Job market

Calgary has such a "labour shortage" right now that nearly every place is hiring. We need people in fields from "Sandwich Artist" to nurse. We were out driving yesterday and I saw Help Wanted signs in 5 consecutive windows - and that was the entire mini-mall.

I have been wondering about this for over a year now. How can a city of this size not be able to sustain itself? What are the 1,000,000 people doing? Even in Nakusp, you had someone to run the restaurant, someone to work at the gas station, doctors, mailmen, garbagemen. It was so balanced that I couldn't find a job.

A new point in this discussion occurred to me yesterday. I was dropping off bottles and cans at the recyclers. There were 8-10 men between my age and my dad's who were sorting through everyone's sticky, stinky bags of returnables. I guess I had always assumed that these guys weren't qualified to do anything else. Most of them looked like new immigrants and probably didn't speak English. This bigotted view came crashing down on me when I was served by a guy in his mid thirties. He was in good physical condition, spoke perfect English, was shaven and dressed nicely. And he was sorting through my bag of garbage with his bare hands to count my $4.95 worth of coke cans.

After I left, I began wondering about this guy. Is he married? Does he have boys like I do? Does he like his job? Does he know there are probably hundreds of jobs as far from or closer to his home that don't leave him smelling like beer bottles at the end of the day? Would he hate talking on the phone all day as much as I would doing his job? How much money could he possibly be making?

I don't know what to do about this. I can't offer him a job. I can't bring him applications to work at 7-11 or A&W. I don't have any more cans so I can't even really come back and talk to him about it. Maybe I'll take my inspiration from a poem I learned 25 years ago.
----------------

A Problem
by Marchette Chute

My zipper is stuck.
Now what shall I do?
Give it a tug,
And pull it in two?

Give it a jerk?
And then it will jam.
I think I'll just sit here
The way that I am.

---------------

I'll be thankful for my job and my family. I know there's more I could and probably should do but recognizing my own blessings is the first step.

Bright Boy

It's been a while since I wrote a dad's view on parenting so without further ado...

Time for a Cute Kid Story

Andrew is getting so smart. It's cute when he figures things out.

Recently he's started "talking" more. He tries sounds out and when he gets something that works he will repeat it over and over. This week his word is "bud'n". He uses this when he's reaching for anything with buttons. Remotes, phones, my PDA. He's a gadget guy just like his brothers and his parents.

The other cool thing he did today was when I was leaving for work. He was sitting in his high chair eating lunch and I waved and said, "Goodbye!" He smiled and just ignored me. I was a little sad because he always waves at the door. I went to say good bye to the boys and came back to him. When he saw me putting my coat on, he smiled and waved. He had figured out that I wasn't really leaving yet because I didn't have my coat on. What a logic jump for a 10-month old kid.

I'm so looking forward to all the steps they will take over the next year.

Weird kids shows

Amber and I are all about sharing content with you these days. It makes blogging so much easier. We just link to something, give you a few comments and then you can have a wonderful reading experience.

Today I have a very interesting list for you. It's by Matt Dinniman, author of "Fireflies in the Cloud". He has written his list of "The Top Ten Weirdest, Creepiest, Freakiest Children's Television Shows".

Stop by and read it. I agree with a lot of the opinions, but in interest of not totally plagiarising another column, I will add my Top 3 Honorable Mentions.


3. The Wiggles



I know that a zillion kids love these guys. I know they have recently lost a member. It's not so much the concerts that look like they're an airband or the the big dinosaur, or even the gay pirate Cap'n Feathersword. The thing I find the creepiest is that they are the richest, highest-grossing entertainers in Australia. Even bigger than Nicole Kidman, AC/DC, or Steve Irwin.

2. Land O' Hands



Here is Telefilm Canada's spiel about this series:

A pre-school puppet series set in the fanciful world of pre-historic Alberta, Land O’ Hands follows the adventures of a young boy named Bungle and his family of cave people. Bungle’s natural curiosity often leads him into trouble. With the help of his little sister, Pubba, and his best friend, Garby, Bungle always sets things right and learns more about himself and his place in the big world of the jungle.

Sounds ok I guess, but the creepy part is that nearly the whole show - sets, characters, trees are made of painted human hands. It freaks me out. It looks low budget and reminds me of a kindergarten project.

1. Max and Ruby




This is the most disturbing kids show on TV for two reasons.

A) It's about a little 2-year old bunny and his 8ish-year old sister. Max is incredibly whiny and speaks in one word sentences like, "Cars!" or "Chocolate!" This is especially annoying and creepy because this speech pattern ends up being imitated by the two to four-year olds that have watched it.

B) There are no parents. The big sister tucks him in, makes him food, disciplines him, takes him on outings - all while trying to maintain her normal child life of going to school and being a Bunny Scout or something. Very responsible kid but what happened to the parents??

Decisions of a 18 year old

A while ago I read an article about life choices and how they affect us. It told the story of an old man on his death bed looking back over his life. He regretted the path he had gone down and the career he had chosen. He said, "I cannot believe I let my life be directed by the choices of an 18-year old."

This had stuck with me for the last few weeks. I've wanted to write about it but I have only now started to digest it to the point where I can understand how it applies to me.

I feel that from 1995-2005, I was making all my life choices based on an initial decision I made when I was 18. I decided then that I wanted to be a music pastor. My life to that point seemed to point in that direction and I had support and a career plan laid out before me. For the next ten years, whenever a fork came in my life, I consciously or subconsciously choose the road that would get me closer to full time ministry.

Even when I wasn't working in a church, I was making connections at the music store, staying active on email lists and forums, volunteering, all in a hope that it would eventually lead to this job that 1995-Me wanted. I was building a resume but meanwhile, I was ignoring other interests and gifts I had.

It took a move to middle of nowhere and several emergency room visits to show me the big picture. It was like I zoomed out about 5 levels on Google Maps and now I could see my path. I could also see all the other paths in front of me. I made a decision to go in another direction, down a path I wouldn't have looked at before because it led away from music pastoring.

That was just over a year ago and I have to say I can't remember being this happy before. Not when I was working full-time in Winnipeg, not when I was at school. I haven't looked at the church job sites for over 12 months. I've unsubscribed from the email lists. I can visit another church without thinking, "If I was the music pastor here, I would change...." People ask me if I'm looking for a new position, if I'm applying, and I say something like, "Not right now. We're in a season of refreshment and renewal. God will lead us back in His time."

Honestly though, I don't see that happening. This last year I have been able to look at my gifts, abilities, weaknesses, and passions. I have realized that 18-year old with stars in his eyes was encouraged to take a certain path. I didn't know how to get off it, so I ran my hardest down it. I'm glad I was able to make the jump when I did and not when I am 75 years old and unable to change. I'm not saying that the path I'm on now is the right one for me forever, but now that I know how to zoom out and see the other paths, I think I won't be as scared to change.

Superman II - Take Two

30 years ago, when I was but a bump in a wedding dress, Richard Donner was filming a two-part Superman movie series. Like Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings fame, Donner was filming his movies concurrently. Once he had finished the first movie and sent it away for post-production, the producers put a stop to his filming so they could concentrate on getting the first movie out on time.

In a move that would make an interesting movie in its own right, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind took the 75% completed sequel and had one of their uncredited producers film the rest of the movie. The discarded much of Donner's original footage and storyline and Richard Lester was credited for directing the entire movie.

Recently, Warner Bros has released, Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut. It has over 45 minutes of brand new footage that was recovered from a damp warehouse. The movie has a very different feel and a totally different ending.

I was overjoyed to see that the whole sequence with Lois Lane in Paris was cut since that was one of my least favorite part of the original cut. The new opening fits much more clearly with the first movie now.

One of the most interesting parts is a scene that was actually never filmed. It was a scene that Donner saw as so crucial to the series that he used it as the screen test scenes. They have taken the actual screen test footage of Kidder and Reeve and inserted it into the movie. It takes place in a very small set and the costuming isn't up to the same level as the rest of the movie but it is a very interesting scene. It is the moment when Clark finally admits to Lois his secret. I wasn't as happy with this scene, not only because the quality is so low, but because it replaced one of my favorite scenes - the fireplace reveal.

