Battle of the basement returns & wonders of FreeRange Kids

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Nothing major planned for the weekend, and with the weather pending to be unpleasant on Sunday it looks like we will have a return to the battle of the basment. Saturday there is James' basketball, and a company outing for King's that night, but Sunday is wide open, and I actually have some more things I want to implement down there.

FreeRange Kid

So the neighbor kids are the epitome of FreeRange, they wander all over the neighborhood, doing all kinds of stuff. Not bad stuff, not getting into trouble, they just happen to have a small house and large family so they get outside for sanity sake as much as anything. And James spends a lot of time with them, especially the youngest son who is a year older than James.

Well lately they have discovered that the parking lot in the little strip mall behind our house has a large pile of snow that is scraped up every time it snows. And they have undertaken a project of tunnelling and digging in these piles of snow to build forts. I wasn't really aware how much they had done until last night when I went over there to get James to come home. It's really cool, and pretty amazing what they have done. So here are some pictures:

Ice Forts

Battle O' the Basement

So there is a battle that all parents must fight on some level. Kids are little chaos machines. The only way to not have them produce some level of clutter/mess is to remove every sinlge toy, movie, stich of clothing etc. And I can accept that. And I don't mind the daily pickup of the living room as a price to pay for sanity. But the basement/rec room which is the kids primary play domain has again been overtaken. And it's a price we pay for having a place to send them when we want some quiet time.

That being said, it's again time to tackle it this weekend, restore order, pick up all toys etc. Plus there are some things we need to do in the back room to clean up as well. I got the bright idea from a friend to put all of our music CD's in cases like we have done with the kids movies. Tehn get rid of the box of CD cases, freeing up that chunk of clutter. Another item is we have a couple of boxes of toys, good toys, wooden train sets etc. that the kids don't use or play with. And the question is how long will we keep them? And if we continue to keep them how and where should we reasonably store them? Just some things to ponder.

Guns, Football and Politics (a truly American post)

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

School Shooting

Another school shooting and all I read in the Gazette is an editorial praising the Sheriff who opposes CSU's ban of guns on school property. In response to the shooting the teachers were far more visible outside of the school this morning when I dropped off the boys. When will this country wake up and realize that an armed populace is not a safer populace, it is less safe? No argument can sway me at this point. I want my children to grow up without having their teachers on the lookout for potential shooters, and having to frisk kids for guns. And the only reasonable solution for that is the Lynyrd Skynyrd line: 'So why don't we dump 'em people, To the bottom of the sea'

Questioning Football

So another former NFL player has died, unknown causes right now, but I am assuming it wasn't due to something like a shooting or accident, since that probably would have been reported by now. This is another player I watched for his entire career, who is only 11 years older than me. And my suspicion is that we will find out that his health suffered as a result of playing football for so long, and indirectly led to his early death. And things like this lead me to question how much longer I can continue to condone this sport, can I morally justify watching people take year off their lives for my entertainment? The Answer for now is yes, but I don't know how long that will last. And I am getting more and more certain I will not allow my kids to play football unless it becomes a huge huge problem to not allow them to play.

Amazing Republican Hypocrisy

So this week we saw what is now typical hypocrisy in the Senate, when a Jobs bill that is mostly Tax Cuts was opposed by the same Republican party whose sole approach to every problem is cut taxes. And in the House a bill that ends Anti-Trust examptions for Health Insurance company will be opposed by the very same politicians who preach that the Free Market is the only solution to all of our ills. I just wonder how these people can look themselves in the mirror anymore? Of course maybe that's not issue once you sell your soul to the Republican party backers (just kidding).

Generic Miniature wargames with kids

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

So I have played a lot of miniature Tabletop Wargames over the years, although it has been several years since I played on any regular basis with any other adults. Since I started painting again I was thinking about how I could somehow play with James and eventually the other kids. The thing is I have miniatures from a lot of different games and think it would be fun to use all of them interchangeably rather than try and teach them all the different games. And maybe even set up games with his Star Wars figures (or maybe even Lego). A friend of mine had joked about creating a universal game system, but we had never actually gotten it going.

