Walking to the mailbox

Gayla suggested that Jonathan and I go get the mail today. Jonathan is getting somewhat heavy so I decided that it would be better if he walked. He walked the entire way and had many adventures along the way.

Right out the back door he discovered a stick. He's a big fan of sticks so he picked it up. Then we walked a few more feet and he discovered a leaf that he had to pick up. Then after a couple more steps, he found a bigger and longer stick so he picked that up and dropped the leaf. A little while later he dropped the little stick and started swinging the bigger stick at leaves. He broke it in two, but a piece of bark kept the stick together. Then he swung the end stick around in circles and it broke off completely. So he had to pick it up. At this point we were about 1/4 of the way to the mailbox.

Once we made it to the mailbox, Jonathan decided he wanted to play on the sidewalk next to the street. I wasn't too excited about the idea since I was hoping to read the new Model T magazine that had come in the mail so I managed to persuade him to walk back to the start of the driveway. Then he discovered a black walnut with its husk still on and picked it up. Then he found another one and picked that one up too. At this point he was on top of the old irrigation canal and having a bit of trouble walking in high grass so he gave me one of the walnuts for safe keeping. He walked a bit further to an old apple tree and picked up a dessicated dried up nasty old little apple. I was hoping he wouldn't try to eat it and he didn't. I kept trying to get him to walk towards the house, but he wanted to walk towards the old fruit trees and high grass.

Eventually he got to the grape vines beside the driveway. He saw a bunch of grapes and made his "Please get me some of that" noises so I gave him a bunch of grapes after picking off the nasty ones. He promptly sat down and started eating them. This gave me a chance to read the Model T magazine I'd picked up earlier. Once he was done with his grapes, I thought he'd want to come in, but no. He wanted another bunch of grapes. After the 2nd bunch, I had pretty much finished the magazine and told him I was heading in because it was cold and while he was welcome to come with me, he could hang out outside if he wanted to. Our little walk to the mailbox had consumed 1 hour at this point.

Naturally, he headed straight for the barn. Sensible kid if I do say so myself.
I procured a jacket from the house and went back out to find him and brought a stick of cheese because I figured he might be hungry even after the grapes. He was playing with fun metal
pieces by the barn and I gave him some cheese and he ate it right up.

While he played, I checked out the carpets that were drying from the garden and picked up around the firewood stack for about 30 minutes. Then Gayla hollered "Dinner's Ready" from the back door and again I asked Jonathan if he wanted to go in and warm up and get something to eat. His response was to walk away from me, towards the barn, and play with more sticks and metal pieces. I picked him up and we went inside to eat.

All in all, an entertaining time with the kid. Funny thing is after all that, he wasn't very hungry and didn't eat all his dinner.

Here's a hat for you Dad

Now this is getting kind of fun. A few weeks ago we were eating cookies after church and I stashed my coat and hat in a corner. About 20 minutes later, Jonathan was at my feet holding up my hat. I put it on my head and then several minutes later he was at my feet again standing up and holding my coat. I think he was ready to go:)

Now at home, he will bring me my sandals from the back door where I take them off and he will put them on top of my feet. Then I'll put them on and he'll bring me another pair. It's pretty fun, but occasionally it can be difficult to find a shoe that was delivered somewhere and forgotten.

The other day I was carrying him upstairs early in the morning and he saw my hat and made quite a commotion until I held him where he could grab it. First thing he did was put it on my head.

Does anyone else know about kids in the 12-18 month age bracket that do this sort of thing? Have you figured out what their motivation is? I think its a combination of wanting to help, and wanting items to be in their proper place, but I'd love to hear about any other ideas.

Thanks,

If it ain't broke, fix it until it is!

I hadn't really considered how dangerous global warming could be.

First off there is this excellent article that clearly explains the facts about what has been observed about global warming and its causes. It contains quotes from many actual scientists refuting global warming statements typically regarded as fact by the media. It's long, but I'd encourage you to read it.

Now, the "other side" believes that we are all doomed if we don't significantly reduce our CO2 production and therefore minor trivial things like scientific fact don't really matter. What's important is to convince folks that we are dooming ourselves using whatever methods will work to persuade large numbers of people. This is working to some extent, at least until the Earth starts cooling. I'd like to see what the folks who come up with carbon credits, taxes, and other nonsense say then.

For the most part I've accepted this kind of "religious" battle as a fairly standard part of the world in which we live. Environmentalists are happy to bestow economic hardship on most anyone and ignore cherished traditions to accomplish their goals, but I've never heard of one actually wanting to mess with the stratosphere. Generally, environmental wackos at least have the sense to realize that the ecosystems of the world are complicated and tinkering with them for no good reason is a poor idea. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a "scientist" with the Carnegie Institution’s department of global ecology would suggest the following and that this would actually be printed. Here are a few items from his NYTimes op-ed article.
....
What can be done? One idea is to counteract warming by tossing small particles into the stratosphere (above where jets fly). This strategy may sound far-fetched, but it has the potential to cool the earth within months.
....
Which is the more environmentally sensitive thing to do: let the Greenland ice sheet collapse and polar bears become extinct, or throw a little sulfate in the stratosphere? The second option is at least worth looking into.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/opinion/24caldiera.html?em&ex=1193371200&en=d7432eefaebd3162&ei=5087%0A

I encourage you to share this information with others. If enough people think something that's working fine is a problem, eventually they will make it a problem.

Jonathan walks

Well, its pretty much official. Jonathan walks. This isn't a kind of tottering walk from one parent's outstretched hands to the other or holding onto the cable spool in the living room and leaning over and grabbing the couch, but heading from the living room to the kitchen using "the walk" as the primary form of locomotion.

Along with walking comes the ability to see things on shelves that were previously out of sight. This is a particular problem in the barn because Jonathan really likes metal objects, such as irreplaceable CJ-2A jeep bearings or old rusty bolts. Combine this is an innate desire to put things into other things and you have an automated cleanup machine that takes things off shelves and puts them into the garbage can. The key to this is to empty your garbage cans often and to inspect them after the small one has been playing near them.

So far he hasn't tried to walk down stairs or run, but I suspect that will be coming soon...

Pick your candidate

An interesting test is available here that asks a series of questions and matches up the candidates who agree with the most issues.

Somewhat frighteningly John McCain came in the highest with 49 while Fred Thompson was a close 2nd at 47. Mike Huckabee was at 35, but he seems like someone with some pretty good ideas.

Hilary, Obama, and that other guy, Edwards were all 7. I guess they like the death penalty too.

Have fun!