Shallow Thinker

The video posted below is for my friend Fadi…and anyone that knows him.

‘Warcraft’ Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing ‘Warcraft’

2009 will be here in just a few hours.  I’ve been working on making some resolutions, but they’re really boring to do by myself.  So, I’m asking for some help.  Got any ideas on resolutions that I can declare?  Feel free to submit practical or impractical, hopeful or absurd.  I’ll post a finalized list on New Year’s Eve (or Day, depending on how lazy I am).  In a year, if this blog is still up and running (for those of you reading on facebook, it’s www.shallowthinker.com), I’ll do a retrospective of how I fared.  Here are some things I was thinking about:

Health Goals - gotta have at least one
Easy Goals - what good is a list if there aren’t a few that I can easily check-off
Overachieving Goals - things that I’d love to do, but probably don’t have the discipline to actually do.  These easily overlap the “Health Goals” category.
Emotional Hubub Goals - We gotta have a few sappy ones in there.  Usually, these can’t be graded.
Food Goals - Probably completely contrary to “Health Goals”, but are more fun to achieve

So come on, gimme some good suggestions!

I think that this is the first year that Butterfly has been able to anticipate and appreciate all that is entailed with the holidays.  I would like to write eloquently like my wife so that the perfect representations of the scenes swirl in your head and the emotions are almost palatable.  If you’ve ever read my blog before, you’re aware that I do not have this ability.  But that won’t stop me from trying!  (I’m a slow learner.)

Butterfly woke up like any other morning and played quietly in her room.  I crept in and found her sitting by her lamp reading to Mickie Mouse.  After playing for a few minutes, Kelley and I escorted her down the stairs while Ladybug slept soundly.  (We figured that Ladybug wouldn’t care one way or the other…we were right.)  I knew that she must have forgotten about what was to come, so I knelt down beside her and asked “What’s today?”  And she responded, “Christmas.”  Then I pressed “Do you think anyone visited last night?”  The biggest and cutest grin swept across her face.  As she whispered “Santa Clause”, her hand gripped mine.  She pounced into the den and discovered the selection of things that awaited her.  The astonishment and enjoyment on her face was priceless.

Eventually, Ladybug  joined the fun.  Butterfly did a great job helping her sister find her little toys.  I’m not sure if she was really excited for her sister or just trying to keep her away from her own stuff.  It’s tough to tell with sisters.  We eventually weaned them away from their piles to have a complete breakfast of cinnamon roles.  We finished out the morning by exchanging our wrapped gifts and playing as hard as we could so that each minute was filled with the most toyness that it could hold.  The biggest gift that I received this Christmas was the joy of my oldest daughter.  I relished her unbridled enthusiasm mixed with complete innocence.

———————-

In stark contrast to our setting, the news blares stories about a “Santa Killing Spree” and other stories that make your skin crawl.  Can we really be living in the same world?  After special times like this with my girls, I flinch when the cruelties of society are mentioned.  I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s almost as if my time bathed in the innocence and love of my children make me more sensitive to the harshness around me.

I’m no theologian or philosopher, but in my little world that’s the biggest story of Christmas.  This world is harsh and full of evils that I could never dream of in my worst nightmare.  We have tried for centuries on end to combat those evils using our own devices.  Legislation. War. Punishment.  They seem to only make matters worse and to divide people further.  In what seems like a lost cause of society, the only way to melt the hearts of those around us starts with the innocence of a child.

Our poor little Christmas tree.  We put it out the day after Thanksgiving and there it sits…all alone.  No presents under it’s pre-lit branches.  Just a tree skirt and an aluminum stand break the monotony of the hardwood floor.  Even Charlie Brown would be disappointed.

Putting wrapped gifts out is a difficult decision to make with young kids.  Butterfly is old enough to understand the concept of waiting.  Sure, she’ll ask us to open the gifts approximately 643 times each hour, but she knows her limits.  Ladybug, on the other hand, does not see these items as gifts that will bring her joy when opened.  She sees wrapping paper that will bring her joy immediately if she can just tear it into small bits and scatter it across the floor.  Because of this, we’ve kept all of the gifts hidden in a top-secret location.  But it just doesn’t seem right to have a bare floor.  We need to have some things wrapped and under the tree.

