A different kind of post from me today over at Hot Dads, talking about a New York Times article, education and the state of Texas.
(I know, I hardly recognize me either.)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Elementary My Dear Watson
“Wu is 5 in Spanish,” the Bean said to me as he bounced around on my bed while I changed from my work clothes into my pajamas.
The Bean had been known to make up words and call them Spanish. While I understood his newfound fascination with languages other than his own, we live in Southern California, where a great deal of the population speaks fluent Spanish. I would hate for him to appear insensitive, so I decided to nip this in the bud straight away.
“No buddy, cinco is 5 in Spanish.”
He was very insistent that I was wrong. “My teacher told me,” he bellowed.
The Bean had also been known to misinterpret his teacher’s lessons, which is why it took us three days to convince him that Martin Luther King, Jr. did not in fact want to keep black people and white people separated.
WonderWife™ suggested that I speak with his teacher in the morning, but I wasn’t done interrogating the subject yet. I remembered that the Bean had said something earlier in the week about a dragon. I also recalled that it had just been Chinese New Year.
“Are you learning Chinese?” I asked the Bean.
“Yes. The good luck dragon.”
“Buddy boy, wu is 5 in Chinese.”
“That’s what I said, ‘wu is 5 in Chinese.’ I told you that, Daddy!”
The next day, the Bean’s teacher confirmed that they had been learning Chinese in class.
And that is how I cracked the case of the mysterious and misguided wu.
The Bean had been known to make up words and call them Spanish. While I understood his newfound fascination with languages other than his own, we live in Southern California, where a great deal of the population speaks fluent Spanish. I would hate for him to appear insensitive, so I decided to nip this in the bud straight away.
“No buddy, cinco is 5 in Spanish.”
He was very insistent that I was wrong. “My teacher told me,” he bellowed.
The Bean had also been known to misinterpret his teacher’s lessons, which is why it took us three days to convince him that Martin Luther King, Jr. did not in fact want to keep black people and white people separated.
WonderWife™ suggested that I speak with his teacher in the morning, but I wasn’t done interrogating the subject yet. I remembered that the Bean had said something earlier in the week about a dragon. I also recalled that it had just been Chinese New Year.
“Are you learning Chinese?” I asked the Bean.
“Yes. The good luck dragon.”
“Buddy boy, wu is 5 in Chinese.”
“That’s what I said, ‘wu is 5 in Chinese.’ I told you that, Daddy!”
The next day, the Bean’s teacher confirmed that they had been learning Chinese in class.
And that is how I cracked the case of the mysterious and misguided wu.
Monday, February 22, 2010
In the Cushions of My Couch
The following is what was discovered in my couch while cleaning it:
One souvenir flattened penny from the aquarium
Three grocery store coupons, expired
$1.10 in change
Two toy cars, one medium sized convertible, one Lightning McQueen
One full package of Disney table toppers
One play baby bottle
Five glowsticks, expired
One marble
One play plastic fork and knife
One real plastic fork
One Cars book
One pair of Sprout’s pants
Two mismatched socks
Four pens
Three pen caps
One plastic toy pirate sword
One Mickey Mouse memory game card
One AA battery, expired
One porcelain baby spoon
One Palm smartphone stylus
One playing Card, 5 of spades
One KCRW free music download cards, expired 2007
One crayon, lime green
One plastic ID badge from toy doctor kit
One package fruit leather, peach (still wrapped)
One ticket for amusement at local petting zoo
One souvenir flattened penny from the aquarium
Three grocery store coupons, expired
$1.10 in change
Two toy cars, one medium sized convertible, one Lightning McQueen
One full package of Disney table toppers
One play baby bottle
Five glowsticks, expired
One marble
One play plastic fork and knife
One real plastic fork
One Cars book
One pair of Sprout’s pants
Two mismatched socks
Four pens
Three pen caps
One plastic toy pirate sword
One Mickey Mouse memory game card
One AA battery, expired
One porcelain baby spoon
One Palm smartphone stylus
One playing Card, 5 of spades
One KCRW free music download cards, expired 2007
One crayon, lime green
One plastic ID badge from toy doctor kit
One package fruit leather, peach (still wrapped)
One ticket for amusement at local petting zoo
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Peek at the Future
A few weeks ago, I was amongst the many members of the Mac cult who perked up at the reveal of the iPad, thought about it and collectively said, "meh." But after watching this, I get it now. It may not happen right away but I think that based on how Wired magazine is going to be creating for the tablet, it is the thing that just might save publishing.
