Following is a cautionary tale on never saying anything in private you wouldn't want repeated publicly. Names have been changed.
We here at 5D have an intern working for us...we'll call him Scone. Coworker John, Scone, and I all work in the same room, although we can't see each other because of the dividers between us. This fact led directly to the incident.
Scone is a smart and articulate kid, so I sometimes forget that he just doesn't have much programming experience yet. He came to me with a programming problem, so I told him the solution.
"Well, the obstacle avoidance behavior file is conditionally compiled based on the mission flag in the CMake file, which is currently set to mission_dave in your virtual machine. Since the behavior should be unconditionally compiled in now, you'll have to move it out of the conditional and into the normal list of included files."
It makes perfect sense, right? Apparently not, because Scone gives me this blank stare like I was talking in German. That was doubtful, since I don't speak German, and I realize it just went right over his head. I go over to his desk and walk him through what he needs to do, although I'm a tiny bit annoyed because I'd rather him play around and attempt to figure it out on his own for a few minutes before coming to me.
A few minutes later, someone walks out the door heading in the direction of the break room. For some reason, I think it is Scone, which means John and I are left alone in the room. I start talking, which incidentally is where a lot of my problems throughout my life have come from.
Me: "John, do you think I'm helping Scone too little? Or too much? Because I just don't think he's getting anything I'm saying."
Scone: "Um..."
Me: "Um..."
So yeah. There were a few frantic moments while I mentally went over what I said, trying to think if it was too insulting or patronizing. Had I said Scone wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer? Had I mentioned anything about a light being on but nobody being home? Because I could have easily said something like that, just joking of course, but not the sort of joke you'd want to say to someone's face.
And apparently, not the sort of the joke you'd want to say if you're not absolutely 100% sure of whose face you're talking to. And even then, probably not, because you don't know what your listener might pass on, or what microphones are hidden around, or who might be just around the corner.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Living Truth
Since our daughter has been sick (she seems mostly better now!), I've been doing a lot of reading about healing blessings and miracles. There is a wealth of knowledge and information in the archives of Latter-day Saint church talks that is fascinating--even more-so when it applies personally to yourself given your particular circumstances.
Something struck me just now while reading.
Every now and then when I channel surf on the radio through the lower end of the dial where my NPR news likes to hang out, I stumble across some religious speaker. I listen on occasion, and it brings back memories of attending various other religions' sermons while I was a missionary in Tennessee.
There is a striking difference between those sermons and the ones I've been reading online. The average sermon from a pastor will take an incident in the Bible and delve into it: history, background, various teachings or takeaway messages from it, etc. Sometimes the sermons will be topical, drawing from a variety of Biblical references to make an interesting or helpful point on a specific subject.
These sermons are good, as is anything that lifts, enlightens, and gives direction to peoples' lives. They can only rehash Jonah and the Whale so many times, though. At some point they reach the end of what the Biblical writers managed to jot down and there they have to stop. In the end, they're all missing a critical element: living revelation.
Contrast this to a talk on, say, healing blessings given by an Apostle. The Bible mentions several incidents of healing blessings, but doesn't go very much in depth into how they're done, who can do them, prerequisites, requirements, expectations, and limitations.
The Apostle isn't limited to the Bible, however, or even to the Book of Mormon, the book of Doctrine and Covenants, or revelation from a variety of modern prophets and Apostles, living and dead. He has his own personal revelation as a mouthpiece of the Lord.
As I've read through a half-dozen or so talks over the past couple hours, it keeps striking me how clearly and understandably the doctrine is laid out, how simple and organized it is, and most of all how much knowledge is added above and beyond any existing canon. In short, a sermon given by an apostle or other inspired church leader has an incredible power impossible to find anywhere else.
Something struck me just now while reading.
Every now and then when I channel surf on the radio through the lower end of the dial where my NPR news likes to hang out, I stumble across some religious speaker. I listen on occasion, and it brings back memories of attending various other religions' sermons while I was a missionary in Tennessee.
