Skyping

We had our first experience earlier this week with video calling. In the words of our kids, "It was cool!"

Auntie Yuki has been trying to convince us to sign up with Skype for maybe a couple years now. Well, we finally signed up and placed our first call using our new web cam.

The web cam has a few other capabilities like being able to take pictures and save video clips. It's also possible to enhance photos. We used the web cam to take the picture below impossibly showing Ryan with facial hair.

3-2-1 Go, Race Cars!

Ethan is in his first year of scouting. One of the big events for Boy Scouting is pinewood derby cars. The scouts are given basic materials to build their own cars to enter in a race. Our Pack had its race earlier this month.

Ethan picked the colors. I tried to sway him away from Stanford colors to no avail. It's the only car with these candy cane colors. Ethan also helped with some of the sanding, painting and installation of wheels. He was also the official decal affixer. There is some science to this "kiddie" fun. It turns out, the real serious racers likely spend much time correctly weighting their cars and polishing and lubricating their wheels and axles. These are probably the keys to winning.

This was our first time racing pinewood derby cars. We did not really know what to expect. We did learn a lot for next year. We didn't win, but had a great time.

The video below was shot by one of the fathers in our den. Their car finished in 3rd place. Another car from our den won the top prize. We almost won a prize too: the Turtle Car Award for the slowest car able to make it to the finish line. After seeing the video, you'll probably agree that calling these "slower" cars "turtles" is a misnomer. We had "victory" snatched from our grasp when the winning car just barely rolled across the line a few second after our finish.

If you watch the start of the video closely, you'll see Dorothy.

New Soul

The MacBook Air commercial features a catchy tune. It's a song called "New Soul" by Yael Naim, a French-Israeli singer/songwriter. Here's the link to her web site: http://www.yaelweb.com/

And here's the video for the song. Enjoy!

What's a Middle Name Worth?

Today, we learned what Ryan thinks about middle names.

We have a picture of the family taped on the door to one of our bedroom closets. I pointed to the picture and asked him who was in the photo.

Me: Ryan, is this Michael?

Ryan: No, that's me.

Me: Yes, it's Michael.

Ryan: Please don't call me that. That's what people call me when they need to call me three times.

I Don't Like to Dress Up!

We were eating at a restaurant yesterday when my salad arrived ahead of the main course. Of course, the kids were clamoring for their food.

Ryan: I'm hungry. Where's my food?

Me: You want a crunchie (crouton)?

Ryan: Okay. [so I give him a few]

Ryan: Thanks, but you can have these back.

Me: Why?

Ryan: They have dress-up on them.

I figure out what he means. He didn't want the pieces with salad "dressing" on the croutons!

Electioneering

Much is made about the American public not turning out to vote. Given the many arcane and ridiculous voting rules in place, it's a wonder that fewer people don't decide to stay home.

Here's a case in point: The state of Washington has both a caucus and a primary. This one makes no sense. Their caucuses are today. Voters don't really know where they are suppose to go for their local caucus location. This is compounded by the fact caucuses start at 2pm when many people are out for weekend daytime activities. What's important is that it's these caucuses that are used to select delegates in Washington. The odd thing is that Washington holds primary elections on February 19. Since their delegates are selected through the caucus process, the primaries are essentially meaningless. This hasn't stopped the state from mailing out countless mail-in ballots.

Another case in point: An issue has surfaced with Washington's mail-in ballots. In order to vote through the mail-in process, voters are to mark their party affiliation on their ballots. The ballots are deemed invalid if this is not done. It turns out that a high percentage of ballots have been returned without such an indication. Although it's been noted that the place to mark the ballot is buried in fine print on the outside of the ballot, the real issue is why this is even necessary. Isn't vote counting automated these days? Shouldn't the election office already have information on voter registration? Why is there a need for voters to state their party affiliation?

