It seems that this time of year, there are always action-packed, funfilled weekends where there is never any "free" time. Our crazy weekend started Thursday evening. That evening Harry and Scott performed with their respective preschool classes in their preschool's Christmas program. H & S's Nana came too and it was quite cute.
After finding a last minute baby sitter, Friday afternoon we made it too OpenNetwork's Holiday Party at Bahama Breeze in Tampa (Rocky Point). It was a short, good time to be had. To keep things interesting, we went home, had dinner and headed out for Harry's soccer game. Harry scored a goal (again)! We are so proud.
Saturday, Daddy and the boys headed over to Nana's house to help with the Christmas trimmings. After lunch, we brought Scott home for a nap and Daddy and Harry went to Chuck E. Cheese's for a birthday party. The kid's love that place but it can sure get crazy there. So, after staying up until midnight watching Frida, we finally went to sleep.
Sunday (today) also got off to a running start. After discovering the death of our pet red-eared slider tuttle, "Swimmy" we had a brief pond burial and though it appropriate to go to church afterwards. Next we explored the Pier (which wasn't really open at 10:30AM) but there was a car show there which was fun. Afterwards we met up with family at the SPY Club for a very pleasant brunch. So we stuffed ourselves completely and headed home for a brief intermission before heading out to Harry's 4PM soccer practice.
I feel like I am only now coming up for air. Although it's not easy to have fully-scheduled, holiday weekend, it was worth every minute. I'm thankful for all of the true family time I have. Happy Holidays!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Building your own Swing Set: Pressure Treated Wood or Not?
We got a build-it-yourself swing set for the kids last year for Christmas. If you want a wood swing set and you have some time to put it all together, it’s definitely the best way to go. You buy the swing set kit which lists the sizes of wood needed then you buy the wood separate. This leaves the quandary of whether or not to use pressure treated (TOXIC) wood. Others have asked me about this so I thought I’d mention what we did here.
We ended up going with the pressure treated. We had heard bad things about it but there did not seem to be much of an option. For anything you want it to last like a swing set that is just going to sit outdoors, I think you pretty much have to use it. We primed and painted it, so I feel like all of the bad stuff is out of the kids’ direct contact. It’s been a year now so it is probably due for a new coat of paint, but it still looks great. I built the kids' a sandbox with regular wood -- I only stained and waterproofed it. It's 3 years old now and it looks pretty bad. I think it would have held up much better if I had used the pressure treated wood. It seems as though all wooden structures that are intended to last longer than a year are usually made out of pressure treated wood. I suppose our sandbox is an exception but it sure has not help up very well.
We ended up going with the pressure treated. We had heard bad things about it but there did not seem to be much of an option. For anything you want it to last like a swing set that is just going to sit outdoors, I think you pretty much have to use it. We primed and painted it, so I feel like all of the bad stuff is out of the kids’ direct contact. It’s been a year now so it is probably due for a new coat of paint, but it still looks great. I built the kids' a sandbox with regular wood -- I only stained and waterproofed it. It's 3 years old now and it looks pretty bad. I think it would have held up much better if I had used the pressure treated wood. It seems as though all wooden structures that are intended to last longer than a year are usually made out of pressure treated wood. I suppose our sandbox is an exception but it sure has not help up very well.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Down with Fundamentalists
Copy of the First Amendment
United States Constitution
Bill of Rights
Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the "separation of church and state.
Writings by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison suggest the need to establish "a wall of separation" between church and state.
I think our founding fathers knew what they were doing here. Religious dictators cannot tell the people how and what to think! Fundamentalism stops a thinking mind.
The fundamentalist Christians are trying to say, "Black is white." Examples:
"There is no basis for the separation of church and state." The FIRST Amendment, hello! "There is no scientific basis for the theory of evolution." There is no scientific theory that has more evidence. The scientific community is in complete support of the theory of evolution based on decades of evidence compiled from at least 4-5 different scientific fields.
I think this whole secular movement of nondenominational churches is designed to suck in regular people who are not fundamentalist Christians -- and then, they are essentially Baptist/fundamentalist-style churches.
Similarly, the fundamentalist Christians are asking regular people if they would like a return to moral values and a simpler, family-based life. Of course we want that. But then these fundamentalists use this "moral-speak" to suck regular people into changing textbooks to redefine marriage, delete contraceptives, and raise the "controversy" (NONE!) on evolution.
Fundamentalists have a problem thinking critically for themselves and must rely on authority to know how to live. They pass this authoritarian mindset on to their children, whom they are more likely to beat.
Most people on the planet believe in God. We don't need missionaries! Most Americans are Christians. We don't need to be converted! But lately I've been picking up on an attitude from the Fundamentalist Christians. The attitude is "You can't be a REAL CHRISTIAN if you don't believe like me -- fundamentalist." How obnoxious! Just because we can think for ourselves and can interpret Jesus' stories symbolically doesn't mean I'm not a real Christian. I really think I know what Jesus would say to the Fundamentalists who judge, judge, judge! Jesus kissed Lepers and dined with tax collectors and picked up ragged orphans and washed the feet of whores. Did Jesus judge?
