This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Jun
14
2018
When someone who is familiar with the English language hears “Lapis Lazuli”, this is what he pictures:
But I imagine that someone who is more familiar with the Spanish language would picture “Lapis Lazuli” as this:
You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
Exodus 26:4
Jun
6
2018
Delta, watching Gamma throw a rock into a puddle : Look, you’re making the internet go!
It took me a second to catch on, too. What he meant is that the ripples in the puddle look like the standard Wi-Fi symbol.
The Scene: Some Wife had just made a statement that everyone interpreted to mean something different than what she meant.
Me : She said one thing and we all heard something different.
Gamma : No, we all heard the same thing but thought different things.
Me : Well, yes.
The Scene: I am getting Gamma his portion of dinner, attempting to keep food items separate. I spill some gravy on his vegetables.
Gamma : That’s okay – gravy is like maple syrup because it tastes good on everything.
That’s the spirit!
Gamma, having just read an older comic strip that didn’t make much sense to him : What’s a long-distance carrier?
Someday I’ll have to explain collect calls to him too.
The Scene: We just watched the TV report on how the Philadelphia Eagles were owning their status as underdogs for the Super Bowl.
Gamma : So then, the Patriots are the overdogs?
Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog.
Psalm 22:20
May
30
2018
I just finished reading a compilation of short stories by a certain author who is listed as O. Henry. No, actually, The Gift of the Magi was not one of the 68 stories in this particular compilation.
I found I liked his writing style better than I had anticipated. I had to break up reading the book over a couple weeks though, because reading too many short stories in one sitting got tedious.
Here are my favorites in this collection (simply called “Selected Stories” and compiled by Guy Davenport, but with O. Henry listed as the author of course):
There were some other good stories too, but those are they that stood out.
He had three main settings that he liked to use: New York City, Texas, and the South. A nice variety. And for some reason he seemed fond of Ann Arbor, Michigan – he mentioned it in more than one story.
He wrote his stories shortly after the time when Little House on the Prairie was set, but his stories seem more modern. Probably because they included more cities and trains and even cars.
Also interesting to note is that O. Henry to the Civil war is like us to the Vietnam war – about 40 years after. But everyone was familiar with it and everyone knew someone who had been in the war as a lot of them were still alive. So he wrote about slaves somewhat. Of course they were now freed, but their roles in his stories reflected how their lives were back then – still mostly servant-type roles. And he used several different terms to describe them, some of which are quaint and others of which would not go over well today.
O. Henry seemed sympathetic to the working-class girls and unfavorable toward the factory owners who paid them so little. And he really did not like national bank examiners.
A number of his stories focused on children finding their long-lost parents or vice-versa, so that got a little formulaic after a while – well of course this lady is going to be his daughter he thought died years ago.
But for the most part the stories were engaging enough that they were interesting to read even though you know how they’ll turn out.
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
2 Peter 1:16
May
23
2018
Having recently observed a local spelling bee, I’m wondering why the other subjects get left out of bees. We’ve also had a geography bee at our school. Why not a math bee? Why not history?
My favorite though would be the grammar bee. There’s just enough ambiguity and regionalisms to make it difficult.
They could even kill two birds with one stone, if that’s still allowed these days, by having the kids have to spell the word that is the answer to the grammar question. A spelling grammar bee, or grammar spelling bee.
Or would it be a cee, because it’s a step after a bee?
But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?”
Exodus 6:12
May
14
2018
Subtitle: in which I improve the government’s records
Allow me to introduce to you the 2017 SFS List of Baby Names that Combine Similar Pronunciations. That baby name list is the place to go in case you are wondering what are the most popular baby names in 2017 regardless of how they are spelled. The Social Security baby name list does not adjust the rankings based on alternate spellings (like Catherine/Katherine), but SFS does.
It was just Mother’s Day, so the SSA released the name rankings for 2017. Last year’s champion, Jackson is again the most popular boy’s name in the US. And it is widening the gap over Aiden – Jackson’s count is going up and Aiden’s count is going down. So much so, in fact, that Liam has jumped above Aiden.
No controversy for the girls – it’s Sophia again.
Click on the link above and peruse to your heart’s content!
Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:19
May
9
2018
In the last month or three, we had the announcement of the 2018 NFL schedule. Now that we know who will play whom and when, we can start predicting wins and losses.
I keep my predictions over at Some Fun Site. View results of previous football seasons.
How they actually did was
Other than Miami, the predictions were close.
May
2
2018
Here’s the translation, for those of you who can’t read first-grader:
I’m sure his teacher enjoyed that delightful take on homework.
Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted,
Psalm 55:2
About Me: 
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