As my job winds down from fever pitch to fast paced, I've been able to spend more time with the kids and I'm loving every minute of it. I have found though, that I have to be constantly on my toes. This afternoon we went on a pumpkin picking trip to Kelkenberg Farm, a great stop for Fall fun featuring the mentioned pumpkins, farm animals and country shop.
At one point during the festivities my little guy decided he needed to use the facilities. After I helped him, I asked him to wait one second for me. About thirty seconds later, from next to me I hear "Daddy - what's this?" I turned to the side to find him with his hands in the urinal. I took him over to the sink and washed his hands thoroughly, shaking my head with laughter the whole time. I took a second and tried to explain to him what it was and how big boys use it. He was completely disheartened that not only did he have to learn how to go on the potty, but here was another thing for him to pee in. If he only new the options that await him.
I know that as a dad I've got the obligation and the privilege of introducing him (and my daughter) to thousands of new things, but I get excited every time I watch them see something new, try to figure it out, and either enjoy it or hate it. He was looking at the urinal like it was some sort of UFO or time machine. This feeling of excitement was tripled when on the way home I introduced him to Ska (the play list included Planet Smashers, The Toasters, Buck-O-Nine and Dance Hall Crashers) and I saw him bopping along in the back seat (he naturally head bangs - but I've made a deal with my wife - no metal until at least age 8). Today we've hit urinal and Ska, pretty full day...what should we learn during the rest of October? I've got a partial list:
Jumping in Leaves
Parsnips
Home-made Applesauce
It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
Hot Apple Cider
Passion Pit
Popcorn Balls
The "Switch your mask to get more candy" trick
Making a tent with chairs and blankets
Anything I missed?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
What 1 in 4 blogs is talking about today...I bet.
I bet you dollars to donuts (sorry - get that from my grandfather) that 1 in 4 blogs today mentions the Facebook crash. So - of course, that's what I'm blogging about. Why should I upset the cart.
A FB engineer briefly described the issue that caused the down time (see Mashable article here), but the vast majority of users will not understand it, they just care that they weren't able to water their Farmville crops or kill the latest Capos in Mafia Wars.
Facebook was founded in 2004 and the majority of Americans were unfamiliar with it until at least 2007. That's six years since founding and only 3 years that most of us have been involved or even aware of it. Yet today, for about four hours, the world stopped for MILLIONS of people as Facebook was unavailable for a few hours. I mean really, it sounded like some people were ready to jump out of the 45th floor of the Empire State Building over this.
My question is - if a social community like Facebook (or Twitter to a lesser extent) can touch the lives of over 500,000,000 people (over half of which log on EVERY DAY)...(ok, I log on at least 10 times a day, but I work on the site...I promise it's work related) in that short of time, what on earth will the social media landscape look like in 10 years when my kids turn 13. Will we still call it social media?
Maybe it will become cognitive media. Instead of smartphones, we have phonesmarts, implantable items that are surgically placed below your earlobe, one end attached behind your ear to the audio nerves, the other attached to your jawbone. You speak and it transmits out, and it transmits impulses and messages straight into your nerves. Sound to code converters will be able to translate speech into text or commands instantly and boom. There you go, man made ESP.
I'm not going to go into the other aspects of our kids' lives that will be wholly different than what we experienced as a kid (let's just say if they only had 2, 4 and7 on TV, they would jump out the 45th floor of a building - shout out to Commander Tom BTW). But I will say that the brief lapse in connectivity today had reminded me to take my kids outside, to keep the cell phones out of their hands for a while longer and to make sure they understand and appreciate human connection, face to face contact.
A FB engineer briefly described the issue that caused the down time (see Mashable article here), but the vast majority of users will not understand it, they just care that they weren't able to water their Farmville crops or kill the latest Capos in Mafia Wars.
Facebook was founded in 2004 and the majority of Americans were unfamiliar with it until at least 2007. That's six years since founding and only 3 years that most of us have been involved or even aware of it. Yet today, for about four hours, the world stopped for MILLIONS of people as Facebook was unavailable for a few hours. I mean really, it sounded like some people were ready to jump out of the 45th floor of the Empire State Building over this.
My question is - if a social community like Facebook (or Twitter to a lesser extent) can touch the lives of over 500,000,000 people (over half of which log on EVERY DAY)...(ok, I log on at least 10 times a day, but I work on the site...I promise it's work related) in that short of time, what on earth will the social media landscape look like in 10 years when my kids turn 13. Will we still call it social media?
Maybe it will become cognitive media. Instead of smartphones, we have phonesmarts, implantable items that are surgically placed below your earlobe, one end attached behind your ear to the audio nerves, the other attached to your jawbone. You speak and it transmits out, and it transmits impulses and messages straight into your nerves. Sound to code converters will be able to translate speech into text or commands instantly and boom. There you go, man made ESP.
I'm not going to go into the other aspects of our kids' lives that will be wholly different than what we experienced as a kid (let's just say if they only had 2, 4 and7 on TV, they would jump out the 45th floor of a building - shout out to Commander Tom BTW). But I will say that the brief lapse in connectivity today had reminded me to take my kids outside, to keep the cell phones out of their hands for a while longer and to make sure they understand and appreciate human connection, face to face contact.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Some Like It Hot...at 3 years old?
Tonight my little guy, a precocious 3, decided that he wanted to dress up like Snow White. It's not the first time that he has decided to play dress up. He's worn pieces of costumes for Tinkerbell, a fireman, Buzz Lightyear, a cowboy, a butterfly and his favorite costume, "naked boy". But today he was dressed to the nines - Dress, tiara, heels and carried a dwarf around with him.
