Yard Work

It is true what they say-that one knows about something only when one does it. I know about being a homeowner because I have "done" it; I know about yardwork because I have "done" it; and I know I would rather be a renter without needing to do yardwork than being a homeowner needing to do yardwork. I had to do yardwork today. It took a large part of the day just to mow the lawn, trim the bushes, and rake the debris. All this just to maintain the yard. There has to be a better way. The answer is a rock garden. This is my goal now.

Driving

The recklessness of some drivers amaze me. Today, at Multnomah Falls with my wife and kids, I had to shout at a driver to slow down and stop as he sped past a pedestrian crosswalk with parents and kids waiting to cross. Everyone knows drivers must stop for pedestrians waiting at crosswalks. This is the safe thing to do. Some people should not be driving. They are a menace to others. The car is basically a 2,000 pound hammer when it is misused. Regrettably, cars are misused often.

Sugar

I bought some Krispy Kreme donuts today. I must admit they are very, very tasty, even though I realize a diet full of processed foods is not very healthy. Most everyone likes sweets, especially kids, and so there might be an evolutionary component to this. Is it that humans need a certain amount of sugar in their diet and so we have developed a liking for sugar? If so, why is this "liking" more like a "craving"? I do not know. I'll need to research this further.

Sleep

We all need a minimum number of hours each day for sleep. The lack of sleet leads to all sorts of short-term and long-term problems. For my young son, the short-term problem that is quite evident is irritability. When he does not sleep at the appointed time, he gets irritable. This is but one of many consequences of sleep deprivation for both kids and adults. Studies show that long-term sleep deprivation harms the body. Accordingly, I try to get a decent amount of uninterrupted sleep every night.

Growing Up

The kids today looked at their baby photos and found them interesting. I then told them about the various places around the house where they slept. Many memories came back to me as we talked about their baby days. Now, they are older and going to school. They will be in school for many more years, all the while growing older, as it should be, because kids have to grow up despite our desire at times to "freeze" them and hold on to them and their days of youth.

Nominee

President Obama today picked a Latina for the Supreme Court position-judge Sonio Sotomayor. A critic might say this is not right because the choice should go to the best nominee rather than to any group based on gender or race. But the premise behind this statement would be wrong because the unstated premise assumes the following:

1. There is a "best nominee" waiting to be picked versus
2. the "less than best" nominee that was picked.

But this is assumption is unfounded, and it assumes the nominee is not best because she is a woman or person of color or both. Instead, the premise for this nominee should be

1. This nominee has every possibility of being the "best nominee" just like any other nominee picked.

Memorial Day

This being Memorial Day, I explained the significance of today to my kids. I told them this holiday is intended to remember the people who served in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and other part of the U.S. military. I said those who served in the military, and those who died in service to their country, are remembered through this day of remembrance. Hopefully, they will remember some of what I said and will better understand the meaning of Memorial Day as they get older.

Tillamook

Our family went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory today and tasted some fresh cheese and tasty ice cream. Then we drove to Oceanside Beach where the kids played in the sand and got their feet wet in the ocean water. For meals, we went to the Shilo Inn Restaurant. If we had time, we would have gone to the Tillamook Air Museum and the Tillamook Forest Center. But we already had a full day so we headed back home after dinner to clean up and get ready for another day.

Birthday Gifts

My kids today filled up shoeboxes with gift items to give to underprivileged kids as part of a church effort. The boxes are birthday gifts to present to kids whose disrupted family lives have resulted in no birthday gifts. This is a wonderful effort to help these kids. More of such efforts are needed. There is no shortage of pain and suffering in this world. Those who can should do what they can.

Job Worries

I spoke today with students who worried about finding jobs after finishing school. I said to disregard the statistics and to do whatever is needed to land that job. But it is disheartening to read about layoffs and rising unemployment. The economy is in trouble. Many are to blame. But at this point, the focus is on getting the economy going again. For the individual, it means finding or holding on to a job and weathering the storm.

Red Meat

I read recently that a study showed eating red meat created more health risks than eating other types of meat. This study should not be surprising because many have already identified red meat as problematic. But the study does make me wonder about all those people consuming hamburgers from fast food restaurants throughout the United States, and indeed throughout the world. That is a lot of red meat being consumed on a daily basis. With such widespread consumption of red meat, it is unlikely this habit will change anytime soon. But for myself and my family, we will eat less red meat.