It is very obvious that Donner was only able to shoot about 75% of the film. He reluctantly used a few of Lester's scenes to fill in the story and I think that makes for a weak plot at times. Many of the scenes, including the climax at the Fortress of Solitude and the Niagara Falls sequences are rushed and some crucial moments are
missing. Donner's ego wouldn't let him use barely any of the footage that this usurper filmed and unfortunately, the end product suffers. I agree that the movie would have been much better if he had finished everything he wanted to do, but this new cut is still a very good movie. Definitely worth taking a look at.

Christmas Stuff

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy this entire post and paste into your own blog. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. 'Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Bag it. When we were kids we used to have reusable cloth bags that our Mom and Dad gifts always came in.

2. Real tree or artificial? Remote-controlled fake

3. When do you put up the tree? Used to be Dec 11 but we've been pushing it back closer to the 1st the last few years.

4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day

5. Do you like eggnog? Mmmmmm... love it. Almost as good as hamnog.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A magic kit when I was 5.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? A Veggie Tales Set that is missing the manger because the boys keep playing with it. So now Baby Jesus has to sleep on the dirt.

8. Hardest person to buy for? No one. Amber did all the hard ones this year.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Amber. We bought a laptop and that was supposed to be for birthdays and Christmas and anniversary. But now she's bought me stuff so maybe I'll have to take the laptop back and get her Subway gift certificates.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmmm... who reads this? A $50 cheese tray from work when I was expecting a cheque.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Amber is a crafty scrapbooker / card maker, so as much as I would love to do email, it'll be mail - hopefully this week.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. That was my first date by myself with a girl. Well with like 6 "couples" from our class.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Like I said, I'm so glad I'm married to a Christmas-lover. She takes care of most of it and I can be as Humbug as I want.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I remember.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas party 1994, a girl brought these little tart-sized cherry cheesecakes. I knew then that I'd have to marry her.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Our remote lets us turn on either the white, colored, or both. I love my treemote.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Sleigh Ride - the instrumental with the trumpet/horse at the end.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home. Winter driving is no fun.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem. And Rudolph and Olive.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Yuletide. And X-mas. All the plastic, glittery, capitalistic nonsense that distracts from Christmas. I'm still trying to figure out how to separate Nativity from Happy Holidays.

Fast Hands

This is a wonderfully amazing video. It's by far the fastest hammerer dulcimer player I've ever seen. The fact that I've never seen another hammered dulcimer player does nothing to diminish the awesomeness of his performance. The first two minutes or so is nice mood-setting music and then he hits movement 2 and his hands become a blur.

Now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head.

Amazing But True Holiday Facts

The Top 50 Amazing-but-True Holiday Facts


* In the village where the original Saint Nicholas was born,
children celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to old men
with long white beards.

* Children whose families celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas
have a 97 percent higher chance of getting socks as a gift.

* The yule log was originally a symbol of good digestion
following an overlarge Christmas feast.

* The sugar rush of a fruitcake is canceled out by its alcohol
content.

* The dogs barking "Jingle Bells" on the novelty record were
not dogs at all, but parrots, which can mimic dogs and are
easier to train.

* The first-ever Hanukkah latke recipe featured turnips,
rhubarb and kale. These proved so unpopular that many
different vegetables were substituted until the current
potato version prevailed.

* During the early 1970s, the Hasbro company attempted to
build a "North Pole" toy factory at Point Barrow, Alaska.
Construction was halted when feasibility studies predicted
labor shortages.

* In freshly-fallen snow, reindeer hoof prints are indisguishable
from those of the common Missouri white-tailed deer.

* Studies show that neighbors tend to complain about wattage-
sucking, multimedia outdoor decorations because they are
*jealous*.

* On the eighth day of Christmas, Jesus was circumcised.

* The most popular eggnog in Russia is not made from chicken
eggs, but from caviar.

* Every year between Christmas Day and New Year's day, there is
a 2-for-1 sale on caribou patties at the Anchorage Deli.

* The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe originated in
Germany in the 18th century when a person who was deathly
allergic to mistletoe came in contact it and had to be revived
by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

* Absurd as it seems, behavioral scientists claim kids don't want
expensive toys -- what they REALLY want is just to be loved.

* The Egyptians celebrated a holiday they called "Chrystmus"
over 1700 years before the birth of Christ.

* The primary causes of death during the holidays are heart
attacks and suicide caused by the arrival of credit-card bills.

* According to the Department of Homeland Security's 2007
strategic plan, 2006 will be the last year youngsters can
sit on a mall Santa's lap without first passing through a
metal detector.

* Properly prepared, figgy pudding is a potent aphrodisiac.

* The average height of a Christmas tree (5' 4") is exactly
the same as the distance between Jesus's hands on the cross.

* Tinsel is an excellent garnish for chicken or veal.

* "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was banned from the airwaves
and bookstores from 1950-1956 because of its implied support
for Communism.

* Pope Gregory moved Christmas from its original day, March 17,
at the request of Irish bishops and barley farmers who were
promoting a new holiday to commemorate Saint Patrick.

* Eggnog was created after its predecessors beefnog, hamnog and
troutnog failed miserably.

* The reason you almost never see purple Christmas lights is
that Saint Nicholas, the prototype for Santa Clause, believed
purple was satanic. He even threatened to have any of his
parishioners who wore purple excommunicated.

* Reindeer feces have been known to burn holes in roof shingles.

* For nine years following the 1843 publication of "A Christmas
Carol," Ebenezer was the most popular boys' name in Great
Britain.



------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2006 by Chris White

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T H E T O P 5 L I S T
TOPFIVE -- The Web's Best Original Humor http://www.topfive.com

Last One

In honor of the momentous occasion this morning, when, at church, I was sitting beside or behind my entire blog readership (all three) at once, I will post volume 4 of I'm A Christian.

Video 3

This one is probably the best parody. It really reminds me of the Mac ads but hits me pretty close to home. As someone with a degree in Christian music, it's sometimes tough to remember the variety of music out there.

Feast 121

Appetizer
Which language would you like to learn and why?

I think brushing up on my French would serve me very well. As a call centre agent, way more opportunities would be open to me if I was bilingual.

Soup
What's the funniest thing you've heard or read so far this week?

Daniel and "all the chicken".

Salad
Which movie was so bad you couldn't watch the whole thing?

I think I've said it before but "The Royal Tenenbaums". I just didn't get it at all.

Main Course
If there were a holiday in your honor that didn't use your actual name, what would the day be called?

Day of Men With Brothers and Fathers and Sons and Nephews but No Females in the Line

Dessert
Name one movie which is coming out soon that you would like to see.

I want to not see movies at the theatre anymore. It's so expensive and I don't enjoy it. But next summer, I'll have to go see Spider-Man 3.

Part Two

Here's part 2 of this series. I really like it. Partially because jsut this week I was thinking about wearing a tie to work. Actually, this Sunday, Amber made me change my sweater beacause it wasn't "churchy" enough. And I did. So I guess we are all a little bit Christian and a little bit Christ-Follower

I'm a Christ Follower

Regular readers of A Dad's View (that's fun to say) will know that I am a fan of the I'm a Mac ads. I posted a few weeks ago about The Church You Know. Well, I found a series of ads that may be even better. I'll post one a day for the next few days. These are by Community Christian Church. Just click the "play triangle" below to view.

Happy Feet - By Daniel

We went to Happy Feet last night and I thought I would let Daniel write a review about it.

i liked it. it had a penguin in it. mumbo danced on the ice. i can't wait for it to come out on dvd. lol. it is a little bit scary when the seal hopped up on the ice. i want to dance like mumbo. you should see it.

Who Are These Kids?

I don't know what's going on. Maybe it's a virus, maybe it's Christmas fever, maybe it's alien abduction, but the boys have definitely got some Jekyll/Hyde going on this week.

Here's a few examples:

Sunday afternoon. We're setting up the Christmas tree and the boys are getting more and more worked up. We send them downstairs and put the gate up to keep Andrew upstairs. After about 30 seconds, they decide they want to come back up. Amber and I have a huge Christmas decoration mess everywhere and would prefer them to not get into it. They have a huge fit at the top of the stairs and one of them (probably Daniel) yanks the pressure-fit gate down towards him and Josh. Unfortunately, they are at the top of the stairs when doing this. I go down and untangle them from the gate and boots and they are pretty happy for the most part.

---===---

Sunday night. I'm making supper and I hear the boys playing with their VeggieTales nativity set. Jimmy and Jerry Gourd are wearing a cow costume. They've been playing nicely for a couple of hours now. I hear the following conversation:

Moooo!

