All Quiet

Today is a company holiday--at least in our area. I'm still working, though, in exchange for more vacation time this summer when we have an extended trip planned. I think there are maybe 7 people in the entire building, which usually houses several hundred. Even the contractors are off. It's rather quiet, and I rather like it.

It was a fairly good weekend, really. Saturday I introduced the older two kids to the joy of stop-motion animation. After seeing a few examples on YouTube I decided we could try doing some ourselves. We spent the better part of the next five hours recreating parts of Pixar's "Cars". The kids got bored from time to time, but generally stuck with it.

At the end of the day we had four minutes of film. Silent film, mind you. We have an analog camcorder and no means of even getting it onto our computer, let alone editing it. I'd love to be able to do that, but it's not in the budget anytime soon.

I imagine the project was popular enough that I'll be doing some more next weekend.

Yesterday we were able to visit with my brother and his family. They live here in town, but it seems like we still never see each other. This year our church schedules coincide well enough that we are able to get together more often. It was a nice evening. Our kids and their youngest go off to the play room while the older set sit and catch up on things. It was easy to stay out longer than we'd planned.

It was foggy when we finally left for home. If I hadn't been driving in it and expecting it to create black ice at any second it would have been fun. The kids certainly liked it, declaring every traffic light to be monster eyes. No one fell asleep in the car on the way home, so we didn't mind too much.

A Nine-Year-Old Miracle

Nine years ago I received an email. I had no way of knowing then, but that email completely changed the direction of my life. I'm 100% certain that the life I am living today is very different from the life I might have had.

To quote a Tom Hanks character, "You've got mail...powerful words!"

Most everyone who frequents here (besides needing serious help) knows that I met my wife through email. Today is our "anniversary" of sorts, marking the day she sent the very first email to me. The day of our engagement a month and a half later is also a notable date, but we still view it as a lesser event compared with the miracle that we even connected at all.

It wasn't like we had a class together in college like my parents. It wasn't like we were members of the same church congregation like my sister and her husband. I posted an ad on a semi-obscure website. A few weeks later, before my ad had sunk too far enough down the listings, a Finnish girl looking to practice her English happened to see it. For some reason it stood out.

This same Finnish girl, usually rather shy about approaching strangers, wrote me a rather non-shy letter (she wasn't forward or anything, she just wrote a lot for a first letter). Yes, I did my part by writing back an even longer letter, but it was mostly her doing that got us started. That first letter caught my attention.

Things progressed more or less logically from there, but when we think of all the ways that things could have not happened, it's quite amazing. It's like two people bumping into each other on a crowded subway platform. It's like an asteroid striking the earth. Two unrelated things just happen to be in the same place at the same brief instant.

In six weeks we were engaged. In eight months to the day we were married. Nine years later we have three kids, two cats, a dog, 4 bedrooms on .2 acres, an upright grand piano, a vegetarian lifestyle, and a subscription to National Geographic. We're on our second house, our third and fourth cars, our second television, third computer, and our first dining table set.

In short, our lives have become so connected it's difficult to remember life before we met. We have our struggles, but what we have together is so much better than anything we might have had separately.

To say I love her is a profound understatement.

When I was a kid we went to a lake one afternoon. I picked up a rock and threw it into the lake. I happened to hit a fish--stunned the poor thing. I wasn't trying to hit a fish. It just happened.

Nine years ago I wrote an ad looking for a penpal. One of the people it "hit" was a Finnish university student 4900 miles away. She took that one paragraph and wrote a letter of several pages. That letter connected on an unusually deep level. It set the stage perfectly for what was to come. I wasn't looking for a wife. It just happened.

Please note I'm not in any way advocating getting engaged to someone you've never met, based on emails and chats. It worked in our case, primarily because we're essentially honest, open people. We connected in a way that made us feel safe taking risks and sharing very personal feelings and thoughts. And each time we did we either made another connection or at least treated in a way that we still felt safe. We reached into personal spaces within the first week that can takes months for other people to reach.

Within a month we had explored to our foundation and found it solid. We started to build. That foundation has supported everything we've built together since then.

It all started with a letter, by someone writing in English as a second language.

If I see no other miracles in my life, this one will be enough.

Thank you, dear!

