Would I change my past?

As I was lying in bed the other morning, in that half aware state between being asleep and awake, I was pondering how I would change my life going back with what I know now.

But I kept getting stuck on a paradox.  Every mistake that I tried to rectify would jeopardise the really good things that happened.  The unlikely circumstances that led to my meeting and marrying Lana were too extraordinary to come about through planning of my part. By knowing and loving the Faith as I do now, I would have been unlikely to have met Lana.  If we had done the wiser things financially, I wouldn't have learnt what I now know and probably wouldn't have ended up in the lovely country place we now enjoy. 

It seems that God really does draw straight from Point A to Point B using crooked lines.

Then yesterday I was pondering life in front of the Blessed Sacrament giving thanks to God for all the blessings He has given me.  We have come to realise that stable two parent families are not in the majority - neither here in Australia, our parish or in the US when we lived there. Even at the local parish with an attached "Catholic" school, only a minority of the children attend Mass and even less do so with both parents.  We often make up half the children present. 

With all the dopey things Lana and I did and thought along the way, how did we end up where we are today?  

"There but for the Grace of God go I."

When we explain to the children the better way of courtship, life and love they ask us if we followed that advice.  "No," we reply, "Unfortunately we weren't told, and maybe we wouldn't have listened.  We didn't have any examples on which to base the correct actions.  But it is much easier to learn from our mistakes than make them all yourself."

Last night the children made the main meal of the day. Roast Lamb and potatoes, peas and carrots.  Very tasty and Lana just had to answer a few basic questions.  It is worth bucking society's general advice and focussing on having a faithful, fruitful family life.

So I wouldn't change anything even if I could.  The risk of not getting here is too great.

Big Buck Bunny - PG

This is quite a funny animated movie using Open Source software Blender. The quality is certainly as good as Pixar, although the storyline could use some better editing.  The humour is reminiscent of Bugs Bunny/Road Runner vs Wiley Coyote and I would rate this as PG.  The graphics are really very high quality and that makes the slap-stick/retribution style humour more intense.

Big Buck Bunny from Blender Foundation on Vimeo.
The children have watched it a couple of times already and want to watch it again.

Hat Tip: Bettnet

Danger! Danger! Hair in Range.

Martin has found a new way to get his sisters' attention.  He comes up behind them, grabs their hair and pulls.

Today Martin came up behind Clare while she was sucking a lollypop. He grabbed her hair firmly in both his hands and she went over onto her back, Martin grabbed the lollipop stick and took it for himself. All in a quick one-two move.
Naturally, he did not win the lollypop and was sorted out, but it has made reading on the floor a risky proposition.
(Imagine a scene 20 or so years in the future, with Lana and I laughing at our grandson's activities and telling Martin, "Look at what you did to Aunty Clare when you were a baby. It's still on Bruggietales.  Don't complain about your boys doing the same!"  

"Awww Dad, not Bruggietales again.  The children are always using that against me.")
This photo is a re-enactment and we will now put a stop to this method. But this photo is a good record for posterity.

The Irrational Atheist

I have just finished reading "The Irrational Athiest" by Vox Day. This is a very insightful, yet amusing, dissection of the arguments made by the leading atheists, especially Dawkins, Harris and Hitchens.  Vox Day runs the interesting and politically incorrect blog Vox Popoli and is always ready for a challenge.

In The Irrational Atheist, Vox Day doesn't so much defend the Christian or Theist position.  There is no need to.  All he has to do is show that the Atheist position is so irrational that no rational person could be swayed by their arguments.

I would summarise Vox Day's position as "The atheists are liars, bad liars and can't even manipulate statistics properly."

One chapter covers the Inquisition, the Crusades and Human Sacrifice - all allegedly major problems that are laid at Religion's feet.  I thought the best information was that children's bicycle accidents kill more people every year than the Inquisition ever did.  130 children's bicycle deaths per year verses 9 "victims" of the Inquisition per year.  And as an aside, The Great Leap Forward by Mao Tse Tung killed 8,600,000 per year, but hey, that's not relevant.

The book is well written and very easy to read in small or large doses.  Vox Day is so confident in what he has written that he has challenged any self avowed atheist to challenge any of the arguments he has made in his book.  The response has been loud and blustery, but of no consequence.  You can read it for yourself by downloading it for free in a variety of formats at his blog or buy it from Amazon or other booksellers.

