Family Photo Day

Ever since Gramma Rosie got the kids Buckeyes sweaters from a little boutique in Lebanon, Ohio, Noel has been itching to get some MFPs taken (MF standing for Meaningful Family and the P is for Photos, of course).

Today was the day. Reminiscent of my grandmother taking me to the department store for my photo, the Indy Hubers loaded up the Pilot and trucked on over to JC Penney for a sitting. Armed with a coupon for a free sitting and head covered in hair gel (to hold what remains of my hair in place), I was ready.

We were met by Rachel who was full of energy on a quiet Saturday morning. She immediately took a liking to Mason and Mallory, and vice versa. She was efficient in getting us in and took plenty of pictures. She was playful with the kids and professional with mom and dad. We lucked out in getting her for a photographer.


As you can see, the photos turned out well (despite me as some of the subject matter). My personal favorite is of the two kids standing. Hope you enjoy.


And no Huber family photo op would be complete without the 'silly photo'. I don't know if it made the kids happier or Rachel happier. Either way, it is worth a laugh.

Skate Night

Saturday night the Stonegate Dad’s Club hosted a roller-skating party for the families of the school. I got a tip from the PTO president and coordinated the event.

There were a couple dozen kids there, mostly from age 5-8. The moms and dads were just as unsure on skates as the kids and that put everyone at ease.

I was never much for roller skating. To this day, I believe that there is at least one nerve that did not fully connect between my brain and my feet. Whether it is soccer, skating or dancing, the message gets lost between my brainstem and my ankles. None-the-less, I knew that many people do enjoy skating so it was a pleasure to organize the event.

Mason was unsteady at first. And by unsteady, I mean he held onto my arms while his legs and skates went every direction. In about 10 minutes he graduated to what looked like a new-born calf walking for the first time and in about a half hour, he was on his own. Never in my life have I been as good a skater as he was after 45 minutes.

Some of the kids were not as impressed with the skating. As Mason and I took a break to enjoy a Slushee from the concession stand, we sat next to a parent with her child. She explained to her daughter:

Mom: Every Saturday when I was in 4th, 5th and 6th grade, we went roller skating every Saturday.

Daughter: Why would you do that?

I don't think that reflected the mood of the group as the parents tired out but the children did not. During the last song, there were still 15 or so children on the rink (and substantially less parents).

Thanks much to Rock N Rollers for hosting. We appreciated the hospitality.

Boundin'

Mason and Mallory never tire of watching this ... and neither do I.

Buckeye Basketball

My Buckeyes finished the regular season and the Big Ten tournament with a strong performance. They routed Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game after playing Illinois in a double overtime game.

Of course, neither game wouldn't have been played if not for Evan Turner's Player of the Year-type shot against, who else, Michigan. Enjoy the video below:

Another Fine Trip to the Indianapolis Childrens Museum

My brother Greg and his two eldest (Ashton and Sammy) came up from Cincinnati for a visit today. Ashton is six weeks Mason's senior and Sammy, 4, has the personality of a six-year-old so everyone got along famously.

We met Greg and sons at a rain-soaked Childrens Museum for a fun day of running around, not listening to mommies or daddies and seeing who could get the wettest at the Science Works water table.

Enjoy the photos from today's event.

Dale Chiluly's glass art that dominates the open rampway to the exhibits.


From left to right: Sammy, Ashton, Mason and Mallory (and the Museum dinosaur in the back)
Mommy and Mason at the water table.

Ashton, Sammy, Mallory and Mason looking at model trains.

The Dragon Tank

Please write your congressman or congresswoman. Do not let President Obama cancel the latest in military technology. See the video for details.

Making in Easy to Understand

This is why Greg Mankiw is a Harvard professor. He makes it easy for the rest of us to understand. From his blog today on the problem with deficit neutrality:

Imagine you have a friend who has a budget problem. Every month he spends more than he earns. His credit card bills are piling up. He is clearly on an unsustainable path. Then one day he comes to you with an idea.

Friend: I am going to take off a few days from work and fly down to Bermuda for a quick vacation.

You: But isn't that expensive? Won't that just add to your growing debts?

Friend: Yes, it is expensive. But my plan is deficit-neutral. I have decided to give up that half-caf, extra shot caramel macchiato I order at Starbucks twice every day. I really don't need that expensive drink. And if I give it up for the next three years, it will pay for my Bermuda trip.

You: Well, then, how are you going to solve the problem of your growing debts?

Friend: I am going to figure that out as soon as I return from Bermuda.

You: But in light of your budget problem, maybe you should give up Starbucks and skip the Bermuda vacation. Giving up Starbucks could be the easiest way to start balancing your budget.

Friend: You really aren't any fun, are you?

