I knew we had several internal combustion engines in our family’s possession, but the total count is impressive.
- one 6-cyl 170hp, big yellow car
- one 4-cyl 130hp, little brown car
- two 6-cyl 250hp, airplane
- one 1-cyl 6hp, airplane tow widget
- one 1-cyl 2hp, portable generator
- one 1-cyl 8hp, snowblower
- one 1-cyl 6hp, lawnmower
Their upkeep costs scale superlinearly compared to their horsepower, but so does their entertainment value!
In several ways, our brats Eric (age 4) and Stuart (age 2) are matched. The little one has learned enough to find sport in systematic contradiction of his big brother. Whether that’s arguing over the same toy, saying “yes” whenever the other says “no”, or a slew of others.
Today, during an exploratory drive of our area, Stuart fell asleep about an hour into it, so Eric and Juimiin stepped out to visit a local museum awhile. When they returned, Stuart wriggled from his slumber as the doors slammed shut. Leaving the parking lot, I asked my passengers about which way we should turn now.
Eric: “left”.
Stuart: “right”.
A few seconds before, Stuart was asleep. Only a few seconds later, Stuart was asleep again. This suggests that his contradiction skill is substantially reflexive. He doesn’t even need to be fully awake. A brainstem thing perhaps.
I’m an avid reader of EU Referendum to track the transnational encroachments upon country and liberty over at the mother continent. This awesome sculpture by Czech artist David Cerny follows brilliantly.
According to this story, some young woman is auctioning off her virginity. How quaint. But what earned the headline-writer’s attention is in the suffix … “and the feds can’t do a thing to stop her”.
Now that gets me excited!
Consider how tragic it is when the first instinct of an onlooker of some clearly voluntary, safe, if distasteful display is to ponder … “why doesn’t someone stop this?” And further, why that someone shouldn’t be The Federal Government ™ – the ideal arbiter of good taste and morality — as opposed to this lady’s friends or family. Have we/you surrendered so much of your personal authority to judge?
Besides, the headline is wrong. “The feds” could put in the highest bid and then fail to collect the prize. Or lump it into the mother of all bailouts — there’s certainly demand. Heck, if the “feds” are about to load more debt onto the kids, the least they could do for them is to get them all laid.
Hi - Several times over the last few months that my young family visited the OSC, the poor state of access was saddening. Half the elevators and some of the escalators were not working. For a deeply multilevel structure like yours, this is unacceptable. Worse, there was no staff nearby to operate backup machines like the big cargo elevator. Whole lines of families were lined up for tens of minutes, waiting for elevators that never came, or only went the wrong way. Many took the risk of taking the strollers onto those long escalators or steps. I witnessed several near-accidents. This is not an isolated issue, and it's not just a matter of "sorry, the elevators are under maintenance". If you know that access is impaired, put enough signs and staff on duty that people can get around safely and timely. If you can't, then put up a big warning sign at the OSC entrance. To do neither is to frustrate and endanger your visitors. Thank you for your attention to this problem. - FChE
Some recently overheard exchanges between wife and boys:
Juimiin: “It’s time to go to bed, Stuart.”
Stuart (age 2): “I want to be nocturnal.”
Juimiin: “Whose gravity is bigger? The Earth’s or the Moon’s?”
Eric (age 4): “The Earth’s.”