A little more snow than expected

 The weather service was predicting 1/2 to 1 inch of snow for us over the next few days.  Instead we have ten inches or so piled up and potentially more on the way.  Somehow it is very satisfying when the weather prediction is wrong, because deep inside we always doubted that they could predict it anyway.

Here is our snow-woman we made.  Emily says she is a little creepy, but I think she is regal.  The girls wanted to make her into a princess and previous versions had a crown, but their heads fell off.  I reinforced this one with a stick inside, but forgot a crown.

Our house in the snow.  We have three sidewalks leading to the house, plus the sidewalks around the block to shovel, which is the job awaiting me now.  

Even Kate came and played outside with us.  

Emily and her friend made a great snow fort in the Church parking lot that included tunnels and a protective wall.  

Annual Christmas Bowling

Bonnie and John gave us a gift certificate for bowling again this Christmas.  Either I am getting better, or luckier.  Kate rocked the roller bowler.

The only one that didn't bowl was Becca, but since she was happy to cheer us on.

 Colleen's technique is a hard drop and then a meander down to the pins that can be a strike or a split. 

 There is plenty of time for silliness while waiting your turn.

 Kate is getting better at taking pictures, which is great because now there are more pictures of Leila.  Usually she has the camera and so there are pictures of the kids and I, but not of her.  Man, she is cute.

Emily bought this coat with money she earned from babysitting the other kids.  She has always had her own sense of style.  She has grown up so much the last year. 

From the Elder's quorum lesson: We have a work to do.

Because of the ice storm, church was cancelled this week.  I can't say I am too disappointed, because Becca has a cold and didn't sleep well last night, and so neither did Leila or I.  We haven't gotten her on a great schedule still.  She doesn't sleep well anywhere but her car seat and late at night I cave every time. But with this much cuteness it is hard to be too bitter, even at 2 AM.

 So anyway,  with Church cancelled I don't have to teach the lesson this week after all.  I was actually looking forward to it.  The lesson was based on Todd Christofferson's October 2012 conference talk: Brethren, We Have Work to Do.  He begins by citing statistics and examples where men seem to be slacking,

“Girls outperform boys now at every level, from elementary school through graduate school. By eighth grade, for instance, only 20 percent of boys are proficient in writing and 24 percent proficient in reading. Young men’s SAT scores, meanwhile, in 2011 were the worst they’ve been in 40 years. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), boys are 30 percent more likely than girls to drop out of both high school and college. … It is predicted that women will earn 60 percent of bachelor’s, 63 percent of master’s and 54 percent of doctorate degrees by 2016. Two-thirds of students in special education remedial programs are guys.”³

I believe it may be more complicated than that.  Although there are more women in graduate school than men, many fields, including my own, have very few women.  I definitely agree that
 "In too many Hollywood films, TV and cable shows, and even commercials, men are portrayed as incompetent, immature, or self-absorbed."  

I loved "The Simpsons" when I was younger; my Mom hated it, and it was funny.  Bart and Lisa are great examples of this trend.

 

Bart and Homer are lovable buffoons with little drive or ambition.  Lisa on the other hand works hard, studies hard, and has big plans for herself.  As the father of 5 daughters, we need more women in media like Lisa, instead of the princess and beauty obsessiveness that is so common, but that is another topic for another day.

Just look at what magazines and entertainment are marketed to men.  What do you think of as a Men's magazine?  Maxim, maybe.  Sports Illustrated is focused on sports and a yearly swimsuit edition and is probably one of the better choices and that isn't saying a lot.  Elder Christoffersen calls for a rebellion from this shallow sex and fun obsessed view of masculinity:

"The Church and the world and women are crying for men, men who are developing their capacity and talents, who are willing to work and make sacrifices, who will help others achieve happiness and salvation. They are crying, “Rise up, O men of God!”¹⁰ God help us to do it. "

How do we do that?  My plan for the lesson was to discuss this as a class and use the suggestions from the talk when they matched comments or when the discussion waned.  Elder Christoffersen cites a short video he saw about a hard-working young man in India named Amar. An inspiring hard working kid.



I was also going to suggest searching out better media.

