Kirk blAug

I snapped this photo of Jupiter the other day at Suson Park . It was a fun day. Chris had told me about a "Farm Fun Friday" which was going on that day and included a hayrack ride. Jupiter loves hayrack rides, or "tractor rides" as he calls them. It was a great idea. We both enjoyed it. There were also a lot of farm animals to see, which are featured there every day, so we will likely go back. In this photo, he is bored and waiting for the tractor to come back so that we could get on the hayrack. I was not thinking about it when I took it, but later something about it reminded me of the Smashing Pumpkins music video for their song 1979 . After looking at the Wikipedia article on the song, I realized it must be the look of boredom and loneliness. From Wikipedia : The video follows a day in the life of disaffected suburban teenagers driving around in a Dodge Charger. It is based on a concept Corgan created, featuring an idealized version of teenage life, w

I spent the weekend in Nebraska City with the family. Chris said that she always wanted to stay at the Lied Lodge there so we took this opportunity to do it. We arrived Thursday night and had to try out the pool and we did. It was a big underground pool 4.5 ft deep in the center. There was also a "hot pool" as Jupiter and his cousin, Ryland, referred to it and a child pool that was 1.5 ft deep. There was a sauna in a connecting room which my brother and I tried out for a few minutes on one of the following days. I might also add that there was a very nice dining hall connected to the spacious lobby of the lodge. To sum it up, all of the features of a fancy hotel were in place, which is hardly surprising for place that was awarded the “Best of MidAmerica” award in 2009, 2010 and 2011. On Friday we went to Arbor Day Farm. We started off with some wine tasting in the gift shop. Arbor Day Farm produces a variety of wines that are all quite satisfying. I would have to say that my

Every year around Girl Scout Cookie time I hear about how several of them have two different names. There are always plenty of people asking why the names changed. I have also noticed that the conversation tends to come up more when one participant has recently moved to a different state. While this is a common conversation to come upon, the question rarely gets an answer. I wrote about why I do not think that we as a society should encourage door-to-door solicitation , including child fundraising, as there are better ways to get products when you know you want them without being told you want them by a solicitor at your door. While I was researching that post, I came across the answer to the Girl Scout Cookie names issue, so here it is straight from the Girl Scout website : Q: Why is my Caramel DeLight now called a Samoa? (or) Why are my Trefoils® now called Shortbreads? A: Girl Scout Councils choose their licensed baker, either Little Brownie Bakers or ABC Bakers. Each of the bakers

A few days ago Chris, Jupiter, Tsunami, and I took a quick trip back to Nebraska to see our newborn niece. We decided to fly since we really did not have a lot of time to drive, visit, and then drive again. It was Tsunami's first time on a plane and Jupiter had not remembered being on a airplane when he was about Tsunami's age, so we did not know for sure what to expect. Jupiter had been excited about getting on the airplane since we told him about the trip. He wanted to sit by the window so he could look out and so we told him that he could. He loved almost every minute of it. From the time we got on the airplane, he was very thrilled by the whole experience. As soon as we were in the air, he was fascinated by everything outside the window getting smaller, the clouds as we started to fly through and above them, and even the novelty of the tray table kept him busy for much of the hour that we were in flight. The only time there was any problem was when he developed pressure in

First, you put the baby down in its crib for some rest. Nap time can begin. Then the baby decides it is hungry. So you mix a bottle of formula or prepare some milk. You feed the baby. The baby falls asleep while eating and NOW nap time can begin. But wait. What is that smell? You carefully try to change the baby without waking it up. The baby wakes up. The baby has more room and is hungry again. You feed the baby again. The baby is asleep. Nap time can FINALLY begin. Except now you realize the three-year-old is not napping due to all the noise from the baby. So it goes... There was a point in time when nap time for the boys meant break time for dad. Never again.

I was browsing around Facebook on my phone while I feed Tsunami a bottle early in the morning the other day, when I came across this thread: This is just the sort of thing that makes it seem justifiable for women to be afraid of men. This is also an example of what makes it hard for me to be male without having women assume me guilty until proven innocent. I know that for the most part, these kind of things are said without intended harm, but this misogynist superior male attitude leads down the road to inappropriate touching and rape. As you can see above, some women are just as much to blame. And not only rape, but the kind of rape that people, like Ron Paul, try to justify : MORGAN: Here's the dilemma, and it's one I put to Rick Santorum very recently. I was surprised by his answer, although I sort of understood from his belief point of view that he would come up with this. But it's a dilemma that I am going to put to you. You have two daughters. You have many granddaugh

