The newest evil character accessory

Posted on 31. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in technical, things that bug me, tv

Forget black hats: the bad guys these days wear Bluetooth headsets. Two prime examples of this are Graem Bauer in “24″ and Agent Bill Kim in “Prison Break”. These guys are so nasty that I couldn’t find pictures of them to post here!

It makes sense that they’d wear a Bluetooth headset. Wearing one shows that the wearer has the resources to have current technology, and wearing it even when not talking shows that he’s so important that he could receive a call at any moment. Wearing it at any point can be insensitive, as it isn’t clear to others around you if you’re talking to them or to your headset. They also look very futuristic, like something out of “1984.” (Hey wait! That’s the past!)

So, if you’re going to use a Bluetooth headset, either use it at home or don’t wear it unless you’re on a call and you’re not being rude to others around you. Otherwise, people might think you’re evil.

Living near freeways hurts lungs

Posted on 30. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, environment, health, my life, parenting

It’s no suprise that scientists are now discovering that kids that live within 550 yards of a freeway in the first 10 years of life grow up to have less lung capacity than kids who live a mile away.

Here’s an excerpt from the story in the Pasadena Star News:

The damaging effect of living near a freeway was evident, Gauderman said, even after taking into account such factors as socioeconomic status and whether they or their family members smoked. The impact on children’s lungs seems to be permanent, he added.

“We have continued following these children into their 20s and we don’t see any evidence that they are experiencing rebound growth,” Gauderman said. “That’s probably because the development of the body and the lungs is pretty much done.”

Wonderful. We live almost exactly 550 yards from the 210 Freeway, and both kids developed sports-induced asthma after we moved here. And their school is right next to the freeway. About 2/3 of the boys on my son’s club soccer team a few years ago had some form of asthma. I feel like a bad parent now, but I don’t want to move.

Just felt a small earthquake

Posted on 29. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in environment

It was a 2.7 magnitude at 1:10 pm. Here’s more info: http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/ci10228921.html

It was centered in Lake View Terrace, about 17 miles from here. I heard a noise on our roof, and then my monitor shook for a few seconds. I felt a little jolt, but not much.

I instructed my father long ago not to call unless a quake was greater than 5.0, so I’m not expecting any calls. Phew. Thank goodness it wasn’t the Big One. I hope my kids aren’t in their concrete school for that one…

Quit your whining!

Posted on 28. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, life lessons, religion, things that bug me

You probably know an adult that whines. Nothing’s ever right for them: it’s either too hot or too cold, too big or too small, etc. etc. I don’t like to hang out with people like that: it’s too draining.

The Los Angeles Times had a great story the other day, “Quit your whining, if you can“, where a reporter wore a bracelet that she had to switch to her other wrist each time she whined. “Whining” was defined as complaining, not as a statement of fact. In other words, “It’s soooo hot outside!” would be whining, whereas “It’s a hot day.” wouldn’t.

The bracelet idea is the brainchild of Rev. Will Bowen of Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, Mo. He was sick of his congregants complaining about the worship music, and asked them to stop complaining for three weeks. He tried to stop complaining himself, and it proved harder than he thought it would.

Before taking the challenge, Bowen had always considered himself sunny: “My job is to see God, and good, in everything.”

He soon realized he wasn’t as imperturbable as he’d thought, especially when his beloved Kansas City Royals were blowing yet another baseball game. Some Sundays, he’d take the pulpit and confess: “I moved that bracelet 20 times this week. I wanted to take it off and throw it in a drawer.”

It took Bowen three months before he made it through 21 days without complaining. “And it helped,” he said, “that I was on a silent retreat for three of those days.”

Bowen’s actually offering the bracelets to people for free.

He has spent $10,000 in church funds (not that the board would think of complaining) to give away about 70,000 purple bracelets, taking requests through his website, http://www.TheComplaintFreeChurch.org . Soldiers in Iraq have put in orders. So have pastors, teachers, drug counselors, Boy Scout leaders. (Perhaps not grasping the concept, one minister returned his batch — with a complaint about the quality.) An elderly woman in Florida requested one, explaining that most of her friends had passed away but that she was determined not to be bitter in her loneliness.