This is really cool stuff right here.
This is really cool stuff right here.
Monday, February 15, 2010
A Double Dose of Chocolate
Sometimes people take something good and do something completely unnecessary to it in an effort to make it better. This is the case when somebody covered a marshmallow in chocolate.
Returning home after work, I discovered a present for me placed on the pleather chair in my home office. It was a bag of Jet-Puffed Mallow Bites that were spotted and procured by the delectable woman I call WonderWife™.
Mallow Bites are a simple concept—mini marshmallows covered in milk chocolate. A thin layer of chocolate surrounds a mallow that is slightly less fresh than a normal one straight out of the bag. Anyone who’s ever eaten a Peep that’s been left out on the counter overnight knows the exact texture to which I refer. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
By the time I had gotten to them, the bag had already been torn open by WonderWife™, who could not or would not wait until I got home to sample them. She proclaimed them too sweet. But as I’ve said here before, there are very few things that are too sweet for me. I found the Mallow Bites to be really good and crazily addictive.
Now excuse me whilst I shovel a few more Mallow Bites into my face.
A mysterious package arrived for me in the mail sent by my brother-in-law, Buckeye. Inside was a candy bar adorned with “limited edition” called Snickers Fudge. It’s awesome that my entire family is now enabling my new product obsession.
The main difference between Snickers Fudge and original Snickers is the caramel. While SnickFudge has peanut butter flavored nougat and peanuts, it’s missing this essential ingredient. I don’t know why they call the bar “fudge” cause there is very little about the bar that’s truly fudgy. But I’m sure the Snickers marketing department has their reasons, so who am I to argue?
It’s hard to go wrong when combining peanut butter and chocolate. And while there isn’t anything particularly wrong with SnickFudge, it’s just not that inspired. The peanut butter flavor is pretty mild, gladly stepping aside to let the milk chocolate become the dominating flavor. I think WonderWife™ summed it up best when she said, “It’s good and I’d eat the hell out of it, but I miss the caramel.”
There is a reason why Snickers is the most popular candy bar in the country. While SnickFudge is decent, it’s not going to unseat the champion.
(Many thanks to Buckeye for the hook up. You are one of the good ones. And thanks to WonderWife™ for coming up with Buckeye's internet nickname.)
**Totally unnecessary FTC disclaimer: I am not shilling for the above items. They were bought with hard-earned money, consumed and reviewed because I am an obsessive freak who, for some reason, loves new candy products and needs to tell the world how I feel about them.
Returning home after work, I discovered a present for me placed on the pleather chair in my home office. It was a bag of Jet-Puffed Mallow Bites that were spotted and procured by the delectable woman I call WonderWife™.
Mallow Bites are a simple concept—mini marshmallows covered in milk chocolate. A thin layer of chocolate surrounds a mallow that is slightly less fresh than a normal one straight out of the bag. Anyone who’s ever eaten a Peep that’s been left out on the counter overnight knows the exact texture to which I refer. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
By the time I had gotten to them, the bag had already been torn open by WonderWife™, who could not or would not wait until I got home to sample them. She proclaimed them too sweet. But as I’ve said here before, there are very few things that are too sweet for me. I found the Mallow Bites to be really good and crazily addictive.
Now excuse me whilst I shovel a few more Mallow Bites into my face.
__________________________
A mysterious package arrived for me in the mail sent by my brother-in-law, Buckeye. Inside was a candy bar adorned with “limited edition” called Snickers Fudge. It’s awesome that my entire family is now enabling my new product obsession.
The main difference between Snickers Fudge and original Snickers is the caramel. While SnickFudge has peanut butter flavored nougat and peanuts, it’s missing this essential ingredient. I don’t know why they call the bar “fudge” cause there is very little about the bar that’s truly fudgy. But I’m sure the Snickers marketing department has their reasons, so who am I to argue?
