Hatching plans...

Our six-year-old daughter is a Type A personality.

She gets that from her mom. Any plan, any idea must be carried out at that very moment. Otherwise, why plan at all?

She has yet to learn of the key roles of time and money. And when we try to explain the importance of time and money, this just leads to more planning.

For example...

We came up with our own restaurant concept while waiting for a table at O'Neill's a few nights ago. Our concept consisted of a pirate-themed seafood restaurant called "Arrjay's Galley." She's been bugging me to buy the burned out McDonald's on the corner so we can open our restaurant there with her kindergarten classmates as the wait staff.

Finally, I had to break the bad news that 1) due to labor laws, she won't be allowed to work until she's at least 14, and 2) we don't have anywhere near enough money to open a restaurant.

So, she chooses to focus on what seems the easiest problem to tackle.

"I have an idea," she announced. "We could save up enough money."

Now, you parents out there will immediately recognize this as the classic opportunity for what we call a "parenting moment." The idea is to heap praise on positive behavior in order to encourage more of it in the future.

When you can combine this with a lesson about money and the benefits of frugality, well, that's just a bonus.

So I replied enthusiastically, "Yes! That's a great idea! I'm glad you thought of that!"

By now, she's running with it.

"We could find a can or a jar or something. And every time we find a penny or a quarter, we could put it in the jar until we have enough."

I explained how, when I was growing up we had a giant glass jar that we eventually filled with all pennies. Still, I warned her that it would take a very long time -- years probably.

But the gears in her mind kept turning. After a minute or two of quiet pondering, she burst out with...

"Hey! I have another idea. Do we have a coffee mug or something? We'll need a mug."

"Yes," I said, curious about what was coming next and eager to pass out more positive reinforcement. "We have lots of coffee mugs."

"Okay," she said. "Maybe we can get a coffee mug and go out on the street corner and pretend to be blind. Then we can ask people to put money in the mug."

"Well... er..." I stammered (Yes. I'm pretty sure that's a direct quote).

Okay, so not every idea can be a winner. What's important is the brainstorming process.

tagged: plan, parenting, family, economy, money

Tree lock

I'm tellin' you people, times are getting tough out there. It's getting to the point where an innocent mall developer in Johnson County has to padlock their trees just to keep thieves from absconding with them.

IT'S A LOCK ON A TREE, FER CRYIN' OUT LOUD!!!

tagged: tree, lock, economy, Johnson County, mall

YouTube Tuesday: Keep your tongues off those poles, people

I don't need to tell you that putting your tongue on a dirty pole can be dangerous, no matter how big it is.

Here's video proof.



Merry Christmas to all.

tagged: Christmas Story, Flick, toungue, flag pole, video

FWD: Failure to communicate

Like a lot of dudes, I sometimes don't take phone message seriously enough.

That's why I typically just don't answer the phone at all. If it's important enough, the caller can leave a message on the answering machine. If it's not important enough for a message, they usually just hang up (in which case I probably didn't want to talk to them anyway).

But hopefully, I wouldn't get it as wrong as this guy...

tagged: message, gyno, beer, humor

Friday Blogthing: It's a wonderful life rating

Where would I be without the Internetz to tell me how great my life is?

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.2
Mind:	7.1
Body:	5.5
Spirit:	7.2
Friends/Family:	6.3
Love:	7.3
Finance:	8.2
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Life: Your life rating is a score of the sum total of your life, and accounts for how satisfied, successful, balanced, capable, valuable, and happy you are. The quiz attempts to put a number on the summation of all of these things, based on your answers. Your life score is reasonably high. This means that you are on a good path. Continue doing what is working and set about to improve in areas which continue to lag. Do this starting today and you will begin to reap the benefits immediately.