I often tell my kids that life is so much better when you surround yourself with positive people. The theological tie-in would be that positive people appreciate the blessings they have, rather than dwell on what they don’t have.Â

I wish I could give bracelets to some of the people I used to work with! Or, give some to others I know now. Anonymously, of course. Not that I’m complaining about them!!

My Google vs. My Yahoo: Google wins

Posted on 27. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, technical

Apparently I still haven’t figured out how people can subscribe to this blog and have emails automatically sent to them. Blogarithm and Feedburner don’t seem to work with it. I’ll keep trying.

At least Google, Yahoo and other feeds work. (Click on icons to the right.) This prompted me to check out today, and I found it impressive enough to switch to from My Yahoo. It’s easier to customize, and I also think it’s easier to read. I miss being able to mouseover headlines for the first sentence of a story, and I don’t like the space the Google search takes up at the top since I have the Google toolbar already, but I still like it better than Yahoo. Plus, with Yahoo I sometimes lose my homepage when I log in to change a client’s Yahoo store.

So, tip for the day: check out .

PS – I later found NetVibes, and like it even more for my home page, as it allows RSS feeds of my choice and it lets me mouse over headlines to see the first sentence.

Spare the rod, but leave the state out of it

Posted on 26. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, my life, parenting

True confession: I spanked each of my kids once when they were little. Neither spanking hurt them physically. When I spanked my daughter, she looked up at me with the most guilt-inducing stare, and I knew I’d never spank her again. My son, at age 2 (or 3?) would NOT stay in the corner for a punishment. If I blocked him, he’d try to crawl over/under me. So I spanked him once. It worked. I never needed to spank him again.

Therefore, it was with great interest that I read the recent Los Angeles Times editorial titled, “Spanking the nanny state.” In it, the editors argue that California’s current child abuse laws are adequate to make sure that children aren’t harmed, and that the bill recently proposed by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber to outlaw spanking is unnecessary. The bill says that spanking a child under the age of 4 could bring a $1000 fine or a year in jail. The LA Times says:

There are existing statutes against beating children. Teachers, peace officers and healthcare professionals (among others) are all mandated to report even suspected cases of child abuse that they come across. Lieber can’t seem to distinguish between a swat on the behind and actual abuse. The first is none of the state’s business; the second already is.

To state what should be obvious, spanking does not typically cause more irrevocable harm to children than splitting up their families by hauling their parents off to the slammer. One shudders to imagine how such a ban would be enforced.

They go on to state that

But just because non-abusive spanking should be legal doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Many child-development specialists agree with Lieber that it is an outmoded and counterproductive way of administering discipline.

I agree. I wish I hadn’t spanked either of my kids, especially my daughter. To this day, however, I’m not sure what else would have worked with my son, unfortunately. Either way, I didn’t do it repeatedly or in a way that would cause injury, and the kids don’t hold it against me. I think it’s important for parents to explore alternatives to spanking, but I think that putting them in jail or imposing huge fines on them will harm their families more than non-abusive spanking will.

Now that I have teens, that preschool stage seems so long ago…

Forget Texas – everything’s bigger in Alaska

Posted on 25. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in environment

My uncle sent me a forward the other day that actually checked out on Snopes.com. I thought these pictures of a bear captured in Alaska were pretty amazing:

Snopes says the bear weighed somewhere between 1,000 – 1,200 lbs., about double the size of bears typically found near Prince William Sound. You can find out more (and see an incredibly haunting picture) at Snopes.

It’s all in your head

Posted on 24. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, sports

Have you ever wondered why, no matter how hard you practice, your body never responds perfectly each time? You never hit the ball the same, or throw it the same, or kick it the same? Not surprisingly, scientists have now discovered that it’s all in your head!

A recent Stanford Report article says that,

“The main reason you can’t move the same way each and every time, such as swinging a golf club, is that your brain can’t plan the swing the same way each time,” says electrical engineering Assistant Professor Krishna Shenoy, whose research includes study of the neural basis of sensorimotor integration and movement control. He, postdoctoral researcher Mark Churchland and electrical engineering doctoral candidate and medical student Afsheen Afshar authored the study.