Overall the book provides a great insight into the atheist position.  The church's position has always been that as God made the world, it makes the most sense following God's laws for our actions within it.  Any other position has varying shades of insanity - that is, a less than sane way of viewing the world.

It's so tough being 3

Rose was upset with me.  I went outside to take photos of the girls and Clare was first.

"But I wanted to be first!" cried Rose and she ran and hid.

So I took her photo anyway.

I think Rose has forgiven me as I asked her if I could put this photo on the blog.  She smiled at me and said "Yes."

Quick to cry and quick to laugh.  The trials and joys of being 3 years old all in the short time of 5 minutes.

Catholic Parodies

Some time ago I was able to download a couple of Nick Alexander's songs, "Should I Stand or Should I Kneel?", "I got you saved" and "Evangelize".  We have been enjoying these parodies of their popular counterparts ("Should I Stay or Should I Go",  "I Got You Babe" and "I Will Survive") and although Nick doesn't have the finest singing voice, the lyrics are great and we have no fear singing along in our less-than-excellent singing voices ourselves.

These songs are all Catholic parodies and very humourous.  Should I Stand or Should I Kneel covers the confusion newcomers feel trying to work out when to stand, sit or kneel at Mass. Ariel's comment was how rude the singer's friend was to invite him to Mass and then sleep in, leaving the singer to work out what to do himself.  Very funny.

We purchased the albums from iTunes, but there are other alternatives on Nick's website.

Defcon 6 - The Escape Artist

Martin has reached another milestone.  

We have gates on the back balcony to allow Martin to wander outside, yet not out in the yard.  Today Lana was chatting with her Mum when they noticed Martin pushing his little tricycle to the gate, standing on the seat and opening the gate latch.  He then swung the gate to and fro in great enjoyment.

Now we have to work out another way of securing the gates.

This photo is a re-enactment for our faithful readers.  Martin was quite happy to show off his new skill again.  It is hard to remember sometimes that he is only 13 months old.

Relocated - This week's discoveries

This is the first in what will probably be a series detailing the ongoing adventures of "The Relocator".
One Boot on, my son Martin
We found these really warm woollen boots when we lived in the US and knew they would be just right for a baby about one year old. Martin finally was old enough to wear them and he enjoyed them when he wore them the first time. He wandered around outside and the next time we saw him he only had one boot. In a futile gesture, we asked Martin, "Where is the other boot?" Naturally he only grinned and turned on his Cuteness Generator TM. A search of the back yard revealed nothing.
Lana's Dad was cleaning an area of the yard this morning and noticed a shape in the water tank overflow. Sure enough, there was the boot.
He showed it to us and asked, "Are you looking for this?"
We looked at each other and said, "The Relocator!" It's now drying out on the back deck.
Go Fish with cards

Clare has a pack of Princess Uno cards. These were very cheap and we soon realised why. They were made in China by Mattell. Note the mis-spelling. They couldn't even create a ripoff with the correct spelling of the company they were ripping off. Clare and Rose play the game on the floor and every now and then Martin will run through the middle of the game, occasionally collecting a card or two on or about his person.
When Ariel visited the toilet, she looked into the bowl upon entry and saw these three cards sitting at the bottom of the bowl. "Eeeewwww!" she said and rescued the cards. They were very clean!
She showed the cards to Clare and asked, "Missing these?"
We looked at each other and said, "The Relocator!"
When the chips are down

Last weekend I returned from a couple of days away with work. I bought some corn chips for the family and had them in my overnight bag. Before I had completed a hug and catch up of the news from the family, Martin had opened the overnight bag, picked up a chip pack and wandered quietly out of my office/study.
Eric caught him examining the chip pack in the hallway. Martin knows food is in that packet and he wanted to get at the chips somehow. He is obviously very pleased with himself. Sadly for him he couldn't work out how to open it so we were safe.
A short time afterward we called him over. He got up and fell over backwards and sat on the chip pack. POP! The pack opened and crushed chips flew out. He looked around in temporary shock, smiled a bigger smile as he saw the result of chips all around him in easy reach and quickly helped "clean up " the chips on the floor.