Aaaaaaah!

We're sorry Baby Jesus. It's just us - Jimmy and Jerry. We were just pretending to be a cow.

I forgive you Jimmy and Jerry

---===---

Sunday night supper. Amber asked Daniel to set the table and he was too busy playing with his Veggies, so I did it. We were all seated at the table about to start eating our delicious roast beef dinner. Daniel snapped and started screaming, "I WANTED TO SET THE TABLE! AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhHHH!"

I picked him up and took him back to his room to cool off. I went back a few minutes later and he apologized. He came out to the dining room to apologize to Amber - all happy and relaxed. He saw the table again and said, "I WANTED TO SET THE TABLE! AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhHHH!" Back to his room...

Several minutes later, he came out slinking on the floor and popped up, "Surprise!". We welcomed him back to the table and he went into a bit of a trance. He took the serving plate of roast beef and started stabbing at large pieces with his fork.

"I want all the chicken! I am going to be big! I'm going to eat all the chicken!" I gently reached across and took the plate away from him when he had about half a pound of beef. This brought out Mr. Hyde again.

"I AM EATING ALL THE CHICKEN!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaHHHHHHHHH!"

He went back to his room for another 5 minutes or so and when he came out again, he was normal for the rest of the night.

Well, for the most part anyway. When he was eating, he "noticed" that he didn't have his name tag from church on anymore. I assured him that it was okay and he doesn't need a name tag at home. I'm not so sure myself about that though - a tag that said "Crazy Daniel" or "Normal Daniel" would be nice to have.

Idiot test

Here's something to get you through a chilly day.

It took me 6 tries but I'm Brilliant!

http://www.southafrican.za.net/idiotTest.swf

Brrrrrrrr

I agree with Amber. Winter is no fun.

I went to start my miracle van this morning and even though it's been working just fine at -39 all week, I guess -42 was too much for her and all I got was rrrr, rrrr, click.

Today is a home day. I called work and said I'm not coming in. Somehow I knew I'd need today off. I worked a bunch of overtime this week so I'm not missing any hours. Daniel is reading this off the screen as I type it, so I better go get him some breakfast.

The Rules

I have so many blog posts I want to do but I need to get this one out before I forget.

There should be a sign up in every men's room with The Rules clearly laid out.

1) Eyes forward
2) No talking
3) Especially no talking about what you saw when your eyes weren't forward.

I'll work out the rest later, and then give them to this weirdo at my work. I was alone in the men's room, minding my own business. This guy who I've never seen before comes in and says, "Wow, full house in here, eh?"

Two stalls, two urinals, and me. He calls this a full house. I know I've got my winter weight on but I'm not that big.

He then sidles up beside me and proceeds do his business like the proverbial race horse and says, "What a waste of perfectly good coffee, eh?"

Now, apparently he didn't get the hint when I ignored his first "eh". I smiled nervously and nodded. Then I washed up and ran back to my desk. I can't get those rules printed fast enough.

Mid-season review

It's not really the middle of the season yet, but since I'm here, I'll do a quick update on my drama shows.

Battlestar Galactica

This season has been focused even more on broken people and broken relationships. They have covered military occupation, suicide bombers, vigilante justice, torture, genocide, alcoholism, treason, parenthood, post-traumatic stress disorder, slavery, religion, and plague - all in the first 6 episodes. The best part however is how the writers and actors treat the fall-out of all of these changes. Old friendships have been lost, possibly irrevocably torn, and new relationships have developed and grown. Calling this a show about space is like saying the pope is a "Catholic guy with a hat".

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

This show has been given a second chance. I think it's one of the most cleverly-written shows on TV right now. The humour takes some thinking. The pace is always very frantic and you have to pay attention to the dialogue. I've heard it compared to The West Wing, but I never saw that show so I can't be certain. The critics have been very positive but the ratings haven't been what NBC expected. I think it's too hard for people to get. It's a drama with comedic moments, or possibly a fairly serious comedy. I like it for its glimpse backstage to see how a show like this comes together. A sketch comedy series may not be as important a topic as the White House, or an emergency room, or a forensics department, but I'm into it.

Heroes

The one I had the highest hopes for. The one I also feared would suck the most. I remember having that same feeling in the summer of 2002 when I went to the theatre to see Spider-Man. As the opening credits rolled, I was excited for what I might see but I was so scared of it being like the 1960s Batman series. What could the kid from Cider House Rules and the girl from Jumanji do with such an icon. I sat for 121 minutes and when the closing credits rolled, I was fully satisified. I loved it. I knew that there would be a sequel and that we had entered a new age of superhero shows.

All this to say that after nine episodes, I am both fully satisfied and terribly frustrated with this show. I think it's my favorite show and when it's over I am frustrated that I have to wait another week to see what's happening. Every answer brings five more questions. The series has basically wrapped up their first major arc ("Save the cheerleader. Save the world") but has left the story more open than ever. We have our heroes being arrested, chased, knocked out, and straight-up vanished in time and we don't know what will happen. Next week's episode is called, "Six Months Ago" and should answer some of our questions, but will more than likely ask dozens more.

I'm right, Daddy!

Josh is so cute. When he gets something in his head, it won't come out. Here are a few phrases I've tried to correct for him this week but he says, "I'm right, Daddy."

"Mmmm, this milk is freeeeee-freshing!" (I guess it doesn't cost Josh anything, so it could be right)

"Good night, sleep tight. Don't forget, the bed bugs bite." (A good warning to keep in mind before going to sleep)

"We learned the story of Daniel and the Lion Stand at church" (Must be where Daniel sold lions to weary travelers)

I wonder where he gets his stubborn streak. ;)

Stood Up v.2.0

I got a comment this week from faithful reader, Heather, stating that I haven't posted in a while. I know how addictive blogs can be and there are a few people out there reading so I'll post a cute boy story.

Amber wrote the first version of Stood Up last week. Mine's not as sad.

The other morning, I heard Andrew calling me as usual. "Daaaaadaa! Daaaaaaaaad! Mamamamamama!" I went in to pick him up and saw that he was standing in his crib. He had pulled himself up the bars and was holding on to the top rail looking very proud of himself. He's such a big boy.

Then again last night, we put him to bed and he was not going for it. He wanted to stay up and play. (Strange, since he'd woken up at 5:45 and had been out visiting all day.) Anyways, I came into his room and turned the light on. He was standing up again and when the light came on, he shut his eyes and tucked his head in. However, he forgot he had the crib rail right in front of his face and he headbutted it pretty good. He cried even louder at that.

The Church You Know

I must be on vacation. The last time I did 4 posts in one day was a year ago when we were visiting Calgary and thinking about moving back. I guess I have blog posts going through my head but just don't have a chance to write them when I'm working.

Anyways...

==================

I came across a very cool site today. It's called The Church You Know It's the funniest and most thought-provoking video site I've seen since the I'm a Mac ads.

It's a parody of the cheesy public service announcements that celebrities have been doing on NBC since I was a little child. Two Christian guys who feel the institutionalized church is getting stale and complacent have made 7 short PSAs to generate discussion about the way we do things and how we might change.

Take a look. Enjoy. And think.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Create a new candle scent.

Warm Fresh Bread

Soup
Name one way you show affection to others.

Hmmm, I hug my family but I can't see that working too well at my job. I think encouragement and kind words do wonders.

Salad
What is your favorite writing instrument?

Computer keyboard - see my other post today

Main Course
If you were given $25 to spend anywhere online, from which site would you buy?

eBay, definitely.

Dessert
Are you dressing up for Halloween? If so, what are you going to be?

Amber has committed us to going trick-or-treating with the boys and their girlfriends. Unless she has something up her sleeve, I will be dressed up as "Dad in a winter coat pushing a stroller".

More naming

Amber and I have posted a number of times on baby names and things people should think about when they are pregnant.

A lovely couple that do one of my favorite podcasts, Two Boobs and a Baby+, have just had their second child. Ella Delaney. A pretty name in its own right. And their son, Sam, who was born almost exactly a year earlier, has an equally normal and good name. The thing is that they named them without thought to how they fit together. Even after people pointed it out to them while she was pregnant, they decided it would be funny to name their kids Sam 'n' Ella. I can respect their decision, because they consciously thought it through. Though I think their idea of having a yearly birthday BBQ party in support of Sam 'n' Ella is kind of tacky.

