Month: May 2007

Submission #2

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I submitted another magazine article today. This one was a little more work, but just as fun. (Ok, it’s actually for a “cool projects” issue, so it was VERY fun). I really enjoy writing these articles, I hope I can find more venues to publish. I think Linux Journal will get tired of me if I keep sending them query letters. 🙂

I haven’t started my book either. It may seem silly, but a novel is a huge undertaking, and “where to begin” is tough. It’s also a completely different mindset, since we’re talking about something so long. I think I’m going to allow my first book to be a “practice novel.” That way, if it totally sucks, I can tell myself it doesn’t matter, because it was just practice. To be honest, the idea of a practice novel isn’t really mine. Agent to the Stars was a “practice novel” that eventually got published.

Well, I have lots of books to read, so I’m going to read a few chapters, and then take a nap. Maybe I’ll try to write a couple thousand words on my novel too. Time will tell.

Bright Stars

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Last night, I found myself driving home after dark with our youngest daughter. Going for a ride in Daddy’s truck is a special treat, and apart from the loud exhaust, rusty body, and non-existent shocks, I can understand why. My old truck rocks. It’s a stick shift, and Daddy drives it kinda rough — great fun.

Anyway, the really cool part is that as we walked into the house, I thought I’d give her my “look at Venus” speech. My whole family hears it all the time, but I thought maybe I’d spark some emotion in my youngest.

It turns out I was right on the money. I called Lizzie to the front of the house, away from the porch light. I pointed up to the west, and said, “Lizzie, do you see that really bright star over there?”

“Uh huh.”

I was tickled that she said it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “That’s not really a star, it’s a planet, like Earth is a planet.”

“Really?!?!”

“Yep. It’s name is Venus, and it’s not as big as Earth, but it shines really bright so it looks like a star.”

“Wow, cool!”

She was actually excited about knowing it was a planet. 🙂 The coolest part was when we went inside, and Lizzie ran to Donna. “Mommy, did you know that really bright star is a planet? It’s name is Vee-Nuts!”

I love my family. 🙂

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PuzzledLook, I don’t care why Linux doesn’t have issues with spyware and viruses like it’s glass-in-a-frame brother, but it doesn’t. Actually, I do care — but the beauty is that it’s true.

Maybe it’s because it’s not a target. Maybe it’s designed better. Maybe it just has a cooler name. The truth of the matter is, we have 450 computers in the district here, and about 15 of those are running Windows. If you do the math (which I won’t), I spend WAAAAAY too much time on those machines. There are many classrooms, running Linux thin clients, which I haven’t visited in 3 years. Really.

So, it’s 4AM, and I’m off to install Symantec Antivirus on 4 computers that are complaining that they’re either expired or have no protection installed. Ugh.

Is easier better?

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Yesterday, I was speaking with a dear friend at a softball practice. Both of our daughters are on the team, so we got to sit in the peanut gallery and gab (it’s practice, so it’s not like we were supposed to be cheering or anything). She brought up an interesting notion, in that she thinks due to her difficult childhood, she overcompensates and spoils her children in certain areas. Here’s a few other examples:

1) She had to walk to school, regardless of the weather. Harsh winds, torrential rain, blazing sun; she walked. Now, she tends to drive everywhere, even when walking would suffice. (I would argue part of that is due to the American culture to be fast, fast, fast — but still, I see the comparison.)

2) When she grew up, in her culture, no one had much money. If you were poor, it showed by your not having enough food. Now, when she cooks, she always cooks too much, and when she shops, she always over-shops. The irony is that throwing away extra, leftover food causes her pain — but the need to have enough food still overpowers.

3) When I grew up, we very rarely ate at a restaurant. We just couldn’t afford it. Now, I tend to take my family out to eat, even at fast food, waaaay too often. My children aren’t even excited to go to McDonald’s anymore — but every time we do, I feel the poor little kid inside me jumping for joy.

Anyway, that discussion got me thinking. Is easier always better? I’m sure it’s not, but yet find myself trying over and over to make life easier for my family than I had it when I was younger. (I have to add, that growing up, my Mom always provided everything we needed. We grew up in the ghetto of Detroit on welfare — and she still managed to send me to a private school. Mom, I’m forever in your debt, thank you so much. I have no idea how you managed it.)

If you’re a parent that buys your children more than they need, just because you can, I urge you to reconsider. Work less and spend more time with them if you can. That will be so much more important to them when they’re older. My kids will never think back fondly on all the times we had McDonald’s for dinner. Ironically, the few times I got to go are more meaningful because they were rare.

To my softball Mom friend: Thank you for helping me put things in perspective.