Merry Christmas

We just want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Conversational Wizard

This was part of a Saturday morning breakfast dialogue between Beepers and myself.

Beepers(B): sniff… sniff. I smell something..

Me: What do you smell?

B: I don’t know, but I smell something.

Me: Do you need me to change your diaper?

B: No.

Me: Are you sure you don’t need your diaper changed?

B: I don’t need my diaper changed!

B: I smell something. (Wrinkles nose).

Me: What does it smell like?

B: It smells like poop!

Me: What is it then?

B: I think it’s you.

What do you say to that!

The slippery slope

The other day when as I was preparing to leave for work, I noticed that it had been pretty stormy and nasty outside. I looked out to check for snow, because the forecast had suggested that it was possible. Luckily it was not snowing, so I took a little extra time to get ready. Twenty minutes later when I made my appearance outside, much to my surprise I discovered that there was a half an inch of hail and sleet on the ground. Normally this is no big deal, but for those of you that don’t know where I live, on one end of my street is a big hill to go up to a main road and on the other end of my street is a steeper hill down. Normally I always go up the hill because it is faster, but on days when it is really slippery, that is not an option. Well, I watched another car try and fight its way up the hill and fail, so I decided to go the other way. Keep it slow and make the first turn and the worst of it is over. I carefully drove down the street, turned on to the hill and then tapped the brakes to slow down a little. When I tapped the brakes it didn’t slow me down but caused the car to start sliding, now not only was I not able to slow down, but steering wasn’t an option either. There are a few feelings in this world that I didn’t ever need to experience and this was one of them. Realizing that I couldn’t do anything and just watching myself, approach the curb where the road turns. It seemed to take forever, but it probably didn’t. BLAM! Contact with the curb, my car was spun slightly to the side and now both wheels on the passenger side were against the curb, and yes I was still sliding. Down the hill I went scraping against the curb, until the steepness of the hill started to level out. At this point I was able to narrowly steer around a garbage can and bring the car to a stop. It would have been funnier to have hit the garbage can and strewn garbage everywhere, but I am glad that I didn’t.

I jumped out into the storm to check the damage. It was still mostly dark and I couldn’t see very much but I knew that the wheel was somewhat bent up. I went back up the hill, to get the pieces of my hubcap and then climbed back into the car. My cell phone then rang, and slightly dazed I answered. It was my boss, who doesn’t live too far away from me. He was asking me if I was crazy enough to be driving to work and that if I hadn’t left I should stay home and wait for a couple of hours before leaving. Sadly I told him part of the story and that I would probably just try and make my way to work, I certainly wasn’t going to try and go back up the hill.

To sum up the rest of the story, I drove the car to work, vibrating very badly the whole way, did a quick inspection of the damage and went in to work. (Where the servers had died from the storm and everyone was waiting for me to fix it.) At lunch I went down and looked at the bent wheel, and decided to put the spare on. It drove much better and later in the day I drove it to the tire place to have them look at it. As it turns out, I got pretty lucky and only had to buy one new wheel and get an alignment. I’m still mad that it happened, but am very happy that it didn’t cost me a thousand dollars to fix. What a day!

The 1,000,000 dollar question

When I posted the last blog with the pictures I had just run home from the hospital to take a shower, publish a quick post and then go back. When I returned to the hospital Crystal asked me what I had put in the post. Then she asked, did you put if it was a boy or girl? Ummmmmmmmmm, whoops! So when I returned home the next day I was not too surprised to find several eager comments to find out the answer to said question. Apparently some think that it is a very important question. (Pull my head out indeed!)

So today being my dubious self I toyed with the idea of making you all take an online quiz, to see what the popular vote on the issue was. Then I realized that I don't have that many readers and most of them expressed their guess in the comments on the last post. So after much babble, and idle talk, I will get down the the answer that you have all been waiting for.............. Let's just say that we are now 2 and 0. That's right another boy, Beepers has a brother. We'll post more later.

