It's official!

It's official, I've completed my Master's Degree. So I am now a Master of Science! I like the sound of that.

Strangely enough, my being done with my degree doesn't feel much different from being in a degree program. I think this is due to education being such a big part of my life. Working in education (going on 8 years now) I'm surrounded by the atmosphere of classes, teaching, and learning. My work life is dominated by the school calendar and school concerns. I'm sure my feelings are also due to there being a two year break for my religious mission during my undergrad and it taking me five years to complete my graduate program due to lack of funds at different times. Over the last thirty-two years I have been in school or in a degree program for about twenty-three of them.

What's more, because I work at a university I have access to classes and degree programs at a inexpensive rate (i.e. free to a certain extent) so the possibility of taking classes without having to worry about funding is always present. As I've learned more about myself and what kind of work I like to do I've considered getting a second Bachelor's in management information systems (something along the lines of database administration). I would only be able to take a couple of classes a semester (due to time and the tuition waiver policy) so it would take me quiet a while, but it's free, so why not take advantage of it.

What this ultimately means is that any time I'm not actively enrolled in classes just feels like a break between classes. It doesn't matter if it's for three months or two years. It's just a break from classes. They'll start up again in the future and I'll have homework, lectures, etc. and things will feel normal again. Granted, my definition of normal is different from others.

Reflections on parenting and childhood

This weekend I was reflecting on my family and my children. I love them very much even though they often do things that drive me crazy sometimes. As I was thinking about those particular things that drive me nuts I realized that I remember doing many of them when I was their age.

For instance, one thing that my father always got after me for was dragging my feet when I walked. I'll be honest, when I was a kid, I never noticed that I dragged my feet and I had no idea what he was talking about when he told me to stop. As an adult, I am acutely aware of when my children drag their feet, particularly when they are outside.

Angel and I am constantly frustrated by Tigger's predisposition to push buttons and take thinks apart. He does it to see how things work - he's experimenting - and it drives us crazy because it tend to break things. We're down our blu-ray player because he was messing with the drawer. He will also ignore us when we tell him not to touch things. But it wasn't until I saw him walk up to something and push a button just to see what it would do that it occurred to me that I still have a tendency to do that. I'm incurably curious and love to see how things work. In short, he is just like me. What's hard with him now that I've realized what and why he's doing it is not to squash his curiosity but also to keep him from accidentally breaking anything.

There are a few others, but, of course, I can't remember any as I write this. I also try to keep these revelations to myself. This is in the interest of self preservation as Angel tends to look at me rather severely when I confess to doing things my kids do. Luckily for me, she will sometimes confess to seeing herself in our kids as well. In those confessionals we invariably smile and say, "So, it's your fault."

Proud of my little learners

We had Back-to-School night on Tuesday. I drove into work so I would get home sooner than I do on the bus. Good think too, we walked out of the school just in time to see the bus that I would have been on drive by, but I digress. Kanga is starting 2nd grade and is continuing in the Chinese immersion program and Tigger is starting kindergarten. They are both excited and we're looking forward to seeing their teachers.

Even though Tigger won't know which teacher he will have yet, they went by both of possible options' rooms. He might have the same teacher as Kanga did, but he might not. Angel told me that when he was talking with the other teacher she asked what subject he was excited to learn in kindergarten. He replied, "Science! Like volcanoes and space!" She smiled and told him that they won't be covering science in kindergarten, but that she was sure that he could tell her some interesting things about volcanoes and space. He started to immediately. I was also pleased with him when we went to visit Kanga's teacher. While she waited to talk to her teacher Tigger found something interesting.

The teacher had this math balance, fully loaded with all of the pegs on. Tigger, in his tinker, must-push-that-button kind of way took one of the pegs off and the scale tipped. Intrigued, he started shifting, removing, replacing, and adding pegs. He was experimenting with the pegs, not knowing the significance of the numbers on along the top, but clearly experimenting with the different positions and seeing what would happen. Tigger is very much into seeing what will happen, but unfortunately, it often lands him in trouble because what often happens is something gets lost or broken. I really, really don't want to stifle his curiosity, so watching him explore the math balance gave me some hope that we can help him explore in a safer way.