Number of the Day: 3984

The state of Montana has its American Legion White Cross Highway Fatality Marker Program that has been around since 1953. The program was initiated as a way to remind motorists to drive carefully following the 1952 Labor Day weekend when six lives were lost in the Missoula area. The program has continued to the present, with the various American Legion Posts around the state responsible for posting white crosses to mark the location of traffic fatalities. Not all fatalities get marked. Due to a federal ruling, these white crosses are not allowed on interstate highways, although they are allowed on other federal and state highways and along forest service roadways. Since the inception of the program, it's estimated that over 2000 white crosses have been planted. This translates to about a five acre cemetery.

The photo above is not from Montana. It's not a reproduction of all the white crosses from Montana. The number of crosses on the hillside in the picture numbers nearly twice the number of white crosses in Montana. These crosses in the photo (Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn) are located along a busy stretch of State Route 24 across from the BART station in Lafayette, California. I observed the number 3984 on a large white board amongst the white crosses from the BART train today on the way home from work. Each cross represents one American soldier killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003. This number was 3173 on March 5, 2007.

Critics say that this display disrespects the memory of the soldiers killed in combat in Iraq because it was erected as a protest to the war. The other side says that this is a protest against the president and his staff who planned and executed the war, not a protest against the men and women serving in the military.

Meanwhile the number of crosses in Lafayette, California continues to increase and will likely surpass 4000 soon.

Flying out of Sand Point

This is a video clip showing a Lockheed Electra flying out of Sand Point, Alaska. The plane taxis down to the south end of the runway and then takes off north toward the mainland down the 4000-foot runway. The plane takes most of the length of the runway before it lifts off, then flies over the strait between Unga Island and Popof Island.


From merculiv on YouTube

Santa Claus at Six Flags

We went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to see Santa Claus. The kids were not disappointed although it was a bit chilly. The hot chocolate came in handy.

We had a first time experience: being one of the first in line to see Santa Claus. We expected a much larger crowd to see Santa, but were surprised to see only one person in line. Maybe it was this lack of a crowd that lowered our expectations, but in the end our visit with Santa was much better than expected. We even got to see Mrs. Claus.

Christmas and Holiday Cards

A funny thing happened today. We got four cards today that were obviously made at the same place. They were those photo cards where you supply the photo and choose the framing and a catchy holiday quote. Funny, huh?

Cal Bears Basketball - Game #3

Bears 77, SDSU Aztecs 69 on Saturday at Haas.

This was the toughest game in what has been a pretty weak schedule to date for the Bears, but 3-0 is better than 1-2 or 2-1. So I'll take it, especially with the Bears still on the mend. And besides, come Tournament selection time, this win against what was a 5-0 Aztec club could be viewed as a good win.

The player of the game was Jerome Randle who scored a career high 21 on his return game from a kidney biopsy. Without him, the Bears probably lose this game. I don't know what he does on his dribble, but he got whistled on a carry once again. He's got to get this corrected. This was also a common occurrence last year.

This was another game that the 2006-07 version of the Bears probably would've lost. The Bears were down 26-40 with about 3 minutes left in the first half, but fought back to 33-40 at the half. This 7-point run featured 3 lay-ups and a FT. This was a key sequence. The Bears did not panic and start hoisting threes, but scored inside. The last was a breakaway by Antioch's own Eddie Miller that went in even though it looked like goal tending by one of the lanky Aztecs. There was no whistle by the refs.

The 2nd half was dominated by the Bears. The Bears finally caught the Aztecs about 10 minutes into the second half on a 3-pointer by (yes, you guessed it) Randle. It finally got the somewhat subdued crowd into the game. SDSU never regained the lead after this although they did tie up the score once.

The tie score was at 66-66 with just over 6 minutes left in the game. Game symmetry: from the time the score was 26-40, the Bears countered with their own 40-26 run to tie the game at 66-66.

The Bears finished on a 11-3 run to finish the game, including a 7-point run to 73-66 to put the game away for all intents and purposes. This run featured Hardin's first basket of the game to break the tie. Followed by 2 clutch FTs and another layup by Christopher. This was followed by 1 of 2 from the charity stripe by Ryan. The Bears need to work on their FT-ing.

The Aztecs had a couple of amazing performances themselves. Kelvin Davis (#40) reminded me a lot of Ed Gray in his hey day with the Bears. Not only because of his build, but also the way he was hoisting and sinking threes, many with a hand right in his face. There was one where he fell back into his bench, with the shot hitting nothing but net. Another similarity, they both attended that junior college basketball outpost, College of Southern Idaho.

