Category Archives: Kids
Upping my geek cred
Apparently my geek (nerd?) credibility has been slipping. So I made up for it today by taking the family to the Sherwood Forest Faire.
I’ve never done a “Renaissance Faire” before, believe it or not. Have wanted to for many years but often I’d learn about the faire after it was over, or schedule conflicts. Well, I knew well in advance this time and was determined to go. Weekend weather has been rough, plus I spend many weekends at KR Training, so opportunity was slipping away… but I demanded it would happen today and it did. Basically, I’ve been so busy in life that I haven’t spent enough time with my family, so by gum some family time was going to happen. 
We all had a fantastic time, and actually had more fun than we expected.
Yes, the moment we walked into the faire, we all kinda stepped back a moment because yes… it did feel like we entered a time warp. It was kinda weird, but cool.
Of course, the moment I entered I was hit by an amusing bit of commerce.
“Programs! Would you like to purchase a program, which has a map and guide? Only 3£!”
“no thank you”. I figured we’d either just wander, or if I really needed it they had a map on their website and I could always just pull it up on my iPhone.
Then I took a few more steps in.
“Here sir, would you like a map?”
Yeah… they hit you up for the $3 souvenier map first, then hand out a free black and white paper one. Gotta love it.
And yes, shops… err… shoppes… err.. “ye olde shoppes” were everywhere. Yes, we called everything “ye olde” throughout the day. And I was thinking, was this just going to be shopping? But then we saw all the entertainment, which was great. We saw a “dog show” that we figured would just be a dog doing tricks, but the lady explained a lot of training techniques and how to do things. A lot was familiar to us due to all the intensive training work with did with Sasha, but it was really cool that she wasn’t just showing tricks but also educating the crowd.
The one show we all wanted to see tho was the Sky Kings Falconry raptor bird show. Folks, that was just damn cool. Artemis, their Eurasian Eagle Owl, was awesome. And yes, the black vultures were awesome to watch… well, we thought so. Unfortunately both of them landed on top of a small child’s head… didn’t hurt the kid but sure gave him a fright, poor kid.
We saw various musicians, lots of belly dancers, Oldest threw some axes, Daughter and Youngest rode on a “jousting” ride. We watched the actual jousting… man, I have to hand it to those guys, taking a beating like that. Can’t be fun to get knocked off a horse, with force, in a full suit of plate armor. But very entertaining. Plus just lots of general entertainment by random people… and who knows if those people were official faire folk or just random folks that came dressed up for their own fun. One guy was dressed I guess as some sort of chaotic evil warrior, kinda creeped Wife out a bit but she did think it was pretty cool after her initial startle reaction. And yes, lots of people dressed in various garb of all favors from around the looseness of the genre. Tho I did see one goth girl walking around… the only way she could have stood out more was if she wore a Stormtrooper costume (Slave Leia would have just blended in).
It was a heck of a lot of fun. And yes, I can see why people would want to get season passes and come for many weekends. There’s FAR more to do there than I expected, just lots of great and interesting stuff. Just tons of fun. Expensive, but fun. Oh and yes, bring lots of $1 bills… no, not to slip into the cleavage of the saucy wench that served your mead, but because all the performers accept tips and I think it’s right and just to give them some sort of compensation in exchange for the entertainment they gave you.
After the faire, I took the family over to the A-Zone Range, where KR Training holds classes. Tom Givens is in town this weekend teaching a course, and with us so close to the range I wanted to take the family by so they could see where it is and what it is that I slip away for all these weekends (only Daughter has been out there before). Karl was there doing some chores and he showed the family around the property. Everyone got to meet Ribo (Karl’s dog). Got to talk with Lynn Givens (Tom’s wife) for a little while; always a pleasure to see her. Tom was running class so I interrupted only for a moment to shake hands, say hello, and have a quick introduction of the family. A nice little diversion while we were out there.
Oh… and I got to try Lynn’s M&P. She was experimenting with a new gun that has Apex Tactical’s new Forward Set Sear and trigger kit. When I got my M&P I thought seriously about getting that and oh…. after trying it I think I just might. It’s awesome. Wicked tight, a thing of beauty.
I digress.
It was a fine day. Yes, we’ll go back to the Ren Faire in the future, maybe even doing multiple weekends if time allows. It was a lot of fun, and just a great way to spend a day with the family. And really, that’s what mattered most to me today: being with my family, having fun, making memories.
