Prince in Print

Reminds me of life growing up

2011-10-11T17:15:00.001-05:00

I relate most to Bert here. You can guess who was more like Ernie.

Catch-Up

2011-10-07T00:49:00.002-05:00

The weather has finally cooled down some so we can enjoy the outdoors again. Sophie is crazy about her stuffed animals and calls them her "children." She has developed into a pretty good little artist and loves drawing pictures of families. Ellie crawls all over the place and pulls herself to standing using whatever she can find (including legs). She is a very happy, smiley baby and loves to be around other people.

On a family bike ride. Sophie is starting to ride on her own.

Ellie loves playing by the window in the front room.

Sophie showing off her "crazy hair" while Ellie gets in some standing practice.

Sophie showing off her raccoon mask and discovering how heavy pumpkins can be!

According to Sophie, this is our family holding balloons.

I'm not prepared for this...

2011-09-07T21:23:00.000-05:00

I think Sophie was normal. Ellie is a monster! Not only has she figured out crawling, but the day after our trip to Austin, she figured out how to do this...

Yep, she can pull herself up in her crib. I hope she figures out how to get herself down at some point. Looks like we'll be lowering the crib already... ;)

August 2011

2011-09-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

So we're really behind when it comes to posting... whoops. But here are some highlight pictures, etc. We are up to the same thing: dealing with 100+ degree weather and having fun playing together. Our upstairs neighbor flooded her kitchen, so we did experience some rain showers in the house, but that was nothing compared to our computer dying (luckily it wasn't the hard drive though). Besides those exciting events, Sophie keeps us entertained with her great sense of humor. Ellie - now 7 months old! - has mastered the worm, and she got her first tooth. We love these cute girls.

This is my favorite girl!

She loves playing the piano

Doing "tricks" on our bed

According to Sophie, this is a picture of our family on a train. Creative, eh?

Ellie at 7 months

Figuring out the crawling thing

Having fun together at the park!

Blowholes

2011-07-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

So last month we learned about animals in the ocean. Sophie really enjoyed learning about whales and how they have blowholes. A few days ago, Sophie showed me this picture that she drew: "It's a person with a blowhole going pee pee." Absolutely hilarious! She did clarify that it was a girl going pee pee. ;)

Motocross wipeout

2011-07-18T11:33:00.000-05:00

Rudy Fernandez

2011-06-24T11:19:00.003-05:00

NBA Draft Thoughts

2011-06-23T22:13:00.001-05:00

Jimmer to the Kings, it could be worse, but probably not. When compared with going to the Knicks, Jazz, or Suns, Sacramento just plain stinks. Jimmer goes to a team that won't be able to compete in the Western conference in the foreseeable future. Not to mention playing in the King's old arena is a significant step down from even the no-frill Marriott Center. I feel bad for you Jimmer.

As far as the Mavs trade for Rudy Fernandez, I think it is brilliant. Fernandez has wanted out of Portland for some time, he will flourish as a shooting guard in Dallas where he can slash and drain the three. He will be playing angry because he has felt disrespected in Portland. Rudy Fernandez dunk highlights are coming soon to an arena near you.

Worth Ranch Scout Camp 2011

2011-06-20T20:33:00.002-05:00

On a hike the evening before lightning struck and lit the field in the background on fire.

Sunset from the same location.

Staff struggles to keep flag from getting away with heavy winds.

My boy scout troop.

Helicopter dropping water on the fire.

Advancing fire the day after the lightning strike.

You can see my tent at the base of the pole.

Will Jimmer's skills translate to next level?

2011-06-18T11:33:00.001-05:00

Is it really surprising another article rolls off ESPN criticizing Jimmer? This article throws up some silly statistics comparing Jimmer to other players. Statistics are the most overrated aspect of sports commentary and criticism when dealing with team sports.

If these writers actually watched BYU this year, they would see that the most important statistic Jimmer or Dave Rose were concerned with was winning. Most every time Jimmer tried to get his teammates involved (that assists statistic) they blew it. In order to win games, Jimmer had to just keep lofting because his teammates couldn't finish at the rim. Don't blame Jimmer for statistics that are just as much a reflection of his coach and teammates as himself.

What we know is that Jimmer is a phenomenal scorer. What we know is that he has the potential to be a great facilitator. Although, when the game is on the line, he is more interested in winning than facilitating. Isn't that what LeBron lacked and Miami needed during the Finals this year? Ask Dallas how much they appreciated the confidence of Jason Terry down the the stretch again Miami.

Before extrapolating statistics and misjudging a player, it would serve the writers of ESPN well if they watched a few games so they understood the context of those statistics. Jimmer did what he was asked to do in college. The star of the team is not what he'll be asked to do in the NBA. Judge Jimmer on his skills, not his college role. This article judges Jimmer's role and totally whiffs on assessing his skills. The title of the article couldn't be more inaccurate.

New photography books

2011-06-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

I just bought "Your Baby in Pictures" by Me Ra Koh and I'm waiting for "Photo 101" by Nicole Hill Gerulat and "Mamrazzi" by Stacy Masmuth. They really focus on taking pictures to tell a story versus just taking a snapshot - really trying to capture the essence of your children's personalities. And they focus on using the manual and aperture modes with natural lighting instead of using the flash. Anyway, I'm excited to try out our camera more, but here are a few shots I took in the past few days.

and in color...

LeBron Has Lost The Eye Of The Tiger

2011-06-11T00:00:00.011-05:00

Throughout LeBron's career I have always given him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't have the supporting cast, or he is still young, or he just had a bad game. I've believed all those things. I'm not sure why, but even The Decision didn't rub me the way it seemed to rub most. I was still a LeBron believer. I wanted him to be amazing because I wanted to see amazing.

Unfortunately, these finals with Dallas have shown that LeBron is not the amazing I have been holding out for all these years. No excuses this time, he has lost either confidence or interest. Simply put, he's lost the Eye of the Tiger.

What is the Eye of the Tiger?

The Eye of the Tiger is sliding head-first on a gravel-like infield, pulling your shorts up with one hand and beating the throw home with the other hand. Did I mention the score was 2-9 and it was the first game of the city softball league? I knew my extra point wouldn't even give us a chance to win last night (we lost 8-21), but the Eye of the Tiger required me to tear the flesh off my knees and elbows and flash the locals.

LeBron doesn't have the Eye of the Tiger. I can't stand behind a sports figure who is deficient in the most important category, heart. LeBron obviously didn't take notes while watching Rocky.

April-May

2011-05-17T20:08:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures from the past two months (you can click on them to zoom in). We've been spending a lot of time around the house learning about the pond and the farm. Sophie has starting using a funny deep voice when she tells jokes and likes to use "fancy" words like Fancy Nancy. Ellie is addicted to sucking her fingers and has started swatting at toys and arching her back to turn on her side. I'm now teaching piano lessons, so we are staying busy!

Lessons in Leadership

2011-04-04T09:17:00.002-05:00

I think one of the most common errors newly appointed leaders make is creating and failing to live up to unrealistically high expectations. While the leader thinks they are sending the message of high standards, they are actually undermining their credibility with hypocrisy.

It is better to have realistic expectations you can build upon rather than go for the whole enchilada and lose credibility for failing to keep your own expectations.

To All Jimmer Haters

2011-03-28T23:22:00.013-05:00

BYU's Jimmer Fredette got ruthlessly attacked in a recent article by Rick Reilly of ESPN. While there are other people who have fired back, (FireRickReilly, Bleacher Report, Daily Herald), I wanted to see how Jimmer compares physically to the current NBA point guards. Yes, I have a million other things to do right now, but sometimes I feel the need to get my sports rant out.

Jimmer is the median height of 6'2'' and 5 lbs heavier than the median weight of 190 lbs. The plots below show the distribution of both height and weight.

I want to argue a few points the increasingly ignorant sports writers and radio hosts bring up. Colin Cowherd joins Rick Reilly on the buffoon bandwagon by claiming that comparing Jimmer to Steve Nash is ridiculous. First off, Steve Nash was considered nothing special until he had been in Phoenix a while. Guess how old he was by then? 32. Is Cowherd really serious that after watching Jimmer he doesn't think he can develop into a Steve Nash in 10 years? Any speed advantage Nash may have over Jimmer (which I think is none) is more than offset by Jimmer's extra 17 lbs that allow him to go to the basket much stronger than Nash has ever been able to do. Additionally, passing prowess is something that comes with age and experience playing the game. Give Jimmer some time and I'm sure he can develop into a more than capable passer.

I look at a player like Tony Parker, who many view as an elite point guard. He is the same height as Jimmer and 10 lbs lighter. While Parker is quicker than Jimmer, he doesn't have near the range. Since Jimmer is as likely to drive or launch a trey, he presents some real defensive challenges.

I think it is funny how all the critics can talk about is Jimmer as a defensive liability. Guess what, so are a ton of other point guards, but their ability to spread the floor and create open shots more than offsets their defensive lapses.

