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Ashwyn nearly knocked out another tooth today. This one was his one remaining front tooth. How did he do that, I hear you ask? Well, let's just say, that when a small boy pushes a shopping trolley into a trolley bay really fast, and the small boy's eyes are on a level with the handle of the shopping trolley, so he can't really see the metal bar at the end of the trolley bay...the laws of physics are cruel sometimes.
Not Bruce, apparently
Feb. 8th, 2013 10:14 pmSo I went to bed last night utterly exhausted after four hours sleep the night before and three hours of talking at work (I had a new staff member I had to show the ropes, and talking is exhausting to us introverts). And at 3:15am the phone rang. I sat up with visions of parents in hospital running through my head, while Andy flailed zombie-like at the alarm clock.
'Hello' says I.
"Bruce? Is that you?" says a voice on the other end of the line.
"I think you have the wrong number," I say.
Phone hangs up.
It's 3:15am, I think. 3:15am!
We lie down and pass out again.
Sometime later Ashwyn gets in bed with us. The radio is not going, but it seems kind of lighter than normal, so I check the time. It is an hour after the alarm normally goes off. Andy had switched it off in the night. I leap out of bed and rush about like the proverbial chook.
Now my brain hurts.
Still I suppose it's a good thing Ashwyn is not a slug-a-bed like his siblings (or his parents!) or I would have been late to work.
In other news Ashwyn almost knocked out another of his teeth the other day. For those who are unaware, Ashwyn knocked out one of his front teeth when he was thirteen months old. He wandered out into the garden and managed to find a place where he could fall onto a screw sticking out of an old piece of wood. There was a good reason we used to call him Danger Baby. That child couldn't fall over without landing on a corner. Anyway, the dentist wouldn't put it back in, and he's had a distinctly piratical gap ever since. The other day he was apparently trying to get into a tupperware tub which had some cookies in it. He couldn't pry the lid off with his fingers, so he decided he would try it with his teeth. And all he pried loose was one of his teeth.
Given he is nearly six he was probably close to losing it anyway, but it looked rather alarming the next day. I think the gum was just a bit bruised, because it seems ok now, and we called the dentist and they didn't seem particularly disturbed, so we'll just wait for it to fall out I suppose.
'Hello' says I.
"Bruce? Is that you?" says a voice on the other end of the line.
"I think you have the wrong number," I say.
Phone hangs up.
It's 3:15am, I think. 3:15am!
We lie down and pass out again.
Sometime later Ashwyn gets in bed with us. The radio is not going, but it seems kind of lighter than normal, so I check the time. It is an hour after the alarm normally goes off. Andy had switched it off in the night. I leap out of bed and rush about like the proverbial chook.
Now my brain hurts.
Still I suppose it's a good thing Ashwyn is not a slug-a-bed like his siblings (or his parents!) or I would have been late to work.
In other news Ashwyn almost knocked out another of his teeth the other day. For those who are unaware, Ashwyn knocked out one of his front teeth when he was thirteen months old. He wandered out into the garden and managed to find a place where he could fall onto a screw sticking out of an old piece of wood. There was a good reason we used to call him Danger Baby. That child couldn't fall over without landing on a corner. Anyway, the dentist wouldn't put it back in, and he's had a distinctly piratical gap ever since. The other day he was apparently trying to get into a tupperware tub which had some cookies in it. He couldn't pry the lid off with his fingers, so he decided he would try it with his teeth. And all he pried loose was one of his teeth.
Given he is nearly six he was probably close to losing it anyway, but it looked rather alarming the next day. I think the gum was just a bit bruised, because it seems ok now, and we called the dentist and they didn't seem particularly disturbed, so we'll just wait for it to fall out I suppose.
What else is going on...
Jan. 31st, 2013 09:55 pmMy keyboard is being a bit odd, so I apologise if I skip letters. Actually it seems to be okay now. It just seemed to be struggling to keep up with me in the last post.
So mum and dad got away at 4:30am on Tuesday. That is a real time. I should know. I was awake. And they were only stuck in Brisbane for one day before the waters receded enough that they could get home, although apparently it was a bit hairy getting out to my sister's house. And once I'd gone back to bed and tossed and turned and then gotten up again I discovered that my mother had left her handbag here. Her handbag with her Kindle, her keys, her mobile phone, her wallet, and the parking ticket for the airport. So if you've always thought I am a bit absent minded, now you know where I get it from.
Also Ashwyn's bug seems to have hit the rest of us. Liam got it on the first day back to school, which seemed awfully convenient, but he does seem to be genuinely sick (getting called up to school today because he had diarrhoea was one clue). In myself and Andy it seems to have manifested as exhaustion, headaches and bilious nausea. Fun, fun, fun. I'm half tempted to suggest that it's listeriosis, but it's hard to think of something among the usual culprits that cause that that the boys would actually eat.