One of my recent internet guilty pleasures is the Art of Manliness website. It reminds me of the Boy's Life magazines that I read as a boy - but with even more retro view of style and art.  Check out the ode to the handkerchief  or this graphic on types of mustaches.  I loved their stocking stuffer list.  Each Sunday, they have a "Manvotional" - usually reprints of old essays or poems. Today's fit this lesson perfectly. From James Freeman Clarke,

"But, you may say, we cannot all be inspired apostles or great philosophers. No; but the motive, the principle which made their lives rich, we can have in ours. This principle is, to be interested in something good; to have an object, an aim, a purpose outside of ourselves.

In the great storms which have lately swept over the north Atlantic, a steamer from our shores discovered another, dismasted and rudderless, drifting before the gale, its decks swept by terrible seas. The sailors volunteered to man a boat, and go to save those on the wreck. The labor was appalling, the dangers frightful; but they succeeded, and saved the lives of their fellow-men. Which has made the noblest use of life, the self-indulgent epicurean, who amuses himself with a little art, a little literature, a little criticism and a little vapid social pleasure, or these rugged, brave hearts, who bade defiance to storm and sea, and brought salvation to those in despair? To forget yourself is the secret of life; to forget yourself in some worthy purpose outside of yourself.

The poor steamer foundered because it drifted; because its steering apparatus was lost. The man who has no aim higher than himself also drifts; he has nothing by which to steer, nothing toward which to direct his life. Do not drift, but steer; that is the second rule."

  The four rules of Clarke:

1. Forget yourself in some interest outside of yourself.
2. Do not drift, but steer.
3. Do with your might what your hands finds to do.
4. Trust in God, and your own soul.  

Wise words, I love the bit of Wadsworth he quotes also:

“The primal duties shine aloft like stars;
The charities which soothe and bless and save,
Are scattered at the feet of man like flowers.”

This is the type of manhood that builds a better world.

Getting the most out of business travel

I was listening today to NPR's Travel with Rick Steve and I realized what was missing from their discussion about travel. All travel they discussed was for vacation, not business. Over the years I have been to Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Hawaii, France, and all over the US, but almost always for work. All of our vacation travel is to visit family, which is nice, but it isn't the same as being a tourist, and even that is more and more difficult as our family grows. Seven plane tickets aren't cheap and I dread days in the car driving west and back.

There are positives and negatives of business travel. The great thing is that someone else pays for it. The bad is that I usually travel alone, without my family. Leila is left home and it just isn't as fun without her and the kids. Early in our marriage, Leila and Emily travelled with me to conferences sometimes and to Mexico and Bolivia. The Karmina Palace in Manzanillo, Mexico is such a fond memory for Leila and I to this day. We spent three weeks there at a very stressful time. It was awesome. They had a calm cove for playing in the waves, a quiet beach, a turtle nesting area, a kids club for Emily during the day, and we would go out to eat each night after pollinating. It was so fun to come home from pollinating, snorkel at the beach and then take Leila and Emily to dinner with Osman and Darryl Bowman. We never could have afforded to stay there on our graduate student stipend.

Here is how I think you can get the most out of business travel:

1. Get the work done. Work is paying for it and they deserve a return on that investment. I had a professor who focused his research on sea grasses in Samoa so he had an excuse to spend as much time as possible in Samoa. He quickly built a reputation for that. I can't see how it can be good for your career to get a reputation for milking the company travel budget.

2. Have a good time. Go out to eat with other employees and customers. It is work, but it is ok to enjoy it and the personal contact and friendships are important for getting things done.

3. Go running, walking, or rent a bicycle. It is amazing what you notice running or walking in a new place that would not be noticeable from a car window.

4. Don't eat at McDonald's or chain fast food. I was in Argentina once, it was late and we had been in the field in Sampacho all day. Or Argentine colleague suggested going for a hamburger at McDonald's instead of eating out. We resisted and asked at the hotel restaurant instead what they could bring us quickly. They brought lasagna with fresh pasta and cups of sorbet for dessert. And cost only a few dollars more. If it is safe, there are often great street food available or local fast food options available. In Mexico my favorite are the small taco joints. It is usually a peso or two per small taco made from lomo, lengua, or al pastor. So good with salsa and picadillo. In Argentina we found that we could get steak sandwiches from most of the gas stations. Or empanadas. Or choripan. In Nicaragua you can get quesadillas made from fresh mozzarella like cheese with caramelized onions

5. It is ok to eat alone and to go plays, movies, museums by yourself. When I worked for Ag Alumni my colleagues would go drinking after meetings. I joined them at the bar for a few minutes, but since I don't drink once the evening turns from socializing to getting drunk I am out of there. In Chicago I went to see Wicked and got cheap tickets on the balcony. Sometimes I will go to the movies in the evening. In Kihei they have an open air roller skating rink in the park with 5 dollar inline skate rental till ten. In Memphis I escaped to listen to bluegrass bands.

