the birthday cake that wasn't

Our daughter celebrated her 5th birthday a couple weeks ago, and we decided to throw a bit of a bash for her. Oh, sure, we have had birthday parties before, but they've always been limited to just our family. This year, we decided it was time to bite the bullet and go ahead and invite some of her friends.

My wife and I didn't want a huge, expensive shindig so we narrowed the guest list down to just a handful of kids from our church, preschool and playgroup. All told we had 7 kids show up, which turned out to be a very nice size for the party.

The kids spent most of the afternoon in the backyard "swimming" in a little wading pool and playing with a Slip 'N Slide while the grown-ups sat up on the shaded deck with some cool drinks. I threw some chicken and hotdogs on the grill (and actually managed not to burn them all beyond recognition) while my wife readied the dessert.

Everything was just fine until it was time for the birthday cake. Our daughter is a big fan of Dora the Explorer, so my wife had painstakingly created a Dora cake (see pic above). Well, just before we were going to sing "Happy Birthday" and let her blow out the candles, our daughter had a little meltdown. I don't know what set her off, but through the sobs it was clear that she did not want us serving that cake! I jokingly wondered if maybe she just didn't want us to cut the cake... the image of a large knife cutting into one of her favorite characters could've been disturbing, I suppose (glad I didn't buy that Dora pinata!). More likely, it was just a case of too much stimulation, excitement and not enough sleep. Luckily, my wife had made some generic, non-Dora cupcakes which we served our guests instead (without any protestations from the birthday girl).

After dessert, the other kids gave her their gifts which seemed to improve her mood. Nothing like the ripping of gift wrap and the opening of presents to lift one's spirits!

Lift-off!

Yeah! Space Shuttle Discovery lifted-off at 10:39am (EDT)! :-)

I was teaching a class at our church's summer religion camp (more on that in a later post), so I wasn't able to watch the launch live on television. But I just couldn't resist... so I snuck out to my van for a few minutes this morning and listened to coverage of the launch on the radio.

Later in the day, after we were back from camp, the kids and I sat down and watched a tape of the launch. They were quite interested, perhaps sensing my own excitement, and we talked for a while about the shuttle, the astronauts and space flight in general. Our son was a bit disappointed when he found out 3-year olds can't go into space, but he took it all in stride and decided he could wait until he was bigger... like maybe tomorrow.

Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Yippeee... again!

I just received a flyer detailing the 29th Annual Maryland Renaissance Festival which begins August 27! My love affair with the Renn Fest began when I was a teenager, and I've been at least once a year ever since (well, except a few years when I was living on the west coast). My wife and I have taken the kids a few times, and even the little ones seem to enjoy it. If you never been, it really is a must see. I've been to other festivals across the country, and none compare to the one here in Maryland. It's extremely well done, from the performers to the shops to the food.

Some of my perennial favorites at the festival:

Johnny Fox, Swordswallower Extrodinaire - he's been doing essentially the same act for as long as I can remember, but he does it very well.

Pyrates Royale - nothing better on a hot August day than kicking back in the White Hart Tavern with a cold draft beer in hand while listening to these pirates!

Shakespeare's Skum - absolutely brilliant, if sometimes irreverent, takes on the Bard's work. Seriously, the Skum actors are really, really good. This year they'll be performing "Macbeth... in 20 minutes or less" among others.

Good stuff folks!

Yippeee!

At noon today, NASA resumed the countdown for Discovery's launch. Barring any delays, the shuttle's current launch time is 10:39am (EDT) on Tuesday!

Misbehaving Algorithm

Dean, over at Brettle Development, has actually mapped out an algorithm for use in disciplining his 4-year old daughter. OK, I admit I laughed at first. An algorithm for disciplining your kids? And I thought I was a geek! No offense meant, Dean. ;-) But after reading through his post, he might be on to something.

My wife and I have never put that much thought into how we correct our kids when they misbehave. Oh, sure, we've talked about discipline - using timeouts, being consistent, etc - but in reality discipline is meted out on the spur-of-the-moment basis and, like it or not, there are times when frustration gets the best of us. I'm a pretty laid-back guy, but our kids can be stubborn (I wonder where they learned that?) and sometimes I lose it and yell at them. That does get their attention and usually corrects their behavior, at least in the short-term. But as a corrective and knowledge-imparting action, yelling leaves much to be desired. It's a shortcut and it probably does more harm than good.

Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard?) and sketching out a plan like Dean's might help me to resist the shortcuts and instead focus on teaching the kids what they need to learn in the most effective manner.

I'd be curious to know - how do you handle discipline in your home?

Censorship

My wife did the funniest, albeit somewhat embarrassing, thing the other morning as she was getting ready for work. Unfortunately, she noticed that glint in my eye and immediately said "No! You cannot blog about this!"

One to beam up....

Sadly, James Doohan, who played Scotty on the original Star Trek series, passed away early this morning. I'm not really sure what to say, except that I was a fan of the Enterprise's Chief Engineer and "miracle worker." Though at 85 he lived a full life, I am sad that he's no longer with us.