There is a striking difference between those sermons and the ones I've been reading online. The average sermon from a pastor will take an incident in the Bible and delve into it: history, background, various teachings or takeaway messages from it, etc. Sometimes the sermons will be topical, drawing from a variety of Biblical references to make an interesting or helpful point on a specific subject.
These sermons are good, as is anything that lifts, enlightens, and gives direction to peoples' lives. They can only rehash Jonah and the Whale so many times, though. At some point they reach the end of what the Biblical writers managed to jot down and there they have to stop. In the end, they're all missing a critical element: living revelation.
Contrast this to a talk on, say, healing blessings given by an Apostle. The Bible mentions several incidents of healing blessings, but doesn't go very much in depth into how they're done, who can do them, prerequisites, requirements, expectations, and limitations.
The Apostle isn't limited to the Bible, however, or even to the Book of Mormon, the book of Doctrine and Covenants, or revelation from a variety of modern prophets and Apostles, living and dead. He has his own personal revelation as a mouthpiece of the Lord.
As I've read through a half-dozen or so talks over the past couple hours, it keeps striking me how clearly and understandably the doctrine is laid out, how simple and organized it is, and most of all how much knowledge is added above and beyond any existing canon. In short, a sermon given by an apostle or other inspired church leader has an incredible power impossible to find anywhere else.
RedBox
While getting a movie from RedBox yesterday, I watched the person in front of me walk away with five movies in hand. Either they were planning to watch 10 hours of movies in the next 24 hours, or they were going to rack up some nice charges on their credit card.
Who knows. Maybe the lady lived a hundred miles from civilization and this was her annual excursion to The Big City to "see what-all is goin' on."
Who knows. Maybe the lady lived a hundred miles from civilization and this was her annual excursion to The Big City to "see what-all is goin' on."
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Haircut
My wife had a little accident last night. I have to admit--I had a hard time keeping a straight face and murmuring the proper sympathetic phrases.
Besides, it could have been worse. She could have been shredding paper instead of cutting it.
Besides, it could have been worse. She could have been shredding paper instead of cutting it.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Updates
A hot-green motorcycle in our parking lot has the word "Ninja" painted in black letters on the side, with a giant grenade stencil beneath it. Because when I think of ninjas, the first weapon that comes to mind is a grenade...
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Every time I go outside in the morning to leave for work, when there isn't much activity, a crow sitting in a tree along the sidewalk will give a brief caw, presumably to alert any other crows who cared that a human was nearby. Another lookout crow did the same thing on our way to the park today.
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Yesterday evening I finally got another robot driving. I was pretty excited since I had been working on it for the whole past week. Child called me about 5 pm and asked when I was coming home. It was a good thing she called, since I was so into my work that I probably would have worked until 7 pm before I realized what time it was.
On a related note, the company that built the robot apparently has no idea what a "standard" is. If you decide to use the JAUS architecture for the nice standardization it brings, it's a little counter productive to put the left wheel speed in the "velocity" field, and the right wheel speed in the "turn rate" field. It's wrong, and it defeats the whole purpose of using the standard to begin with.
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My writing group is great. They gave me some good ideas for how to progress my characters and make them more realistic. I like where my current novel is going.
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Every time I go outside in the morning to leave for work, when there isn't much activity, a crow sitting in a tree along the sidewalk will give a brief caw, presumably to alert any other crows who cared that a human was nearby. Another lookout crow did the same thing on our way to the park today.
--------
Yesterday evening I finally got another robot driving. I was pretty excited since I had been working on it for the whole past week. Child called me about 5 pm and asked when I was coming home. It was a good thing she called, since I was so into my work that I probably would have worked until 7 pm before I realized what time it was.
On a related note, the company that built the robot apparently has no idea what a "standard" is. If you decide to use the JAUS architecture for the nice standardization it brings, it's a little counter productive to put the left wheel speed in the "velocity" field, and the right wheel speed in the "turn rate" field. It's wrong, and it defeats the whole purpose of using the standard to begin with.
