Learning

It's what we're supposed to do.  Each day we have on this Earth, we're supposed to learn.

I'm starting this post because of a reddit AMA.  It involves a student who was enrolled in an alternative educational curriculum, called ACE - or Accelerated Christian Education.  I knew nothing about any of this before today.

Judging by the responses in the reddit, a lot of the enrolees think very negatively toward the program.  The source material, lack of socializing, independence or lack of guidance, no accreditation, and even corporal punishments are just some of the reasons why those who have gone through the program despise it.  The redditor confirms her ACE school is now closed - alluding to lack of funds.

I would tend to agree, just on the source material alone.  From wikipedia:

"If parents want their children to obtain a very limited and sometimes inaccurate view of the world — one that ignores thinking above the level of rote recall — then the ACE materials do the job very well."

OK, call me narrow-minded, but this single statement was all I needed to know.  As parents, don't we yearn for our children's curiosity?  Don't we treasure that potential to teach?  My wife and I both graduated with scientific degrees.  We owe our livelihood to critical thinking and problem solving.  Faith has its place, but so does reasoning.  Once you start espousing inaccuracies of the world - that's truly damaging to the child.

What parent does this?

I can take comfort that there is one less ACE school in operation, but to know that there are still active facilities practicing this - well, it gives me something more to consider when my kids start interacting with these kids.  Sure, this happened in Georgia, but the internet makes the whole planet small.

I've learned something today.

Safekeeping

I didn't want this to get lost.

Gratification versus Denial

I post these various life-challenges for your entertainment - and maybe receive some constructive feedback.  Here's the latest one:

Dad, I want an iPhone.

There was a time where I would have dismissed my son's request outright.  I saw Apple and their iOS as totally incompatible with the familiar Microsoft Windows environment I had based my life and career on.

Then I received a Nook tablet as a gift from my parents.  I researched it, rooted it, loaded a variant of Android onto it - and was sorely disappointed at the performance.  But, it was a free toy and for what it was designed to do (display e-book files), it was great.

But that left me wanting more from a tablet.  So, I turned to "the enemy".  Not because I saw their product as superior, but I saw them like a condor sees a fresh roadkill.  See, I'm all about saving money and learning.  I already posted about my exploits repairing iPod touch music players.  This one skill led to another skill - repairing iPad tablets.  In much the same circumstance, eBay is LOADED with people selling their broken devices.  There is no shortage of broken iPads to buy and an almost limitless supply of new, inexpensive replacement parts.  I've refurbished about eight tablets now - I know what potential mistakes can be made and the methods to correct them.  That's how the Apple slithered its way into my life.

So, from a serviceability standpoint, the Apple products are high on the list.  They are the most-popular phone which means they are the most-commonly broken and, in turn, the most commonly-repaired.  If I've learned one thing it's that kids will break their stuff - I know, because I was one.

Back on topic.  I have to now research cellphone plans for my son.  I've already interrogated my social circles about appropriate ages for a child to have a phone, data plans, pricing, quality of handsets, etc.  I had a few options:

1.  Add a new phone to my existing plan
2.  Purchase a prepaid phone from a separate carrier
3.  Ditch all the mobile phones and start fresh with a new carrier

While option 1 may sound like the most-convenient solution, it really wasn't.  I'm still part of Sprint's nearly-extinct SERO plan.  It still remains the best deal today - which is why Sprint wants to kill it.  They've essentially locked the plan and prevented any phones newer than the William Jefferson Clinton Administration from participating on it.  I've hacked this handset, tried a third party version of Android on it, tethered from it,  hotspotted it - it's lived a very productive life for a phone.

But now, faced with this opportunity of upgrading (that would be option 3 A.K.A "The Scorched Earth Directive") - the warts are starting to become apparent.  I'm cursing every dead battery each morning.  I can't load anymore games or apps onto it because the company closed the phone's marketplace.  Nobody writes software for this handset anymore.  It wasn't meant to be a capable social phone or a GPS.  I view my years of stretching life out of this device as entitlement - and now I want to collect.

I want reliability and security first and foremost.  That means:  battery life of 8 hours (24 hours standby), no missed calls, no dropped calls, immediate text or voicemail receipt.  The call quality doesn't have to be pristine, but when my wife leaves me a message on the phone, I want to see it that very second, not ten or fifteen minutes later (yes, we suffer through this).  AFTER that's established, then we can get into the other features - GPS and social networking, NFC and tethering, expandability and third party software - my list goes on.