Are pictures really worth a thousand words....You tell me?

Welcome baby binkers! 8lbs 7oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Born at 5:20 pm mountain time 8/24/07

Eight is more than enough

After being tagged by the fabulous Benny K, I realized that this simple feat of listing eight things about myself, would not be as easy as it first appeared. The first thing that I noticed when trying to make this list is that I am extremely , well to put it bluntly, normal. I want to make this list somewhat interesting, even to those who have known me since kindergarten, so I wanted it to be different. Well after brainstorming and toiling I have created the following (yes, some of it is weird, but that's me).

1. I am easy going and like to try to befriend everyone. That doesn't make me a pushover, but I do tend to concede things that I believe are not that important. Given this point, I really don't like uncomfortable social situations. Sometimes when Beepers and I watch Curious George (it's Beepers favorite cartoon) I feel physically uncomfortable when George is doing something that I know he is going to get into trouble for. That crazy monkey!
   
2. Speaking of Uncomfortable social situations, in Jr. High school, I was sitting on a bench (straddling it) waiting for gym class to start. Suddenly that "one kid" ( You know the one I am talking about, the one that everyone hates, but he thinks he has to pick on people to prove how cool he is.) walked up behind me and gave me a "Super" wedgie. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, the elastic band on my "whitey tighties" (yes, I wore those then, and yes I was not cool) ripped away from the underwear and coerced squeals of laughter from those around me. That was not a good day.
3. I have a very addictive personality, which I have written about here. There are some good things and bad things to this. Good things are that I have done and tried lots of cool stuff, and most of it I try to still do from time to time. (Photography, rock climbing, rappelling, mountain biking, golf, boating, skiing (snow and water), the list goes on.) But sometimes, this can be a bad thing. Let's just say it is a good thing that I don't drink alcohol. ( It would probably make for some funny stories though)
4. I have struggled my whole life with being overweight. The sum of it is that I simply love food. All kinds of it. My big secret is that I am a closet eater. When I am around people most of the time I can control myself, but when no one is around, I feel really compelled to eat all the time, even when I am not hungry. I am working on this, but it is interesting how sometimes these things just kind of get you.
5. I have really long eyelashes, and I always have. For years I had to suffer with all of the old ladies at my church always commenting on how unfair it was that I have such long eyelashes and that I was a boy. Needless to say for a young man, this is not a fun experience. To this day I still get comments, but it doesn't bother me as much. Sadly, I passed this on to my son (Sorry Beepers), which makes him a beautiful boy but he will pay dearly for it.
6. I love technology and gadgets, if it's wireless, has internet, costs a lot of money and can scramble an egg inside of its shell, then it's for me!
7. I don't give up easily. If I find something that I want, I will get it, even if it takes a while. That is how I convinced Crystal to marry me, I just wouldn't go away!!
8. Even though I like to play the tough guy, I really carry my emotions close to the surface. I cry when I'm sad ( and sometimes when I am really happy), but I also laugh out loud when I find something funny, and you know what, I don't regret it.

Well that's a little peak into the life of me. There is a lot more than this, but if you really want to know more.... it'll cost ya!

In the honor of tagging people (aka using guilt to get them to write another blog) I don't know many that haven't done it, but I would like to hear from Wired Tiger, madam flutterby, Jen, Adam ( if he wants to start his own blog), and anyone else who feels so inclined.

Slightly Toasted, but Cold in the Center

Yesterday being the fourth of July meant that we spent quite a bit of time outside. In being my normal lazy self, I didn't put on any sunblock and got a slight sunburn on my neck. It's really not that bad, just enough so that it bothers you from time to time.

This morning I woke up and realized that what I thought might have been mild allergies yesterday, seems to have evolved into a cold. So here I sit looking out the window at the 100°F weather, with a slight sunburn and a cold. It just doesn't feel right. I hate having colds, but having them in the winter seems to make sense. In the summer when everything is bright and hot, just doesn't seem the right time to have a cold. Am I the only one that feels this way?

