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Get down on the floor and play with your kids.



The Book With No Pictures by BJ Novak is a lot of fun for kids.
Books by Julia Donaldson are great, too.  They're written with a rhythm and vocabulary that is really enjoyable to read.  The Gruffalo and Snail & The Whale are two favourites here.

Babies need to be given sugar, drugs and alcohol so they can learn to self-soothe like everyone else.

This explains the mix of 7-Up and NyQuil so often seen in the bottles of babies.

Nigel, what are your thoughts on attachment parenting?

I define it as simply "parenting".

I mean, to me, it's the only option.

I agree.


Some disjointed thoughts:

I didn't realize that what I am doing was considered 'attachment parenting'; I just do what feels like the most intuitive way to parent.  If no one ever read a parenting book, everyone would be doing this.  Parents get a lot of pressure from people, doctors included, to force their babies to conform to a scheduled lifestyle of specific feeding times and doing whatever it takes to force them to sleep through the night on their own.  So many doctors do not know anything about the more recent research involving infants, and too few encourage and support breastfeeding. 

There should be more support for mothers.  In Canada a parent can usually get one year of paid maternity leave (around 60% of their salary).  I believe in the U.S. they only have three months?  I can't really blame a mother who has to be at a full-time job for seeking out help with sleep and feeding.  I wouldn't be surprised if the main intention behind most of these 'parenting solutions' is to get people back into the work force ASAP (and to sell a crap book).

This makes me sad, and I wonder how many millions of people have been/are being raised this way:
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/attachment-parenting/unconnected-child

Suppose parents, for fear of spoiling their baby or letting her manipulate them, restrain themselves from responding to her cries and develop a more distant, low-touch style of parenting. What happens then? The baby must either cry harder and more disturbingly to get her needs met or give up and withdraw. In either case, she finds that her caregiving world is not responsive. Eventually, since her cues are not responded to, she learns not to give cues. She senses something is missing in her life. She becomes angry and either outwardly hostile or withdrawn. In the first case, the baby is not very nice to be around, and parents find ways to avoid her. In the second case, the baby is harder to connect with, and again, parents and child enjoy each other less. Either way, this child will be difficult to discipline. She comes to believe that safety and security depend on no one but herself. Problems in relationships develop when a child grows up thinking she only has herself to trust in. Since the parents don't allow themselves to respond intuitively to their baby's cues, they become less sensitive and lose confidence in their parenting skills.

As the unconnected child gets older, much of his time is spent in misbehavior, and he is on the receiving end of constant reprimands; or he tunes out and seems to live in his own separate world. This child becomes known as sullen, a brat, a whiner, or a spoiled kid. These undesirable behaviors are really coping strategies the child uses in search of a connection. The unconnected child doesn't know how to regain a sense of well-being because he has no yardstick to measure attachment. He has difficulty finding a connection because he isn't sure what he lost.

Bring on the Ritalin.



Whenever 'attachment parents' are shown on TV they often seem a little crazy, and their parenting is portrayed in a negative light.  Somehow the label 'attachment parent' has been twisted to mean parents who are on the extreme side of it, ie. they're against the use of strollers and cribs, indefinite bed-sharing, long-term extended breastfeeding, etc.  Anyone I've met who calls themselves an attachment parent has these ideals.  None of these things are inherently bad, but I think some parents take it too far and think that meeting their child's needs means never saying "no." 

It is a little sad that co-sleeping is so discouraged.  I doubt any other mammals give birth and then make the baby sleep alone at the other end of the den.

Babies need to be given sugar, drugs and alcohol so they can learn to self-soothe like everyone else.

I think it has something to do with the body releasing tension (whatever 'tension' is).  I get that feeling whenever I get a good massage, and have had people describe the same feeling when I massage them.  Some of the triggers mentioned in the article are interesting... someone digging through a handbag?  I guess anything that a person associates as being 'soothing' might induce that feeling.  Maybe we all have mental 'tension blocks' that can be released by various images or stimuli. 

If you want to skip that part, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poker_hands has the probabilities.