I've had enough of the ill-informed Jimmer-haters. I agree, he is not the same type of player as Derrick Rose or John Wall, but that is not the only type of point guard that can be successful in the NBA. It seems like a dude named John Stockton had a pretty decent career.

A week of firsts

2011-03-06T18:41:00.008-06:00

A few good things happened this week:

1. Sophie's first week of potty training (she's now basically trained - hooray!)
2. Ellie's first smile (see below)
3. Ellie's first time of sleeping through the night (as great as everything else is, I think this one makes me the happiest ;)

Other recent events... A few weeks ago both sets of parents came into town to see Ellie for her blessing. Sophie continues to enjoy her dance class (here she is with her best friend, Brynlee). Other than that, we spend most of our time these days caring for the baby and enjoying some gorgeous spring weather.

Two little girls

2011-02-16T21:12:00.009-06:00

For Sophie's 3rd birthday, we signed her up for a dance class! Here she is posing in her new ballet clothes.

And here is little Ellie just chilling. She is awake for a little bit more in the daytime, so I've been able to capture a few more pictures. She's going on 3 weeks old!

Baby Elinor

2011-02-08T15:24:00.004-06:00

Elinor was born on Sunday, January 30th at 4:12pm and was 7 pounds 13 ounces and 20.25 inches long. We were supposed to show up at the hospital at 5am, but they delayed the induction by a few hours. After things got going, it wasn't too long until Elinor arrived! Thanks to the arctic blast and school closings, Eldon was able to get the whole week off of school to help out.

Thus far, Ellie just eats, sleeps, and poops, but we love having her here! Sophie is a very affectionate big sister and loves to help out. Here are a few pictures from Ellie's first week of life.

Secrets

2011-02-05T15:50:00.001-06:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Tucker Carlson is an idiot

2010-12-30T09:42:00.003-06:00

I know, I know, most of you are tired of my passionate views on sports, but Fox's analyst Tucker Carlson is an idiot, and that is put lightly. Here is what he said on the Sean Hannity show (yet another reason to never listen to the show):

I'm a Christian, I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances, but Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did [it] in a heartless and cruel way. And I think, personally, he should've been executed for that. He wasn't, but the idea that the president of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs?

First, I take issue with his citation of Christianity. If he believed or understood anything Christ taught he would know his stance on Vick is clearly not harmonious with Christianity.

Secondly, if you really think people should be executed for killing dogs, you are equating the value of dogs with people. Okay, sure, but has Mr. Carlson ever failed to feed his dog, or ever forgot to take it on a walk? Well then, that clearly is negligence and dog protective services should come in and declare Mr. Carlson unfit for having dogs. Afterall, if a man should be executed for killing dogs, a man should have his dogs taken away for negligence.

For Obama to recognize the comeback effort of Vick is completely and entirely appropriate. Why shouldn't we celebrate Vick's comeback? He served his time, and has gone out and proven to everyone that he can still be an elite quarterback. I generally have relatively conservative views, but it is moves like Mr. Carlson's criticism of Obama and condemnation of Vick that tick me off. The fact that Mr. Carlson is attacking Obama for his commendation of Vick reflects Carlson's ignorance and complete blind bias. I can't believe Americans are dumb enough to put up with idiotic comments like Carlson's.

Surprising Spelling

2010-12-18T15:52:00.003-06:00

Sophie wanted to draw on my hands and arms with pen this morning, and I didn’t mind. At one point, I told her to spell her name, thinking she would doodle as she usually does. Instead, she actually wrote her name! I reminded her of what letters came next, but with no visual cues, she formed the letters of her name for the first time! Thus far, she has only been tracing her name, but apparently she knows more than I think she does! (This picture is scanned from my arm)

And here are some other pictures from the month that completely typify the silly girl. ;) First, Sophie ready to go to the store: tights, sweater, purse and all! Second, Sophie stomping through the leaves with her two other favorite accessories: her hat and boots.

TCU's Altruistic Heart

2010-11-30T09:17:00.004-06:00

This summer the University of Utah was invited to join the PAC 10 and elected to do so. Later, BYU chose to leave the mountain west conference (MWC) and become an independent (only school in the country with its own TV network). When BYU became an independent there was an uproar here in DFW about how BYU was so selfish. The local sports media did what many like to do, hate on BYU with the occasional shot at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

As of yesterday, TCU announced that it accepted an invitation to join the Big East conference. The story the local sports media give is that once Utah and BYU left the MWC, TCU was forced to seek a BCS conference. While this is a nice story, I guarantee this is a bunch of bull.

Were TCU offered a place in the Big East conference prior to Utah leaving for the PAC 10 I would bet my bank account (I know not a large bet there) they would have accepted. The fact of the matter is that of the three schools (Utah, BYU, and TCU), TCU is the least attractive to other conferences. The enrollment at TCU is somewhere in the ballpark of 6,000 students. Is it any surprise they can't fill their stadium even with an undefeated season? TCU has a good football team right now, but that is the extent of their athletic repertoire. They are still a little fish in the big pond of college sports, and only local sports media, and now the obviously desperate Big East conference can squint their eyes enough to see them as anything more.

I'm sorry TCU, but you were not staying with the MWC because of your altruistic hearts, but because you had nowhere else to go.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T09:36:00.004-06:00

Thanks Edd for taking the picture!

2010-11-23T10:31:00.001-06:00

Hyperexpression of the X chromosome in both sexes results in extensive female bias of X-linked genes in the flour beetle. - F1000

October Activities

2010-10-25T20:04:00.010-05:00

October has been a busy month! Early in the month we went camping with some friends. It was Sophie's first camping trip, and she continues to talk about it. Here she is with her best friend, Brynlee.

A few weeks ago we went to a pumpkin patch. Now Sophie hugs her "pumpin" and tells us how it makes her happy.

We've also been learning about spiders, owls, bats, and monsters. Sophie LOVED Go Away Big Green Monster and There's a Nightmare in My Closet (good ones to check out for toddlers). We've done a lot of Halloween activities from this website. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for themed preschool activities. Here are pictures of our Halloween paper plate characters. It was a great way to teach Sophie about mixing colors.

Unfortunately, Sophie's been sick for over a week now. After going to the doctor, I bought her some markers for being so good. The next day, she surprised us with these pictures of spiders ("fiders") and people ("persons"). I like the long noses the best. ;)

There is nothing wrong with micromanagement

2010-10-24T06:50:00.000-05:00

The title of this blog is a statement I heard this week that prompted me to stay up all night reading and writing about management. This is an extremely condensed version of my thoughts. Let's begin with a quote from a professor at LSU:

At its more severe level, micromanagement is a compulsive, behavioral disorder similar to other addictive patterns. People who micromanage generally do so because they feel unsure and self-doubting. Micromanagers, like many addicts and alcoholics, are the last people to recognize that they are hooked on controlling others. In some cases, micromanagement may increase productivity over the short term, but long-term problems will eventually defeat any short-term gains. Studies have shown that putting fear into people at work does have an impact, it does increase productivity, but only temporarily. Workers become so afraid of constant criticism from micromanaging bosses that they no longer take risks [and] creativity dries up. -Richard White Jr.

Successful people are generally concerned with the details; that’s how they've found success. For example, the musician who can't be bothered by intonation won't ever become the next Pavarotti. The problem arises when detail-oriented people are put in leadership or management positions. How can you be detail-oriented but not micromanage?

There is nothing wrong with being detailed oriented, especially when analyzing critical reports, reviewing accidents, and compiling a budget. There is a big difference between micromanagement and monitoring, and every important task should have a monitoring plan to insure performance. But way too often the detailed-oriented boss loses the forest in the trees, becomes overly concerned with nitpicking details, and soon begins to micromanage subordinates. -Richard White Jr.

Some people, like Tom Gimbel, suggest you begin to give people autonomy once they have proven they are executing on what you ask them. This idea is fundamentally flawed because consistent robotism does not indicate future autonomous success. Autonomous success is the best indicator of future autonomous success. Additionally, you are fooling yourself if you think you can simply scale your micromanagement philosophy and tendencies depending on who you are dealing with.

Instead of micromanagement, I advocate a management style where people are trusted, from the top to the bottom of the organization. Sure, some things need to be done a certain way, or at least you think they do. Effective managers ensure organization members have clearly demarcated domains of autonomy. The size of the domain should scale with observed autonomous success. This means everyone is expected to think and contribute, in other words, everyone is trusted.

A Chinese philosopher sums it up best:

A leader is best when people barely know he exists; not so good when people obey and acclaim him; worst when they despise him. But a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say 'we did it ourselves'.

Playoff baseball in Arlington

2010-10-10T20:06:00.002-05:00

These baseballs line the top of the ballpark.

I went to the game with my nephew Quinn, who probably knows more about baseball than just about anyone.

This is Colby Lewis throwing out the first pitch of the game.