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My writing group is great. They gave me some good ideas for how to progress my characters and make them more realistic. I like where my current novel is going.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Power
Everyone's heard the saying, "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." (Paraphrased from John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton)
I decided I don't agree with that. I don't think power corrupts, I think it merely exploits or exacerbates existing corruption. It's like putting pressure on a stone--the stone will eventually crack along existing imperfections or fault lines.
Taking it a step further, the more power granted, the smaller the imperfections that become a problem. Following it to the conclusion, absolute power would cause anyone with the slightest corruption--anyone less that a perfect being--to be destroyed.
Mormons differ from other Christian religions in our beliefs concerning the afterlife. For one thing, we take very literally the idea of being children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. As such, those who fulfill to perfection their responsibilities on Earth will (as joint-heirs with Christ) obtain all that God has and become all that He is.
Now we see the need for a judgment. That inheritance includes absolute power--the power to create and destroy worlds without number. The power to create and destroy life itself. No sane person, no matter how degenerate they personally were, would want that power given to anyone with the least predilection for evil. Imagine the potential for destruction.
No, most of us would agree that there should be a stringent teaching process (life), including frequent tests (trials), followed by a final judgment as to worthiness (and who knows--perhaps many more millenia of learning), before such an awesome power should be granted to anyone.
I decided I don't agree with that. I don't think power corrupts, I think it merely exploits or exacerbates existing corruption. It's like putting pressure on a stone--the stone will eventually crack along existing imperfections or fault lines.
Taking it a step further, the more power granted, the smaller the imperfections that become a problem. Following it to the conclusion, absolute power would cause anyone with the slightest corruption--anyone less that a perfect being--to be destroyed.
Mormons differ from other Christian religions in our beliefs concerning the afterlife. For one thing, we take very literally the idea of being children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. As such, those who fulfill to perfection their responsibilities on Earth will (as joint-heirs with Christ) obtain all that God has and become all that He is.
Now we see the need for a judgment. That inheritance includes absolute power--the power to create and destroy worlds without number. The power to create and destroy life itself. No sane person, no matter how degenerate they personally were, would want that power given to anyone with the least predilection for evil. Imagine the potential for destruction.
No, most of us would agree that there should be a stringent teaching process (life), including frequent tests (trials), followed by a final judgment as to worthiness (and who knows--perhaps many more millenia of learning), before such an awesome power should be granted to anyone.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sweet Relief
Sometimes, it's been a long day and you're exhausted and all you want to do is sit down and watch the basketball game and eat something sweet but there's nothing but vegetables and coconut milk in the fridge and you're disappointed because there's never chips or cookies just lying around and you open the freezer and there you find a giant ice-cream/chocolate-chip cookie that you left there a week ago and forgot about and it's a little freezer-burned but you don't care because all you wanted was something sweet and it's like a little bit of heaven.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Robots!
We finally lined up our robots at work and I snapped a shot with my camera. We're missing one from the picture due to the simple expedient that it's too large to fit through the door (it weighs 4500 pounds), but when we get a nice picture I'll post that as well.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A Plus Updates
In a surprising "coincidence," a week to the day after an unsatisfactory phone call with A Plus, I got an email indicating that they "noticed that you do not have an account manager" and were assigning me one. Before I even read the email, I got a call from the person who had been assigned, indicating she was my new account manager and casually asking how things were going.
I knew exactly why they were calling and repeated my previous complaints, as well as indicated my plan to leave their services. After listening, my "account manager" apologized profusely for the unprofessional behavior of the previous person I had talked to, and offered to give me the domain service that had prompted my original call for free.
For the price of a phone call, an apology, and a $6 perk (well, it saved me $6; it cost them nothing), they kept a customer who pays them $50-$60 per year. That's doing business the right way.