So today I sat down and started thinking out a very basic system. The idea is keep the basic rules very basic and generic. Then when we want to add figures from different games we can just come up with flavor and special abilities for that group.

Here is the basics I have sketched out so far:

Generic Miniature Wargame Rules

Figure Stat line

Shooting Skill: 1-6, 6 being highest. Shooting is a flat target number of 2+ to hit, modified by range and cover.

Fighting Skill: 1-6, 6 being highest. Fighting is a flat 3+ to hit, modified by opponents fighting skill.

Wounds: 1+, most figures will have 1 wound, only exceptional characters, vehicles, monsters will have more.

Armor: 1+, Determines if a hit wounds or not, compare damage of weapon and armor value, if damage is higher a wound is scored.

Move: 1+, Measured in Inches, modified by Special abilities and terrain.

Weapons

Close combat weapons

Swords, Knives, Axes etc: Damage 3

Pistol: Damage 3 in close combat only

Power weapons (Lightsabers, power lances, Monstrous Claws): Damage 6


Ranged Weapons

Pistol: Damage 2 in ranged combat Short Range only

Shotgun: Damage 3 Short Range only

Submachine gun, Assault Rifle, Blaster: Damage 4
Short +2 to hit, Medium +0 to hit, Long -1 to hit

Machine Gun, heavy blaster: Damage 5/3 (first number is when only shooting 1 target, second number is when targeting multiple targets up to 3)
Short +0 to hit Medium +2/0 to hit Long +0/-2 to hit

Rocket Launcher: Damage 6/2 (First number is when only target is hit with AP rocket, second number is when explosive rocket template is used)
Short (cannot be fired at short range) Medium +0 to hit, no template Long +0/+2

Cannon: Damage 7/3 (First number is when only target is hit with AP rocket, second number is when explosive rocket template is used)
Long Range only

I haven't figured out certain details like what the range bands will equate to and how to work out the Fighting results. I will keep tinkering and once I have those things worked out and the details for 2 fighting forces I will then sit down and try a battle with James.

Rearing our heads from the storm

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

As I said we did not just react to the poor weather by holing up in the house for 2 days. Saturday I braved the weather for James' basketball, workout & library. Sunday we all went to Kim's Aunt's house for a family gathering. And a good time was had by all.

James basketball

It's a tad frustrating watching basketball at this level. I think James is improving, but I tend to forget how much of a team game basketball is. If you cannot get teammates to even attempt a pass longer than a hand off, then all the cutting and spacing in the world will not help. And when you cannot make shots outside of say 5 feet then there is no way to enhance spacing. So while James is having fun, and trying hard, it's real hard to tell if he is actually improving. He doesn't have the size to dominate games, and his skill level is also not overwhelming. But unlike soccer where being a step or 2 higher can make a difference at this level of basketball it isn't easy to really see. But he is enjoying it, so I will keep giving him the chance to play, and next year he will be able to play through school.

Painting

Here are some results of my painting this weekend. This worked out pretty well Friday night as far as distracting me from thinking about a snack. And it was fun to pick up the paints & brushes again. I need to keep a mindset that this is just about painting and not about constructing some super army or something like that, as I really don't have the time or interest in playing again. The real test will come this week as Kim's schedule starts back so I will have that hour or so after everyone goes to bed when I need something to occupy my mind and focus.

Health

Speaking of focus and occupying time I really need to change my weekend approach. Because I can do all I can for the 4-5 days and then blow it all over the weekend, resulting in a plateau. Not regaining wieght, but no net losses either. I know this will be easier once the weather improves and I can find more to do for me & the kids on the weekends. For now I just have to keep the spirits up, and keep momentum during the week, I know I can do it, I just hate plateaus.

Shut in weekend? Not hardly...