101 Reaons Why I Love Crystal

So this morning I posted a short blurb on my anniversary and how much it means to me. Well a few hours later I found out that Crystal posted this piece and I feel that it shouldn't go unanswered. So here goes 101 reasons why I love Crystal:

1. She always speaks her mind.
2. She tries to not always communicate like a woman.
3. She encourages me to have a better relationship with my son.
4. She loves me.
5. She thinks that I am handsome even though I am short and round.
6. She always makes sure that I am wearing sunscreen.
7. She is a stupendous cook!
8. She forces me to try new things.
9. She has reintroduced me to Utah and its wonders.
10. She can do math in her head. (Quickly and correctly).
11. She remembers most everything.
12. She keeps the house clean.
13. She does the laundry even though she hates it.
14. She buys me tools, and encourages me to use them.
15. She’s gorgeous and she doesn’t know it. ( Better for me ;) )
16. She encourages me to get exercise.
17. She wants to stay home and be a mom to our children.
18. She is an excellent mom.
19. She feigns interest well when I talk about work or geeky stuff.
20. She always expects me to improve, but has faith that I can do it.
21. She isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty.
22. She works extremely hard in all things.
23. She really cares about people.
24. She does lots of things for others.
25. She worries about me.
26. She knows how to use power tools.
27. Sometimes she wears pigtails.
28. She lets me play video games even though she doesn’t like them.
29. She makes sure that I dress well.
30. She cut my hair even though she was afraid.
31. She doesn’t yell.
32. She never makes fun of me when I cry.
33. She can predict most of my responses and moods, sometimes just by the tone of my voice.
34. She is very intelligent and helps people with math.
35. She could have had anyone and yet she chose me!
36. She lets me spend time with my friends.
37. She is not easily intimidated.
38. She tells me she loves me all the time.
39. She makes sure to give me a hug and a kiss when I get home from work.
40. She lets me hold the remote.
41. She knows that sometimes playing with Beepers is more important than housework.
42. She reads to Beepers every night.
43. She makes up songs for us to sing as a family.
44. She took me on a hot air balloon ride.
45. She keeps me living within my means.
46. She understands complicated things like insurance.
47. She has good decoration skills and fashion sense.
48. She encourages me to help others.
49. She supported me through school even though that meant that she was basically a single mom for a few years.
50. She makes sure I eat right.
51. When I cook dinner, she is grateful.
52. She likes adventures.
53. She likes to camp.
54. She lets me take pictures of her, even though she hates it.
55. She decides what to eat almost every day. (This is hard to do.)
56. We compliment each other.
57. She was daring enough to marry someone shorter than her.
58. She likes to mow the lawn.
59. She plans trips well.
60. She knows I am a geek and loves me in spite of it.
61. She listens to me.
62. Whenever I see her I always feel my heart skip a beat.
63. She can always make me feel better.
64. When she laughs it brightens my day.
65. She lets me get the car fixed at a garage, when I don’t want to do it.
66. She always smells great. Especially her hair.
67. She can type really fast.
68. She listens to me tell the same stories over and over and rarely tells me that she has heard that one before.
69. She loves to support local and small business.
70. She loves the farmers market.
71. She always finds great deals and saves us a lot of money.
72. She helps me make decisions.
73. She is faster than a speeding bullet, can jump tall buildings in a single bound…well at least to me she can.
74. She is really good with her hands, making crafts, etc.
75. She understands my obsessive personality.
76. She organizes my closet.
77. She knows where things are.
78. She doesn’t get mad at me when I can’t remember where that “one” dish belongs.
79. She can get things off of high shelves for me.
80. She doesn’t own fifty pairs of shoes.
81. She is tough.
82. She makes me feel important and strong.
83. She tells me when I have bad breath.
84. She taught me how to ski.
85. She was the first to take me snowshoeing, X-country skiing and water skiing.
86. She is usually right.
87. She encouraged me to finish school, when I wanted to give up.
88. She gives me a reason to wake up everyday.
89. She plays Tetris with me.
90. She is my psychiatrist.
91. She misses me when I am gone.
92. She calls me everyday at work to tell me she loves me.
93. She lets me spoil her.
94. She has good friends.
95. She has learned to love German food. (Even sauerkraut.)
96. We can talk about anything and I never feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.
97. She went on a second date with me, after the first one failed miserably.
98. She is competitive.
99. She packs my bags when we go places.
100. She knows I am not perfect and loves me anyway.
101. She is everything to me and always will be.