Kanga, at this time was sitting quietly at her desk waiting for your Chinese teacher. She does not speak Chinese often to us, but we have learned a couple of phrases. I was a little anxious about how much she has retained. The teacher came up and started talking to her in Chinese and Kanga didn't even blink but responded in kind with confidence and comfort. They didn't talk long and I'm sure that it was not a complex exchange, but Kanga looked more confidant than many of the other students. She was also able to explain the conversation in some detail as we were leaving. Perhaps I'm just being influenced by my fatherly pride, but I am very proud of her abilities, particularly when it comes to Chinese.

I'm sure there will be challenges - I hope that we can get Tigger to complete homework for instance. But I am glad that my children love learning new things and are looking forward to school.

Book Review - The Ethos Effect by L.E. Modesitt, jr.

I've mentioned before that my father is much more of a science fiction fan than I am. I've also mentioned that I will regularly talk books with him and get some recommendations. The Ethos Effect is one of his recommendations based on my enjoyment of Dune. Both Dune and The Ethos Effect include hard sci-fi elements (important technologies, space battles, and galactic cultures) but also include huge social and political components. With classes and limited reading time it's taken me a while to get to it, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. The book takes the long view, taking place over several years, but keeps the perspective to one character with a returning cast. It wasn't really difficult to keep track of everyone. My father's copy was personalized with the statement "For the ethics!" and I wasn't sure why until I was about half way through it. There is an overarching question throughout the book of what is ethical, why ethics are important, and to what extent is someone willing to go to preserve ethics. Some might call the book message fiction, but like Pratchett's books, I didn't feel that I was being influenced to think a certain way, but rather to consider an idea and its possible implications. There are plenty of hot-topic buzz words, but they did not captivate the story - I didn't feel like Modesitt was trying to check things off a list.

Plot: Van Albert is a capable commander who has had some bad luck. A previous attempt to destroy a marauder resulted in a freak accident that killed a colony ship of innocent bystanders. Even with it proven to be beyond his control, with such a black mark on his record he knew that he would never be considered for important missions. However, he received an important mission when he is called to be the military attache in a highly pivotal system. Things get stranger after he foils an assassination attempt. and finds himself forcibly retired for "medical reasons." Cast adrift and cut off we tries to find something to do with his time, but nobody wants a ex-career military pilot. Nobody by a strange information group that not only offers him his own command, but a salary that is obscenely high. Is it too good to be true, or is it too little compensation for the lengths that Van will be required to go?

My personal favorites: Van was a good character. He was competent and likable. The other supporting roles felt real too. The conflict was a balance of physical and mental and wasn't heavy handed or heady. Modesitt was an economist by trade - one of the reasons my father likes him - and I liked the way that he discussed the economic and ethical aspects of the story. They were not complicated, but were though provoking. The tech was well handled without being burdensome, focusing on the story.

Considerations: The only consideration that is needed is how the reader feels about the actions taken in the book. There is no graphic violence and no sensuality. What the book does contain is people making choices that the reader is asked to judge for themselves.

While I had to remind myself that many classic sci-fi tend to take a while to build up, I enjoyed it and found it rather engaging. It was certainly thought provoking. I just read through some of the one star reviews on Amazon and while I can see why some people may not enjoy it, I did. The total length was 544 pages.

Daddy/Daughter camp out, Aug 6-7 / 2015

Dad learned that the Elder's Quorum in his ward was having a Daddy/Daughter camp out and asked if he could bring his granddaughters. Considering that he's not even in the Elder's quorum anymore (hasn't been for over 10 years) he figured he needed permission. They basically said, "you're going to anyway, so why are you asking?" What can I say, they know my father. He was kind enough to invite his granddaughters' fathers, so Darpa (my brother-in-law) and I found ourselves enjoying a very nice weekend with our girls.

