Tech Inspector

Nearly the end.

The Inspector — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:03:06 +0000

It feels like this school year has flown by for our children. My wife mentioned this morning that our younger son has finished his curriculum for the year and is already starting next year’s lessons. Home schooling our children means that we are able to move forward with educating them as quickly as is appropriate for their needs. We love being able to start and finish the school year on a schedule that works well for our family. It is also nice to slow down when there are more difficult concepts that take them a bit longer to master. Right now we have our sights set on a nice long summer vacation. If everything stays on target we will finish our school year in the next couple of weeks.

Garden in progress.

The Inspector — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:58:22 +0000

Today we will be heading to my in-laws property to finish construction of our new garden. This garden has a been a work in progress for quite some time because we had to clear the land of a lot of brush. Today we will be covering the tilling the soil one more time and covering it in black plastic. We will then be putting up a fence. Hopefully we will be able to get the majority of the construction done and be able to plant by June 1st. It is going to be a push to meet that deadline but it will be worth it if everything comes together.

Daily excursion.

The Inspector — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:03:56 +0000

Each and every day my youngest son and I take a long walk around our neighborhood. My little guy absolutely loves this time together and begs me to take him out. It seems like he just has this strong need to be on the move. My older son would rather read about repairing a furnace or starting a raleigh nc accounting firm than go for a walk. I have accepted that my children are polar opposites in this respect. My hope is that I am instilling in them both a positive attitude about being physically active. I think that by setting a good example for them they will learn to appreciate having a healthy lifestyle. If I were to force my older son to go walking with us I believe it be seen as a chore from his point of view rather than a fun activity that just happens to be good for you.

Always amazed.

The Inspector — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:59:05 +0000

Just when I think the world can’t get any weirder there is always a new story that proves me wrong. Today I read an article in the Huffington Post about a man who makes his living dressing as a clown and stalking children. This man is hired by parents to purposefully scare their children. He states that children love what he does and that it is all in good fun. I just don’t know what would drive a person to hire someone to threaten and stalk their child with the intent of scaring them? This really seems like child abuse to me. What happened to common sense?

Safety…

The Inspector — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:53:01 +0000

My uncle is a motorcycle enthusiast. He rides his motorcycle almost all year long. What amazes me about him is that he will not ride his motorcycle to visit my mother because of the law in the state where she lives requiring the use of motorcycle helmets. I find it simply astounding that someone would not want to wear a motorcycle helmet. I would want as much padding as possible between my head and anything that might hit it. My uncle has offered no other reason for not visiting other than the fact that he refuses to ride in any state that forces him to wear a motor cycle helmet. I have to wonder if he also refuses to use a seat belt in his truck?

Overload…

The Inspector — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:52:02 +0000

This week has got to be better than last week. It absolutely must be an improvement. This is a mental plea on my behalf to the power’s that be… My son has to have an MRI to check out the bone marrow in his leg. My wife ended up in the ER because of abnormal bleeding and now needs a colonoscopy. My father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and my 24 year old cousin is now about to depart this earth due to cancer. I feel so horrible for her and those close to her because it is such a tragedy and there is nothing that can be done. My mind is absolutely full of thoughts about cancer and how it seems to be everywhere…This week has to BE BETTER.

Gardening…

The Inspector — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:23:27 +0000

We have a neighbor that lives on one side of us that loves to garden. She plants every kind of flowering plant imaginable. On the other side of us lives a guy who seems to have no interests whatsoever other than smoking. The only time I see him outdoors is to have a smoke. He doesn’t work and seems to sit on the computer all day from what I can tell. He says he is a writer but I have my doubts. He could be sitting ther pricing car insurance or getting vonage rates for all I know. What I can tell is that he doesn’t appreciate my vegetable garden in the slightest. Every chance he get he finds something to tell us about how our garden is going to draw “predators”. He can’t say deer or something along those lines an has to call them “predators”. Every time we go outside to work on the garden he immediately comes outside to watch and smoke. Maybe he is the “predator” because thus far the only thing the garden seems to draw is him outside.

Snow? Seriously!

The Inspector — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:16:52 +0000

Yesterday it was 73 degrees outside and today it is 50 degrees. Tomorrow we are supposed to get snow. Not just a little snow but about 10-16 inches of snow. I am seriously worried about what all of this up and down weather is going to do to our fruiting plants. We have a peach tree, blueberry bushes, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, grapes, and a couple of chokecherry bushes. We are constantly covering and uncovering everything to try to compensate for the weather but I know it has to be messing with the plants in way that is not good. My gut impression is that there won’t be much fruit this year because of this constant fluctuations. Maybe I will be surprised and get proven wrong but right now I have my doubts.

Knife sharpening…

The Inspector — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:11:10 +0000

This week was busy one in our house. I spent just about every evening this week working on merit badge stuff with my oldest son. He needed to pass off on certain requirements at this weekend’s camp out. One of those requirements was being able to sharpen a knife and ax effectively. My son is a smart kid but is very stubborn. He gets an idea in his head of how something should be done and often refuses to see that there is a better way. We butted heads on the practice of knife sharpening many times during the weeks and ultimately he sharpened his knife perfectly by hand. In his mind every job could be made simpler by using an mechanical device for the job such as those made by diamond blades. It is hard to get it through his head that when you are out in the woods you can’t just pull out a mechanical tool for every job. There are just some things you need to know how do without a tool so that you are ready when you don’t have one available.

Playing…

The Inspector — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:03:27 +0000

It isn’t until you have more than one child that you realize how different children from the same family can be. Our oldest son never played with toys. He has always been a child who simply takes pleasure in reading or observing the world around him. Our younger son is exactly the opposite he plays with toys constantly and rarely sits still long enough to read. I love that they are so different. It gives me as much joy to watch my little guy play with toys for hours as it does to watch my older son sit very still just watching the world. As a parent it is nice that they have different needs because you are never left feeling completely tapped in any area. I can’t imagine having a bunch of kids all wanting me to play or read to them constantly. This is the perfect balance…