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

The weather may seem to meet th criteria of a weekend where we stay comnfortably inside our snug house, but I don't think is what will happen. First, we already have 2 planned outings: James b-ball on Saturday, then a Chinese New Years party on Sunday. Plus I have a planned trip to the library to get some books for James's school project. So, while we may spend much of Saturday in the house we will brave the inclement weather regardless.

Hobby

Hoping to take some time this weekend to dig out some miniatures and paints. Maybe do some painting again. I really need to find something to do in the evenings after the family goes to bed other than watch TV and get the urge to snack. And I can paint and watch TV. So it might be fun to try and do a little this weekend, see how hard or easy it is.

Emily

It took some hard core parenting (locking her in her room and letting her cry) but she went to sleep in her room and stayed in there last night. It remains to be seen if that will have to happen again tonight, but I can hope we can turn the corner on bed times again.

Health

Had better weeks, although doing 2 walks a day will help once I get the eating back to normal. The tough part of the coming weekend will be watching the eating. But still feeling real good, and haven't lost sight of the prize.

Sports

2 weeks, no football, and keeping away from watching basketball or obsessing over scores every night. Feeling good about it, the NBA is actually pretty easy to ignore these days as it has become such a hard game to watch unless you like Star Ball.

Politics

This weeks news certainly was interesting. And next week could be even more interesting, who needs sports when you can follow politics?

Great article this morning, brings up an absolutely fascinating idea that falls right in line with Open Government and Question Time. And my feeling is why not? Why can't we bring State & Federal legislatures into the 21st Century? Why not open them up technologically with modern technology, and get away from the idea of the centralized State houses where All Business Must Be Done? The only reason that I can see, other than this is the way we've always done it, is that the lobbyists have greater access now (which is an argument in favor of this idea not against it IMHO).

How did we get transported back to 1994-5?

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

So here's the thing, I actually tried to make my way through the 'manifesto' of the suicide pilot today. While I don't think there is anything there that 100% drops him in the Tea Party camp or CPAC or any of the many Right wing Neo-Con groups it does seem like he fit in with that crowd more easily than with some extreme ACORN like group. It just goes to show that the farther out and more extreme you go in either direction the greater the likelihood you end up with people agreeing with each other.

What all this stems from is distrust of the Government. My more Right Wing friends will say they don't trust the government with their money, that they will just waste it or spend it on some cause they don't support (like providing welfare and health services for those who can't afford it).

And I agree with the first part, I don't trust the government either. But not because government by itself is the problem. Instead I don't trust them because I believe the elected officials are beholden on some level to moneyed corporate interests, that they no longer are really looking out for the people who elected them. This is true at every level, from the Senators in pay of big corporate lobbyists, down to my beloved home town City Council bending over backwards to keep a marginally helpful organization headquartered in the town.

So what is my solution?

First, enact and enforce term limits at all levels, possibly including the Supreme Court. I strongly believe that our Founding Fathers would not have wanted or approved of Legislators for life like we have in both houses. Turnover is the real key to keeping the lobbyists at bay to some extent.

Second, kill all of the lobbyists, just joking. No the solution is to find some legal way to put an end to this massive growth industry. Last year while the rest of the country was suffering massive layoffs and economic losses one of the few 'industries' that did a bang up job was the lobbying industry, more lobbyists were hired last year instead of cutting back. There has to be some solution to this.

Last, shame. Open up government to the public, here is a great organization and site bent on doing that. The more open things get, the more we break open the closed door sessions and bring the real actions of our elected representatives out into the open the more we force them to either be up front about their greed or realize that there are electoral consequences to their actions. Now most people are not going to take the time to actually visit open government sites and see what is really going on. But the more sources of information there are the easier it will be for media on both sides to shine the spotlight on people who aren't doing what they promised, or get caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. The technology is there, there is no reason it cannot be done beyond a will to do it.

Back to the title of the post. I remember thinking that the Oklohoma City bombing was in some way directed at the IRS due to the timing being so close to April 15th. I also remember not being all that surprised that one of these militia groups finally got things together to act on all of the anti-government anger fomented by what was at that time the minority party. And while I come back to not really knowing if that what was behind the actions of this man today, I can't help but feel like this is potentially the tip of the iceberg.

