MacKenzie did extremely well on her first day at school -- she was well mannered, respectful, and friendly to everyone! True to her nature she came home with a scrape on her knee from falling.
Noah also had a fantastic second day in school — he even won an award for good behavior.
I am very proud of both Noah and MacKenzie for doing so well in school!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Monday, August 08, 2005
Noah's First Day of School
So, the day finally arrived for Noah to go to school. MacKenzie will be starting tomorrow (they staggered the start day for her class).
Noah did pretty well, overall. He did seem a bit confused at first — the concept of cafeteria and lines is totally new to him. The first thing we were asked to do is to got to the cafeteria for breakfast; the menu was much less than we expected, and we will be giving them breakfast at home from now on. After breakfast it was to the gym for assembly; all the staff was introduced, etc., etc. Noah was bored and wanted to get to class! Notably, we were the only white family in the whole school — but Noah seems totally unaware of the race issue, and that is great! He already made friends with an older (1st grader) girl. I think he will be the better for experiencing being the minority — and it will be up to Tracey and I to make sure that he understands about cultural differences and learns from those — but, most importantly, that he also looks for the common ground; there is much more that we have in common than what makes us different!
We then proceeded to his classroom where his teacher explained rules and rewards, etc. We then left and he did not seem bothered by that at all! He was more eager to play and learn than anything else. That's my boy!
[I will write more about this later]
Noah did pretty well, overall. He did seem a bit confused at first — the concept of cafeteria and lines is totally new to him. The first thing we were asked to do is to got to the cafeteria for breakfast; the menu was much less than we expected, and we will be giving them breakfast at home from now on. After breakfast it was to the gym for assembly; all the staff was introduced, etc., etc. Noah was bored and wanted to get to class! Notably, we were the only white family in the whole school — but Noah seems totally unaware of the race issue, and that is great! He already made friends with an older (1st grader) girl. I think he will be the better for experiencing being the minority — and it will be up to Tracey and I to make sure that he understands about cultural differences and learns from those — but, most importantly, that he also looks for the common ground; there is much more that we have in common than what makes us different!
We then proceeded to his classroom where his teacher explained rules and rewards, etc. We then left and he did not seem bothered by that at all! He was more eager to play and learn than anything else. That's my boy!
[I will write more about this later]
Weekend Plumbing / Mowing Projects
Friday night we ended the evening with our hot water pipe busting open again under the kitchen floor. On Saturday morning I crawled under the house and fixed it — or so I thought. By that evening at 8 P.M. it had come apart again. That night, before we went to bed, Tracey stated that maybe the compression fittings were not being installed properly. I almost took that personally — however, I looked at the instructions (again) and realized that she was right and I was doing something wrong. For the record, I was not pushing the cone part 1/2" past the end of the pipe. Sunday morning I crawled under the house again and I hope I have done the job properly this time. I have some reservations on what I saw while the water was running, so I may have to go under the house again and replace all the parts one more time to make sure that it will be done for good! Lesson: listen to your significant other and do not take things personally; they may have a point and you need to be open to the possibility that they may be right!
Now to the mowing part: on Friday I took the weed trimmer down to a repair shop that is on the way to my office. The guys were super adn they replaced the primer bulb for a mere $5 -- awesome! Saturday morning and used the weeder to knock down everything that needed attention — until the trimmer began to stall repeatedly. I figured out that it was the air filter; when Kayla helped me to wash it the thing fell apart (it was several years old!). Fortunately I was pretty much done with that task. I proceeded to mow the backyard and the mower worked fantastically!
On Sunday, after the plumbing adventure, I mowed the front and side lawn areas. Just as I finished, I release the choke handle (that keeps the mower running) and it broke off — so now the mower cannot be started until I get that replaced! I suspect I can get a replacement part at the place where I got the weeder fixed! Maybe they will also have an air filter for my weeder.
Tracey said that I am hard on my mowing and yard equipment — maybe she is right! :-)
Now to the mowing part: on Friday I took the weed trimmer down to a repair shop that is on the way to my office. The guys were super adn they replaced the primer bulb for a mere $5 -- awesome! Saturday morning and used the weeder to knock down everything that needed attention — until the trimmer began to stall repeatedly. I figured out that it was the air filter; when Kayla helped me to wash it the thing fell apart (it was several years old!). Fortunately I was pretty much done with that task. I proceeded to mow the backyard and the mower worked fantastically!
On Sunday, after the plumbing adventure, I mowed the front and side lawn areas. Just as I finished, I release the choke handle (that keeps the mower running) and it broke off — so now the mower cannot be started until I get that replaced! I suspect I can get a replacement part at the place where I got the weeder fixed! Maybe they will also have an air filter for my weeder.
Tracey said that I am hard on my mowing and yard equipment — maybe she is right! :-)
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Linux User Group President
Last night I became President of the Columbia Linux User's Group (or ColaLUG). Tracey wonders why I have committed to yet another activity; however, I believe in the concept of open source and the imminent need for choice in our computing society. We cannot continue under the dominance of one operating system anymore than we would accept a dictatorship as a form of government.
The ColaLUG was formed on August 5th, 1997, to support the growing need for help with Linux installations. We have had many fun meetings in the past and I am committed to making the organization a stronger force in our community.
The ColaLUG was formed on August 5th, 1997, to support the growing need for help with Linux installations. We have had many fun meetings in the past and I am committed to making the organization a stronger force in our community.
Health Screening
On August 2, I participated in a health screening at work. They do everything from looking at your choilesterol (all three values) to your hip-to-waist ratio. Some of my numbers are borderline so it is time to start exercising! Fortunately, that is the only thing I need to do right now to bring things back in control. If the numbers are not better in 3-6 months then I will need to consider medication to control my cholesterol. My choice is exercise!
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