So mum and dad got away at 4:30am on Tuesday. That is a real time. I should know. I was awake. And they were only stuck in Brisbane for one day before the waters receded enough that they could get home, although apparently it was a bit hairy getting out to my sister's house. And once I'd gone back to bed and tossed and turned and then gotten up again I discovered that my mother had left her handbag here. Her handbag with her Kindle, her keys, her mobile phone, her wallet, and the parking ticket for the airport. So if you've always thought I am a bit absent minded, now you know where I get it from.
Also Ashwyn's bug seems to have hit the rest of us. Liam got it on the first day back to school, which seemed awfully convenient, but he does seem to be genuinely sick (getting called up to school today because he had diarrhoea was one clue). In myself and Andy it seems to have manifested as exhaustion, headaches and bilious nausea. Fun, fun, fun. I'm half tempted to suggest that it's listeriosis, but it's hard to think of something among the usual culprits that cause that that the boys would actually eat.
I can haz earworms
Jan. 28th, 2013 10:06 pmAndy and I went to see Les Miserables last night (the film that is - I did see the stage version when it was in Adelaide lo these many years ago). Now I have all the earworms. Even Andy has earworms, which is rather amusing because he doesn't like musicals, and only came with me because he is a good husband. All day he has been randomly going "Dum dee dum dee dum dee dum...singing a song of angry men..." It was actually very good, although Rusty was distinctly lacklustre and his voice was rather shown up by that of some of the other cast who were clearly trained singers. Anne Hathaway was awesome.
My parents have been staying with us over the long weekend. They are flying out early tomorrow morning, but it seems fairly certain they won't be able to get home. The flight won't be an issue, but all the roads leading from Brisbane to the town where they live are currently closed due to flooding.
Ashwyn was ill most of last week with some kind of stomach bug. He spent most of Monday afternoon alternating throwing up with having stomach cramps. Then he more or less refused to eat most of the week. He capped it off on Friday with a bout of diarrhoea and then a massive vomit at 2am (which I was fortunate enough to sleep through). After that he seemed perfectly fine and has been eating more or less non-stop ever since. He seems to have gotten the impression that this was caused by him eating chips off the ground at the swimming pool. Now he has sworn off 'ground chips', so I suppose there's a silver lining even to a house full of vomit.
School goes back tomorrow. Andy is deeply relieved. Me less so. When the kids are on holiday I can often get up and have a quiet breakfast and go off to work before they wake up. Now it will be hauling reluctant Erins out of bed, and getting breakfasts and chivvying and so on, and maybe ten minutes to read and eat.
My parents have been staying with us over the long weekend. They are flying out early tomorrow morning, but it seems fairly certain they won't be able to get home. The flight won't be an issue, but all the roads leading from Brisbane to the town where they live are currently closed due to flooding.
Ashwyn was ill most of last week with some kind of stomach bug. He spent most of Monday afternoon alternating throwing up with having stomach cramps. Then he more or less refused to eat most of the week. He capped it off on Friday with a bout of diarrhoea and then a massive vomit at 2am (which I was fortunate enough to sleep through). After that he seemed perfectly fine and has been eating more or less non-stop ever since. He seems to have gotten the impression that this was caused by him eating chips off the ground at the swimming pool. Now he has sworn off 'ground chips', so I suppose there's a silver lining even to a house full of vomit.
School goes back tomorrow. Andy is deeply relieved. Me less so. When the kids are on holiday I can often get up and have a quiet breakfast and go off to work before they wake up. Now it will be hauling reluctant Erins out of bed, and getting breakfasts and chivvying and so on, and maybe ten minutes to read and eat.
It wasn't me, really...
Jan. 20th, 2013 12:01 pmThis last week or so Ashwyn has been remarkably good. He has done nothing naughty at all. All acts of mischief and naughtiness in our house were actually committed by the Magic Hand.
...or in the bowel of Ashwyn at the very least. That boy has been producing some horrendous stenches for the last few days. Given that he doesn't eat much (or a great variety of things) it is difficult to think what might be going on.
Also today is the tenth anniversary of the Canberra bushfires. There's a rather moving remembrance of them here. I was surprised at how much it affected me. Ten years is a long time (although not as long as it used to be) and I've almost stopped thinking about that day. I don't get that little frisson of worry when the mercury hits 35+ and the wind is high. Still, I guess I haven't forgotten...