There is a lot of potential anger out there to be reaped. You can't have prospects of long term unemployment, populist rhetoric and class anger without expecting something to happen. There were hints of it in the Town Halls of August, and the Tea Party movement. And sooner or later there may be a group that comes from the Left and performs it's own variation with some action directed at symbols of inequity like the mega banks.

One of the strengths of this country has always been that we managed to come up with solutions that pulled us back from the brink. Be it the Civil Service reforms and Trust busting of the Progressive movement, or the New Deal Or the Civil Rights movement and Act. But I wonder if that is possible in our present hyper polarized state? I certainly hope so, but every day, with every crazy action I do worry.

Tired parents

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

For whatever reason Emily has decided to go on a sleep strike. Up through mid last week she had been very good about just laying down when it was time, and going to sleep in her own room. But for the past week for whatever reason she has decided that she can't or won't do that any more. She can or will only go to sleep with me in the chair or in bed with one of us.

Last night was the worst, she just kept going until past 10 when she was half asleep and finally accepted me putting her in her own bed. I don't know what has started this behavior, but it is grinding me down. I can't just shut her in her room and let her scream until she gives up, since Kim has to go to sleep at the same time per her new schedule. Which means that my attempts at getting to bed earlier, or even thinking about doing anything other than just watching TV after Kim goes down are also right out the window.

All we can do at this point is try and survive and keep trying to get her to lay down, because anything else is not viable. Can't just let her scream since Kim needs her sleep. Letting her fall asleep in bed with Kim or me in my chair are also bad precedents. I just hope this phase doesn't last too long and we can get back to her laying down on her own again.

Wednesday Politics & Other things

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Politics

The big news today is the Anniversary of the Recovery Act. The Administration is ciruclating and playing up this chart as a way to demonstrate what the Recovery Act actually did. Unfortunately, as this article points out, the problem is that people don't think: "wow life could have been so much worse, that's a good point." Instead, when there is still near 10% unemployment, and that unemployment is affecting the working classes of the population hardest their thought is: "why didn't that Stimulus affect me?" And that is very understandable, and very hard to argue with. And we can't say we weren't warned, There were a lot of people who argued that the Stimulus needed to be much bigger. And this was exactly what was predicted: a jobless recovery. Funny how that worked. I guess some of those people probably did know what they were talking about.

There are lots of fingers pointing in all kinds of driections on this. But I think the answer is simple: the Senate, the Senate is where good bills go to die. The Senate is ruled by a minority of powerful Senior Senators whose biggest concerns are re-election, lining their pockets, future after Senate, their legacy, and somewhere after all that their responsibility to their electorate. When every good Progressive idea that hits the Senate gets watered down it is clear the system is broken. I am all for Senators stepping down, regardless of the reasons. We need to break up the Seniority in both houses as far as I am concerned. My biggest hope for this election is that all of the incumbents, on both sides, feel the pain.

Sonic Boom

So I finished the book yesterday, and I was even more impressed with what I read in the second half than I was with the beginning part. There are some very good points, and some interesting slants.

One of my favorites was how he took the 10 Tenets of the Communist Manifesto and basically said that all but 1 of them had come true. And yet we did not have to adopt the tenets of Lenin & Stalin to do so. His point here is that while Marx predicted a downfall of Capitalism, it was only the way the so-called Free Market of his time that fell. And this was the author's way of reiterating one of his central tenets: Social and Political Freedom are what make Free Market Capitalism work. In Marx's time the majority of the world was not free politically, and looking around today at how political freedom has become the norm, that is what is solving the basic conundrum of thinkers like Marx.

And in the last chapter he breaks down the main points of what he thinks need to be done to survive the new Sonic Boom culture and Economy. And the one that impressed me most was that he presented an excellent argument for improving, changing and advancing Education.

I highly recommend this book for anyone, on either side of the political spectrum. It is a balanced analysis of what is really happening around us and what is likely to happen as time goes by.

