The Gamer

My 4 year old son can’t read yet. But don’t try to tell him that. He will play Nintendo games until he falls asleep. That means he’d play sun up to sun down if we’d allow it which sometimes happens when his mom takes a trip to Utah.

But that fact is that our son loves games. And he especially loves the Zelda games. He’ll play Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64 for a while. Then he’ll move to the Gamecube and jump from Windwaker to Twilight Princess. I don’t see how he can keep track of them all. But if you ask him where he is in any of the the games, he’ll give you a detailed description such as, “I’m in the forest cave where there’s lava and I need to get two more keys and free one more monkey before I fight the spider”. That’s just the type of kid that he is.

But when he gets stuck he will ask Kim or me to pull out the strategy guides and help him get through. Most of the time I can’t make out where he is in relation to the guide so I’m of dubious help. But he’ll open the books, look at the pictures and figure out the way through the levels at an amazing pace for a little guy.

The Mandatory HR Videos

I watched the mandatory HR videos at work today. You know the ones I’m talking about. They range from sexual harassment to diversity to proper ergonomics.

And they are unintentionally funny.

Here’s an actual question from one of the exams:

Which is not a good practice when sitting at the computer:

A. Tilting head up
B. Bend knees at 90 degree angle
C. Feet dangling just above floor
D. Keeping back straight

If you answered C you’re on your way to practicing proper ergonomics in the workplace. Congrats!

The acting reminds me of something you’d see on one of the public access channel late at night. What makes them funny is that the topics are so serious but the acting is so bad that it’s like watching a Jr. High play go terribly wrong.

The company I worked for right out of college took a different approach. They hired people with the expertise to come in and teach us in person. We could ask questions and interact with the instructor. I found this far more valuable than watching a video that made the actors on Baywatch looks like Emmy winners.

The Twin Maclaren Stroller

I’ve been thinking of all the products we’ve bought over the years in preparation for each baby. We loaded up on products when our first child was born because, like most parents, we freaked out a bit and felt like we needed to have everything ready to go the day our baby arrived. We were wrong but we’ve improved with each child. We are expecting our fourth child the first part of December and we’ve been making a mental list of items we need to have on hand such as a new car seat.

We’ve made some dumb purchases over the years but the twin stroller wasn’t one of them. When our third child arrived our second was still crawling around making it hard to go anywhere without a stroller. But what do you do with two kids who can’t yet walk? Call in the twin!

We looked at a number of models from Graco, Cosco, Evenflo, and Peg Perago, but we kept coming back to the twin stroller from Maclaren that Lisa at ParentsNeed recommended. Two features made the Maclaren better than the other models we tested: It was very lightweight and easy to turn with one hand. The ability to turn with one hand may not seem like a big deal but it was to Kim because, with three kids, she’d often be holding the hand of our oldest child while wheeling the stroller with the other hand.

So I bought a blue Maclaren twin wondering how much use we’d actually get out of it. But Kim was right and I was wrong as usual because we’ve certainly got our money’s worth out of that stroller. It’s perfect for trips to the mall, walks in the park or around the neighborhood. It’s light enough for Kim to easily lift in and out of the car.

If you have two young kids, even if they can walk, I highly recommend it. We bought ours at Albee Baby.

The Test

I’ve come up with a simple test that helps me determine whether or not I really like my job. It’s so simplistic that most people will reject it immediately. But I’ve found that it works for me.

On a Sunday evening after enjoying a couple of days off work I ask myself this question:

“Am I excited, indifferent or depressed about going into work tomorrow?”

If I’m excited I’m in the right job.

If I’m indifferent, I might have other things on my mind, but it’s a red flag.

If I’m depressed, I should find another job immediately.

Sigg for Kids

Sigg has a line of aluminum water bottles called Baby Sigg. They are well-made, easy to use and our kids love them. They are perfect to take along in the car and they make it fun to drink water instead of high calorie root beer or juice.

You can sometimes find them at REI but Amazon carries the widest selection I’ve come across. Since I bought my bright blue Sigg last month, Kim decided she needed a red one and I bought a black one for home. I’ve drank a lot more water at home and at work since I bought them.

The Small Things

10 small things about life that I enjoy:

1. Opening a new can of tennis balls
2. The perfect sized puddle to drive through
3. Pulling on brand new socks that haven’t been washed
4. The fizz sound of Diet Coke poured over ice
5. A warm sweatshirt, fresh from the dryer
6. The last few swigs of a Starbucks hot cocoa that’s mostly whip cream
7. Swishing a long 3-point shot that makes the net get stuck
8. An “I Love the 80’s” marathon on VH1
9. The shift from 3rd to 4th gear
10. Listening to Kim play “I Often Go Walking” on the piano

Hot Tub

Our house sits on Lea Hill. A busy two lane road connects the older downtown area of Auburn to the homes on Lea Hill and the community college up the street. It’s a road we take every day either off the hill into town or up the road further where it connects to highway 18.

We’ve lived in our home for nearly two years and I’m surprised this is the first time I’ve noticed that one of our neighbors who lives on this busy street leading to the college have a hot tub on their front lawn. When I first noticed this a few weeks ago I figured it was a temporary placement.

Well it’s now been a few weeks and I’ve had a number of opportunities to drive past the not so private hot tub. Best I can tell the hot tub has indeed found it’s home in the front yard. The owners have secured it with an outline of cement. They have placed flower pots and other small decorations around the hot tub. But the event that tipped me off to its permanent placement was driving by after work one evening and seeing the owners cleaning and filling the hot tub.

What could possibly be the reasoning behind putting a hot tub on your front lawn, less than 10 feet from a busy street leading to a college? I hope they keep a cover on that thing or it could turn into the community party hot tub.

Thoughts on Motorola Q

In the few days since I bought a Motorola Q, I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. Better than I expected. I like it better than my Palm 650 that Kim’s now using.

Pros:

Cons:

But overall, I really like the Q. I wish I could switch to T-Mobile for for their $20 unlimited data plan (compared to $45 for Verizon) but I get a better signal at my home with Verizon. But being able to receive and reply to my Microsoft email is the killer app here. If I could have done this on the Palm I would not have switched phones. Having Messenger on the Q is also great.

Now I just need to find a good Twitter program for the Q. I know I can use SMS but it’s so ugly. I’d love a portable version of Tweetr.

Motorola Q

I’ve enjoyed my Palm 650 quite a bit. But after three weeks of watching my coworkers being able to read email on their Windows Mobile phones I decided to take the plunge and get a Motorola Q. I happened to be looking over Craigslist just as a lady was posting her new, black Q for sale. I called her and bought the phone tonight.

This will be the first phone I’ve owned that run Windows Mobile and I’m not sure what to think so far. It’s not quite as responsive as my old Palm but it’s not bad. The screen is clear and bright. If I’m able to pull my email and use Messenger on it, it will be worth the hassle to switch. It’s incredibly thin and light and I like the black finish. I can’t believe it’s only been three weeks at Microsoft and I’m already drinking the Kool-Aid.

Yip Yip Martians

The Yip Yip Martians are my favorite Sesame Street characters. They still make me laugh after all these years. Thank goodness for YouTube.

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