I knew exactly why they were calling and repeated my previous complaints, as well as indicated my plan to leave their services. After listening, my "account manager" apologized profusely for the unprofessional behavior of the previous person I had talked to, and offered to give me the domain service that had prompted my original call for free.
For the price of a phone call, an apology, and a $6 perk (well, it saved me $6; it cost them nothing), they kept a customer who pays them $50-$60 per year. That's doing business the right way.
Wombat wombat wombat!
Most people who've been to been to Latter-day Saint seminary know the mildly interesting acronym spelled by a few words in 2 Nephi 9:39: "[To be] spiritually-minded is life eternal," or SMILE.
For the fun of it, I decided to see what other acronyms there were in the Book of Mormon. Following are a sampling (not all the phrases that make up the acronym make sense; I just chose a few of the more interesting/amusing acronyms):
PALATES: "perish as long as the earth should" (tied for longest)
HANDOUT: "hearts are not drawn out unto the" (tied for longest)
WOMBAT: "words of my beloved are true"
SITCOM: "strong in the city of moroni"
TWEETS: "the whole earth except they shall"
MAIMS: "mine account i must speak"
SCUMS: "son came unto me saying"
WITCH: "which is to come having"
PANIC: "peace and now it came"
NACHO: "naught and cast him out"
ALOHA: "and lowliness of heart and"
All in all, I found over 400 that were 5 letters or longer, although some were duplicates.
For the fun of it, I decided to see what other acronyms there were in the Book of Mormon. Following are a sampling (not all the phrases that make up the acronym make sense; I just chose a few of the more interesting/amusing acronyms):
PALATES: "perish as long as the earth should" (tied for longest)
HANDOUT: "hearts are not drawn out unto the" (tied for longest)
WOMBAT: "words of my beloved are true"
SITCOM: "strong in the city of moroni"
TWEETS: "the whole earth except they shall"
MAIMS: "mine account i must speak"
SCUMS: "son came unto me saying"
WITCH: "which is to come having"
PANIC: "peace and now it came"
NACHO: "naught and cast him out"
ALOHA: "and lowliness of heart and"
All in all, I found over 400 that were 5 letters or longer, although some were duplicates.
Monday, January 03, 2011
A Plus moves to my Do-Not-Buy list
Another company bites the dust. After buying over a half-dozen domains from A Plus.net, my next domain purchase will be from a different company. My primary complaints:
1. Terrible security. They actually require you to give them your password before they'll help with your account. Verifying who the account belongs to is good; asking a user to give up a password is a huge no-no. Any security professional can tell you that. No one but the customer should ever have access to or know their password.
2. Terrible customer support. When a customer calls with a complaint, immediately responding with a bad attitude is very poor service, especially if the customer is (I thought) polite. Giving them the run-around about not being able to talk to a manager before putting them permanently on hold is worse.
Goodbye, A plus.net. You get an F in my book.
1. Terrible security. They actually require you to give them your password before they'll help with your account. Verifying who the account belongs to is good; asking a user to give up a password is a huge no-no. Any security professional can tell you that. No one but the customer should ever have access to or know their password.
2. Terrible customer support. When a customer calls with a complaint, immediately responding with a bad attitude is very poor service, especially if the customer is (I thought) polite. Giving them the run-around about not being able to talk to a manager before putting them permanently on hold is worse.
Goodbye, A plus.net. You get an F in my book.
Monday, December 27, 2010
New Year Goals
It's amazing how much I consume. Food, media, entertainment, services, etc. After far too little thought, my goal for the new year is to become a producer. Following is a list of what I regularly consume, and therefore am going to attempt to produce:
I'm not planning to impose any personal standard as to level of quality or usefulness. For example, the movie will most likely be produced using a handheld camcorder with few props and less experience. On the other hand, I will likely put more effort into coming up with a fun board game and writing a good story.