We had four jets from Fort Worth do a flyover during the National Anthem, very cool.

Nerdy vs Crazy

2010-09-26T20:36:00.002-05:00

Steph and I were discussing some of the people I met at a recent science conference in Baltimore and how I found it somewhat difficult to find common ground with people who don't like sports. I mentioned that scientists were nerdy and Steph responded:

No, engineers are nerdy; scientists are crazy.

I would have to agree.

It's a ...

2010-09-20T10:49:00.003-05:00

So we went in for our 20-week sonogram today. Everything looked good. On our way home, I called my mom to tell her what we were going to have. I let Sophie make the announcement:

Me: Sophie, is Mama going to have a baby boy or girl?
Sophie: A pterodactyl.

Obviously, we've been learning about dinosaurs. Previously, Sophie told me a baby triceratops was going to come out of my tummy.

No, we're not going to have a dinosaur... just another little GIRL. ;)

Rex Ryan or John Wooden?

2010-08-12T23:33:00.009-05:00

On sports radio I have been hearing about how many people really like how Rex Ryan, the coach of the New York Jets, approaches his job. He has a lot of passion, but he is also known for his liberal use of profanity and bad temper. Just today a radio host on ESPN said something along the lines of, "the way to motivate players is to talk on their level, that's what Rex Ryan does."

I disagree with Ryan's approach completely. Rex Ryan stoops to the players' standards to motivate and push them. This type of coaching may be the new fad, but I think there is a better way, and John Wooden happens to be on my side, or I am on his side, however you want to look at it.

One of the core elements of Wooden's coaching was no profanity, period. John Wooden inspired and elevated players, there was no gimmick to his approach. Players of Ryan reportedly like the fact that he loses his emotions and blows up at people. Wooden taught that always maintaining control of your emotions gives you the best chance to be successful.

The Rex Ryan approach may be entertaining, but Wooden's approach happened to result in 10 national championships.

What we all dream about ... or at least I do.

2010-07-27T21:34:00.001-05:00

LeBron a villian?

2010-07-09T22:38:00.007-05:00

The night of "The Decision", the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers posted this childish letter on the Cavs website, cursing LeBron and throwing every barb he could muster at the King. This move of short-sighted propaganda is what has pushed me into setting a few things straight.

Sports is a business, not a Disney movie. Players get cut from their teams all the time when they are either past their prime or no longer useful. Do owners deserve hate-mail every time they cut a player? No, nor do they receive it, the players understand this is a business. Gilbert's move was classless and revealed a lot about himself.

That brings us to the next point, loyalty. We all love the Tim Duncan's of the world who stay with their team through thick and thin. What we forget is that loyalty is a two-sided pancake. Tim Duncan was able to be loyal to the Spurs only because the Spurs were loyal to him. The way Dan Gilbert lashed out at Lebron revealed that his loyalty was only what I call, "convenience deep". LeBron isn't an idiot, I'm sure he could sense the fabrication of loyalty, that Gilbert only viewed him as an asset, not a person. That's fine to not be truly loyal to your players, you have a business to run, but don't expect a higher level of loyalty than you are willing to provide.

Sure there was a lot of hoopla surrounding LeBron's decision, sure it was created by him, even to promote himself, but hey, what do you expect out of someone who is both an entertainer and has a business knack? Why not make a big deal out of it, why not raise over 2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Club from the sponsors from the hour-long TV show?

Final point, what about LeBron's happiness and fun? Sure, it would have been more loyal to stay in Cleveland and try to win there. But who passes up an opportunity though to play with your friends, who also happen to be really good? Come on, remember, basketball is a business, but it is also still a game. For LeBron, Wade, and Bosh why not play together and see what they can do? There is a higher loyalty to geography, it's called friends and family. LeBron was loyal, even noble, for taking less money, joining Wade's team, and taking a necessarily more diminished scoring role so he could play with his friends. I'm not about to condemn a guy for wanting to play with his friends in a fun environment, and I'd bet none of the LeBron critics would do anything different themselves.

Like my brother told me in regards to marriage, take your ship when it comes, because it may not come again. LeBron took his ship, can we really hold him hostage to our fairy-tale dreams and expectations?

Staying Cool

2010-06-24T23:07:00.004-05:00

If any of you have ever lived in Texas, you know how hot it can get in the summer (and it's only June...). Needless to say, Sophie and I have been spending a lot of time indoors. If Sophie could have her way, she'd watch Toy Story 2 all day long (I can't imagine how she's going to react when she sees the third one)! Obviously, we're not going to go with her choice. So, the other day I pulled out the watercolors, and Sophie has had a hey-day. I love this picture of her. Sophie has also enjoyed typing on the computer (she calls it "working") and identifying the letters she knows. So, I guess being stuck indoors hasn't been the worse thing ever. But, we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to Utah... and for a little bundle the end of January.

Sophie and her two Pa's

2010-05-18T10:22:00.009-05:00

Sophie loves her grandpas, whom she calls Pa (Eldon's dad) and Pa David (my dad). I love these pictures because they really typify Sophie's relationship with her two Pa's.

Here she is with Pa on the carousel in Austin. She cried her head off until we let her go around a second time. Pa made sure she was safe. ;) And Sophie's favorite - being pushed in the swing by Pa. These days, Sophie basically associates Pa with swinging!

Here she is with Pa David. I love this picture because my dad used to pretend to be a horse when we were little, so it's fun that Sophie gets to enjoy him this way. And the second picture is from two years ago when we visited my parents in Oregon. I can't believe how much Sophie has grown!

Where should LeBron go? OKC

2010-05-15T11:43:00.006-05:00

With LeBron falling short yet again in the playoffs, the discussion has exploded on where the King will land this summer. After some thought on the situation I have come up with an unconventional, yet highly logical option, Oklahoma City.

If LeBron stays and wins titles in Cleveland that is probably the best scenario because he is the hometown hero. Although he has had opportunities to do it in Cleveland for several years now and has been unable to win it all, what makes him think anything will change? I think his fear of coming up short time and time again will motivate him to leave Cleveland.

So why OKC? Who would want to go to Oklahoma? As a Texan I can completely understand the sentiment. New York and Chicago are certainly more attractive from the standpoint of fun and entertainment and big-city fame. This is exactly why he needs to avoid the big cities and big markets and go to the college-town-feel Thunder. Let's be honest, LeBron will always be on TV regardless of where he plays.

At Oklahoma you could have the following lineup:

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook 6'3'' (21yrs)

Shooting Guard: LeBron James 6'8'' (25yrs)

Shooting Forward: Kevin Durant 6'9'' (21yrs)

Power Forward: Jeff Green 6'9'' (23yrs)

Center: Nenad Krstic 7'0'' (26yrs)

Just looking at this lineup give me goosebumps. From a basketball viewpoint this lineup creates mismatch problems for other teams all over the place. The athleticism on this team alone would be unreal. By choosing OKC LeBron and Durant would make the most dangerous scoring duo in the league by far. I am already drooling thinking of a Lakers & Kobe vs Thunder & LeBron/Durant Western Conference Finals.

LeBron is used to playing on teams that consist of LeBron and some supporting guys that never seem to deliver. If he went to OKC he would need to learn the meaning of team ball. It is team ball that wins championships.

The college-town atmosphere would be the perfect setting for LeBron to redefine his career. He would be rejuvenated by joining a young, dynamic team, with an excellent coach who knows how to get the most out of his players. By choosing Chicago he'd always be shadowed by Jordan. By choosing New York or New Jersey people would say he just wanted the glamor, but by choosing OKC he puts himself in position to win championships for many years to come. Additionally, since the Thunder are a new franchise, nobody has reason to hate them, they are effectively neutral. By choosing a neutral team, unlike Chicago, New York, or New Jersey, he allows everyone in the country to become LeBron fans.

LeBron needs a new brand, a new image, OKC gives him that opportunity.

Recent Pics

2010-05-11T21:02:00.014-05:00

I only have one kid, yet life seems to get so busy! Here are some recent pics.

First of all, here is Sophie's new big girl bed!

Here is Sophie enjoying some ice cream with "big girl panties" over her clothes (yes, the child is into dressing herself lately!)

Earlier last month, Sophie's newest cousin, Charlotte, came for a visit. As much as Sophie talks about babies, she still didn't know what to do for crying Charlotte. ;) You can also see Sophie's new, shorter haircut. I love the curls!

And here are Sophie's favorite things in life: Pa pushing her in the swing AND wearing hats!

Heating up: the Arizona immigration law

2010-05-05T21:48:00.006-05:00

Yesterday in the Dallas Morning News Jean-Jacques Taylor wrote an article urging sports commissioners to boycott sporting events in Arizona. The article is excellent propaganda, calling sports commissioners everywhere to arms to put down this horrible law. My favorite part of his article is his convincing point to those who don't think this is a big deal:

Maybe those of you who think this law is no big deal will change your mind the first time one of the Rangers' top-rated prospects gets hauled to jail because he didn't have his passport with him on the way from the ballpark. Or when it happens to a prospect on your favorite team.

