Performed Well

My wife Christine and I have tried many different parenting methods over the years with varying degrees of success.  But probably the most successful single tactic we've tried has been when we typed out all of the rules--and their appropriate consequences if not followed--and put them up on the wall where the kids could see them.  No matter how clear we thought the rules were before we typed them out, they were never so clearly understood as they are now. Here's a practical example of what USED to happen before we typed out these rules: 1. We clearly tell the kids what time they need to be in bed and administered proper discipline when necessary, and it works the first few days. 2. We make a special exception on some given day(s). 3. We are more relaxed about it on some other day (cuz we don't really care to be drill sergeants that day). 4. After the kids start taking advantage of our relaxed attitudes (staying up way too late and dragging out bedtime to be a very lo...

This month is an exciting one for a family. My older brother Robbie is getting married! Robbie lived in Japan for a year and met his wife Norie while he was there. We have not gotten to know her extremely well yet but she seems very sweet and loves Robbie. Christine has been working very hard lately at getting everything prepared for the wedding. She is really showing how awesome she is at being responsible with a budget and taking care of the needs of others. I am so lucky to have Christine as my wife. I pray that Robbie and Norie have as rich and happy a life as Christine and I have together.

As i write this, I'm in Salt Lake City Utah preparing to start Day 2 of NG-Conf--a  3-day tech conference that attracts hundreds of developers from around the country to learn the latest trends and best practices for development using the front-end Angular framework.  Here are a few thoughts: 1. The technical aspects of this conference are top-notch.  After watching something like 15 different keynote speakers on Day 1 using thousands of slides and several multi-media presentations, I couldn't identify even one technical glitch or delay due to technical issues.  This is remarkable. 2. I find myself frequently trying to assess the skill level of the room to see where I fit in.  Obviously, this should't matter too much, but I often wonder how I measure up in my industry.  Many of the speakers were moving through their subjects so quickly that I had a hard time following them.  Was that unusual?  Were most others feeling the same way or were they...

Almost two years ago, I ran into an old friend of mine named Evan (not his real name, since I haven't asked his permission to tell this story) who was somewhat recently married and working a part-time job.  I knew him to be an intelligent person and quite capable of learning new skills.  I pitched him on the idea of starting a new career in Software Development. I had made a Software Development Curriculum a few years back that centered around Lynda.com as a tool for developing practical tech skills and frequently practicing them with do-it-yourself projects.  My brother Davey had used this, and it was a major starting point for him learning the skills to take on his first full-time job as a software developer.  He is still working as a software developer to this day and making a very good living doing so. I wanted to use the curriculum to help Evan also.  Evan worked diligently at following the instructions and learning HTML, then CSS, then JavaScript. ...

For many years, my mom has had a dream about buying a theater to use for musical performances.  Most of her children--myself included--were fairly skeptical of the plan.  We thought the idea was rather far-fetched and impractical.  My folks had casually looked at various theaters over the years, but rarely with much serious interest in actually purchasing one. Then about a month-and-a-half ago, they ask me to come look at a property that was less than a mile away from my house.  I expected to go there, tell them all the reasons why I felt it would be unwise, then head home.  Much to my surprise, I found myself believing in this particular property and investment just as much as they did.  The price was great, the seating capacity was near-perfect (340 seats), and there was an immense amount of good, usable space.  People who've toured the place since kept saying things like "ANOTHER huge room?!  This place just keeps going!" At the end of this...