Last night we decided it was time.  We put in a romantic, Christmas movie (The Patriot) and pulled out all the gifts.  Immediately, we realized that we had purchased enough for Christmas, Easter, birthdays, long weekends, random Canadian holidays, and even most Mondays.  We sorted items into piles.  I handled the logistics, organization, and labeling.  Kelley deemed which items could wait and which needed to go out this holiday.  When we finished sorting and determining that the piles were about as even as we could get them, we started wrapping.  (Yes, I have OCD tendencies.  Yes, I took me much longer to wrap mine than Kelley did.  Yes, mine were very pretty.)

Slightly after midnight, the movie was finished, the scraps were cleaned, and the parents were exhausted.  As I turned off the light, I glanced over at the tree, now with some presents neatly wrapped and fanned under its branches.  A slight chill cut through the house.  Now it felt right.

I am thankful for my girls and their excitement.  I am thankful for my wife as she helps me to show and teach our girls that the world is a difficult place, but love conquesrs all things.  And, in this moment of reflection, I am thankful that I am at work today so that I don’t have to deal with the girls trying to get at those gifts.  Good luck, Kelley!

My Father-in-Law has gotten me very interested in a new TV show.  Unfortunately, our cable doesn’t have that channel.  (I’m such a cheapskate that our cable isn’t even called “basic”, it’s called “limited basic.”)  So, I’ve has to listen to the FiL talk about this show where some guy trains dogs with magic.  When we visited their house a couple of weekends ago, I got to see it for myself.  Sure enough, the guy is magic.  Problematic dogs immediately follow his commands.  (Well, they do on TV, anyhow.  I don’t know how much they edit out of the show, so I’ll just assume that the transformation is instantaneous.)

Well, Cesar and my father-in-law have inspired me.  Our dogs are very loving and calm…except when we attempt to take them for a walk.  They turn into sled dogs training for the Iditarod.  It has become such a hassle that we’ve just stopped trying.  I know that they need their exercise, but it seems to be not worth the trouble.  But, like I said, I’m inspired now.  I have spent a few hours over the past few days working with the dogs and trying to train them to walk.

In my short time as a dog trainer, I have decided that Cesar Milan definitely possess some supernatural dog-training skills because our transformation has not been instantaneous.  Heck, I can’t even tell if there’s been any transformation.  I’ve looked over the site and have seen some things that I’ve been doing wrong.  A neighbor even stopped and talked with me yesterday and gave me some hints.  (Was it that obvious?  Geez, I must stink at this thing.)

So cast your vote here.  Will I succeed in training the dogs or will I give up?  Get your votes in early and you might get a prize….maybe a picture of the dogs dragging me down the street or something.  If you’d prefer to give helpful hints, you can do that, too.

Here are a few pictures to illustrate how much my family appreciates my hard work.  I labor tirelessly to rake the leaves…

My first semester of Graduate school is over.  Kelley and I decided that I was old enough to take on a whole class.  Wouldn’t you know, I passed it.  More importantly, I met the grade requirement for work to pay for it.

Most smart people would realize that it’s a good formula.  Take one class, focus on it, don’t get too stressed, and pass with flying colors…But I’m not a smart people.  I’ve decided that next semester, I’ll take two classes!

This past semester’s class wasn’t the typical engineering course.  I had to write a couple of papers and act like I knew what I was doing.  The next two will be more of the engineering basics.  Materials will deal with metals, grain structure, martensite, and various other things that I’ve completely forgotten since undergrad.  The other course I’m signed-up for is called Facilities Layout.  I took it on because it sounded decently easy and it had a very convenient time when the course was offered.

I look forward to writing in a few weeks about how hard it all is and begging you for sympathy!

The doctor wants me to lose a few pounds.  I currently weigh 182, most of which is in my biceps and my massive pectorals.  (Sorry ladies, no pictures.  I don’t want any jealous husbands to deal with.)  I just happen to turn 30 in July.  (*cough*mark your calendars*cough*)  So, I’m thinking that I’m going to set myself a goal to hit my target weight (170) by my 30th birthday (*cough*send cash*cough*).

