Bryce Moore's Blog, page 203

Some Thoughts on Taxes

I just finished my encounter with everyone’s favorite yearly rite of passage: filing my taxes. And this is the first year where I actually had to pay money instead of get a big fat check from Ol’ Uncle Sam. I’ve noted in the past that I have always been ready and willing to pay more in taxes (something which sounds bizarre, I know), and now that I actually am, am I satisfied? Did I feel like I’d done my civic duty and joined the ranks of the contributing members of society?

Not really, but maybe not for the reasons you might think.

Denisa and I owed taxes this year primarily because we both made more money. (Duh.) While on the surface that makes sense, when I looked at some of the potential effects of this, it doesn’t. See, Denisa taught three classes at the university last year. (Yay money!) But because she made as much as she did, we went over a threshold and owed a significant chunk more in taxes than we would have otherwise. I’m specifically speaking about the Earned Income Credit. If you make below a certain amount of money (depending on how many children you have, and if you’re filing jointly, etc.), then you get credit toward your taxes–and even a refund if that makes it so you don’t own any taxes.

This is the first year we haven’t qualified for that, and it ended up “costing” us thousands of dollars. Which in turns leads to the inevitable discussion: should Denisa have worked less? Was it worth it having her go through all the extra time away from home? While the simple answer seems like it should be “No,” I don’t really agree with it. Mainly, I’m against making decisions of “I will do nothing, so that I can get a check from the government, instead of doing something, so that I earn that money.” In other words, I put more value on money earned than money given.

In the long run, I believe this attitude pays off. If you’re constantly looking at a certain income threshold and always doing your best to stay beneath it, you end up limiting yourself. There are all sorts of opportunities you might pass up–opportunities which in the long run might lead to much more financial success than simply sitting back and getting a check from Uncle Sam every year. Between my full-time job as a librarian, my writing, Denisa’s baking, and her teaching, there are multiple income streams coming into our house. Why would I want to give up on any of those so that we could guarantee we make little enough to qualify for some subsidy?

But this is a choice many people face on a regular basis. Make too much money, and you stop qualifying for welfare. So maybe you should stop making money. Or maybe you should make money under the table, so you can have your cake and eat it too. (Mmmm . . . Cake  . . . ) But isn’t the whole point of these programs to help people who are unable to help themselves? Are we incentivizing a “won’t do” attitude?

To me, there are two potential solutions. The first is to simply make it so that welfare subsidies of any sort go away on a sliding scale, bit by bit. (Disclaimer: I’m neither a tax expert nor a welfare whiz. This might already be what happens.) Basically, make it so that it’s always worth your while to work more. The truth is, Denisa and I have no idea what would have happened if she’d not taught as much. I believe the EIC gets smaller the more you make until it goes to nothing. So instead of looking at that threshold and thinking “What would have happened if we’d stayed beneath it?”, it would be more accurate to realize it was going to get smaller no matter what. (I hope this is the case, at least.)

This probably needs to happen no matter what. As long as there are people in our country who need help, there needs to be a mechanism in place to help them–and that mechanism isn’t the free market. But that’s the topic for a whole different blog post.

The second solution I see is to go with a flat tax. A simple tax rate that applies to everyone across the board. Yes, you’d still have to solve the mechanism for providing assistance to the needy, but perhaps that assistance wouldn’t have to be given out through the yearly income tax ritual. If everyone knew they were going to pay 18% (or whatever percent) of their income as taxes–no matter how much they made–then everyone would be equally incentivized to simply make as much money as they could. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I believe separating welfare initiatives from income tax burdens is something that should happen. Keep the yearly tax code simple: figure out how much you made, and then take X% of that and pay it to the government.

This proposed solution is simple, so it’s likely to be wrong in many different ways. But a guy can dream, can’t he? (And of course, having written all of this, I looked back at my earlier post and saw I came to the same solution then. At least I’m consistent, right?)

In the end, Denisa and I are just happy we had a good year, and grateful for the employment opportunities that have come our way. I don’t mean to sound like I’m whining or doing any sort of humblebrag here. It’s more a situation where filing my taxes led me to want to formulate my thoughts in blog form, and this is the result.

So, loyal readers, what do you think? Discuss away!

Goal Reached: Still Sugar Free Three Weeks In (and Happy Birthday, Denisa!)

Well, here I am on the other side of my goal. It’s been three weeks, and I can now officially have sugar again. My kids kept asking me when I’d be done with it–I think they’ve been missing my baked goodies some. I’ve told them that I wasn’t sure I’d *ever* be “done with it,” and now that the official goal is over, I’m thinking more and more that’s the case. This is a new lifestyle for me, just like daily exercise has become par for the course.

