Happy Birthday Jason!

Welcome to 30

Now you can't give me crap for being 30 and you being in your 20's :P

Bacon Floss?

Cinnamon? Mint? Nope.

I am not sure how I feel about this. I think I would prefer soap as generally I am looking for a "clean" flavor and feeling when I floss. But it seems I should post something about a bacon related item. If I would have remembered earlier, I would have posted about the 3lb. of bacon in a can.

Replies

Thanks Jay for the book recommendation. I will likely grab a copy when it gets into a translation I can read. Although an interesting NPR report I heard recently discussed that some of child behavior problems stem from a lack of unstructured play. The basic premise of the research was that by allowing children to play outside of the control of adults allow kids to develop the skills to self-regulate. This also gives them skills in determining power structures in the groups of kids and learn what is acceptible in dealing with other kids. I think there is something there. At the same point, as parents, we are so heavily scheduled, we end up doing the same to our kids, even if unintentionally. But when I looked at the reasons you put in from the book I thought some just didn't make sense.

Reasons listed:

1. destruction of the larger family unit, thus loneliness of the parents with the resulting desperate need to connect with the inmature child
2. pressure to perform makes parents push kids harder than they can actually take
3. lack of role models for healty parenting, both for parents and for kids
4. misguided, romantic drive for freedom of mind and action, even in a 2 year old (the Flower Children are reaping a harvest they did not expect with their anti-authoritarian attitudes)
5. lack of understanding of the healthy development steps of a forming mind

So let's see if I can make another numbered list to talk about them.

1. Alright, I totally buy this one. Add to it smaller family sizes has led to smaller family groups. And add into this one, the break down of local neighborhood groups. Remember when you knew all your neighbors?
2. What is meant by this? Is it a lack of giving praise? Honestly I think this ends up only affecting small pockets of parents. I think more likely you get parents that are involved in their prior lives and fail to give the appropriate time to their new lives with kids.
3. Dysfunctional begets more dysfunctional is the basics there. In the end, we will tend to fall back as parents to the same things that our parents did. Those are our role models. As for kids, it comes down to us as parents.
4. Yep.
5. I am pretty sure that we are further along understanding the developing mind than we were 20 or 50 years ago. But the bottom levels of understanding in society are probably at what we were years ago though, is that bad?

Really, I try to compare what society is like now versus 50 years or 100 years ago. Is what we have as a society better or worse than before. I honestly think we are doing better just because we have time to think about these problems. But then we take these things that could help us get better and we blow them out of proportion.

Alright I think talked to long on that topic given I only planned to give thanks :)

To James on the same thread, personally responsibility is not a trait we have instilled in the current culture. Definitely is something we should work toward.

Otherwise, that is all I have for now. Back to work, since deadlines are looming.

I hate Big Media

In case you haven't heard, there was a tragedy in the Akihabara district of Japan. 7 people were killed and many injured when an individual with an unhealthy mind decided to go on a rampage. I really feel bad for those that have suffered.

What has got me a bit irritated this morning, is how it was covered in the New York Times. They have taken this horrible event and then applied a hatred for video games in it. Sigh, why do they feel the need to do this through a time of suffering for the people in that area of the world.

Offending article

He also wrote that he liked the popular video games Tales of Destiny, a fantasy role-playing series that employs the distinctive art style known as anime, in which adult characters often resemble children, and Gran Turismo, a car racing game in which the cars can crash and suffer damage but the focus is on racing rather than destruction and human figures are rarely visible.

Review: Maple Bacon Lollipop

Alright, ish was kind enough to send me some Maple Bacon Lollipops due to the fact that we have hypothesized that all things bacon are good. I want to reaffirm that guess as these are quite good if and only if you are prepared for what they are delivering. My first try at the lollipop was not a good experience. I wasn't sure what to expect, but at the same point the lollipop just didn't sit right.

The part the initially surprised me was how not sweet this lollipop is. The maple flavor is subtle, and not overly sweet. It was kinda water down flavor. The second part of the flavor that hits you is the underlying salty, smoky flavor that is there as well. It really tastes like you took your bacon and dragged it through the last bits of maple syrup still on your plate. You can really see the bacon pieces in the lollipop as well.

Highly recommended to bacon lovers.

Lord Stanley's Cup

Well I was able to watch the NHL finals this year and it offered a great experience for me. The main reason for that is because my two favorite teams were playing for it all, although my favorite is the Wings. Overall I found this cup well played by the Wings, but the Penguins did not until their back was against the wall. Especially in game six when the started having better puck control and being more aggressive as the Wings got the puck. So I am looking forward to next year and I really hope that the Penguins can keep their team together.

Back from the Midwest

Well, I had a bit of an absence from blogging and the web in general as I toured around the portions of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan visiting friends and family and letting Miranda get acquainted with them. We had a couple of rainy days, but really ran into absolutely lovely weather sitting in the mid 70's most of the time.

Originally we were supposed to go to a wedding on Memorial Day weekend, but in the end the travel was trying and Miranda can be a bit stubborn and exhausting, so we made a quick change in plans and headed to Michigan to let Miranda unwind from being placed in a harness for a long time. This gave us an extra day with my grandma where Miranda could be her goofy self and skin her knee.

Sunday though was a party my parents put together and they were able to get a lot of my relatives together and just have a nice cookout. We were able to get another Aunt and Uncle to visit on Memorial Day, and overall it is was a very fun weekend. Even managed to get a bit of sunburn on the bald spot.

Tuesday, Michelle and I had one of very few and infrequent dates. Went to El Rodeo and caught Ironman. Great food and a fun movie.

We then spent the next 4 days slowly visiting my friends from high school and seeing all of their kids. We also spent a day going to Grand Rapids where we got Miranda's photos done by Sadies. I think next year, we are going to use our friend Jodi as she takes some really good pictures. Either way, once I get the pictures I will be sure to post and share.

Either way, we spent some more time with family and friends, and on some level we were very sad to go. We caught Michigan at a beautiful time and it is good seeing all the folks were are friends with. But in the end, we are exhausted. Miranda was exhausted. So we spent all day today traveling back to our home in the Northwest.