6. Transportation. I often have a rental car, which is a lonely way to travel by yourself, but it is a great way to see the countryside between meetings. In France I was able to drive to The Basque Country with my Basque colleagues.

Snow days

Wednesday night winter came to Iowa.  We had been in the 40's or 50's throughout November, abnormally warm and dry.  It was still in the high 30's when it started to snow and drizzle, but dropped quickly.  The ground was still warm enough that the snow melted as fast as it came down.  This was the first snowstorm I have seen with lightning and thunder.  When the lightning struck the whole night sky lit up, reflecting off of the falling snow.  By morning, we had almost 13 inches of heavy snow.  My back is sore from shoveling all of our walks.

The kids wanted to go sledding, but just as we started walking the wind picked up.  Each gust of wind would pick up the sleds like sails and blow them off their feet, so by the time we made it to the bit of a sled hill by the trail everyone was weeping and wailing.  

When we got back home Aleah and Colleen decided to play "Angry Birds".  They made structures with different colored blocks for pigs and birds and then took turns knocking them down.  So much more fun than blizzard sledding.  

Even Kate tried. This game kept them busy for hours.  

Christmas is approaching fast and I am so not ready.  Oh, and the world didn't really end so now I need to do some Christmas shopping.  

IPAD review

My work bought me an iPAD so that I can test it out for new mobile applications. I cannot believe how computers have evolved. I was a bit of a Luddite in high school. I didn't have a computer at home and Mrs. Olic-Hamilton loaned me a typewriter so that I could type my reports and essays. I was a horrible typist and used to handwrite everything and then stay up late at night typing it out one finger at a time.

The first laptop that Leila had when we were married was as big as a briefcase. It had a keyboard that lifted out and a small black and white screen. In 2000 I got a Compaq laptop from the BYU equipment sale that had Windows 97 and Word. I typed my dissertation on it and was amazed by its 128 Megabytes of storage. It had a floppy drive and I don't think that it connected to the Internet. I still have it in a drawer at work.  I loved the rollerball mouse along side the screen.

My current work laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad and it is a workhorse, buts it has a lot of computing power. At home we have an HP desktop that is used mostly for streaming videos, reading blogs, storing and manipulating photos, and Facebook. We don't use our TV much since we can stream Netflix without any commercials on the computer.

The iPAD is slick and easy to use. It has no keyboard, a simple interface and an almost endless supply of cheap or free applications that can be downloaded wirelessly. It certainly makes my early computers look clunky, but it is an entertainment device first and computer second. The touchscreen is better suited to Angry Birds than typing. The onscreen keyboard is functional, I am using it now, but I wouldn't want to type a dissertation with it. Formatting complicated documents is almost impossible and the autocorrect which is nice for quick emails is obnoxious for programming code or technical jargon. Even here it changed my mispelled "it has" to "itch" in the previous paragraph.

Do you have one of the new tablet computers? Are they more than genius toys? What programs do you use?

Poor Pathetic Kate

 Kate has been hit with double whammy - stomach flu and bronchitis.  Either she has been asleep on the floor, or the couch, or a the kitchen chair since Friday. 

We are trying to get her to drink a lot of fluids, but a few sips at a time is all Kate can manage.  Here she fell asleep at the table after two sips of apple juice mixed with pedialyte. 

Over 300 posts and a give-away!

I started this blog over Christmas vacation in 2004. I was frustrated with trying to analyze data and was hunting for a distraction online.  I guess if  it were now I would have skimmed facebook for a while, but in 2004, I didn't even know what that was.  I had heard about weblogs and it sounded like a good way to start writing about science and communicate with my family back home. I didn't know anyone else with a blog and wandered through some clicking on the "Next Blog" links from the blogger header.

 I have no idea how many blogs there are total on the web, one site I found says it is close to 173 million.  Some have made the authors money - cook books, memoirs, or movies, but most are for friends or family to share stories and pictures.  Social media sites have dominated this internet market in recent years, and I am as addicted as the rest of the us to facebook, but I still prefer the wordy format of a blog. Google+ seems cool, but only 1 person I know uses it regularly.   I haven't had as much to say here in recent months, but after eight years, I am still writing here.  I don't have a lot of readers, my grandparents, my sister, my Mom.  A few old friends that are like family now.  I have thought about ending this blog, but I am not going to.  I hope you keep reading.  I still have something to say.