To carve out time for my effort and limit distractions, I'm going to (not) do three things over the next year:
- Movie
- Novel
- Board game
- Web service
- Web game
- Short story
- Children's book
- Food
I'm not planning to impose any personal standard as to level of quality or usefulness. For example, the movie will most likely be produced using a handheld camcorder with few props and less experience. On the other hand, I will likely put more effort into coming up with a fun board game and writing a good story.
To carve out time for my effort and limit distractions, I'm going to (not) do three things over the next year:
- No TV
- Only watch movies with wife
- No browsing news websites after dinner
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
I liked this quote: "If you're unwilling to take the difference between a comma and a semicolon seriously, you have no future as a software developer." --jc42
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Sweeping Science
Sweeping every religious belief under the umbrella term of "religion" is like grouping astrology, alchemy, homeopathy, and economics with real science. Sure, you'll find people that believe it, but that's hardly a reflection on the scientific community in general.
At best, extrapolating your average Christian from Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps is unfair. Worse, it's disingenuous. Calling religion "bad" because of their ilk would be like dismissing all science because of what Dr. John C. Cutler or Dr. Eduard Wirths did.
Goose, meet gander. Let's all play fair.
At best, extrapolating your average Christian from Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps is unfair. Worse, it's disingenuous. Calling religion "bad" because of their ilk would be like dismissing all science because of what Dr. John C. Cutler or Dr. Eduard Wirths did.
Goose, meet gander. Let's all play fair.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Problems
When a problem occurs, how do I respond? Do I ask: "Whose fault is this?" or do I ask "Whose problem is this?"
Those questions lead down very different paths. The first leads to blame, recrimination, and abdication of personal responsibility. The second leads to a solution.
The answer to the first question varies widely. It's occasionally "Mine." Regardless, it's not particularly helpful for finding a solution.
The answer to the second question is always "Mine." If Slugger McHurty is beating me up in a dark alley, the problem is not that he's a maladjusted member of society with a punching addiction, the problem is that I'm getting hurt.
By taking the point of view that every problem is my own (albeit not caused by me), it becomes clear that every solution is going to involve some sort of change on my part. Slugger's not going to change--he's having a great time. Why, this is the most fun he's had since he stole a lollipop from that baby two days ago. Instead, I'm the one who is going to have to do something different. Run, fight, or if nothing else is possible, adopt an optimistic mental attitude and watch for signs of Slugger tiring.
My goal for the next problem I face is to not ask, "Whose fault is this problem and how can they stop causing it?" Instead, I will ask, "What is my problem, and what do I need to change to deal with it?"
Those questions lead down very different paths. The first leads to blame, recrimination, and abdication of personal responsibility. The second leads to a solution.
The answer to the first question varies widely. It's occasionally "Mine." Regardless, it's not particularly helpful for finding a solution.
The answer to the second question is always "Mine." If Slugger McHurty is beating me up in a dark alley, the problem is not that he's a maladjusted member of society with a punching addiction, the problem is that I'm getting hurt.
By taking the point of view that every problem is my own (albeit not caused by me), it becomes clear that every solution is going to involve some sort of change on my part. Slugger's not going to change--he's having a great time. Why, this is the most fun he's had since he stole a lollipop from that baby two days ago. Instead, I'm the one who is going to have to do something different. Run, fight, or if nothing else is possible, adopt an optimistic mental attitude and watch for signs of Slugger tiring.
My goal for the next problem I face is to not ask, "Whose fault is this problem and how can they stop causing it?" Instead, I will ask, "What is my problem, and what do I need to change to deal with it?"
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sunny California
Sure, we went to the beach a couple days ago. Sure, it was so sunny and warm I was in my short sleeve shirt. Sure, Ash ran around in her shorts.
I still wish I was back in Utah for the upcoming snow storm. I lived there ten years--and Child lived there her entire life--without seeing a snow day. And here BYU is closing.
I'm jealous.
