• The kids go to schools of the SF Unified School District, and there have been several field trips, and one graduation — although they call it a “promotion” (5th to 6th grade), and so being a participant in those activities is #1.
• Planned, prepared, shopped for and executed a birthday party for the older child. After the party, I certainly have a new appreciation for my son’s teacher. She has to deal with 4x the kids, for a whole school year. Whew!
• Read Orson Scott Cards’ Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide , and Jim Butcher’s Grave Peril and Summer Knight, and Tom De Haven’s It’s Superman!: A Novel
• Planned for a (much needed) vacation
• Worked “in the field” almost every weekend
• Work on post production when I’m “off the field”

I’ve cut down on commenting on others blog, reserving the right to speak only when I truly have something valuable to add. Of course, I still have the blogs in my Google reader, so that I can keep tabs on things.

But I’m beginning to realize that this blog will probably be “seasonal”, with more posts most likely in the Winter and Spring, and less in the Summer and Fall.

Hopefully, you’ll still come by.

Thanks for reading!

How is it that gas companies can charge nine-tenths of a cent?

Does it really make that much of a difference?

Take a look at the sample pricing from last week (outrageously high pricing notwithstanding):

• $4.17 and 9/10 for Regular
• $4.29 and 9/10 for Plus
• and $4.41 and 9/10 for “V-Power”

Why can’t they say $4.18, $4.30, and $4.42, respectively? What if I buy exactly 1 gallon — shouldn’t I get one-tenth of a cent back? I don’t. So I end up paying $4.18. Multiply that by hundreds of millions and those one-tenths add up, don’t they?

Be Honest with Your Pricing

We should be more honest in our pricing, and I’m not just talking about gas stations, but everything in general. In fact, I propose a simple way to present more “honest” pricing — something along the lines of:

• Under $15, round to the nearest dollar, e.g. $1.00 per song on iTunes, not $0.99
• $20 to $100 - round to the nearest 5 or 10, e.g. $25, $90, $100
• $110 to $990 - round to the nearest 10, e.g. $240, $680
• $1000 - $9,900 - round to the nearest 100, e.g. $1400, $8,900
• $10,000 - 99,000 - round to the nearest 1000
• $100,000 - $500,000 - round to the nearest 5000
• $505,000 and up - oh, who cares at this point? You can go back to pennies, e.g. $99,999,999.99

Don’t you think that would help?

Have a great weekend!

Indiana Jones

Next to the original Star Wars Trilogy, Indiana Jones is probably my next all-time favorite movie franchise.

Whether or not the latest incarnation will be worthy of the original trilogy remains to be seen — I hope so.

Childhood memories

I remember being a teen, and watching The Last Crusade on the big screen. It was probably my first movie where I vivid recalled each and every scene afterwards, and this was only seeing it for one time.

Mind you this was first time I sat in a stadium-seating type of theater, with THX sound, etc., etc. so I think the whole experience simply blew me away.

Up till The Last Crusade, I was either too young and/or too poor to really go out watch movies on a regular basis, or to even appreciate the experience when I did. (I stayed home and played legos).

Inspiration

I know that Indiana Jones creator Geogry Lucas was inspired by the old serials of the 30’s and 40’s, and I’m glad that his creation serves as my own childhood serial

Key Points of Appeal

Here’s what appealed (and appeals) to me about these films:

• Good versus Evil - we get a clear delineation of good versus evil. Indy is good, and he’s always battling the bad guys. You can’t get more simple than that.
• Heroism - Indy normally tries to do the right thing. His sense of fairness and justice is usually right on the mark. He’s not the biggest bruiser out there, but he stands up for his beliefs and doesn’t normally back down from a fight. He’s also smart, and of course, has a bit of (movie magic) luck.
• Romance - there’s a romance to the series, and I’m referring to more than the onscreen flings that Indy might have. I’m referring to it being set in the period right as technology is beginning to come into its own. Today we have “steampunk” fiction, which is set in the Victorian or late-Victorian era: steam-power, the first “scientific fiction”, etc. Indiana Jones, being set in the 30’s and 40’s (at least with the first trilogy) allows us to experience the raw power of then-new technology, with no worries of environment/ecological impact and such
• Enjoying the Journey - sure each film has it’s underlying goal — the “MacGuffin”, as it were. But seriously, who didn’t enjoy the chase scenes, the (campy) Batman-styled fights, and exotic locales. (Speaking of locales, this is how I envision Casablanca would have looked like if it had been shot in color.) In the end, the Indy movies are a bunch of great roller coasters that we love to get on over and over again.
• Music - kudos to John Williams for composing yet another memorable theme — how many has he done? The rousing Raiders March — heroic, uplifting, epic — will live on in popular culture for a long time to come, to be recalled as easily as some of the other great themes — The Pink Panther, James Bond — or William’s own Star Wars or Jaws.
• Happy ending - all(?) of the films have a happy ending, at least of sorts. Things are resolved — Indy has saved the day (or the world). What more can we ask for? This is actually known as the Classic Hollywood ending where boy gets girl, and they live happily ever after. Of course, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the original trilogy, but I do remember feelings of satisfaction from watching. That’s certainly not something I can say with the majority of movies out there.