Social Media

So I am beginning to really like Google Buzz. The only problem, the single biggest obstacle, is that not that may people are adopters of GMail. And until it is open to people regardless of their choice of mail it will be limited.

However, for the first time I have come across a Facebook style change that has really irked me. In the past these changes were just a matter of adapting, and it usually made sense. But this one has made things considerably harder to navigate. And now I have found that some of my applications aren't working, garr! Facebook had better wake up and smell the coffee that changes like this are what will cause them to fade away. The reason I left MySpace was because it became more annoying than anything else. Well FB is becoming that annoying with all of it's little time wasters etc. So the FB tab is getting that much easier to push to the back, behind Twitter and GMail.

Our Fabulous weekend

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

We had an excellent 3 day weekend. Great mini-vacation to Denver, cramming in nice hotel, good food, games, and aquarium into a 2 day period. Then a nice day recovering, including a nice lunch with an old friend. Batteries recharged for the return to routine (with some changes to that routine to be discussed later).

Hotel

We all had a good time staying at the hotel (except for Emily beating me up in her sleep). We had a fun time in the pool, with me getting a chance to get in some fun horse play with James. The breakfast was great, the kids really enjoyed that part of it. James especially enjoyed the hotel stay, it was a real highlight for him. Hope they don't expect all vacations to be quite this plush, but it was a nice break from the usual.

Casa Bonita

So we did the Denver tourist thing and took the kids to Casa Bonita, meeting Dave & Tia there. Which the kids enjoyed, especially James. It was a little longer than I might have liked, but it was still nice to get a chance to visit with Dave & Tia, since I haven't seen them nearly as much since they moved to Denver.

Aquarium

THe Aquarium was really cool, really quite impressive. I was able to get some pictures with the iPhone,and will get them all loaded to Flickr by the end of the day. We ate a late lunch there, and that was quite good, albeit quite large, large enough that I didn't need dinner.

Spotty

I want to say a special thanks to my Mom for watching Spotty Saturday & Sunday. I was dismayed that she didn't behave as well as I hoped. But after talking to Mom about it we came up with some new things we can do to help improve her behavior. We will be instituting some more regular walks (3 per day: James in the morning, Kim at lunch and me after Dinner). And hopefully get her to the dog park and some more puppy socialization sessions at the pet store. And then some obedience training as well. She was actually quite good for us after we picked her up, so I think part of her bad behavior was being in a new place and surrounded by other dogs for really the first time.

Recap

So an excellent trip overall, and a nice extra day to recover and do some shopping. It was really nice getting to spend all that extra time with Kim, because our schedules don't really give us much time together when we are both awake and energetic.

Happy Friday!

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Well happy in as much as I know that I don't have to come back and cope with these customers until next Tuesday, the day itself has been a hell zone. Just one screwed up customer issue after another, just brutal.

Plans

Tomorrow Kim has the day off (in fact she actually worked it out to a 3 day weekend too, yay!). So we have James' basketball game in the morning. Then pictures (during which I will sneak off and get in a workout). Then over to the library to pick up some books, then lunch. Followed by picking up Spotty and taking her to Grandma Lolly's house for the night. Then we take off.

We are taking the kids to Denver for the night, staying at a hotel. Go out to dinner (probably Casa Bonita). And then the Denver Aquarium Sunday before returning to rescue Spotty. It's a mini-vacation for the entire family. If the weather was nicer we might consider a camping trip, but this will have to suffice. We will still have Monday for some time at home (although I will sneak off to have lunch with a friend).

Thursday Thoughts

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

All over the place today, so bear that in mind.

Football

It looks like the Rams have a buyer. Which of course leaves open an endless supply of Khannnn!!! jokes. And also means that he will likely keep the team in St. Louis as opposed to someone who will be gearing up for that return to L.A. as some people thought might happen when the sale was announced. I don't much care either way. I just wanted to team to have stable ownership so they weren't stuck behind the 8 ball in free agency spending as far as keeping existing players and getting new ones.