Also today is the tenth anniversary of the Canberra bushfires. There's a rather moving remembrance of them here. I was surprised at how much it affected me. Ten years is a long time (although not as long as it used to be) and I've almost stopped thinking about that day. I don't get that little frisson of worry when the mercury hits 35+ and the wind is high. Still, I guess I haven't forgotten...
Stay cool...
Jan. 5th, 2013 03:24 pmI hope all of you out there are managing in the disgusting weather. The slight reprieve today is nice, but I'm starting to regret deciding not to go back to work next week.
Ashwyn had a massive nose bleed last night at 2:30am. He tends to get them when he is hot (and he also tends to cover himself up with a quilt in bed even when it is 30C overnight) and when he gets them he really gets them. I guess I'm not the only one in the family who's talented at bleeding. He then woke us up again at 6:50am because he'd had another, but at some time during the night. Besides smearing himself in blood he'd also somehow managed to splash it all over his mattress and the walls of his room. And I mean splash. There were spatter marks. It looked like a slaughterhouse in there.
Also the other day in the car Ashwyn declared he was very hot and 'all my water is coming out of me'.
He's a card that boy.
Ashwyn had a massive nose bleed last night at 2:30am. He tends to get them when he is hot (and he also tends to cover himself up with a quilt in bed even when it is 30C overnight) and when he gets them he really gets them. I guess I'm not the only one in the family who's talented at bleeding. He then woke us up again at 6:50am because he'd had another, but at some time during the night. Besides smearing himself in blood he'd also somehow managed to splash it all over his mattress and the walls of his room. And I mean splash. There were spatter marks. It looked like a slaughterhouse in there.
Also the other day in the car Ashwyn declared he was very hot and 'all my water is coming out of me'.
He's a card that boy.
It's always the way...
Jan. 1st, 2013 10:01 pmWhen you suddenly realise you have less of a medication than you thought you had, that is the time you realise that you have lost your repeat prescriptions.
Of course it also tends to be the case that this revelation occurs to you when you are on the way to bed, and instead of going to bed you then spend half an hour fruitlessly turning the house upside down looking for said prescriptions.
I may have left them at work. Or I may have accidentally thrown them out. The one thing I can be fairly sure of is that, unlike most other things that go missing in this house, they are unlikely to be in Ashwyn's bed.
Also this evening for some reason our TV randomly decided that we should be watching Bridget Jones' Diary.
"Oh no, Dad!" Ashwyn cried. "This show is rude words. It has the fucks in it!"
Of course it also tends to be the case that this revelation occurs to you when you are on the way to bed, and instead of going to bed you then spend half an hour fruitlessly turning the house upside down looking for said prescriptions.
I may have left them at work. Or I may have accidentally thrown them out. The one thing I can be fairly sure of is that, unlike most other things that go missing in this house, they are unlikely to be in Ashwyn's bed.
Also this evening for some reason our TV randomly decided that we should be watching Bridget Jones' Diary.
"Oh no, Dad!" Ashwyn cried. "This show is rude words. It has the fucks in it!"
What I have been doing on my holidays…
Dec. 30th, 2012 03:53 pmPlaying a lot of Skyrim and Anno 2070 (which is a lot like Anno 1404, except you can build stuff underwater which is kind of cool), doing jigsaw puzzles,
taking the kids swimming and eating cheesecake.
The Doctor Who Christmas Special was funny (“Sir, I appear to have been run over by a cab”) and The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey was pretty cool too, and very, very pretty.
And that’s just the first week. I have two more weeks off. Yay!
Actually I’m beginning to think I will be happy to get back to work by the end of it, and away from squabbling children. Although they haven’t been too bad so far…
Some photos of various random Christmassy things and other stuff below the cut.
( Read more... )It's been a while
Dec. 18th, 2012 10:55 pmLet's see...stuff to catch up on...
The kids finished school last week. Their reports were all fairly good, which was pleasing. I mentioned their end of year concert in my last post. Ashwyn's performance was quite memorable. The concert was outside on the oval, with the kids singing/dancing along to amplified music. Ashwyn's teacher told us that she'd put him in the front near the microphone because he was so loud. He was so loud that we could hear him from the back of the crowd, in the open air, over all the other kids and the music. He's got quite a talent for voice projection. He had a good time though.
Like all my children, he has his strange little moments. The other night he was complaining because he couldn't bite his own willie. "I'm trying," he said. "But I can't reach." There's not much you can say to that really.
On Sunday we put Erin on a plane and sent her up to Queensland to stay with my parents for a week. I can tell you, there are a lot of hoops to jump through when you send a child alone on a plane. I suppose this is only to be expected. It certainly is very quiet around here without her, but it's strange, not knowing precisely where she is or what she is doing. I mean, it should be no different from when she's gone to sleepovers or school camps, but somehow it is.