My second thought on this topic is that people name their babies thinking of them as babies. They don't think about what the name will be like on a grown-up. Can you imagine Prime Minister Gynnipher Jones?

A perfect example of this was the little girl at the Hallowe'en party we went to. She was dressed up in a lab coat and stethoscope and had a nametag that said, "Dr. Trinity". This poor girl has been set up to be in the adult entertainment industry.

Handwriting

There have been a few articles going around recently about the importance of cursive handwriting. On Monday, one of my favorite tech blog/news sites, techdirt, reported on an column in the Calcutta Telegraph. The journalist says that only around 15% of kids today choose to write in "cursive", or as I've always called it, "rumply handwriting". They go so far as to quote Rhona Stainthorp, professor of literacy at the Institute of Education at University College London as saying, “Handwriting has become the Cinderella skill of literacy. Unless children learn to write legibly and at speed, their educational achievements may be reduced and their self-esteem affected. Handwriting is a skill and needs to be taught to a level where it flows automatically.”

I laughed at this. Especially when the techdirt writer added his editorial comment, "Next up: we'll be hearing about how awful it is that children, these days, no longer churn their own butter."

I thought it was an interesting story but not at all important until yesterday. Only 4 days later, the Calgary Herald did a cover story on this same topic in their free community paper, Neighbours. I read this article, which was 787 words long and I'm quite sure Cindy Stephen didn't hand in to her editor written in longhand cursive, and actually laughed out loud.

Stephen opens with a nostalgic look back at the time when, "Penmanship was graded and teachers held high expectations for neatly written work -- an A+ for lovely loops and sharply crossed T's, slanted ever so slightly to the right. Teachers were known to rap the knuckles of students holding their pens incorrectly and carelessly written papers were tossed back to be rewritten in proper form." I look back on my childhood and wish things could be like they were too. I wish I could let my kids walk to Kindergarten by themselves, I wish they could ride their bikes to the corner store and trade glass pop bottles for candies. But I've never wished they'd get their knuckles rapped for printing.

A mother quoted in the article says, ""I'm concerned that people will look down on my kids if all they do in the future is print. People will say to them, 'you don't know how to write?' or 'didn't you go to school?' Or what if they have a job where they have to decipher handwriting?"

This is hilarious. I am a college graduate with a degree in music. Possibly one of the most artsy degrees you can get. My hood was actually a beautiful shade of pale pink. I worked in a classical music shop for 6 years. One would think that being in such an artistic, creative setting I would be one of the most likely people to see and use this style of writing. Guess what? I haven't used cursive for probably 20 years. The only time I have seen it is when I get a letter from my grandma - a second-grade school teacher who retired in the mid 80s.

The closest thing I can imagine to this mother's feared situation is people saying, "You only print? Don't you know how to type? Didn't you go to school?"

It gets better. We then hear from a teacher - not a 62 year old woman who has been teaching the same way for 40 years, but from recent graduate in her first year of teaching. She says, "A lot of employers are looking for handwritten cover letters -- I tell my students this to convince them that they should be using handwriting."

What??? I have NEVER handwritten a cover letter. If I did, I am sure it would be the first thing thrown in the recycling bin. No matter how legilble it is, longhand cursive is harder to read and looks far more informal than neat printing or typing. Amber told me that she has heard that some secretarial positions want a sample of handwriting to see how organized and neat you are. I guess if you want to be a secretary or handwriting analyst, it may be important.

I just tried writing a paragraph in cursive. It took my much, much longer than if I printed, and typing would have been even faster. However, when I looked back at it, I could kind of make out what I had written. I felt a little twinge of pride at my ability to do this - especially because I had tried to include hard letters like Q, Z, and G. This pride is the same kind of feeling I get when I work out long division by hand, or successfully read something in French, or remember the order of the planets. These are things I am happy I can do and look back nostalgically upon, but they are not things I use in my real life. A good calculator, translation software, google search, or word processor can do these things much more efficiently and neatly.

I hope my kids learn cursive as a link to the past, but I will never make them actually write anything important in it. There's a reason why all forms say "Please Print".

Twelve of Twelve

I remembered to take my pictures this month so I can post my 12 of 12. Even if it is kind of late.



First of all, I have a picture of my new phone. I got a Motorola Q from work and just activated it last night. The rest of the pictures were taken with this device.



When I went out to get in the van, the windows were all frosted over. It's been pretty nice here the last little while so it was quite a surprise to have to scrape first thing in the morning.



I finally got the windows clean and got going to work. I'm working morning shifts again this month, so driving in rush hour is taking some getting used to. It can take me anywhere from 15 to 75 minutes to get to work.



I made it to the gym this morning. I'd like to say this is my regular routine, but I just lucked out today and I got up early while the boys slept in. I put in 15 minutes on the treadmill and then headed off to work.



I'm in training this week, so I get to sit in a nice classroom and not take any calls. That's very nice.



Mmmmm... free coffee. Another perk of the training building.



I got home late. I picked up supper and had bad traffic so it took a while. Andrew took his cup of water and made himself a water feature on his high chair tray. I don't know how well it shows up in the picture, but he has quite the puddle there.



Amber and the boys decorated Halloween cookies this afternoon. Yumm.



We went for a walk after supper and the boys ran around in the park for a while.



And played in piles of leaves that Amber was sure were full of dog pee.



I had a rehearsal at church where we learned 14 new songs.



And on the way home I picked up some more dispensed caffeine / energy. Mmmmm... slurpee.

Over the head

I was getting Andrew ready for bed the other night and I realized it was quieter than normal. I wonder when he stopped being frightened of having his shirt taken off.

Babies don't seem to realize that the darkness involved with pulling your shirt off over your head is over in half a second and they scream. But Andrew didn't cry this time.

Sniff... my little boy is growing up.

Too loud

This morning Josh got up early and had to go to the bathroom. I went in with him and when he was peeing, he covered his ear with his free hand. Then when he flushed, he covered both ears.

Amber had just told me that he seems to be oversensitive to stimuli and maybe we should get his ears checked. I was wondering why he was doing it and I asked him, "What's the matter Joshie? Is it too loud?"

He replied, briefly removing his hands, "Yes, it's too loud. I don't want it to wake up Andrew." He then covered his ears again.

I guess this is a adaptation of the classic "If-I-cover-my-head-you-can't-see-me" routine. Josh figured if he covered his ears, it actually made the sounds quieter.

Maybe he doesn't need his ears checked. Maybe he's just thinking of others. :)

Getting into Drama

When I was younger I watched sitcoms and gameshows. 6 years ago, Survivor got me into reality TV. A few years ago, my channels of choice were Discovery and Food Network. For some reason though, this fall I have gotten into some new drama series. I haven't really had a drama show that I've watched regularly since I got married so we'll see if I stick with these.

Battlestar Galactica

I had heard people talking about this show for the last few years - mostly about downloading early episodes from the UK because it wasn't available here or something. It just didn't strike me as a show worth watching.

Then it kept coming up more and more. People at work were talking about how it is such a great show and puts all the Star... series to shame (Trek, Wars, Gate, and I guess Search). Father Roderick on the Daily Breakfast podcast (link in the sidebar) mentioned it a few times and talked about how it is an allegory for religious discussion and how the writers have made the shades of grey so subtle, it's hard to tell who the "good guys" are.

I rented the first season from the movie store about 3 weeks ago and have watched at least two episodes a night since then. I zipped through the first 13 episode season and then watched all 20 episodes of the 2nd season in less than 2 weeks. I am hooked.

The show is great. I am so glad I took the time to do this right and catch up before the third season starts this Saturday. The stories are so real and integrated that I really became involved in the lives of these people.

There's no way I can give enough backstory for a new viewer to jump in on the 7th and understand what is happening, who all these characters are. There are probably hundreds of good fansites out there that could help. I will however give a few things that I think make this different from other sci-fi series.

1) No forehead makeup. The aliens look like humans and that's a crucial part of the series.

2) No comedic sidekicks. Star Trek and Star Wars have always had at least one character (C-3PO, Jar-Jar, Phlox, Quark, Data) who is often used to lighten the mood with sarcastic one-liners. BSG takes all of its characters seriously and you really care about them.