In response to all the boycott talk the governor of Arizona wrote an article for ESPN. Unlike Taylor's article, this was actually worth reading. Here is an excerpt:

Our neighbor to the south, Mexico, is in a massive battle with well-organized drug cartels. In December 2008, the U.S. Justice Department said that Mexican gangs are the "biggest organized crime threat to the United States." In 2009, Phoenix had 316 kidnapping cases, turning the city into our nation's kidnapping capital. Almost all of the persons kidnapped were illegal immigrants or linked to the drug trade. The very same week that I signed the new law, a major drug ring was broken up and Mexican cartel operatives suspected of running 40,000 pounds of marijuana through southern Arizona were indicted.

For those who are uptight about this law let me make something clear, this law is not designed to send hard-working, albeit illegal people back to Mexico. This law is designed to help Arizona law enforcement officers keep the organized crime that plagues Mexico from spreading.

Governor Brewer closed with a great comment in regards to calls for these silly boycotts:

It is time for our country to act to resolve our border security problem; an economic boycott in Arizona would only exacerbate it -- and hurt innocent families and businesses merely seeking to survive during these difficult economic times. A boycott that would actually improve border security would be to boycott illegal drugs. Dramatically less drug use and production would do wonders for the safety of all our communities.

For anyone who thinks that I might be racist for supporting a bill like this I'd like to add that I currently volunteer as a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America and of the 13 boys I work with, 11 are Mexican. This bill is not about race, contortions to make it appear that way are misguided and wrong.

Counting to 20

2010-05-04T18:00:00.005-05:00

Sophie has been pretty funny lately - and quite the chatterbox. We've been reading and learning about birds, bugs, butterflies, trees, etc. and it's been fun to see what she remembers. Here is a video of her attempting to count to 20.

We also recently got Sophie a big girl bed as an incentive to stop playing with her belly button. Everything was going great until she started wanting to sleep in her old pack-and-play again!

Me: Sophie, if you get out of your bed, you're going to have to sleep in your crib. Do you want to sleep in your big girl bed or your crib?

Sophie: Doey sleep in baby crib....

(I will post pics when blogger is more cooperative...)

Putting all the numbers into perspective

2010-04-24T19:58:00.018-05:00

This afternoon while Steph and Sophie were napping, I decided that I'd try to do an objective analysis of the four major quarterbacks that were drafted this weekend: #1 Sam Bradford from Oklahoma, #25 Tim Tebow from Florida, #48 Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame, and #85 Colt McCoy from Texas. I took all of the recorded statistics for each player, for every single game they played in during their college careers and set out to shed some additional light on the quarterbacks.

The approach of NFL scouts in choosing quarterbacks is heavily influenced by the success of Tom Brady. As most know, he was a 6th round draft pick but has blossomed into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Everyone is seeking to find the next Tom Brady and unfortunately they tend to only look at one statistic, height. Tom Brady is tall, Peyton Manning is tall, this must mean that in order to succeed in the NFL at quarterback you need to be at least 6'4''. Don't believe me? Jamarcus Russell is a great example, he is 6'6'' and was selected as the overall #1 pick in the draft. If scouts had looked at other factors more closely, like his ability to actually throw the ball accurately, he would surely not have been the #1 pick. Oh by the way, ask Oakland Raiders fans how he has fared (he's tall, but that's about all he brings to the table). Right about now my Louisiana friends are reminding me who dat' won the Super Bowl last year? Hmmm...Drew Brees is only 6'0''.

Okay, let's get into my analysis.

This first plot shows each quarterback in every single game they played in. The purpose of this plot is to show two things: 1) the experience of each player and 2) how much of a role each player had in each game. For example, the first quadrant corresponds to Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow's freshman year (Clausen and Bradford were not yet playing). If you remember, Tim Tebow was the second quarterback on Florida's team and saw limited playing time, in other words, his role and thus his experience in each of those games was not as great as Colt McCoy's where he was the starting quarterback, and this is reflected in the figure.

The second plot is really cool because it rates the performance of each player according to 1) how much of a role they played in the game, 2) the difficulty of the opponent, and 3) how well the player actually played. With my unique formula players are rewarded more for performing well when the competition is difficult. This helps to normalize the disparity for example between Jimmy Clausen and a mediocre Notre Dame team and Sam Bradford's explosive OU team. In other words, I'm trying to assess the individual player's performance, not simply judge a player on the performance of his team.

I think from careful inspection of the figures I have created you can argue that based on the statistics, no single player stands out. Clearly McCoy and Tebow have more experience than Clausen and Bradford. Sam Bradford had one phenomenal year (see quadrant 3), but it was Clausen that seems to have had the strongest performance last year (see quadrant 4). Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow have performed consistently well year after year.

Why then was Sam Bradford the #1 overall pick? he is 6'4''. Tim Tebow was selected next, he is 6'3''. Jimmy Clausen went next, he is 6'3''. Colt McCoy went last, he is 6'1''.

Alright, so how do the numbers actually add up in my analysis? Here is a table with the average values for each quarterback for their respective college careers.

By far, Clausen's opponents were more evenly matched and so the level of competition he had to deal with was much higher than that of the others. McCoy was a more integral part of the offense on his team than any other quarterback, Clausen comes in second. On pure performance Sam Bradford wins, with McCoy and Tebow close to one another for second. For performance adjusted for the level of competition and the role each player had on their respective team, McCoy comes in first with Clausen second.

Based on my analysis I would pick Jimmy Clausen first. Each year he has gotten better, and this last year he outperformed both Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow.

I would select Colt McCoy next because you know what you are getting. He has consistently performed the last four years and has played a major role in the offense of his team each year. A brief browsing of youtube will reveal that Colt McCoy has taken quite a few vicious hits during his career due to a sub-par offensive line. While he has had his injuries, when you take into account how much he has been hit he is actually quite durable.

Next I would select Sam Bradford. He has great height, will be able to make all the necessary throws, but questions about his durability keep the other quarterbacks ranked ahead of him. If a junior college transfer from BYU can knock him out of the game, what do you think Ray Lewis will do?

Lastly I would select Tim Tebow. He is an intense competitor, but an inferior quarterback to the other three. What he did in college may or may not translate into NFL success. Vince Young was incredible in college, but his deficiencies in throwing the ball have limited his NFL success, I fear Tim Tebow will have the same problem.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my in-depth analysis. I probably should go do something else today. ;)

Teaching Ideas for Toddlers

2010-03-03T12:57:00.008-06:00

For a little while now, I've been working on several teaching activities for Sophie. Here's my favorite one: the learning board.

The actual board is a plain 20x20 canvas from the craft store that I painted. Then I put sheet metal on the back (securing it with spray glue and cardboard). It functions as a magnet board. We sit at Sophie's desk and use the board to learn our letters, new words, colors, and numbers. We also work on counting and identifying shapes.

The letter card (top, left) is from "This Land Alphabet Wall Cards" from Amazon (or Land of Nod) by Melissa Sweet. The set is so cute! Every week when we learn a new letter, we come up with 8 words that begin with that letter. I try to include one-syllable words that Sophie can say easily, as well as 2- and 3-syllable ones we can work on. I use my wooden music sticks from my BYU education music class to clap out the syllables with her (actually pretty effective). I use Publisher to make the word cards using clip art and photos from our own collection.

I put up a new color card each week as well. We were in Home Depot one time and I noticed these great square cards over by the Glidden paint chips. They make great (free) visuals. Then we go around the house with a little basket and collect small items that match the color of the week. As you can see from the picture, we just go through Sophie's toys, our closets, and drawers to find small items. Then we keep them in a bag on the board.

For counting, I collected small toys like Legos, blocks, play money, and buttons - 10 of each - and put them in a small tupperware. When we practice counting, I pull out the number of items from each category that we're practicing for the week, and then Sophie counts them and categorizes them according to toy. I also include a homemade number card on the board.

In the center of the board, we post Sophie's drawings (she REALLY likes to draw!).

Basically, for "learning time" we do a lot of talking, singing, drawing, moving, and playing! We don't do all of our learning activities at the table, but it is a nice routine that Sophie looks forward to.

Another idea I just worked on today was creating a geography display in Sophie's walk-in closet. Eldon got a year's subscription to National Geographic for a discounted price as well as this free map. Sophie and I went through the pictures and I clipped ones that were striking. Using pins and yarn, I connected the pictures to the coordinating countries. Hopefully when Sophie gets a little older, she'll enjoy learning about the world's diversity. But it's a start for right now. ;)

Belated pictures and events

2010-03-02T20:56:00.014-06:00

So February was a monumental month because Sophie turned two! We had a great birthday party with Patti and her family. Luckily Patti brought her camera because ours was completely dead! I made Sophie a barn cake with barn animal cupcakes (much easier than last year's!). I also made Sophie a toddler apron.

