'I want' feelings and sometimes do what they say.
I am a classic example of paralysis by analysis. I have never been great at letting what I want control my actions. In far too many cases I have let my analysis and thinking take control of my decisions. And that has resulted in many cases where I ended up not getting what I wanted.
Your mother, Kim, does not have this problem. She is far better at deciding what she wants and reaching out and getting it. Often times this is why she gets far more done around the house and why she is the motivator for our projects. Like last night, she decided she wanted the old kids table painted and ready to move into Emily's room. So when she got home that's what she did, she sanded and glued and painted. I on the other hand tend to try to adhere to some inner schedule and project plan on these things, and as a result they don't get done.
I guess the thing that triggered this was thinking about some friends of mine. One couple has 1 child and while they talk in general terms about having another the man tends to say no, because he is worried about money, how is he going to pay for this child to go to school etc. If we had let issues of economics override our thoughts we would have had only 1 child and I would have not had the joy that is Daniel and Emily. The other couple that caused me to think is a couple where the man doesn't want to have kids at all. Because he worries about the little stuff that could happen and things that he can't control. He has paralyzed his actions by over analyzing. Some times you have to let your heart guide you and then let the chips fall where they may, more often than not godd things do happen to good people.
Now I have to interject a note of caution, you can obviously go overboard with this. Your aunt is an example of this, she never pauses to think or analyze any decisions, she just leaps into things, letting her life be ruled by her moods. And as you can see that has not worked out real well for her or her children. So some analysis is good, but again don't be afraid to lead with your heart, often times the best decisions you make are those you make with your heart instead of your brain.
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