Insanity

Last night, my kids and I were watching an old episode of Family Guy (I know, right...father of the year).

It was the episode where Peter joins the Renaissance Fair to be a knight.  There was one callback joke based around Margot Kidder and how she kind of went crazy.  I would post a video of it but I can't find it.

Anyway, my kids didn't get the joke (hell, I barely got it), but my daughter didn't just let it go by.  She asked me about it, and I told her to look it up. The only information I would give her is that the name of the woman was Margot Kidder.

As I sit here typing this, my 8 year old daughter is reading to me facts about Margot Kidder, bi-polar disorder, Vincent van Gogh, and Helen Keller.  She is seated across the room with her netbook on her lap.

How freaking lucky are kids these days to have access to every piece of information they could ever want, whenever they want?

If I wanted this information when I was her age, it would have been fruitless.  Maybe, just maybe, I could go to a really big library and look up past issues of People magazine to find out what happened to a certain actress, which would have led me to an encyclopedia about bi-polar disorder, and so on...my daughter just got all of that information in 10 minutes.  At 8 years old in 1984, it would have been an entire day's worth of work, and that would have involved my mom driving me to a library out of town.

I no longer weep for our future.

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Blog struggles

Ok, I will admit it...my activity on here has been, for lack of a better word, shitty.  There is a good reason why, though....I have always really struggled with what kind of stuff to put on this blog.  Should I keep it edgy?  Should I keep it homely?  How much information should I reveal to the world about my family, etc.?

Just to give you an example of my paranoia, I strictly refuse to comment on YouTube videos, due to the simple fact that someone could probably figure out who I am, where i live, and what school my kids go to if given enough time and willpower.  Why piss people off on a forum that doesn't matter?

Which brings me back to this here blog and why I never update...I usually just don't want to tell all the good stuff.  Now, before you get the wrong idea, I don't secretly run a Waste Management company, or have these skeletons in my closet that I am afraid of.  In fact, I am probably one of the cleanest guys you will ever know. I don't do drugs, nor have I ever done drugs.  I have never even smoked a cigarette in my life.  I drink the occassional beer, but haven't overdone it in quite some time. So, you probably aren't going to get a lot of juicy stuff out of me.

Within the last year or so, I have discovered a wonderful blog that has truly inspired me, day in and day out, to be a better father to my children.  You will find it here.  The guy who does this blog reminds me a lot of myself...loves video games, loves his kid, and tries to do things that make him a better person.  Then it hit me...this guy is revealing quite a bit of personal information about himself and his family, and it isn't hurting him or anyone.  In fact, it is making them better.  So, here I am...the new blogging machine.  At least, that is the goal.

I have two kids.  One of them is a freshman, about to journey into the vast wasteland that is high school.  The other is in 2nd grade.  Both of them are quite smart, and not in that whole "my baby is so smart!!!" kind of way.  They are verified by independent evaluators smart.  Chandler, my son, absolutely destroyed his PSAT and is in very select company.  Last month, my daughter was asseded for the G&T program at her school.  So, I am told they are smart.

Now, before you go off and start thinking that I am about to go on this rant about how I am the reason they are smart, hold on just a sec.  I would never consider myself a lazy father...but I do think that 98% of all of the BS that parents do for their kids has nothing to do with how smart they are.  All the flash cards, Mozart in the womb, early childhood programs, etc. are just huge time wastes, in my opinion.  Your kids reflect you day in and day out, and the best thing that I can say about my kids is that they are hard working and they truly aim to please. That, in my opinion, is what truly makes a person successful, is that their goal is to make others happy.  Both of my kids truly respect their teachers (although we have had some dicey moments with the freshman, but overall we are still good), and this leads to good grades.  I know that sounds oversimplified, but it is the truth.  Now, back to the reflection piece...this is my number one flaw in life, but most of the time, it is an advantage.  I aim to please...I can't say no to anyone.  My wife hates this about me. If you need help moving, just ask me...I won't say no.  If you need someone to watch your dog for a weekend, just ask me. I won't tell you no.  I can't do it.  I have overcommiited myself so many times, it is sad, but this is what makes my kids tick.

I love my kids to the ends of the earth, but that doesn't really make me any different than 99.9% of all parents out there.  I am sure you love your kids too...just remember that what you do is the biggest indicator of what they will do.  If you smoke, so will they.  If you yell at the waiter at a restaurant, so will they.  The old adage of do what I say, not what I do, will never work with your kids.  So remember, if you hug your kids every day, sit down and eat dinner with them every day, and tell them that you love them every day, they will do the same.  And usually, that means they are going to be pretty good at being adults, too.