This conversation is meant to illustrate why claims of deficit-neutrality in the healthcare reform bill should not give much comfort to those worried about the U.S. fiscal situation. Even if you believe that the spending cuts and tax increases in the bill make it deficit-neutral, the legislation will still make solving the problem of the fiscal imbalance harder, because it will use up some of the easier ways to close the shortfall.
The remaining options will be less attractive, making the eventual fiscal
adjustment more painful.

Protesting at a Soldier's Funeral

The CNN lead story this evening is that the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether or not a group has the legal right to protest at a soldier's funeral.

For the record, I find the behavior that the Westboro Baptist 'Church' (and I use that term loosely) horrific. But, sadly, I believe their speech should be protected no matter how deplorable or depraved. It is the ultimate irony that they would be shouting such terrible things at the ceremony to honor the very person who gave them that right (Ain't America grand?). These folks don't know just how good they have it. It reminds me of the conversation between the Iranain and the American discussing their freedoms.

American: I can stand in front of the White House and hurl insults at Barack
Obama all day.

Iranian: So what? I can stand in front of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's house and hurl insults at Barack Obama all day, too!

While I support these folks right to protest and yell horrible things, I would also assume that no jury in their right mind would punish the father of a slain soldier for punching this guy square in the mouth.

As an aside, my favorite comment left on the site is from someone with the screen name of SickoftheBS. He (or she) writes:

Pastor Fred Phelps and his loser followers are going to burn in hell. Someone should burn down his church. I can't stand christian extremists, LOSERS.

Christian extremists, no. Other extremists seem to be okay, though.

A Tribute to Rube Goldberg

Enjoy.

Question from Grandfather

My grandfather recently posed a question to me in an email. He wrote:

I would like to hear about the program for your Master's degree. My experience in grad school was that many of the professors felt that their course was the only one we took so they seemed to load us up on things to do outside class. This is not a problem for you? What do you experience?

(He also went on to say that of his more than two dozen grandchildren, I was, by far, his favorite. Furthermore, of his great-grandchildren, Mason and Mallory were at the top of that list, as well, but I left that part out as it is not relevant)

I would say that the faculty completely respects our time. As a distance learning program, 100 percent of the students in my cohort have full-time jobs (in addition to spouses, children, etc). They seem to understand the competing demands in our lives. Through the technology we use, the professors routinely poll us as to the best time to conduct virtual office hours or conduct live lectures.

So do they ‘load up’ on us? Only to the point where we learn the material. Many of the classes have group assignments so we can ‘divide and conquer’ and rely on each other’s skill sets to enhance our learning. For example, I just got off of a video conference call with my Econ C530 group and one of my team members is a financial analyst. He led the discussion on net present value and answered many of our questions. I believe the three of us would have struggled had it not been for the fourth’s subject matter expertise.

The professors themselves are available anytime through email (with a response time between two and 24 hours). My econ professor offered to meet with me in person (as I am local to Indianapolis) should I have trouble with some of the concepts (and by concepts I mean calculus … what a derivative of a function, you ask? Me, too).

So far, I have been completely satisfied with the workload in my first two classes.

Great Bumper Sticker

(Hat Tip: Greg Fulk)

Separated At Birth, Part II

A while ago I posted that I thought that Kevin Gillespe of Top Chef looked like Yukon Cornelius of Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer (to which my mother replied, "Doug, do you have too much time on your hands?").

Evidently, I do. I found a website that features goofy look-a-likes. You can view the world edition of my separated at birth here.

Monkey Joe's

Mason helped his buddy Thomas celebrate his birthday today. Thomas had his birthday party at a place called Monkey Joe's. For those uninitiated, it is a space full of 'bounce houses' where kids can turn loose with minimal risk of hurting themselves and/or others.

The children had a great time and wore themselves out (which is the whole point, isn't it?). By the time they sat down for pizza and cake there were many rosy cheeks and thirsty mouthes.

Thanks much to Thomas and his family for inviting us to such a wonderful event.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Florida (that's how they are known) came to visit over the weekend. We had a wonderful time catching up and watching Mason lose his mind in a matter of minutes, transforming from (somewhat) mannered 6-year-old to screaming, non-sensical street performer (But, daddy, I have a new audience now!).

Mallory, on the other hand, just couldn't keep up, as much as she tried. Keeping up with her older brother is challenging enough but when he kicks it into high gear ... fughetaboutit. She took short naps, fearing she would miss Mason's latest time-out.

Uncle Allen, Henry and Baxter came to visit on Saturday. Noel cooked a turkey (and three casseroles, a gooey pumpkin cake thingy, pototoes, stuffing, etc). I watched helplessly as she and Roger (Grandpa Florida) deftly manuevered around the kitchen. I did my best to eat too much and then fought the urge to pass out on the couch.

Thanks to gramma and grampa for making the trip from Florida (and braving the cold).

Sorry I can't write more, I must go deprogram my children.