But seriously it's a good time of year, especially with all of the economic doom and gloom, to take a step back and appreciate all of the good thing in our lives and take a moment to remember (and even give a helping hand to) those who may not have it so good.

tagged: Friday, blogthing, life, quiz, rating, mind, body, blog, meme

Top Ten Thursday: Hot and Black

Well, I don't mind telling you it's been a rough couple of days.

I'm not going to bitch and moan about my early Christmas present (a severe head cold that has me going through life in slow motion these days). I'll just say that I needed a few extra cups of coffee to get me off of Square One this morning.

Which brings me to today's Top Ten Thursday category: Top 10 Songs About Coffee.

And lucky you, it's an audio Top 10! Here's the playlist:



And, for those of you who are reading this in an RSS reader (you should click to listen), here's the track list:

Top 10 Songs About Coffee:
10) Coffee is my cup of tea -- Lardpony

9) Coffee -- Dave Miller

8) Coffee -- David Allen Coe

7) Taylor, The Latte Boy -- Kristin Chenoweth

6) Two Beds and a Coffee Machine -- Savage Garden

5) Starfish and Coffee -- Prince

4) One More Cup of Coffee -- Bob Dylan

3) Java Jive -- The Manhattan Transfer

2) Black Coffee -- Ella Fitzgerald

1) Cigarettes and Coffee -- Otis Redding

tagged: coffee, song, Java, Otis Redding, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, Top Ten

YouTube Tuesday: Xmasy

I dunno what it is with me lately. Maybe it's the fluffy white stuff we've seen in the last couple of days. Maybe going to the Christmas pageant at church. Maybe it's just the contagious excitement of our 6-year-old.

Anyway, whatever it is, it's enough to give an old cynic like myself a mild case of the Christmas spirit.

Don't worry. It's just temporary. I should be over it in a week or so. If it gets too bad, I'm sure a trip to the mall will cure me. In the meantime, here's an oldie but goody.



tagged: Bing Crosby, David Bowie, drummer boy, Christmas, carol

3AM Poll: Shoeblogga

How could you miss the recent video footage of Prez Bush deftly dodging a shoe-chucker's projectile the other day. If it wasn't his finest moment as president, then it was definitely up there in the top five.

Actually, I could see shoe chucking becoming quite the spectator sport in this country as well. I mean it's a little more practical than pie throwing and chicken tossing, but it makes the statement nonetheless.

Which begs the question: Given the chance, who would you want to sling your Sketchers at?



tagged: Bush, shoe, poll, Funkhouser, Carl Peterson

My way or the Fairway

Back in the day, about a year and a half ago to be inexact, a group of Fairway residents protested a project to put a higher, longer bridge across a creek near where Mission Road meets Shawnee Mission parkway.

To them, the new bridge was too large and didn't fit the scale of the neighborhood. It would put a "Highway Bridge" in a residential area.

Fast forward to last Wednesday when the new bridge opened, and I have to say that overall I think it's an improvement. Sure the new bridge is higher and longer - about 100 feet longer and five feet taller for what its worth.

But the improvement in flood control should more than mitigate their concerns of a monstrous highway bridge. And to be honest, it still has the feel of a small-town residential bridge.

I think the key characteristic wasn't the length, but the width. At two-lanes, this bridge doesn't change the character of the neighborhood at all. Rather, it should help the houses maintain their value, now that the risk of flooding has been reduced.


tagged: Fairway, Kansas, bridge, Mission, Johnson County

Friday Blogthing: Leg warmers and Rubik's cubes

It seems the theme for today is 1980's pop music lyrics. Luckily, I'm quite versed in this topic. My performance in today's quiz is proof of that.

If you undertake this little trip down amnesia lane, you should know that the quiz has more than 100 fill-in-the-blank questions. But if your feeling nostalgic (like me), it will seem disturbingly fun and go by quickly.

So roll up your jean cuffs, take the laces out of your Adidas, spray on a fresh layer of Aqua Net and jump in to the quiz. Good luck!

tagged: Friday, blogthing, 1980s, music, quiz, lyrics, pop culture, blog, meme