Sarah and Minny: Looking back

I can't find any digital pictures of Sarah or Michelle's newborn or kindergaten pictures to match the one of Gwen. But here they are as early as I can get. Sarah is off to University of North Texas in Denton (near Dallas) and Michelle is up to 11th grade.

Looking back as school starts

As we get ready for Kindergarten it seems like a good time to look back.
Here is Gwendolyn relaxing in what has to be early February, 2000. Which makes her about a month old.

[sorry for the low image quality, cheap webcam and low-light conditions]

Birthday list 2005

So the day is coming up and I thought I would post the list (or links to lists).

I can't say enough good things about Stardock products. So my list starts with a renewal to my Object Desktop subscription.
They also have a gaming division that uses a token system; I'd like some tokens. Take a look at TotalGaming.net.

I have a wish list at Amazon and ThinkGeek. Lots of Books, magazines, toys, clothes, movies there.

I'm not asking, I'm just listing.

Maybe Gas Prices Aren't Quite so Bad

I don't know the souce so I'm a little leary . . .but not enough not to post the chart.

It sure would be nice to have an alternate choice of fuel. But don't get me started on "hybrid" vehicles . . . that's not alternate fuel, that's just NIMBY.

Kindergarten begins

We went to the "Meet-the-teacher" event last night at the elementary school that our older kids went to.

We've been away for six years but a lot of the same faces were there. It was another piece of the community that makesthis place home.

I was bored during the introductions so I sketched out the teacher that Gwendolyn will have (along with Elmer Eagle and a bit of flag hanging on the wall).

Gwendolyn loves me more than . .

As I tuck Gwendolyn in tonight she asks for one more thing.

I'm ready to get upset with her. Miriam's crying, we've done books, and teeth and hugs and prayers and stories and every other thing a five-year-old can think of to stay up.

But I'm a good dad. I ask her "What NOW Gwen?"

She says:

"I love you Dad.
I love you more than my room and my house.
I love you more than my blankie.
I love you more than any thing.
And I love Mommy the same.
Can you tell her?"

"Of course I can Gwendolyn."

What else can I do?

Wicked cool mapping

The beta appears to be closed but for those of you who were lucky enough to grab a copy, Google Earth is amazing.

Take google maps, put high resoultion satalite imagry on it and then put all that on a globe.

Then let the user pan, rotate, and zoom around it. Let the driving directions fly over the globe showing landmarks or gas stations or whatever along the way. Maybe render in 3-D mountains and magor American cities.

I love this! I'm think now of getting an adapter for the Tablet in the car. It's THAT cool.

Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter?

I have been quiet about the decision of the Supreme court regarding eminent domain while I try to gather the will to be surprised and outraged instead of just outraged. The Supremes are breaking my heart on this issue.

But how can you not share this?

Hotel Liberty

DrunkenBlog: Get your Cow on (not what you think)

My kids have mixed feelings about being getting the kind of press that comes from being featured at DrunkenBlog: Get your Cow on (not what you think).

I only wish that some of my better (in my opinion) post were more recent. I've been pretty busy and lazy the last little bit.

Allow me to point out a few of my favorites:

• Magic Water
• Today is a good Day
• Freedom FROM Religion

The Riots of the Faithful - Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card writes an essay on where Newsweek went wrong and what we need to do in the face of of such behavior.

World Watch - May 15, 2005 - The Riots of the Faithful - The Ornery American:

"So Newsweek prints an uncorroborated allegation about American interrogators flushing Qurans down the toilet in order to get fanatical Muslim prisoners to talk, and there's rioting and death all over the Muslim world.
There are several lessons to be learned from this incident, some trivial, some quite important. "

Read more . . .:

Best Friends at the YMCA Spash pool. Gwendolyn and Miriam.

Grocery Store Wars

I should search out as many parodies as I can . . .but that's too much like work. Instead I'll just link them as I find them.

The following piece is brought to you by the Organic Trade Association

Link

Long, but funny

"Sexy" Cheerleading bill won't see the light

A while back I introduced you to HB-146. A bill that passed the Texas House to limit sexy moves in public schools. It came down to a "We'll know it when we see it and then we'll stop it" kind of thing.

The Senate has a little more sense I guess.

"We have some very important work to do in the next two weeks, and that's
not one of them," Republican state Sen. Florence Shapiro, who chairs the education committee, said Friday.

The fact is that parents can put a stop to bad behavior in a number of ways. But you'll have to spend time with your child and attend a rehearsal or two

1. Tell the sponsor you don't like the move.
2. Tell the other parents that you think the moves are inappropriate for your child's age.
   You may become unpopular with tea parents that don't care or don't want to stifle their child's creativity.
3. Tell your child they are not allowed to be part of the group.
   They may hate you again.

Being a parent that cares is not easy. I've got four daughters, ages 18, 16, five, and two. And there are lots of days when it would be so much easier to give in and let bad behavior go.

I want my children to be better people than me. So I make hard choices hoping they will learn from them.

Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona -- The Washington Times

Amazing. Simply amazing.
Just one more example of the sham called homeland security.

Because the Militiamen did so well, the border patrol has been told not to patrol the same area so the civilian project does not appear successful.

Not Safe for bunny lovers

How many ways can a bunny whack itself? I couldn't stop scrolling.

More . . .

Magic Water

I think that the water at the office should be treated with a blue tint. One that can only be removed with soap. A dye like dentists give kids to chew after they brushed their teeth. I believe this would cut back on the fallacy of magic water. Magic water is the water that comes out of the sink and kills any germs or bacteria without the use of soap.

I'm amazed how many of my co-workers believe in magic water. And they disgust me. And those people who are on their way out of the restroom and do a little jog to the sink as they see someone coming in; ugh.

Now we get personal . . . you've been warned.

I shower in the morning. And I put on clean shorts. I'm clean when I leave the house. Throughout the day I open doors, I share keyboards. I might pump gas using a nozzle that has been touched by millions of people and never been cleaned.
My hands get dirty. Germ and bacteria covered. I wouldn't eat off those hands.
So I wash my hands before I eat. And . . . I wash my hands before I use the restroom. And I wash them when I'm done.

Everything important is clean. And I would be willing to take the blue water test.

Miriam takes a lap

Miriam was jealous when she saw the picture of Gwendolyn on her bike.

"My turn, my turn, MY TURN!"

So here you are, my impatient little imp.