I’m sitting at the Lake of the Ozarks in a condo that we rented with some friends. My daughter is with her grandmother. My wife is out shopping. My buddy is playing Red Dead Redemption on his PS3. And what am I doing? I’m CODING.
I swear I’m incapable of letting my brain just check out and do nothing. I can’t help but think about all the items on my plate and what work is going to be like when I return next week. Sometimes I wonder if vacation is even worth it.
My daughter just turned 18 months old yesterday. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that losing your temper and raising your voice in an effort to force her to obey is akin to kicking a boulder as hard as you can – without shoes on. Like that boulder, my daughter just doesn’t care.
In the months leading up to Addison’s birth, I thought many times about the types of discipline we would use and how I wanted to be one of those “I’m your Father not your friend” parents. I thought the stern, raised voice and mean looks were valid disciplinary actions and an effective means of modifying your child’s behavior. Boy, was I ever wrong.
After about 15 months, I realized I was getting nowhere. My daughter still got into the same things I’d tried to keep her out of since she could crawl. She still went right off to the next off-limits area as soon as I yelled at her. It’s like “big bear daddy” didn’t phase her at all.
One day about 3 months ago I decided to go the exact opposite. If she did something bad, I would simply shake my head no at her and move her away from whatever she was doing (or whatever it was away from her). After a couple of weeks I noticed her looking at me first before grabbing things like my iPhone or the cat’s tail. She was beginning to realize that what she was doing was wrong, and she was checking with me to see if anything had changed since the last time. Simultaneously, I started being over-the-top congratulatory for anything she did well. Throw your garbage in the trash can? Woohoo!!! Put your dirty socks in the laundry basket? Jumping around and shouts of happiness! Leave Daddy’s iPhone where it is when you point at it and I shake my head? Hugs and kisses all around!
And you know what? It works. I mean, it really works. She now behaves better than ever, and while she’s not perfect (and no child is) she is respectful of Daddy and wants to please me more than she wants to grab the iPhone.
This is just a bit of new Dad information I thought I might share with any of you who, like me, think yelling and being a big bad wolf is the best way to get your child’s attention.
It’s good to see the Razorbacks will be going to a bowl game this year. We’ll be playing East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN. We bought 4 tickets and are going with some friends of ours who we always tailgate with when Arkansas plays in Little Rock.
I really think Arkansas showed their potential this year although I have to admit I was hoping for a bit better record and a better showing in the SEC. I hate to be the typical “wait till next year!” fan, but I’m excited about seeing how far Bobby Petrino can take the Razorbacks and their newfound offensive prowess next year. If we can get the defense to show up at every game, we should have a chance for a really good season. I’m not talking BCS bowl yet, but we should get close.
As for this year’s Liberty Bowl, my prediction is that we DESTROY East Carolina. Conference USA?? C’mon – no way that team can compete with us – especially considering that playing in Memphis is going to be almost like a home game for the Razorbacks.
Go Hogs!
Loading ...I saw this for the first time today, and it’s definitely now in my top 10 video finds on the Internet. This couple and their friends definitely take a wedding proceeding to the next level.
Well, it seemed like it took a lifetime, but I finally got the”What else you got?” achievement for completing all the job tiers in New York. I can finally call myself a “Master Boss”. Not sure if it means much on a resume, but I’m going to brag about it anyway!
My bragging post on my Facebook profile
Today is my dad’s birthday so I decided to post a video of his granddaughter having a good time in celebration (well, we’ll pretend she actually knows it’s his birthday). I used my new iPhone 3Gs since I didn’t feel like busting out the regular video camera and going through all the importing and exporting jazz.
I have to say I’m a bit surprised. Even after exporting from iPhoto and using MPEG Streamclip to convert it to flash format, the video doesn’t look half bad at only 3 Mb in flash format and 640 x 480 resolution.
Take a look:
By now I’m sure you’ve all seen the Burger King commercial that has come under fire for being too racy for kids. Basically, Burger King combines an old song – “Baby Got Back” – by Sir Mix-a-lot with the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon with the Burger King character (mascot?) dancing around to the music. Oh and they throw in girls (of course).
The commercial features teenage girls in short shorts and tall socks dancing and shaking their asses which are square-shaped ala Spongebob’s body. It sort of reminds me of the Britney Spears video for “Baby One More Time” except the girls look more like sexy UPS truck drivers, and I feel more disgusted than simply uncomfortable.
Burger King states the commercial is geared towards adults, but I don’t see how that’s the case given they’re using a popular children’s cartoon to promote kids’ meals. I wish they would just come out and call it what it is – a gross attempt at marketing using one of the oldest tricks in the book. And that is that in this day and age, almost any negative attention can be turned into profitable attention.
