Some Blog Site

Introduction

In the normal course of events, I read about 2 books a year – whatever I can get through during our summer vacation.

This year, however, I made it through 7 books – 4 on vacation and 3 at home on whatever evenings I could manage.

But first, a disclaimer: I actually read over 100 books a year. But 99% of those are books that I am reading to the children and have read bunch of times before. They involve characters such as Papa, Mama, Brother, and Sister Bear. Or Little Critters. Or a Tank Engine. You get the idea.

My book reading started earlier this year. There was a book sale and my wife got Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief for Alpha. We had heard a little bit about the book but did not know if it would be appropriate for him to read, so I started reading it to gauge its content.

I was going to read a couple of chapters one evening, but when I finally looked at the clock it was after midnight and I was halfway through the book. I finished it a couple of nights later. It was very engaging. I do not oppose Alpha’s reading the book, but he’s not old enough yet. Maybe 6th grade. He’ll understand some more of the themes then, and the monsters might not be as frightening. Think about it – should a kid in elementary school be reading descriptions of the Underworld? How long would it take him to close his eyes that night?

We visited my sister and family not long after that. It turns out that my nephew has the whole Percy Jackson series – all 5 books – so he lent them to me for my vacation reading.
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Businesses should address customers formally.

Not necessarily “Sir” or “Ma’am” (although I wouldn’t complain if they did) – a simple “Mr. So-and-so” or “Miss So-and-so” would suffice.

I don’t know when the change started, but I do know when I first noticed it. My family was checking into a hotel a few years ago and the clerk called my dad by his first name when she handed him his room key. That surprised me, because until that point people in retail settings have always called my dad by his last name (with a “Mr.” in front).

And that’s the way it should be: when talking to a customer, call him by an appropriate title.

Maybe stores are trying to differentiate themselves by appearing more comfortable, more welcoming. More of a small-town place where everybody knows your name.

It doesn’t work that way. You call people by their first names because you actually know them, not because you read their names off their credit cards.

Perhaps a customer likes to be called by his first name. He is still free to inform the clerk or cashier or waitress to call him by his first name. But to default to being on a first-name basis? I see that as a decline in manners and civility.

Another situation, which is related to the previous point, is when making reservations. Whether you call ahead or it’s just a busy night and you have to wait for a table, the receptionist/maitre d’ will ask for your name. I have noticed more and more people giving their first names. And more and more businesses expecting first names.

When I give my last name, the hostess will repeat it but she will change it to the closest-sounding first name. Then I have to correct her and spell it. That has happened enough that now, when asked for my name, I will usually start with “My last name is” and then give my name and then spell it. I try to leave no room for error.

If prompted for a first name, I am tempted to reply “Mario”.

Intercom-type static noise
Mario, party of 3. Mario, party of 3.

I picture anyone who happens to be a Nintendo fan also waiting in the lobby smiling to himself when he hears that announcement.

Just a warning to those of you whose kids are too young to talk: when they do talk, they will remind you of things you said. So please remember your rights.

You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be held against you in a subsequent disagreement.
You do not need an attorney – you are the parent.

In other words, don’t promise your children things in order to placate them temporarily. They will remember what you told them and will ask about it later (“But you said we could get the squirt guns after dinner…”). You as a parent should mean what you say.

I have four children.

They watch me.

In order to know how to behave and what to do, they watch me. As they are growing, I am their main example of an adult. They might not realize that they’re learning from me, but they are.

How do I speak to their mother? That is how they will speak to their wives.

How much TV do I watch? That is what they will watch.

What sports do I follow? They’ll probaby enjoy those later too.

How do I fill my free time? That’s how they’ll learn to occupy themselves.

Which is why I want you to tell me to stop if you see me playing games on my phone. I want to stop doing that, because it is a waste of time.

What good is it, really? Are my children going to brag to their friends about how well I play cards by myself? And they’re not even real cards – I’m just tapping my finger on a rectangle of glass.

When my kids are grown, which will they remember: that I played soccer in the yard with them or that I spent their childhood looking at a rectangle in my hands?