-----------------------

I was just reviewing my blog entries from a year ago. It was a bit strange to note that last January someone burned down a landmark in Finland that was familiar to me. Strange, because last week someone burned down the church we attend while in Finland. It makes me wonder what is going to burn next January.

They're rebuilding the Haralanharju Nakatorni. I imagine they'll rebuild the church. Still... what is it with some people?

Wonder Winterland

I swear we've received more snow in the last two weeks than we've seen in the last two years. And except for driving on it, I have to admit I kinda like it. Okay, the driving's not too bad, either. So far I haven't encountered any serious idiots.

Last night I was out walking the dog, watching her bound (as much as an arthritic nine-year-old dog can bound) through the drifts and make her mark on the world (don't eat yellow snow!), I realized that there were aspects to winter that I miss. It makes even the ugliest of landscapes new and beautiful--like the weed-infested berms of fill-dirt at the cemetary backlot near our house.

Of course last night it was still and just above freezing. This morning walking the the mechanic's shop it was below freezing and windy. I didn't romanticize nearly so much. But then I wasn't taking my time. I had to get my car and get to work.

My starter has been a bit glitchy lately. This morning it nearly didn't start. When I did get it started I drove it directly to our mechanic, who fortunately lives three blocks away. And I have to admit, I don't mind visiting this place, even though it can get expensive.

First of all, the owner is friendly, remembers my name, and is more than willing to chat while I'm waiting for my car. He's a local guy just hoping to make a go of it, and since he treats me well, he qualifies on my list of "local guys to support".

Best of all, however, is Rooster, the owner's two-year-old golden retriever for which the shop is named. She's (yes, I know, a rooster is a "he", but her original name was "Kangaroo", which morphed to "'Roo-ster", and then "Rooster", okay?) the shop's goodwill ambassador, and anyone who knows me can attest I'm a sucker for friendly dogs.

When I took my car in for an oil change near Christmas she kept me busy the entire time playing tug-of-war with a rapidly disintigrating santa toy. This time she just insisted that I pet her. I was quite happy to comply, especially when she kept giving me that "I will love you forever--keep doing that" look that you just don't get from cats.

The owner knows I live nearby, and today he offered to take me home while I waited for them to install a new starter. I accepted. Even better, I got to ride in the "Rooster Mobile", his custom-painted truck that serves as a rolling billboard for the shop.

Best of all, all the neighborhood kids (including my daughter) were waiting at the bus stop across from my house, and got to see me pull up in the Rooster Mobile. Instant...Celebrity. The only way it might have been better is if Rooster had been along for the ride (we left her behind at the shop). Oh well. It'll take years before I'll be able to top that entrance.

As much as I'd rather avoid having to go to the mechanic, it does have its up-sides.

Swordlessness

If you're interested in military history, military current events, and how one is shaping the other, try this article: Forty Second Boyd and the Big Picture from "Eject! Eject! Eject!"

Very interesting article to me. Complete with fun German words, like fingerspitzengefuhl.

Seriously though, this article discusses at length how the military as learned since Vietnam, even if our politicians haven't. Also makes a strong case for one man making a difference, even in a bureacracy. Here's to John Boyd, one of the most influential men you've never heard of.

Christmas Means Carnage!

(Yes, I DID watch "Babe" this last week. How did you know?)

Okay, it wasn't on Christmas, but during my vacation last week. We have several bird and squirrel feeders in our back yard, and we're getting quite a variety of birds dropping by, including a small hawk or kestrel or something like that. Usually it just sits on the fence and behaves itself.

Last week it dropped by and sat a little closer to the house on one of our rock planter beds. We got out the binoculars and took advantage of the closer look. Then I noticed it had brought along some food. It took me a little while to figure out what it was. It didn't look much like what it once was anymore.

That turned my wife off immediately, and she scared it off. Fortunately it took its dinner with it. (Oh now look, Zazu! You made me lose my lunch!)

I went out later to clean up the area a bit, thinking the feathers would be a gruesome reminder my wife could do without when she went outside later to refill the feeders. There were a lot of feathers, and a few other surprising bits that I won't mention. Let's just say that today's title is apt enough, and I no longer disagree with my wife's declaration that it can do its feeding somewhere else. My "Respect For Nature" does not include turning my planter bed into a sacrificial alter.

It was a very striking, handsome bird, nonetheless. We'd be more than happy to admire it any time it wants to drop by. Just eat before you come, eh?

