http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh en-us Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:28:55 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=338

More pictures at my Flickr stream...]]> Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:28:55 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=337
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/morphosis7/

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/morphosis7

I'll have to upload pictures to Flickr once I'm done tonight - we finally started putting paint on the walls tonight, with the help of my sister-in-law. I think the room is coming along nicely, finally - but there's a lot yet to do.
]]> Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:31:37 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=336

Beauty and the Beast

The Dark Crystal

Dumbo

Finding Nemo

The Incredibles

Jungle Book

Madagascar

Meet the Robinsons

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Over the Hedge

Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Titan A.E.

Wallace and Gromit - Three Amazing Adventures

A few thoughts as I look over this list...

First, you'd never know we have a 2-year-old.

Second, Xavier is truly my son - we had quite a number of these DVDs (Titan A.E., Dark Crystal, etc) before he was born.

Of course, there's a ton more animated/claymation/marionette movies out there - which we'll probably pick up eventually. Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Creature Comforts, Triplets of Belleville, and most of Pixar or Dreamworks animations are particular targets.

It should also be noted that I didn't bother listing all the Thomas, Bob the Builder, and VeggieTales DVDs we've picked up - that would more than double this list. We've also got our share of movies like Dark City, Office Space, the Matrix, Moulin Rouge.

Anyway - just a thought that struck me, so I decided to blog. You're welcome. :-)
]]> Sat, 24 May 2008 20:02:40 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=334
Not that I'm doing a whole lot of updating of my MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or other profiles. Maybe I've just got too many. But, until OpenSocial gets a bit more acceptance and I can just maintain one resource to connect to all my disparate friends, I suppose these things will wax and wane, like caribou populations.

(name that movie - anyone? anyone?)

Life has been crazy busy around here. Since last I blogged in February, I've travelled to Pittsburgh (for a quick conference that kept me busier than I thought - sorry to Alisa and John for not stopping by) , applied for grant funding and been turned down, worked more hours than I care to calculate, watched the Crew sprint to their best start in franchise history, had my Grandmother die, and started reading for fun again.

Obviously, that list isn't sorted by importance.

In the spirit of keeping everyone updated, then, here are some thoughts on these and other topics:

Work, part 1

I've been working with a good friend at work on an open education project - which has been a really interesting experience. Its gotten me to step out of my comfort zone a bit, which has been a good thing. The timing couldn't have been better, honestly, because I was starting to get a bit complacent. No more - this project has both of us significantly overclocked and looking for ways to work smarter, not harder. Thankfully, it has also given us a chance to meet some great colleagues around the country, and learn quite a bit.

The Crew

Shortly after the Indians began their renaissance in the mid 90s, Jacobs Field hosted the All-Start game. I remember watching one of the in-game promos during that game with my father, which featured Drew Carey talking about his team. I remember the phrase "Finally, its your team that sucks!"

That, in a nutshell, is how I'm feeling about the Crew these days. After three years of general futility punctuated by spurts of competence, they've stormed out to a 6-1-1 record. They've played with flair, discovered players who can be a terror to opposing defenses, and seem interested in actually playing the friggin' game. Its hard to believe this is the same team, frankly.

Of course, it helps that through these 8 games they've run out mostly the same lineup each time. Of the 11 starters, 9 have been the same the whole time. The other two have seen very limited turnover, always due to injury. And there's even players on the bench that I'm excited to see warm up.

Grandma B

My maternal grandmother died while Carole and I were honeymooning in Paris. My maternal grandfather died while I was an undergrad. My paternal grandfather died well before I was born. Which left only my paternal grandmother, Grandma B. She died in April, after a long bout with dementia and a bit of Alzheimers. "Long" in this case means over a decade.

News of her passing, then, while certainly sad, was also tinged with a bit of gratitude that her suffering is now over. In the build-up to the memorial service in Hillsdale, I realized that in some ways she had been dead to me for quite some time.

Then, during the memorial service itself, I realized how little I knew of her to begin with. I enjoyed the time I spent with her as a child, but hearing the pastor talk about her in her eulogy was almost like hearing about a stranger. Which I feel very sad about; I'll never get a chance to ask her about those parts of her life that I never knew existed.

In July, we'll be having an internment of sorts for her - she's been cremated, and her ashes will be laid to rest in the Upper Peninsula (Iron River, specifically - on the border with Wisconsin). I'm trying to find a way to make it up there, but with gas prices the way that they are I'm not sure how possible that is going to be. Carole and Xavier have already bowed out of the trip. I'm looking into Megabus to get to Chicago, and possibly renting a car from there or from Milwaukee the rest of the way.

Et cetera

There is, as always, more to say. But, it is far too late to go into that here. Xavier's been up tonight once already while I've typed this, so I should actually try to get to sleep before the next awakening. Ta ta for now.
]]> Tue, 20 May 2008 06:10:04 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=330

---

Okay, you parents and folks with experience with young children, I've got a question for you.

Bedtimes with Xavier lately have turned into a bit of a nightmare. He does not want to be put down to sleep by Daddy. Mommy, and Mommy only, will do. Frequently, this means they fall asleep together in our bed, and I then carry him into his bedroom at some point in the night before coming to bed myself. Sometimes, he wakes up in the middle of the night, cries, and crawls back into bed with us.

Now, the issue of co-sleeping, or the "family bed" isn't really what I'm concerned about - although truth be told, I'd much rather he slept in his bed, and Carole and I slept in ours. Rather, my concern lies in how the "going to bed" process - and our efforts to change it - impacts how he views the two of us.