I still wish I was back in Utah for the upcoming snow storm. I lived there ten years--and Child lived there her entire life--without seeing a snow day. And here BYU is closing.
I'm jealous.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Foundations
For the past little while, I've been focusing my scripture study around questions, such as:
At the end of the day, the gospel isn't complicated. It's not even particularly hard, it just requires steady, constant progression. Focus on that, and you'll be presented with a wonderfully diverse bouquet of spiritual enlightenment.
- How do I increase my power in the priesthood?
- How do I recognize the Spirit better?
- Why are there so many tree parables in the scriptures? (Judges 9, Daniel 4, Matthew 13, Matthew 21, Jacob 5, Alma 32, 1 Nephi 8, etc.)
At the end of the day, the gospel isn't complicated. It's not even particularly hard, it just requires steady, constant progression. Focus on that, and you'll be presented with a wonderfully diverse bouquet of spiritual enlightenment.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Holidays
This blog post has a happy ending.
I have to say that up front, because otherwise it would just look like my annual anti-holiday rant. Don't get me wrong, I don't consider myself a grinch. I enjoy the opportunity holidays offer for quality time with family and friends, games, relaxation, and even a little personal self-sacrifice for the good of everyone.
But honestly, how often is that the way it really plays out? Some sacrifices are necessary, I understand that. You can't usually have family-togetherness-time without shelling out for plane tickets or gas and traveling for hours with squalling kids. However, I feel that much of what we burden ourselves with over the holidays is unnecessary, commercial, and downright detrimental.
So here's the two questions:
1. How many people complain about how commercialized the holidays are?
2. Now how many people do something about it: i.e. stop commercing?
Although Christmas is the prototypical example, let's look at Thanksgiving, since it's the next holiday coming up. I actually think Thanksgiving is one of the least commercial holidays on the calendar. Sure, commercial interests push all sorts of food, but you're going to eat on that day regardless. Still, the holiday seems all about fiddling on the roof, without really stopping to think about why we're up there in the first place.
The reason, of course, is thanksgiving, quality time with family and friends, and happiness. If you can achieve all that while spending days preparing, cooking, and cleaning up after a giant meal, more power to you. If you can do it without subjecting those around you to a choking haze of stress-induced freneticism, even better. One problem: you still haven't even asked if preparing food, cooking, and cleaning is the rest of your family's idea of a good time.
Not to detract from the work that so many people put into maintaining Tradition (and the fond memories I have of my own family's Thanksgivings growing up), sometimes it's worth stepping back and determining of new traditions are needed. If you don't like turkey, cooking, cleaning, or spending large amounts of money, and your wife doesn't like any traditional Thanksgiving food and happens to think that Thanksgiving celebrates gluttony and killing Native Americans (not necessarily in that order), then why in the world are you having a traditional Thanksgiving?
Which is why our family is not this year.
Rather than wake up at 2 AM to put a turkey in the oven, we're going to sleep in as late as Ash lets us. Instead of making an endless succession of cranberry, bread, and vegetable dishes, we're going to order pizza. (And open a can of olives and cranberry jello.) With the time saved by not cooking, we're going to spend quality time with Ash at the playground, followed by some disc golf. Later that evening, rather than washing dishes, deboning poultry, and trying to fit leftovers in the fridge, we're going to play board games.
There's obviously trade-offs. There will be no delicious cranberry, bread, and vegetable dishes. There will be no pie unless we decide to buy one. There will be no turkey wishbone. However, these are traditions I'm willing to give up to create new ones that I think fit our particular family situation better.
My hope is that some of our local friends and family will join us for pizza, disc golf, boardgames, or some subset of those activities. I believe that strengthening relationships is one of the key aspects of a holiday. However, I understand that they might want to stick with their traditional Thanksgivings. We'll see. Either way, I think we'll be doing our part to turn our personal observance of the holiday back to its foundations.
