Marilyn's book got reviewed

This is Marilyn's toy book. You can check it out at http://thetoymaker.com/
She's had millions of her toys downloaded by people all over the world. It's pretty cool to see her be able to touch that many people's lives in a positive way.

George Carlin 1937-2008

I grew up listening to George Carlin records. I was introduced to them by a friend who had an older brother and he would let us listen to his records--they were much cooler than ours. My sister Val and I would memorize some of the cleaner routines and repeat them at the dinner table. Everyone one would laugh till it hurt. We thought his drug humor was funny even though we did "get" all of the joke.

Through George Carlin I got interested in all sorts of other comedians and writers. Every time I use the word "stuff" I think about his riff on "stuff".

Earlier this year, we rented his last HBO special from net flicks and thought we'd watch it as a family. We talked to our son before and prepped him for the language part; none of this is repeatable at school. That many swear words just got boring.
I enjoyed his observations and his message that we need to not take things for granted, but the swearing got old fast. Maybe I'm getting old?

Here's the wikipedia link for him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_carlin

Grooming gone bad

Most days I am so proud of my child.  

Then this evening he was combing his hair and somehow GOT HIS COMB STUCK IN HIS HAIR!  How does this happen?

Maybe we're just crappy parents for letting him use something so obviously dangerous without appropriate supervision.  

Oh well, here's one more thing for those future therapy sessions....

That's my boy!

Bathroom Hell update

I insulated the walls, put up the wonderboard, got the tile on the floor (except for the hole, which is waiting for the plumber) and the tile on the walls, painted the walls and and put the light fixture up.  Yesterday, we put the new clawfoot tub in.  

All that's left is having the plumber connect the drain and put the valves on and patch the hole.  Then I can grout the tile, and hook up the sink, tub and toilet.  Then again, the fixtures for the tub, and the whole sink have yet to arrive.... 

I have some trim tiles too but I'm hoping i can finish that this week.

Maybe by this weekend?

Bathroom Hell!

What's better than having a water leak in one bathroom?  Having a water leak in both bathrooms!

We noticed some water staining along the base boards and near the tub drain in our big (?) bathroom at the end of the hall.  We had been planning to do a remodel for some time but want to wait till we could afford it etc...  Oh, well.

I pulled up one of the base boards and found mold of various colors.  So, that lead to cutting out some of the wainscoting, which lead to a total bathroom re-do.  After I got the wall boards off we found that the shower pan in the other bathroom is leaking as well!  Wonderful.

We also found that our tub drain was cracked below the slab and needed to be replaced!

This calls for a real plumber, so we call a friend of a friend who is real good/cheap and he makes a big hole in the floor, cuts out the old drain then tells us he has to go out of town for a week or two!

This projects is approaching the point where it is cheaper and easier to just burn the house down and start over.

The good news is I am off-track (since I work through the summer I get to take time off thru the year) all next week so I am going to be able to work on the bathroom.  

My district has "spring break" in April so I can work on the other bathroom then.  Oh-boy!

Then again is is very therapeutic for me.

Cub Scouting

Two weeks ago, I took my cub scouts SCUBA diving!
Sports Chalet has a program called "Discover SCUBA". It's a free 2 hr. intro to diving.
4 boys, another dad and I went. It was great! I used to dive years ago and have forgotten how much fun it was.
Also, for Joel it was very exciting. We've been doing swim lessons for years with little signs of improvement. Finally I bought him a mask and snorkel and had him try it. He took to it right away, with no fear or hesitation whatsoever.
The pool at Sport Chalet went from 4' to 13'. Joel was the only one of the cubs to go to the bottom of the 13'. He spent an hour underwater and we had to drag him out of the pool when it was over.
Several of the other boys were "non swimmers" but they were still able to play around underwater. It was very exciting for all of us!

I want this job!

I saw this on Dark Roasted Blend.
So, how does one get a job doing this?

17 and counting

Yesterday Marilyn and I celebrated our 17th anniversery. Who have thunk it?
I hadn't done anything for 17 years, except maybe college...
I can't imagin having a better life. Like Mike Scott says "Woman of the hearthfire, you're the harbor of my soul" ("Bang on the ear" by the Waterboys)

One of my all time favorite songs is John Hiatt's "Have a little faith in me". It sort of sums up the last 17 or so years:

When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me

And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me
And

Chorus:
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me

When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darlin
From a whisper start
To have a little faith in me

And when your backs against the wall
Just turn around and you will see
I will catch, I will catch your fall baby
Just have a little faith in me


Well, Ive been loving you for such a long time girl
Expecting nothing in return
Just for you to have a little faith in me
You see time, time is our friend
cause for us there is no end
And all you gotta do is have a little faith in me
I said I will hold you up, I will hold you up
Your love gives me strength enough
So have a little faith in me