3) Flawed heroes. A stubborn admiral and his drunk executive officer, a disobediant and insubordinate top gun, a top political figure who collaborates with the enemy, sleeps with anyone he can find, and is slowly going crazy, a crusty old doctor who doesn't listen to the commander and does things his own way. Well the last one is a lot like Bones McCoy but Donnelly Rhodes plays him so well I can overlook that.

4) Admirable villains. A woman who rises from the mistakes in her past to help save the crew and fight the enemy. She learns to love and overcome her "mechanical" nature and it is that love that gives her hope. Another cylon (enemy) character uses her love for a human to start a resistance movement that will likely play a key role in the new season.

5) People die - and not just "red shirts". They haven't killed off any of the major characters yet but there are a few - especially in the latter part of season two - that would definitely be defined as supporting players. People who we had learned quite a bit about and had played key roles in multiple episodes. And when they die, it means something. People grieve. Relationships are changed.

6) Less unintelligible techno-babble. Aside from "dradis", "CAG", "frak", "viper", and a few others that are used regularly and therefore are easy to figure out, there's not a whole lot of sci-fi language.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I actually was introduced to this show months ago. I do a lot of online surveys and was selected to be part of a focus group for the pilot of this season. I saw about 12 minutes of various scenes and was asked my opinion. I don't know if I would have watched it if I hadn't had that peek but I am really enjoying it.

It's a very interesting backstage look at the production of a late-night live sketch comedy series on a fictional network. It isn't afraid to show balanced and fair views of Christianity, drug abuse, office politics, and takes more than a few shots at NBC and television in general.

I don't know all the details about Aaron Sorkin and his previous problems with The West Wing. Other bloggers have covered that. All I know is that I don't normally watch dramas and this one has dragged me in. Maybe its my interest in seeing how things work and looking behind the curtains.

Heroes

The third drama I am getting into this fall is Heroes. The second part of the premiere is on tonight and I am really looking forward to it.

It's a new show about people all over the world developing incredible skills. Human evolution is about to take a new leap forwards and a small collection of people are discovering "gifts" such as flight, teleportation, remarkably fast healing / regeneration. In the first hour, we met close to a dozen characters and I was able to care about them all.

Like Battlestar, this is a very realistically portrayed fantasy world. Even though I expect they will be brought together in an X-men fashion, I highly doubt they will end up in yellow and blue spandex. These are people who didn't choose to be heroes but they will likely step up to the challenge.

The next episode is on in about an hour so I'll just post this now.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite herb or spice?

Garlic

Soup
Name a song you like but haven't heard in a long time.

We Didn't Start the Fire

Salad
If you were to take just one minute to write down as many things as you can think of that you need (not want) to do, approximately how many things would there be?

How fast can I type? Maybe 15 or 20 if I used short words.

Main Course
Tell something interesting about one of your family members (nothing scandalous, please, just something unique).

Daniel's middle name is Robliam.
Josh has memorized and acts out obscure scenes from VeggieTales movies
Andrew can jump for about 90 minutes and then fall asleep in his Jolly Jumper

Dessert
What's the latest you've ever stayed awake?

When I was working graveyard shifts, I would come home and go to bed around 9:30am and sleep for a few hours.

Names

Daniel and Josh are the only ones in their class with the same name. There's a Danny in Josh's class and a Jonah in Daniel's. I know at some point in their school career they'll be Daniel or Josh M. but that's OK.

It's pretty bad in the classes for double names. Here are some of the duplicates.

Katie and Katia
Ethan C, Ethan Y, and Eason
Matthew F. and Matthew Ford
Alison and Alysa

I read somewhere that it's good to name your kids something unique so when you call them in the park, they're the only one who comes running. However you don't want their name to be so unique that they are running because kids are chasing them calling, "Ha ha! Did she just call you Flabervia?"

There's a great site out there that talks about names that people have given their kids. If you want a quick laugh check out "Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing"

On the Move

Andrew is becoming more and more mobile. Yesterday we noticed him scootching across the floor. Pulling himself with his hips and arms. He can really get going.

When I was leaving for work today, we saw him getting his legs under his bum for a proper crawl. It ended with him pitching his face into the carpet, but he's definitely getting better at moving.

We need to be careful about baby-proofing again. The boys have lots of toys that would look yummy to a newly-mobile toddler. Amber packed up more than 5 big black bags of garbage last night so we are well on our way. :)

Lasts

As parents we get so focused on firsts that we miss the lasts. Let me explain.

Yesterday, Amber posted about the first time Andrew stood up by himself. I actually saw it too. It was so cute. We were all smiling and laughing and cheering for him. But at some point this week, I think Andrew had his last breastfeeding. I had to get him a bottle at 5:00 this morning because I realized he's not nursing.

I think the lasts are just as important but are much harder to find and remember. Another last we've missed in the last year: Josh's last diaper. That's a huge milestone but because it's gradual, I don't think we'd ever have known when it was happening.

We have lots of other lasts coming up. I can't think of any right now because it's making me a little sad. Maybe that's why we concentrate on firsts.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Measured in minutes or hours, how much exercise have you had in the last week?

Minutes

Soup
If you had to change your blog title to something else, what would it be?

Geeky Dad

Salad
Name one television show you watched when you were 9-12 years old.

Hercules (not the terrible Kevin Sorbo one - the cool cartoon with Newton the double-talking centaur and his little friend Toot). Man, I would buy a DVD set of that show. :)

Main Course
If someone gave you $50 to spend with the one condition that it had to be educational, what would you purchase?

A new Bible

Dessert
Do you tend to prefer dark colors, neutral shades, or lighter/pastel hues?

Neutrals

All In

While on vacation last month, I read a really good book by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback called All In: The (Almost) Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker. Now, if anyone out there is an English teacher, I'm sure this will suck as a book report, but I thought I'd do a little review.

It's a really cool history of how this tournament grew from a publicity stunt put on by Benny Binion and 8 Texas road gamblers to a multimedia spectacle with thousands of competitors playing dozens of games and has given away more money than the four major PGA tournaments combined in their history.

It interrupts the stories of the tournaments with personal vignettes, glimpses into the lives of the players. For someone who has only been following professional poker since 2003 (like nearly everyone out there), it was very interesting to read the histories of people like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Johnny Chan, Phil Helmuth, Johnny Moss, and Jack Strauss. Some of their stories are sad. Champions who had won millions of dollars in their lifetimes but who died like they lived most days of their lives, without a penny to their names.

It also went into the story of the Binion family who owned and operated the Horseshoe Casino that hosted the event nearly its entire run. Their story is the most intriguing. Sickness, murder, family feuds, court cases, hostile takeovers. It is an exciting tale of how the business of casino ownership in Las Vegas changed from the 1950s to the present day.

If you're interested in poker, or just looking for an interesting story full of compelling characters, give it a shot.

I feel like one of those kids on Reading Rainbow.

Could Anything Be Big Enough?

We got a king-size bed last week. Someone Amber knows from her online activities was giving away a king-size Sealy Posturpedic matress and box spring. We managed to "taco" the mattress enough to get it into Bill's truck and brought it home.

We thought this would be a great idea since we often have a few extras joining us in the bed by the time morning rolls around. Andrew usually comes to bed for an early breakfast around 4:30 or so. Then Daniel or Josh comes for a little cuddling time before getting up for the day. We figured a 78 inch wide mattress should be just right.

It took me a while to get used to not sleeping right on the edge of the bed. I can actually spread out a little bit. It didn't take Josh long though. The other morning, I felt a little tapping on my shoulder. It was still dark and I wasn't ready to get up, so I ignored it and tried to scootch away to the edge. The tapping persisted. I rolled over to see Amber laying on her edge of the bed and Andrew was smacking me with his hands and kicking her. He was H-ing us. Andrew is now over 27 inches long and with his tiny arms reaching above his head, that leaves us with about 2 feet of mattress each.

I'd do better to go sleep in the crib.

Warning

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings...but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so silly now.

Triplets?

Maybe it's just the hat...

Think of a Number

Think of a number.

Multiply it by 3.

Now add 5.

Take away the number you first thought of.

Now add 7.

Subtract 2.

Add back the number you first thought of.

Now, close your eyes.

Dark, isn't it?

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What are some lyrics you have misheard (such as, instead of "Gettin' Jiggy With It" you heard "Kick a chicken with it")?

