<The meaning of life>

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

I'm tired.
I need my sleep.
The furnace is turned off because the accessory connection is not working.
And then
The flowers bloom
Only to be eaten, by herbivors.
Dumb deer.
Deer dumb.
Walkng prey animals.

Good night Dad, glad you made it okay yesterday.

posted by Nick 1:35:00 AM

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Its late, the car needs to be parked, the dishwasher emptied, the cat put into the basement, and the house cleaned up. In the day time the furnace is to be replaced, the cat goes to the vet, and soccer practice is in the afternoon. Then we need to have dinner and to get to working on background mathematics - worksheets and all. And perhaps the little guy will deign to eat properly at least once.

Thats why they call it a blog.

posted by Nick 11:57:00 PM

Sunday, September 07, 2003

The summer is more or less over. This was our "North American Tour 2003" summer. Bethany Beach, Delaware; WestPort, Massachussetts; Vancouver, BC; Calgary, Alberta; Creston, BC; Nanimo, BC; BeachComber, BC. Maybe 3000 miles total. Two Vans, three ferries, four airplanes, landing in a thunder storm, driving near a forest fire with dark skies. And visiting old friends in far away towns. Now the nights are finally getting cold enough for the kids to need jackets in the mornings while going to school. Oh boy.

I have learned a couple of things about car travel. First screaming kids don't behave better if you scream at them. Second they can scream a lot. Third they scream and bother each other just for something to do. Fourth, stopping at the side of the road until they shape up might be a better way to go. Fifth, how can they break so many headphones? Sixth, why, with three CD players in the van, are they still fighting over the music? Seventh, what do you mean your batteries ran out?

School has been on for two weeks here. We are earlier than most of the rest of the country this year. The kids get to ride the bus for the first time. They love that. I don't have to drive them. Why doesn't the youngest at home get toilet trained?

I haven't gone through the many hours of DV videos I took this trip. "I need a faster computer" to handle the pictures. Arghhhh.

All the appliances are reaching end of life. Hmmm time for a new car as well.

Our parents are getting old in Vancouver. Dad goes in for some consultation next week.

posted by Nick 4:11:00 AM

----- social commentary -----
"Jarhead", by Anthony Swofford

I used to think that histories told the entire truth and covered all of the important events and issues on a topic. Now I am beginning to see a lot of memoirs - the baby boomers and post boomers strike back? - and am developing a sense of the incompleteness and ambiguity in human experience. It has taken a long time to get to this level. I have enjoyed these books because the people who wrote them are generally serious, and reflective, and have something to say about the life's experiences. I don't get the same gravitas from fiction.

posted by Nick 3:56:00 AM

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Free Space Field Random Thoughts

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Sunday, September 07, 2003