My friend Kit Creely

Today I went to the wake of an old family friend. Kit Creely passed away on June 12th of heart failure.
I had known Kit since JR. Hi. His daughter Anne was a friend and my sister and Anne's sister were friends. My mom is really close to the family and sees them quite often.
It's funny how good it felt to be in their house again after so many years. I am sorry that it was because Kit was gone.
He was one of those people I always ejoyed talking to. Even in my asshole-youth phase. He was an adult that was easy to talk to.
Kit was a third generation book seller until Crown books ran his little book store ot of business. He also loved airplanes and flying. When I graduated from flight school, he was one of the people I wanted to stop by in my new flight suit with aviator wings on it, because I knew he would understand and think it cool.
I had forgotten how special Anne was too. She was my friend when very few people would be. And she was greating everyone at the wake and making sure everyone
I'm sad for them.
I'm sad for me too.

Jinkies! My wife Rocks!

My wife had lunch today with Bob Singer. He's the guy who drew The Flintsones, Jonny Quest and Scooby Doo among others.
He drew for Marilyn a picture of Velma for me.
I always had kind of a thing for Velma; this explanes a lot ....

Painting Party

Last weekend the cubscouts had a painting party.
Around the corner from our house is a little old lady who can't quite keep her house up. It was painted yellow, light green, dark green, blue, brown and white. And not in a good way either. Plus, she has nine million (or so) boxes and tubs stacked up around the house. Needless to say the city was not happy with this and was sending her nastygrams. So, the cubscouts of Pack 373 went over and painted her house. It was great for the boys. They got to learn how to roll and spray paint, plus we did something nice for someone.
The strange thing is that she has junk piled up inside the house to the point that you couldn't walk through any of the rooms (that we could see through the windows) and that her water doesn't work.
We hooked up with the Lions Club and they have donated several dumpsters and the head of the sanitation district has been fixing up her yard for her on his own time.
The ammount of stuff piled up makes me nervous.
Here's a good link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers

Computer Using Educators

I forgot to mention this; Last weekend I was in Palm Springs presenting at the Computer Using Educators conference.
I presented a 3 hour class on using digital ca,eras in the classroom, which i've done for a few years now. I also presented a NEW idea I've had: "Staff Development That Doesn't Suck". Most teacher professional development is painful.
Anyhow, PS was good. My family came along and played in the pool while I yakked.
I still have to submitt my per diem stuff and I am not looking forward to that talk with my boss..."yes, boss, I did spend my daily $15 on dinner. Yes, the whole $15, no the beer on the reciept is not mine..."
Next year, i plan to expand my talk to 2 hours. I focused mostly on planning and I want to look at better presentation skills and classroom stuff.
We'll see.

Thanks to the cicus hall of fame for the cool photo!

Early birthday!

Being the most spoiled man in the world, I got an early birthday present! My birthday isn't for another 2 weeks, but a couple weeks ago my wife bought me a new guitar. (my latest Mr. Toad-like mania) She wanted me to have a "real grown-up guitar". It's a Gretsch 5120. I got Vintage Orange for the cool retro vibe. It has a great sound and feels really nice to play (once I got rid of the extra heavy store strings). The tone is amazing. This is the first hollow body I've played and I am hooked.
Marilyn has said my playing has already gotten better just in the last 2 weeks.
I am so jazzed. I started playing guitar again about 6months ago after a hiatus of 20 years or so. It's a good de-stressor after work and a good mental puzzle for me.
The past year or so I have been listening to mostly jazz and instrumental rock; except of course for Cheap Trick and Bowling for Soup. The reason is since I am in classrooms all day long; I don't want to hear words on the way home in the truck. Most of the instrumental stuff I listen to is Surf-Rock. I've never surfed but don't see that as an impediment. At least not yet.
I've been learning a few of the classics: Having An Average Weekend, Pipeline and Apache as well as a couple things by Django. I just started lessons because I want to learn to read music as well as unlearn the bad habits I have. I will keep you posted.

Beakman!

This last weekend the Waters family went out to see "Beakman Live". It was great! If yo get a chance--GO!
Beakman does a great show on Science, making it fun and easily absorbed.
Marilyn and I were both picked to go up on stage and "help out". I realize I'm going all fan-boy.....
Paul Zaloom (Beakman) teaches the way we should. I think it's important to instill a sense of "ooh" and "ahh", especially when you talk about science. Kids need to see the wonder of discovery; otherwise they will stop asking questions.
After the show, I asked Mr. Zaloom how we could get teachers to teach more like him? He replied "Get rid of standardized testing". Ahmen.
Heres' some links:
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/kids/beakmansworld/index.html
http://www.paulzaloom.com/index2.html

Nursed back to health

Over the weekend Joel and I went quad riding. It was great! The weather was bright and clear, in the mid 70's. However, I had a small boo-boo and sortta' dislocated my hip a little.
When I got home, Marilyn yanked on it for me and it popped back in. I felt lot's better. I also had a vicodin and a nap. Fortunately, I had Joel and several stuffed dogs and Neemo the cat to look after me.
I am loved, by several species.