My View: Homeschooling: Marching to the beat of a different drummer
By Joyce Burges, Special to CNN
Editor’s Note: Joyce Burges is the co-founder of the National Black Home Educators, an organization that empowers parents to educate their children for excellence. She and her husband, Eric, have been married for 35 years and have five children between the ages of 16 to 35.
It was a rainy afternoon. I was rocking my baby girl by the fire and enjoying a cup of hot chamomile tea.
Don’t be like them
As Daughter progresses in her drumming, she gets exposed to more bands, more dummers.
And more opportunities to talk to her about drug and alcohol abuse.
John Bonham? Don’t be like him.
Steven Adler? Don’t be like him (still alive, but still…).
Jeff Porcaro? Don’t be like him.
John Panozzo? Don’t be like him.
Keith Moon? Don’t be like him.
Jimmy Sullivan? Don’t be like him.
Stuart Cable? Don’t be like him.
Sure, play drums like these guys — especially Bonham — but that’s where you should stop emulating them.
She gets it. I hope she will never forget it.
And then there were 11
Those ducklings that hatched a few days ago?
We’re down by 3. Only 11 left.
This morning as I left the house to walk to the gym, I saw why.
There’s some sort of predator bird.
I crossed the street, and it flew out of the nearby tree right in front of me. It was too dark, too suddenly there then too suddenly gone to get a good look at it, but I could tell enough that it was a falcon or a hawk or something of that ilk. I looked a little further and saw Momma duck and her babies all huddled in a neighbor’s lawn, Mother’s head up high in sentinel mode ever watchful.
I know the kids are going to be on the watch for this, to identify the predator bird and see if it’s the same one from before. If so, I wonder where it nests.
At this rate, I’m not expecting any of the ducklings to survive. The bird knows an easy (and plentiful) food source is here. We noted being down by one a day ago, and now two more gone. At this rate, maybe a week or two before they’re all gone. Get your “baby duck squee” in while you can.
It’s OK. It’s life. It’s how things go. Yes I’d like some of them to survive to adulthood, but this is just how life goes. And frankly, we’re all more OK with this than other means of population control. We just don’t like how the HOA and USDA folks come in, trap the ducks, then “relocate” them. Maybe they really are relocating them, but since they never give me details and get evasive when pressed, my only conclusion is they are destroying the ducks. To me, that’s terrible. Yes I understand population management, but to just destroy the ducks is a cruel waste. They taste good, and we’ve got hungry people in this city. Why aren’t we feeding them?
I did manage to finally snap a picture:
Squee!
We have ducklings.
The muscovy hen that nested just outside our front door? The eggs finally hatched this past Saturday.
Being as they’re all still new, she hasn’t been out of the nest with them that much, but she’s now starting to bring them out. Looks like 3 eggs didn’t hatch, but 14 did. We’ll see how many survive. The weather isn’t as harsh this year, and what with all the rain and how green everything is, food and water aren’t in short supply like they’ve been in the past. So I reckon we won’t have another “buffet for hawks” like we have in the past.
No pictures yet. Just haven’t been able to take any since she’s only just starting to emerge with the babies.
But oh… they are mighty cute.
And of course, the children are totally distracted from their studies. Oldest even said “Hey Mom, this is zoology.” Uh huh… way to milk the homeschooling system there, son. How about a 5 page paper? *grin*
Like this:
I’ve wasted how much of my life?!?
I just learned the Ian Knot.
How much of my life have I wasted tying shoes the “standard” way?
If you don’t know what the Ian Knot is, watch:
Youngest is still struggling with shoelace tying. Understandable because he rarely wears shoes with laces, so far too often when he wears those shoes we don’t have the time to teach him properly. Couple that with the fact that knots are useful, and I’ve been on a kick to get the kiddos to learn a bunch of basic knots (Oldest fights it and refuses to learn… then every time I see him struggling to tie something up, I remind him how much easier things would be if he’d listen to his old man once in a while and learn proper knots). All the basic ones they teach in Boy Scouts: square knot, two half-hitches, taught-line hitch, bowline, sheet bend, clove hitch, etc..
Might as well start with shoelaces.
And yes, while the rest of the household knows how to tie laces the old fashioned way, we’re all going to learn the Ian knot. Well, we’ve mostly got it… doesn’t take long. But mastering it so we can tie it super fast will just take practice.
So what are some other useful knots?
Figure 8 knot is simple, and good to know about as a stopper.
Lark’s Head is another simple one, useful too.
I read about the Trucker’s Knot and think that would be useful to learn. I don’t know it myself.