Remember that joke about how the iPhone is great at being everything, except being a phone?  Yeah, me neither.

It's a lot to consider.  My son and wife have faith in me and my research, so I want to get this right.  I've already got a couple handsets and data plans in mind.  After this, we'll be more-connected with each other and to the world.  And instead of updating this blog in a basement, I can be doing this from a beach towel.  Indeed, my new smartphone's sole purpose will be to make y'all jealous.

The Eve Cake

Eve Vawter is my best friend.  I've known her for quite some time now.  It first started out with just some light socializing on a website but it all changed when I proposed to make her a cake.

No doubt you are all familiar with her profile picture.  What can I say?  It's a gorgeous photograph of a beautiful woman.

My BFF

I'm not a professional baker or chocolatier, I just got caught up in all the cake shows on Food Network.  I hadn't ever used fondant before and only had a meager amount of decorating supplies in the kitchen.  I carried on.

I needed to make this monochrome and simplistic - in a Patrick Nagel sort of way.  After some filtering in Photoshop, this is what I got to work with:

8-bit Eve

The really tricky part was to make cut-out patterns for the fondant pieces.  I had a box-cutter and some free FedEx cardboard boxes.  So, I taped a printout to a box then started STABBING MY BEST FRIEND IN THE FACE with this utility knife.

This really hurt, but after all the cutting was complete, I had a full set of Eve face cardboard cutouts.

The next step was to make the fondant (yes, from scratch) and color it appropriately.  Cut the fondant shapes out and arrange them on a sheet cake.

SHE IS CAAAAKE

So, when I told her I was going to "make her a cake", I really meant it.

Notes of interest:  Her left nostril is a single chocolate sprinkle.  Also, my son wanted to help with the decoration, so that's why some of the black rosettes are a little off-line. 

As for the edges, I opted for Chanel pink.  With black spikes.

I still remember her reaction when I first showed this to her.
And her reaction when I told her I ate it.  And shared some with my kids.

We have been best friends ever since.

Those Kids Are My Kids

Just spouting off like crazy today.

Yesterday, I read a horrific article (even by my standards) about a(nother) Indian girl being raped.  Instead of the details, I'm going to post this picture of two incredibly adorable Indian children.

My partner-in-crime is spending her minutes raising awareness about rape culture.  I'll echo her sentiments in advising you to talk to your children or any young-people you have contact with - talk to them about rape and how it's wrong and what to do if you suspect rape and to show sympathy to rape-survivors.

I know, very serious, very dark, deep stuff.

Thank you for reading.

Killing Takashi

Those of you who are still following this, "hi" again.

I'm taking this blog under my RL identity (there are a lot of settings to change).  I'll probably cull-out some of the less-interesting Second Life posts - since I just don't visit there anymore.

So, less SL, more RL.

"Why not just make an entirely new blog?"  Because lazy.  Plus, there are posts in this blog that I just don't ever want to lose.

So, names will change to expunge the guilty.

Welcome to my life.

Cold French Fries

I was eating leftovers with my aunt for lunch one day.  She saw me eating cold french fries.  She really, REALLY didn't want me eating cold french fries, so she took them and heated them up.

We had the usual discussion of "how can you DO that to yourself" and "it's OK, I eat everything", but this reminded me of a similar situation with my mom.  Years earlier, we had soup and dumplings from our favorite take-out Chinese restaurant.  The next day, I was still in the mood for those same dumplings.  My mom asked me if she should heat them up and, being the ravenous creature that I am, replied "no - I'll have them cold".

To which she called me a "heathen" and threw my dumplings in the microwave for two agonizing minutes.

I understand the parental instinct to want to provide the best for your kids and relatives.  While the majority may think that cold french fries suck regardless, I'm of the opinion that trying to reheat day-old french fries is an act of futility.  I think the french fried potato is food's version of a zombie - you may be able to resurrect it, but it's just a lumbering, brainless shadow of its former self.

But thank you, Aunt Sue, for heating up the fries and mom for heating up the dumplings.  They were still delicious.

Man, I'm hungry - I wonder what's in the fridge?