"Murphy was an optimist!"
My frustrating life December 13, 2006 8:35 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeMy wife decided to ship some Christmas presents by UPS ground to some total strangers. So this morning I am on hold waiting to see if I can correct the address and finally I get an operator, explain the situation, he says he can help, my phone beeps and goes silent. The dying phone bit is getting old. It now happens about 3 times a day.
5commentsAnd he’s back December 13, 2006 7:47 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Announcements, Of InterestSerious bloggersweb publishers that quit are like Knoxville natives that move to another city…they always come back.
Women Need to Understand Internet Porn December 12, 2006 1:24 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Humor, Mental, Of Interest, Philosophy, Sex, Touchy Subjects
The Bathroom Door Rule explains that men look at porn. "If a man has an internet connection, he looks at internet porn. " In their article, "What every woman should know about internet porn," they explain why you might find certain references to bizarre websites on his computer.
This is a simple factof life but if you see something unsettling maybe you should talk to him about it before you make wild assumptions or accusations. Don’t just assume your loved one is a chubby chasing pedophile with an Asian fetish, talk to him. If you see something uncharacteristic of him, confront him on it… [Source]
An online friend of mine commented last night, "my wife was asking me why my porn was 8 months or more old. I told her it had just lost the thrill." He said she replied, "You’re just geting old." So, for my friend, I present a new thrill! The Horny Manatee and its story.
add a commentIn a line Mr. O’Brien insists was ad-libbed, he mentioned that the voyeur … was watching www.hornymanatee.com. There was only one problem: as of the taping of that show, which concluded at 6:30 p.m., no such site existed. Which presented an immediate quandary for NBC: If a viewer were somehow to acquire the license to use that Internet domain name, then put something inappropriate on the site, the network could potentially be held liable for appearing to promote it.
In a pre-emptive strike inspired as much by the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission as by the laws of comedy, NBC bought the license to hornymanatee.com, for $159, after the taping of the Dec. 4 show but before it was broadcast.
[Source]
Not rap, not video games; Daddy made me make this video December 12, 2006 10:22 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Politics, Publishing, Touchy Subjects, VideoOh I love the Internet! Warning! This video contains adult language. Frankly as I watched the video I was a bit shocked but as it sank in I had to laugh outloud. The Youtube title for this video is "The Coolest 8 Year Old In The World Talks About O’Reilly"
2comments5000 KB/sec downloads! December 11, 2006 7:25 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life
Check out the download speed on disc 5! That was a good feeling after today. I really am losing faith in Knox County Schools.
add a commentPeeing Under Pressure December 11, 2006 5:46 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Humor, PhilosophyI am trying to go! I can hear the dialog now, "I said aim that soldier!"
add a commentFrom the mouths of babes December 11, 2006 10:18 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being Dad, TommyTommy: "You know what dad?"
Dad: "Why yes I do!"
Tommy: *took about 90 seconds before he could speak again*
Mondays bite December 11, 2006 8:45 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeThis day is lost.
2commentsPC Purge – PC World writer goes 20 days no computers December 11, 2006 7:24 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Of InterestI often threaten to turn off the cable, all the computers, and lock away the video games for a week or a month. David J. Lake of PC World went 20 days without a computer at his editor’s request. 20 days was not long enough to draw any strong conclusions but the experience was pleasant enough that he may do it again. I like that by day 5 his child is outside playing instead inside on video games.
2commentsInstead of playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and cruising skateboarding-magazine sites for video clips, he actually skateboards and reads. [Source]
Homeschooling seems like a better idea December 11, 2006 6:59 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Education, Health, News, Of InterestFor reasons like suspending a 4 year old for sexual harassment, er, hugging (btw, that story pushed our little E TN news webpage onto Reddit.com). The child’s hugging is appropriate for continued emotional development.