Of course there’s the basic overhand knot, but you tend to learn that one as you do other knots.
It’s good to learn about the granny knot… just so you can recognize it, since you’ll probably tie it a bunch while learning the square knot.
What are some other essential knots to know?
Every Day Carry for kids
My kids are all old enough to start carrying some things on their person on a regular basis.
I searched around for topics of “every day carry” (EDC) for kids. There’s not a lot out there. So time to brainstorm.
Updated: I’ve received a lot of traffic due to Unc posting this (thanx!). Due to the feedback received, I wanted to update this post from the feedback. Updates will be marked accordingly.
Some criteria.
It can’t be much. Kids forget things. Kids lose things. Plus, kids are small(er). Thus, they cannot haul around as much weight, nor do they have enough pocket real estate. It needs to fit into pockets, because the boys don’t like wearing belts and the girl’s fashion sense either leads to no belts or non-functional-but-decorative belts. Yes yes, change clothing to suit the lifestyle, but let’s first get them more into the lifestyle.
Small. Light. Essential. Quality stuff, but not too expensive to replace because again, kids will forget/lose things. We must accept they are working to build good habits, and in doing so will fail at times. I don’t want the failure to be too costly to recover from.
And note, this is purely stuff to carry on-person. If we started talking about backpacks (e.g. for school), you can start to carry a lot more such as a small first aid kit, a little food, a water purifier, maybe a space blanket. I’m not going there, tho perhaps Daughter could with her purse. Nor is this about full on “bug-out” types of gear. I’m trying to keep this limited to on-person carry: pockets, and perhaps belt. Every day stuff, every day needs. Focused scope.
So with that in mind, here’s what I can think of:
- Keychain/ring.
- I’d say to keep this simple, just a split-ring with keys on it. Less space wasted that way, especially if functional stuff gets hung off it. Of course, things like the housekey go on it.
- Small flashlight.
- Perhaps that can hang off the keyring. Fenix would fit the bill here. Maybe E05, E11, E15, LD15. Updated: I decided upon the Fenix E05.
- Small knife or multitool.
- I’d say a multitool, Leatherman. Micra as a baseline. But I’d entertain a Squirt PS4 or one of the Style (Style, Style CS, Style PS) models if that better suited a particular child.
- Updated: I settled on the Micra. After reviewing all styles with the Kiddos, we all agreed that the Micra would fit their “every day” needs best. YMMV.
- I don’t really want a pure knife, because it’s not as versatile as having a multitool. And while some of the kiddos have traditional swiss-army-style pocket knives, I don’t like those since the blades typically don’t lock.
- Note: my kids are homeschooled and so the (home)school policy is you will be proficient with tools, including knives, and yes the School Board and Principal expect you to have on on your person at all times. If your child attends school where knives aren’t permitted, well… I found this thing, the “Quirky Switch” that allows you to make a “custom multitool”, however, reviews aren’t that great (no personal experience). I see Leatherman made a “no knife” Fuse (made. Retired on their website, but apparently you can buy it online tho I reckon on a dwindling basis). But I bet no matter what, ”zero tolerance” policies will probably get any sort of useful tool taken away by school admins. YMMV.
- I’d say a multitool, Leatherman. Micra as a baseline. But I’d entertain a Squirt PS4 or one of the Style (Style, Style CS, Style PS) models if that better suited a particular child.
- Little bit of cash, like a $20.
- This is not money to spend, it’s money in case of emergency.
- Cloth handkerchief.
- Youngest is prone to nosebleeds during the dry winter, so this grew out of a need for him to have a means to contend with it. But I could see all manner of usefulness for all the children to carry one.
- Mobile phone.
- My kids don’t have mobile phones because of lack of need. But certainly this is a useful tool to have. I could consider getting them something like a small GoPhone or other pre-paid phone to get them used to carrying a phone AND to self-impose a limit on what they can do with it. Emergencies-only.
- Updated: There’s always the argument to have an old, unused, no-plan, but charged phone, since 911 is required to work from any mobile phone. There’s truth in that and it’s better than nothing (tho many old phones are kinda bulky). But consider that all calls a child may need to make may not be to solely 911.
- Updated: lighter or other fire starter.
- This was suggested by numerous people, and of course, the ability to carry a fire-starter varies from person to person. If your kids go to public schools, I’m sure there will be zero tolerance for such items. If my kids do this, I’m not sure what would be best tho: lighter, matches, magnesium fire starter? Have to think about this one in terms of what’s right for OUR needs.