No, he loved. And loved and loved. And INCLUDED! And no, I don't think the fundamentalists are going to be the first ones through the gate!
The whole system of fundamentalist logic is Whacko. Certain things are verbatim (fundamentalist) from the bible so we know that is the word of GOD and so we know some things are evil. Uh-oh. According to a fundamentalist interpretation of the bible we are supposed to ... "Get some animals, kill them, chop up their bodies, wave body parts in the air, burn the carcasses, and sprinkle the blood all around -- in precisely the way God tells you. It may well make you sick, but it makes God feel good. 29:11-37 "
It goes on and on. OBVIOUSLY, we are not supposed to take the bible literally. It is an example of the culture in which it was written. I'm sorry folks, but there's no room for the lazy mind or heart in Christianity:
You must think for yourself and treat others as you'd like to be treated.
United States Constitution
Bill of Rights
Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the "separation of church and state.
Writings by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison suggest the need to establish "a wall of separation" between church and state.
I think our founding fathers knew what they were doing here. Religious dictators cannot tell the people how and what to think! Fundamentalism stops a thinking mind.
The fundamentalist Christians are trying to say, "Black is white." Examples:
"There is no basis for the separation of church and state." The FIRST Amendment, hello! "There is no scientific basis for the theory of evolution." There is no scientific theory that has more evidence. The scientific community is in complete support of the theory of evolution based on decades of evidence compiled from at least 4-5 different scientific fields.
I think this whole secular movement of nondenominational churches is designed to suck in regular people who are not fundamentalist Christians -- and then, they are essentially Baptist/fundamentalist-style churches.
Similarly, the fundamentalist Christians are asking regular people if they would like a return to moral values and a simpler, family-based life. Of course we want that. But then these fundamentalists use this "moral-speak" to suck regular people into changing textbooks to redefine marriage, delete contraceptives, and raise the "controversy" (NONE!) on evolution.
Fundamentalists have a problem thinking critically for themselves and must rely on authority to know how to live. They pass this authoritarian mindset on to their children, whom they are more likely to beat.
Most people on the planet believe in God. We don't need missionaries! Most Americans are Christians. We don't need to be converted! But lately I've been picking up on an attitude from the Fundamentalist Christians. The attitude is "You can't be a REAL CHRISTIAN if you don't believe like me -- fundamentalist." How obnoxious! Just because we can think for ourselves and can interpret Jesus' stories symbolically doesn't mean I'm not a real Christian. I really think I know what Jesus would say to the Fundamentalists who judge, judge, judge! Jesus kissed Lepers and dined with tax collectors and picked up ragged orphans and washed the feet of whores. Did Jesus judge?
No, he loved. And loved and loved. And INCLUDED! And no, I don't think the fundamentalists are going to be the first ones through the gate!
The whole system of fundamentalist logic is Whacko. Certain things are verbatim (fundamentalist) from the bible so we know that is the word of GOD and so we know some things are evil. Uh-oh. According to a fundamentalist interpretation of the bible we are supposed to ... "Get some animals, kill them, chop up their bodies, wave body parts in the air, burn the carcasses, and sprinkle the blood all around -- in precisely the way God tells you. It may well make you sick, but it makes God feel good. 29:11-37 "
It goes on and on. OBVIOUSLY, we are not supposed to take the bible literally. It is an example of the culture in which it was written. I'm sorry folks, but there's no room for the lazy mind or heart in Christianity:
You must think for yourself and treat others as you'd like to be treated.
Thursday, November 06, 2003
To. L.A. and back in time for Halloween
I was fortunate enough to go to Los Angeles last week for Microsoft PDC 2003. Besides learning a bunch about future MSFT technologies, we actually got to see and hear Bill Gates.
I'm sure there are nicer parts of L.A., but what we saw left a little to be desired. The LA Convention Center was very nice but the rest that we saw did not leave me aching for more. I won't be disappointed if I don't have to go back there for a while. We did make it to the lovely city of Santa Monica on the coast. I would recommend going there if you are ever in the vicinity; it sure was a breath of fresh air compared to the big city.
I got back from the trip just in time for Halloween. I always love Halloween. Harry dressed up as the Incredible Hulk while Scott dressed up as a leopard. They were both absolutely darling. It was especially nice that we got to share the event with my parents (Nana and Grandpa) and our good friend Mr. Jonathan.
Recommended Halloween beers: Dead Guy Ale (Rogue) and Pumpkinhead Ale (Shipyard)
I'm sure there are nicer parts of L.A., but what we saw left a little to be desired. The LA Convention Center was very nice but the rest that we saw did not leave me aching for more. I won't be disappointed if I don't have to go back there for a while. We did make it to the lovely city of Santa Monica on the coast. I would recommend going there if you are ever in the vicinity; it sure was a breath of fresh air compared to the big city.
