Posts

Posted on

Waste!

Am I wrong, or does this strike more of you as pointlessly wasteful?

Happy Birthday Dear Fido, Fluffy and Polly
Tue Feb 14, 2006 08:23 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – They already have their own designer clothes, health insurance and therapists. Now more and more American pets are enjoying their own birthday parties.

A surprising number of pet owners host birthday parties—complete with party hats, cake and guests–for their dogs, cats and birds, according to a survey released Monday by California-based Veterinary Pet Insurance.

The firm reported that 58 percent of its policyholders who responded said they had hosted birthday bashes for their pets.

Veterinary Pet Insurance, which marks the occasion by sending each insured pet a birthday card every year and a coupon for free food, said other surveys have calculated that about six million American dog and cat households celebrate birthdays.

Three Dog Bakery, a specialty store in upscale Newport Beach, California, gets about 20 requests a week for pet birthday cakes, said owner Sandy Deem.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

I have nothing against pet ownership, but it seems to me that when one is at the point of having birthday parties for pets, it’s time to evaluate spending habits. Imagine how many orphans the costs of six million birthday parties for pets would feed, clothe, and house annually, or how many missionaries the money could support.

Don’t even get me started on pet psychotherapy …

Posted on

Witness the Evidence, Ye Doubters

I wrote this in an earlier post:

We have been leaving our sleds out most of the winter as offerings to the snow gods. So far it has been working, although I had to correct the kids on making the proper offering. Scattering the toboggans about the yard is not the way to get the snow gods’ attention: One must place the sleds vertically, up against the deck or porch railing, as if ready for instant use. You don’t want to get rain all winter, do you?

I offer hear clear photographic evidence that such beliefs are indeed rational:

Above left: Our offering to the snow gods, carefully placed yesterday morning.

Above right: The same scene less than 24 hours later.

Posted on

Naomi’s Stories

NaNi is indeed a delight. She’s started to put together stories. Last night she said, “See Uncle Phil. Rocket ship. Knock, knock, knock.” (You want to visit Uncle Phil, and you’ll take a rocket ship to get to his house, and knock on the door?) “Yes!”

She’s always been fascinated with her clothes that have pockets. Just before bed she had her hands in her pockets, and sighed, “No money.” I laughed. “Two pockets,” she announced. She’s learning how to identify quantities.

Earlier tonight the little weasel was trying to get into my pocket. Are you trying to get my wallet? “Yes, Daddy.” “Why?” She jumped up and down with glee: “Credit cards!” Sometimes she’s too smart.

Posted on

Caption this Photo (of Naomi)!

We took this picture during David’s seventh birthday party. Nichelle’s suggested caption is below. Can any of you beat it?

“What do you mean I’ve had too much sugar?”

Now, let me go reserve a therapist for NaNi.

Posted on

Isaac, the Biographer

Isaac is now in fifth grade. He wrote this biography of Naomi for one of his homework assignments:

My Sister, Naomi

My little sister, Naomi, a cheerful little girl. Being two years old, she has different rules of posession: “If I saw it, it’s mine,” “If I didn’t want it, and saw you playing with it, it’s mine.” And Naomi’s special, “Every loli-pop I see is mine.” Naomi likes to sing along with many songs: “Jesus Loves Me,” is one of them and all the songs of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” She is very bouncy, loud, cheerful, and her vocabulary is very good. The day after her [second] birthday she greeted my dad with a “Hi, Slacker!” She constantly stands on objects and says “Look, I’m taller!” I’m glad to have a sister as Naomi is.

Posted on

A Conversation with My Geek Girl

Background: Naomi loves her new Geekwear. For Christmas, I bought for her a Version 2.0 T-shirt and a new Geek in Training T-shirt to replace the one she’d outgrown.

She loves the shirts! She calls the “Geek in Training” one her “Mouse Shirt,” and asked for it every day several times a day when it was in the laundry. While that was being washed, she tried the “Version 2.0” shirt. (I suppose it really should be a Version 2.4 shirt, or maybe 2.3, depending on whether John gets—as the software equivalent of a buy-out—his own version number.) She went around showing people at church, pointing at the logo, and saying, “Version two oh.” Nichelle observed:

At Christmas, Doug bought Naomi two new geek shirts. She loves them. Yesterday, I was putting her laundry away and she spotted her V2.0 shirt and picked it up and hugged it. She was already dressed so I told her she could wear it to bed. She quickly took it and put it under her pillow and remembered to get it when it was bedtime.