I have been playing a lot of Skyrim lately. We got the new Solstheim DLC and it is pretty cool.
We will be doing Christmas at Andy's parents place this year, which means I only have to worry about desserts. I am going to make a summer pudding and a frozen honey and praline cheesecake. I will do the shopping for this at the Central Markets on Friday. Apart from this, and waiting for various deliveries, we are pretty much organised.
Also whilst doing my Christmas shopping I noticed that a new shop has opened in Rundle Mall. It's called 'Forever New' and it has opened right next door to Copycat Fashions.
The kids finished school last week. Their reports were all fairly good, which was pleasing. I mentioned their end of year concert in my last post. Ashwyn's performance was quite memorable. The concert was outside on the oval, with the kids singing/dancing along to amplified music. Ashwyn's teacher told us that she'd put him in the front near the microphone because he was so loud. He was so loud that we could hear him from the back of the crowd, in the open air, over all the other kids and the music. He's got quite a talent for voice projection. He had a good time though.
Like all my children, he has his strange little moments. The other night he was complaining because he couldn't bite his own willie. "I'm trying," he said. "But I can't reach." There's not much you can say to that really.
On Sunday we put Erin on a plane and sent her up to Queensland to stay with my parents for a week. I can tell you, there are a lot of hoops to jump through when you send a child alone on a plane. I suppose this is only to be expected. It certainly is very quiet around here without her, but it's strange, not knowing precisely where she is or what she is doing. I mean, it should be no different from when she's gone to sleepovers or school camps, but somehow it is.
I have been playing a lot of Skyrim lately. We got the new Solstheim DLC and it is pretty cool.
We will be doing Christmas at Andy's parents place this year, which means I only have to worry about desserts. I am going to make a summer pudding and a frozen honey and praline cheesecake. I will do the shopping for this at the Central Markets on Friday. Apart from this, and waiting for various deliveries, we are pretty much organised.
Also whilst doing my Christmas shopping I noticed that a new shop has opened in Rundle Mall. It's called 'Forever New' and it has opened right next door to Copycat Fashions.
Damned if you do, part ii
Oct. 29th, 2012 09:52 pmThis is where you're damned if you have a father (or father-in-law) who is a complete techno-phobe and damned if you have a father who is a techno-phile. One might even go so far as to say my father is an early adopter. He should have known better, but he installed Windows 8 yesterday. It wiped most of the stuff from his hard drive. Uninstalled all his programs, cleaned out his inbox and so on. He lost 600 Gb of stuff. If you're thinking of getting it, maybe back-up to an external place first....
Yesterday I took the kids to the Innilgard 30th Anniversary Foundation Picnic. They had a fairly good time I think, especially Ashwyn, who was into everything. I spent an awful lot of time telling him to leave the harp alone, leave that coronet alone, leave those swords alone, come out of that bag, go put that goblet back, no really put that sword down....
Also Erin seems to have given half the house a cold that she brought back from camp.
And in celebration of Halloween - disgusting cakes - don't look if you have a weak stomach (no, really)
Yesterday I took the kids to the Innilgard 30th Anniversary Foundation Picnic. They had a fairly good time I think, especially Ashwyn, who was into everything. I spent an awful lot of time telling him to leave the harp alone, leave that coronet alone, leave those swords alone, come out of that bag, go put that goblet back, no really put that sword down....
Also Erin seems to have given half the house a cold that she brought back from camp.
And in celebration of Halloween - disgusting cakes - don't look if you have a weak stomach (no, really)
The lurgy juggernaut rolls on...
Sep. 13th, 2012 10:17 pmLiam was still ill on the weekend, and got worse, so we took him back to the doctor and got a diagnosis of pharyngitis. Then Erin got it. And I have had a stuffy head since the weekend too. Which was unfortunate because on Tuesday I had a short sharp and shiny visit to Melbourne for a big meeting. As a result of which I've spent the last two days with my left ear blocked up. It seems to be going at least, which is good. I once had my ears clogged up for more than two weeks after flying with a cold. It was not fun.
And the hayfever on top of that, of course.
Despite the lurgy I came home from yoga feeling pretty good this evening, only to find my first rejection slip in my inbox. Which has put a surprising dent on my good mood. I keep telling myself I will take these sorts of things in my stride and it totally never works. Although I think the cowardice that kept me from having this experience earlier in my life has possibly done me good service here. I might once have found this discouraging. Now the overwhelming feeling is 'dammit, more work!'