I got back from the trip just in time for Halloween. I always love Halloween. Harry dressed up as the Incredible Hulk while Scott dressed up as a leopard. They were both absolutely darling. It was especially nice that we got to share the event with my parents (Nana and Grandpa) and our good friend Mr. Jonathan.
Recommended Halloween beers: Dead Guy Ale (Rogue) and Pumpkinhead Ale (Shipyard)
Friday, October 10, 2003
ZOMBO and Bubb Rubb
Crazy Websites of the Week:
"You can do anything at ZOMBOCOM!" > Shaud-ad to Jonathan for bringing this to my attention. If I could explain it I would.
Bubb Rubb and da Woooo woo > Thanks to our man in Atlan, Karl, for showing us this. Karl says, "I recommend the Original Whistle Tips News Video, and then hit the Bubb Rubb Sound Board for the funky flow."
Enjoy.
"You can do anything at ZOMBOCOM!" > Shaud-ad to Jonathan for bringing this to my attention. If I could explain it I would.
Bubb Rubb and da Woooo woo > Thanks to our man in Atlan, Karl, for showing us this. Karl says, "I recommend the Original Whistle Tips News Video, and then hit the Bubb Rubb Sound Board for the funky flow."
Enjoy.
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
"There are 2 colors in my head..."
I was listening to Radiohead's "Everything in its Right Place" (from Kid A -- I love that song) and I thought to myself, "Hey, you should color you hair black." Then I thought that maybe I should just dye it blond again. Wifey tells me that people change their hair when they don't feel good about themselves. I'll have to think about that one.
We (the family) ate at Cody's Roadhouse for dinner tonight. It was good -- way too much food; we had plenty to bring home. Things to remember: (1) kids eat free there Monday and Tuesday (2) they do not seem to be open for lunch.
We (the family) ate at Cody's Roadhouse for dinner tonight. It was good -- way too much food; we had plenty to bring home. Things to remember: (1) kids eat free there Monday and Tuesday (2) they do not seem to be open for lunch.
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Bee Swarm and More Bananas
We some amazing thing in our back yard this weekend: a bee swarm. Out of nowhere on Saturday we noticed a huge clump of bees in an oak tree in our back yard. Our immediate reaction was to just run inside (which we did). Next I thought, "How do we get rid of such a thing?" I thought of knocking the hundreds of bees right out of the tree with a stick or ball or something but I predicted that this method would only be trouble. So after a little research online, I found that bee swarms are mostly temporary. To the casual observer they look like they might be a beehive, but it turns out that the swarms go away in about a day. This morning I went out and it was still there in full glory so I took some video. However, by this afternoon all but about 3 of them were gone and they left a little honey comb behind hanging from a limb of the tree. I must say it was very cool... and educational.
Our backyard seems to be just full of new things to see and learn. If I didn't mention it already, our baby banana tree recently sprouted some baby "baby" bananas! After just a little more than a year in our backyard, it has grown more than 7 feet and spawned off about 4 other trees. Hopefully we'll be able to eat them in a month or so.
I'm sorry I don't currently have pictures of all of the cool goings on in our backyard but I've been unable to easily grab the still pictures off of our digital video recorder using Windows XP. We have a Sony Digital8 DCR-TRV510 and had no problems pulling the pictures off of the camera using Sony's PictureGear 3.2 "Lite" (came with the camera) from Windows 98/Me. Apparently Sony doesn't have an upgrade for this for XP and the right drivers don't exist for the camera's serial connection to the PC on Windows XP. If anyone has had any luck grabbing the stills from this camera on to XP please let me know, I would appreciate it. At this point, the only option I can see is to install a Win98 VM on to XP just for getting the pictures off of the camera. Sounds lame, right?
Our backyard seems to be just full of new things to see and learn. If I didn't mention it already, our baby banana tree recently sprouted some baby "baby" bananas! After just a little more than a year in our backyard, it has grown more than 7 feet and spawned off about 4 other trees. Hopefully we'll be able to eat them in a month or so.
I'm sorry I don't currently have pictures of all of the cool goings on in our backyard but I've been unable to easily grab the still pictures off of our digital video recorder using Windows XP. We have a Sony Digital8 DCR-TRV510 and had no problems pulling the pictures off of the camera using Sony's PictureGear 3.2 "Lite" (came with the camera) from Windows 98/Me. Apparently Sony doesn't have an upgrade for this for XP and the right drivers don't exist for the camera's serial connection to the PC on Windows XP. If anyone has had any luck grabbing the stills from this camera on to XP please let me know, I would appreciate it. At this point, the only option I can see is to install a Win98 VM on to XP just for getting the pictures off of the camera. Sounds lame, right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
