Category: Life

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I should have saved them

hot-wheelsEver since we moved Heather’s parents out of their home of nearly 40 years, I have been keenly aware of the need to not keep things.

As I read an article in Car & Driver several months back about middle-aged men collecting and selling their childhood Hot Wheels toy cars, I regretted that I gave away my collection at about age 12. I thought, “Why should I keep these? I don’t play with them anymore!”

Then, I saw what the very first car I bought was going for at a shop not far from where we live – about $80. (The same model was actually pictured in the article – the ugly red Ford Thunderbird. Mine was a sort of gold color.) Oh well.

What thing do you wish you had kept?

(Photos thanks to Car & Driver.)

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Perfection

stainless-keyStainless steel is perfect.

What other substance is so hard, so rust-free and looks great when it gets scratched?

I’ve written about perfection before. I think all humans long for it at some level. But it’s very hard to find. Maybe that’s why I like stainless steel so much.

(And a special thanks to my friend Dave, who gave me this Utili-key. It’s very useful, but when I had jury duty last fall, the guards insisted that I leave it in my car. “Drop that key! Put your hands up!” And airport security? I just left it home for the last few trips I made – wouldn’t have had time to go back to the car, if that was needed.)

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Proud of America

hibaHiba Ibrahim spoke at at Ben’s graduation ceremony (or continuation ceremony). Her family immigrated from Sudan to Littleton, Colorado, about five or so years ago. Her speech reflected complete adjustment to life here. Her delivery showed confidence and poise. She had a totally American accent.

I was so proud of our country for accepting Hiba and her family! She has many more opportunities to excel and grow as a person and contribute to society here than she would have had in her warn-torn village in southern Sudan. Reflecting on this brought tears to my eyes.

p.s. Horrible photo? Again, I was a long distance from the stage.

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Proud of Ben

ben-gradBen graduated from Euclid Middle School last week. I was and am really proud. Jay preceded him by two years, but it was no less special. It’s is a stepping stone to high school, then college, and then that first job. And each achievement is not just a given. It’s something to be recognized and be grateful for.

Gary Hein is Ben’s principal – shown shaking Ben’s hand. (The shaky hand holding the camera was mine.) He has provided excellent leadership for the entire staff and student body.

One thing I learned is that when you finish middle school, you don’t graduate. You “continue”. (It was a “continuation ceremony”.)

p.s. Horrible photo? I was a long distance from the stage.

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You would never know it

tv-homePhilo Farnsworth was the inventor of the TV. I saw his house last week. The most incredible thing about the home was how average it was. It is on an ordinary corner in an ordinary suburban neighborhood in an ordinary midwestern town.

Times have changed. If he were alive today, his third home would be on Seventeen Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.

“As a boy, Farnsworth saw television in the parallel furrows of his father’s potato field. His epiphany: Images could be scanned line by line.” (That’s from a Wired story.)

Moral of the story? Next time you’re viewing a field (or a forest, or a cityscape), look more closely. Your next great idea might be there.

I grabbed the photo from a video by Becky.

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Who responds?

spam-namesThese lovely names are the supposed senders of spam that appeared recently in my gmail spam folder.

They have these characteristics:
– They are not normal spellings of English names.
– They are all female.
– Often the last name is a first name.

What does this tell me about spam?
– Those who respond are usually male.
– Those who respond might speak English as poorly as the spam authors.
– It’s fun to read these bizarre names.

More on spam.

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Questionable lunchbox

lunchboxWhat kid in 1965 would be caught dead bringing this lunchbox to school? Maybe it was used by a pilot’s son who had no social awareness.

The wear and tear leads me to believe that whoever used it did so more than once. Maybe a pilot used it! But then, what pilot would be caught dead bringing a kids’ lunchbox to work in the morning?

Update: See the comments for some really valid points about this.

Again, from the Fort Wayne Air Museum.

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At what point do we become a bad influence?

amer-girl-storeRachel went to the new American Girl Doll store near Denver a few weeks back. After she came home, I asked, “What did you think?” Her first reply: “It was too expensive.”

I was a proud dad.

I did not join her for that excursion. When I happened to be near the store a week later, I had to drop in to see it for myself. That’s when my reflections started. I do agree with her that nearly everything in the store is not priced for ordinary folks. The lower pic is a hair salon – for your doll – at something like $20 a pop. Mind you, it’s hard for me to think of spending $20 to style the hair of a doll when I know that that same $20 could feed a hungry family in Kenya for several days.

But the other side of the coin was thinking that I have colored my kids so much to be always thinking about what things cost that they are warped that way. For good and bad, our kids reflect us.

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