Good Cookies

My son wanted to eat some alphabet cookies that I just happened to have in the kitchen. I said yes thinking that if he is going to eat some cookies, he might as well learn the alphabet in the process. But I'm not so sure of feeding him cookies every day. I don't want him to learn the alphabet at the cost of a mouthful of cavities. Still, alphabet cookies do have some redeeming value.

Online

I was trying to make a payment online and was referred to PayPal, a website that allows one to make electronic payments. It seems everything is going "online," from buying and selling to looking for a job, looking for a spouse, or looking for a long-lost friend. One might wonder if there is anything that cannot be done online. Of course, the answer is yes because because "real" life consists of face-to-face encounters and being at an actual location for certain events such as a concert. I realize one can see and hear a concert online, but the experience would not be the same. It would be different. In the end, one doesn't need to say one experience is always better than the other--rather, they are just different.

Counting Pencils

As my son ate breakfast this morning, I played a counting game with him by holding some pencils on one hand, asking how many I held, then holding more pencils using my other hand and asking him how many pencils there were all together. I would hold up three pencils, and then add two more, for example. He enjoyed the game so much he wanted me to continue when I said I would stop to let him finish breakfast. We played until he finished breakfast. This game is a "keeper."

Mood

With summer approaching, the days are longer with the sun not setting until late. This means more positive feelings and less dreary days for those whose moods are affected by the amount of sunlight available during the day. I think the moods of most if not all people are affected to varying degrees by the amount of light present during the day. For those affected to a greater degree, I think the term is Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD). I know my mood is more positive when there is more sunlight. I wonder if I need one of those "sun lamps" for my house. I might look into it.

Star Trek

I saw the latest Star Trek movie directed I think by J.J. Abrams. The movie is a "thumbs up" because of not only the special effects, but the characters. We see the Star Trek crew when they were young and just getting into Starfleet. There are personality conflicts everywhere--between Kirk and Spock, Kirk and Uhura, and Kirk and the enemy. We see also conflicts within each character--with Kirk and Spock both attempting to deal with their past and the their family dynamics. Star Trek is here to stay.

Memorable Years

At a dinner tonight, I spoke with someone who also grew up in Portland. We talked about how things had changed, and then we talked about the high schools we went to including Wilson, Benson, Washington-Monroe, and Franklin. It seems that one's high school years are always memorable years, probably because we were such impressionable kids at that age trying to deal with self-awareness, self-esteem, innocence and maturity, friendships and arguments, teachers and administrators and parents, extracurricular activities, dating, learning to drive, and a whole host of other items. Yes, those are memorable years, and then we move on.

Derivatives

I heard an author being interviewed on OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) radio say that J.P. Morgan helped create financial derivatives that eventually caused the economies of the world to tumble. The creators purportedly had worthy goals such as economic efficiency and financial innovation. If so, then I think this proves once again how good intentions are not enough and that good intentions can easily go awry. The author also explained that financial "derivatives" are things that derive their value from something else. For example, the author explained, if there is a bar of gold, one can create a contract that mimics the expected gold price fluctuations, and this contract would then derive its value from the actual gold bar. Regardless of this author's attempt to explain derivatives, it is a complex instrument that has created a financial mess whereby nobody really knows the actual value of these derivatives that caused the economic crisis.

Menu Options

I had lunch today at Lauro Mediterranean Kitchen. The food was wonderful. But I noticed that Lauro, like many other similar restaurants, have a relatively limited menu, whereas many Asian restaurants I have been to have a more expansive menu. That is one reason I like Asian restaurants--the wide variety of menu options that are available. However, either model (limited or expansive menu) can work as long as the food is good.

Math Grids

To help my kids learn multiplication and addition, I created math "grids" for them. A simple example is below. One has to write in the correct answers in the empty squares. My mom used these grids to teach me math when I was a kid. If it worked for me, I figure they can work on anyone including my kids.

-----------------
x | 1 | 2 |
-----------------
1 | 1 | 2 |
-----------------
2 | 2 | 4 |
----------------

Medium

We went to Red Robins for dinner and I ordered a Banzai Burger just for a change (because I do not eat a lot of hamburgers). I asked for it to be "medium" cooked, thinking the meat would be cooked all the way through. But the meat patty was pink inside when I bit into it. I actually wanted it well-done, so I asked for another burger that was "well done" while explaining to our server that it was my fault and I should have asked for "well done" the first time. I guess the saying "use it or lose it" is true. Not having ordered a hamburger for such a long time, I forgot what "medium" and "well done" meant.

Lawn and Fish

Saturday:

Spring is the growing season with everything growing including grass. This means mowing the lawn. I had to mow the lawn. It seems to me like a huge waste of time (and a nuisance because of my allergies). Some homeowners love their lawns. I have come to realize that I'm not one of those homeowners. Soon enough, I'll turn my backyard into a rock garden. Until then, I'll be doing a bit of mowing.