Fun Without Glasses!

What the bottle of shampoo said:
New! Richer lather!

What I (mis)read:
New! Richer father!

Partridge In A Big Pear Tree

It's got great harmonies! It's got great parodies! It's got good comedy(s)! It's Straight No Chaser doing "The Twelve Days of Christmas!"

Good stuff!

Christmas Vacation

As soon as I'm done with work today I'm on vacation for a week. I'd like to say I won't be back until next year, but I'll be back on New Year's Eve. That week counts as part of 2008 from the company's perspective, so if I take that monday off it'll come out of next year's vacation time. I'm trying to save up my time so we can take an extended vacation next year, so every day counts.

Today also happens to be my name day. Well, Tuomas' day, so it's close enough. Being the only one if the family without a Finnish name, we have to take what we can get. And what did I get? A nice, warm hat for my dancing, dining, and dog-walking pleasure. And with the winds we get around her sometimes, trust me, it'll be a pleasure. I don't care for cold ears.

We finally got some decent snow up on the mountains. It's still bare and brown down here in the valley, though. Since I won't have to go to work in it, I'd love nothing better than a good snowstorm sometime next week. Chances aren't particularly good, though. That's the trouble with living here. If this were California then you'd know not to expect snow. But here, there's always a chance. It could snow, and it could stick long enough to be worth something.

In fact my very first Christmas here it snowed six inches. It was beautiful! We've had nothing close to that ever since, and certainly not for Christmas. Oh well. On the bright side I shovel walks maybe twice a year. And considering that our house has sidewalks on two sides, plus a triple-size driveway, that's not a small bonus.

Anyway, in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

Wait, no--Happy Holiday! Enjoy whatever time off you get!

More Fun With Headlines

On MSNBC.com:

"Nickelodeon considers teen pregnancy special"

Yes, I'm sure being a pregnant teen is special. Not desirable, probably, but special!

All-American Girl

My oldest son to his (blue-eyed) sister over breakfast this morning:
"Your eyes are red, white, and blue!"

Watching What You Eat

I don't usually get involved in animal testing issues. I'm not completely sure we can do without it in critical situations. But I have no problem denouncing the animal testing conducted by M&M/Mars. They're not doing it to ensure public safety. They're not doing it to meet government requirements. They're doing it...just to see what claims they can make about chocolate. Like people need more reasons to buy chocolate. I can easily live without M&Ms and Snickers, thanks.

Hershey's has already banned animal testing, by the way. Which is fortunate, because I really love Reese's and Kit Kat. Go Hersheys!

In other news, I'm reading "The DaVinci Code". Yes, at long last. I'm probably the last person in America.

I'm mixed. The story is interesting enough. I mainly just get irritated with the way the author tells the story. Any sense of suspense is created by telling you that one of the characters knows something important--and then not just failing to tell you what it is, but bending over backward not to tell you what it is.

It's the adult literary version of that annoying girl in the third grade who would come up to you and say, "I've got a secret and I'm not tellin'! Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!"

Not a single bit of suspense comes from the plot itself. At no time are we all that concerned with what will happen. We are made to only care about what has already happened that we're just not being told. And the writer goes to great lengths to set these little "gems" up.

For example, at one point we're given a flashback episode between the hero and his editor as they discuss the draft of his latest book. The editor goes on and on about how controversial "this" is, yet manages to never come out and define "this." The scene comes off awkwardly, as any normal person would have have come right out and said it rather than the strained dance we get.

A little bit of this is fine. A lot of this is annoying. An entire third of a book (and no signs of slowing) of this is insulting--to both the reader AND the author. It's as if he doesn't trust in his plot enough to treat us as equals and lay it all out for us and trust us to come along willingly. "If you knew what I knew you'd stop reading, therefore I won't tell you."

Indeed, the plot itself seems contrived. When I last stopped the heroes had just escaped the police with the help of someone who would normally have no reason to help them, but just happened to be an old friend of one of them's father. He's willing to jeopardize his career and his life to defy the French equivalent of the FBI because...well, the girl said she was innocent.

I get the idea that the writer is either telling the wrong story or just doesn't know how to tell one at all. The back plot is more interesting than the main plot. His characters can be incredibly bright one moment and incredibly stupid the next. Not that I care at all for his characters, either. They're flat. The only one with any hope for depth is the murderous albino monk.