Thanks Less fun that way though: I'm a really odd gamer, I tend to enjoy "cracking" or subverting the rules a lot more than actually playing.

If you know the probabilities by heart though, does that tell you exactly how to play? When to fold, etc? It also depends on the other player's actions until now, right?

But it's a good reference anyway because I don't quite exactly recall which hands are worth more than others either.

Knowing probabilities can help you to make the best mathematical decisions (which over the long run will result in profit) but making the most profitable decisions (and stroking your ego as the greatest poker player in the universe) often depends on your knowledge of the other player.  You may have a low probability of hitting your hand, but what are the odds of that particular opponent paying you off if you do hit, and are you getting the right price to take this chance?  How can you use his perception of you against him and make him fold what is probably a better hand?  So many variables come into play with different types of players and can result in a beautifully complex game.  With highly skilled players the cards often don't even matter... they play their opponent; not the cards.

This is pretty cool:

From http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,779446,00.html

Fans at a recent right-wing extremist rock festival in Germany thought they were getting free T-shirts that reflected their nationalistic worldview. But after the garment's first wash they discovered otherwise. The original image rinsed away to reveal a hidden message from an activist group.

With a skull-and-crossbones logo and the message "Hardcore Rebels - National and Free," some 250 black T-shirts given away at a recent right-wing extremist rock festival were quickly snapped up. But there was more to the tough-looking image than met the eye.

Once the rightist rockers washed their new shirts, they were dismayed to find an entirely different message: "If your T-shirt can do it, so can you. We'll help to free you from right-wing extremism." The offer, complete with contact information, came from a group called Exit Deutschland, which helps people get out of the neo-Nazi scene.

The group sent their "Trojan T-shirts," disguised as a donation from an anonymous party supporter, to the organizers of the Aug. 6 event, which took place in the Thuringian city of Gera and was sponsored by the right-wing extremist NPD party. Exit Deutschland has been pleased with discussion the initiative prompted in online neo-Nazi forums, co-founder Bernd Wagner told daily Süddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday

Late reply, but this is one of my favourite chicken recipes if you need something for next time, and it's very easy:



-Combine 1 cup pomegranate juice with 1/2 tsp dried crushed chilies (or red pepper flakes) and 1.5 tbsp sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to about 1/2 cup.

-Set aside half of the pomegranate mixture.

-Make a rub with equal parts cumin, garlic powder, ginger and seasoned salt; rub all over chicken.

-Grill chicken, 6-8 minutes per side, brushing occasionally with pomegranate mixture.

-Serve over arugula or baby spinach leaves and top with remaining pomegranate mixture.  


I usually eat grilled asparagus with it- shake asparagus spears in a bag with olive oil, salt, pepper, or whatever seasonings you want until they're coated, grill over indirect heat for about 8 minutes.


The chicken recipe is from the book 'Good Friends, Great Grilling'

Oh, and that was 20 minutes. A 20 minute ultrasound. It cost $200 to have each kid ultrasounded, and they use the same equipment. I even went to the same place. And, it's not like that includes ANY treatment. Just the ultrasound. I still have an ovarian cyst the size of a walnut, and can't do a fucking thing about it.

I had one of those several years ago.  I found out because I was dancing and all the jumping about burst it and it started bleeding internally, I blacked out and had to be taken to the ER, it ended up costing me $3000+ for the whole 2 hour ER visit!  This was about 8 years ago and I'd just switched jobs and my insurance coverage wasn't active yet. 

Now I'm skeert. 

If it makes you feel any better, I had one burst years ago and while the pain was awful, I didn't have to go to the hospital.

Nice review.    I caught the Deftones in Vancouver last month.

Oh yes, I had ear plugs in by this point.  Yes I am a pussy, a pussy that will not have disabling tinnitus in 20 years.  Ha ha, charade I am.

I hear ya... my earplugs were in within seconds of Dillinger Escape Plan hitting the stage. I took them out for Defontes tho... sometimes they work a little too well. I ended up with permanent damage from the Deftones at a show in 1999.  Every beat of the bass felt like an ice pick breaking through my ear drum.  I ended up jamming little crumpled pieces of paper in my ears.  And in the middle of this is Chino raising his arms and telling the sound guys to "TURN IT UP!"   