So I suppose this becomes a kind of confession - yes, I write. Some of you probably know this. I've been writing for, well, pretty much since I could. There seem to be two kinds of writers - those who keep it to their chests and those who rush about showing their work off at every opportunity. I morphed from the latter to the former some time during the massive crisis in self-confidence that was partly why I dropped out of university, perhaps understandably. So I don't talk about it much. I also came as close as I ever have to stopping writing for a while around the time I got pregnant with Erin (losing 50k words of the book I'd been writing in a hard drive meltdown probably didn't help).
But then when Liam was a baby and I was having somewhat of another mental health crisis I picked up the pen again, and I haven't really put it down since. Things progress slowly. Very slowly. I don't have a lot of time, and I don't devote as much energy to it as I should. But somehow I seem to have written a book.
Also I just got a copy of Guild Wars 2. I've avoided MMORPGs so far because I just can't afford the time to get sucked in. But this one looked so good on Good Game. If I'm not back in a week someone may have to come in and get me.
And the hayfever on top of that, of course.
Despite the lurgy I came home from yoga feeling pretty good this evening, only to find my first rejection slip in my inbox. Which has put a surprising dent on my good mood. I keep telling myself I will take these sorts of things in my stride and it totally never works. Although I think the cowardice that kept me from having this experience earlier in my life has possibly done me good service here. I might once have found this discouraging. Now the overwhelming feeling is 'dammit, more work!'
So I suppose this becomes a kind of confession - yes, I write. Some of you probably know this. I've been writing for, well, pretty much since I could. There seem to be two kinds of writers - those who keep it to their chests and those who rush about showing their work off at every opportunity. I morphed from the latter to the former some time during the massive crisis in self-confidence that was partly why I dropped out of university, perhaps understandably. So I don't talk about it much. I also came as close as I ever have to stopping writing for a while around the time I got pregnant with Erin (losing 50k words of the book I'd been writing in a hard drive meltdown probably didn't help).
But then when Liam was a baby and I was having somewhat of another mental health crisis I picked up the pen again, and I haven't really put it down since. Things progress slowly. Very slowly. I don't have a lot of time, and I don't devote as much energy to it as I should. But somehow I seem to have written a book.
Also I just got a copy of Guild Wars 2. I've avoided MMORPGs so far because I just can't afford the time to get sucked in. But this one looked so good on Good Game. If I'm not back in a week someone may have to come in and get me.
Where do I start...
Sep. 6th, 2012 09:43 pmWe had a pretty mad weekend. Saturday my parents flew in, for a short visit on their way back from a trip to Europe. Their plane landed on Saturday afternoon, when we normally do our grocery shopping, so we had to do that in the morning, except Andy also managed to flood the bathroom, and Liam got up with conjunctivitis and had to be taken to the doctor. Somehow we managed to squeeze bathroom cleaning, parent collection, grocery shopping, doctor visit, the usual Saturday three loads of washing and making cheesecake into the one day. It was pretty hectic.
It was nice to have my dad in the same state for father's day though. We went out to lunch. Then we had Andy's parents and brother over for dinner, a grand total of ten people (which is not much in comparison with 150, but my kitchen is much smaller than most hall kitchens). I made Indian - lamb korma, potatoes madras, rice, pappadums, naan bread, raita, samosas (with lots of shortcuts). And then the cheesecake (cherry) for dessert.
A busy weekend. Also our house filled up with enormous blowflies. There must be something festering in some secret hole somewhere (a charming thought, but then the kids quite often leave apple cores or melon rinds in odd places, so not entirely surprising) and giving birth to them. Andy sucked most of them up with the vacuum cleaner. But not before they freaked out Liam. He has been very anxious and nervy lately.
Liam is still not entirely well but is being annoying about taking medicine. He freaked out over the eyedrops and ointment for the conjunctivitis, so we had to hold him down to put it in. Now he has a cough but is so disgusted by the cough medicine Andy got that he gets all in a state and practically throws up whenever he has to take some. One has sympathy for one's sick children, but sometimes they try it greatly. I tried making him a honey and lemon drink and he complained that it tasted like metal.
Andy has also not been well. I think he has finally succumbed to the lurgy that has been going around.
Also it was so nice to see the sun for a while over the weekend, but Tuesday's weather brought on a nasty bout of hayfever. Honestly plants, what is it with you? A couple of sunny days and all you can think about is sex?
And then the wind knocked down a tree in our front garden. Fortunately it fell on the lawn. If it had gone the other way it would have taken out the power/phone lines into the house (and also the peas and beans that are just coming up).
It was nice to have my dad in the same state for father's day though. We went out to lunch. Then we had Andy's parents and brother over for dinner, a grand total of ten people (which is not much in comparison with 150, but my kitchen is much smaller than most hall kitchens). I made Indian - lamb korma, potatoes madras, rice, pappadums, naan bread, raita, samosas (with lots of shortcuts). And then the cheesecake (cherry) for dessert.