It’s hard to go wrong when combining peanut butter and chocolate. And while there isn’t anything particularly wrong with SnickFudge, it’s just not that inspired. The peanut butter flavor is pretty mild, gladly stepping aside to let the milk chocolate become the dominating flavor. I think WonderWife™ summed it up best when she said, “It’s good and I’d eat the hell out of it, but I miss the caramel.”
There is a reason why Snickers is the most popular candy bar in the country. While SnickFudge is decent, it’s not going to unseat the champion.
(Many thanks to Buckeye for the hook up. You are one of the good ones. And thanks to WonderWife™ for coming up with Buckeye's internet nickname.)
**Totally unnecessary FTC disclaimer: I am not shilling for the above items. They were bought with hard-earned money, consumed and reviewed because I am an obsessive freak who, for some reason, loves new candy products and needs to tell the world how I feel about them.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Captain Oblivious and the Case of the Missing Fish
We recently lost another fish. Tragically, we've been through a number of fish since the decision was first made to decorate the Bean's room with a betta. After losing Sushi 6.0, we decided to move his replacement, Sushi #7, to a bigger bowl in our den.
Surprisingly, it was not Sushi #7 who departed this mortal coil. It was our back up fish, Sashimi. We had bought Sashimi because shortly after relocating Sushi, he started floating askew, which we had come to realize was an ever-increasingly familiar sign that he didn't have much life left in him. So rather than have to keep a dead fish in our house until we could sneak in a replacement, WonderWife™ stocked up.
But even though Sushi 7 didn't seem like it, he was a fighter and defied the odds by continuing to live, as if he were the star of one of those inspirational movies on Lifetime. No, it was Sashimi who we found motionless at the bottom of his bowl (bettas sink when dead).
Not that the Bean has registered any of this. Captain Oblivious didn't notice that there were seven different fish of slightly different sizes and colors in his room. He barely batted an eye when we ended up with two fish. And he certainly hasn't stopped to realize that we are once again a one fish family.
We kept getting new fish to avoid the inevitable questions about death. However, last year we were forced to face the Grim Reaper when our neighbor's dog passed away. One day the Bean asked us where the dog went.
"He died," we told him, bracing ourselves for an onslaught of questions.
"Oh, okay," he said and went back to playing with his Mater car.
At this rate, it's not looking likely that Captain Oblivious will crack the case of the missing fish any time soon. Which is fine by me. I still have no idea how I'm going to explain death to that kid. And besides, bettas are boring pets anyway.
Surprisingly, it was not Sushi #7 who departed this mortal coil. It was our back up fish, Sashimi. We had bought Sashimi because shortly after relocating Sushi, he started floating askew, which we had come to realize was an ever-increasingly familiar sign that he didn't have much life left in him. So rather than have to keep a dead fish in our house until we could sneak in a replacement, WonderWife™ stocked up.
But even though Sushi 7 didn't seem like it, he was a fighter and defied the odds by continuing to live, as if he were the star of one of those inspirational movies on Lifetime. No, it was Sashimi who we found motionless at the bottom of his bowl (bettas sink when dead).
Not that the Bean has registered any of this. Captain Oblivious didn't notice that there were seven different fish of slightly different sizes and colors in his room. He barely batted an eye when we ended up with two fish. And he certainly hasn't stopped to realize that we are once again a one fish family.
We kept getting new fish to avoid the inevitable questions about death. However, last year we were forced to face the Grim Reaper when our neighbor's dog passed away. One day the Bean asked us where the dog went.
"He died," we told him, bracing ourselves for an onslaught of questions.
"Oh, okay," he said and went back to playing with his Mater car.
At this rate, it's not looking likely that Captain Oblivious will crack the case of the missing fish any time soon. Which is fine by me. I still have no idea how I'm going to explain death to that kid. And besides, bettas are boring pets anyway.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
My first year out of college, my birthday aligned with Super Bowl Sunday. I had just broken up with my girlfriend, so to ease the heartbreak I invited a few of my friends over for burgers and dogs. A good time was had by all, so the next year I invited a few more friends and made some different kinds of food. Super Bowl at my house soon became an annual tradition. It grew bigger and more elaborate, complicated by the fact that after year two, I declared that I would never serve the same menu twice.