Edit: 102. She bought me an Xbox 360.

Yes, it was her idea first and I am sorry if anyone reading this doesn't care for mushy stuff, but this is how I feel. Happy Anniversary Crystal.

HOLY Matrimony!

Today marks a very important day for me, it is our fifth wedding anniversary! Crystal has endured all of my bad jokes, sarcasm, bad tempers and crazy ideas for five years now. Now that is endurance. Honestly, I am so glad that we are together and I would be really lost without her. When I was younger and tired to picture myself as being married, I thought that it would be good, but I was way wrong, it's been absolutely great. I love my sweet princess and my children, and even though we don't have a lot of money I do believe that makes me the richest man of all. So Crystal, if you are reading this, just know that I am looking forward to spending eternity with you.

My Precioussssssssssss!

I have been trying to make it a habit to go to the gym three times a week, before work. Sometimes I am successful and sometimes I am not, but that is not the point of this post. Before my workout I take all the stuff out of my pockets and remove my wedding ring and I put it in the pocket of my gym bag. I put that stuff in a locker, lock it up and then go on my merry way. After the workout I retrieved the bag and began to empty it's contents. I quickly realized that my wedding ring was missing. I know that I had put it in there, so I searched the bag more thoroughly just to make sure that it wasn't hiding in any of the corners. Much to my dismay it wasn't there. I thought back to earlier that morning and remember that as I was walking from the car to the gym, that was when I began putting the stuff in the gym bag. Oh no! I must have dropped it. I couldn't believe that I lost my ring. To me it's not the fact that it would be semi expensive to replace but even though we have only been married five years, I am attached to it and what it represents. Anyway, I dashed outside to retrace my steps. I started at the main entrance and worked my way back to the car, scanning the ground like a helicopter searching for an escaped convict. Suddenly I spotted something, it was my ring, my precioussssss! Laying right in the middle of the main drive in the parking lot. I can't believe how blessed I am. People must have been walking by it for the last hour and a half and no one picked it up, it didn't get run over even though it was in prime position for cars to drive over it. I still almost can't believe it as I look down and see it resting on my finger. Today was a tiny miracle just for me...

Falls O' Plenty!

Installment two of the infamous Georgia trip. Two more exciting days have passed and now that I have the internet at my fingertips I will keep you all updated. Who knew that Georgia had so many waterfalls, “Not I,” said the cow. In two days we have visited Tallulah Falls, Minnehaha Falls, and Toccoa Falls. The first were grand and large, we climbed down 620 stairs to get to a suspension bridge for a better view. Then we had to climb back up! Minnehaha falls were smaller but amazingly beautiful, lots of cascading falls and it was breathtaking. The third is very tall and drops straight down. It just happens to be on the campus of a religious college, and in 1977 was the site of a horrible flood.

We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast that is nestled into the countryside and very secluded. It was beautiful and very serene, despite the fact that it was a little hard to find. (Off the beaten track!)

We have also tried boiled peanuts, which seem to be very popular here, but I didn’t particularly care for them. We also drove through a lovely little town that had a very strong German influence, and was very pretty. “So little to do and so much time, strike that reverse it.”

Tallaluah Falls

Suspension Bridge at Tallaluah Falls

Crystal and Beepers hiking down the stairs!

Toccoa Falls

Beepers eating a Georgia Peach!

Minnehaha Falls

Crystal at the Bed and Breakfast

Rear view of the Bed and Breakfast!