Highlander

Really interesting article on the GeekDad blog from Wired today. I loved the first movie, and the TV Show was awfully cool, while it lasted. So it was fun to read about it and decide which one I liked more. And of course I went with Connor. And all of this discussion has prompted me to ponder creating an Immortal character in my next Role playing game.

Google Buzz

So I am trying out Buzz,until a tie in for Twitter gets built it will probably feel like a bunch of redundant feeds. After the first trials on the phone I got that working. I can see how that part of it might be really cool. And it is nice to see the feed right there in Gmail. So I will keep using it, and look for more functionality as far as interacting with Twitter. I don't see dropping FB, not when that is such a huge deal for me, but I can see making FB a less integral part of my social networking.

Irritating politics of the week

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Damn! Just when I think the administration has turned the corner, recaptured it's Mojo and might finally be able to get something done, something like this happens. What was he thinking? Trying to appease his banker bosses before they completely jump ship back to the Party of No? Crap.

And things were actually starting to look up, at least in terms of the propaganda war. The Party of No had stumbled into some easily exploitable gaffe's. The Administration had some good wedge points to demonstrate that the Republicans had just flat become obstructionists.

There was the wonderful Q & A with the House Republicans. And the promise of more chances to do this. And then Richard Shelby decided to put a blanket hold on all Obama appointees over some Pork for his district. And then the story came out about how quickly some choice Republicans had lined up at the trough for Stimulus spending, despite the public refusal to support the Stimulus.

Sigh, I guess I should have known that things were looking too good. At least I live in Colorado Springs...

Yes my hometown, the laughing stock of the nation. Where the Neo-Cons have successfully branded government as a 4 letter word, along with taxes. And then have the gall to claim that this is still a great city to live, when this morning it comes out that our standard of living and wages are both dramatically lower than the national average. Where the largest school district has half of it's students eligible for Free lunch. Yep, it's a great place to live, we have all of these wonderful parks (so long as it rains and we can find a magical trash pickup fairy), sigh.

Awesome weekend

Dear James, Daniel and Emily

Well the party was awesome, the rest of the weekend was merely very good. James' basketball went okay, he continues to have fun. I was able to take the time to get in some exercise after the game. The Super Bowl party went very well, all those in attendance had a good time. And got to enjoy a really good game, making me very sad to see the last football for a long time.

James Basketball

Well I got to see what it is like to be on the other side when teams play James' usual soccer team, a group that has been playing together for quite some time and has really developed together. Because the other team in basketball just outclassed James' team. Not for lack of effort, there are some good players on James' team, they just clearly are lacking in experience and therefore don't grasp the nuances of basketball. Like how to press the ball to the paint on offense, how to play solid defense, take good shots etc. It's not a criticism as much as a lack of experience. But he continues to have fun, and that is what is really important.

Health

Lost a little ground lately due to lack of eating discipline, particularly early last week. But I was able to carve a little time on Saturday for exercise, and see no reason I can't do the same every week. Just a matter of focus, and discipline. But I'm still feeling good, and really not a huge difference in the long run.

Super Bowl Party

The party went quite well. We had good attendance (packed living room in fact). The food was all good, thanks again to everyone who contributed a dish. I was already stuffed by the 2nd quarter. My Bacon-Cheese roll was good. I didn't quite cook it as long as I should have, but it was still good, and it was all eaten. I took some pictures and added them to my Flickr account as a Set here.

One thing that I noticed yesterday that was of real interest to me was how people watched the game. If this was a normal football game the noise level would have been very different. During normal games when the game breaks for commercial people start talking more, about the game, other things. But the Super Bowl is unique in that things got quieter when the commercials came on. Just an interesting thought, I don't think that meant we were all going out to buy Bud Light and Doritos to eat & drink while we drove our Ram Charger to go see a movie. Just that it has become a really unique cultural event in that regard.

Football

Well that was a good and fitting way to end the football season. It was a good game, insuring the season ended on a high note. I was happy to see the Saints finally get over the hump, and it's always fun to see the underdog win the game.