“The King” was creepy enough already with his huge plastic head and frozen-in-time exaggerated smile (kind of like the mask popularized by the movie Scream). But now Burger King has managed to take him from creepy like a halloween mask to creepy like that guy in line at the grocery store who leers a little too long at your 12 year old.
It’s not that I think the commercial could potentially corrupt children or anything like that. But it’s just a ridiculous way of promoting fast food, and it feels as though Burger King was scraping the bottom of the barrel in desperation to generate some buzz. Well, congratulations Burger King marketing dude – you succeeded. But how stupid do you look now?
One final point I’d like to make is that Burger King supposedly joined an organization in an attempt to promote better living for children.
From Wikipedia:
On 12 September 2007, Burger King announced that it was joining the The Council of Better Business Bureaus Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. The program, a voluntary self-regulation program designed to shift advertising messages aimed at children so that they encourage healthier eating habits and lifestyles.
What are your thoughts? Share your comments below!
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Al Roker
I watched Al Roker’s first “interview” with newly elected President Barack Obama during the parade following the inauguration ceremonies, and it cracked me up to see how excited he was to have the President tell him it was warm outside. After I watched it 3 or 4 times, it dawned on me why I found Mr. Roker’s reaction so humorous.
Family Guy has a character named Ollie Williams who is an African American weatherman and is loosely based on the real-life Al Roker. Ollie makes brief appearances in various episodes -- usually with one or two line quips before they cut back to the anchorman and woman on the Quahog Evening News.
Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Al Roker, and in fact I think he’s a bit of a television icon in his own right. But Ollie is one hilarious guy, and sometimes it makes me wonder how Family Guy gets away with some of the antics they have him perform.
To see what I’m talking about, watch Al Roker’s interview with President Obama below and then watch the collage of scenes where Ollie Williams appears on Family Guy. I would be SHOCKED if Family Guy doesn’t work that interview with the President into an upcoming episode. It’s just too easy!
Al Roker’s Interview with President Barack Obama
Ollie Williams in Family Guy
Loading ...I don’t know why, but I think this photo is so damn hilarious it’s dumb.
It occurred to me this morning that I don’t say thanks to my boss and owner of our company near enough. I am truly one of the lucky ones. He trusts my judgment, involves me in everything, shows that he values my leadership and input, and actually makes work fun and challenging instead of just work. Over the past 8 years there have certainly been moments where I wanted to gripe and yell, and he’s always there with an ear to let me vent and then to assist in any way he can. I’d like to think I’ve been there for him as well.
As managers and executives, we tend to focus on what we need to do for our staff in terms of constructive criticism, feedback, and praise. Sometimes we forget to give the same attention to the people we report to even though that aspect is just as important. People need information and to know that they are being effective and and a positive influence – even if they are the boss or the leader of the company. So take a few minutes today and let your boss know what you think. I can guarantee they’ll appreciate and value your communication.
Matt Jones was arrested early this morning in Fayetteville, AR. He has been charged with possession of cocaine after police officers approached a vehicle to find Jones inside cutting up what appeared to be cocaine with a credit card. Jones later admitted to having cocaine in his possession.
Matt! Say it ain’t so, man! We cheered for you during your career at the University of Arkansas, and we cheered for you when you started your NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now I read that you’ve been charged with felony possession of cocaine! How does that possibly happen? I thought you were going to have a nice career in the NFL with no major issues. Be productive, be smart, and have a good life. It was in your hands. Hell, it was in your back pocket, but then you took it out, spit on it, and threw it in front of an 18-wheeler.
So what really happened? Too much money? Not enough money? Not involved in the offense enough? Homesick? Give me something, Matt.
Well, no worries – if things get really bad then you’ll always have a home with the Dallas Cowboys. I hear Jerry Jones already has your number on the “Just one more arrest” call list.
Last week I ranted a bit on people who refuse to recognize that they shouldn’t reply to an email directly – specifically when some form of @donotreply.com is used in the From address. An anonymous reader of slashdot.org writes:
“The Washington Post’s Security Fix blog today features a funny but scary interview with a guy in Seattle who owns the domain name donotreply.com. Apparently, everyone from major US banks to the Transportation Security Administration to contractors in Iraq use some variation on the address in the “From:” field of all e-mails sent out, with the result that bounced e-mails go to the owner of donotreply.com.’With the exception of extreme cases like those mentioned above, Faliszek says he long ago stopped trying to alert companies about the e-mails he was receiving. It’s just not worth it: Faliszek said he is constantly threatened with lawsuits from companies who for one reason or another have a difficult time grasping why he is in possession of their internal documents and e-mails.’”
The plot thickens…