Here's to you, Scotty!

to the moon

Google has added images of the moon to it's Google Maps interface in honor of today's 36th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing. Check out Google Moon (link via Gear Live). Kinda cool! Zoom in all the way for a little added funny.

Blogging for Scooby Snacks

Phil over at A Family Runs Through It may have found the "very first accidental pop culture reference to" blogs. Where? In a 1973 Scooby Doo cartoon of all places. Shaggy would've been a cool blogger, don't you think?

Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

After the show last night, some friends of mine were headed off to our local bookstore to pick up their copies of the new Harry Potter and enjoy the festivities of the midnight party. I decided to tag along just for the fun of it (I had already pre-ordered the book). The place was packed with people old and young, in costume and not. There was certainly an air of excitement (even among the staff) as Hogwarts professors, wizards and muggles loitered among the shelves, or waited in line for coffee, or just sat on the floor talking and reading - waiting for the clock to strike twelve.

When the final seconds finally ticked by, a cheer went up and there were squeals of excitement from the kids who had managed to snag that coveted spot at the front of the line. A photographer worked furiously to capture the moment as delighted, wide-eyed kids walked away grasping their new books, huge smiles on their faces. All of which leads me to wonder.... Despite some of the recent controversy about the books, can anything that gets millions of kids to happily stick their noses in a book really be all that bad?

The Potter books draw kids into reading like nothing ever has, and kids who like to read may well realize all sorts of benefits as they get older (I seem to recall some studies to that effect, though I haven't taken the time to locate those sources). The books pique kids' imaginations and at the same time illustrate classic morals of good versus evil. And it's a fantasy book folks! Let the kids read, or better yet, read the books with them! Come on!

I can't wait until my kids are old enough for these stories, and as for myself.... Well, I did sneak a peek at the first page (that's me in the pic above), but I'm ashamed to admit as a big Harry fan, that I haven't read book five yet! All is well though, as this gives my wife a chance to read our copy of the latest while I catch up.

"Scattered"

As previously mentioned, I eagerly awaited the premiere of Battlestar Galactica's second season last night. I expected it to be a good episode and I wasn't disappointed. The show does an outstanding job of mixing action, drama, and fascinating story arcs while not neglecting the finer details of character development (not to mention the cool special effects). Good stuff!

The only thing that kind of irked me last night was the whole Cylon intrusion into the jury-rigged computer network onboard Galactica. I'm enough of a geek to think I know a bit about computers (though I'm certainly not a pro), and I had a hard time figuring out how the Cylons could gain access to a closed network consisting of three previously un-networked machines. What was their access point? If the computers weren't open to attack when they were stand-alone machines, why would simply connecting them together provide a hacking opportunity?

Yeah, I'm nitpicking, and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the show, but did anybody else wonder about that?

Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

Apparently, it's because flies jump as well as, well... fly. According to this LiveScience article (via GeekPress), researchers at the California Institute of Technology have been hard at work studying how flies' nerve impulses allow them to escape those incoming swats. They've determined that when flies sense the incoming objects, their brains trigger a reaction in both their wings and legs. In essence, they jump out of the way.

What with the warm weather here and the near constant door openings and closings as the kids and I traipse in and out of the house, we have plenty of flies. And they're not always easy to catch. But I thought that had more to do with the wild antics of a shrieking 3-year old armed with his bright orange flyswatter, rather than jumping nerve impulses. No fly in it's right mind would sit still when my son is on the hunt (even his big sister gets out of the way).

Anyway, what the heck are scientists doing studying the mysteries of fly brains, anyway? Believe it or not, it may help in the development of "autonomously navigating robots." Who woulda thunk?

t-minus 4 hours and counting

Unless you've been living in a cave or something the past week, you're undoubtedly aware that people around the world are anxiously counting down the minutes 'til the clock strikes midnight tonight- when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released. But there's another countdown this evening as well, also anxiously awaited (though not quite of the same popular magnitude or with the same media draw as the sixth Potter volume). I am of course referring to the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica! Best show on tv!

wOOt!

he said, she said

Yesterday afternoon the kids and I went over to Nana and Grandpa's, and I overheard the following....

Daughter: "Hey, Nana! Caterpillars turn into butterflies! And then they live in butterfly houses."

Son: "Hey, Nana! Bumble bees turn into crocodiles! And then they live in crocodile houses."

Really, it's nice to see our son emulating his older sister, even if he doesn't quite get everything right. At least we know he has an active imagination.

Holy Detour, Batman!

I guess the Batmobile will have to stay in the driveway. Perhaps Alfred needed some time tidy up the place.

:-)

Alright, is it just me that finds this sign so funny? I actually took this picture here in DC, during a recent trip to the National Zoo with my wife and kids.

You know you've arrived when...

You know you've really arrived as a blogger when you start getting comment spam. Err... well, maybe not. Anyway, some asshat finally deemed the Daily Yak worthy of his (or her) effort and crapped in my comments this morning. Mmmm... spam! And pornographic at that. I feel so special!

