Want to know how much I love my son?

Enough to wear a <deep breath> Clonetrooper mask when he asks me to.. and the jerk knows it.

(but payback is a bitch)

”..and after she told me that first story, I knew she was crazy and I moved on”.  -H. Starnes

I’m finding this to be more and more true all the time.

..Posting on FB that you are having a “home birth” and then the next day that it’s gone horribly wrong resulting in a ambulance ride and hospital stay puts in in the above category* for me.

*(also not vaccinating your kid AND/OR handing them a loaded rifle if they are 4 years old inside your house around their 2 year old sibling)

This year my son is finally old enough to fly his own kite, which is really special for me since I’m such a kite nerd.  I got him a simple foil kite that turned out to be a complete piece of junk, luckily the local souvenir shop had a few cheapy kites and one of them was silver with a star which made my son yell out “Tumbderbolt kite”.  A reference to this P-47 Thunderbolt model that we got at the US Air Force museum.

(P-47 Thunderbolt)

He didn’t spend much time watching the kite, he just liked holding the handle and running with it.  I tactic that get really tricky when we tried to fly our kites together.  It became a game of tag while flying kites and making sure that they didn’t get tangled.. which mostly worked.

Next year I will make sure to test fly his kite well in advance of our trip, and maybe he will be ready for a stunt kite?

While on vacation we got some AMAZING local jumbo shrimp which inspired me to make a low country broil..  a first for my son, who loved it!

It’s funny to me that I’ve tried to get him to eat shrimp several times in other dishes and he has always tuned his nose up at them.  But when I serve them straight up with no sauces to cover them he dives right in.

Lesson learned, serve the kid fresh, local food that is simply prepared and he is all over it!

Not sure which I’m more happy about:
1. I handed him a beer in the kitchen and said “Give this to Mike” and he walked out on the porch and did.
2. He can palm a can of PBR.
Both are pretty great!

I received about 4 copies of Mr. Brown’s first book (Darth Vader and Son) and this is pretty much the same thing.  It is NOT a children’s book, as many seem to believe, it is simply a collection of random images with somewhat humorous drawings of Darth Vader using quotes from the movies with a slightly different meaning.  The above image (from the back cover) is by far the best one in the book, and most leave you feeling pretty disappointed.

I would skip this one, even though it’s only $9 from Amazon, because it’s just not that funny and the drawings aren’t that great.  It made a lot more sense to find out that Mr’ Brown does not have a daughter, thus I think his insight is a bit stereotypical.

Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffery Brown

I put this in my cart Saturday because the ME-262 is an amazing aircraft (world’s 1st operational jet-powered fighter aircraft), but then I put it back because I felt uncomfortable about buying my kid a Nazi toy.

Is that weird?

What happens when you are trying to take a cute thank you picture of the kids wearing a T-shirt that was sent by a friend..

Choo-choo videos!!

Since my kid is a fiend for all things choo-choo, and I only let him have a little bit of screen time each week, I’ve spent a lot of time previewing “choo-choo” videos on youtube to make sure his precious time isn’t wasted on bad videos.  That said, I have found the keys to making a good one:

1. 720p or above resolution
2. No commentary by the person shooting the video
3. 7:00+ minutes of run time
4. Use of a tripod
5. NO use of effects for edit transitions

..and that’s it.  Not so hard, right?  Think again.  So many of these videos break most of these rules and are unwatchable.

However, the videos by a poster called “Bidone” from Germany are AMAZING!  Not only does he shoot trains in some beautiful locations, but his editing and pacing are spectacular.  He also does some really nice videos of vintage farm equipment, a lot of it steam powered.

Check out his page and subscribe: Bidone Video on Youtube

Bioshock in the style of Dr. Seuss by DrFaustusAU

Even the monster under the bed will be scared with this tale..