Ben's Intense

One day Ben is going to cause one of us to need an eye patch.

took down a wandering ship full of pirates and all I got was this awesome scar

Soundtrack: Hiss of the baby monitor
Cat: Staring out the door

Had To Swear Somewhere

Some f***er outbid me in the last five seconds on ebay. 170 metal gears, all with the same size teeth, gone.



They were even clock sized. Do you know how hard it is to find gears bigger than watch size?



I am going to go to the shop and angrily saw some stuff.

Soundtrack: Rain
Cat: Curled up on a towel

Bulls**t: Its Detection And Handling

Ever since I don't remember when, I've been thinking about critical thinking and logic. It's something that's been even more on my mind since Ben was born. Politicians and news anchors covering politics do almost nothing but spew bullsh*t. Ads are full of bullsh*t. Your average person's reactionary argument: bullsh*t. I won't even claim that I'm never guilty of this. I am grateful to have the friends that I do. A friendship is strong that survives calling each other out on bullsh*t arguments.

It all makes me wonder how Ben will learn to identify good logic. Will he learn critical thinking in school, or will our family be solely responsible for teaching him? I learned a handful of fallacies late in high school and took some logic in college. Most of what I can remember of critical thinking came from my Dad picking apart my weak arguments and my Mom criticizing propaganda. Will I be able to do as well? I'm terrified of the prospect of raising a child that trusts Fox News.

It's my responsibility to make sure Ben grows up knowing what is important to me. That said, I wish critical thinking were more of a national priority in education. I can't shake the feeling that if critical thinking were a regular class, like english or science, the country would be in better shape. A quarter or semester a year starting in middle school. Start with the basics of logic and good reasoning and work up to critical examination of media. Imagine teens who immediatly recognize the difference between "age appropriate sex education" and "teaching abortion to kindergarteners." Think of teens who are told "indefinite preventative detention" and hear "imprisonment without charge, trial, jury or appeal." Critical thinking won't change your political affiliation, but it will help you recognize which of your leaders are bullsh*ting you to achieve their goals.

I have more to say on this, but I have movies to return.


Soundtrack(start): Splender - But, Anyway
Soundtrack(end):Portishead - Roads
Cat(start): On the back of the couch
Cat(end): ?

My Friends Are Awesome

Could not ask for a better crew keeping an eye on me while Sam and Ben are away. I owe the world a round, a pizza, and a gatorade.
Home at 3:49. In bed at 3:54. 4:04 frantically checking my sent texts to make there's nothing weird. 4:06 back in bed.
On a barely related note, this dog is awesome.


Sountrack: The crunch of Peanut Butter Panda Puffs.
Cat: Outside

Check That Out

awesomesauce!

Many thanks to Lisa and Susie!

An Art I Have Not Practiced Of Late

I recently rediscovered an old mixed CD I had made. I used to enjoy making CDs with loose plots or themes. If I needed it, I would even grab songs I didn't normally listen to; Some of these may seem out of character. Try to guess the narrators life.

Golem

1. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
2. Audioslave - Show Me How To Live
3. Offspring - Something To Believe In
4. Scratching Post - M-Bomb
   
5. Future Leaders Of The World - Let Me Out
   
6. Soundgarden - Blow Up The Outside
7. System Of A Down - ATWA
8. Skindive - In For The Kill
9. Audioslave - What You Are
10. Skindive - Confession

Ben's First Heist!

Many residents of well to do neighborhoods consider me to be a suspicious looking character.

suspicious looking

Having a baby with you pretty much automatically makes you look less suspicious.

less suspicious looking

With that in mind, I took Ben on his first heist today. The two of us were getting out of the house, driving around, when I saw a log in need of liberation. I parked the car near it, helped Ben out of the car, and sized it up as we started our walk. I was seen by several people taking my beautiful infant son for a walk on a sunny day. There was smiling, and stick carrying, and being upset that sticks are not acceptable chewing material. We returned to the car, perhaps a little upset about the stick incident, and I helped Ben back into his seat. I then helped the log into the car. And with a quiet "yoink," I hopped in the car and took us home.

post heist sippy cup

nick considers our loot

Soundtrack: The sweet white noise of a quiet baby monitor
Cat: ?

Not As Grateful As I Could Be

taken in photobooth the morning after

Nothing like eating noodles out of tupperware, begging the sounds on the baby monitor not to wake up until seven. I won't enter the bedroom until there is silence, lest my chances of some sleep turn into a guaranty of no sleep.

Soundtrack: Whimpering
Cat: Pretending to sleep behind me

Learning About Visual Depth

Ben Choosing His Path

Trees Out Of The Grass

Trees Out Of The Haze

Soundtrack: Dishwasher
Cat: Suspiciously not bothering me

A Sucker For Reflections

kb at a ball game

Soundtrack: Whir of Computer
Cat: Doing the nightly rounds

More Work Than I Expected

Hello! This is my see how I feel about blogging / thoughts on being a parent / journal my weight loss / amuse myself blog. My writing is pretty rusty, so this is my stab at getting back into it. Once my infamous diet starts, I plan on keeping a visual record of my progress thru this blog. Also, pretty much can't talk without eventually bringing up the baby, so expect some of that.

Blog addresses that were already taken:
angryeyebrows.blogspot.com
bensdad.blogspot.com
escaped.blogspot.com
fatventures.blogspot.com
kodama.blogspot.com
sleepdeprived.blogspot.com

Sbux Lisa consulted with me on acceptable names. Kodama King seemed too much until she pointed out it also looks like Kodama Making when in the kodamaking.blogspot.com format. That's teamwork folks. I say folks even though I'm currently writing this to myself to see how I feel about bloggin'. I am excited about labeling/tagging my posts.

Soundtrack: NOFX - Seperation of Church and Skate
Cat: In Lap