In the end, I think it was every boy’s dream to grow up to be like Indiana. I still remember wanting a fedora for the longest time.

What the world needs more of are hugs, big hugs
For the smallest tots to the largest of lugs
What the world needs more of are hugs, big hugs,
For friends and “enemies”, and even your pugs.

First off, they’re free and they’re effortless
And they’re warm, and they’re comforting, too
They show compassion, forgiveness and friendliness
And openness, it’s love through and through

What the world needs more of are hugs, huge hugs
It’s the social thing that we often don’t do
What the world needs more of are hugs, sweet hugs,
For everyone from here to Timbuktu

Please don’t let your egos get in the way
As we work to-gether face to face
On the issues that affect all our days
After all, we’re all part of the human race

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
Expressed so simply as the act of hugs
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

No, not just for some, oh, but just for everyone

I’ve always liked the original lyrics, but it’s pretty abstract. Hugs are more tangible.

Have you hugged someone lately?

Have you ever heard that described of anyone?

Often, the connotation is negative, implying that the person is not worthy of praise, someone who is too undisciplined, scatterbrained or worse.

I beg to differ.

I consider myself well-versed in a variety of skills: writing, web design, illustration, graphic design, photography and videography.

And I like it.

However, I have learned that earning an actual living required me to focus on one vocation — guess which.

Everything else, however, still come into play in today’s world: website, marketing materials, blog, etc.

And for those of us running our own small business, we wear even more hats: owner, receptionist, secretary, accountant, advertising firm, salesperson, customer service, clerk, shipper, oh, and our actual profession.

That is, until we can (or decide to) find (or afford) a way to outsource — maybe hire an “office manager”, someone who will wear almost as many hats as we originally did.

Even blogging requires a variety of skills: content-writing, design, SEO, social (media) savviness, etc.

For me, being a versatilitist allows me to:

• continue learning - just as I’ve had to learn the different nuances to blogging, it’s the same with my own business, as I learn about marketing, workflow, and plan for the future.
• quash boredom - I often tell my older son, do you want to be a garbage man, someone who drives a truck around all day, along the same routes, emptying cans, every day, for years and years (apologies to all the sanitation engineers out there). I couldn’t do it, even if the pay and benefits are great (according to an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe).
• be self-reliant - I am quite happy not to have a boss to answer to (in the traditional sense, as all my clients are mini-bosses).
• control my own destiny - I’m not beholden to any one (except my family). Vacation? Okay, let’s plan for it. More time for the kids? So be it. More personal reading instead of blogging? Yes. And It’s only recently that I’ve taken that step — that I should be versatile in balancing my work and personal lives.

How about you? Are you versatile?

1. Sleeping in late - this is especially high on my list, as being self-employed and with two kids, my days are often long, and I work on weekends, too. So the occasional morning of sleeping in is really welcomed. After a couple of intense days, there’s nothing like stretching out early in the morning, look lovingly at one’s partner still in deep slumber, and deciding to catch a few more winks. Next thing you know, it’s 10:30 AM.
2. An afternoon nap - almost a corollary to #1: I’m often up late working, or I have to wake up early to get in yet more work. Sometimes, before I pick up the kids, or perhaps during the time they do their after school homework, I sneak in a nap. Oh, so delicious! The bedroom faces towards the west, so we usually get the warm sunshine streaming in, and a short 15-20 minute nap really does wonders.
3. Beach revisited - we’re having terrific weather, and yesterday we took the kids out to the beach as a reward for having a great week at school. Being there reminded me of my earlier post, and now I could expand on it. Lying down on the warm sand, with the light ocean breezes sweeping over you is quite nice. Also nice, ironically, is rolling up your pants and getting into the freezing cold water. We were playing “tag” with the ocean, and got totally caught up in it — not to also mention the older kid got totally soaked from falling into the water!
4. Riding a bike - I’m not a runner or jogger because my knees complain afterwards, and to me it seems like it’s a lot of work to not get very far very fast. However, riding a bike is different. It can be more leisurely when you want, but also an intense work-out when you want. Plus, you cover more ground. The clickety-click of the gear system, scenery rolling by (Golden Gate Park, especially), all makes for an experience to relax the mind.
5. Listening to the kids - Their mom and I often enjoy listening to their conversations, which are often humorous and “cute” because kids say the funniest things (without meaning to be funny, usually). When that happens we just look at each other and smile — much more preferable to scolding them for something bad that they did.