Sunday:

This Mother's Day, my wife and I (and the kids) decided to make dinner for Grandma and Grandpa (my in-laws). I bought salmon, some sauce, a lemon, and celery. The salmon was expensive, costing me over $20 for 4 slices, and it wasn't even very fresh salmon, having be pre-frozen according to the tag. But it is hard to find good, fresh, high-quality seafood at a local grocery market. I looked at two others before purchasing at the third market. I wonder if all grocery markets have the same mediocre quality of fish, or whether some markets are better. I think I will do some more research. After all, fish is expensive and one should receive fresh seafood if one is shelling out the money for it.

Learn

The other day, my son and I played with toy wood pieces. We used them to create simple vehicle lanes to push our Hot Wheel race cars around. Tonight, I passed by the play area and saw a complex race track. My son had used the wood pieces to build parking garages, long lanes, and arches through which the cars could pass under. I was amazed. This shows how we humans can learn, refine, improve, and improvise. We can take a simple thing and make it more complex the second time around. Our brains can see what is and also what might be.

Variety

My young son used to sleep with the hall light on. Recently, he has asked that the hall light be turned off. My daughter is fine either way. Some kids always need the light on. Some kids like blueberries, others don't. Some like carrots, others don't. Kids are all different. Adults are all different. Likewise, animals are all different. Gorilla researchers, for example, tell us that each gorilla within a group has his or her own distinct personality. Variety is the spice of life.

Code

My four-year-old's latest interest is doing the "Code" worksheets in funbooks. These Code worksheets require the child to break the "code" and to write out a sentence by filling in the letters. For each letter, there is a number assigned to that letter in a code matrix, and the child matches up the number in the empty letter slot with the corresponding letter from the code matrix. A code worksheet is another fun way to teach the alphabet to kids.

Xylitol

I did some research on xylitol because it is found in sugarless gum that I sometimes give to my kids. It seems safe. It is an all-natural sugar substitute. Some online sources report that xylitol is sometimes used as a sugar substitute for diabetics. Some kid vitamins include xylitol. Some sources say that some studies show xylitol reduced tooth decay. But one study reported that a person developed eczema on the skin where the xylitol came in contact with.

Friends

My kids' friends came over to play and they all had a great time. They played hide-and-seek, watched a DVD, played with wooden blocks, ate strawberries, and more. I am glad my kids are able to form peer friendships easily and play well with other kids. Being able to form relationships now will allow them to form relationships later as adults. As with many other things, what they do now prepares them for life as adults.

Lord of the Beans

After watching the Veggie Tales' Lord of the Beans DVD (by Big Idea), the kids wanted to see the entire movie again. Instead, I showed them the "extra" features including the "Sing Along" and "Trivia Game" parts. The kids had a great time with these "extra" features.

This shows how technology has changed. I recall growing up with videocassettes and the great competition back then between Sony's Beta version and the VHS version with the VHS version eventually winning out. When the video discs entered the fray, these discs were as large as record albums. Mentioning record albums can take us even further back. But let's just stick with DVDs for now, and again, when these initial DVDs came on the scene, they were huge. Now, their size is quite small. Perhaps they will get smaller as the technology improves. Even if they do not get smaller, they are light-years ahead of what videocassettes can do--better picture, better sound, more features, easier to move from scene to scene, and more. Who would ever want to go back?

Trips and Music

April 30

My blogging was postponed because I had to attend an out-of-state conference in Washington State. I told my kids I had to be away for a night and they responded well. When I departed, they said good-bye and that was that. There was no fuss and no crying. This no-fuss departure made me happy (along with the fact that the kids are mature enough to handle a short separation).

May 1

On my drive back from my one-day business trip, as I approached home, I thought about taking the family out for dinner. But because of the present "swine flu" scare, I thought perhaps we should all stay in for dinner. It can be hard to determine the exact amount of risk involved in going out when an epidemic occurs elsewhere. It might be rational to err on the side of safety and not go out, but not going out at all might be difficult to do in practice and might be an overreaction. I guess the best thing is to stay informed and to do what one feels is in the best interest of the family.

May 2

My wife and my daughter attended a concert by young musicians. My wife and I thought this would be a great chance for our daughter to see young musicians at work producing wonderful music. Hopefully, she will be inspired by watching young people play music well. I know I always am when I watch youngsters play music by Bach, Beethoven and the other master composers.