It’s as if each time the brain tries to solve the problem of planning how to move, it does it anew, Churchland says. Practice and training can help the brain solve the problem more capably, but people and other primates simply aren’t wired for consistency like computers or machines. Instead, people seem to be improvisers by default.

I love their explanation for this human trait:

But the researchers speculate that the brain has evolved its apparently improvisational style precisely because the vast majority of situations requiring significant movement are novel. Predators never get the chance to catch and kill prey in exactly the same fashion and in exactly the same conditions.

So, I’m a survivor. As the article says, when it comes to “Practice makes perfect” vs. “Nobody’s perfect”, the latter wins out. And I’m a prime(ate) example!

If there aren’t two potential drivers in a car, is it a carpool?

Posted on 23. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, parenting, politics, travel

The Los Angeles Times had an intriguing editorial today titled “Kids Aren’t Carpoolers“, where it proposed that carpool lanes be restricted to cars with at least two licensed drivers in them. Here’s why:

Research shows that most of the people who use carpool lanes, which typically require two occupants per vehicle, aren’t teaming up to get to work. They’re usually families going to school, the mall or somewhere else. A mom who is allowed to use the carpool lane because she’s got an infant strapped in the back seat is not helping to get cars off the road; that kid wasn’t going to be driving even if he weren’t sharing a ride.

Ouch! I’d hate to give up riding in the carpool lane when I’ve just got my kids in the car, but they’ve got a point. The purpose of the carpool lane is to encourage people to use fewer cars to get places, and if there’s only one driver in the car, no car trips have been saved.

Sigh. Well, my daughter’s getting her permit in less than six months anyway…

It’s hip to humiliate

Posted on 22. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, parenting, things that bug me, tv

It seems like meanness is everywhere these days. From Borat to Jackass to American Idol to the “Hold your Wee for a Wii” contest, it’s clear there are many folks out there who enjoy seeing other people make fools of themselves or put themselves in danger.

Why do they enjoy seeing others suffer? Does it make them feel better or more powerful? Whatever the reason, it’s pathetic, and it’s an awful and dangerous example to young people.

It seems like it gets more outrageous each time. We’ve come a long way since Candid Camera. I don’t even want to imagine the extent to which people will go to humiliate others in the future.

One important note: in nearly all of the contemporary shows, the humiliated folks have voluntarily put themselves in that position. That brings up another point: Why would people allow others to have fun at their expense? Are they desperate for attention? Are they so optimistic that they hope it’ll wind up ok in the end? I still think it’s sad.

Trip recap

Posted on 21. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in books, my life, travel

What a worthwhile trip! I got my class notes engine recharged, and learned some great tips and guidelines to use for future columns. I enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones – what a terrific, outgoing group of people!

I especially enjoyed seeing my old freshman dorm room, which is currently occupied by the wonderful older sister of my daughter’s best friend. What are the odds of that?!?!? It was surreal: it was almost the same as it was 25 years ago, but with a whole new set of people. Oh yes, and they have carpeting in the rooms now and computers in the study room.

I finished on the plane. It was a very good portrait of Japan during WWII, as well as of the impact of leprosy and what it might be like to live amongst the enemy. I recommend it. I had only 10 minutes at the Stanford Bookstore, since I didn’t have money for longer on the meter, and quickly purchased Nicole Krauss’ . I’m really enjoying it so far.

The best dining in Long Branch

Posted on 21. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in food, travel

Next time you’re in Long Branch, NJ, you MUST visit my brother-in-law’s bar/restaurant, the Nip-N-Tuck. It’s not a fancy place, but you’ll get great food in a warm, inviting atmosphere. Here’s an excerpt from a review the other day in the Asbury Park Press:

But let me caution all of you. If you are looking for fine dining, cloth napkins and fresh flowers on your table (I can’t recall seeing any tables now that I think of it), go elsewhere. The Nip-N-Tuck is not for you.

Looking for a few cold beers, a good burger or steak? Try it, you’ll like it.

Consider this: You’ll be walking into a neighborhood bar were the language can be a bit crude, where the competition is keen on the pool table, where you’ll learn the town gossip, and find out, as I did, who really enjoyed themselves New Year’s Eve and who admittedly doesn’t remember how good a time he had.

