Want
“Dad! Dad! Look! There’s a Pokémon book in the book order. But we can’t get it cause it’s $9…”
Sam came home really excited and deflated at the same time. $9 for a silly book seems a bit hefty, but I could see he really wanted it. I don’t believe in just giving my kids stuff because they want it. So I said this:
“Sam, if you want this bad enough you’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”
He looked earnest and ready. Perfect time to teach the value of work and working to get something you really want. He’s 8 so I couldn’t make him do too much, and I’m not going to pay him $9 an hour either.
My car was really dirty inside. So I made a list of what needed to be done in the car and Sam eagerly attacked it. That’s half of the Pokémon book. I’m going to go inspect his job now.
Solution
Sometimes I am amazed by the ideas that come into my mind. There was a cricket that was in the boys room chirping, but I couldn’t get to it because it was behind the baseboard. So I got out the steam cleaner and pumped a few puffs of scalding steam where the carpet met the base board. The cricket moved down a little and started chirping again. Another onslought of steam ended the chirping for the night.
Habit
I have a interesting habit. It involves brushing my teeth. After brushing my teeth and rinsing the toothbrush, I suck the water left on the tooth brush to rinse my mouth a few times and spit again.
The interesting thing about this habit is not the habit itself, but where I got it from. When I was a kid my family was staying with someone on vacation. I don’t remember who it was or why - friends of my parents is all I remember. They had some daughters our age. One night when we were getting ready for bed, Shawn and I and the two girls all brushed our teeth at the same time. One of the girls when brushing her teeth, after spitting appeared to suck the water off the brush at the end for a final rinse.
I remember thinking “how could there be any water on the brush?” and then tried it out of curiosity. To my surprise there was a good amount of water on the brush and sucking it off rinsed my mouth and left my toothbrush drier.
Little does this girl (now a woman my age living somewhere in the world) know that her little trick has stayed with me and it is something I do each and everyday. She probably has forgotten about that family that stayed with her and about brushing our teeth that night - but something she did impacts me everyday of my life, even though in a minute way.
With that in mind, it would be good to remember how even little acts can affect the lives of others. We can decide to make sure our actions create positive outcomes. I find this toothbrush trick a great little wonder. Thanks to the nameless girl who unknowingly shared that trick with me.
Yeah I Know
Been too long since my last post. Finally got the kids computer out of the home office. Things seem to be much more productive…
Definition
I heard a good definition of Liberty today:
Liberty is Choice and Mobility
Sprint Once Again
After 1 month and 8 hours on the phone with Sprint they STILL haven’t resolved our issue.
Sprint Rating: 
Update:
So when my wife talked to yet another dude at Sprint he “promised” to call back in 2 to 4 hours. So did we get a call back? NOPE. NADA. NOTHING. ZILCH.
Dear Sprint, you have a LOT of stars to make up…Your are a hair away from us leaving and going to Verizon or Alltel, and forget your “cancellation fee.” My time is worth a lot, and between my wife and I, we’ve spent 8+ hours on the phone with you. So maybe we should bill you at my hourly rate ($75/hr). We should send you a bill of $600.
Pringles Select
I often like to try new products. Snacks motivate me. On my mission whenever I was “done” or just couldn’t do anymore I’d stop at a “tindahan” (little store) and get myself a snack or a cold drink, enjoy it for a moment and I’d be ready to go again.
I still do this, and so naturally I like to try new things. I saw these on the shelf at the store and thought they looked good so I picked up a bag. The first bite was pretty good, but after 4-5 chips I was already tired of them. It wasn’t so much that they were gross, they were just kinda blah.
These go best when you have a meal or something to go with it. Overall, I thought Pringles could have done better. I will still to go my Kettle brand chips (I’ll save that for another review).
Pringles Select Rating: 
Does It Make Sense?
A term that doesn’t make sense:
Renewable Energy. Wait a sec….Engergy isn’t made - it’s transferred. Renewable would be akin to perpetual motion, which doesn’t exist. Energy can’t be created or destroyed.
A mentality that doesn’t make sense:
Oil and Coal are “evil.” They are in essence solar power in stored form are they not?