At this point, I also had discovered the mutant power to ruin any party happening within 5 foot radius by aura alone.  When adopting the "Judge face", and standing tall, I immediately had space even amongst the maelstrom.  It would hem back in, fresh faces always, and I'd push them out again with hands or shoulder, then stare and presence.  For these transitory moments, I appreciated the steel toes, and the front of my boots seemed to strike people as admirable places to try to stand, before being encouraged otherwise.

Heh, nice.  I don't even stand within the thick of the crazy and I still get jostled to no end.  I was at System of a Down last week and I have to admit I felt a little badass when I stood my ground and shoved the shovers out of my space.  Although when one of them picked a fight with the guy behind me, I had to admit that it was I who had shoved him.

The main act was greeted with tremendous fanfare.  Chino Moreno and the rest of the group was in fine form, the man himself running like he was smiling for office, fit as a fiddle despite years of the life.  They opened with the singles from their new album, and continued into material years old.  Their music was just as good in person, minus only a few effects or guest talents, but still well executed and novel as the first time I've heard it.  The Deftones are not exactly a progressive rock group, but their sound carries all the cresting feel of some of the best prog rock ballads at 5 minutes in, cresting and crashing cunningly in their own unique way.  The boys took subtle pipe hits off the side of the stage, and Chino put down straight bourbon to counterpoint the water he was drinking, and we loved them for it.  The show was backed up with huge projections of random Japanese movies (an especially surreal samurai flick for "Knife Party"), and various strobes and spots.  Nothing special, not the massive "Blue Man Group" display of a Tool, but there.  The projector work was the best part of the visuals, aside from their animated lead singer.  The others appeared intent and focused on instruments of the multiple Apple laptops onstage.

I'm amazed that Chino's voice has held out this long.  They do a lot of touring, and his scream is still perfect.

I'll be passing these out again next Thursday at a much larger venue.

I'll add a URL this time, but I was also thinking I could hide some "buried treasure" within the card.  Last week I printed off the card on 4"x3" paper and taped it at the edges with double-sided tape to a slightly larger piece of heavy (and shiny!) card stock.  This leaves a space between the two pages, about the size of a business card.  I was thinking of leaving stuff in there; quotes, meme bombs, other random things.  You'd have to destroy the card to get to the treasure, but it wouldn't be obvious that something was in there unless someone really examined the card.

What do you think?  Too much messing with an already-good thing?

Great story.  I especially liked the conversation in the garden. 

I brought some Pirate Pass-Off cards to the Primus concert in Vancouver last night.

It was a huge success!  I wasn't sure how the cards would be perceived, but everyone seemed to love it.  I can't deny feeling a little surge of triumph as I was standing in the beer line, and seeing cards being passed around, and people trying to pass cards back to me later. 

The funniest part was when people had already seen a card, but forgot the "answer" to "are you a pirate?"  There were a lot of people where the answer was, "YES, I AM!....or - wait.... no... ARRRRRRR!!"  Then I'd give them a ninja card. 

One regret is that I didn't stick a link or something on them which would direct people here.  There were a lot of comments like, "this is awesome!"  "Where did you find out about this game?"  "Where can I find more stuff like this?"  I passed out a lot of cards, so at least anyone who was "stuck" with one at the end of the night can Google it and will inevitably be led here.  I also didn't see any crumpled up cards on the floor, which I actually kind of expected to see.

This game is a really excellent way to encourage interaction and communication between strangers.  I have a hard time approaching people, but this game allowed me to chat with a ton of people who I would have never spoken to otherwise.  And, it was just super fun.

Going to another concert in a few weeks.   

Just a few thoughts:

Cosmos could refer to the state of things as they are.  Chaos would be our individual perceptions, interpretations and actions within the Cosmos. 

Looking at a bigger picture, Cosmos would be Everything/The Universe.  Chaos is the motion of the Cosmos.