I laughed at the bar talk, and was pleased they were accepting to a total stranger who popped into their little corner of the world.

It’s off to the alma mater

Posted on 19. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in books, my life, travel

I’m out the door to the Gathering of the Scribes in a few minutes. I’m looking forward to seeing fellow Stanford class correspondents. I’ve done this job for nearly 20 years, and hardly ever get to meet anyone at the alumni office and almost never meet fellow correspondents.

And, I’m hopefully going to start/finish on the way there/back!!

Only in L.A.

Posted on 17. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, my life

Here’s our “Only in L.A.” moment for the week: a friend called to let us know that my sister’s renters are filming a movie at my sister’s house. Of course, our first thought was that it wasn’t rated G…so sad that we’d think that.

The renter explained that his son is a film student, and my sister’s house is one of about 30 locations being used in the film. Today was supposed to be the last day of filming, and I’m sure the neighbors will be happy to see the bright lights go and parking free up again.

Cool and strange at the same time…

Too much work, too little chocolate, but at least the meetings were short

Posted on 17. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in food, my life, work

Such a busy day…so many websites to work on, so little time!

At least the 9-12 PTA Nominating Committee meeting this morning was short. We filled our whole board in 30 minutes! Everyone’s really excited to work with our incoming president, and they know that high school PTA is a piece of cake compared with elementary or jr. high.

And, too little chocolate. Yesterday I threw out what little chocolate remained from Christmas so that I wouldn’t be tempted to eat it. I searched through the cabinets tonight, and actually found OLD Valentine’s Day chocolates one of my kids received last year or – eeek! – the year before. Needless to say, that got trashed too.

Breaking news pales in comparison…

Posted on 15. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in tv

I’m still wiping my tears away from the last few moments of “24″ this evening. The “breaking news” about the Golden Globe awards that awaited me on my email paled in comparison.

A few other “24″ thoughts…

• I don’t ever want Jack Bauer’s job. (not that it’d ever be an option)
• His best weapon is his cell phone.
• How does he know how to use the updated technology even though he’s been in a Chinese prison for two years?
• I need to eat lunch with Michele J.
• When there’s shooting going on, duck. Duh!
• Don’t trust a VCR – watch it live when possible!
• Ah, Curtis. Poor, poor Curtis…

 

Ancestries by U.S. county and state

Posted on 14. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life, politics

This great map from Wikipedia shows the ancestry with the largest population by each U.S. county and state. Now I understand why my high school offered Italian!

I wonder how they define “American”? Aren’t almost all people counted by the census American? What would I be defined as? And my kids? Their ancestry includes: German, Irish, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, Native American, Persian, Norwegian (maybe) and who-knows-what-else? Perhaps they’d be what one would describe as “American.”

Given how much I HATE the cold today, I’m sure they don’t have Aleut/Eskimo from my genepool!

Parrots or Penguins?

Posted on 14. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in environment, my life

It was 28 degrees when we woke up this morning! The sprinklers were on early this morning, and left some wonderful ice patterns. The parrots were squawking overhead as I took this picture:

I have learned that…

Posted on 13. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in life lessons, quotes

Here’s an excerpt from the Character Counts newsletter I just received. These were from a letter that Miles Smallwood of San Marcos, CA wrote to Michael Josephson. I think they’re all true.

He says he’s learned that:

• The more suspicious a person is, the more suspicion he or she warrants.
• The only way to get more out of your important relationships is to put more into them.
• People who make it a point to tell you how religious and honest they are are likely neither.
• If you think you cannot do something, you are absolutely correct.
• Once you get angry, you have only two options: stay angry or get over it.
• No one can make me angry without my permission.
• If I do not take the time to do it right, then I will have to make time to do it over.