Emotional Development
Most children aged four to five will:
- Still rely on caregivers, while no longer needing or wanting as much physical contact with caregivers as they received in infancy and as toddlers
- Continue to express emotions physically and to seek hugs and kisses
- Socialize with peers, begin to develop relationships, and learn to recognize some peers as friends and others as people they don’t like
- Have more opportunities to interact with peers, either through school or recreational activities, and will play with other children
[Source]
Today I get the pleasure of having a meeting at Noah’s school. I requested a meeting with one teacher and I ended up with a meeting with all his teacher’s and the vice-principal. This kind of ridiculousness makes me regret not homeschooling Noah this year.
Update: The meeting ended up being 5 women and me. The teacher and vice-principal were only interested in rhetoric and bureaucracy taking exactly the defensive posture I tried to get everyone to put aside. Btw, the meeting was called because at the beginning of the year my son lost a $9 book that my wife offered to replace and it was never replaced so while the rest of the class had books they could write in, my son had to do all his work on a loose leaf paper using a borrowed workbook. I found out about this last week. Absurd statements rolled from the primary teacher’s mouth such as "from the meeting with your wife I gathered the only reason your son is in school is to be a safety." She is a hateful person and I have less respect for her after my meeting than I did before.
This meeting also reinforced my belief that we made a mistake not homeschooling Noah for the fifth grade. One approach some friends used with their children was to home school only in the fifth grade. This gave the child some one-on-one time with the parent at a non-critical year. For instance, to do the one year in the sixth grade would potentially harm the child’s social opportunities through middle school. I think Noah would have learned more this year and had a better time at home. A home schooled child can have plenty of time for social interaction through community activities/sports, home school social networks, and home schooled group classes (that’s right, homeschooling does not imply a child locked away in a closet).
3commentsFrom the mouths of babes December 10, 2006 9:43 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Cathy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babesAmy, 4: "I stayed dry all night!"
Dad: "Very good. Now take off your pullup and stay dry."
Amy: "Dad, I didn’t wear a pullup. I am just like Mom!"
Sometimes there is no explanation December 10, 2006 9:11 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, House, Of Being DadGrrrr. Curklunk Koochewga chewga blat mmmmmgre clackidda clackidda curchunka chunka. That’s the sound of this in the in-sink-erator (aka garbage disposal).
Forced Child Labor December 9, 2006 5:09 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, House, Noah, Of Being DadI know they rather be playing video games or watching tv. Today I wrangled Noah into helping me. He won one of those new Playstation2s that are thin and sleek. The old, bulky Playstation2 will become a communal gaming system in the living room. Noah would much rather be playing his new system but I forced him to come downstairs. and showed him how to pull wire through the ceiling. Then we fished it up through the wall to his bedroom where I showed him how to connect the wire to a RJ45 in the same face plate as his cable jack. We talked about wiring then came downstairs to learn how to crimple a plug onto the other end of the wire. Then we learned what a switch is used for and where the Internet connection comes into our house. Although Noah was good company, it didn’t really peak his interest until I showed him how we could plug the a wire from his jack into the back of his new Playstation so that he could play online. See, the old style Playstations did not have a network jack built-in and we never purchased the newwork adapter. Noah lit up! (And can say he wired his own room for the Internet)
add a commentBecause I’m a man December 9, 2006 1:19 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Murph, Of Being Dad, PhilosophyThere comes a time everyday in a man’s life where he has to stop and ask himself, "Have I done anything to aggrivate my wife today? Should I?" Mine came a few minutes ago as I snickered and revelled at how fun a little demolition would be today. I wised up quickly and decided that I should stay focused on the project at hand which happens to be some cleaning so that I can actually get to the project at hand. However, something had to be done with the stupid energy that was built-up in preparation to do some demolition. As we know, energy must conserved so when stupid energy is generated, stupid energy must be used. So, as I ask outloud, "What’s this switch do?" I quickly remember that most of my home computer network profoundly sits on a single circuit that is connected to a light switch beside the garage door. I guess the tape keeping the switch in the on position should have been a clue. Doh.
1 comment so farFrom the mouths of babes December 9, 2006 10:51 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babesAmy, 4: "I’ll never play with Evan again!"
Door: *slam*
Evan, 18mths: *blink*