Earlier this week I came across this comic from The Oatmeal . It is worth looking at. Go ahead and read it , then come back. I will wait. Okay, back? Good. I thought it did a pretty good job of describing one reason that piracy is growing, so I shared the link on Facebook and Google+ with the following comment: This is why piracy exists. The studios continue to drag their feet at offering competitive or reasonable methods to acquire the media. The studios are just as guilty of the loss incurred by the artist if not more so than the customer who pirates. The artist is also responsible for finding a reliable distributor who is not going to make it difficult for customers to acquire the content. Piracy happens because it has the competitive advantage, not monetarily, but by ease of access. Then later that same night I came across Andy Inatko's blog post commenting on the comic . I thought he had made a few good points in his commentary. His post is also worth the read and I suggest

I had told Jupiter that we needed to wait until it snows enough before we can make a snowman. He had been itching to build one since seeing Frosty The Snowman earlier this fall. Up until last night, we had not gotten a significant enough amount of snow to make a "Frosty", as he likes to call it, here in St. Louis. Well, either that or we got the wrong kind of snow or did not have time to make one for some other reason. This is strange to us after moving from Nebraska where there is ample opportunity to build snowmen throughout the season. Today the high is forecasted at 41° F, which meant we probably had just enough time to make a Frosty before the snow mostly melts down later today. It also meant that the snow would be good and soggy which is always best for packing snow in spheres. The next step was obvious. I put Tsunami in his swing near the big window looking out in front of the house. This allowed Jupiter and I set out to build the snowman while I could still keep an e

When someone sneezes, the most popular thing for someone in the United States to respond with is the phrase 'bless you' or 'god bless you'. There is one semi-popular alternative, gesundheit, which references health. While being more secular and thus more inclusive than the religious message that comes with a blessing, gesundheit is less often said. I have learned from following Penn Jillette's public persona that his family says the phrase 'that's funny' in place of 'bless you'. I do like that a bit and I am sure he would not care if I borrowed it as many of the other children in his kids preschool have according to his book , but that is Penn's thing, not mine. Sometime after realizing that there are no supernatural deities, only natural humans who like to think they are gods, I adjusted my habitual response to sneezing to gesundheit. It took me a little while to adjust, so I completely understand why some of my non-religious friends hold to

One thing I like to do, for several reasons, is run. For the past couple months, because Chris started working overnights, I have found the treadmill to be more convenient. It works well because I can go running late at night after the children have gone to sleep and after she goes to work during her on week and, assuming I can actually get everyone napping at the same time, during everyone's naps during her off week. (She works seven ten hour days on then seven days off, taking naps on the off weeks in attempt to catch up on the lack of sleep during on weeks.) Even though I have chosen to take my running on the treadmill, there have been plenty of really good running opportunities outside during these relatively mild past couple of month. It was ideal for most runners. The type of weather that many runners could not pass up under any circumstances. For the past two months though, I did. Tuesday night I was itching for a run. I checked the weather to find that it was a brisk 34° F.

One day a couple years ago, while Chris and I were waiting in the checkout line at Target, she noticed that many parents were using a protective lining in the shopping carts. She asked me why I do not have one of those for Jupiter. I half joked that I was trying to boost his immune system, and she and the checkout clerk had a laugh about it. I was only half joking though, because some people really do try to keep their kids in way too sterile of an environment, in my opinion. I think it is a good thing to spread some germs around a bit to keep the immune system on its toes. I do not want my kids immune system to be so weak that they get deathly ill every time they come into contact with another sick kid. Jupiter does not get sick all that often. We have three dogs, sometimes we think that may be a contributing factor. If there is anything that spreads the nasty stuff around the house, it is dogs. I also do not freak out if the kids pick up something off the floor and put it in their m

This does not sound like the most responsible thing to do at the special moment when a baby is born, but then again, who has a clear head at that moment: We’ve heard the stories of those early-bird babies who just couldn’t wait—making their appearance in the car or on the side of the road on the way to the hospital—but it’s rare that the unexpected moment is caught on film. Luckily, thanks to his cell phone camera, newly reigned father, Zachary Russell, managed to capture the birth—and avoid any accidents!—while he was driving to the birthing center. I am glad that nobody got hurt and everything turned out okay, but I do feel a little worried for the commuters that were put in danger here. Apparently the video in question was very popular on YouTube. This is not surprising.

We spent last weekend back in Nebraska. We went to visit because it was close to Jupiter's cousin, Ryland's, third birthday and we thought it would be nice celebrate with him. While we were there I started paying attention to smells. Particularly, in this case, the smell of the laundry detergent caught my attention. I never noticed the difference between scented and unscented laundry detergent growing up, but since we use scent free laundry detergent at home, I am now noticing it. My mother happened to wash some of our clothes while we were staying at her and my father's house for the weekend. Our packing job was somewhat sporadic due to some unexpected health issues, so we needed to do some washing. My mother, being the extremely gracious host she is, would not let us spend our limited time doing laundry, so she offered to wash a few things. She washed my son's pajamas because we did not pack more than one set. Then, while I was out doing something else, Chris gave her

Parents, watch out! Your kids might not appreciate the sounds you make with your significant other at night. The girl, 15, told an officer that she wanted to go to a local shelter “because she heard her mother having sex” and “felt disrespected” by her 35-year-old parent’s actions. The teen acknowledged that “there was no form of abuse or neglect in the house.” Seems a little over the top to me. After some sense was talked into her, the 15 year old decided that she still wants to live at home. If your kid is trying to regulate your sex life, maybe you should have a look at your relationship with them.