I think the Colts kind of did themselves in, coupled with better coaching by the Saints. I think the Colts got too conservative, not realizing that they were actually playing a team that was capable of scoring just as many points as they normally do. And the Saints played the right kind of fast & loose, even taking what would normally be considered crazy risks. That was the surprise as much as anything, that the Colts would be the team that failed to keep pace in scoring. And I think that was due to their game plan and play calling as much as it was the Saints Defense doing anything spectacular.

So football is done for the year, and with my stated plan to minimize NBA watching, it is time for me to get on with my life, and find other more constructive things to do with my weekend days. And to be honest I am looking forward to it. It should be fun to get back to focusing on household projects and healthier things than sitting around the house watching football.

Manny

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the day that Manny actually passed away. Which is why I am removing his picture from the main page. He will always be there in our hearts, but a year of true mourning is enough, and time to move on.

Offers my Super Bowl Picks (and other thoughts)

Dear James, Daniel and Emily

Not a huge weekend planned, just the usual events, then Super Bowl party on Sunday. Hoping to get more exercise this weekend though, if the weather cooperates.

Football

This is a tough game. My usual method of determining rooting interest is looking at the rosters: anyone from Colorado Springs, Colorado, CU, Ole Miss? In that order. However looking at these rosters, no one meets any of these criteria. I can fall back on my old standby of cheering for the Western team, but New Orleans doesn't really fit in that. I guess I will root for the underdog, but it will be half hearted, because I really appreciate and respect the Colts as a team and organization.

As for who will win and how? You have to come up with a pretty complex formula for the Saints to win, while the Colts are pretty straight forward, just do what they have been doing all season (except resting their starters). So while I think it is possible for the Saints to win it is not real likely. The Colts are so efficient, Manning reminds me of Montana at his best as far as you just can't see a way to stop them for the entire game. So the Saints best hope is some kind of shoot out, and some lucky or fluke plays occur in their favor.

Bottom Line: Colts win 34-24

Thursday Thoughts

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Just some miscellaneous thoughts to share today. Some web sites to recommend, some TV reviews, etc.

New Web Site to Recommend:

TechPresident

This is a cool web site, pretty impartial. Most of the articles are on how technology impacts politics and our culture. Plus this is the group that helped put together the DemandQuestionTime petition. Which I highly recommend anyone take the time to go and sign. These give & takes are really good, for both sides, and might really help to break up some of the gridlock we see in our current politics.

On that note I went ahead and signed the petition for Term Limits, which I was surprised was still there. I think that this is probably the best proposition we can make now to counter the inherent corruption in our system. I doubt it will gain any real traction, but I at least feel like I put my internet signature where my mouth and keypad are.

TV Review

Leverage

So I was lured into watching this show last season from reading Wil Wheaton's blog about his performance on it. And after watching a couple of more episodes I have become addicted. The show is about a group of 'reformed' criminals who apply their unique skill sets to avenge wrongs performed by people who have no recourse with the Law. It's a pretty basic concept, not all that unique. But what truly makes it cool is every week the group basically puts together an elaborate con game to take that revenge, enact justice etc. And for someone who counts the Sting as one his favorite movies growing up, this is like pure gold. I love movies, shows etc. where elaborate con games are put together and then sprung. It's just cool.

Weekend Plans

So we are having a Super Bowl after all. And this year the attendance might be a bit bigger. I am looking forward to the game. Should be fun. Otherwise the rest of the weekend should be pretty low key: James basketball game, a trip to the library, some pre-party cleaning and shopping.

He's back talking politics again

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Sorry, but I have to express some ideas that have been tumbling around in my head. My brother (who just last year moved out of Colorado Springs to Denver) emailed me about an article in the Denver Post about our local budget woes. As someone who lives here and is cognizant of what is going on little of what is in the article was news. But the way it was phrased was, the shock that we have allowed things to get this bad in our city. And as I told him the reason is simple: the Conservatives won the Propaganda War.

