Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Playdate Protocol
August 04, 2011

Recently, one of the parents of Riley’s schoolmates called to arrange a playdate between her son and Riley. I don’t remember having so many playmates as a kid, and I certainly don’t remember how my parents arranged them. Even though I appreciate the opportunity to socialize Riley among his classmates outside of school, this whole process seems kind of strange to me.

It’s not so strange that our contact information is available. The home and school association produces a White Pages-like book of student names and addresses, organized by grade. You can opt in/out each year, but most parent include their addresses for purposes of convenience, like setting up playmates. I assume it also helps for homework help, since some of Abby’s classmates have called asking for clarification on something they were doing in class.

The Inbetween Things
June 22, 2011

I was struck again several times just this weekend by this idea that I’ve been having regarding levels of knowledge and learning. And when things come in batches like this, it makes sense to pay attention and think about them.

The basic example of the situation is this: When you first learn about a subject, you are by definition a novice. Depending on the topic area, there may be many books on the subject geared toward your knowledge level. As you become more adept though, the number of books on the topic that are worthwhile to you dwindle.

I Changed It A Little
June 21, 2011

Yes, this is not the original quote. I can’t stand the original quote. People have been trotting it out lately whenever they talk about genius, and I saw this image again today, and just had to mess with it.

I think the lesson from the original quote may have been that if you judge people by your own capabilities, of which they are not capable, then you’re likely to make them feel inferior. Well, Eleanor Roosevelt must have been smarter than Einstein, because no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Instead, if you judge people by your own capabilities, of which they are not capable, they may think you’re an idiot.

Why I Don't Use GoDaddy and You Shouldn't Either
June 17, 2011

I have good reasons, bad reasons, and reasons that make little sense, but they all indicate the same thing: GoDaddy doesn’t deserve your money

The reason I like to trot out the most is the T&A. GoDaddy has an intentionally humorous intent with their advertising and marketing. Do you remember the superbowl ads? The ads where the busty girl in the GoDaddy shirt nearly loses her top in front of some kind of committee? Yes, those. I don’t know how a women like Danica Patrick - the first woman to win an Indy car race, a potential role-model for girls in a male-dominated world - can put her name on something that is so obviously objectifying of women and having no earthly reason to be.

Unknown Family Vacation
June 15, 2011

As summer approaches each year, and this is part of the problem for more than one reason, we start scrambling to assemble some kind of family vacation for the four of us. Often, it feels like we’re the only family that doesn’t bother to plan their vacation until a couple of months before we want to go, always “last minute”. For a few years now, we’ve failed to put anything together based on where wa want to go rather than what is left available.

For example, the past couple of years, we’ve gone to Williamsburg, Virginia. Strangely enough, I like Williamsburg. It has just enough of everything that it seems like a vacation destination. Virginia Beach is only an hour drive away, the historical stuff is pretty cool, and Busch Gardens is right there, with the water park that is even better. Plus, it’s only a few hours drive from home, so the travel costs aren’t crazy. Actually, this was the selling point for this vacation - cheap travel, many activities. But everyone else is getting tired of it, and we’d like to try somewhere else.