We also had a huge snow storm (on Sophie's actual birthday). She wasn't so sure about the snow, but ever since dressing up in warm clothes, she always wants to wear her pink snow boots around the house (and her new pink jacket).

We also finished the dresser. Here are the before and after pics as promised. After scraping off the stain and enamel, we discovered this beautiful cedar wood. We stained the dresser in English Chestnut to match the headboard we made last year. Two of the drawers aren't quite the same color so I'm going to have to address that maybe some time this summer (not any time soon!).

Now we're just looking forward to spring break and a visit from the parents!

Google name calling: eldolork

2010-02-22T09:28:00.004-06:00

You know it's going to be a rough day when even Google is against you. This morning I went to comment on my brother's blog and as usual it asked me to enter the funny looking text to make sure I am a human. The text I was given was this: eldolork. Even I'm smart enough to see the subliminal message, eldo dork.

Counting to 10 etc.

2010-01-19T13:52:00.011-06:00

Obviously by the lack in blog entries, we have been busy lately! The holidays were great in Austin with Eldon's family. In January, we also had a nice visit from my sister who lives in Oregon. We are currently working on re-staining a dresser (which has left the house a mess for about 2 weeks now). I'll post before and after pics when we're all done. Sophie is talking a lot more. She's gotten pretty good at please and thank you, but most especially she loves 'no thank you!' She also has learned how to count to 10, but never seems to remember 2 or 7! (see the video below)

Texas fights, Alabama and Herbstreit lack class

2010-01-07T23:42:00.003-06:00

Texas' stout defense and true freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert almost pulled off what would have gone down as one of the top five performances in the history of college football and Kirk Herbstreit says something along the lines of, "Well, clearly the better team won tonight".

With 1:40 left on the clock and the game already in hand, Nick Saban doesn't elect to kneel it and show respect for the awe-inspiring effort of the Longhorns, but rather try to run the score up a bit to make it look like Alabama had really handled Texas.

Any and everyone who has ever been short, slow, or an underdog (somehow all three apply to me) should have been rooting for Texas, and giving them credit when they barely fell short of what would have been nothing other than a miracle.

In the post-game comments we heard from Heisman winner Mark Ingram and two-time Heisman finalist Colt McCoy. For Colt to show the class that he did, considering the circumstances, being sure to give credit to both God and Alabama, wow, I hope to someday be half the man he is. And to every single Heisman voter who chose not to vote for Colt McCoy I ask: How can you do such a talented and good young man so wrong, two years in a row? Afterall, he is only the winningest quarterback in the history of college football.

Final highly opinionated and emotionally driven thought for the night: Say you were watching a horse race and right out of the gate one of the horses gets one of his legs clean chopped off. The horse immediately falls down (it lost a leg!). Then, when everyone is celebrating and watching the lead horse, the fallen horse gets up, and in an unnatural limp attempts to sprint and catch up. The horse comes within a foot of winning the race when it finally falls in exhaustion. After watching such a valiant and heroic effort Kirk Herbstreit then remarks, "Well, clearly the better horse won the race". Think about it.

The battle-cry "Remember the Alamo!" inspired Texans long ago to fight onward to victory. The battle of the Alamo was in fact a defeat, but it was the character displayed by the men who fought and died in the Alamo that was remembered. Texas may not have won tonight, but they sure as heck fought. And if you remember anything about history and what happened after the Alamo, you'd better watch out, cause nobody messes with Texas!

Bright Sun

2009-12-13T14:19:00.000-06:00

Little Gretel

2009-11-17T21:05:00.002-06:00

Eldon's mom just made this adorable dress and apron for Sophie. As she pranced around the house in it, I couldn't help thinking that she looked like a little Gretel. ;)

Sophie cracking up (at herself)

2009-11-05T22:32:00.003-06:00

Sophie's favorite book is Baby Shoes (as of late). Each time the baby gets his shoes dirty, the book reads:

Baby says, "Uh, oh!"

Mama says, "Oh no!" But those shoes just go, go, go.

Sophie has learned to say the lines for both the baby and the mama (as you can see in this video).

While showing Sophie the video of herself, she kept cracking up, so we had to get it on video too. She is such a funny girl... ;)

Belated Halloween Pics

2009-11-05T21:50:00.007-06:00

This year, Sophie was Little Red Riding Hood. I am happy to say that I made her cape! She had great fun treat-or-treating with her cousins and we enjoyed eating her candy. ;) Here she is modeling her costume outside our new apartment. (Yes, we moved to a different apartment complex. We love it and will hopefully post pictures soon.)

Just another day at school...

2009-10-27T13:00:00.006-05:00

My sister-in-law Melissa posted on her blog (BLOG "Z") that she is going to have a baby on May 10. I immediately thought how lucky the baby would be if he was born instead on May 2nd, my birthday. To see just how lucky the baby would be I did a little research to see who else was born on May 2nd. One name on the list of noteworthy people jumped out at me: Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron.

My affinity for the Red Baron began in college as I cooked up his amazingly delicious frozen pizzas. This admiration grew as I read To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara (by the way, an excellent book on WWI) and saw how even the sight of the Red Baron's plane struck fear into the enemy who knew they were no match for the most skilled ace in WWI. When I read the book I was so impressed with the Red Baron I even asked Stephanie to start calling me the Red Baron. But now that I know that we were born on the same day I've come to one of two conclusions:

1) I actually am the Red Baron, just reincarnated on my birthday
2) I'm not the Red Baron, but the Red Baron periodically lives on through me, especially when I daydream at school or on my bike

Now that I know that I am either the Red Baron, or that he periodically lives on through me I think I'll need to paint my bike red so that when I go to and from school, darting in and out of traffic, I'll make the Red Baron of WWI proud.

Dancing

2009-10-14T20:48:00.002-05:00

This video of Sophie dancing is from August, but I had forgotten about it until a few days ago. She loves to dance!! Pretty good moves if you ask me (especially when the croutons get involved!)

Nobel Prizes, Al Gore and Obama

2009-10-13T14:36:00.010-05:00

The Nobel prizes, like many scholarships, are completely subjective. This is not truly a merit-based award, nor is it decided upon by a diverse committee. The award, by nature, must be subjective because there is no metric to measure one's contribution to peace, medicine, physics etc.

With that said, do I think President Obama deserved to be nominated for the award after 12 days in office? No, unless Nobel prizes have become awards for future, not past accomplishments. By awarding Nobel prizes for either future contributions (Obama), or contributions that have not stood the test of time (Al Gore), this diminishes the prestige of the award and sadly overlooks the significant and time-proven contributions of others.

I'm not saying that Obama and Al Gore will never be deserving of a Nobel prize, I'm just saying that it is way too early to tell.

Over the Weekend

2009-10-06T11:21:00.004-05:00

This last weekend we drove down to Austin to visit Eldon's family. His brother, Edd, with his family drove in from New Orleans. Edd got a few great shots of Sophie while she ran around Grandma's yard one morning. These days she's really hard to photograph because she's so BUSY!

On a Walk

2009-09-24T19:24:00.004-05:00

Some good shots that Eldon got of Sophie on an evening walk.

Kick Back and Relax

2009-09-24T15:15:00.003-05:00

Amazing Federer shot in US Open

2009-09-14T11:56:00.003-05:00

What would you give up to see BYU defeat OU?

2009-09-07T09:25:00.003-05:00

When my brother Dan and I parked at the UT Arlington parking lot at 5:52PM, over 2 miles from Cowboys Stadium, we knew we'd have to run pretty hard to not miss the opening kickoff between BYU and OU at 6:00PM.

After sprinting across a couple of parking lots we both began to regret scarfing down several slices of pizza in the car before we parked. Dan began to talk of walking and I knew the only antidote was to listen to a little Rocky music.

While continuing to run, I pulled out my phone and began to navigate toward my Rocky music, completely unaware of a telephone pole with a menacing guy wire right in front of me. Unfortunately this wire didn't have a yellow plastic covering around it like most do. In any case, I somehow straddled the guy wire and didn't notice it until I simultaneously ran into it with my shoulder and crotch. My phone went flying and I heard the sound I've heard all too often in life, my pants ripping. Somehow when I hit the wire, the frayed ends attached to my shorts and I was stuck to the wire. It took a good 30 seconds to figure out how to rip my shorts off the wire. In the mean time, a guy in his truck pulled up and asked if he could get a replay of the incident. Dan and I couldn't stop laughing.

At this point, I had a gaping hole in my shorts and we were still over a mile from the stadium, it was no time to turn back, or count the cost of the collision. Dan and I resumed our run and made it into the Cowboys Stadium parking lot to hear the opening kickoff.

Although I received several strange looks throughout the game directed at my crotch, I wasn't going to let that get in the way of BYU's biggest upset since 1990.