A wise person would note that I am going to set a goal and not that I have set a goal.  (you had to go back and catch it, didn’t you?)  So why not set the goal now?  simple.  If I set the goal now, then anything I do in the next couple of weeks will be detrimental to that target.  However, if I set the goal for after the new year, I can splurge for the rest of the holidays and then hit it.  As an added bonus, the goal is automatically turned into a New Year’s resolution.  And we all know how often those fail.  So, if I fail, it’s not my fault…it’s the design of the system!  This is brilliant!

So what’s so important about this week that I need to wait?  It’s Food Week 2008.  This is one of the most brilliant ideas in the history of mankind.  All week, people in my department bring food and put it in an empty office.  We all rotate and participate so that at any given time, there are cookies, meats, dips, drinks, or delectable combination of any of those.  This morning, I walked into the office and smelled sausage gravy.  Tomorrow promises pigs-in-a-blanket.  I expect to see chili and ro-tel dip later in the week.

Boy am I glad that I’m not on a diet this week!  One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

No thanks, I like living in my phat house -

http://www.bouncingredball.com/2008/12/10/20-really-thin-buildings-and-houses-in-japan/

She’s already better than I’ll ever be…

Tonight is my first final exam towards my Masters.  I put some time into studying this weekend, but probably not enough.  Last night, after the girls were in bed, I opened the book and my notes.  What followed was one of the most intense 15-minute sessions of staring at pages that you’ve ever witnessed.  I don’t think I absorbed any information.  I just flipped and stared, flipped and stared.  I finally decided to leave the house and go somewhere to force myself to study.  After about 45 minutes of light review, I gave up.

Studying is tough.  Not because of the material, but because of the focus that is required.  The phone rings, the kids yell, a lights flashes, there’s music in the background, work is on my mind, the family needs some time, a show broadcast in HD is on the TV and I can’t stop staring at it…..and the list goes on.

Got any tips?  What’s the best way to clear the mind and zone-in on the task at hand?

Want a bad example of something that is “free”?  Too bad, I’m giving you one anyhow.

Let’s just suppose for a moment that a friend of ours has found himself with a TV capable of displaying HD (high-definition).  And, for the sake of this example, let’s suppose that said person lived in middle Georgia, had cable, and wanted to explore the beauty of various channels that are broadcast in HD.  Are you with me so far?

OK, so this “friend” of ours goes on the cable company’s website and is amazed to learn that eventhough he has the basic of most basic cables, some HD programming is available for free….make that free*.

Apparently, the company gives HD signals for “free”.  According to the fine print, however, you have to have their special converter box in order to view these channels.    Well, I’m not a stickler for details, so I call to inquire about how much this costs…I mean our friend called to see how much this box costs.  Not for sale.  What?!  You mean they won’t sell me the box?  Correct.  You can only rent it for a monthly fee.

Since I’m a resourceful guy, I started looking around to see what commercially available options there are out there. Not so fast, Buck-o.  The cable company claims that commercially available boxes will not work with their signal.  (This might be a bluff, but it’s an expensive one to call.)

So here’s what it looks like.  The company offers this service “free”, but the only way to get it is by paying a monthly fee.  Doesn’t sound free to me.  Surely there’s something I’m missing.  I called the company.  After making sure I had all the details, our conversation went something like this:

Me – “So the service isn’t really ‘free’, then is it?”
Cox – “Yes, it’s completely free!”
Me – “Can I buy a box to watch it?”
Cox – “No, you have to rent the box from us.”
Me – “Let me get this straight.  Your service is ‘free’, but I can’t utilize it unless I pay a monthly fee?”
Cox – “No, that’s incorrect.  You can use it, but you need to pay for the equipment rental.”
Me – (trying not to yell) “If I don’t pay some monthly amount to your company, I can’t view the channels, right?”
Cox – “correct”
Me – (giving up) “THEN IT’S NOT ‘FREE’”
Cox – “Well, if you want to look at it that way, you’re welcome to do so, but we provide this service free to our customers.”
Me – “…..”

So there you have it.  A free service that comes with a monthly fee.  Isn’t that nice of them?  Good thing I protected the identities of my friend and the company.