A Good Person Has Left This World

Do Senator Kennedy a favor and sign the petition.

Negotiations 101

The Huffington Post has a revealing statement from McCain. Its interesting not because its McCain who said it, because I don't believe he matters much anymore. Rather, it reveals what I observe as a fundamental tenet of the modern conservative movement.

"He had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions, which really are the essence of successful negotiations," McCain said

Um, no. That's not the essence of successful negotiations. That's the essence of belligerence. Successful negotiation consists of finding a way to contribute to each other's goals together. Its basic game theory as well as Obama's one true strength. Its sad so many people don't grasp this fundamental lesson in human interaction.

Update: The Stupid! It Burns! After that brilliant quote from McCain above, we have Wolfie with probably the dumbest statement I've heard in a long time.

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

Alright, maybe not lazing; but, procrastinating on a Sunday evening. Its about time to buckle down and get some work done; but, I'm not very motivated to start working. Meetings don't start for another 1.5 hours. I should get some other work started... ugh.

First thing this morning Leia ambled over to Alisa, poked her lightly in the chest and said clear as day, "Sister." Then gave a huge grin around the pacifier still hanging from her mouth. Leia rarely speaks in words. She occasionally says "Dada" or "Mama". Once I heard her say "Wan Wan". Today's very clear "Sister" was a complete shock and got me up out of bed right away for a big bear hug.

We went out on a family outing to the book store today, one of the girls' favorite places. Leia ran around frantically flipping through books. Alisa works through books in one spot, jabbering nonsense for the whole 90 minutes we were there. We ended up getting a bath time book and an "Elmo Says..." book (like Simon says but with a furry, red monster.) My parents came with us to join in on the fun.

There was one really big first this morning. We were able to order food at a cafe and scarf it down before the girls got fidgety and caused a ruckus. That hasn't happened since they were too small to even cause a ruckus. Maybe someday soon we'll even be able to go to a fast food place for dinner.

Another Onion Layer

The girls continue developing their personalities. I can see a new layer of abstract thinking in them. They predict events and talk about those events before they arrive. For example, we go for walks to downtown Campbell six days a week. Its the only exercise Hirono and I can get. The girls are hit & miss on whether they enjoy the jaunt or not; but, one thing they always look forward to is the dogs and cats we pass.

Whenever we get ready for a walk, Alisa chants "Wan Wan. Nyan Nyan. Wan Wan. Nyan Nyan." Those are Japanese child words for dog and cat, respectively. She quiets down quickly if we can get a bowl of Cheerios or sippy cup in her hand. As we approach any house along the walk that has a dog or cat, she calls out to the dog or cat using the right word based on what pets live at that house. Once she spots the pet she shouts out triumphantly, "Wan Wan!" or "Nyan Nyan!". Leia watches intently and occasionally throws in a side comment. When we leave they say "Bye bye!", wave their hands and watch for the next house that has a pet.

The girls also enjoy the Galleria Courtyard in downtown Campbell. Its about four blocks from home and has a bunch of art galleries, nick-nack shops and a clothing boutique or two. The girls love to wander the little courtyard and look into the shops. They were fascinated by the pedicurist. A couple of weeks ago a local blues band was playing on the grass (and were pretty good.) This last Friday all the art galleries filled the courtyard with displays (along with a bunch more artists and musicians scattered up and down the street.)

Transfixed by a pedicure.

Tomorrow we'll go to the weekly farmer's market and let the girls run around the courtyard again.

Happy Friday

Praise the heavens, it's Friday! Tough week; but, things at work continue to gel. My hours have gone back down to 40 (44 last week.)



Now, to the weekend. The plans are to keep the kitchen as clean on Monday morning as it is on Saturday morning. Its a struggle.

Playing Tag-Tag

From Sonika. I blew off her last meme, so I can’t delay on this one.

I hope to..
Survive this winter with as few sicknesses as possible with the twins.

I hope not to..
Be an ass to people who report to me.

I want to..
Live every moment of life intensely.

I don’t want to..
Waste an opportunity.

I should have..
Changed instruments as a child (to the bass, I didn’t do it until my mid-30s.)

I shouldn’t have..
Been a frightened little boy with the sophomore hottie who sat in front of me in Civics class.

I could have..
Rocked the world!

I couldn’t have..
Lived a quiet, normal life.

I did..
Too many drugs, or not enough if you prefer.

I did not..
Ever catch an STD. No regrets there!

I wish..
I could spend all day with the twins.

I regret..
Being inconsiderate to a number of people whom I love.

I should..
Rein in my urge for chocolate.

I should not..
Give up.

I could..
Change my little space in the world.

I couldn’t
Have faith in political leaders.

I never thought..
It would end this way.

I always thought..
I’d live a quiet, normal life.

Let’s hear from Tracy.

Little Helper

Alisa and Leia have found out that its fun to help Mom and Dad get things done around the house. We have a video of them cleaning the couch with Hirono. They also often try to help by pushing the stroller or shopping cart for us. Its usually a lot harder for us when they do help; but, you can't crush that earnest, helpful spirit in them. So we go along and encourage them to help whenever we can.

Leia has really taken helping us to heart and occasionally actually does things that really helps us. For example, today while I was changing Alisa I found a refrigerator magnet in the diaper supply (I can only guess how it got there.) So while Alisa squirmed around on the changing pad I handed the magnet to Leia and asked her to put it back on the refrigerator. She dutifully wandered over to the fridge and placed the magnet up as high as she could reach. Very nice!

Sometimes it doesn't quite work out so well, though. Yesterday I handed Leia a scrap of paper and asked her to put it in the recycling bin. She took the paper, ambled over to the bin, opened the cover and proceeded to empty everything else out of the recycling bin.

Update: Here's the video.