I'm only a third of the way in, so perhaps things will get better. But this constant diet of dangling and withholding is getting old. I'm listening to this in the car on the way to work, so it's not like I have something better to do with the time. I'm sure I'll finish it regardless, but I probably won't pick up another Dan Brown novel any time soon.

Don't Look, Marion! Don't Look!

I'm not familiar with Jennifer Love Hewitt or her work. I can't say if I find her attractive or not. But I can say this much: Good for her. Who says, assuming she's even fat at all and not just victim of a bad picture or has wide hips, that she's obligated to be skinny for the cameras? Who says she has to be subjected to ridicule if she's put on weight?

Obviously the real story is that people think she should be skinny and she's not. Pardon me if I fail to get excited. She hasn't punched anyway, swindled anyone, done drugs, called anyone a bad name, driven drunk...she's gained some weight (if she's even done that!).

Until that's a crime, shut up already.

They say that men are keeping women down. It's not men reading these magazines, ladies. You're doing it to yourselves.

Attack of the LOLCats

There are various sites out there for amusing pictures of cats and other animals. This is one of them:

moar funny pictures from I Can Has Cheezburger.com

Or this...

moar funny pictures

That's What It's All About

Actually, I don't know what it's all about. But I suspect carrying a tooth in a tissue in your suitcoat pocket all through church because your daughter lost it during Sacrament Meeting is included in there somewhere.

I'm also betting the Hokey-Pokey isn't even mentioned.

Web Game Festival Gate Bible Earth School

Today's title comes from some spam I just received. I'm not sure what they teach at the Web Game Festival Gate Bible Earth School, but I'm rather curious to find out. Not curious enough to open the email, though, I guess.

Am I alive? Yes. Do I have anything worth posting about? Not really. Does that bother you? Probably not.

One-Two-Three-And-Where's-Your-Breakfast!

Last night I pulled out my copy of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" and tried reading it to the kids. Emma and Walter loved it, and it put Richard to sleep. I remember my mother reading us stories from the book when I was a kid, so it was fun to see the kids enjoy it too. The circle is now complete.

One of the most fun was "How the Leopard Got His Spots". That's the one that I most remember. The line "sit on his head 'til morning" found its way into the family canon and gets quoted frequently. Many other lines jumped out as forgotten favorites, such as "He who takes cakes that the Parsee-man bakes makes big mistakes!"

Emma liked the book so much she asked to take it to bed with her so she could read it. My job here is done!

After the kids went to bed I watched some more Babylon 5, followed by part of Ken Burns' "The War" on PBS. And interesting pairing, really. Both shows deal with the realities of war on both a macro and micro level. It's one thing to look back on WWII from sixty-plus years later and judge what happened by today's standards. It's another thing altogether to experience it from the perspect of those who were there.

Take the decision to use the A-bomb. It's easy to criticize now, looking back across decades of the Cold War, Mutually-Assured Destruction, and the current threat of rogue nukes and dirty bombs. But at the time the only alternative that they could see was an invasion of Japan itself at the cost of millions of lives.

None of the regular troops or the civilian population even knew the bomb existed at that point. When suddenly two of them were dropped and the Japanese surrendered I'm certain they felt immense relief at having avoided a fight that would have made everything that had gone before it seem like a barroom brawl. And what had gone before it hadn't been at all easy. Just taking a single island cost more lives than the entire Iraq War to date.

I can't imagine very many people then seeing the A-bomb as a bad thing. Of course they couldn't see what was coming. But while we're enjoying the blessing of hindsight, we should also consider that we survived the Cold War. In spite of our low opinions of ourselves and human nature, the A-bomb was the first and last nuke used in war. It saved many more lives than it took.

Anyway, what our nation achieved in WWII was nothing short of miraculous. That our men and women faced that trial, slogging through unimaginable horrors, and returned home to resume largely normal lives speaks volumes.

I've only seen bits and pieces of "The War". I'm not sure I want to see all of it.

But I probably should.

Odd Movies

I watched "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" last night. It's one of those movies that I've been meaning to watch for years but never quite got around to. Until I found my brother had it, that is. I borrowed it from him, and last night I finally had enough time to watch it.