Pros & cons of working at home

Posted on 13. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, work

Pros:

• Flexible hours
• Less meetings
• No commute
• More time with kids
• No psycho boss
• No office politics
• Google, my main support
• Can wear what I want
• Can listen to what I want
• Can eat lunch when I want
• Ever-present dog
• Errands in empty stores
• Exercise up/down stairs
• Multi-task work/housework
• Feel closer to community since I’m in it most of the day, especially since I volunteer so much

Cons:

• Dog who howls when I’m on the phone
• No expert in the cubicle next-door
• Always on-call, including when on vacation
• Less money
• Tempting to eat snacks
• No tech department to fix computer/printer

Jack is back

Posted on 12. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, movies, tv

Can’t wait for Sunday night, when Jack Bauer returns from China to keep us safe once again. There’s a great article about “24″ in today’s LA Times.

Don’t you think that Kiefer Sutherland looks like Obi-Wan Kenobi now?

 

 

 

Lead me not into temptation, kids!

Posted on 12. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in food, my life, parenting

If there’s mint chocolate ice cream in the freezer, it’s very tempting to eat it. Same goes for birthday cake, chocolate, and homemade cookies.

So it wasn’t surprising to me when Monday’s LA Times article, If it’s in the house, parents will eat it, said that parents eat more fat than childless adults.

Compared with adults living without children in the home, adults living with kids younger than 17, on average, take in an additional 4.9 grams of fat daily. And 1.7 grams of that additional fat is saturated fat — the artery-clogging kind of fat that abounds in many meat and dairy products, processed foods and meals taken out from fast-food joints and eaten in restaurants.

The damage that children appear to wreak upon the diets of those who care for them piles up faster than the laundry. In a single week, the additional saturated fat intake of an adult living with kids amounts almost to that in an entire pepperoni pizza. And the litany of dietary offenses committed regularly by parents and guardians reads like a nutritionist’s nightmare: Adults who live with children, the study found, “had significantly higher odds of frequently eating pizza, cheese, beef, salty snacks, cakes and cookies, ice cream, bacon/sausage/processed meats and peanuts.”

Ah, to have the metabolism of a child! We try to have healthy food here, but holidays and special events usually sneak the more tempting fare into the house. Sometimes I’ve even been known to throw out really junky food so that no one will eat it.

I don’t alway get to it on time…but I’m getting better!

 

Tom Reynolds’ quote

Posted on 11. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in quotes

“It’s attitude, not aptitude, that determines altitude.”

Actually, he says it’s a formula, but the best I can think of is several formulas:

Attitude = Altitude
Aptitude <> Altitude
Attitude + Aptitude = Increased Altitude

Let’s stick with the quote instead. Thanks, Tom!

Puppy Prozac, Animal Acepromazine

Posted on 11. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

We adopted our sweet dog soon after the great windstorms in January, 1997. Ever since then, she’s freaked out when it’s windy. She trembles, loses bladder control, and even though she hates the wind, she won’t come back inside when it’s windy. She even senses when wind is about to come…perhaps there’s a change in the air. (The picture at right shows her hiding under my desk during a recent windstorm.)

Last year I finally ran out of patience for it, so the doctor prescribed a sedative, Acepromazine, for it. We call it Puppy Prozac. It works like a charm, and we use it only when it’s windy. The whole family functions better when the dog is happy.

It turns out we’re not the only ones sedating our dogs. Today’s LA Times has a front page story titled, “Fido’s Little Helper.”

THEY are the new “Prozac Nation”: cats, dogs, birds, horses and an assortment of zoo animals whose behavior has been changed, whose anxieties and fears have been quelled and whose owners’ furniture has been spared by the use of antidepressants. Over the last decade, Prozac, Buspar, Amitriptyline, Clomicalm — clomipromine that is marketed expressly for dogs — and other drugs have been used to treat inappropriate, destructive and self-injuring behavior in animals.

It’s not a big nation yet. But “over the past five years, use has gone up quite a bit,” said veterinarian Richard Martin of the Brentwood Pet Clinic in West Los Angeles. Half a decade ago, no more than 1% of his patients were on antidepressants. Now, Martin estimates that 5% of the 8,000 cats and dogs seen at the clinic are taking drugs for their behavior.

Our dog’s medication isn’t very expensive. We just renewed the $10 prescription we got last summer. It’s very valuable to us, however.

I’m sure people reading this from a third-world country must think WE’RE nuts!!

Why screen for Down syndrome? Let’s be honest.