Berry Picking - Round 2

Last month the kids had so much fun picking strawberries that we promised to take them back to Larriland Farm again as soon as other fruits were in season and ready for picking. So, a week or so ago we grabbed our baskets and headed out bright and early to see how the berry crops were doing.

Our first stop was the red raspberry field (if there's one thing better than a ripe, juicy, just-picked strawberry, it's a ripe, juicy, just-picked raspberry!). Then we hit the black raspberries and blueberries. We played peek-a-boo with each other as we wandered kind of haphazardly through the rows and rows of ripening fruit, stopping to fill our baskets when clumps of fresh berries caught our eyes. As usual, much of our son's harvest went directly from bush to mouth, but after a couple hours we headed back to the farm stand with several pounds of berries. With stained and sticky fingers, we paid for our bounty and headed back to the van.

Now, with fresh produce, the trick is to eat (or preserve) it all before everything goes bad. So, the next morning I made everyone blueberry pancakes and my wife made a delicious mixed berry pie. We also snacked all day long on the remaining berries (in fact, I can attest that it is certainly possible to eat too much fresh fruit, as my bowels were protesting the next day... I'll spare you the details). Not wanting to overdo it, again, we washed and froze the remaining berries for future use.

If you have the chance, take your kids out to a farm or orchard sometime and pick some fresh fruit and vegetables. Good stuff! We'll definitely be going again.

Scrubbed... for now.

The kids and I had NASA television on to watch the shuttle launch preperations when they made the announcement ealier this afternoon. Bummer.

Clear Skies

(A Florida hotel damaged by Hurricane Dennis / image credit: Rod Echevarria)

Well, the weather has certainly taken a turn for the better down in the Sunshine State. My wife's parents were able to get out and survey the damage Hurricane Dennis left in its wake yesterday. They snapped the above picture of an Econo Lodge just up the road from their house. The hotel's roof (which had just been replaced after Hurricane Ivan last year) was completely ripped off.

The cleanup begins.

Weathering the Storm

(Hurricane Dennis approaches the Florida gulf coast / image credit: NASA)

Longtime readers of the Daily Yak may recall my family's adventures last September when Hurricane Ivan crashed ashore near my in-laws' home on Florida's gulf coast. That storm continued to demonstrate nature's fury days later when the storm hit us here in Maryland.

So, yesterday brought a sense of dejá vu as Hurricane Dennis bore down on the same area of the gulf coast. This time around my wife's parents decided not to evacuate the area and instead spent their time battening down the hatches and securing their property. My tech-savvy father-in-law even took the time to set up a webcam (aimed out their back window) so the rest of us could check in on the real-time storm conditions (he figured the cam wouldn't last too long since they'd most likely lose electrical power). We also kept in touch by phone.

The brunt of the storm had passed by nightfall and our family seemed to have come through all right. As it turned out they did not lose power, and their property was relatively unscathed. They heard news reports that Dennis clobbered their area pretty hard, but as of last night there wasn't a real clear idea of the more widespread damage since the authorities instituted a curfew and asked everyone to stay off the roads.

As the remnants of Dennis head up our way, we'll have to wait and see if it has the staying power of last year's Ivan. At the moment it looks like we will be spared most of the severe weather and will probably just get a thorough soaking of rain.

Deep Impact

(click on pic for larger image - image credit: NASA/JPL-CalTech/Univ of Maryland)

I'm still bummed by the loss of the Cosmos 1 solar sail spacecraft two weeks ago, but the exploration of the heavens continues. Very early yesterday morning, in an effort to better understand the structure and composition of those celestial snowballs known as comets (and possibly gain insight into the very formation of our solar system), part of a NASA probe named Deep Impact slammed into comet Tempel 1.

The resulting fireworks display, so appropriate on Independence Day, was witnessed by the probe's flyby craft (which snapped the above photo at the moment of impact) as well as an impressive array of space and ground-based telescopes and instruments (here's a gallery of some of the other mission images). The resulting data will keep scientists busy for some time to come, but initial reaction seems to be one of surpassed expectations. So, props to everyone over at NASA!

On a related note, it seems an Russian astrologer has filed a lawsuit against NASA for destroying "the natural balance of forces in the universe" and is seeking $300 million in damages. Apparently she believes that the comet strike will adversely effect her horoscopes.

Why can't you tickle yourself?

Personally, I'm not a big fan of being tickled (I may have felt differently as a kid, but as a thirtysomething adult... no thanks). However, with a couple kids under the age of 5, I can say that a fair amount of tickling does occur in our house. What can I say. Those little bare bellies are just calling out for a tickle, and as the infectious laughter and big smiles can testify, the kids seem to like it... most of the time).

They even come up with new ways to tickle. A couple days ago, our daughter ran up to me and said, "Daddy, give me a 'waffle-tickle'!" When asked to describe said tickle to her clueless dad, she explained that it simply involved tickling the top of her head. What the connection is between the top of one's head and waffles is beyond me, but hey, if it'll make her happy....

But really, haven't you ever wondered why you can't tickle yourself? Well, thankfully we have scientists working hard to solve age-old mysteries like that. Here's the scoop (via GeekPress).