The Super Bowl party is one of the things that WonderWife™ inherited when she hooked up with me. However, since she's a foodie like me, it’s only gotten better since she’s been the co-host. I love throwing this party and despite my tepid interest in sports, Super Bowl Sunday has become one of my favorite days of the year. It's my de-facto birthday party.
The planning of the party starts around Thanksgiving, when WW™ and I will start to brainstorm recipes. We toss out ideas to each other, forget those ideas and have to think of new ones. We eventually hone in on our choices mid-January.
We spend all weekend cooking. Come game time, WW™ and I are so busy in the kitchen that we barely even get to see any of the game...or the commercials. (I know there was a Simpsons Coke commercial this year, but I didn't see it.)
This year, we finished early and I did get to watch the 4th quarter. And I finally won a bet against my friend KK, who has taken my money for about 5 years in a row.
Even though I was asked to do so, I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures of the spread, but because some of you were curious, this is what WW™ and I cooked this year:
Before I go, can we have a giant shout out to WonderWife™? I know that I go on about her a lot on this here blog, but seriously this woman is kick-ass, she totally went above and beyond with today's party. Girl can roll out a flatbread like nobody's business. Totally put me to shame.
The Super Bowl party is one of the things that WonderWife™ inherited when she hooked up with me. However, since she's a foodie like me, it’s only gotten better since she’s been the co-host. I love throwing this party and despite my tepid interest in sports, Super Bowl Sunday has become one of my favorite days of the year. It's my de-facto birthday party.
The planning of the party starts around Thanksgiving, when WW™ and I will start to brainstorm recipes. We toss out ideas to each other, forget those ideas and have to think of new ones. We eventually hone in on our choices mid-January.
We spend all weekend cooking. Come game time, WW™ and I are so busy in the kitchen that we barely even get to see any of the game...or the commercials. (I know there was a Simpsons Coke commercial this year, but I didn't see it.)
This year, we finished early and I did get to watch the 4th quarter. And I finally won a bet against my friend KK, who has taken my money for about 5 years in a row.
Even though I was asked to do so, I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures of the spread, but because some of you were curious, this is what WW™ and I cooked this year:
- Clam Dip – This is my friend Dimo’s favorite. It's clams, butter, onions, baked until bubbling and served with Ritz crackers.
- Deconstructed Potato Skins - Bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives served on top of a potato chip
- Caramelized Onion Flat Bread - Caramelized onions, Gala apples, crème fraiche on pizza dough
- Korean BBQ Short Rib Hash - Boneless short rib marinated in Korean BBQ spices, potato, onion, peppers
- Pate a Choux - Light pastry profiteroles filled with either spinach artichoke or smoked salmon dip
- Potato Chip Frittata - Mini Frittatas filled with onion, leek and carrot topped with crumbled potato chips.
- Chix in a Blanket - Chicken and bacon baked inside pockets of dough.
- Dessert Won Tons – Fried won tons filled with combinations of banana, strawberry, semi-sweet chocolate, Nutella and toasted coconut.
Before I go, can we have a giant shout out to WonderWife™? I know that I go on about her a lot on this here blog, but seriously this woman is kick-ass, she totally went above and beyond with today's party. Girl can roll out a flatbread like nobody's business. Totally put me to shame.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Explaining My Absence (or All Wrapped Up in Puff Pastry and Bacon)
It's going to be a slow week on the blog because the Super Bowl is coming up. Now I know that many of you are scratching your heads at the impossibility of that statement, cause when you think sports you automatically think Daddy Geek Boy. However, WonderWife™ and I are in the midst of planning our annual Super Bowl extravaganza, which is actually my favorite day of the year. It's where we invite over more friends than our house can hold and cook obscene amounts of food. (Oh yes, there will be bacon.) Not to mention drink, gamble and gawk at all of the commercials.
If all goes well, I will try to post something new before the end of the week. But if you don't hear from me, know that WonderWife™ and I are safe, but covered in puff pastry and flour, tirelessly working to uphold our reputations as foodies.
If all goes well, I will try to post something new before the end of the week. But if you don't hear from me, know that WonderWife™ and I are safe, but covered in puff pastry and flour, tirelessly working to uphold our reputations as foodies.
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