A busy weekend. Also our house filled up with enormous blowflies. There must be something festering in some secret hole somewhere (a charming thought, but then the kids quite often leave apple cores or melon rinds in odd places, so not entirely surprising) and giving birth to them. Andy sucked most of them up with the vacuum cleaner. But not before they freaked out Liam. He has been very anxious and nervy lately.
Liam is still not entirely well but is being annoying about taking medicine. He freaked out over the eyedrops and ointment for the conjunctivitis, so we had to hold him down to put it in. Now he has a cough but is so disgusted by the cough medicine Andy got that he gets all in a state and practically throws up whenever he has to take some. One has sympathy for one's sick children, but sometimes they try it greatly. I tried making him a honey and lemon drink and he complained that it tasted like metal.
Andy has also not been well. I think he has finally succumbed to the lurgy that has been going around.
Also it was so nice to see the sun for a while over the weekend, but Tuesday's weather brought on a nasty bout of hayfever. Honestly plants, what is it with you? A couple of sunny days and all you can think about is sex?
And then the wind knocked down a tree in our front garden. Fortunately it fell on the lawn. If it had gone the other way it would have taken out the power/phone lines into the house (and also the peas and beans that are just coming up).
Beginner programming
Aug. 25th, 2012 09:20 pmI learned to program when was eight. I taught myself Basic using a manual that came with my uncle's Commodore 16 (so little RAM, so much fun). Looking back it was a pretty good language to learn to program with - simple WYSIWYG language in which it was fairly easy to get some interesting results with a few basic statements eg CIRCLE(x, y, z) to draw a circle of radius x at (y, z).
I'm thinking about this because Liam has seemed very interested in computers at the moment, or more specifically, his laser-like Aspie attention has fixated on Windows (the operating system). Whether he will be interested in more besides watching Windows instructional videos on You Tube, or borrowing Windows ME for Dummies from the library I don't know, but most of the programming I do is numeric and most of the programming software I have installed is oriented accordingly. The kind of thing you have to have a grasp of algebra to get the most out of.
What I am wondering, for the programmers out there, is there something available now that might be the equivalent of Basic for me *wince* number of years ago? Any advice on good programming educational software, or basic (pun intended) but effective languages?
I'm going to stop typing now, because either IE is acting up or we are shaped, and typing is a pain in the proverbial.
I'm thinking about this because Liam has seemed very interested in computers at the moment, or more specifically, his laser-like Aspie attention has fixated on Windows (the operating system). Whether he will be interested in more besides watching Windows instructional videos on You Tube, or borrowing Windows ME for Dummies from the library I don't know, but most of the programming I do is numeric and most of the programming software I have installed is oriented accordingly. The kind of thing you have to have a grasp of algebra to get the most out of.
What I am wondering, for the programmers out there, is there something available now that might be the equivalent of Basic for me *wince* number of years ago? Any advice on good programming educational software, or basic (pun intended) but effective languages?
I'm going to stop typing now, because either IE is acting up or we are shaped, and typing is a pain in the proverbial.
There's a number of things I've been wanting to post about for a little while, but I haven't had the energy (physical or mental) and now I'm forgetting what most of them were. But don't be surprised if you suddenly see a heap of posts. As noted in the previous post I was ill again - last Wednesday and Thursday I completely lost my voice. So far just viral, although with the way I am getting up and expelling vast quantities of mucous (yummo) every morning I do wonder if it's not become sinusitis.
Anyway, I have just started reading a book about swearing of all things - namely Filthy English by Peter Silverton. And it's quite timely because I have been thinking a little bit about swearing lately. Partly because of discussions on some blogs I am in the habit of reading about tone trolling and politeness, and partly because of thinking about the way I police my children's language.
I should note that I don't swear much, although I certainly do now a lot more than I used to (especially since having kids, funnily enough). This was mostly upbringing. My parents didn't swear much, and English people don't swear anywhere near as much as Australians or New Zealanders. My mother, in particular, policed swearing very strictly, and emphasised that nice people don't swear - an impression that has stuck with me very strongly. By nice she didn't mean proper or respectable, as some people often do, but virtuous, kind, etc - actually nice. I absorbed this, as noted, and also later picked up those other common arguments against not swearing centring around it being unintellectual, demonstrative of poor vocabulary, unimaginative, etc.
Over the years I have come to realise that much of this is not really true. The nice thing is obviously complete bollocks, and there are many deeply imaginative and highly creative uses of four letter words out there. So I am not particularly shocked or distressed by other people swearing around me, although I still don't do it much myself. Unless it's children. I always found foul-mouthed children particularly shocking, although with our spate of neighbours even this has become more sadness than shock.