That's what it has boiled down to, and it has been going on for so long now that people don't even blink when a supposedly Ultra-Liberal President talks about cutting taxes and reducing the budget. When even the seemingly most liberal of politicians preaches fiscal conservatism that tells me the war has been lost.

Here is the accepted creed in modern political thought, across pretty much the entire political spectrum: Taxes are bad, no matter who has to pay them. And: Government is either Abusive, Corrupt or grossly inefficient (or all 3 in many cases). Those are accepted schools of thought, and only the most liberal among us question them.

And in Colorado Springs, my home, those schools of thought are coming home to roost. Because if you combine all of the above the only reasonable approach is to cut taxes, never agree to raise them, and eventually 'starve the beast' that is government. So you get this: parks with dead turf, no facilities, and no trash cans. No streetlights at night. Reduced police and fire protection. No Community centers for after school and summer programs, or Senior Programs.

My question is this: have any of these people ever played Sim City? Don't they realize what happens when you take all of those services away? People leave, city structures fall apart, fires burn too long, crime increases.

On the Federal level the President has just proposed a massive budget, and the silly season has begun. Every Republican and Democrat in name only congressman or woman has begun heaping scorn on the budget, attacking it on every level. And yet, almost none of these talking heads is willing to address the fact that this budget includes the largest Defense budget since World War 2. And none of them will be the ones to step forward and volunteer that a Federal Program in their back yard be the first to go. It will all be big talk, hedged by NIMBY politicking.

I do have a solution, it actually is multiple parts.

First, institute a massive nation wide Public service show on Civics, show people what government really does for them, show them all of the things that are done by government organizations every day, in every part of their lives, remind people what it would be like without those services. We are already unwittingly getting one of those here in Colorado Springs. And have this emphasize the fact that governments are not corporations, they do not have to make a profit, they do not even have to pay for themselves.

Second, bring back the Term Limit movement. We need to put an end to career politicians in Congress. Congress should not be a career, and way to get rich. Force the people to accept change in their politics so fresh faces and approaches appear every couple of years, no matter what. Before the Lobbyists and corporate spending PAC's have a chance to really get their hooks into these people.

Update:
Here's a different take on the same basic idea I am complaining about: http://www.salon.com/news/us_economy/index.html?story=/opinion/feature/2010/02/01/lind_deficit_hawks

Update 2:
We even made the National news: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/colorado-springs-extreme-budget-cut-9722834

Quiet weekend at home

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

A good, relaxing recharging weekend at home. Other than my game night, and James' basketball we did nothing until yesterday afternoon. We did a family lunch, then took the kids to the dollar movies. And then it was home again for a quiet evening. I didn't get as much exercise as I might have liked, but Kim hit the wall Saturday so there wasn't much chance for any long family walks (and I couldn't just leave an exhausted wifey with a bunch of rowdy kids), and yesterday was pretty chilly.

James Basketball

The game went well, I didn't have the same sense that they were smashed like the first week. James played well in his 2 stints, he made 1 shot, rebounded well, and did well on defense, even when asked to guard a much taller girl (taller by a full head). We then played a little at home in the driveway, and then he played a little when we went on a chilly walk to West. He's getting better, I am trying to limit what I am teaching to the basics, so he doesn't try to do too much. Just basics like dribbling with his head up, defending the player not the ball, shooting with a lighter touch.

Health

Eating was mostly under control, despite being at home with way too many snack options, and then going out for a lunch at a pizza place. Again, not as much exercise as I might have liked. Maybe next weekend I will put the kids in child watch after basketball and do some treadmill work before heading home.

Sports

I am making a concerted effort to not get sucked into the NBA as far as viewing this season. I just remember that while I was excited to see the Lakers win last season I just reached a point of not really enjoying the games that much. The NBA product just isn't that much fun to watch for me any more. So while I will read about it, follow the standings etc. I have decided that watching is just going to be incidental from here on. I am not saddened by this, I think it is a good thing to keep working on finding new things to do with my life and time other than vegetating in front of a TV watching something I am not really enjoying out of some sense of loyalty to a team.