We stayed in the Weber Memorial Campground not far from Causey Dam. Angel dropped Kanga off as I got off work and she and I drove up from Ogden. It took us a little over 30 minutes and was nice weather. The campground had a lot of thistle bushes. Darpa said that it seemed like the perfect place for Eeyore to live. Most of them were in bloom and I can't resist a blooming thistle. Despite leaving at 5:00 pm our party as one of the first ones at the site. Dad was there with the elder's quorum president and his two daughters. Kanga immediately began playing with them and her cousin. I don't have pictures of the mud pies and other creations they made, but they had a lot of fun.

That night we had hot dogs over the fire and started in on some s'mores before it started to rain. It was particularly nostalgic for me because we had forgotten to bring roasting sticks so we had to cut our own. When the rain started to come down hard, but we had a nice tent, games, Oreos, and lights. I was impressed by Kanga and her cousin's logic abilities as we played mastermind. I read Secret Garden to Kanga as we passed out to the rain. We all slept well, although I did wake up when a drop of water hit my nose. Luckily I was lying on my side so I just scooted over and it didn't happen again. My clothes did get a little damp, but that was because I had a water bottle that didn't have its lid tightened all the way.

The next morning revealed that a lot of people had arrived in the night and we had a big crew for breakfast. While we were cooking the girls had a rousing game of "who can be the bigger pyro." they used over 450 matches in a little over ten minutes. Kanga had fun and surprisingly no one was hurt. That's a difference I noticed between camping with girls verse boys - potentially dangerous activities generally have less injuries. With that said, my oldest niece did seem a little too anxious to use her knife. I was a little worried. Kanga was not so interested in using my knife to trim her stick, so I didn't have to worry too much. 

After breakfast we went to Causey Reasevor and the girls were able to pile into a canoe. I took them out for a quick tip and then Darpa took them on a longer tour. Kanga really liked it, citing it as the highlight of the trip.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and very enjoyable, despite the rain. We got home in time for lunch and had a quiet afternoon with Angel and the boys.

Book Review: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

This is another book I picked up in the library because I thought the title and cover were interesting. Interestingly enough, as I started to read it, I realized I had heard of the book referenced on Writing Excuses. I actually started reading this book about a year ago, but didn't get very far before I had to return it. As the cover picture and blurb indicate, it is a steampunk story. Set in Seattle in an alternate history of the 1880s, the story did a good job of combining steampunk, post-apocalyptic, and zombie elements in the story. It felt like it was more of a literary fiction, that is it read slower than normal, but I might just be out of practice. I enjoyed the story and will keep an eye out for other books by Cherie Priest in the future.

Plot: The start of the Yukon gold rush saw a contest to develop a machine capable of harvesting the gold from the frozen wasteland. Leviticus Blue won the contest but on a "test run" tore through downtown Seattle ripping the bellies out of the four largest banks and destroying, killing, and impacting countless thousands. What's more, it released a gas, the Blight, from under the earth that eats away at people turning them into mindless eating machines that crave human flesh. People were evacuated and a giant wall was built to keep the Blight and the Rotters contained. Ten years pass and Briar Wilkes, the wife of the vanished Leviticus Blue, has a son desperate for answers and sure that he can prove Leviticus' innocence. The search for truth takes him under the wall an into Seattle's deadly streets. Briar suits up and with her father's old service repeater goes in after him. What they find is whole communities of people who have made a living for themselves behind the wall. And these communities are on the brink of war.

My personal favorites: The story line had some great diversity to it. It moved incorporated so many elements from across a broad spectrum that I found the world very engaging and interesting. The characters were fascinating, even if it took a while to relate to them. I liked how the story presented the challenges and the people that had to overcome them. While some might accuse the author of deus ex machina, I found the story flowed well with the characters. There are quite a few fun characters that I liked.

Considerations: There are some graphic descriptions but nothing over the top or outside of what I consider outside of young adult. There was no sensuality gratuitous violence. There was some strong language, but no F-bombs. I recommend it for a mid to late teen without difficulty.

The book was a great example of using multiple elements of multiple stories together. I enjoyed the way the story flowed and thought the characters interesting and engaging, even if it took me a while to engage. The total length was 416 pages.