DMC in Receivership

The court decision has been made: DMC is in Receivership. 

This means they have 6 months.  The press release included this lovely spin:

"With the support of the official receivers (administrateurs judiciaires), these decisions give all the DMC companies the time required to find solutions allowing the interests of the staff and shareholders to be upheld and for a future to be mapped-out for these companies.

A new era in the history of the DMC companies has started today. By introducing appropriate solutions, it should enable all the companies to be provided with the means of facing-up to the constraints being placed on them: the fall of the dollar versus the euro, Asian imports and consumers’ concerns about their spending power. "

Now that is great spin about a decision to be placed under the administration of external accountants ("the administrators") to sort out the mess. 

It is sad to see that avoiding the problems and not reacting to internal accounts leads to these type of results. Either their accounting system didn't give them timely accurate reports, or they didn't pay attention to them. Either way, being placed under administration is not a good "new era" unless the old self controlled one was a bad one.
Now what? The administrators of DMC have up to six months to work out the accounting mess and see if there is anything worth saving. Can they change the cost structures enough to still make money considering the effect a devaluating dollar is having against fixed Euro costs?
A brief explanation: When the costs are in Euro and sales are in US dollars, if each US dollar buys less Euros, it means more US dollars are needed to cover the same costs. 

This can only be achieved by 1) selling more, 2) charging more or 3) spending less. It is up to Administrators to find out to what extent they can do all three. But because DMC management wasn't able to do it themselves, it must be done in a short time, with the public and business partners nervous and the economy looking flaky.
Interesting times ahead.

Defcon 5 - The Upgraded Relocator

Martin has now progressed to a "Relocator - advanced student".
He has worked out you can get to all the things put out of reach by pushing a chair or box or anything that will move closer to the desired object and climbing higher. The dining chairs are pretty heavy but he just pushes harder. As you can see here, he can now reach the computer. This is why everyone has a password and the screensaver is password protected too. In this small way we have some protection from marauding fingers. Although the screen does have interesting finger and hand shaped prints obscuring the view.

Are you sure the Jedi are the good guys?

I saw this very well created video:

Let's hear it for the Eeeee woks! (Hat Tip: CoreEcon)
This reminded me of the theory I have discussed with my boys who are attracted to Star Wars - light sabers, fights, adventure, pirates, spaceships and all that kind of thing.  (Well, maybe not pirates, although Han Solo comes close)

I am not convinced that the Jedi are actually the good guys.  After all, they aren't fighting for good - they are willing to kill, control minds, take apprentices whilst leaving the mothers in slavery, and only fight for balance.  That's right - they don't mind evil, so long as it is evenly matched with good.  So the prophecy that Anakin would bring balance was a pretty good one.  No good and no bad means all is in balance.  A perfect Jedi result.

The rebellion is just another power group trying to take power.  Every world they take over becomes a den of violence and anarchy.  The Ewoks were cohabiting peacefully with an Empire outpost.  Then along come these rebellion people, pretending to be gods and saviours, getting them killed for some power play that ultimately gave the Ewoks no real benefit.  Before the battle of Endor they lived in peace.  After lots of deaths they supposedly lived in peace again.  So what was the fighting for again?

This doesn't mean Darth Vader or the Emperor are good guys either.  It's a bit like the Eastern front of World War II. You couldn't really support either the Russians or the Germans as both were totalitarian evil empires ruthlessly killing their own and other people using bullets, tanks, secret police, concentration camps and gulags.

One last thing.  We consider Duct Tape to be like the Force.  It has a light side and a dark side and it binds the universe together.

DMC Bankrupt - but DMC USA says business as usual

DMC has responded to all the activity in France with a bulletin in English. This is the same as the one in French linked to yesterday.  The President of DMC Inc sent an email to those in the DMC Mentor program (a group that encourages people to get into Cross Stitching).  It says:

Email

In recent days, there has been a significant amount of information in the form of press releases, media reports, etc. regarding financial difficulties and operational restructuring plans at the DMC corporate offices in France. Those activities and court filings within the legal system in France are directed towards seeking a formal resolution for two divisions within the DMC Corporation (Sportswear fabric and a small chain of retail stores found only in France) that are not related to the embroidery thread and craft activities, which remain the core business of the corporation.