- Updated: timepiece.
- Wrist watch. Keychain watch/clock. It could even be the mobile phone. Whatever works for you, but some way to tell time.
- Updated: Paracord bracelet.
- And knowledge of knots and lashings.
- This is certainly a useful idea. The difficulty may be in getting the kids to wear it. Either boys may not want a bracelet, or the girl will want something more fashionable.
- Updated: compass
- Knowledge of how you find your way, if you get lost, is certainly useful. Use a compass. Read a map.
- A counter to this may be modern smartphones, with their GPS functionality.
- Updated identification
- Some means for the child to identify themselves and things about themselves, such as perhaps medical conditions.
- Could also be a means for someone to contact YOU about the child. When my kids were younger, we’d go to SeaWorld and I’d slip my business card into their sock/shoe so if we did get separated they would know to give that card to an adult so I could be contacted.
- Updated: a weapon?
- Stun gun? Pepper Spray? Other things? This is an area I’m not going to touch, not in this context. There are too many legal issues, public school issues, and kid-specific issues here that I’m just not going to go there. I’m not saying kids should be defenseless and at the mercy of criminals and predators, but this is one area you’ll have to investigate on your own.
That’s what I came up with.
Of course I know, this is gear discussion. They need to know how to use the gear. How to handle emergency situations. All those good things. Fret not, that’s all here. I am purely interested right now in a “gear for kids” discussion.
What would you add? Remove? Change?
Updated: As you can see, a lot of useful stuff was added.
Realize, this is not a definitive list nor Bible on what to do. You have to do what is right for you and your situation. As well, all of these things? That’s a lot. Can your 8 year old really haul around all those things? Can they remember them all? Not lose them all? Maybe, maybe not; every child is different. You have to pick and choose what’s right for YOU and YOUR child and YOUR situation. This list is mainly here to have some information and discussion on the matter.
Clearing the backlog
I’ve had a bunch of links backing up in my queue, things I wanted to post about. Just going to clear them all in one fell swoop. It’s a smorgasbord.
“What’s Behind The Shocking Collapse in Violent Crime” (h/t LowTechCombat)
A look at the most recent FBI crime statistics, and how violent crime is actually dropping in the US — despite what the media portrays. One possible reason they overlook is the growth of firearm ownership and concealed carry by law-abiding citizens.
TxDPS – Winter Storm Preparedness (h/t TxDPS)
A few simple checklists of things to help you prepare for winter storms. Be it supplies worth having in your car, to dealing with the aftermath of a storm, to helping the elderly.
“13 things a man should keep in his car” (h/t ArtOfManliness)
Going with the above winter storm lists, here’s 13 more things that are just good to have in your car all year round. I’ll take odds with #3 – MagLite was a great old standby but flashlight technology has evolved. Look at SureFire or Streamlight (or even Fenix); for a car flashlight I would want it to run on CR123A’s, because those batteries can sit around for years and still maintain power. I’d also look for a model that can either be somehow attached to say a hat brim so you can work hands free (need both hands to change a tire) and/or that can be rested on the ground and used like a lantern/candle to again shine light hands-free.
Read the comments for more suggestions. Certainly a lot of what you keep in your car will depends upon your needs, your particular car, where you are in the world, and how and where you’ll be traveling.
“Top 10 Secret Features in Mac OS X Lion” (h/t maczter)
I still haven’t upgraded all my machines to Lion, at this point mostly from inertia. But I have upgraded one primary dev machine and am growing to like it. Still, it has some quirks and issues, and this is a nice list of things to help make it a bit more manageable.
“Laws over BB gun use could affect your child’s Christmas“ (h/t NRANews)
While BB guns technically aren’t guns, they certainly can do some damage. You should still treat them like firearms, using them responsibly, adhering to all proper gun safety rules, and using them as a great way to introduce kids to firearms in a safe and responsible manner. The respect and responsibility starts here.
So apparently I like Ethiopian food
I don’t know how I initially got the yen to try Ethiopian food, but I did… some long time ago.
I heard about this one restaurant, Taste of Ethiopia. It’s not in Austin, it’s in Pflugerville, which is just outside of Austin, and a schelp relative to where I live. I’ve been told it’s the best Ethiopian restaurant in the area, so I’ve been trying to go there for a while. But, it’s difficult to justify the long drive merely for a meal. However, today we had to do something up that way, so I figured we could finally try it. Yes, took the whole family. I figured they would be game to try something new and different, and given they liked Indian food, I figured I had a shot here.
