Since my wife is unlikely to blog, I figured I would share this with you. She claims that it really happened, but I'll let you be the judge.
Last night, I went to bed before Jenn. Mind you, I didn't go early or anything... it was after midnight (due to the wrapping). Knowing my wife, it was probably 2am by the time she arrived. I was, apparently, asleep already.
Jenn: kneels down to pray as she does before getting in bed Tim: Are you looking for the bovine creatures? Jenn: ignores me... thinking I'm just mumbling in my sleep Tim: Are you looking for the nekkid cows? Jenn: What? No, I'm praying. [laughs] Tim: [annoyed] Stop laughing. I used the right word. Bovine means cows.
Mind you, I'm not the only one who says silly stuff when sleepy. Back in, oh, 1996, Jenn and I had this exchange as she napped one day:
Jenn: [deep in her nap] You missed your pick! Tim: What? Jenn: You missed your pick! Tim: What are we picking? Jenn: We're pickin' pigs.
Well, obviously.
And lastly, can I ask you this? Should I be pleased about Jenn's current judgment or concerned about her initial judgment when I hear last night that she has to return something she's purchased for me because it's for a woman?
So, I have a friend from church with whom I disagree regularly and politely. We've had an ongoing email discussion (of sorts) recently, and I thought I'd share it for fun.
Love him or hate him, Rush hits a bulls eye with this address to the nation. Hard to argue with this no-nonsense logic and historical perspective.
You could afford to take me off of your political mailing lists. I wonder if your emails actually serve to improve the number of votes for your candidates or galvanize the opposition? Rush and his cohort certainly played a large part in determining my vote long ago. Tim
And, back to my friend:
Tim, Am happy to do that and will do so. I just like generating discussion and include friends of all different views when I send out stuff. If I only sent it to folks who I knew agreed with me that wouldn't be any fun! My aim is for people to think about the candidates in a different way than they may have been persuaded to by the main-stream media - which has really shown its true colors during this election. I think things would be far different if the American people had a fair, objective view of these guys, on both sides. Sadly, they don't and Rush has proven his worth as a very reliable source from the other side - 20 years, 20 million listeners and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, he has an outside group monitor him on accuracy and though it may sound silly, he's right over 98% of the time. He's solid in my book, but of course that's the book of conservatism. I'm just trying to serve up the other side that is blatantly ignored and shutout in the MSM. And I'm deeply concerned about who these people are - and I would hope everyone would be. Does that mean you are a Rush listener? I know a lot of people who don't agree with him and listen anyway. Just curious. To answer your question - I don't know where people stand - so could my e-mails galvanize them in the other direction? Sure. But I would hope those who aren't sure would give it another thought. The reason I love Rush's perspective is that its about the principles, and not the candidates. He's making a stand for the conservative principles that have made this country great. I don't even like McCain. But I also know that his opponent's belief system is completely contrary to what I believe in. So, that leaves me no choice. One last thought here. I think it all comes down to what role we think gov't should have in our lives. How much control should it have? Historically speaking, our founders designed it to have very little control - to protect our freedoms and not much more. (See Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution-spells out 5-6 main roles of Fed. Govt.) For about 150 years that's all it did until FDR changed all that with the New Deal. Ever since then each administration (and both parties) has added and grown govt. And yet, the problems have not been solved! Thus my view that more govt is not the answer. If it were, all of our problems would be solved by now. LBJ's great society was supposed to end poverty. Social Security was supposed to fund our retirements - and yet why do we have 401Ks, Roth IRAs, etc? Anyway, just some more food for thought. Thanks for listening! All the best, XXXX
And lastly, my response (perhaps the end of the discussion?)
So, I'm sure you're unhappy today. But, it is the country's reaction today that best explains why I voted for Obama, and why "style" as I was calling it in class a few months ago is relevant. For Bror and Mark Cuban, race played a big role. For Troy and Aaron, it had less to do with race than it did the kind of leader or inspirer of hope that he'll be.
There are places where I don't fundamentally disagree with some conservative tenants. Yeah, less government than a socialist state is a good thing. Do I believe that the next four years will take us to a socialist state? No. Do I believe that conservatives will claim it has? Yes. As Aaron talked about, these are shades of gray kinds of issues. American politics are so centrist that no one, not McCain, not Clinton, not Huckabee could have swung us very far from the center. Obama will bring some policies that you won't love, but they really won't move the bar that far in any direction.
There are some places where I really disagree with the conservative platforms as well. Why gay marriage is such a threat to anyone still puzzles me. The legislation of morality doesn't make any sense to me at all. You and I can argue in church about whether homosexuality should be considered a sin by our church. That is, fundamentally, the role of the church and the place for that discussion (and we can disagree on that there effectively). But why does a party that espouses the minimized role of government feel that it is their place to define what marriage is? In what way can that harm another soul?
So, policies aside, the election came down to this for me. Tone, attitude, the ability to lead, style. For me, leadership in the enlightened age is not about a "head of household" or "fiery dictator". It is absolutely not about vitriol and hate. Leading today is about understanding people, being aware of others' perception of you, finding commonality, creating hope and something that people can be excited about.
The country, and the people, are collectively proud of what they did yesterday. In reality, I don't believe the country has been proud of their president, inspired by their president since Reagan. (Is this right? People tell me he was beloved. Me? I was 13 and so oblivious that I was wearing really short shorts to middle school.)
I hope that even those who were disappointed (say Bill Bradley, for example, who spoke optimistically about where Obama would) give Obama the chance to win them over. I'm excited about what he might accomplish. I'm proud of our new president.