Have a great weekend!

Worthwhile and not whileworthy?

Trustworthy and not worthtrust?

I thought I’d expand on that a bit.

1. All things equal, positive attitude wins out - if you had to choose between two job candidates, both with the same credentials, same skillset, and such, but one has the cheery, genuine I-want-to-know-you kind of smile, whom would you select?
2. All things UNequal, positive attitude wins out - or how about if one candidate is quite a bit more qualified than the other candidate, but the other is more personable, and you can tell she would work well within the team, whom would you choose? Along those lines, I tell my son that we may not be the tallest, fastest, strongest, best-looking, smartest, wittiest person — although we can certainly strive towards excellence — but how far we can get in life can depend a lot on a positive attitude.
3. Positive Attitudes Helps You Overcome Setbacks - one of the most upsetting things the older brother does is to have fits over minor setbacks, such as forgetting to write a word in an alphabetizing exercise and needing to start over. I tell him with a bad attitude that puts you in a sulky mood, unwilling to go further, how will the work get done.0
4. Positive Attitude invites compassion - I tell my son that if he has a good attitude, when he is stuck at something, I am more than happy to help, even if it’s an “easy” question (up to a point). However, I tell him, a bad attitude from him puts me in a bad mood also, and then I’m just not that open to helping.
5. Positive Attitude is Charisma - I touched on this in my D&D post, but we’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know”, really refers to our charisma. Of course, we need to know something, have some skill or expertise, but charisma is what gains another person’s trust — meaning a customer or client, or employment, or cutting through some red tape, etc. Having a positive attitude is really an important component to having a strong charisma.

It’s not easy raising two rambunctious little boys, and I must admit, I sometimes lose patience with them — that’s when I take my own time-out and go read in my bedroom while their mom takes over.

But I’m hoping that constant drilling and reminders now will help them tremendously when they’re older.

Image via Wikipedia

If you’ve never read any Ludlum novels, here’s a short wikipedia description of his stories:

Ludlum’s novels typically featured one heroic man, or a small group of crusading individuals, in a struggle against powerful adversaries whose intentions and motivations are evil, adversaries capable of using political and economic mechanisms in frightening ways. His vision of the world was one where global corporations, shadowy military forces and government organizations all conspired to preserve (if it was evil) or undermine (if it was good) the status quo.

Having real only a few of Ludlum’s numerous titles (he actually died in 2001, and recent novels are ghostwritten off his manuscripts or notes), I can say there must be a Ludlum style, which I shall try to distill:

• Realism - a lot of what drew me into Ludlum’s novels is his depiction of the world. On the surface, his world is exactly like ours — cities and nations, economics and politics, etc. However, underneath the surface are forces we know nothing about: secret government organizations, clandestine operations, conspiracies and puppeteers who control the puppeteers who manipulate our hero, etc. The way Ludlum describes procedures and policies, weapons and tactics all seem real because of the “technobabble” he deftly uses, enabling readers to suspend their disbeliefs. (Technobabble is what we hear in sci-fi, such as Star Trek, when terms like “structural integrity field” and “Heisenberg compensator” are used to explain concepts to advance the plot). He describes operations, tactics and motives of organizations, governments and economic mechanisms such as secret bank accounts with such detail that they all seem more than plausible — it’s like we’re getting real-life lessons on how things (may) work.
• “Evil” Characters - by using the third person narrative — and a most omniscient narrator at that — we are many privy to the thoughts of major characters. As such, we learn about the motivations for them, and realize that while the characters that are “evil”, we know that they do not think of themselves as such. Rather, they have their own justifications and motivations for their actions. In D & D parlance, they tend to have an chaotic-evil alignment, meaning these antagonists see only themselves as being right, being the smart one, and that the end justifies any means needed.
• Intense Action - we are so used to the “summer blockbuster” movies, filled with special-effects, THX sound, etc. Well, Ludlum novels are also filled with action, although it’s all described in words. Car chases, hand-to-hand combat, gunfights, you-name-it it’s probably in one of his novels. Reading the sequences sends my heart pounding, and I start reading faster and faster, eager to find out what’s happening next. No wonder they’re called thrillers.
• Exotic Locations - in typical James Bond-ish style, Ludlum’s characters invariably need to travel the world, and here again, the author inserts an “in the know” travel guide for the location he uses, describing places in such detail that we can easily picture the natives, hear the foreign tongues in the markets, smell the scents, etc.
• Plot Twists - the hallmark of any good mystery thriller is its ability to keep the reader guessing. Sure, there must be clues so that we can develop their own suspicions as we read, but at the same time, we don’t want the story to be too predictable. It’s a fine balancing act, one that Ludlum seemed adept at.
• Good Guys prevail - at least so far, in the three novels that I’ve read. I know this may not happen in real life all the time, and you certainly will find less of this in the plots of foreign movies — good guy wins, gets the girl, etc., is what’s known as the “Classic Hollywood” ending — but I usually go watch movies or read books because I like to feel good at the end.