Part of the reason for the less than enthusiastic crowd was there was no band, no cheerleaders, no yell leaders, no nothing. At one point in the game, there was Jamal Boykin (former Duke Blue Devil sitting out a semester according to the NCAA transfer rules) jumping up and down trying to get the student section into the game. It looked out of place. I could see him thinking, "oh, wait, these aren't Cameron Crazies."

I have to give a shout out to Fondue Fred's on Telegraph for letting us use their restroom going against the grain that is "our restrooms are only available to paying customers."

Next up is Nevada on Wednesday, the Bears first road game. Will be a good test for the Bears, but it should be a winnable game for the Bears. The Wolfpack lost at UCF who lost to K-State (in the Old Spice Classic) who the Bears will see in December.

Stats Redux - November 22, 2007

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated January 2006, June 2006, October 2006 and March 2007.

Price of Gas: $3.39 per gallon (up $0.26 since the March 2007 check-in; the price has held steady for the past week or so with crude oil prices hovering around $100 per barrel; reports yesterday indicated that the price go up another $0.75; and another sign of the times perhaps: one of the new sit-coms this year is one about carpoolers)
Price of Milk: $3.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($1.00 price increase since March 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge
Today's High Temperature: 64 degrees F (overnight low of 38) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 12,799.04 (up 688.63 since March 2007); and this is with a 211 point drop yesterday
Shopping Days to Christmas: 32 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, ham, asparagus dish, salad, corn casserole, rice, and soup to name a few items)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool MWF and a 2-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to MWF carpool and TuThu carpool is a new one with a fellow employee)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price has dropped from $620,000 to $556,000 in Concord since March of this year
Movie Ticket: still $9.50;
Time with My Kids: visit with Santa planned for tomorrow

Also, today is my parents' anniversary. Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad!

Daylight Saving Time

This year, changing from Daylight Saving Time back to Standard Time occurred on the first Sunday in November instead of on the last Sunday in October. The impact for us was that instead of darkness falling a little after 5pm on Halloween, darkness fell after 6pm. This meant that trick-or-treating at least for our kids started a little later than in past years.

The following is a video that was shot at about 2am of our auto-setting clock running forward to adjust backwards by one hour.

Daylight Savings Time
Video sent by CEmoto

Great Road Trip Scavenger Hunt - Items 15 to 20

Item #15: An odd drive-through service

We thought that a drive-thru pharmacy to be an odd service, but guess what? Now such services are making their appearance in the Bay Area. This picture was taken near ojiichan and obaachan's place in Kent, WA. This pharmacy with its drive-thru window has been in business for several years now.



Item #16: The travelers playing a miniature golf course

The miniature golf course that we played was at the Seattle Center. Ryan didn't quite get it as he insisted on playing the same hole over and over and then thought it was a good idea to try to collect all the golf balls.



Item #17: Smokey Bear

Did you know that there's not a single National Park in the state of Oregon? This is what we learned during our search for Smokey Bear while in Oregon. We have to give kudos to the very friendly volunteers at the visitors' center in Medford, Oregon who directed us to the Oregon Department of Forestry building on the outskirts of Medford. A call was placed to verify that they had cut-outs of Smokey Bear. Not only did we get cut-outs, but also coloring books.



Item #18: A menu or sign selling root beer floats

This photo was taken at an A&W in Kent, WA. The place even had drive up service where you could place your order while parked in a parking space. No waiters on roller skates, but still retro. We couldn't think of such a drive-up restaurant near our home.



Item #19: Something very unusual not on this list

We had our choice of items that we could use just from the Fremont district of Seattle. The Fremont district of Seattle is the self-proclaimed Center of the Universe. There's the giant troll under the bridge.



Or the statue of people waiting for a bus (I think that's what this is).