Life is turning up Peaches!

So far our trip to Georgia is going great. We have had a blast visiting with our friends and visiting new places. Beepers has been on his best behavior and we are really proud of him, he did exceptionally well on the plane. (Knock on wood, because we still have to go back.)

I have found out that in the last few days we have been to the World’s Largest Aquarium, the World’s Largest Drive In, and America’s Busiest Airport. Whew! We are exhausted. Here are some visuals for those unfortunate souls who cannot be here.

Gettin' some good Southern BBQ!

Eating peach ice cream at The Varisty

At stone mountain.

We were driving around and drove by this weird building and just had to take a picture.

Beepers on the plane.

Crystal and Beepers at the zoo, they let you get really close to the animals.

The family at the zoo, if you look closely you can see elephants in the background.

Beepers pressed up against the glass at the aquarium. Yes that fish was probably that big!

Reading Railroad..

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a fairly addictive personality. After school ended last summer and Crystal reintroduced me to the library, I dove right in and started reading books like crazy. Crystal suggested that I keep track of the books that I read, and that kind of appealed to me, so I did it. The only problem is that with me being a geek, I took it one step further and made a spreadsheet with graphs and everything. As I finished a book the other day I religiously updated my spreadsheet and then glanced at the totals, I was actually surprised to see how much I have done since the beginning of the year. *****Brag Alert****** Since January 1st I have read fourteen books totaling 5564 pages. ****** End Bragging ******

I realize that this represents a significant amount of time but I try to limit myself to times when Crystal and Beepers are either sleeping, or otherwise occupied. I really enjoy it and I am excited to see how much I can accomplish before the year's end.

Digger Dan!

I love having bragging rights.

Beepers loves construction equipment

Camping in Zion Easter weekend. There were reports of Superman in the area.

Hiking in Zion

For some reason Beepers loves green peppers and if anyone is using them to cook for dinner watch out it might turn up missing.

Already an expert climber

My Pursuit of Happyness

One of Crystal's friends wrote on her blog many of the things in her life, that define happiness. I think it is amazing at how subjective this subject is, but that is what makes it so fun to talk about. Every person can give the canned answers on what happiness is to them, but when you cut through all of that, it is simply stimulating to find out what makes people truly happy. So here goes....

• Happiness is staring into the eyes of my son and seeing the pure light and energy shining through.
• Happiness is solving the problem that has been puzzling you all day, and jumping out of your chair and yelling for joy!
• Happiness is to know that I never have to be alone.
• Happiness is the smell of Crystal's hair.
• Happiness is the quietness and crispness of the early morning air.
• Happiness is good food and even better company.
• Happiness is eating more Otter Pops than I know I should. ( Just one more. )
• Happiness is fresh bread from a German bakery.

"That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest."

Henry David Thoreau:

No place like home...

Once again today, I proved the point that I am in fact a geek. I saw the following doormat and laughed like a madman.



I want to find one of these for our house, but Crystal said no!

The other day I had a similar experience when I found a Dilbert cartoon particularly funny, and I went to show it to Crystal and realized that she didn't know or want to know about SQL databases and why the joke was funny. I guess that humor is also a byproduct of what we individually learn.



Edit: As requested here is the Dilbert cartoon.

Halo 3 Video

This looks so cool. I really like the bubble shield and trip mine stuff. And being able to do replays in slow motion, pure bragging enjoyment. Awesome. I can't wait to play it.

And yes....I am a geek!

Jurassic Farce

The other day I got home from work and Crystal was cooking dinner. I chased Beepers around for a few minutes and then I needed to look up something on the computer. So Beepers went off and was playing by himself. A few minutes passed and then there was an extremely loud noise that sounded like an explosion followed by static and noise. Crystal screamed and it made me jump in my chair. It only took a few seconds for me to realize that Beepers had turned the volume up all the way on the stereo and then turned on the radio tuner. I jumped out of the chair and ran towards the stereo as a frantic Beepers was running in the opposite direction screaming. I turned off the stereo and went to get Beepers and comfort him. It took a while to calm him down, but he finally stopped crying when Crystal came and comforted him.

