grassyneal

"You had 3 guestbook signatures this year, Jon" said an e-mail today from Classmates.com

How am I supposed to feel about that? Are they trying to motivate me to get some more signers? Or is any number worth cranking out an automatic e-mail to me about my profile's activity?

Need some pointers? Here you go:

I like to listen to the podcast "Econ Talk", which looks at behaviors, choices, and consequences regarding a wide variety of human activity. I was curious, so I did a search on religion, and lo! I came across one that looked directly at it.

It looks at the question of why people choose to belong to, or practice, a religion. The answers go far beyond things like brainwashing. I highly recommend it.

http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2006/10/the_economics_o_7.html

source: http://www.wagreflex.com/2009/08/to-boldy-wear-what-no-dog-wants-to-wear.html

I've been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook lately where people my age are now sending their kid off to college.

Me, I'll be driving Ethan over to 1st grade next week.

That's how it goes, I guess. They marry at 24, I got married at 30. They had kids right away, we had five years with a cat before we started planning a family. It adds up.

:D

Hey y'all, sorry I've been away. I've been at Facebook, where you're welcome to friend me.

So how about all this political stuff, huh? I used to argue and debate, in LJ and live a bit, but I didn't feel like I was getting a lot out of it. Lots of heat, not much light. I still like reading articles and studies, so post links if you have 'em, by all means.

The kids are good. Ethan is getting ready for first grade at Calvin Christian school. He did well in his reading pre-screening. I don't know what their scoring system looks like or represents, but they were hoping incoming kids would score between a 1 and a 5, and they finished testing Ethan at a 22, and that was because he was getting tired. So yay for that. Now to work on his phy ed skills.

Carissa is taking dance lessons, and will be participating in the Mounds View parade Saturday. Should be lots of cuteness.

Thanks to my brother-in-law Greg Oseid for catching this great shot!

I had a Pontiac Sunbird for a few years. It was a nice sedan. I got it "certified pre-owned" at a Saturn dealership.

This was in 1997, I think, and I brought Diana along to see how the car looked with her by it or in it. Nowadays I'd have to bring the kids and their kid seats besides, but at the time, all I needed it to match up to was my fiancee. And it was good. A semi-elegant, reliable ride.

Now that GM is phasing Pontiacs out of existence, I'm sure the people who make parts for them and get certified to fix them will go by the wayside as well, so I guess it will be Toyotas in the future..

One of the benefits of the later work shift is I get to have more leisurely breakfasts with the kids, and I can sometimes do up special orders.

Carissa wanted a bagel and cream cheese for her breakfast, but we were out of bagels. I offered her an English muffin instead, and she said OK, but she asked me to cut a hole in the middle of it.

So I got out a paring knife and made a circular incision in the middle, and now we have a bagel-type creation, replete with nooks and crannies.

I have a clever, clever daughter.

It's a little after nine on Monday morning, and I am trying to get my left foot forward to start the 5-day march.

Carissa is on my lap, still in her jammies. I have to get her changed into clothes and over to daycare by 10 so I have time enough to get to work. We sometimes watch cartoons, like old Bugs Bunny ones.

I've lost my weekly actuary study rhythm since the shift change. Instead of a 3-hour study period once a week, I should be switching to getting in some small morning sessions, but right now I'm not getting any, and that is frustrating.

I went to Ethan's school last night for a big recital of poetry.

( Behind the cut lie who, where, and what )

The Dow is back in 7k territory!

The Year-to-date track for the DJIA looks a bit like a roller coaster that is starting to turn upward, as richardf8 called it not long ago.

Some other good signs are around, like how some banks are wanting to give back the TARP money that they didn't ask for, but they all got so as to disguise which banks really needed the bailout.

Some of the promise of better times ahead involve the government restraining itself from taking more control of money and letting people and businesses use it best; I'm not sure that's a safe assumption right now, but the task force on fixing the auto industry has just hired on a bankruptcy lawyer, so if they're willing to make harsh decisions like that, maybe they'll do something similar with the federal government. Or is that just too wishful?