Finding the place was no problem. It was a small but reasonable place. I saw they had a lunch buffet. We did tell the waitress we’d never had Ethiopian food before, so she explained a few things to us. She suggested we could try ordering off the menu and eating in the traditional family style. That style of eating is quite natural to me, either from Wife’s home-cookin’ roots or my Korean heritage. After thinking about it, we opted to do the buffet as the best way to survey a wide range of food. However, Oldest didn’t want the buffet; he saw this thing on the menu - Kitfo, and ordered it.
Let’s see if I can remember what was in the buffet. There was a lentil soup. Of course, the injera (which I’ll talk more about shortly). Doro Wot. A zucchini wot. I think ater kik. Some rice. Collards. Something with green beans and carrots. Another that was potato and cabbage (and turmeric). A few other things that I can’t remember.
But I tasted it all.
Oh my.
It was wonderful!
I love the seasoning. That berbere was just fantastic. I did love the way to eat it all too, with the injera – just tear some off and use it to pick up the food. The injera texture and flavor was really neat, very different. I’m not really a bread guy and by itself I doubt I’d eat it, but given its role in the meal it was really nice. I will say that I had to stop eating it and just use a fork, because I’m trying to keep the excessive bread/carb intake minimize, but boy it was hard today.
I am surprised to say I liked the zucchini wot the best! The doro wot was good, but it was chunks of white meat chicken; I think legs or thighs would have tasted better. They had a goat-meat dish on the menu, and if it’s a “goat wot” I bet that’d be good. This is just personal preference. I think something a little “greasier” would work well.
But what really got me? The Kitfo. Oh my. That was amazing. The seasoning was just so wonderful. The texture too was so velvety. There was just the right texture, the right seasonings, the right fat (I read now that there’s butter put on it). Oh, it was so damn good. My mouth just loved it in every way.
I see on the menu this chefuye, which could tempt me next time.
Gee. I really really liked this, far more than I expected I would. The kids liked it too. Oldest isn’t a big fan of hot-spicy food, but he couldn’t stop eating the Kitfo… it just draws you back, you just want to keep eating it.
I wish it wasn’t so far away.
I can’t wait to go back. I think next time we’ll order a few dishes, continue to try dishes we haven’t yet tried, and eat them family style. Wife also wants to try the honey wine… not sure she’ll like it (she wasn’t a fan of mead), but it could be prepared differently and/or complement the food just right.
Just before we left, the owner, Woinee Mariam, came out and we spoke with her. She was impressed with Oldest bucking the trend and ordering a traditional dish. She was so kind, so sweet; she made us feel right at home. I love businesses like this, as you just want to keep supporting good people doing good things like this.
Can’t wait to go back.
Happier ears
Remember how Daughter got a drum set?
It’s a good entry-level set, Pearl Forum. But like anything entry-level, shortcuts are made to enable it to be affordable. Crappy heads, crappy cymbals. But in a way, having the crap allows you to appreciate the good stuff.
We put an Evans head on the snare. An Evans Genera HD Dry Batter Coated Snare Head, to be specific. Nice improvement in the snare’s sound.
But more important? Daughter’s been saving her money, made Christmas present requests of gift cards, and this morning we counted it all up. She finally had enough to allow her to get a cymbal upgrade! She picked up a cymbal pack: Sabian B8 Performance Pack. It comes with a set of 14″ hi-hats, 16″ thin crash, 20″ ride, and a bonus 18″ thin crash. She also picked up 2 boom stands.
We set it all up and boy, what a difference. Yes, these are Sabian’s entry-level cymbals, but they’re a huge upgrade from the Pearl cymbals she had (merely a 14″ hi hat and a 18″ crash/ride). They sound pretty decent, tho with all the cymbal options now, she’s having a hard time adjusting to them. Just having to learn the new layout for her set, tweaking placement, angles, and other things.
Next up… a new hi-hat stand, and new top-heads for all her toms (maybe the bottom heads too, depending upon money). I reckon once that’s done, it’s going to sound pretty darn good.
She also got a stick bag and a music stand. She hung the bag off her floor tom. She put the music stand off to the side of the hi-hat. She’s feeling more like a real drummer now. Me? I’m just happy she’s enjoying music, enjoying playing, enjoying the challenge, and yes… even the fact she’s saving her money, setting goals, working towards them, and then feeling the satisfaction of accomplishment. All good stuff.
Now, just need to get her to practice more regularly. I figure with the new cymbals, she’ll be happier to play.