I remember fighting for months with my family that the commercial said, "Two scoops of raisins in a KEBBLE of Kellog's Raisin Bran". I have know idea what I thought that meant but darn it, I was right!

Soup
What is the worst movie you have ever seen?

Upon the recommendation of a former boss (whose opinions have become far less important to me), I watched The Royal Tenenbaums. Well, the first 20 minutes or so. I didn't get it at all. I quickly stuck it back in the case and returned it to the movie store.

Salad
Using the letters from your favorite number, write a sentence. Example: Tomorrow has really easy experiences.

Sometimes even very extroverted neighbours tell everyone's extra news.

Main Course
What was the most interesting news story you have heard this week?

Donald Trump fired his apprentice co-host Carolyn. Not at all important in terms of real life, but interesting nonetheless.

Dessert
Which word(s) would you choose to describe your wardrobe?

Business Casual, Slightly Too Small

Milestones

Daniel: buckled his own seatbelt all by himself today - twice.

Josh: rode two rollercoasters today (details to follow)

Andrew: is now able to sit on the floor by himself and play with his blocks


Sniff. My boys are growing up.

Reflection

Daniel was sitting on the floor looking Andrew in the eyes. He recognized something and said, (quoting Larry-Boy from Leggo My Ego) "He's just a cheap copy of me!" I laughed so hard. It's not nice, and Andrew's not cheap but he is indeed a near perfect copy of Daniel.

More!

Who needs official sign language programs? Andrew is coming up with signs on his own.

Amber noticed him doing "bottle" yesterday. He puts his hands together like praying and brings them up to his mouth.

This morning I was feeding him applesauce at breakfast and before and after every bite he was signing either, "This stuff is really good Daddy. I love it. I am so excited. Can I have another bite" or maybe it was just "more". He was flapping both his arms down from the shoulders like he was trying to fly. He did it every bite until he had enough.

I was saying, "More?" and he'd flap again and smile so big because I understood what he wanted. So cute.

Treasure Hunters

I just needed to write a quick update on last night's finale of Treasure Hunters.

I stuck with this show from the beginning. Even when the critics panned it. Even when the host of the "Longest running reality TV podcast on the internet" refused to cover the show saying it should be canceled and the remaining episodes would be aired on NBC's website. Even when Global TV aired episode 4 before episode 3. However the finale was just painful.

The most ironically named team in reality TV, the "Geniuses", somehow pulled out a win. After sitting in a crypt for 8 hours with the other two teams, Genius Francis figured out the code, winning himself and his two goober friends 3 million dollars. So much of the game depended on luck and dumb luck at that. It would have been just as good for the teams to play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors on the first episode and get it over with.

The live reunion show was the most painful part to watch. Host Laird "Motorola" Macintosh proved he has a body and isn't just an animatronic bust by walking out onto the stage. After spending the season trying to act like Phil Keoghan from The Amazing Race, he tried to channel Jeff Probst from Survivor for this reunion. He asked all the contestants questions about what they learned and how they enjoyed the game. Except he was reading from cards in his hand and randomly skipping from one group to another, completely ignoring everything they were saying.

The funniest part was when his programmers snuck in the Julie Chenbot "But first..." algorithms from Big Brother. The first time he did it, I smiled at Amber, but by the 6th time or so it was just sad.

I don't think I've ever looked forward to Survivor and Amazing Race more.

Good Eaters

Our boys were always such good eaters as babies - as toddlers, they don't do so well. I've noticed it again with Andrew. He has always been excited to try new things, from bottles to cereals to vegetables. He doesn't spit it out and throw it all over the dining room the way you see in the movies. He sits quietly and opens his mouth when he sees food coming. The only thing is that he gets a little worked up and excited when we take too long.

Daniel is back to eating normally again but Josh is still in his hibernation stage. I'm not sure if he's more like a bear or a camel, but he'll eat straight for about 12 hours. Always asking for more food. Then he won't touch his food for 3 or 4 days. It seems to work for him, so we're letting it go. Daniel grew out of it and I'm sure Andrew will grow into it.

Just brothers

The boys are starting to look so much alike. Andrew looks almost identical to Daniel when he was 6 months old, so I have a feeling they'll be triplet teenagers.

We've mentioned it a few times before. Here, here, and here, but people often ask if the boys are twins. It's gotten to a new level now though.

I was out shopping with Daniel and Josh the other day. We were standing at the till and an older lady in line behind us looked at them and said, "Cute boys."

"Thank you."

"Are they twins?"

Trying to pay and talk to the cashier at the same time, I just said, "No".

Daniel helped out by sighing and saying with a bit of impatience, "We're four and two".

A thought?

The "problem" with today's society, is that; (no one) knows how, to punctuate correctly, anymore?

Rough night, nice morning

So, we're out camping this weekend. We came out to a little campground in Southern Alberta to hang out with Amber's family. Our 5 plus Amber's parents slept in a camper that "sleeps" 5 or 6.

Andrew was up all night. He was "sleeping" between his parents and seemed to cry every 5 minutes all night. We were trapped on a shelf and couldn't get out without stomping on the older ones. We finally got him a diaper and something from a dropper and he started to doze off, then Joshie woke up.

It's amazing how well D and J did though. They can tune out a crying baby as well as they tune out nagging parents. Daniel didn't move all night, but once Josh was up, he couldn't get back to sleep and I knew it was only a matter of time before he said those magic words, "I have to go pee!"

So, we got up and got our shoes and coats on and found our way to the "stinky room" outhouse. When we got back, we were both wide awake. I checked the time: 5:50. It felt like it was about 10•C so we started a fire and just hung out together for a while. We talked and ate some snacks and built up the fire. After a while he got a little chilly and I sent him back to bed. I brought out my book and read for a bit until Daniel woke up - maybe 15 minutes.

D came out and we had our time together. We read bible stories, did fire experiments and talked about the moon. Once the sun came out, Daniel went to go play in the sandbox. I was sitting in front of the fire with the sun starting to warm everything up. I had my own little worship time in God's beautiful creation and thought, "I could do this kind of camping."

Then other people woke up. :)

Just following orders

We went to the mall today and while Amber and Andrew went off on their own, the boys and I were checking out cool stuff at Future Shop. The boys saw some cool flashing LEDs in the car stereo department and were immediately drawn to them. We looked at them for a bit and then we were about to leave. I took Josh's hand and started walking away. I heard a thud, thud, thud. It sounded like Daniel had turned on a subwoofer.

I look back and see him haul back and smack the centre of a 12 inch speaker with his fist. Thud! I was in shock. He hit it again and I ran to him and said, "Daniel! Don't hit that. What are you doing?" He looks up at me and I get a better look at the speaker.



I couldn't help but laugh. He saw a word, read it, and followed directions. I guess he thought it was like a button to push or something.

Boys Arguing

Daniel and Josh were playing cars in the basement and getting along fine. They have a few Happy Meal toys from the Cars movie they saw with Grandma and Grandpa. All of a sudden Josh starts crying and comes over to me saying, "Daddy! I crying cars queen calling cars Daniel didn't (gasp) calling not right (sob) him cars not the queen (sniff)"

"Ummm... what Joshie?"

Daniel comes over to explain, "Joshie was saying this guy isn't Lighting McQueen. He called him something else."

Josh replied, "Daddy, he is not Lemmy LeQueen. He is Conrad!"

"He's Conrad?"

"No he's Lightning McQueen, Joshie! Don't call him Conrad!" Daniel argued.

Josh looked up at me with a tear streaked face, "Daddy. Him is Conrad."

I then had to have my first (of many I'm sure) conversation with Daniel where I explain to him that even though he's right, it doesn't help to argue about it.

Treasure Hunters vs. Amazing Race

I'm not only a Dad, but I'm a bit of a reality TV geek. I got into The Amazing Race towards the end of season 7, but thanks to GSN and OLN, I've been able to catch many of the older seasons.

This summer I've been watching a show that at first glance seems to be comparable to The Amazing Race, Treasure Hunters. As Treasure Hunters gears up for its season (and most likely, series) finale, I decided to make a few notes of comparison between the two. For those of you who haven't seen either of these, you may not get any of this, but with the internet as big as it is, perhaps someone will appreciate this analysis.