Xmas decorations

This year, our street is having a house decoration contest. What was supposed to be a good-natured way of adding some holiday spirit has turned in to an all out rage-in-the-cage battle.
I think it was rigged.
We tied for 4th with our next door neighbor, who we think should have won. She had a very cool display. One house is rumoured to have had live animals in their manger scene....
Anyhow, here's ours:

Me and Motoboy

This past weekend Joel and I went out to Lucern Valley with our good friends Matt and Pat for 2 days of quad riding. It was great! Not to hot/cold. Made better by being able to sleep in Pat's giant motorhome. Camping is better with all the comforts of home. Yes, I've gone soft but I'm OK with that. The army pretty much killed camping for me.
We went on several long rides and both boys held up well. However, they couldn't wait to get back to camp and play with their PSP's. Joel did say he liked riding in the desert more than the other places we've been to. I love it. I used to go with my dad back in the '70s and that was really important to me. I'd like to get a bike for my dad to ride so he could come with us. We'll see.
The drive was the only downside. Due to road work, the normal 3 hour drive was well over 6!
Anyhow, I think we've found Joel's sport. He is a very natural rider. It's fun to watch him.
He wants to race now. So, we're looking for tune up parts for his quad...

My mistress is jealous of my new girlfriend

My wife says I am like Mister Toad, because I have a new "mania". No, it's not a gypsy cart. I finally got around (got permission) to buy my own quad! I used to test quads for 4 Wheel/ATV Magazine, but retired a few years back when my son was young. It was hard being gone most weekends. Plus I had an "incident" involving a quad, a lawnmower-trailer, a hill and a cliff.
I had gotten my son a bike through the magazine, but he had not shown much interest in riding, but when some of his friends from school had quads he became much more keen on it. It was hard since I did have my own. The editor of the magazine was gracious enough to loan me a test bike or two for a while (Don's a great guy!).

But about 6 weeks ago I snapped: The boy had spent the whole weekend glued to the Game Cube. From Friday after school till bed time Sunday night nothing but video games. I told the wonderwife that I was buying a quad so we could do something together out in the "Big Blue Room". She agreed (although I did suspect she had been replaced by a doppleganger). So by the next weekend I had a Honda ex400 in the garage.
Unfortunately, the ducati gets less exercise now. Although I have made sure that she is washed and polished and started every couple of days...

It could be raining

Here's a before and after shot of my floor.
We had a clogged drain and had to call the drain snake guys. They worked all day and then ran a camera down the pipe. The drain stopped about the middle of the dining room. So, they cut a 4 foot wide by 20 foot long trench in the floor and tore out the badly crack and clogged pipe. They replaced the pipe and put concrete over it.
It was kinda' cool in that they were able to do it in one day.
Now, we need to rip up the wood flooring and re-do it.
That's what I had planned on blogging/ranting about today.
However, I was at a school site dropping some stuff off at the office and I saw a teacher who has come to some of my classes. We said hi and she asked if I got a summer vacation--most teachers know I work thru the summer as we have a few year-round schools--and she said she was concerned that I didn't get enough time off and needed to watch that.
I asked about her vacation. Just chit chat stuff. She said most of her time has been spent at the hospital.
She said that her son who got hurt at Boy Scout camp and was in a coma for two weeks. He has some brain damage but is healing. He even started school this week.
I was stunned. I felt so useless. All I could do was give her a hug. She had all this going on and she was concerned about me getting burned out.
The bell rang and she went to get her kids; I went and checked in with a friend at the school. She was standing in the middle of the field staring. I thought this was odd.
I asked what she was looking at.
"One of my former students died last night" she said. Turns out she was in a drunk-driver accident.
I was feeling so overwhelmed by a hole in the floor that is gonna' get fixed in a few weeks anyhow. I'm sorry it took these things to put it into perspective.
I need to ponder this some more. I definitely need to be more presently aware of the good things in my life and be thankful.

Ed Tech

"Technology does not necessarily improve education. Take a simple innovation like the pencil: One can use it to write a superlative essay, to drum away the time, or to poke out someone's eye." (Veenema & Gardner, 1996)

I love this quote. A new friend has this on her website (http://laurene@msjohnson.net) and it cracks me up to no end. It's true too.