The next day I was at work and Crystal called me. She said that she had used the stereo so that Beepers could watch his favorite show, Curious George. As soon as she opened the cabinet that held the stereo, he pointed at it and said, "Scary Dinosaur!". I guess that a dinosaur growl was the only thing that he could associate the noise and fright that he had experienced the day before. It's an interesting connection, but I am sure that he understands it quite well and still has a little bit of fear in him.

Hopefully it will be a while before he gets the courage to mess with the "Scary dinosaur" again.

The Powers of Observation

Often when I go to public places I like to sit and "people watch". That is I like to observe people, when they aren't really aware of it, and can act normally.(No I am NOT a peeping Tom! Out in public situations only.) Sometimes it's crazy what people will do. The most infamous of which is what happens to us when we get inside of our cars. We have a great sense of privacy in cars, which doesn't really exist. There are windows all around and unless you have tinted windows, everyone else can see you. Most often this only amounts to a small amount of embarassment, such as when you have finished a rousing rendition of Weird Al's "White & Nerdy", and you turn your head to notice the person next to you is staring. Some even suffer the worse fate of getting caught trying to dig out that last elusive booger. Luckily, I haven't been a part of or witnessed anything more serious than that.

Anyway, my original point was on observation. I love to watch Beepers and see all of the stuff that he has learned, just by watching. The other day Crystal told me that he was sitting in the living room and was playing with a clothes hanger. He was sliding it across the floor and at the same time starting saying, "Debit Card". I can only guess that he has learned this from countless trips to the grocery store. I guess that I really need to be careful not to pass on some of my lesser qualities to this great observer. So whatever you do, just remember someone might be watching....

Happy Birthday 2 You!

Beepers is already two years old! Time really does fly.

Who can resist him?

Like father... like son....

He likes Dinonaurs!

and Elmo..

Are you Stoopid??

Well I took the test and here are the results:




Click on the graphic to test yourself.

Corporate America Beware!

Last June I purchased a new stick of RAM for our desktop. I purchased the RAM from TigerDirect and for those of you that don't know, TigerDirect sells computer parts at discounted prices, which usually involve a mail-in-rebate. The rebates are often handled by a separate company that specializes in rebates and the processing thereof. I jumped through all of the hoops, crossed all my T's and dotted every i, then sent the rebate in. It was processed and accepted in July 2006, now I just wait for the check. So I waited and I waited, and I waited again. It never came, so I sent them a friendly email. No response. So a few weeks later I did it again, no response. Last week, I sent in the fifth email and over six months have passed and they still have not sent out payment. I was starting to get really frustrated.

Yesterday I was going through my email and noticed an email from this rebate company. It was an advertisement about some special rebate that they had going on, blah blah blah. I was getting ready to delete this piece of junk mail when I noticed that it was in the form of a letter and had the name of the CEO signed at the bottom. What a jerk, I wanted to tell him about how I was being mistreated by his company, and here he was sending me spam. After staring at his name for a few minutes a little dim Christmas light came on in my skull. I had an idea.

I have noticed a trend in most companies when it comes to email addresses, that trend being that most corporate email addresses are some combination of the employee's name. So I feverishly wrote an email explaining my plight and how I have yet to get a response from their so called "Customer Service" department. Now lets say that the CEO's name was Testy McTest and he works for rebate.com. I simply addressed this email to: tmctest@rebate.com, testy.mctest@rebate.com, testymctest@rebate.com, and then I pushed the send button. The chances of one of these addresses being right, is somewhat slim. The chances of my email getting through a SPAM filter are very very slim. The chances of a CEO responding to my email are almost non-existent. I didn't expect anything but I felt better anyway.

