By Erik France on 3/24/2007 6:36 AM

As I drove home last night, both the gentleman and his dog were at the same intersection.  I was not able to stop, but I began to think about how we do not stop for people any more.

I remember helping people on the side of the road when I was younger.  However, I am not sure how much of this I do anymore.  I still stop to help push a car to a safer spot, offer a jump start, etc.  But I have not stopped to pick up passengers since Justyn was born.

Hmmm ... I wonder what that says about the state of society, or more importantly, about me.

By Erik France on 3/23/2007 8:11 AM

I found something I do not understand yesterday evening.  As I was driving home, I saw a gentleman on the side of the road with a sign reading, "Passing Throrough. Down on my luck. Please help. God Bless You."

My first thought was, "Oh boy, spring is here again and so are the travelers."  Then I noticed something which made me think.  Next to this guy was his large duffle bag (why do they always have a large duffle bag?) and next to the bag was a Golden Retriever.  Now, here is the part that baffles me ...

The dog looks well fed, is sitting on the ground and behaving itself.  Why?  What possesses the dog to sit there?  Better yet, why does the dog continue to tag after this gentleman?

Later in the evening it hit me.  Maybe the dog is not a dog.  Maybe the dog is an angel in disguise.

See, I have recently finished reading "This Present Darkness" by Frank Peretti.  In this book, angels and demons are shown walking around and influencing the humans.  Those silly humans do not see the...

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By Erik France on 3/16/2007 11:53 AM

A few days ago we went to an Ice Cream Social for the Preschool.  It was a lot of fun, but the best part was watching Carter dance during the sing along.  I took a video of it with my digital camera.  Sorry for the bad angle; I did not think about how it would look during playback.  I hope you enjoy the video clip.

By Erik France on 3/15/2007 2:21 PM

I received the e-mail message today that says I have been cleared to partcipate in graduation ceremonies for the Universityof Phoenix in June 2007.  It is good to know they have completed their review of my academic standing.

It is also a bit unreal to realize I will be able to walk across a stage and be hooded soon.  Whew!  That will be a good day; a day to enjoy the results of a lot of work and time away from my family.  A day to enjoy success and have fun with my family.

June can not come quickly enough.

By Erik France on 3/15/2007 11:43 AM

Well, after messing up my original order, I was able to place a new order and get things handled correctly.  So now it looks like I will finally get the game around March 30th.

But, on the good news side, I found out my friend Mike is now playing as well.  Along with Adam, that makes two people I know who play.  I am assuming I will soon learn more about the millions who are playing the game.

By Erik France on 3/13/2007 2:58 PM

Never, ever take on level 17 mobs when your hero is only level 7.  I totally wipped at lunch while playing Guild Wars.

I know, I know.  That is such a n00b thing and I should know better.  But hey, I was exploring and didn't know where I was at.  The mobs looked like something I had taken down before, but they totally kicked my group all over the field.

Guess I just have to wait for Amazon to send me my Guild Wars copy.  My trial membership has about five minutes left of play time on it, so I will not be able to play until I get my CDs in the mail.  {please hurry, Amazon!}

Well, back to the RW to write more code.

By Erik France on 3/12/2007 9:16 PM

I called Scarborough Elementary school today to discuss Kindergarten Round-up.  In many ways it is a bit hard to realize that Justyn will be entering the great socializer called "public school".  I am not sure who is more excited, him or me.

Round-up is March 30th and then there is another event in April for the kids.  I think it will be a wonderful experience to finally have children in school.

By Erik France on 3/11/2007 10:03 PM

Tonight during dinner, Julie and I were commenting on the future and lamenting that, at some time, we will have three teen-agers.  What a food bill that will be!

So, Julie says, "Even if Mom and Dad don't have cows, we still need to buy our meat from the locker."

Justyns asks, "Why do you buy meat at a locker?"  You could tell he was trying to understand why meat came out of a metal box.  So I explaine "locker" was short for "meat locker" and that this is a place that processes meat.

"So, do they hunt the cows?" asks Justyn.

After a brief pause while Julie and I laughed, I tried to explain that cows are not hunted as deer and other game animals are.  Hey!  At least he realized the meat locker was the same place his uncles took their deer to get it processed.  I think that is pretty good for a five year old.

But hunting cows?  How did he come up with that out of the blue?  What a wonderous thing a child's mind can be.

...

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By Erik France on 3/9/2007 2:09 PM

Sometimes it pays to drive to work.  No, seriously.

Today I saw a great license plate on one vehicle.  It read:

VOGONS

This was funny to me because I just love Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  And, if you remember, the Vogons were building a space highway when the story begins.

So, you understand why this was really funny to me when I tell you I was driving on the Interstate.  Not quite a highway, but pretty darned close!

A friend at work pointed out it was a good thing I didn't see bulldozers by my house.  Ain't that the truth!?

By Erik France on 3/5/2007 2:40 PM

For Sunday evening supper we decided to prepare hot dogs for the boys.  Carter was sitting at the table and his hot dog was on his plate while Julie cut Justyn's hot dog.

Julie then turned around to cut Carter's hot dog ... but the little wiener was not there.  That is to say, the hot dog could not be found.

Julie asked Carter, "Where is your hot dog?"

"Right here," said Carter while pointing at his drink cup.

Sure enough, inside the cup was the hot dog.  Thankfully we had not poured anything into the cup yet.

"Why is it in there?" asked Julie.

"I cook it!" exclaimed Carter.

Well, I guess it did look like he was cooking a hot dog.  You just have to love "cooking" with your kids.