As I walked into the playroom...three or four thoughts ran into each other at the same time. He had on the outfit and his big Buddy smile. I couldn't help but smile back. The second thought was "Quick - get that kid a football and a set of snap on tools!". But that thought came and went quickly and laughed again as he started to twirl around singing "Hi Hooooooooo".
One of the great things about watching my kids is that I get to see how they react to and live in our world without the experience, hang ups, thoughts and ideals that I've accumulated in 35 years. They almost everything with a wide eyed wonder and a giant smile. They ask questions, are eager for answers and explanation, but don't have the capacity to judge on a personal level. He doesn't see it as he is wearing a girls clothes and crossing gender roles. I think he wanted to dress up for a few reasons - even though he may not have known it - 1. It's fun! 2. He thinks that the costume was pretty and he liked it. 3. When he watches Snow White - he identifies Snow White as a friendly, happy person - who he wants to be like.
How many children have their playtime, their games, their exploration of our world pigmented or abstracted by their parents? I'd say probably most of them, at least those that have parents that care enough and are able to take part in their play. I'm glad that I got a chance to see him in the Snow White dress, because it helped me see that I need to let go and experience the our world like my kids do, with wide eyed wonder and a giant smile.
As I walked into the playroom...three or four thoughts ran into each other at the same time. He had on the outfit and his big Buddy smile. I couldn't help but smile back. The second thought was "Quick - get that kid a football and a set of snap on tools!". But that thought came and went quickly and laughed again as he started to twirl around singing "Hi Hooooooooo".
One of the great things about watching my kids is that I get to see how they react to and live in our world without the experience, hang ups, thoughts and ideals that I've accumulated in 35 years. They almost everything with a wide eyed wonder and a giant smile. They ask questions, are eager for answers and explanation, but don't have the capacity to judge on a personal level. He doesn't see it as he is wearing a girls clothes and crossing gender roles. I think he wanted to dress up for a few reasons - even though he may not have known it - 1. It's fun! 2. He thinks that the costume was pretty and he liked it. 3. When he watches Snow White - he identifies Snow White as a friendly, happy person - who he wants to be like.
How many children have their playtime, their games, their exploration of our world pigmented or abstracted by their parents? I'd say probably most of them, at least those that have parents that care enough and are able to take part in their play. I'm glad that I got a chance to see him in the Snow White dress, because it helped me see that I need to let go and experience the our world like my kids do, with wide eyed wonder and a giant smile.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The hardest part is starting...
First - Thank you. Thanks for clicking on the link that brought you to this page. Thanks for taking a second of your valuable Facebook and Bejeweled Blitz time to read this. I hope you smile, at least more than you would from finding a old brown flea-ridden goat on your Farmville Farm.
This account was set up almost a year ago, when I thought "Any idiot can blog...I'm an idiot, I should blog", then I proceeded to set up the account and find other things to do. In the past week, I've realized that my Twitter habit has reached a semi addict level, and I need to move on to the harder stuff.
Hence, here I am, knocking on the crack house door of social media, the blogosphere. I used to be a good writer, creative, some good poetry, maybe a song lyric or two, but 15 years of work, 3 years of kids have taken priority, and caused a bit of poetic atrophy. I am sure the first few posts will be like a 500 pound man trying to run on a treadmill, lots of heavy breathing, sweating, and a good chance of a coronary event.
Trying to come up with the main subject matter of this MY blog, I tossed around a litany of subjects that I'm passionate about - books, movies, music, social media, pop culture, cooking, small furry animals - but they don't capture my essence, and as such, should not be the mainstay of my blog.
Tonight, as I sat watching "Land Before Time 15: Happy Landings for Meteor" for the twentieth time (this week) I realized that when you strip everything away, no matter what, I am Daddy. What better for me to spout off about than being a great dad (hopefully) and the challenge of keeping a happy family together, with smiles on our faces most of the time. Other subjects may meander in and out, which is good, keeps you on your toes.
I'm going to bed now...but that doesn't mean you have to! Comment please, that's the only way I'll get better.
And now - the song that has been running through my head since I started this post:
This account was set up almost a year ago, when I thought "Any idiot can blog...I'm an idiot, I should blog", then I proceeded to set up the account and find other things to do. In the past week, I've realized that my Twitter habit has reached a semi addict level, and I need to move on to the harder stuff.
Hence, here I am, knocking on the crack house door of social media, the blogosphere. I used to be a good writer, creative, some good poetry, maybe a song lyric or two, but 15 years of work, 3 years of kids have taken priority, and caused a bit of poetic atrophy. I am sure the first few posts will be like a 500 pound man trying to run on a treadmill, lots of heavy breathing, sweating, and a good chance of a coronary event.
Trying to come up with the main subject matter of this MY blog, I tossed around a litany of subjects that I'm passionate about - books, movies, music, social media, pop culture, cooking, small furry animals - but they don't capture my essence, and as such, should not be the mainstay of my blog.
Tonight, as I sat watching "Land Before Time 15: Happy Landings for Meteor" for the twentieth time (this week) I realized that when you strip everything away, no matter what, I am Daddy. What better for me to spout off about than being a great dad (hopefully) and the challenge of keeping a happy family together, with smiles on our faces most of the time. Other subjects may meander in and out, which is good, keeps you on your toes.
I'm going to bed now...but that doesn't mean you have to! Comment please, that's the only way I'll get better.
And now - the song that has been running through my head since I started this post:
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