Be careful, everybody. I am typically averse to the collision of my work and personal lives. I like both, I just don't let encourage them to mix very often. But my work, related to learning and the like, is colliding with my personal/family life as I read some blog posts. So, I thought I'd post a few thoughts here and see if anyone feels like I do, or feels like talking about them... (Mom? I'm talking to you...)
I started here, a post from Fred Wilson. Fred Wilson writes on Venture Capital and emerging technologies, and I read him for fun and to pay attention to emerging tools. Today, he stepped into my world by talking about learning.
That led me to this fascinating post... from someone I've never once read. This is, to me, a courageous message to send to your kids. I ask myself... am I ready to send them this kind of message?
And from there, I ended up in this particular comment, which brings me back to questions I ask myself all them time.
I have real complaints about school. It takes up such an obscene amount of time. How much of that time is well spent? Just last night, Jenn was talking to our neighbor Janet about their weekend. Janet's kids are brilliant. They went on a trip Saturday, and that meant that they spent the entirety of Sunday doing homework. Literally, the whole day. Is that useful? Is that something I want for my kids?
Before I had kids, I would have spoken out aggressively against home schooling. The home schooled kids that I encountered as a camp counselor were not well adjusted. Their social skills were lacking (it is, I think, part of why they were sent to camp).
But now? I am uncertain. My kids go to school in one of the top districts in the nation (Brentwood High ranks 192nd according to Newsweek). The report card on Lipscomb Elementary is very high. And yet, I still come many days wondering if their time was well spent.
So, my only conclusion right now is that I have doubt. I'm thinking about it. I'm not going to do anything rash (have no fear). But, I'm thinking about it a lot. I'm thinking about it when Oakley tells me that she already knows everything they're doing in class. I'm thinking about it when Aspen has to do homework, even though she's getting 100's on spelling pretests and she spent 7 hours at school that day.
I am certain that all of you will watch this very important video. If you would like to see the additional 14:30 of this event, please let me know. I'll be sure to post it.
Following up on a popular post from a couple days ago, this conversation was had in my presence at dinner tonight (I was out with the three girls).
Oakley: Mommy ate a seed. Aspen: No, Daddy gave Mommy a seed. Oakley: Daddy laid a seed on Mommy's tummy. Aspen: How do I come from a seed anyway...
[after a moment's thought]
Aspen: Well, I guess I don't have to pretend, since I'm a seed. I don't have to pretend to be a plant or an animal anymore.
[moments later, seemingly out of nowhere]
Aspen: People have lots of different ideas about how the world started. Some people believe it started with Adam and Eve. Then there's what I believe, that it all started with dinosaurs and stuff.
On this occasion, I was left to my own devices (as Jenn was at home). And so I get comments related to evolution and reproduction. What's next?
OK, we really enjoy reading Into the Woods around here (and singing it, occasionally). One funny line from it goes like this...
"Because the Baker had lost his mother and father in a baking accident -- or so he believed..."
Well, ours was nothing that severe. Lindy and I often bake some cookies together on Wednesday nights while the others are at church.
Tim: Lindy, I need you to add three scoops [tablespoons] of salt. Lindy: [scooping] One. Oven: Beep, beep. [Jenn had left some bread in the oven. I know, it is a lot of baking.]
[I closed the salt cellar and turned around to get the bread out. As I was removing it from the pans, I heard the salt cellar close.]
Tim: Lindy, did you put in more salt. Lindy: Yes. Tim: How much did you put in? Lindy: Two. Tim: Two more scoops? [Which would have been the right amount.] Lindy: [blank stare] Tim: Lindy, tell me exactly how much more you put in. Lindy: Four inches. Tim: Thanks, Lindy. I'm gonna do the baking soda myself, OK?
So I took Aspen and Oakley to the Predators' playoff game tonight. Rather than share stories about hockey (the Preds are far more resilient than I give them credit for), I will share a funny moment from early in the game.
Aspen: Daddy? Why are the cheerleaders' shirts so short? [They wear crop tops, where the the entire midruff is bared.] Tim: Well, they think they look cute. Aspen: Well, do they? Look cute? Tim: Well, Aspen, what do you think? Aspen: I don't know.
So I was waiting at a jewelry store with the girls today (as I do every weekend, right?)
A woman walked in with a serpent bracelet. It wrapped around her arm two times and had a head that pointed toward her hand. She mentioned to the woman in the store that a red bead had fallen off, and she was seeking a replacement.
Oakley: What's she doing? What does she need? Tim: Well, she doesn't want to have a one-eyed snake.
It is at this moment that I realize the euphemistic nature of my prior statement. Whether the woman did or did not, she went on to say...
Woman: I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. [Moments later]
Oakley: Daddy, what's a "one-eyed snake"? Tim: Well, Oakley, it's a snake with one eye.
Somehow, I suspect I am not the only one relating this story tonight...
OK, so I noticed that I'm totally underrepresented in our photo collection and on the blog. I am only slightly behind some other parent, but I decided I would attempt to rectify that to some degree tonight.
So, I made Jenn take a picture of me in my new hat... one of my birthday presents. I didn't even get up from the computer, so the lighting is, of course, brilliant. But, for those of you who feel I don't show up here enough, perhaps this is progress.
As predicted, Cliff Batson (sorry I misspelled it last time) was a willing participant. Now, Cliff didn't have great material to work with, but he did a bit of work for all of you. Enjoy.