At any rate, Naomi’s speech is becoming much more complex (even beyond calling me a weasel or a slacker). I called home one day, and she wanted to talk to me.

NaNi: Version 2.0

Dad: Your Version 2.0 shirt? I’m very glad you like it.

NaNi: Thank you, Daddy!

Dad: You’re welcome.

NaNi: Love you, Daddy. Bye!

She melts my heart!

Posted on

Sledding (2005–2006)

We have been leaving our sleds out most of the winter as offerings to the snow gods. So far it has been working, although I had to correct the kids on making the proper offering. Scattering the toboggans about the yard is not the way to get the snow gods’ attention: One must place the sleds vertically, up against the deck or porch railing, as if ready for instant use. You don’t want to get rain all winter, do you?

This is Naomi’s first year sledding.

Above: NaNi, at the bottom of the hill after one of her first-ever sledding runs. “Again!”

Sledding was great last night at Roby Park, in Nashua, which is not far from our house! The snow was perfect for speed; we were getting within about 20 feet of the fence at the bottom of the hill. Conditions should be same for the next few nights; I can’t go tonight. I might go on Tuesday, but will probably have too much work.

Isaac was practicing on a $1, small, narrow snowboard we got at a yard sale—it’s amazing how quickly he learns. He had several runs where he made it almost completely down the hill. I wonder how he’d do on a larger board with boot clamps. David tried it sitting and laying down. Isaac also challenged us to race him, sleds versus feet. He’s fast.

Above left: Isaac’s Calvin & Hobbes snowman (2 heads, 4 arms, etc.).

Above right: Our three-toboggan sled train. NaNi is in the front, Doug is in the middle (and providing the steering), David is in the back.

Naomi was completely thrilled. She always wants to go from the very top of the hill. I hold her sled in front of mine, which provides excellent steering control. The second day we went sledding, someone bumped her, and she was noticably timid for the rest of that day; last night she was fine. She seems nervous still while we are getting in position. I reassure her by explaining what I’m doing. “I’m just getting onto my sled. Don’t worry, I won’t let go of you. Remember, we won’t move until you say, ‘Go.'” And then she counts down (or up), and calls out, “Go!” and we’re off! Her first word upon reaching the bottom is, “Again!” She burst into tears when I said it was time to go home.

Above left: In the Wilcox backyard, the natives are restless. Isaac uses his bow and arrow to enhance his Mutant Snow Goon.

Above right: Even though our sledding was done, and we were all a little wet and cold, NaNi insisted on continuing to play outside.

Earlier this year, I took some pictures, and even have a short video clip of one of Naomi’s first sledding runs (if for nothing more than freaking out Nichelle). I’ll have to see what’s worth posting. (Editor’s note: I looked; the video isn’t that great, and the photos are mostly dark or blurry. It was cold when I took them! I’ve added the one that was decent.)

(New photos above added January 25, 2006.)

Posted on

Geek-Boy Isaac Makes Science Mistake

Ten-year-old Isaac Douglas Wilcox jeopardized his entire future career in science today, when he described the maximum size of an Australian salt water crocodile as “seven to eight feet.”

Fortunately, his vastly more knowledgeable father was there to correct this serious breech of cognition, and he quickly righted the error, pointing out that “Salties” grow to twenty to twenty-five feet in length. (The largest ever found was 29 feet in length.)

(This post has nothing to do with the fact that Isaac loves pointing out those extremely rare occasions when I am wrong in a scientific area. It’s all about the newsworthiness, folks.)

Posted on

Domestic Security Consultant Visits Wilcox Home

On Friday, the Wilcox family received a long-awaited visit from Clover, a border collie who is employed as a domestic security consultant north of here.

After an intimidating first meeting, Naomi and Clover became fast friends. NaNi adopted the same pose as Clover for all their photos together. (Note that Naomi is wearing some of her new Geekwear: a “Version 2.0” t-shirt.)