In addition, the U.S. division of DMC operates as a separate legal and financial entity with its own financing, receivables, payables, etc, and as such, is not included in any legal filing or petitions to the courts that may occur in France.

We are financially secure and fully prepared to conduct business as usual here in the U.S.

DMC has been manufacturing needlework threads for 262 years and we remain committed to providing stitchers with the highest quality embroidery floss, specialty threads, needlework fabrics and other supplies they need to continue to enjoy the wonderful art of needlework. We look forward to continuing to serve all of our customers and loyal users of DMC products into the future.

Joseph D. McCabe
President/CEO
DMC, Inc.

You will note that the statement says that DMC USA is just an administration and distribution operation. Production is still in France, of which two major parts of the business are filing for Bankruptcy, with workers who aren't being paid.  We will see how the thread factory part of the business is affected.  If DMC USA has no future product, how does it keep operating long term? 

As we said, interesting times ahead.

DMC Bankruptcy

Oh No! DMC - the makers of most of the thread Lana uses to Cross Stitch - is declaring bankruptcy. This article is translated from the French. This is the official press release from DMC on 24 April 2008, telling us they will "undertake significant restructuring in the near term". This apparently meant not paying April's wages to their workers in France. That is a surefire way to kill the business, combined with the news report confirming the bankruptcy.
DMC's press release from February announces a new "Strategy" which seems to have been too little too late. The press release mentioned the 2007 results would be published in March but the figures still haven't surfaced.
DMC's official website is saying nothing else at the moment.
DMC is a major supplier of threads for Cross stitching, either as individual skeins, packed in kits, or providing the source materials for custom thread dyers.
What does this mean for Cross stitchers (like Lana and her mum)?
Other thread suppliers should enjoy the opening market opportunities but they don't have the wide range of DMC. This means there will be a while before new colours are in place to replace the DMC colours.
Thread prices will probably go up. Less competition will mean thread makers have a chance of making better margins.
Ah well. Interesting times ahead!

Update:  DMC issued a declaration (in French) saying that they have a cash shortage caused by everyone else but them (the economy, currency, competition, etc) and have gone to the court and it's now in the courts hands.  A decision will be handed down in the first few days of May. At least that is my translation based on the Alta Vista Babelfish French to English translation.

Stellarium

We have always wanted to know the names of the stars looking down on us and it has always seemed too difficult.  Until now.  Go to Stellarium and download the version that matches your operating system.

Then go to the setup area and enter what the Longitude and Latitude and altitude of your home and enter it in.  If you don't know them, just type "[Yourhome] Latitude longitude" in Google and you should get a number of results.

Now you will see the sky as it should appear to you at the current time.  It constantly updates based on the computer's clock. Absolutely marvellous.  We installed it on one of our laptops and then went outside and matched up Mars, Pollux, Saturn and lots more.

Now stargazing is much easier!

(You can even see what the star would be when viewed from another planet!)

My little girl will be driving me crazy

This little girl has always been more interested in reading than almost anything else. She wouldn't put the book down even when Lana was fixing up her hair when she was nine years old. Now look at her.
She is in my car, in my seat, beginning some lessons on how to drive. It's not that she wants to drive, but this will give her the chance to go where she really wants to go. Where? The library, if you hadn't guessed.
Today was just turning on the car and working out which of the pedals is the clutch, brake and accelerator.
The first lesson went well. We just drove around the back yard. Lana and all the other children were on the back deck watching carefully. When Ariel pressed the brake rather than the accelerator and I went flying forward, arms flapping about, there was great amusement from all watching.  They're still laughing as I write this!
Next time I will wear my seatbelt. Even if it is just in the back yard!
The laughter was at me, not at Ariel's driving. Typical!
Now this is the start of another stage of our bonding. She has driven me crazy in the past and now she will get to drive me all over the place. Deep breath. In, wait and out. Off we go!

Playground's Progress

Since our last photo showing the beginning of our project, we have come to this. A nice deep hole which the boys have finished digging. And the framework for the main fort, with ground floor and upper floor completed.
Unfortunately we have had rain, sickness and other distractions, but so far so good. The second level allows for adults to stand on the lower area - so long as they watch their head.

Next we will be finishing the walls and upper turrets and roof.  Also we will be timing when to put in the pole with it's concrete supports.