Maybe this is why I'm so strict about my children's language. Or maybe it's just that we tend, in parenting, to copy our parents a lot. You would think we would learn from our own parents' mistakes (not that I think mine made too many - I'm pretty fortunate in that regard), but no we just go on repeating them. The thing is, I don't feel like I have a good reason for banning certain words (others I am less circumspect about - all my children are banned from using 'gay' as an insult for instance, which is still a thing apparently), apart from these specious reasons of niceness, politeness etc.
And, the other day, when thinking about tone-trolling and so on, it occurred to me that perhaps the policing of language is extremely classist (as is much of etiquette when it comes down to it). Which made me even more uncomfortable about doing it. But then this book has vaguely hinted that the attribution of foul mouths to the working classes to be a bit of myth (in the 'more on this later' vein - I hope I get to that bit before I have to take the book back to the library). I when I think about it, my mother's working class family were not exactly grand swearers. So maybe that's not a thing to be concerned about.
Which leaves me ... nowhere in particular really. Any thoughts on this issue?
Anyway, I have just started reading a book about swearing of all things - namely Filthy English by Peter Silverton. And it's quite timely because I have been thinking a little bit about swearing lately. Partly because of discussions on some blogs I am in the habit of reading about tone trolling and politeness, and partly because of thinking about the way I police my children's language.
I should note that I don't swear much, although I certainly do now a lot more than I used to (especially since having kids, funnily enough). This was mostly upbringing. My parents didn't swear much, and English people don't swear anywhere near as much as Australians or New Zealanders. My mother, in particular, policed swearing very strictly, and emphasised that nice people don't swear - an impression that has stuck with me very strongly. By nice she didn't mean proper or respectable, as some people often do, but virtuous, kind, etc - actually nice. I absorbed this, as noted, and also later picked up those other common arguments against not swearing centring around it being unintellectual, demonstrative of poor vocabulary, unimaginative, etc.
Over the years I have come to realise that much of this is not really true. The nice thing is obviously complete bollocks, and there are many deeply imaginative and highly creative uses of four letter words out there. So I am not particularly shocked or distressed by other people swearing around me, although I still don't do it much myself. Unless it's children. I always found foul-mouthed children particularly shocking, although with our spate of neighbours even this has become more sadness than shock.
Maybe this is why I'm so strict about my children's language. Or maybe it's just that we tend, in parenting, to copy our parents a lot. You would think we would learn from our own parents' mistakes (not that I think mine made too many - I'm pretty fortunate in that regard), but no we just go on repeating them. The thing is, I don't feel like I have a good reason for banning certain words (others I am less circumspect about - all my children are banned from using 'gay' as an insult for instance, which is still a thing apparently), apart from these specious reasons of niceness, politeness etc.
And, the other day, when thinking about tone-trolling and so on, it occurred to me that perhaps the policing of language is extremely classist (as is much of etiquette when it comes down to it). Which made me even more uncomfortable about doing it. But then this book has vaguely hinted that the attribution of foul mouths to the working classes to be a bit of myth (in the 'more on this later' vein - I hope I get to that bit before I have to take the book back to the library). I when I think about it, my mother's working class family were not exactly grand swearers. So maybe that's not a thing to be concerned about.
Which leaves me ... nowhere in particular really. Any thoughts on this issue?
I seem to be having trouble finding motivation to do much except play computer games at the moment. This is not at all leftover illness bleh - I've actually not been feeling too bad since then. I think it's probably just a reaction to being so busy for so long, plus the weather. There are masses of things that need to be done in the garden at the moment, but it's hard to go outside when it's so cold and damp. Cold and sunny I don't mind so much. Is it just me or does this winter seem extra long?
Not I'm in any hurry for summer to come along, or at least normally I wouldn't be. I think I just need a little sunlight. Maybe I need to get back on the Vitamin D.
Ashwyn lasted all of one day before we got the 'I don't want to go to school'. In fact we get it almost every morning, but apparently he seems happy enough once he gets to school and is generally behaving himself, and more to the point applying himself. All the more grist for my 'he was just bored at kindy' theory.
Last week I found out at short notice that I was making an Avcon costume for Andy's brother. Actually it wasn't quite that bad. He acquired a Starblazers StarForce uniform jacket and a pair of white flares and wanted me to turn the flares into uniform pants to match the jacket. Andy has a photo which I will try and persuade him to post. Based on this Andy now wants me to make him a Leader Desslok costume for next year. This should not be a problem (it's not a complex costume) but the blue skin and blond hair might be another matter.
