http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice it's only narcissistic when other people do it Sat, 06 Oct 2007 22:09:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en (This is a story by my son Ethan, who is 8 years old.) Chapter 1 Once upon a time there was a boy who loved to swing. One day he swung so high that he slipped of and flew though the air! Then a peregrine falcon stuck him down flying the ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/10/05/the-weird-family/ From Roz Savage, who rowed across the Atlantic ocean and is now attempting the Pacific: I believe that if you don't keep pushing the boundaries, keep expanding your comfort zone, your comfort zone actually gets smaller and smaller, until you're shrink-wrapped in such a tiny comfort zone that you can't move, ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/08/13/comfort-zone/ The kids all got their medals today from the Fraser Valley Regional Library summer reading club challenge. Aidan, when he came home with his, said now he's got his first medal "so he can feel like a winner." [tags] family, fun, reading, medal, kids, john koetsier [/tags] http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/08/13/so-i-can-feel-like-a-winner/ Ethan's instructions: 1. Blow both balloons up first (to stretch the balloons) 2. Let the air out of both 3. Blow up the balloon that's supposed to be bigger (on the outside) 4. While holding the outside balloon put the other balloon inside it 5. Blow up the inside balloon 6. Blow up the outside balloon ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/08/04/how-to-blow-one-balloon-inside-another/ Some books that I've just finished up: Witnesses of War, by Nicholas StarGardt About children's lives under the Nazis before, during, and slightly after WWII. Appalling, moving, engrossing. In Search of Stones, by M. Scott Peck Peck's tale of a trip he and his wife took to the UK in search of dolmen and ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/08/02/latest-books/ I'm trying to formulate my personal rules for success ... the principles that I think will make me "successful" given what I know of my personality (strengths and weaknesses). They're a work in progress, obviously. And each is a guideline, not a law of the Medes and Persians. In no particular order: Don't ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/07/30/personal-success-rules-v-1/ Wow. You really can outsource just about everything these days ... The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message. Many have arrived with large suitcases or bags holding their belongings, which they keep in ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/07/25/outsourced-protesting/ We're currently on BC's Sunshine Coast taking a week's holiday. A couple of days ago we took a two-hour hike to Skookumchuck Narrows, which is where the tidal flow into a huge basin is constricted through a narrow passage and can exceed 30 km/hr. Really cool rapids and standing waves ... ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/07/20/skookumchuck-rapids/ Whoa. I wonder what this would do to government corruption around the world: The former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, has been executed for corruption, the state-run Xinhua news agency reports. He was convicted of taking 6.5m yuan ($850,000; £425,400) in bribes and of dereliction of duty ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/07/10/i-guess-that-would-stop-corruption/ It's really good to see that the American media knows what's important: 3-foot subs that aren't. It's not like there's anything more important to talk about right now. [tags] news, america, msm, john koetsier [/tags] http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/07/10/bread-circuses/ I've had some really good books out from the library ... been on a bit of a history kick lately ... Here's a selection: Shadow Divers, by Robert Kurson Excellent book - wonderful story of 2 amateur deep-sea divers who through sheer persistence and amazing energy and effort wrote a new chapter in ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/06/12/books-for-the-past-few-weeks/ Ethan and Aidan were playing around with Photobooth, Apple's fun picture-taking software that accompanies the newer iMacs and MacBooks with built-in cameras. A couple of the results: And one that they liked better: The painting you see in the back? It's Jeroen Vermeulen's ... their uncle (and my brother-in-law). [tags] ethan, aidan, john koetsier, ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/06/04/fun-with-photobooth/ (a poem by Gabrielle Koetsier, age 10) Children sitting, solemn, silent. Bell rings! Screaming, yelling, violent! Running, rushing, up the stairs. "Children, wait!" nobody cares. School's out! It's summer! Time to play! No more teachers! Run away! We are going to the pool. Perfect way to keep us cool. Let's go buy some lemonade! We will drink ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/05/06/summer-holidays/ This past Easter we, naturally, had an easter egg hunt. Each of the kids had a chance to hide the eggs and let the others find them. And Gabrielle, being the creative girl she is, had to make it more interesting ... with clues. Here they are ... Hrm .... in ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/04/14/easter-egg-clues/ Chris Forde, a documentary filmmaker, is doing a movie on Paddle to the Amazon ... the longest canoe journey ever. I'm interested in this because I read and reviewed the book Paddle to the Amazon, which is the amazing story of Don Starkell and his son Dana, who paddled from their ... http://www.sparkplug9.com/art-n-artifice/2007/04/14/paddle-to-the-amazon-documentary/