I have to say that up front, because otherwise it would just look like my annual anti-holiday rant. Don't get me wrong, I don't consider myself a grinch. I enjoy the opportunity holidays offer for quality time with family and friends, games, relaxation, and even a little personal self-sacrifice for the good of everyone.
But honestly, how often is that the way it really plays out? Some sacrifices are necessary, I understand that. You can't usually have family-togetherness-time without shelling out for plane tickets or gas and traveling for hours with squalling kids. However, I feel that much of what we burden ourselves with over the holidays is unnecessary, commercial, and downright detrimental.
So here's the two questions:
1. How many people complain about how commercialized the holidays are?
2. Now how many people do something about it: i.e. stop commercing?
Although Christmas is the prototypical example, let's look at Thanksgiving, since it's the next holiday coming up. I actually think Thanksgiving is one of the least commercial holidays on the calendar. Sure, commercial interests push all sorts of food, but you're going to eat on that day regardless. Still, the holiday seems all about fiddling on the roof, without really stopping to think about why we're up there in the first place.
The reason, of course, is thanksgiving, quality time with family and friends, and happiness. If you can achieve all that while spending days preparing, cooking, and cleaning up after a giant meal, more power to you. If you can do it without subjecting those around you to a choking haze of stress-induced freneticism, even better. One problem: you still haven't even asked if preparing food, cooking, and cleaning is the rest of your family's idea of a good time.
Not to detract from the work that so many people put into maintaining Tradition (and the fond memories I have of my own family's Thanksgivings growing up), sometimes it's worth stepping back and determining of new traditions are needed. If you don't like turkey, cooking, cleaning, or spending large amounts of money, and your wife doesn't like any traditional Thanksgiving food and happens to think that Thanksgiving celebrates gluttony and killing Native Americans (not necessarily in that order), then why in the world are you having a traditional Thanksgiving?
Which is why our family is not this year.
Rather than wake up at 2 AM to put a turkey in the oven, we're going to sleep in as late as Ash lets us. Instead of making an endless succession of cranberry, bread, and vegetable dishes, we're going to order pizza. (And open a can of olives and cranberry jello.) With the time saved by not cooking, we're going to spend quality time with Ash at the playground, followed by some disc golf. Later that evening, rather than washing dishes, deboning poultry, and trying to fit leftovers in the fridge, we're going to play board games.
There's obviously trade-offs. There will be no delicious cranberry, bread, and vegetable dishes. There will be no pie unless we decide to buy one. There will be no turkey wishbone. However, these are traditions I'm willing to give up to create new ones that I think fit our particular family situation better.
My hope is that some of our local friends and family will join us for pizza, disc golf, boardgames, or some subset of those activities. I believe that strengthening relationships is one of the key aspects of a holiday. However, I understand that they might want to stick with their traditional Thanksgivings. We'll see. Either way, I think we'll be doing our part to turn our personal observance of the holiday back to its foundations.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Caulk Fighter
I've always wanted a caulk gun, ever since I was a little boy watching my father apply that smooth white bead to any sort of crack you cared to name.
Well, I finally got an excuse to get one. We've had ants on our kitchen counter, under the kitchen sink, and oddly enough, the top of the shower. After a little investigation, it appeared that the ants on the kitchen counter and under the sink were related, and appeared to be coming from a crack under the sink. The ants in the shower were coming from a hole in the top of the shower.
One trip to Home Depot later, the crack and hole are history, and hopefully the ants are too.
Actually, to be honest, I'm sorta hoping the ants aren't history. I want to caulk more cracks.
Well, I finally got an excuse to get one. We've had ants on our kitchen counter, under the kitchen sink, and oddly enough, the top of the shower. After a little investigation, it appeared that the ants on the kitchen counter and under the sink were related, and appeared to be coming from a crack under the sink. The ants in the shower were coming from a hole in the top of the shower.
One trip to Home Depot later, the crack and hole are history, and hopefully the ants are too.
Actually, to be honest, I'm sorta hoping the ants aren't history. I want to caulk more cracks.
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