Leila's quilt blogs have prize drawings to increase reader participation.  I am not drumming up business, but if you are a reader and want a prize, leave a comment.  I have jars of sizzling salsa that I will mail out this week.  If that doesn't suit your fancy, I will happily send signed copies of my scientific articles - just kidding, no one wants to read those.  More than anything, I am grateful for the friendships I have been able to maintain through the chain of blogs and social media sites.  I am horrible at writing letters, but like to stay in touch with old friends and family.

(Some pictures of the kids so my sister won't nag me:)

 Becca is a happy kid

 Kate took this great picture of Leila. 

 Aleah got baptized this month.  She lives up to her middle name - Felice. 

 The rest of the girls at the baptism

 Finally getting around to painting the kid furniture.  I had helpers, which was aggravating, but endearing.

The finished kid furniture.

Couch Potato Baby

 This kid spent the whole last month sitting on the couch!

Where did October go?

 When I wasn't working too many hours, I was at home too tired to be rational.  I am hamming it up as Emily and I made dinner.

 Much to many of my friends chagrin, I did vote for Obama. I even went to his last rally in Des Moines.  Three blocks and 20,000 people from me is the President.

 Kate got bronchitis and needed to use the nebulizer (How do you spell that?) to help open her lungs.  She is strangely chipper when she is sick.

 Unless you turn off the TV.  Then she is a terror!

Colleen decided to get her hair cut, a lot.

For all of the undecided voters out there

The rest of us

Fall has been remarkably mild here.  Baby Becca has dominated the Gardunia news, but the other kids insisted that I post something about them.

 Emily has been taking a lot of pictures this month, ~ 400. Good thing it is a digital camera, that would be a lot of film to develop.  Kodak employees everywhere are a little sad to hear that.  She took this great picture of the Huxley water tower.

A bunch of silly self portraits.

This is from a kinda moody sad portrait session with Colleen.  This could be used in an afternoon special warning against bullying or something that makes children sad, like a world without ice cream.  Any moment political ads will use this image to explain that Romney or Obama is going to take away your children's ice cream. Beware.  A sad future for all of us.

 While we were at the hospital, Emily and the girls went to the Schloemer's house and here is Emily's pic of Kate telling a story instead of napping.  Word.

She also made Kate robots to play with.  Kate has been kinda obsessed with robots lately.  Regularly when I wake her up her first words are, "Why are there not more robots? Why don't people want robots?"

Aleah drew a map of our house with fantastical elements including a robot dog.  She was so excited to make her vision a reality that we made this robot dog together last Sunday while Kate was napping.  She was impressed.  Finally a robot in her house.

While Leila's mom was here, we went to the science center - thanks to Chris's generosity.  Afterwards, we were starving.  The Des Moines Farmer's market was finished and some of the bars were open for lunch, as well as the soup kitchen line, but we were hunting for something not quite so obviously a bar.  We found Fong's Pizza - an all hours Japanese pizza joint decorated with cool japanese and chinese decor.  We sat at the bar and ordered the loaded baked potato pizza - potatoes, taco meat, bacon bits, chives, green onions, sour cream, and jalapeños with a cream sauce and two different kinds of cheese.  It was remarkably well received by my cheese pizza, no sauce loving kits.

Everyone enjoying the loud indie rock and pizza, which was very filling piled high with potatoes, cheese, and fillings.

I made one last batch of fiery hot salsa.  It is mostly habañero and paprika peppers.  It was so spicy that I cooked it outside on charcoal so that the fiery fumes didn't overwhelm us.  If you would like a jar, I will mail you one, send me your address and remember it isn't a weapon, its food that burns use sparingly.

I also brought home two bushels of apples.  Prices are high this year because of a late freeze that killed most of the blossoms this spring.  The local overpriced U-pick place had some for 34 dollars/bushel, but strangely only 15/half bushel.  The teller was confused why I wanted multiple half bushels instead of two full bushels.  Even more when two half bushels overflowed the bushel box.  Ahh, math.  It's a beautiful thing. 

Colleen has been a great help and happy to have half day kindergarten.