I gave up a pair of my shorts, my dignity, and almost my manhood to see BYU defeat OU. What would you have given up?

Gresham won't play in OU's opener = BYU has a chance

2009-09-03T15:00:00.002-05:00

ESPN just reported that Gresham won't play in OU's opener.

You may not know who he is, but anybody who watched Oklahoma last year can probably remember the 6'6'' beast of a tight-end that plays like a wide-receiver. We all know BYU's linebackers aren't fast enough to keep up with him, and the defensive backs aren't tall enough to make a difference either. With Gresham out, BYU's defense now has a fighting chance. Without Gresham to dump-off to, I suggest loading up the box and getting pressure on Bradford. Why did UT beat OU last year? One reason my friends, Bradford can't perform when he's being pressured. Don't believe me, just watch the 4th quarter of the game last year and you'll see.

Gresham out means hope is renewed! Go Cougars!

Finally...

2009-09-03T08:56:00.003-05:00

This morning when I woke up, after being the hero of my dream where I took down the bad guy, and realized today was the start of college football, a Smashing Pumpkins song came to my mind: "Today is the greatest day I've ever known." Or as Rocky put it, "This is the best day of my life!".

After dominating in my dream, I got ready for the day and took an alternate bike route to school and was able to shave like 3 minutes off my commute. Combined with my new bike tires and route, I think I'll be able to do my 5 miles in 20 minutes from now on. Anyway, after I survive school today, Stephanie and I are going to a friend's house to watch the Boise State vs. Oregon game. I wouldn't be surprised if there was even some lemon bar action (hint hint Steph). Then after tonight is done, on Saturday BYU plays OU a stone's throw from our apartment. While we won't be attending the game (cheapest tickets were over $50), we will be able to enjoy the traffic from the game, and see it on TV, which as Senator Biden would say, "Is just as good, if not better". The only thing better than Christmas is college football.

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes

2009-08-17T16:32:00.003-05:00

Chloe the Jumping Fish

2009-08-14T22:56:00.011-05:00

About two weeks ago I decided that a good way to teach Sophie about animals (beyond books and pictures) would be to let her see them in person—at a pet store. So we went to Petsmart. We first looked at the fishes. I thought, “I bet a fish wouldn’t be that hard to take care of. Besides, Sophie needs a little pet. Just one wouldn’t cost that much.” So, after looking at the cats, birds, gerbils, and having Sophie bark after dogs, I bought a beta fish and a small tank.

Back at home after setting everything up, Sophie looked at her animal books and toys while I took a snooze on the ground. About 20 minutes later, I went to check on the fish. “Where is the fish?” I stared and stared at the tank. I glanced to the right, and there was our fish—on the floor! “Oh no, the fish!” It jumped out?! I assumed it was dead, but not wanting to touch it, I scooped it off the carpet with a spoon. It twitched a bit, so I plopped it back in its tank.

For about 10 minutes, it seemed okay, but little by little, I could tell it was on its way out. Needless to say, I could barely get anything done the rest of the day, I was stressing about our new fish so much! (And I thought fish were supposed to be relaxing).

Wanting to see how long it would take for Eldon to notice the new pet, I didn’t tell him about our stressful incident. It took him about 20 minutes after getting home to exclaim that we had a new pet (and thought it was cool). He then named the fish Chloe.

Well, Chloe didn’t last too much longer… she was dead by the time we got to the pet store. Eldon decided that if we were going to do fish, then we were going to do it right! So we got a small tank with a filter and two male guppies (one blue, one yellow) plus a dwarf African frog. So now we have three pets: Goodwin (yellow), Maxwell (blue), and Abraham the frog! So far no one is suicidal….

Because I still can't get good pictures of our actual fish, here are some online ones that look pretty close to ours.

Madden NFL 10

2009-08-05T12:42:00.003-05:00

Broken washer + bathtub = Pioneer Day!

2009-07-21T12:09:00.006-05:00

In lieu of Pioneer Day this weekend, I decided to wash our clothes by hand… just kidding. I did wash our clothes by hand (in the bathtub), but only because I broke our washer about a week ago (who knew washing towels and a large stuffed animal would crack the spinner off its axis?!). With my parents coming into town, I didn’t really have time to take our clothes elsewhere, and since the complex still hasn’t sent us a new one, I had to take matters into my own hands… the pioneer way.

Surprisingly, I actually learned a few things from this experience. First, I didn’t realize how dirty our clothes actually get. The bath water was a light grayish brown… gross! Second, I learned how valuable the spin cycle is. After rinsing the clothes and draining the water, I had to wring the clothes one by one to get the excess water out. And even after doing that, the dryer could barely handle drying the sopping wet clothes. But the third thing I learned was positive… when you wash your clothes by hand, your children find it terribly interesting and like to help out. ;) I probably wouldn’t recommend washing your clothes by hand if you don’t need to, but I did feel like a resourceful pioneer woman. ;)

Ice cream

2009-06-18T18:31:00.004-05:00

Sophie and Cousin Allison have a special love for each other...

The Righteous Club

2009-05-30T22:26:00.006-05:00

Years ago, Eldon and his brother formed the "righteous club" in playful response to an older brother's self-improvement plan. They advertised their exclusive club to the rest of the family with the slogan: the few, the proud, the righteous. Aspiring to be just like Daddy, Sophie has been building up some righteous skills. Here, she folds her arms to pray. Most of the time she'll fold her arms when we ask her to or if we say we're going to pray, and she has currently picked up squinting her eyes just like us. ;)

And for those of us who are familiar with the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet, here is a special treat (watch for the sneeze...). Such a righteous baby... ;)

Lately, however, Sophie's righteousness has been wearing off with 1am "socializing" for an hour and tantruming when I refuse to let her sit on the table. ;) And I don't know how righteous it is that Sophie likes to say "ca ca" (as in ca-ca-doodle-do) since it means poop in Spanish. Such a righteous vocabulary... ;)

Visit from Julieanne

2009-05-24T23:30:00.007-05:00

My sister Julieanne is visiting us from Oregon this week. Sophie has already become a major show-off in order to get her approval. I'm not sure if going through Julieanne's suitcase and then wearing her underwear on her head is the best way to gain favor with the relatives, but it hasn't seemed to damage the relationship yet. ;)

Julieanne always buys Sophie cute clothes. Here she is kickin' it with her monkey before church in her new summer dress.

Later in the day, Sophie's cuteness began wearing off as she started obsessively scratching at her belly button and tantruming when we didn't give her ice cream. ;)

Justice and Forgiveness

2009-05-21T10:58:00.003-05:00

Today Michael Vick arrived at his Virginia home with his fiancee and two young children to finish off the rest of his sentence in home confinement. To me, this is a happy day. Without getting into the details, Vick was guilty of financing a dogfighting ring and spent the next 19 months in a federal prison in Kansas.

For some reason there are still those who I'll call "Mike Vick haters". These people believe that Vick can never be forgiven, his inhumane acts against dogs are just too great a sin. Let's all remember that despite how much you may love dogs, one human being, even Mick Vick is way more important than a dog. The funny thing about this is that had Vick lived 100 years ago he could have done whatever he pleased with his own dogs. Remember, Vick wasn't a serial dog killer, sneaking into your backyard and taking your dog to go fight and torture. He did it with his own dogs. Now he can't even own a dog. To me, this is crossing the line, come on people, that's like the courts telling me I can never own a fish again because Dallan and I tried to make our fish fight and when they wouldn't we flushed them because we were tired of taking care of them.

My point is, let's not take this out of context. In the South, for those of you who don't know, dogfighting is a cultural pastime. Vick, from the South, participated in it and helped finance it. The courts made Vick an example and exacted as much punishment as possible. Nothing like speeding along with the rest of traffic and then being the only one pulled over and assessed the maximum fine just because you were the only one driving a Bentley.

Does Vick deserve a second chance? Absolutely. Would I buy a Michael Vick jersey were he reinstated into the NFL? Absolutely. Why am I so passionate about supporting Vick? Every man deserves a second-chance, and this man happens to be one of the most electrifying NFL players of all time, I'd love to see him back on the field.

Sophie & Morris

2009-05-19T00:15:00.003-05:00

In an effort to rekindle her relationship with Morris (Eldon's mom's cat), Sophie paid special attention to his needs during our weekend trip to Austin. This included offering him tomato juice cans (which she enjoyed stacking) and her sippy cup. Beyond these loving gestures, she also felt it necessary to guard his food and water. One night she gave into temptation, forgetting how Morris might feel upon finding this scene...

Mark Cuban and the Stock Market

2009-05-12T10:39:00.002-05:00

I was reading Mark Cuban's blog this morning to see if he talked about the Kenyon Martin thing, which he did. What caught my eye though was Cuban's comments and ideas about the economy.

The beautiful thing about this country is that we like to work hard, and we like to take chances. Unfortunately, over the last 15 years, the incentives have been to take chances as a financial engineer rather than as an entrepreneur. We give far more money to people who play games with financial instruments than we give to people who come up with ideas for the next big thing. That needs to change if we want to remain a leader in this world.

