Some Blog Site

I was going to write an answer to the people who ask “Wouldn’t it be nice if the Christmas season lasted all year?” but it turns out I already did.

Rather than write it again, I am going to link to my previous post about the Christmas season and advise you to read that.

My wife noted that stores are opening for Black Friday on Thursday night. Not only does that not make it a Friday event, it also encroaches on the sanctity of Thanksgiving. Dear stores: please stay closed on Thanksgiving.

Be sure to drive courteously around this guy:

It’s a different take on the usual family stickers.

If they asked me though, I would vote for having an AT-ST silhouette to represent the child.

Good Movie Sequels

• Star Wars, Episodes 5 and 6
• Rocky 2, 3, and 4
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Toy Story 2 and 3
• Any Jackie Chan movies made in China

Bad Movie Sequels

• The Matrix 2 and 3 (Reloaded and Revolutions)
• Rocky 5
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Back to the Future 2 and 3
• Any Jackie Chan movies made in America

The movies on the bad list are not worth your time. If you have an opportunity to see those movies, I advise you to skip them. The first movie in the series may be entertaining, but quit while you’re ahead and do not see these.

Regarding the movies on the good list: If you liked the first movie in the series, I think you’ll like the others that I listed.

For both lists, I restricted the list to movies that I have seen. For example, I’ve heard that Iron Man 2 is not worth seeing, but since I have not seen it, I did not include it.

Any others that I forgot? Or what would you like to add to either list?

Parent Tip: Do not leave a toddler unattended with a banana. Or blueberries. Unless you like cleaning them out of upholstery.

Parent Tip: If you’re carrying a child on your back or shoulders and you accidentally cause a minor injury (e.g. he’s swinging his legs as you walk through a doorway and he knocks his ankle against the frame, or you take a turn a little too wide and bump his shoulder on the wall corner), just say “Ouch!” before he does. This happens occasionally with Gamma, and when I say “Ow!”, he will laugh and correct me with “No, that was me!” and then he will forget that he was supposed to be hurt.

Parent Tip: If your pre-schooler asks for a bowl of Lucky Charms, give him only a dozen pieces at a time. He can get the next dozen pieces after he has eaten all of the current pieces. If you don’t run breakfast this way, he will have had a bowl of marshmallows and you will be left with a bowl of plain cereal pieces.

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.
(more…)

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.