City of Rocks Trip, Pioneer Day 2015

Over Pioneer Day (July 24th for non-Utans) we packed the family up for the weekend and headed for Idaho. City of Rocks to be precise. The pictures below are shown as small for reading purposes. Click on them to blow them up enlarge them.

We've learned that with three kids we need more stuff and have less room to pack it. We ended up dropping one of the "captain's chairs" and then packing everything around the kids in order to get it to fit. We're already considering a top mounted cargo pod although Angel wants a trailer. Our van doesn't have a hitch but that hasn't stopped Angel from researching how to attach one.

We arrived at the visitor's Center in Almo in time to eat lunch before heading in. We also watched the 15 minute video about the park and I learned a few things. For instance, the cause of the granite formations in the City was a huge uplifting of magma from which the surrounding dirt was eroded away over many, many years. Interestingly enough, a similar event caused the San Rafael Swell in Emery County, Utah. After getting Camp set up near Practice Rock (one of my family's favorite climbing spots) Kanga, Tigger and I when exploring and had some fun while Angel put Roo down for a nap. We got back to a happy boy and some storm clouds building. We were going to do hobo dinners (tinfoil dinners) but the chicken was still frozen solid, so we did a potato and sausage cook up we had planned for Saturday. We were able to cook dinner between smatterings of rain and it everybody loved it. We got cleaned up and into the tent before the real storm hit. The rain was coming down so hard it sounded like hail and the wind was blowing most of the night. It rained off and on throughout the night, but we all stayed dry. We've been considering getting a Springbar Tent but weren't sure what size to get. We asked Mom and Dad if we could borrow their 10'x10' for this trip and were were glad we did. Our regular tent would have let the rain in and would have been chilly and unpleasant. The Springbar was awesome and kept us dry and warm.

The next day we enjoyed a long hike through the City. The weather was perfect in the morning and the kids did great. Even Roo was a good sport. Granted, I was carrying him. Everyone had water and snacks and despite there being a fair amount of up and down everyone did a good job with very little complaining.

Mom, Dad and Babe (my youngest sister) came up that afternoon and we enjoyed chatting with them before roasting hot dogs and making cobbler before the weather started to turn on us. Tigger had been splashing in puddles earlier in the day and so his feet pruned up nicely. Again our borrowed tent kept us dry and warm. The kids were mighty tired after all the running around thy did.

The City has over 600 climbing routes, not to mention bouldering and hiking opportunities. It's not uncommon to look up at a rock and see climber skylined against it as they ascend or rappel down. If you blow up enlarge the pictures below you will be able to see the climbers on the back side of Elephant Rock and Morning Glory Spire (you can read the labels on the sign to identify Morning Glory Spire - the climber is on "Skyline"). Have I ever mentioned how amazed I am by my phone's camera?

Saturday morning we had our chance at climbing. We got Kanga all suited up and she gave it a valiant effort, but in the end decided she wasn't ready to trust the rope. Before anyone can climb they first must trust the rope. I respect her hesitancy (I backed out of my first rappelling opportunity myself) and Angel, Mom, and I made the ascent. Babe belayed Angel and Mom, but didn't want to belay me, so Dad did. The kids ran around and had fun. There were others climbing on the same rock and so lots of good community.

We climbed until lunch at which point Mom, Dad, and Babe headed home and the kids and I went exploring again. We hit Breadloaves and Bath Rock and ended at Window Arch. Angel met up with us there. We coordinated the meet up with radios. Those have come in rather handy since we picked them up. The kids had a lot of fun (as you can tell from the picture at Bath Rock). That night Angel and actually stayed outside playing games until the stars came out. There was still some cloud cover, but no rain. 

Sunday Morning we packed up and headed home. We had a nice Day of Rest, but missed going to church. All in all a very good trip. The kids had a blast playing on the rocks around camp. Tigger had a fine collection of bruises from his hip to his knee from taking various tumbles. He also got bit by an ant which caused him to freak out. I must confess that I was impressed by how willing he was to climb about and on the rocks. Here he is below with his walking stick. While I can't remember what game he was playing I'm calling this picture:

I HAVE THE POWER