What I’ve described is certainly not limited to Ludlum novels — but for developing the Ludlum “brand” so that readers expect a certain type of story in a certain type of style, his novels certainly deliver the goods.

This post expands on my earlier post about the 7 Principles I’m Teaching My Kids.

Troubled Kids

When I hear about troubled kids, I think of any recent number of murders (or massacres) committed by a young males, and the inevitable follow up report that the perpetrators’ parents usually “had no idea”.

They had no idea.

Why is that?

Parents Must Be Responsible Parents

It’s obvious to me that what was missing was open communication between the parents and the child. A parent needs to know what’s going on in their kids’ lives out of the home. When you think about it, a young child spends approximately two-thirds of their lives at home eating, playing, doing homework, etc., and sleeping, and the remaining third at school. So, during their formative years, two-thirds of their lives are spent exposed to anything and everything they see and hear in school, on the TV, in the classroom, on the playground and on the internet under their parents’ care.

So obviously, the most influential person your people kids can (or should) ever see, talk to, and listen is you, the parent.

Open Communication is Key

This communication has to start at a very young age, and continue throughout the teen years — since I guess if you’d made it that far, communications should remain optimum during the child’s adult years.

I want that with my kids.

So what am I doing about it?

I certainly do not have a “high powered job”, but I do run my own business, and can easily (and often do) spend upwards of 70 hours per week on it.

I realize that low-income households may have (a) parent(s) who work all day, just to make ends meet. Even high-income households will have parents work all day as well, leaving their kids under the care of nannies. Both situations often means the parents are unavailable.

Attend their School Activities

For me, luckily, one of the perks I that I DO have is the ability to take a little time off to attend my children’s school activities: Halloween Costume Parades, music concerts, field trips, school plays and the like.

To see their smiles and their waving when they see me in the audience really brings a warm feeling to my heart.

I’m certain that just my presence boosts their self-esteem, validates their importance to me, and at the dinner table that particular night, the child will proudly describe what transpired. I also bring along my little point and shoot camera to take few shots or a short video. And after the dinner, we sit in front of the computer to relive their memories.

The kid is happy for the rest of the evening. And beyond.

This simple activity will form the basis for the child’s future nostalgia.

Discipline, Discussion and Decisions

I’ve also found that dinner time is a great time to go over important lessons — and the kids’ various teachers have mentioned that “what’s practiced at home is what’s practiced at school”, and of course, in life.

• Paying Attention - during dinner, the TV is OFF. I know it’s so tempting to want to be entertained while eating, and for a few years we did that since we were eating with relatives who did the cooking. But recently, we’ve started cooking for ourselves in order to eat earlier, and now that the TV off, the difference is so much more noticeable. We can talk about various topics without the kids eyes wandering off. The kids actually look at their food, and at whomever is talking.
• Discussion - the quiet also allows us to bring up topics that may have been brought up in the car ride home. Oh, a “friend” snitched about a secret you told him? How does that make you feel? Is that person trustworthy? Conversations like that allows us to broach on more abstract topics that we feel are crucial to their emotional growth.
• Decisions - the last thing that I want to mention is we can use the dinner time to make announcements, such as what we’re going to do on the weekend, or how much more attention should the kids pay to their schoolwork, etc.

I know my kids are still young yet (5th and 1st graders), but both their mom and I feel that it is SOOOO important, especially in our oh-so-complicated society, that we make sure we connect with our children at an early age. We want them to feel comfortable and that it’s safe to talk to us.

Hopefully, they’ll continue down a fruitful path, with a nudge or two from us from time to time.