Posted on 09. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, health, my life, parenting, politics, religion, things that bug me

When I was pregnant, my doctor asked me if I wanted to have the AFP blood test to screen for various birth defects. I asked him what the possibility would be that it would be positive, then require an amniocentisis, and then what the risk would be of that causing a miscarriage vs. what the odds would be that we’d discover something that could be fixed in-utero. I didn’t like the odds, and decided that since I wouldn’t abort my pregnancy even if I found out bad news, I didn’t want to take the chance.

Now the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all pregnant women be screened for Down Syndrome. According to the NY Times,

Officials at the March of Dimes welcomed the new guidelines, saying they would help provide women with better information earlier in the progression of a pregnancy.

“The new guidelines are much better for the broader group of women who are having babies,” said Dr. Nancy Green, the organization’s medical director, “and that’s public health: doing the most good for the biggest number, the good in this case being the information people need to make decisions.”

“Make decisions”? That sounds like a euphemism for “have abortions.” According to the article, 1 in 800 live births are to Down Syndrome babies. Or, they should be. I’d bet that these days, there are many Down Syndrome babies that aren’t making it to birth. Our school district should statistically have 5 or 6 kids with Down Syndrome. In fact, it should probably have more, since many mothers here are older when they give birth. I asked the superintendent last year how many Down Syndrome kids the district is responsible for, and and he said there was only one. It’s like girls in China…the Down Syndrome kids aren’t making it to this world.

Here’s what Wikipedia says on this issue:

A 2002 literature review of elective abortion rates found that 91–93% of pregnancies with a diagnosis of Down syndrome were terminated. Physicians and ethicists are concerned about the ethical ramifications, with some commentators calling it “eugenics by abortion”. Many members of the disability rights movement “believe that public support for prenatal diagnosis and abortion based on disability contravenes the movement’s basic philosophy and goals.”

Of course, given the choice, almost all parents would rather their child weren’t saddled with the rough health and life of a Down Syndrome child or adult. But the parents of Down Syndrome kids I know or read about feel blessed to have their child in their lives, and would never imagine life without them.

To learn more about Down Syndrome, check out the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles website. They’re one of my clients, and I’m proud to help them in their mission of helping families with Down Syndrome members find the resources to enhance their lives. In fact, I can’t wait to have them come back to speak at our school, just as they did last spring!

I love LA! Plus a few quotes…

Posted on 08. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, quotes, religion

Our thermometer said it got up to 98 degrees today. Love it!

Here are some quick quotes from today’s Christianity Today email. I’ve often wondered about the answer to the last one, but I figure there is one:

A FRIEND WALKS in when the rest of the world walks out.
ADVICE IS FREE. Only the wise profit from it.
CHILDREN learn more from models than from critics.
DON’T GIVE UP. Moses was once a basket case.
EXERCISE DAILY—walk with God.
EXPERIENCE is a hard teacher. It gives the test before the lesson.
FORBIDDEN fruits make many jams.
GOD GIVES the shoulder according to the burden.
GOD GRADES on the Cross, not the curve.
GOD MENDS torn hearts.
HAVING TRUTH DECAY? Brush up on your Bible.
IF YOU WANT the rainbow, you’ve gotta put up with the rain.
IF YOU’RE HEADED in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns.
LONG-STANDING PROBLEMS? Get down on your knees.
MADNESS in the name of God is still madness.
MUD THROWN is ground lost.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.
PEOPLE who look down on others live on a bluff.
PUSH: Pray until something happens.
PUT DOWN THE NEWSPAPER—Good News delivered here.
SIGN BROKEN; come inside for message.
STOP WHINING about your church. If it were perfect, you couldn’t belong.
TALK only if you can improve the silence.
THE DEVIL wants your soul to ruin; we want your soul to mend.
THE MORE we thank God for what we have, the more we have to thank God for.
THERE ARE no amendments to the 10 commandments.
THERE’S no shortcut to anywhere worth going.
TITHE if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk!
WE’RE too blessed to be depressed.
WHY DIDN’T NOAH swat those two mosquitoes?