I think that he is exactly right. I have felt this way for a number of years. In fact, part of the reason I steered clear of doing a degree in business was the shady nature of the financial world. As co-founder of D&E Enterprises (which consisted of my little brother Dallan and I watering and mowing lawns) I thought business was about providing a service or product. Although somewhere along the way we as a country shifted our focus from the product to the profit. It used to be you'd go to investors with a product or idea, now people come to you with a business scheme to get money, the product is simply tacked on, a necessary part of the scheme. Quality business ventures are successful because they have a great product or service, anything less to me is a scam.

Homegrown carpenters

2009-05-10T14:58:00.005-05:00

This week we finished our headboard! After cutting all the wood by hand (because of unfortunate circumstances - see the previous entry for details), Eldon then sanded all the pieces. I was in charge of staining and varnishing. Yesterday we were ready for the assembly. All things considered, I think that Eldon put it together pretty perfectly. Not including drying time, it took us 20 hours to make it. Here is the raw wood before any sanding, etc. in Eldon's original design.

And here is the final product, stained in English chestnut. We really enjoy the early American feel.

Bruised and Sore

2009-05-05T09:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we decided that we wanted to build a headboard. Since building our own planter, we have realized that you can make simple items for a lot less. So we trooped over to Home Depot, got us some 2x4's, 2x2's, some plywood, and an electric sander. I went to pick out some stain while Eldon went to get the wood cut. About 20 minutes later, I looked for him by the cutting machines, but he was no where to be found. One aisle over, I discovered him... sawing the wood by hand! "The machine that cuts this wood is broken," he said. So I'll let you guess what we were at Home Depot doing for another 45 minutes... sawing through 2x4's with the equivalent of a butter knife (the hand saws were so dull!). When we added it all up, Eldon basically cut down a maple tree with a hand saw, or about 2 feet squared. Needless to say, he is a little bruised and sore. ;) But, minus the electric sander, we'll be able to make a real wood headboard for under $30!

Favorites

2009-05-01T09:26:00.007-05:00

Sophie is obsessed with books. Sometimes she gets awfully quiet and I worry that she's gotten into something. But when I turn the corner, she's just engrossed in a book. Lately, when I have been reading to her in her room, she has become especially attached to two books: "David Gets in Trouble" (which I think she can relate to ;) and "Falling for Rapunzel," which has been my all-time favorite book since I discovered it. If you have girls (or are a girl) you HAVE to have that book - it is hilarious! So, it's great that Sophie loves it because we read it like 5 plus times a day. ;) Beyond picture books, Sophie has a strange interest in "A Dog Called Kitty" (a wonderful childrens chapter book) even though it's just text. She can always find it on our bookshelf in our room. ;) One book that she didn't agree with though was "One for the Money" by Marvin J. Ashton, which she tried crossing out with a pen... ;)

Breakfast with E.O. Wilson

2009-04-30T10:40:00.006-05:00

This morning I had the opportunity to have breakfast with E.O. Wilson at the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth. I remember reading his book The Diversity of Life in Biology 101 as a freshman at BYU and thinking, wow, this guy is a crazy tree-hugging biologist. Little did I know seven years later I would be sitting fifteen feet in front of the guy listening to and soaking up every word as he read a few paragraphs from the book that so frequently put me to sleep on that wonderfully quiet basement floor of the library (the old part of the library of course).

A few gems from Dr. Wilson this morning:
"I know something very few professors at Harvard understand, I know how to say I don't know."

Someone prefaced their question on fire ants by stating that since he was one of the first people involved in studying fire ants.... Dr. Wilson corrected him, "I wasn't one of the people involved, I was the first person to study fire ants." He then went on about how it was for a Boy Scouts project he classified the different types of ants in Mobile, Alabama and noticed the fire ants who were spreading at a remarkable rate.

"Destroying a rain forest for economic reasons is like burning a painting from the Renaissance to cook a meal."

I don't agree with everything E.O. Wilson believes, but after meeting him, I do have a profound respect for his accomplishments (433 technical papers, 22 books, cited over 12 million times) and his love of life and biodiversity.

Sophie making plans...

2009-04-27T14:26:00.006-05:00

"Hey girlfriend, let's go shopping! Hold on, let me find my keys and credit card..."

"Oh, whoops, I hung up on her."

"Hey again, I found them. Let's go have a blast! Yeah, let's get the totally cute shirts at Baby Gap. I'll meet you next to my stroller."

"How am I going to wear my hair? Um, down I think. Okay, see ya there..."

Love Lockdown Music Video

2009-04-19T19:49:00.003-05:00

Latest Projects

2009-04-07T10:00:00.013-05:00

For a long time now, I've been trying to find my "new" hobbies as a stay-at-home mom. Sophie takes most of my time, but I needed some fun, enriching activities to keep me going. Eldon counseled that I should find something challenging. So I started practicing the piano again. I kept that up for a while (and learned the first part of Handel's 3rd sonata for piano and flute) but then I got busy and forgot about it. Around that time, the beautiful spring weather got me itching to start a patio container garden. I got interested in the idea of gardening when we first moved to Texas, but we were way too busy with life's changes to really think much on it.

Well, ever since the beginning of March, Eldon and I have spent many hours creating our own secret garden! It all started with a fiery "Red Slipper" azalea, and since then, we have created a comfortable and beautiful retreat, where even Sophie can crawl around (and try to love the basil). The following are pictures of our hard work from beginning to end.

Another hobby that I have found particularly enjoyable is sewing. I doubt my own mother would believe me when I say that, but I am being honest. My friend Amber helped me get going on a crib quilt for Sophie. I still have to attach the backing, batting, and binding, but I am proud of my precision in sewing the patches together. Now that the garden is almost done (just waiting until the Saturday coupon at Calloway's to get a hydrangea - the last item!), I can finally finish the quilt. I also bought some lovely teal and brown patterned fabric that I plan to make another crib quilt with for someone who's expecting in the future.

Is one and done the best way?

2009-04-06T20:54:00.002-05:00

I turned on the NCAA championship tonight to check the score and found Michigan State getting killed by UNC. After five minutes I realized that this game was already over and turned it off. It made me wonder if in all the March Madness we are sacrificing April Gladness.

Tonight is a good example of what happens when a good team plays a couple of great games to beat superior opponents, eventually reality hits and they get demolished. Unfortunately that has to be in the championship game. How I would love to see UConn or Pitt against UNC tonight, but they had their one bad game and they are now out.

My solution to the Cinderella probelem is to play a best of three series once you get to the elite eight. This helps to ensure that the teams that make it to the Final Four really are the best. I'm the biggest advocate of Cinderella teams, but they need to be legit.

The smoke is Bach

2009-04-05T22:37:00.002-05:00

Three different apartments in a little over two years, one common problem: cigarette smoke coming in through the vents. Overall I consider myself a pretty tolerant person, but when the health of my family, including our baby Sophie is at risk, I get fired up real fast.

I have absolutely no problem with people smoking, unless of course my family and I am forced to breathe their smoke. I have consequently devised a retaliation that I wish I was brave enough to go through with. Unfortunately I will just do the usual, talk to the complex (a.k.a. Stephanie talk to the complex) and let them know it is unacceptable and request if it can't be solved that we move to a different apartment in the complex (exactly what we just did in October).

In my imaginary world I would simply play this youtube video on our computer as loud as our speakers can go from 2AM till 6AM everyday. If anyone complained I would let them know that the Bach infiltration does not end until the smoke infiltration ends. Too bad the law of Moses was done away with. If only I could live in my imaginary world....

Vaseline & Hammers

2009-04-01T20:57:00.015-05:00

For the most part, I consider myself a responsible parent. Sophie hasn’t gotten majorly hurt and I am usually aware of potentially harmful situations. Yesterday, however, I forgot to really look at the drawer of toiletries that I was letting Sophie go through while I put on my makeup. I had just put on one eye’s mascara, when I glanced over at Sophie and saw an open Vaseline container, a Vaseline-covered finger, and a look of disgust on Sophie’s face! I rushed over to Sophie, checked to see if she had actually eaten any, washed her finger off, and scanned the drug information on the container. Of course it said something like “Keep out of reach of children. Contact Poison Control if swallowed…”. Thankfully, I think the first taste of Vaseline convinced Sophie that she didn’t really want to eat it, but it was a little scary nonetheless.

I should have been more on my A-game today when I was staining some wood on the balcony while Sophie played inside. A responsible parent would have scanned the playing area for potentially harmful objects before going outside and leaving a 13-month-old unsupervised. I promise that I don’t normally leave hammers on the kitchen floor, but we’ve been working on a few projects and I left it in the kitchen while Sophie was taking a nap. So, of course, what do I see Sophie picking up and immediately sticking into her mouth? A gigantic, dangerous hammer…. Thankfully, I had enough time to snatch it away from her before any damage. At least we did baby-proof the balcony before Sophie learned how to open the screen door, so we’re not totally irresponsible…. ;)

All fun must come to an end...