I read an article in WORLD magazine that discussed the rise of online games. While it has been great for the people at Zynga, the makers of Farmville and Words with Friends, I wonder how great it is for the general population.

The main quote from someone at Zynga stood out to me. He said how their games were perfect for filling idle time throughout the day.

The problem I have with that is that our brains need rest. Bits of downtime throughout the day are good for the brain.

People need to learn how to be quiet without being bored. To be unoccupied peacefully.

Can you be alone with only your thoughts for company?

If not, what does that say about your thoughts?

How prevalent is daydreaming anymore?

From where would the great ideas come if everyone is Drawing Something instead of Doing Something?

It seems to me that any new development or trend in society was foretold by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World. And online games are no exception.

On the surface, at first glance, you would equate Huxley’s soma to today’s illegal drugs. Which is true to some degree, but I extend that to anything that placates the masses into complacency.
Are there grumblings in the population? Release a new app for their phones! Are the people unhappy? Stream them some more movies!

People consume and consume and consume. We hear about that in the current obesity studies and health measures. But shouldn’t the same principle apply to our minds?

If all I’m doing is consuming games and apps and tweets and blogs, is my mind being exercised or stuffed?

I try to produce as much as I consume – match my caloric output with my input and limit my input. That applies to the web/internet/social media too. I’m producing things now – the key is to figure out how to produce useful things. More puns are fun, but what good does that do the world?

I need to also apply that to my spiritual life. To be still and know that He is God. To meditate on His Word. And then to produce. I am excellent at sitting in the pew and consuming. How can I balance my spiritual input with my spiritual output? I bet it starts with my four children.

In summary:
a bit of entertainment = fine,
excess entertainment = amusing yourself to death.

(If it was true for television, then it is even more true for the things that succeed the TV).

Last year, we inherited a large play structure from some friends. The only cost was time and effort in that we had to remove it and transport it ourselves. After an afternoon of breaking concrete and sawing extra posts and digging, we had the fort on the trailer and drove it 30 miles to our house. That was slow going, but we got it there.

Arrival

Here is how it arrived.

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I found a way to get a free car wash for every four trips to the gas station.

It might not be the best quality wash. It might leave some drips and streaks. And it requires some effort on your part. But it is free.

Just take the windshield squeegee and, after cleaning your windshield, clean the side of your vehicle. Every fill-up, do a different side: 4 sides = 1 complete wash every 4th time.

I left the bottom of the door alone, so you could see the before and after.

I know you could do the whole vehicle at once, resulting in a free car wash for every one trip to the gas station. But that would be too obvious.

Here is a summary of a recent Saturday – a day in the life of Some Guy. You could consider it to be somewhat typical.

• Get awakened by a child
• Get breakfast for the kids
• Say goodbye to wife, who is off to brunch with a friend
• Acquiesce to the kids’ pleas to watch Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
• Get Delta down for his nap
• Start organizing clutter on my nightstand
• Find an escrow overpayment refund check from mortgage company
• Read the fine print and find out that the check expires on Sunday, when the banks are not open.
• Look at the clock and see that it is 11:30 and the wife has the minivan so there’s no way I’m getting to the bank before noon.
• Find out that the banks are now open until 1:00 on Saturdays.
• Call wife and find out she has just left brunch and will be home by noon.
• Breathe a sigh of relief and a thank-you prayer.
• Start lunch for the kids
• Eat my own lunch
• Go to the bank
• Play outside in the snow with the older kids
• Make hot chocolate for them. Do not forget the marshmallows.
• Replace toilet seat. (This took over an hour because the old bolts had rusted over and needed to be cut off. Have you tried running a Dremel tool on the underside of a toilet seat hinge with only one foot of clearance to the wall? I went through all of my cutoff wheels – the bolt released as the last cutoff wheel broke.)
• Watch baby and set table as wife prepares dinner
• Eat dinner
• Clean dining room
• Watch DVD of some episodes of The Muppet Show season 1 with the whole family
• Put Gamma to bed
• Feed Delta
• Watch Delta crawl around
• Put Alpha and Beta to bed
• Walk Delta around until he’s drowsy
• Put Delta to bed
• Say goodnight to wife
• Internet time for myself, until I’m drowsy. And then some.