Let the teens play doctor together

Posted on 06. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, parenting

I’m serious – but I’m talking about the new Nintendo Wii game, Trauma Center: Second Opinion. My 13-year-old son got it for Christmas, and though it’s not his favorite game, he does play it. He’s ranked a “C” surgeon. But the biggest surprise is my 15-year-old daughter. She usually doesn’t touch video games, and hates blood and gore, but decided to check this game out. She quickly advanced to a Senior Surgical Rank, and last I saw her play it she performed brain surgery on a 5-year-old girl. Here’s what a recent NY Times article, Surgery on a Plane: Lightning-Sharp Reflexes Needed, has to say about it:

For years, I have thought of surgery as a painstaking task that can go on for hours, but perhaps I was wrong. In Atlus Software’s Trauma Center: Second Opinion, which falls somewhere between a medical simulation and an arcade game, surgeons must slice and suture with blinding speed.

As a clock counts down, fast-moving viruses must be taken out with a surgical laser; if you can’t perform delicate surgery within the time limit, you simply aren’t fit to practice medicine.

I wonder if my daughter simply has a female’s taste in video games? Is there such a thing? I remember hearing years ago that Tetris was particularly alluring to women and girls, and sure enough, my daughter plays that on her cellphone. There’s actually a website devoted to female gamers called GamerGal. I couldn’t find any Wii games on there yet, but I loved their sarcastic take on the models at E3. 

Freedom Writers

Posted on 05. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in education, movies, parenting

It was a little unnerving to pay $40 (!!) for the family to see “Freedom Writers” this evening (the theater wouldn’t believe that our 13 & 15-year-old were students without ID’s) but at least it was a GREAT movie!

Hilary Swank plays a young woman teaching freshman English to a tough group of kids in an integrated school in Long Beach. It’s rough going all the way along, but she perseveres and…well, I won’t give away the ending. We had a good family discussion afterwards about education and seizing opportunities, as well as racial divides. I highly recommend this movie!!

(The movie takes place in 1992. If it were current, would the kids be blogging instead?)

So you wanna be in pictures?

Posted on 03. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in international, my life, politics, technical

All you need is a cellphone or a camera! Take time out for a moment and think about how amazing it is that an Iraqi took a cellphone video of Saddam’s execution, and almost immediately people all over the world were able to see it.

I took some short videos with my new digital camera this past weekend, and they turned out well enough to post on YouTube. My grandparents (yes, that’s my children’s GREAT-grandparents!) were able to watch the video clips nearly 3,000 miles away within hours.

I generally think it’s a good thing: the more information people have, the closer the world can become and the better decisions people can make. Imagine if there’d been cellphone videos at Tiananmen Square in 1989…or at so many world events or where injustice has occurred. Hopefully it’ll keep people and governments more honest.

Now if only there were cellphones in North Korea…

Maybe I’m not a radical

Posted on 03. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in politics, religion

Several of my relatives have spoken to me in recent days about Saddam’s execution. I was starting to think I’m a complete radical because I don’t believe in the death penalty, even for Saddam. According to Christianity Today, I’m in good company. Here’s the official Vatican position:

With regard to the capital punishment of Saddam Hussein, which happened last night, the director of Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., released the following declaration to journalists this morning:

Capital punishment is always tragic news, a motive of sadness, even when it’s a case of a person guilty of grave crimes.

The position of the Catholic Church against the death penalty has been confirmed many times.

The execution of the guilty party is not a path to reconstruct justice and to reconcile society. Indeed, there is the risk that, on the contrary, it may augment the spirit of revenge and sow seeds of new violence.

In this dark time in the life of the Iraqi people, it can only be hoped that all the responsible parties truly will make every effort so that, in this dramatic situation, possibilities of reconciliation and peace may finally be opened.

Here’s what the World Council of Churches says:

That a leader has been held responsible for one of his crimes is significant. However, the World Council of Churches is opposed to the death penalty. Each taking of a person’s life is a part of a larger tragedy and nowhere is this more apparent than in a land of daily killings.

The CT weblog says that:

Weblog has not seen any comment from evangelical leaders so far. Perhaps that’s because, in most evangelical circles there is little condemnation of capital punishment for far less notorious crimes.

At least I’m consistently pro-life…whether it’s at the beginning, or at the end…