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How fast is the Internet at Google? Mind blowing.

via feedproxy.google.com

That is just sad...and happy, all at the same time.

Posted via email from Explosive Amnesia

Rockin' Out Koala Bear

Rockin' Out Koala Bear

via Neatorama by John Farrier on 2/8/11

(Video Link)

When this koala plays air guitar, he can really get an audience excited. Next up: a kangaroo on drums.

via The Presurfer

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Random Atlanta Hotel Room Thoughts

I just had too many of these running through my head, so I needed to
get them out.

I am sitting in my hotel room in Atlanta with nothing but time to
kill. As I thumb through the different channels, stopping mostly on
American Idol, this is what is going on.

Steven Tyler is a big thumbs up in my book. But my fear is that your
average American housewife really has no idea who he is. If you like
the show NCIS, you probably don't give a rat's ass who Steven Tyler
is.

There is a channel on the TV here that says nothing but
"Congratulations. You have a Dish 500. Nice usage of bandwidth.

I rarely get a chance to watch commercials on tv, mainly because I
don't watch TV that much. I am certainly not missing anything.

Except for the two AT&T commercials right now...the one where they are
eating tacos outside Eric's office and the one where the guy gets the
text message before everyone else and has that crazy laugh. Now that
is funny stuff.

One thing that completely sucks about the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and
the iPad: If you forget to turn the keyboard completely off before
you put it in your bag, every time one of the keys is pressed, the
ipad lights up and wants you to use it. So, for most of the day, mu
ipad kept on turning on in my bag. Battery life was much less than
usual because of that.

This hotel I am staying in charges $12.95 a day for internet. That is
highway robbery. The room only costs $125 a night. I am paying more
than 10% of the room charge for one day of internet. Hard to justify
that cost.

Nancy Grace is the worst thing ever. If you like and regularly watch
that show, I dislike you. She is what is wrong with this country's
media.

I really like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Their shows are great.
But I think if their goal is to raise consciousness of how stupid
people are, they should do more appearances on other people's shows.
They need to appear more to people who don't like them. But, people
are such sheep that they would probably just change the channel.

I am so thankful that I don't pay for cable tv. Aside from the
various sporting contests that I invariably miss, I am not missing
anything.

Of course, Comedy Central plays a South Park episode making fun of
Jennifer Lopez, opposite of American Idol (where she is one of the new
judges).

Does TBS play anything but Tyler Perry shows? I know this is kind of
beating a dead horse, but it seriously seems like that is all that is
ever on there.

Coming home tomorrow. Can't wait. Oh yeah, one more thing...if you
can avoid Atlanta's airport, do it. That thing is poorly designed, in
a ridiculous way.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from Explosive Amnesia

First post with my new Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and iPad

Ok, so if you look at my earlier post that says I wasn't going to get
an iPad, then you will think that I am a fool. Well, you probably
already think that, but life goes on, right?

I have had the ipad for the last few months, and it is nothing short
of amazing. I love it so much. The funny thing is that the amount of
time I spend sitting in front of my home computer has drastically
reduced.

I started a new job this month, and I am seriously thinking that they
could just let me use an iPad instead of a laptop. It is that
versatile. Sure, there are certain things that I cannot do with my
iPad that I can with a laptop. It won't have the processing power to
do some of the heavier tasks that I have to be able to do with my job,
but as far as email goes, this thing is great.

My kids love the games, I love NetFlix, and I love having it.

This is me admitting I was wrong. If you are on the fence, thinking
that you might want one, get off the fence. Go get it. You won't
regret it. Or, make up your mind that you are going to get the new
one when it comes out in the spring. Either way, you will thank me.

Sent from my iPad

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VIDEO: Homeless dude does the best fake radio voice ever

Let's get this guy a job!

VIDEO: Homeless dude does the best fake radio voice ever

via Guyism by Chris Spags on 1/4/11

There is literally nothing that brings me more joy than exploiting the homeless for viral video glory. In this video, a Columbus, Ohio homeless man does a fake radio DJ voice and it’s so damn enrapturing.

I would totally hire him for my all-homeless-person radio station. WHBO – Where You Get All the Hits. And Homeless Piss. Lots of Homeless Piss. Seriously, We Don’t Even Know What They’re Ingesting But It Smells Awful.

Posted via email from Explosive Amnesia