Onward we go...

Martin is one!

We celebrated Martin's first birthday this weekend. Yes, it has already been one year since his rather dramatic entry into the world.
Despite our best efforts he hadn't quite grasped the concept of blowing out the candle. Grabbing it and trying to eat it he had down pat, but blowing was an advanced concept. However, he did enjoy everyone singing "Happy Birthday". I suspect it was because he realised the song was always followed by yummy food.
Lana made a cake to share with the locals at the village store on Saturday. A customer tasted some of the birthday cake and saw Lana nursing Martin.
She asked Lana, "Did you make this cake?"
"Yes."
"You should cook professionally.  It is very nice."
"I actually make the muffins for the store."
The customer looked at Martin and suggested, "I suppose you probably wouldn't have the time."
"Oh, I have more at home," Lana replied casually.
"Oh have you?" the customer politely enquired. The rest of the regulars listened in with interest as they could sense what was coming.
"There's five more at home." Lana replied.
"YOU HAVE SIX?" the customer answered with her jaw open.
"No, seven," Lana replied, pointing to Rose sitting beside her drinking a milkshake, "Rose is mine too."
All Lana got was a shocked look and an "Ohhhh."
You just can't buy that type of fun.

Little Girls Dreaming

We have been enjoying watching "I Dream of Jeannie" episodes. We picked up a collection of DVDs containing all the episodes from series 1 to 3. This is part of the "Cultural Appreciation Studies" module of our curriculum.
This photo shows Clare demonstrating the opening sequence where Jeannie does her belly dance. "I'm not wearing her silly clothes, but I do like the dance," Clare told us.
Meanwhile Rose has taken to folding her arms and then bobbing her head and announcing, "Bing! You beard." [You now have a beard] or "Bing! You long hair!"

In unrelated children's tales, Rose often awakes early in the morning to go to the bathroom and on the way back she detours into our room and ends up in our bed. I quizzed her about this the other morning and said, "Why are you in my bed?"
"Big bed for sharing!" she quickly replied.
Yesterday we awoke to find Rose NOT in our bed. When I saw her I asked, "Why weren't you in my bed last night?"
"I'm a dood dirl." [I'm a good girl]

Playground 3.0 Beta

In response to a commenter's request, here is a photo of the plan we created for the playground. You could call this the beta version or mock up. This gave our neighbour an idea of what we wanted.
"That's good. But what about ..." and off we went with what is known in the industry as "feature creep".
The basic model (pictured) includes:
- fort

- two towers

- slide

- swing between slide tower and main tower

- little shop (with Rose's Lego figure waving to us).

- climbing rope

New, improved features:

- flying fox

- shade cloth from the central pole

- water tank attached to the fort roof (as all country roofs have a water tank attached.)

- the corner tower will be a larger L shape.

- Sand pit under one of the forts

... and more to come.

It should all work pretty cost effective as we are using recycled hardwood timber.  The mission is to create a playground good for our children but also their children when they visit.  This is going to be a multi generational playground so we have to build it tough.

Playground v3.0

When we first moved to our property it was a vacant block with four big pine trees. We moved an old army barracks for living space and attached a septic system, power and water tanks. But there wasn't much space so Lana and I bought some wood and swing bits and made a simple playground. That way Lana would be able to say "Get out and play!" when everyone was getting stir crazy.
That playground didn't weather very well and was pulled down and we had an old plastic playground obtained from a fast food chain which upgraded their playground. This was fine, but the children would appreciate a swing and better climbing bits.
So, now that a neighbour is able to help we are upgrading our playground.
The first step was designing a sample using Lego. This gave us all a chance to add ideas and discuss options. When our neighbour saw the plan he asked in astonishment, "How big is this playground?"
"About 30 foot square." we answered.
"We do things in bulk," I explained, "Bulk house, bulk children and bulk playground."
He grinned a and said, "This'll be fun!"
The plans include a fort, swing, slide, climbing frame, sandpit, shop for the girls, bridge - even a watertank to catch the rainwater so the children can waste their own water!
The first part is digging the holes and foundation. In the picture you can see James digging a very deep hole to secure an old power pole, from which we will attach a flying fox cable, shade cloth and maybe even a flag or two.

As Playground 3.0 is developed, we will keep you informed.