So this morning I checked my email, waded through all of the emails asking me if I wanted to enhance myself, or invest in this stock, or win a free laptop, when suddenly my eye fell on the sender of one email. It was from testy.mctest@rebate.com! He sent me a quick note, saying that it would be taken care of and that was that! HA! I couldn't believe it, the long shot payed off..... or at least I hope it does, and if it doesn't I know what email address to send my complaints to.

Equality = Equal?

The book that I am currently reading is titled, "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity" and is written by John Stossel of 20/20. To do a quick summary, this book is a compilation of a bunch of popular myths, propagated by the media, that many of us believe today. In his work as an investigative reporter, John has found out the truth that lies behind what we believe. I must say that even though I am only a few chapters in this book, I would recommend it, but that is not the reason for this post.

In the book John dedicates a whole chapter to the inequalities between men and women. I fancy myself as someone who is semi-enlightened and I agree that women should be treated as equals in our society. While I understand that discrimination still exists, I was appalled by some examples in the book, of people who are fighting this war on sexual discrimination.

There are groups of people who believe with all of their heart that men and women should be exactly equal with no differences whatsoever. For example there is a professor of law at George Washington University, that encourages his students to 'sue' people for discrimination. In his own words it's a "good class project." One of the lawsuits that he encouraged, alleged that having "ladies night" at local bars was discriminatory. For those of you that don't know many bars have a ladies night where ladies can get in at no or little cost. This is to attract women to the bar because statistically speaking, men far outnumber the women when it comes to bar visitations. Men enjoy these nights because it attracts more women, and women are motivated to go because of the significant benefit. Everybody is happy, right? Well, not everyone, because these students and their professor, decided it wasn't right. They filed a lawsuit and they won. Now in Washington D.C. it is illegal to have a "ladies night". So now there are even more lonely men in the bars in D.C.

Another great example is when the students decided that it was discrimination for a hair salon to charge different prices for mens and womens haircuts. To quote from the book,

"Charging women more for haircuts is a common sense adjustment to a real sex difference: Taking care of women's hair takes more time. Not always, but often enough that it's prudent to have different prices. The salons don't price their work to hurt women; they price it based on how much time they spend with female customers. If they did charge women "unfair" prices, the free market would punish them- women wouldn't go to these salons."

He goes on to explain how, that if price regulations did come, then certain salons, might stop servicing women altogether, in order to save costs. Plus the cost of lawsuits are passed on to the customer. The professor and his students see no problem with this and are eager to pursue.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most is the blatant disregard for logical thinking. Anyone with half a brain can see, that in most cases there are in fact differences between men and women. In fact, I am very glad there are. But in their efforts to bring equality to the equation they don't seem to care about that and the fact that they are hurting everyone else. They choose to focus on the mundane instead of perhaps the topics that might make a difference.

So in my opinion, Equality doesn't necessarily mean being exactly equal, it means having the fair chance to do what you choose to do (within reason, criminally speaking, etc.). So choose what you want to do, but don't go charging me thirty dollars for a haircut, because I don't have hardly any hair left.

Gettin' Freaky!!!

While recently watching an episode of Beauty and the Geek (one of my guilty pleasures), they were featuring a book from the bestseller list titled, "Freakonomics" . I thought that it sounded somewhat interesting so I picked it up from the library.

I throughly enjoyed this book. The book is based on research done by an economist that sees the world in a different way. He likes to ask questions that not a lot of people ask, or he likes to find different answers to those questions that we thought we knew the answers to. The book reads very well and even though jam packed with information, I didn't find it boring at all. Here are some of the questions that he asks:

• What do schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers have in common?
• How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?
• Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?
• What makes a perfect parent?

Even though some of these questions sound very obscure the facts behind it all tell the truth and link it all together. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes facts, odd questions, and wishes perhaps to see things in a different light.

On another note, I hated writing book reports in school, is that what I just did?

Good Times.

Even though some of these pictures are a bit old, they still tell our story that we would like to share with you. It's been an adventure that last couple of years and I think that it is only getting better everyday. And with a face like that, who could argue!!

These are a few of my favorite things...