Category: Daily Life

Ramblings, often stream of conscious, journaling the events of my life.

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From the mouths of babes

Noah, 15 minutes before he leaves for his school bus: "By the way, Dad, I need two composition books for TAG today."

Fortunately I use composition books for my project tracking. Unfortunately, I ran out of the $1.40 composition books and started using 15 cent notebooks instead.

Dad, as Noah walks out the door for his bus: "Noah, what are you carrying?"
Noah: "Oh yeah. Guess I don’t need this plate."
Noah returns pink plate with Tinkerbell picture to kitchen and walks out door with dry waffle in hand.

It is hard to be 10.

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The Internet Stinks

As I sit here eating my spicy sausage and chilli, it has been brought to my attention that in December 2000 smells were transmitted over the Internet.

PLANO, Texas, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ — AromaJet.com announced today that it has demonstrated interactive transmission of Synthesized Smell over IP (IPsmell(TM)). Using an interactive program that allows for the creation of aromas by mixing sixteen separate ingredients in 1% increments, Dr. David B. Wallace, AromaJet’s Chief Technical Officer, transmitted a number of distinct fragrances from Sidney, Australia to an AromaJet Kiosk at AromaJet’s offices in Plano, TX. Both Dr. Wallace’s portable computer and the AromaJet kiosk were connected to the Internet and communicated with each other through AromaJet’s SmellServer(TM). [Source]

So why in nearly 6 years has such incredible technology not experience widespread acceptance? Shouldn’t every laptop shoot out new car smell as you shop for a car online?

I find it funny that both Willfull and my wife sent me this cartoon.

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Poison Plants – Day 5

My actions were dumb but so far I have been lucky.

  • Saturday night I tore down poison ivy and poison oak with my bare hands. Within minutes I scrubbed my hands thoroughly. 4 hours later I scrubbed my entire body vigorously.
  • Sunday I showed no symptoms.
  • Monday I thought I got away with it. No symptoms.
  • Tuesday my right thumb bubbled up and has itched horribly since. My right wrist also has small blisters. I think briefly a bump or two was on my left temple.
  • Wednesday a single spot about the size of a juicy pimple shows up on the back of my left hand. It barely itches while my right thumb itches insanely.
  • Thursday whatever was on my temple is gone. The palm of my left hand has a small bump that itches like crazy.
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Oops. Whose Tea Was That?

When you are sitting at your wife‘s computer watching the children so she can bathe, and you accidentally drink her tall glass of ice tea, do you:

  1. Refill it from your glass
  2. Refill it from the pitcher
  3. Leave it empty so she thinks she finished it
  4. Blame the toddler
  5. Draw attention to it with a blog post

    6. Update: Apparently she had taken her tea into the bathroom while implies I must have stepped into the bathroom, been overwhelmed with her beauty, picked up the tea, returned to the computer, and drank it in a spellbound daze.

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Unable to help the children

I feel sad for my daughter. She is 13 and in the 8th grade. Here that is middle school. Next year she will be in high school. At her bus stop, a high schooler waits for a different bus but sits on the other side of a busy street. Once Sarah’s bus arrives, Sarah crosses that busy street and gets on it. I have given her permission to cross over and socialize with the high schooler. Ok, uncool! But social networking is a terribly important concept to learn for success in life. However, after creating different encouragements for her to meet this high school girl and pointing out some of the benefits, like already knowing an upperclassman when she enters, I gave up.

This morning she was late so I offered her a ride to school. Instead she just wanted a ride to the bus stop. As we approach, there is another girl waiting on the right side of the road. I’m surprised and ask Sarah if she is always here and I get a wishy washy answer about "sometimes." I ask her name and Sarah doesn’t know. I encourage her to find out then Sarah gets out of the car and walks to the left side of the street. I roll down the window and ask, "how will the two of you talk if you are over here?" She replies, "I always wait on the left side of the street."

My wife’s response will be to tell me that she is just a teenage girl and to butt out for a few years. I want to help my shy, obsessive compulsive girl break out of her shell. I know she has her own path to walk and I will let her walk it but I will continue to offer forks in the road, puzzles, challenges, and mind expanding opportunities.

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Rattle snakes are real!

Rattle snake - not rubber

Pictures of a 13 year old’s recovery from a rattle snake bite (not lunch safe – gross) are circulating the Internet.

On July 21, 2002, just after my 13th birthday, I was bitten by a Western Diamondback rattlesnake. I was located on a trail in a hiking area near Yosemite National Park, California. The bite occurred when I was sitting on a small boulder at a distance of 4.5 miles from the trailhead with my cabin group at camp. I had my arms dangling at my side, and a 5 foot long rattlesnake bit me in the middle of my left palm.Source

I thought it fitting to post my family’s encounter with a rattler outside of Gatlinburg, TN. The snake sunning itself, the family as far back as the trail permitted studying the snake, Noah seems nervous, and ok, so all the kids look nervous.

As we visit the great outdoors, we have to remember, it is their home.