A Fool and his Words are Soon Parted

One of the interesting things I’ve noticed over the past couple of years is the number of people who come across my blog after searching for something like “words to son for graduation.” A few years ago, I published something I wrote for my son, “To My Son (at Graduation),” and this seems to be a common introduction to my blog for many readers.

My oldest just finished his sophomore year of college, so it’s a bit early to be writing to him in anticipation of his collegiate graduation. My younger son is about to finish his junior year of high school, so it might seem a bit early for that too. Instead, I want to share something that I have already shared with both of my sons, and it’s something I wish someone had shared with me, long before graduation day. It’s called “What You’ll Wish You’d Known,” by Paul Graham. Enjoy.

From ABC news coverage:

Outside the courthouse, where satellite trucks lined the street, a man who said he was an FLDS father waved a photo of himself surrounded by his four children, ranging in age from an infant to about 9.

“Look, look, look,” the father said. “These children are all smiling, we’re happy.”

As I read this, my reaction was “I bet slave owners in the South said the same thing to people in the North.”

The events at the polygamist FLDS compound in West Texas have haunted me, and for several reasons. First, it haunts me that parents would allow their children to have their minds and hearts twisted the way that they have. However, I’ve also been haunted with questions about what Christians do that parallels some of the FLDS parents’ behavior in disturbing ways. (more…)

One of my friends puts it this way:

My role as a parent is to make myself unnecessary.

Is that really my role? I have to admit, it’s hard for me to argue with that, even though my heart wishes it were otherwise. I certainly want my sons to continue to talk to me, but if I don’t teach them to operate in complete independence, am I crippling them for life? What will their lives be like when the day comes that I’m gone?

At the time of this writing, my oldest son is 20 years old, and my youngest is 17. If something were to happen to me today, both of them have enough basic life skills to survive in the society that exists today. In that regard, I could probably claim that my work, as a parent, is finished. (more…)

Yes, bad weather is looming, but the thunder I’m looking forward to is strictly man-made.

You have probably seen a fireworks show before. However, if you live in the US and haven’t been to “Thunder,” you’ve basically seen a grown-up version of what your neighborhood association might do for the 4th of July.

From the official site description:

After more than a decade, the show remains the largest annual pyrotechnic display in North America. Seen by millions worldwide via a July 4th rebroadcast on the Armed Forces Network to more than 150 countries, it is the state’s pride. A Discovery Channel documentary on fireworks shows says it best, “Thunder is the Grand-daddy of them all!”.

The pic above shows both barges, which launch mirror-image shows on either side of the 2nd Street bridge across the Ohio river. Because of this (and the natural amphitheater the banks create), even the biggest crowds (upwards of 800,000 people) can have fabulous seating for an amazing show.

Oh, and this year will add a bonus: The countdown and ignition of show will be assisted by some “offsite” folks.

According to Robert Scoble, the audience at SXSW that panned Sarah Lacy’s “Keynote Interview” with Mark Zuckerberg (founder/creator of Facebook) is “a bunch of Twittering Assholes.” Much has been made about what went wrong with this event, and some (like Robert) have even tried to be helpful by highlighting what should have been done differently.

Several people have suggested that the response has been overblown. Much has been made about the behavior of the audience at the event. Rather than rehash the various issues with that particular interview or taking the audience to the woodshed for their “childish” behavior, I’d rather approach this from the opposite side. What makes a good live presentation?

I have done a little public speaking myself (presenting at technical conferences and church/community groups with audiences of a few hundred to upwards of 5,000), along with other types of public performances/presentations (community theater, lip-sync/pantomime for live audiences and syndicated TV, singing telegrams, and so on). I state that here, not to try to impress someone, but simply to present some basic credentials. I’m familiar with both ends of the spectrum in terms of results: I have been successful in presenting to large audiences, and I have bombed.

I have noted that successful performances have some interesting similarities. I have identified three rules for a successful live presentation. (more…)

I suspect that, aside from Windows Vista, the words in the title of this post are not usually used to describe the same thing. This morning, those are the words that came to mind when I saw this:

and this:

and this:

Such is the scene along my commute and outside my office on the morning after a Kentucky ice storm.

Once again, we’ve taken our oldest son back to college, moved him in, and said our “goodbyes.” Though I would have presumed that sending him off to school would be easier this year, it wasn’t.

What made it harder? The myriad of ways we spent time together this Summer. (more…)

Although my knee-jerk reaction is to dismiss conspiracy theorists pretty quickly, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt by doing a little research into what they’re saying. Accordingly, when people started suggesting various plots behind the 9/11 destruction of the WTC, I did my homework, and came to the conclusion that they were looking for conspiracy where it simply didn’t exist.

Such is the case with the various “9/11 Truth” sites. They invariably point to flawed research, connect dots from hearsay, and use faulty logic to make a case for “the official report isn’t really what happened.” One characteristic that is particularly noteworthy of such sites: They will not tolerate critical thinking to be applied to their “facts.” (more…)

I’m about to be “away” for an extended period. I’m heading to East Africa with a childhood best friend to help with some hunger-relief projects, help him move to a new house, and help him tie up some odds and ends related to the move. I’ll be offline, for the most part, until late on the 14th.

Don’t trash the place up too bad while I’m out. - Tim

This past week, in a public middle school in a the Midwestern United States, two young men sat next to each other. They were African-American and an Asian, but other than the nature of their remarks, they could have been of any race or gender. They had a conversation that went like this:

“Why don’t you go make me some shoes, or maybe an X-Box?”

“Why don’t you go pick some cotton?”

These young men are in the 7th grade, in a school system that has been racially integrated (via system-wide busing) since 1975. Sadly, this kind of exchange is not that unusual. (more…)