Also I think I am becoming a fan of Chap Hop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELH0ivexKA&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk&feature=relmfu
Not I'm in any hurry for summer to come along, or at least normally I wouldn't be. I think I just need a little sunlight. Maybe I need to get back on the Vitamin D.
Ashwyn lasted all of one day before we got the 'I don't want to go to school'. In fact we get it almost every morning, but apparently he seems happy enough once he gets to school and is generally behaving himself, and more to the point applying himself. All the more grist for my 'he was just bored at kindy' theory.
Last week I found out at short notice that I was making an Avcon costume for Andy's brother. Actually it wasn't quite that bad. He acquired a Starblazers StarForce uniform jacket and a pair of white flares and wanted me to turn the flares into uniform pants to match the jacket. Andy has a photo which I will try and persuade him to post. Based on this Andy now wants me to make him a Leader Desslok costume for next year. This should not be a problem (it's not a complex costume) but the blue skin and blond hair might be another matter.
Also I think I am becoming a fan of Chap Hop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELH0ivexKA&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk&feature=relmfu
I had a feeling this might happen....
Jul. 19th, 2012 06:44 am...that is, that after all the rushing around and craziness that I would fall in a heap and get sick. So I was a bit relieved earlier in the week when this seemed to be manifesting as little more than a regular head cold. However now it is mutating into the sinus pain from Hades, which seems untouchable by all the standard means of dealing with decongestion (given that one cannot stand in the shower with the water running all night). So, yay for that.
Ashwyn started school yesterday. He was very excited, and seemed to have a good day. I'm not sure if his teacher would have agreed with him, but we had no phone calls from the school or anything. He is a very different child from Liam and is not likely to have the same difficulties, but rather a whole brand new set of his own. But he has always loved novelty and new things, so I think so long as it's all new and exciting we're probably safe.
Ashwyn started school yesterday. He was very excited, and seemed to have a good day. I'm not sure if his teacher would have agreed with him, but we had no phone calls from the school or anything. He is a very different child from Liam and is not likely to have the same difficulties, but rather a whole brand new set of his own. But he has always loved novelty and new things, so I think so long as it's all new and exciting we're probably safe.
Internets...we eats it...
May. 5th, 2012 09:50 pmSo we are shaped...for the second time this month...
In other words just under a week ago we had already used up our 100Gb for the month and were barely half way through. But watching streamed videos when shaped is just painful so we got another 5Gb. And now, despite limiting the kids to internet every other day, that is used up too.
Watching streamed video is, of course, necessary for my course. At least, it should be possible to download the videos and watch them offline, but a security update to IE a couple of weeks ago seems to have rendered downloading them impossible.
Our allowance doesn't roll over again until the 11th...
In other words just under a week ago we had already used up our 100Gb for the month and were barely half way through. But watching streamed videos when shaped is just painful so we got another 5Gb. And now, despite limiting the kids to internet every other day, that is used up too.
Watching streamed video is, of course, necessary for my course. At least, it should be possible to download the videos and watch them offline, but a security update to IE a couple of weeks ago seems to have rendered downloading them impossible.
Our allowance doesn't roll over again until the 11th...
How to cure an existential crisis...
May. 3rd, 2012 10:57 pmSometimes I think Liam is in the constant grip of an existential crisis (this is the child who, when he was six, asked me how he was supposed to know whether he was real or not). But every now and then he gets worried about dying. Sometimes this comes across as just another excuse to get out of bed when he is supposed to be going to sleep. At other times as a rather more genuine concern. It disturbed me too, when I was a child, so I have rather more sympathy for him than Andy does.
But just a few days ago it seemed to come to a peak. He was deeply, genuinely depressed about dying, and all the explanations about 'most people don't die until they're old' and so on didn't seem to be getting through. Fortunately Liam seems to have come up with his own solution: when he grows up he is going to invent some pills to stop people from dying. End of crisis.
Well, there was a small ancillary concern about what would happen when the world ended, but he seemed to get over that when I told him it wouldn't happen for 5 billion years.
But don't worry about the dying thing, because Liam has that in hand.
And yes, I am procrastinating from my homework, however did you guess?
But just a few days ago it seemed to come to a peak. He was deeply, genuinely depressed about dying, and all the explanations about 'most people don't die until they're old' and so on didn't seem to be getting through. Fortunately Liam seems to have come up with his own solution: when he grows up he is going to invent some pills to stop people from dying. End of crisis.
Well, there was a small ancillary concern about what would happen when the world ended, but he seemed to get over that when I told him it wouldn't happen for 5 billion years.
But don't worry about the dying thing, because Liam has that in hand.
And yes, I am procrastinating from my homework, however did you guess?
