Behold...
...the product of the last 1.5 years of my idle time. Can't wait to
hang it up at the office.
Jun 13
Feb 5
Javascript Times Table Quiz
I built a cool little javascript-based quiz tool for my sons to practice their times tables with today.
Jan 31
A little consumer advocacy
OK, minor venting session. Let's compare this Colgate dental floss purchased here in our local grocery store for about 30 NOK, or about 5 USD.
It looks normal from the outside. One day I had to rethread it, however, and was disappointed to discover that the container is mostly empty. In fact, it only contains 25m of floss. Let's compare that with this 2-pack of 91.4m Reach dental floss that I can buy for roughly the same price in the US.
In other words, in Norway, dental floss costs over SEVEN TIMES more than it does in the US. While most staple foods are only 3-4 times more money, there are many slightly-less-essential items like this one that cost almost an order of magnitude more. Where is the outrage?
Dec 29
Move over, Marilyn Monroe
I swear this photo was completely unplanned, but tell me, how could it get any more perfect? I guess Annie got tired of wearing pants, so she ended up only in her diaper, sitting on a reindeer skin and wearing a pink leopard pattern shirt. Kami and I couldn't stop laughing. So sexy!
Don't ask me how we ended up being the ambivalent owners of a reindeer skin. Cisco decided to give them away as Christmas presents this year.
Nov 8
Portrait of son James
Here is a quick sketch I did of my son James. Not great, but it's
recognizably him. This was fun. Made me want to take up drawing again.
I used to sketch a lot more when I was a teenager.
Oct 8
Terrifying moments in childhood
Being around kids is great for being reminded of things that you take for granted. I glanced over at Sam while he was watching Pinocchio the other day. At the part where the boys in Pleasure Island start turning into donkeys, he was quivering and whimpering in sheer terror. The process of seeing a pleasant familiar figure turn into something hideously alien took him completely by surprise and was simply too much for him. I had to reassure him that things would turn out OK in the end.
There is a strange schizophrenia in the adult psyche that treasures the tenderness of childhood while simultaneously threatening it with frightening fairy tales.
Oct 2
Hiking in Kjekstadmarka
It's been too long since I posted anything. I think my barrier to entry has been too high. Hopefully I can strike a better balance between quality and quantity. Today the boys and I went for a little walk in a forest trail near our house with some friends from church, the Amundsen family. The trail is next to Røyken, a neighboring town, near a suburb called Kjekstadmarka. The terrain reminded me a lot of the Uintah mountain range in northern Utah. Although the altitude is much lower, it has similar granite rock formations amid fir and pine trees.
We hiked for a while into the forest and then roasted some hot dogs over an open fire. We're still trying to get fully equipped for Norway. Their kids wore full body outerwear with rain galoshes, which came in quite handy since there was a lot of mud. We had to hop around to avoid the mud.
Jan 2
Important film: Food, Inc.
Do yourself a favor and watch this movie:
http://www.foodincmovie.com/ This really brought home to me how dangerous and corrupt our food supply chain has become. Responsible people everywhere really need to take charge of their own eating habits, because if you go with the easiest option, you are really taking your life into your hands.