But the unusual item that we submitted with our entry was the statue of Lenin. The story goes that the statue was rescued from Slovakia by a man from the Seattle area. The statue is believed to be the only one of Lenin surrounded by guns. The more usual statues show Lenin as an intellectual, carrying a book or two. The statue is now actually on sale for $250,000 by the family of the man who brought the statue back to the U.S. The proceeds of the sale are set to go to community art activities in the Fremont area.



Item #20: Farm machinery in a field

We had a great time hunting this one down. We got several photos of farm machinery, but what made this one unique was that the person driving the farm machinery in this case was a woman. We waved to her and she waved back!

Second Best to No One, Not Even Mona Lisa

Ryan: I was so tired that I pictured my self asleep. And that's what happened. Preschool is tough, but still lots of fun. I get to make cool stuff like picture frames. That's where the frame on my face is from. Mom told me not to play with it, that it would lose its adhesiveness. Well, I couldn't help my self. After all, I am only 3 years old.

The Ryan Chronicles 1

Let's check in to find out about the latest on life from the point of view our three-year old Ryan.

Kids seem to need shots about as frequently as cars need oil changes. Almost every "well" visit to the doctor's office involves some sort of shot. The most recent visit included flu shots.

The usual routine goes something like this. The nurse shows up with the needle. Child gets frightened and tries to squirm away. Parents help to expose area to be shot. For toddlers like Ryan, the area is usually the upper thigh. The child continues to struggle while the parent and nurse hold the child down while the shot is administered. Child continues to cry while the nurse tells the child that he can get a prize for being so brave.

Here's a recent conversation between Ryan and Dorothy.

Ryan: Where did you go?

Dorothy: I went to get a blood test.

Ryan: Did you have to get a shot?

Dorothy: Yes, they poked me with a needle.

Ryan: Who held you down?

Not Really a Deepak Chopra Fan, But...

I saw the following list on a recent blog attributed to Chopra about ways to slow down aging:

1. Change your perception of time. Don't be in a hurry.
2. Get restful sleep.
3. Eat fresh, nutritious food.
4. Take at least two multivitamins with minerals every day.
5. Practice a mind body technique such as yoga or tai chi.
6. Exercise regularly.
7. Don't put toxins in your life, including toxic food, toxic
emotions, toxic relationships, and avoid toxic environments or toxic relationships.
8. Have a flexible attitude to minor hassles.
9. Look at so-called problems as opportunities.
10. Nurture loving relationships.
11. Always have an attitude of curiosity, learning, and wonder and spend time with children.

These seem to be sensible points to follow whether you are striving to live longer or just living life to its fullest. Here is what a six-year old might say about the above list:

1. Are we there yet?
2. Do we have to go to sleep already?
3. Yea! Chicken nuggets and fries again!
4. Can I have another vitamin (gummi-vitamins, emphasizing the "gummi" part)?
5. Look at how high I can jump on your bed!
6. You can't get me! Na-na-na-na!
7. Is it okay to eat this? (crawling up from under the dining table)
8. I guess reading just one story tonight is okay.
9. You mean if we walk home now, we can watch some tv?
10. But I wanted to feed Mimi (our goldfish)! I never get to feed her.
11. Can I have a play date with Ben today?

We Will Rock You

Ryan's current favorite song is "We Will Rock You." He picked it up from one of the Disney "Move It" CDs. The song again matches his personality.

Here's an animation that moves to this song.

Now You See Me ... Now You Don't!

Wild and Reckless

Sometimes actions that are random do not seem to be so. Take what happened this evening when we went out for ice cream.

The place that we frequent under went a renovation some time earlier this year. They installed new ice cream counters that have a rail along the bottom to allow kids a step up to see the various canisters of ice cream. The kids think it's great that they can see the ice cream.

The minute we go into the ice cream shop, the kids are busy trying to check out all of the ice cream flavors. Naomi is usually deliberate and low-key in her search for the right flavor for the moment, but usually settles on some chocolate variation. Ethan often picks some variation between vanilla and strawberry. Ryan is a little more unpredictable. Sometimes he copies one of the other two kids. Other times it seems he bases his selection on color.

This evening, he settled on a flavor quite quickly. When he pointed out his selection, we had a good laugh. He was pointing to a flavor of sherbet called "Wild and Reckless."