2009-03-23T20:56:00.003-05:00

Sophie loves putting towels and clothes on her head. But she forgets what dangers are lurking ahead when all the drawers are pulled out....

And it worked ;)

2009-03-14T00:08:00.002-05:00

We are happy to announce that Sophie won the contest and had her picture on TV for all of DFW to see. Thank you Sophie, you also won your parents two free tickets to a Mavs game.

You know you're cheap when...

2009-03-13T11:53:00.002-05:00

You use your daughter's cuteness to try and win free Dallas Mavericks tickets. The local TV station is having a competition and handing out tickets to the winners for pictures related to being a Mavs fan. We couldn't resist.

Little Pitter-Patters

2009-03-04T12:33:00.002-06:00

Sophie's third day of practicing walking.

Amen

2009-02-25T08:51:00.001-06:00

Sophie's funniest habit right now is shouting out as we say 'Amen' for our prayers. I think that it all came about when we first started saying prayers with her. We really emphasized 'Amen' at the end and would then usually clap our hands or be really excited. Now, Sophie will even let us fold her arms. She'll stay completely quiet during the prayer, and then just as we are closing, she will get really excited and want to 'Amen' with us. It's been especially funny when it happens during church. ;)

School work late at night

2009-02-18T00:08:00.002-06:00

I was working on school work late tonight when I remembered Stephanie had mentioned something about the church starting a Youtube channel. I checked it out and really enjoyed this story.

For moms and teachers

2009-02-17T16:00:00.002-06:00

I happened upon this website the other day and was quite pleased. It's called songsforteaching.com. The website has songs that coordinate with a variety of topics for a variety of age groups.

I discovered the website when Sophie was learning about the color blue (I don't know if I even made a dent!). She did started bending her knees and shaking her little bottom after we listened to a few demo songs though. ;)

So, anyway, I thought that it was a useful resource. Most of the songs are jazzed up and kid-friendly. There are lots of songs to listen to and I don't think that the downloads are too expensive.

What was I thinking?

2009-02-10T10:57:00.006-06:00

This past week I was really excited about Sophie's 1st birthday. I planned and planned and finally decided to have a pink-themed party in light of her birthday month. I also decided that I would go out on a limb and make Sophie a somewhat extravagant birthday cake. Let's just say that I will NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. ;) Although making the cake was kind of fun because it was something new and bold to do, I don't know if 9 HOURS and 3 days of cake preparation is quite worth it, considering it wasn't even that good (who knew that Martha Stewart would fail me?). But despite these problems, I'm happy that I got to plan Sophie's birthday. Patti was real nice and made most of the dinner and I think that everyone had fun eating outside. Sophie obviously didn't approve of Patti's gift when she threw it over the balcony, but she also rejected my cake too, so, no hurt feelings, right? ;) To the left is a picture journal of the cake in progress.

Here is the final product and the party table with Sophie and Stephanie.

What's in a name?

2009-02-09T20:31:00.006-06:00

After a hard day of school Steph told me to do a little rest and relaxation. So I Googled "Eldon" just for kicks. While it was sobering to read about Dan Eldon (http://www.daneldon.org/about/index.html) and inspiring to read about N. Eldon Tanner (http://www.mormonwiki.com/N._Eldon_Tanner), it was exhilarating to read about my true love, beef jerky and sausage from Eldon's Jerky and Sausage Supply in Kooskia, Idaho (http://www.eldonsausage.com/).

Sophie almost had a theory better than evolution

2009-02-03T19:25:00.005-06:00

For those you who don't know, I'm doing a degree in quantitative biology, so the topic of evolution is a common one around our household. Today we widened our conversation to include Sophie. She told us that she didn't believe in evolution. When asked if she had a better theory, she almost revolutionized biology, but then decided that she didn't have a better theory, at least not yet.

Who is really at fault?

2009-01-31T21:58:00.003-06:00

These two examples show the psyche of Wall Street:

1) Outgoing Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain agreed to reimburse the company for a $1.2-million office renovation, including an $87,000 area rug.

2) Citigroup, a bailout beneficiary, was shamed into abandoning plans to buy a $50-million corporate jet.

My question is who is at fault? Dishonesty and greed from Wall Street helped propel us into this economic crisis, so what do we do? We give them more money. If things were so tight that they required the bailout, where did the 18 billion in executive bonuses come from? Oh, just FYI, the mean bonus was $112,000, with some upwards of $1 million.

Wouldn't it be better to let the corruption crumble and let honest people and companies replace them? If we as a country don't cut the lines and let them reap what they sow, we'll be brought down with them. No more bailouts, let the market cleanse the dishonest and inefficient companies. Unless the weeds are out of the garden, the flowers won't be able to grow.

Lebron commercials

2009-01-31T17:50:00.004-06:00

Why not email or post the presentation?

2009-01-30T14:43:00.005-06:00

This semester I'm teaching a class on the structure and function of organisms. This morning, after talking to several other graduate students who are also teaching, a question came to my mind: what is wrong with posting or emailing your presentation (I use the word presentation instead of PowerPoint because there are lots of electronic documents that work)?

The arguments I've heard against the practice are: 1) students can skip class and still get the learning material and 2) students won't take notes.

To the first point, what is the purpose of education in the first place? The childish withholding of information because students were not present is stupid. They have already paid tuition, the least you can do is email or post class materials. The second point is valid if your classes are simply a forum for passing information from your head to their notebooks.

Why not make your classes an interactive learning experience, where students come to synthesize, not just to write down information? Information recorded, quickly memorized and regurgitated does not teach anyone anything. The motivation for students to come to class should be that during class the material is synthesized.

When you are truly learning, you don't have time for copious notes, you are too busy synthesizing material.

The best shoes ever

2009-01-26T12:42:00.004-06:00

My Larry Bird shoes have been the best shoes I've ever owned. Honestly, everyday I go to school with them I have increased confidence because I know Bird's got my back.

Since my Bird shoes are over two years old, and I've worn them almost every day of those two years, they are getting a little worn. I searched everywhere to find another pair and finally emailed Skechers in frustration, they emailed me back today and let me know that they are only selling the shoes in kids sizes now. I've been contemplating quitting graduate school and launching an all-out campaign titled "Bring the Birds Back".

Beyond Chopin

2009-01-24T09:56:00.005-06:00

A few months ago, Sophie was really demonstrating infant prodigy piano skills, as demonstrated below...

But lately, she has centered her time on composing her own works... ;)

Special

2009-01-22T21:25:00.004-06:00

Nothing screams "I love you Mom" more than poop in the tub right after a bath. Luckily for you, Sophie, you are my immediate offspring so I am obligated to love you back, despite a clogged drain and poop-smeared tub.... ;)

Blogging vs Facebook

2009-01-18T21:26:00.002-06:00

The last couple of weeks I tried to be a better Facebook "friend" by commenting and being more involved but walked away with mixed feelings on the whole experience. Maybe I am a standoffish type of person by nature, but I just feel like Facebook violates privacy.

When I make a comment to my little sister telling her she looks cute in a picture, random people from high school are immediately informed of my comment and see the picture of my little sister. That just feels creepy.

Or when I make a joke to one of my brothers I am worried how other people will take it, since even though the joke was intended for my brother, they are alerted of it as well. This scenerio is an accident waiting to happen.

So I have decided to blog more and Facebook less. I apologize in advance to any of Stephanie's friends who follow our blog as they will have to sift through a greater volume of my posts to read the more coherent and less biased posts from Stephanie. I also prefer blogging because I enjoy writing, you will find no twitter-length comments here.

Feeling nerdy?

2009-01-16T13:41:00.002-06:00

Since it is halfway through January and we have yet to post anything, I figured I'd post something that would motivate Stephanie to write on the blog.

What better to do that than a plug for the nerdy blog my brothers and I do, Sudo or do not (it is on the blog list now). Before you pass judgment too harshly, take a gander and see that I've posted how to make your playlist.com playlist fit the sidebar of your blog.

What better way to start the new year than on a nerdy note, now things can only go up from here. ;)

Sophie in Real Life

2008-12-25T22:29:00.005-06:00

Here is Sophie enjoying bath time in Oregon. Her new favorite thing is to gurgle bath water. ;)

And here is an over-anxious Sophie showing off her new clapping skills!

Sophie at Christmas

2008-12-25T22:17:00.008-06:00

Ode to John Denver

2008-12-24T13:03:00.008-06:00

For whatever reason I've had a John Denver revival lately. I posted some of my favorite songs of his on the sidebar, hope you enjoy them as well.

Food safety for the holidays

2008-12-23T13:38:00.005-06:00

With the holidays upon us it would be good to check up on your food safety, what better way than by song?