As I said, he typically wants to go to bed with Carole, and on many nights she's fine with that and I acquiesce. On some nights, though, we determine that I'll put him to bed. Queue the waterworks, as he cries and wants to do something other than rock with me in the chair in his room. If I put him down to sleep, he cries and gets out of bed (he's been in a toddler bed for several months now). Sometimes he'll let me stand with him and twist rather than sit and rock. But its almost always a struggle.

Tonight, as I'm trying every trick I know of to get him to calm down and sleep (or at least outlast his tantrums so he falls asleep anyway), Carole came in - twice - to pick him up and calm him down. The second time she took him downstairs to lay on the couch with her (they're asleep there now as I type this).

It's taken me a few hours to piece things together in my head, but this is the scenario I've come to - and this is where I need your feedback. My fear is that, by coming in to calm him down, it could reinforce this notion that "Mommy is the one that solves my problem, and if I just scream loud enough or long enough, she'll come rescue me from this place I don't want to be (with Daddy)."

Not that I enjoy listening to him scream bloody murder about wanting Mommy, or wanting to go downstairs, or that he doesn't want to rock, or whathaveyou. But I also feel that, if Carole and I decide that I'm putting Xavier down that night, I should be able to do that unless I specifically ask for help. Having Carole come in to "save the day" just reinforces this idea that I'm the problem, and she's the solution. Which makes the next time I go to put him down even harder, and gives him yet another point of reference where if he screams long and hard enough, he'll get his wish (Mommy).

Perhaps I'm being naive, but I do think Xavier was calming down with me tonight - and on nights when Carole isn't around, he's gone down with me without all the histrionics. It isn't easy, but then again isn't part of a parent's job to -not- give in to every stated whim? To let them be frustrated, to teach them how to deal with failure, with not getting their way? Or, put another way, to let Xavier cry himself to sleep with me to show him that it's okay to go down with me, that the world won't end, that he'll still see Mommy in the morning, etc?

I'm sure this could be stated more coherently - blogging at 12:30 AM on 3 hours sleep the night before isn't the best idea, apparently - but this seems to be reasonably close to what's going through my head right now.

What say all of you?]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:14:31 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=329
The thing I'm most excited about, though, is the report coming from Ives that the US is setting up a fantastic trio of games for this summer:

• May 28, USA vs. England, at Wembley
• June 4, USA vs. Spain, at a Spanish site TBD
• June 8, USA vs. Argentina, somewhere in the northeast (Boston?)

Damn. I'll have to break out the media guide, but it would only be a slight exaggeration to say that we go whole decades without playing the caliber of opponent we'll be facing in a fortnight this summer.

All this will be in preparation for the beginning of World Cup qualifying, which will see us take on either Barbados or Dominica in a home-and-home series on June 15th and 22nd. Quite a drop in opponent quality, eh?

This is gonna be fun...
]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:34:03 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=328
Amongst all the football, NBC kicked off their NHL coverage with the Pittsburgh-Buffalo game - played outdoors in front of 76,000+ people at the Buffalo Bills stadium. In a snowstorm. Damn, did that look amazing.

In talking with Jamie about the game, it occured to me that perhaps this might be a good idea for the NHL generally. Forget playing indoors - bring the games outside, for all teams. Hockey is a game on ice, and ice is found outside. The game looked so much better being played in the elements - even discounting the fact that the crowd size was inflated because this was a special occurrence.

This would also have the side benefit of getting rid of teams in places where ice doesn't occur naturally - i.e. Florida, Texas, Arizona and Los Angeles. Which would probably be A Good Thing. Granted, Columbus doesn't get much snow/ice either, so it might be a challenge to keep the Jackets - but I'm willing to risk that.

Now, back to Hawaii-Georgia.
]]> Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:58:26 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=327
Xavier is doing well, although we're getting ready to call a halt to all train purchases. Carole and I survived the Christmas season reasonably well, although I'm afraid of what next month's bills are going to look like.

Ohio State lost in the final to Wake Forest, but I can't be too upset seeing as A) I didn't see any of their games this season and B) we weren't expected to even make it to the NCAA tournament in the first place, much less make the College Cup and then the final. Plus, it makes for some nice symmetry, having lost the football and basketball finals as well. Maybe we can turn over a new leaf against LSU in a week or so.

I'd say that I'll try to post more, but I'm not sure I can deliver on that. Drop me an email or something if you'd like to chat, I'm always interested in hearing from friends.
]]> Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:02:59 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=326

See what I mean?]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 05:15:47 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H71OyOU8dLQjr.zDvFawf_zh?p=325
But that's not why I'm writing - I'm most excited right now about the fact that the men's soccer Buckeyes have made it to the College Cup for the first time in their history. John Bluem's team first earned their highest ever seeding in the NCAA Tournament (#5), and only their second Big Ten championship - then saw off a number of good teams to not only make it past the Sweet 16 for the first time in history, but they're off to Cary, NC next weekend.

Read the whole story of their 4-0 win over Bradley here

So, congratulations soccer Buckeyes - I'll have to find a place on Friday at 7 PM to watch you play.

Should Ohio State make it to the final next Sunday (a big if, still) they'll have played for three men's team championships in the last 12 months (with a fourth game coming next month). Which is a huge accomplishment - even if we have lost the last two.
]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:34:41 GMT