I am constantly amazed with how much the way we get information has changed in so little time. Not too long ago, most of our news came on the doorstep or television. If we wanted to find out what was going on with family or friends we would have to make a phone call, leave the house, or invite them over. Meeting new people meant leaving the house as well. Now, increasingly, the best place to find all these things and more is a cyber connection from your internet service provider. The newspapers, magazines, seven o'clock news, telephones, bingo nights, singles bars, etc. all still have a place in the lives of many people today. Those mediums are, however, getting trafficked less and less. Now for many people a lot of this comes in a stream on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. You can find out which celebrity died, whose nephew had a new baby, and a philosophical discussion with friends of friends whom you have never met; and all in one page load, thanks to the advent of social networki

Some of the best toys cannot be bought in the toy section of the store. Regular household items that can be repurposed as toys can inspire great imagination. Jupiter and I had just used up a roll of wrapping paper after we wrapped his cousin's birthday present. I told him he could play with the cardboard tube that was left over. I remember my mother giving them to me to play with when I was a boy and I figured he might like to as well. He immediately found several uses for it. First he made his voice sound tunneled by speaking through it. We have all done that. Next he used it to hit the dogs. I was not to crazy about that and advised him against it. Then he started using it as a tunnel for his Hot Wheels cars to drive through. I am sure he will find many more things he can do with it too. What are some other good household items that can be repurposed as toys?

We recently moved Jupiter's bookshelf out of his room and into the play area so that he might have more encouragement to read. He likes to look at and read books a lot and I thought that he might benefit from it being in the area that he spends more awake time. He had been spending time reading during nap or bedtime and not getting enough sleep. One day I asked him if the books were distracting to him and preventing his sleep. Later that day he told me he wanted the bookshelf out in the living room. I think this arrangement has turned out for the better. I also thought that as Tsunami gets older they will probably like to share their books with each other so that they can both read all the books. Right now we pick out the books which we read to Tsunami and sometimes Jupiter picks them out for him too, but soon he will have his own book interests that he can share with Jupiter. Any suggestions to add to the shelf?

I think divorce gets a bad rap in our society. It gets painted as a problem when most often it is a solution to a problem marriage. Sometimes, for example when people marry their high school sweetheart, people have made an error in thinking that they have found someone who matches what they want for the rest of their lives. In this case, a divorce is the solution. Successful marriages have been studied to be associated with higher education and age. This makes sense. The more you know, the more you know what you are looking for in a partner. Many people are foregoing the whole idea of marriage altogether. Many people realize that as people grow, interests change and that you cannot definitely say that two people will remain interested in the same things for the rest of their lives. I am married to my wife, but I can see that point of view. Marriage in The US is also convenient for legal reasons. Taxes are higher on single people, and while the state using taxes to encourage marriage

One thing that I think I need to work on with Jupiter is being less of a helicopter sometimes. A helicopter parent is a term for one who hovers over their children like a helicopter to the extent that they do not let them learn from their own experiences. It is a form of over-parenting. I do not think that I am as bad about it as some parents I see, but I do think that I could work on it a bit and so I have been. Mostly I have trouble letting him make a mess because it causes more work for me, but I just need to get over it and clean up the mess and be thankful that he had the chance at a new learning experience. The other day we were at the Magic House and all but one small section of the museum was closed until noon. Jupiter was playing in a water area that has a stream of water on several levels with boats and dams and watering cans, as well as a little fountain area, an enclosed water gun case, and a couple other things to help teach young children about how we can interact with w

As CTO of the family, I vetoed the idea of getting cable television when we moved since we never used it in Lincoln. We received our television over the internet through a platform called Boxee . We had Boxee installed on a Mac Mini that sat under the television for the past two to three years or so, and it gave us all the television we needed. Recently, the powers that be at Boxee decided to release its final version of software that is installable on the PC/Mac/Linux. With this software release, the most notable change, for us, was that they dropped support for Netflix. We use Netflix with Boxee quite a bit, so we had to find a new solution. What I needed was support for Netflix, but also support for access to various media types over the local area network because we have many of our shows and movies available in that form ever since our physical media minimization . Boxee was based on XBMC , so I played with that first. There was a sort of Netflix app, but it was not very intuiti