More hints has said that Clover presented on such important topics as stick-fetching, ball-fetching, stick destroying, Nerf-ball chewing, human herding, neighborhood patrols, criminal background checks, and indicating when one needs to use the little dog’s room. (I am told by Matt Camillieri that other canines, such as Winnie Sohmer, are not so good at communicating such a vital topic.)

Clover is a good dog.

Posted on

Christmas Glimpses

It is Christmas morning in the Wilcox home. The children awoke early, of course, but not too early. Nichelle and I slept until 8:30. I could have used another hour, because I was too excited to sleep Christmas Eve, and stayed up until around 2:00 a.m.

We let the kids open their stockings before church, and one other gift (chosen by us) on the way to church (John missed out on that one because he left for church earlier to navigate for my sister Cindy). I was thrilled to see the church auditorium packed. Normally on Christmas Sunday we have a lot of people traveling, so I expected the attendance to be down. (Of course, there are people traveling to our area as well, but generally not as many.)

Above left: The portion of the Wilcox family spending Christmas in Nashua with us. Back row: My sister Joyce Thorne, my daughter Naomi, my niece Jennifer, my wife Nichelle, my nephew Andrew. Front row: My son David, my son Isaac, me, my sister Cindy (Jenn and Andrew’s mother), and my son John.

Above right: David, Isaac (mostly obscured), Andrew, Naomi, and Jenn opening Christmas stockings. Naomi is eating a chocolate chip muffin.

When I was growing up, I never slept past 6:00 on Christmas morning, even though I never could fall asleep before midnight. Thankfully, my own children are a bit more reasonable, although they have resorted to sending notes in attached to Isaac (2 years old at the time), and playing the trumpet outside our door. (Actually, that was my nephew Andrew.)

Did you know the cardboard box has been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame?

Naomi singing, dancing and spinning around to Tish Hinojosa’s Spanish Christmas song, “Milagro”:

Milagro, milagro, es la Esperanza
Milagro nuestro es la Navidad

(A miracle, a miracle is the hope …
The Nativity is a miracle meant for us)

Above left: A new sombrero ranchero and the Lego AT-AT. Nichelle is good to me!

Above right: Naomi with her new Navajo Barbie. (Yes, I let her take it out of the box. Calm, calm. Deep breaths. Slowly now. That’s better.)

Above: Naomi “helps” construct my new Lego AT-AT.

My niece Jennifer driving the Xbox controller like a steering wheel (and moving her whole body as if driving) while playing Burnout 3: Takedown with David and Isaac.

David wearing the mask from his Darth Vader Voice Changer helmet, singing, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands …” while NaNi wore the cowl backwards, dancing to some inner music of her own.

Isaac’s shocked expression and dramatic dropping of the box when he opened his Carnivorous Creations terrarium.

Above left: Aren’t you a little short for a Sith lord?

Above center: Isaac dramatically reacts to opening a Carnivorous plants terrarium. (You should have seen his expression when he opened the RoboRaptor.)

Above right: NaNi models my new sombrero

Around Christmas, I always think about my favorite Christmas hymn: “God is Born” (“Bóg siÄ™ rodzi”). I’ve only got one recording of it, on an old cassette entitled “An English Christmas.” It is the National Christmas Hymn in Poland, where it originated. Here’s what I’ve been able to transcribe from the English version I have:

“God is Born”

God is born and night is shaken
He the Heaven’s King lies naked.
The living Word knows brightness darkened,
He the Limitless takes limit.
Born disdained yet worship given,
Mortal, yet the Lord eternal.
Now indeed the Word made flesh
Has come on earth to dwell among us.

What hast thou, O Heaven better,
God abandoned thy perfection?
Here to share the trial and sorrow
Of His poor, beloved people.
Suffered much and suffered dearly,
For we all were guilty sinners,
Now indeed the Word made flesh
Has come on earth to dwell among us.

Born into a common stable,
He is cradled in a manager.
How then tell me what surrounds you
Hay and peace and simple shepherds.
You were ones who had the honor
Him to greet, and kings came bowing.
Now indeed the Word made flesh
Has come on earth to dwell among us.

I love the old hymns that are filled with such great doctrine. (So much of our modern popular and sacred music is vacuous—or at best superficial—by comparison.) Here the subject is the Incarnation: God the Son lowering Himself to become one of us. Wow!