1) Phil Keoghan vs Laird MacIntosh: TAR's host is known for being somewhat stiff when announcing the tasks and when greeting the teams at the end of each leg, but he can communicate so much emotion with just one raised eyebrow. He's even been seen to dance at times. TH's "host" only communicates with the teams via "Motorola messages", video clips on their shamelessly plugged Motorola RAZRs. He is a complete robot who shows absolutely no emotion or charisma. This week he mentioned that if it weren't for historical American shipping magnate, Stephen Girard, "we would have lost the War of 1812 and I would be speaking to you with an... ... English accent". I'm sure it wouldn't take much to adjust his programming to give him an English accent, I think it would suit him better anyway.

2) Competition: On TAR, the teams are in a RACE. They compete against each other to solve clues, find places, complete tasks, and get where they need to be as fast as possible. Occasionally two teams will share information or a cab - but only so far as it benefits them. TH teams seem to be more interested in helping each other than in winning. They complain about the few teams who had been playing to win. I don't understand how you can play a game for a tie.

3. Rules: TH seems to be making up the rules as they go along. In an early episode, one team had to drop out because a member hurt her leg - the producers brought back the team who had previously been eliminated. One week later a member of that resurrected team hurt his leg and the producers allowed the team to continue the race without him. I'm not one to believe in conspiracies, but it really seems like they change the rules to benefit the teams they like. On TAR, the rules seem to be consistent and are explained up front.

4. Evil Christians: 0n TAR: Family Edition, there was a team who constantly flaunted their Christianity by praying loudly and declaring themselves superior. They mocked other teams, lied and did what they could to win. The other teams couldn't stand them or wait foir them to lose. On TH we have the Fogal family, a pastor, his wife and grown daughter. They stole, lied, sent other teams on a wld goose chase. The other teams were fooled into helping them for a while but daughter Kayte's constant screaming, whining, and overdramatic antics eventually led the other teams to coin the phrase, "We just got Fogaled" to mean that they had been tricked, duped, or just had a really bad bout of bad luck.

5. Dominant teams: Last season's Amazing Race had the same two teams battling for first and second place in almost every leg. No matter how many artificial equalizers the producers inserted, BJ & Tyler and Eric & Jeremy dominated nearly every challenge and every leg and ended up being the top 2 teams at the end. On Treasure Hunters, Team Air Force has led nearly every leg and looks like they can't be beaten. Coincidentally (or not), they are the one team who has consistently avoided these silly alliances and sharing answers to the puzzles. I would count on them to win the grand prize next week.

Well, it's been a nice summer diversion and even though it is a mere shadow of The Amazing Race, I've really enjoyed Treasure Hunters. It has had so many moments of unintentional humour. I'll take it for what it was and look forward to the crown jewels of reality TV, TAR and Survivor, starting up in about a month or so.

Now back to your regularly scheduled cute kid stories.

What's with people?

I work for a cell phone company doing tech support over the phone. It amazes me how many people will call in with a problem with their cell phone and when I say, "Can I get your phone number please so I can look up your account," they reply, "My cell phone number?"

Do these people do this everywhere?

Waiter: What would you like to drink?
Bonehead: For ME to drink? With my meal?

Doctor: And what seems to be the problem today?
Bonehead: With my medical problems?

911 Operator: And what is the address of the fire?
Bonehead: My box number? My email address? The address of my first girlfriend?

At least it makes for an interesting night

Daniel's Birthday

We are a little behind in our blogging but there are a few "Adventures" that we need to get down before we forget.

Daniel had his birthday at the end of June and because he had so many people he wanted to invite, we decided to go with two different parties. The first was right on his birthday and we had all of his grandparents, uncles, and cousins come to our place. I burned a huge pile of hamburgers and Amber made a cake. We had 7 boys there from 0 to 7 tearing around and having lots of fun.

We got Daniel bunkbeds and we put them together earlier in the week. I had wanted to put it together during the party but D was too excited and couldn't wait, so we did it together. Amber already put up some pictures of that.

About a week later we had another party at the park. This is something of a tradition for us. Daniel has had a Calgary park birthday party for the last 4 years. He invited his whole preschool class as well as a bunch of other friends. We figured with siblings and parents, the guest list could end up well over 100 people. It ended up about 20 something total and was a great little party. The kids raced around in the field and in the trees. We had painting, snacks, games, presents and lots of fun. We ended up hanging out with some new friends at the pool for an hour or more afterwards and it was another great day.

I'm posting this from my work device on my lunch break so I don't have access to any pictures right now but I'll have Amber post some links soon.

New Study

A South American scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with "IBA" or insufficient brain activity read blogs with their hand on the mouse.

Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late…

Stampede Party Pooper

I know this might get me kicked out of the city, but I just have to say it. I don't like the Calgary Stampede.

I don't drink. I don't like crowds. Cowboy boots, long sleeve shirts, and jeans in 30 degree weather don't make sense to me. I like to use my money wisely.

The average person in Calgary (native or tourist) spends hundreds of dollars during the 10 days of Stampede. I couldn't find the current quotes but I know that when we've gone to the grounds for one day, Amber and I will usually spend over a hundred bucks on parking, admission, a few rides, and some food. And that's not including the shows, bars, clothing, etc that people spend their money on.

I'm proud to say that we have spent exactly zero dollars on the Stampede this year (possibly less). We went to the free Stampede breakfast at church and had a nice time dressing up and eating pancakes outside in the beautiful sunshine, listening to some live country music. We even got a few Subway gift certificates out of the deal thanks to Daniel and Josh's cute galloping on their cardboard tube horses. And today, I got to partake of a free barbecue at work. The Delta Bow Valley hotel came by and brought corn, slow roasted beef, and succulent beef ribs. So good.

I really don't mind the music - and free food is always nice - but I think for the next few years (until the boys can appreciate it) we may be skipping out on Stampede, either figuratively or literally. We're taking the money we've saved and spending the weekend at a hotel in Lethbridge. We haven't had even a weekend vacation since we got back from Nakusp in early November, so I'm sure we will appreciate it.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today.

I just spent 40 minutes helping an old guy set up his hotmail address on his phone when I shouldn't have. It's not something we support but he was so confused and I thought I could give him a hand.

Soup
When was the last time you were frightened by the weather?

I can't remember ever being scared of the weather. We get hail, blizzards, floods out here but I always am amazed at God's wonderful power. I haven't been in a hurricane or tornado - I think I might have a different answer then.

Salad
What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit?

I love Amber's website but the two most useful blogs to me are TVGasm.com and TechDirt.com

Main Course
Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child?

Valdy

Dessert
Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they?

With my schedule being so weird, it's tough to have rituals.

Twins?

Last week Daniel was in swimming lessons with Amber, and this week it's Josh's turn. The pool is near the library and a couple parks so I have been taking the other two boys on various adventures during swimming.

Last week, Josh and I found a pretty cool park about a block away. There were slides and ladders and a climbing rock. Josh also met a 7-year old boy who was having fun playing tag (or Tickle Monster) with him. Josh chased him around the park for about 20 minutes until it was time for us to go get Daniel. This led to a very interesting situation when Daniel, Andrew and I showed up there yesterday.

The same boy was there and he recognized me and Andrew's carseat and therefore, recognized "Josh". Daniel ran up to the play structure to see what he could do and the little boy jumped out from behind the steps and yelled, "Raaaaarh!"

Daniel looked at him, and then looked at me and kept climbing. He was running over the bridge and the boy climbed up behind him and said, "Wanna play Tickle Monster?"

Daniel looked at this stranger and said, "No!" This went on for a while with the little guy chasing his former friend around trying to figure out why he wasn't as fun as last week.

Daniel came running to me and said, "That boy is trying to catch me"

Me: "I think he thinks you are Josh. He and Josh were playing here last week and he thinks you are him." Daniel looks confused but runs away.

Little boy: "I don't think that. I know he's Josh"

Me: "No, that's Josh's brother. It's a different boy."

Daniel (yelling from across the park): "I'm not Josh. I was in swimming lessons and now it's Josh's turn. He's not here"

Boy: "Oh, they look the same."

Me: "Yes, they do look very similar"

Boy: "I didn't know they were twins"

Me: "No, they aren't twins. They just look alike"

Confused Boy (chasing after Daniel): "Wanna play Tickle Monster?"

Where's Joshie?

The last couple nights have been rough for the boys. I've been working late so Amber's alone with them. It's hot so they have trouble sleeping and don't feel like eating supper so they're hungry at bed time.