I found it...vaguely disappointing. Visually it's a masterpiece reminiscent of Miyazaki. The design work is great. The acting is...well, better than you realize. Considering that most of the time the actors are reacting to stuff that isn't there, they do a superlative job.

But the characters themselves are flat and uninteresting. Gwyneth Paltrow looks great in retro clothing, just as I expected. Jude Law looks...well, let's just say I wouldn't turn down outfits like the ones he wore. But other than that, they just didn't do anything for me. I think I cared more about Lex than Joe or Polly--and I didn't care that much about him, either.

The writing and editing were bad. So bad, in fact, that I can't help but think it's done on purpose in homage to...something. And therein lies the problem. Homage only works if the audience if familiar with the genre being...homaged? Homagiated? I'd say it's probably homage to the old serials of the 1930's and 40's, but I've never seen them. And there is no way they could have even approached the EFX this movie has. If anything I think this may be homage to old radio plays, as a listener's imagination is the only medium that could have accommodated this kind of story.

The plot was little more than a shell, really. We were never given more than the briefest of exposition, and there were many, many places where more was needed--not just wanted, but needed.

All in all, the movie is comparable to the character Polly Perkins: Gorgeous, but not much substance. And I think that's why I struggle with this movie. It's not often that I simultaneously love and hate the same work of art.

I referenced Miyazaki (aren't I the cultural snob!) before, and in hindsight the reference is more apt than I realized. I've only seen one of his movies, "Howl's Moving Castle", and it was beautiful. But unlike in "Sky Captain", the characters were developed. There was a lot of background information glossed over, and not much exposition, but I think Miyazaki shows more skill at knowing what to explain and what to just let "be".

Visually, however, they have a lot in common--though I also rate Miyazaki higher for attention to detail. They both provide spectacle in the best sense of the word. The British flying aircraft carriers were impressive, and one of the best moments of geeky pleasure came when the British aircraft slipped their propellers from front to back to switch from airplane to submarine mode. It was...just...cool, okay?

So yeah. Good movie. Bad movie. Unsatisfying in that they did such a good job on some things that surely they could have done a better job on the rest of it. Oh well, it was worth everything I paid for it. (Thanks, Bro!)

Jinkies, Scooby!

I ran across this history quiz online today. I got a 90%! I guess I've retained more than I would have thought--though I admit that had it not been multiple choice I'd have gotten most of them wrong. Still, I didn't expect to do THAT well.

Ghost Town

It would appear I'm the only one on my team in the office this morning. We did a big, nasty upgrade to our system over the weekend. Or I should really say "they". I'm not a technical person, so there wasn't much I could do

Our system was supposed to be online by start of business this morning. We made it, but only with about three hours to spare. The original schedule was to be done by noon yesterday.

IT is an odd business. It seems we're always dealing with complex systems that we don't fully understand and can't predict. We give optimistic estimates, then kill ourselves to beat the deadline.

Part of the problem is the nature of business. We simply can't be without important systems for more than couple days. We were already soliciting grumbles when we took the system down on a Thursday. If we'd asked for a few more days to make sure we did it all right we'd have been lynched. If we'd not have made the deadline this morning we'd have been lynched. And if we'd decided to bail out and go back to the old system it would be a month at the earliest before we'd get another chance.

So...here I sit like a nerd in the wilderness, waiting for the others to come. And praying nothing major goes wrong this morning before everyone else regains consciousness.

Which Is It?

My local paper is predicting economic doom and gloom. Meanwhile, this article is pointing to our solid GDP figures and near-record unemployment as signs that everything is just fine.

I know which one I prefer to believe.

And not to make light of the mortgage woes right now, but I have a hard time feeling sorry for either side. The mortgage companies shouldn't have been offering easy money on confusing terms. The consumers should have been paying more attention. To bail either side out only encourages more of the same. People sometimes need to get hit over the head with something to learn their lesson.

So pardon me if I'm not jumping at the chance to have the government spend my taxes to bail out someone who should have known better. I live below my means. I was careful about the terms of my mortgage when we moved two years ago. We bought less of a house than the mortgage company told us we could afford because I asked questions, did my own thinking, and knew my financial limits.

Perhaps I'm just weird. Perhaps I'm just old-fashioned. Perhaps I'm hopelessly out of touch. I think I need some government money to help me get back into touch. ;-)