When I got home at about 10 last night, they were still up and being loud. Daniel kept coming out and asking for food. We kept sending him back to bed. Josh was being quiet, so I assumed he was asleep. I went in to check on him and he wasn't on his bed. There was a glow under his bed and he was laying on the floor way under it by the wall. Fast asleep.



Theory Number One:

His flashlight is stuck between the wall and his bed, shining down under the bed. Josh crawled under the bed to get it and fell asleep before he got it out.

I asked Daniel why Josh was under his bed. He said, "I put his flashlight there so he could see." The flashlight was tucked into the cross boards of the bed and actually pointing at him.

Theory Number Two:

Josh crawled under his bed for some reason - to escape from Daniel's relentless crying and screaming? And he fell asleep. Then Daniel... brought his flashlight under so... Josh wouldn't be in the dark...? Theory Number Two needs work.

So, Amber managed to get Josh out from under his bed before she went to bed and got him back up on top.

When Josh woke up this morning, I asked him, "Josh, when I came home last night, you weren't sleeping on your bed. Do you know where you were?"

"Yeah, under my bed"

"Why were you under your bed?"

"Daniel and me went under my bed with the flashlight. We were having a venture. We readed our books under my bed"

Now that I look at my pictures again, I can see the flashlight tucked into the bars and a book under his head.



Theory Number Three:

Josh and Daniel crawled under his bed together for a "venture". They were reading books and camping. Daniel tucked the flashlight in so they could see. When Daniel left to come and cry and whine about having to pee and being hungry, Josh fell asleep waiting for him.

Makes sense... I guess

He said, he said, he said

My lovely wife wanted me to start this post off by telling you that she has dropped off the face of the earth. She was trying to post daily adventures and that lasted about a week. And now with swimming lessons, birthday parties, and scrapbooking, she seems to have vanished. When she's back, she'll post again.

Now, on with our story...

The boys have been talking so much, I wanted to post an update on their progress.

Andrew: He said, "Mama!" for the first time this week. He kept repeating it to see Amber smile and giggle. It won't be long before he's running around and yelling with his brothers.

Josh: His grammar is really improving. He tries so hard to get things just right. He recently came to me in the morning and said, "Daddy, I wake... I waked... I WOKE up." It's cute that not only does he know there are rules for speech, but he thinks they are important.

Daniel: He is starting to grasp the concept of time. Until recently, he would place random "time" phrases in his sentences like "Last year I had pizza. I watched that movie a week ago."

But yesterday was the best one. He turned 4 on Thursday and that was a big thing for him. He's been waiting for it for months now. Anyway, we were going out and instead of putting on his sandals, he got his hiking boots out. I figured it couldn't hurt anything, so I let him put them on. He told me, "Daddy, these aren't my sandals. They are my boots. My Bob the Builder hiking boots... from when I was three."

That's it for now. We'll see who posts next... ;)

Feast One Hundred

Appetizer
On average, approximately how many times per day do you yawn?

On days when I'm working till 11pm, it's a couple dozen. Sunday afternoons are good for a few. But usually maybe 1 or 2.

Soup
What was your most memorable school field trip?

I have been on lots but I think my most memorable was Hawaii in 93. I went with my high school band and it was my first big trip away from my family and the first of 5 international trips in the next 3 years.

Salad
Fill in the blank: I was extremely __________________ this week.

BUSY....and HOT

Main Course
Which color do you think of when you hear the word "soothing"?

Lavender. I'm not sure why.

Dessert
What is something that, if you had to, you could save up the money to buy within one month?

Pretty much anything. I've been amazed at how we can scrimp and find extra money. God is so good. Something that we found the money for this month was bunk beds.

Doctor Visit

I took Andrew and Daniel to the doctor last week (I know I'm late in posting but it's been a busy week so forgive me). Daniel was going for his 4-year-old checkup and Andrew had a suspected ear infection.

They were both in great shape. Andrew apparently has just discovered his ears and when he's yanking on them, it's normal 5 month old curiosity. Daniel is doing all the stuff a kid his age should be doing.

Daniel wouldn't leave until the doctor checked his mouth. Apparently last time we went to the doctor, he didn't get to say, "Aaaaah!" and it bugged him for a while. In his mind, that is one of the most important parts of a doctor visit. So, Dr. Thomas checked his tongue and teeth and D was happy.

He impressed the doctor and the resident with his reading. She asked me if I thought he was ready for school and I responded by having Daniel read a poster on the wall that had words like "affect", "bacteria" and "antibiotics". He sounded out the words he didn't know and suprised even me. It's amazing how his mind is growing.

We are so blessed to have healthy kids. I thank God for them and also for the medical community we have available to us should anything happen. I'm not sure how all the proposed changes to health care will proceed, but I know that our family is well taken care of.

12 of 12

Well, here's another go at 12 of 12. Twelve pictures of June 12 in my life.



No, that's not a mistake. That's approximately what time our day started. Amber blogged about our rough night earlier today but here's my details. Josh couldn't fall asleep last night. After several hours of trying and coming out to see us, at 1:47 we finally brought him into our bed. After an hour of him flailing about I took him back to his bed just in time to hear Andrew wake up. Amber nursed him while I tried to get a little more sleep until about



I got up with Andrew and took him to the living room for a bottle. I laid him on his play mat while I went to go make a bottle. When I had finished, he was looking so happy, I let him lay there giggling while I did up some dishes.



He fell asleep shortly before Daniel woke up and came out to visit. I made Daniel and I breakfast and he said, "Daddy, that breakfast looks good. You know what else is good? Chess!"

I started teaching him chess this week and he loves it. He wants to play all the time now. It's ridiculous. The kid isn't even four yet - is there anything he can't do? So anyway, we eat our breakfast and start a game of chess.



As you can see, we have had to replace one of the white knights with Junior Asparagus from the VeggieTales Sumo of the Opera playset. We have a pretty messy basement (as you would remember from last month's 12 of 12) and it's gonna take us time to find that missing little plastic horse.

Anyway, Joshie woke up and was helping Daniel - by picking up the pieces off the floor and continually calling out "Corners Daniel, corners!" Andrew also woke up and he sat on my lap and helped out the white side.

Daniel's just starting to understand planning moves. He rarely sees beyond the move he's making but sometimes he surprises me. I help him out a bit and somehow he ended up with me in checkmate. He actually looks kind of upset that the game is over - even though he won.



So, I headed off to work. Here are a few pictures of my workspace.



This is my cube farm. My jacket is the second one you see there. All those windows let in quite a bit of natural light during the day, and the airvent you see over my desk lets in a few dead tiny fleas that I get to brush off my desktop every day before I start work. Maybe I could save them in a jar and sell them to a guy with a gecko.



Here's where I sit 5 times per week for 8 hours minus lunch and coffee breaks. It's nice to have my own set space, I really should put up some pictures or something, it's kind of depressing now that I look at it.

An interesting thing to note is my water bottle. I won it for having the highest mark in my training class. I go through about 3 of those full of ice water a day. Apparently talking all day and inhaling fleas makes one very thirsty.



Here's my first picture of me in 12 of 12. This is what I look like at work - if you are my water bottle. Hmmm, the glow from that fluorescent light fixture doesn't look too healthy.



This is the first day in over a month that I bought my lunch at work. That chess game took longer than I expected and I didn't get a chance to make a lunch. So, I drove to the nearby Wendy's and got a delicious Bacon Mushroom Melt. All that gooey cheese sauce with bacon and a greasy square burger - if the radiation from the lights don't get me the transfats will.



When I got home the boys celebrated my arrival by emptying their toybox all over the living room. Once I finish up here, I'm gonna go try to get all of that back in the box.

Amber left for the evening for some well-deserved girl time. The boys had been rowdy and rough all day. I put them to bed 2 hours ago and I just took this picture. They haven't moved a muscle. Apparently terrorizing one's mother and scattering toys makes one very sleepy.



I fell asleep on the couch waiting for Amber and Andrew. With TELUS TV, there's always a poker game to be found. Nothing is more surreal than watching Dave Foley from The Kids in the Hall doing colour commentary on a poker game including Dennis Rodman, Chandler Bing, and Doogie Howser M.D.



And that was my day in pictures. Why don't you try doing a 12 of 12 next month? You don't need a blog. It's simple to set up a flickr.com account to share photos. I'll try to post a reminder message a little early next month.