Here’s the thing: I’m definitely feeling better. I feel more alert and awake, even on the days when I don’t get a ton of sleep. Is some of that a placebo effect? No idea. Do I care? Nope. Because there’s also the second point: I’ve lost 3.8 pounds in these three weeks, without doing anything resembling a diet other than cutting out the sweets. I’ve eaten as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted. I have no idea how long this trend will continue, but I’m certainly going to stick with the “avoid sugary foods” idea as long as it does.

Any which way you cut it, I was eating too many sweets, and the simple act of not doing that anymore is a very good thing.

What’s even stranger is the fact that I’ve stopped really feeling the need to eat all those sweets. Denisa and I watched this documentary about pastries (because pastries), and she asked me if it didn’t make me want to eat them. It didn’t. I could look at them and just acknowledge they’d be tasty, but not feel the need to go out and down as many pastries as I could right then. I’m not saying I’ve totally kicked the habit. I still miss my ice cream at night when I’m watching something on Netflix, but it isn’t as pressing anymore. Also, I’ve found a smoothie does the trick quite well. (The nice thing about that is that it’s a much more involved process to make a smoothie than it is to scoop ice cream. Since I’m usually feeling lazy by the evening, my inherent sloth is finally working *for* me instead of *against* me. Woo hoo!)

Still, I do plan on making exceptions now. It’s Denisa’s birthday today, so I’ll have dessert tonight to celebrate. But like I said back when I set the goal, the plan is to stick to 1-2 desserts a week from here on out. It’ll slow down the weight loss, but I’m not too worried about that. I mainly just want to keep feeling better.

Then again, as I look at this plan and project it out, some things do come up. What about Thanksgiving and the holiday season? Do I have to scrimp then too? And what about at parties?

I think when those occasions arise, I’ll give myself some slack. The big idea is to have the baseline be limited sweets, with the exception being more now and then. As long as that works, then I should be good to go.

In any case, I’m declaring this a success. I’ll still be checking in each Wednesday at the end of my normal blog post to update you on what I had in the way of sweets that week (and give a brief weight loss report.) Why? Because I’ve found that for me, a little public accountability goes a long way . . .

Thanks for the public support, all!

March Madness: Win the Chance to Die in My Book

It’s true. March Madness is upon us again. And as I have been wont to do, I’m here to offer you, my loyal fans, the chance to win cool stuff while you compete in my annual blog tournament challenge. The rules are simple. and fill out a bracket. Then sign up with my group (name: Bryce’s Ramblings password: vodnik). (NOTE: ESPN says you can have five entries per person. I’m limiting it to one per person for this group. You can fill out one for a significant other or child, but that’s then *their* entry, and they get the prize if they win. Make sense? There’s no age limit to compete.)

Worried that you don’t know enough about basketball to have a chance of winning? Don’t let that trouble you! March Madness is the time of year when sports aces the world over are reminded that their wives or husbands or children–who never follow basketball at all–end up beating them through sheer luck. You really don’t need any skill to play.

But enough about how to get in. Let’s talk about the prize.

I’ve done naming privileges in my books before, but I want to make this year extra special. The fact that I just started a new book makes this easier. If you win, you can die a horrible, bloody death in my current book. That’s right! You’ll get your own cameo as a wizard, and you will die in spectacular fashion. I might have to spruce up your name a bit (to make it fit the story world), but I’ll work out something that’ll work for you. You’ll look like you want to look, behave how you want to behave (within reason). You can even choose what special kind of magic you want to use as you’re trying to fend off the inevitable doom that’s about to befall you, if that floats your boat. I aim to please!

To make things even more interesting (and hopefully to convince more of you to sign up), I’m going to do this for not one but TWO people. The winner of the challenge gets the prize, and I’ll also award the same prize to a random entrant (who isn’t the winner–no fair winning both!) That’s right, people. Two of you lucky entrants are going to die. I think this tops my list of cool prizes that I’ve awarded for the challenge, but I guess we’ll see how many people enter. (Counting me, there’s one other at the moment, which means if no one else enters, he’s automatically going to get to die in my book. Don’t make it that easy on him!)

Entries have to be in by Thursday at noon EDT, so don’t delay. Remember: first place gets a death, and then another random entrant gets a death too. May the odds be ever in your favor.

The C-Word: My Son Gets a Concussion

Friday started out as a fairly normal day. TRC had been looking forward to Winter Fun Day at school for weeks–it’s a day when the entire school zips off to the local ski hill to let the kids go skiing or do other winter activities. He’s skied the whole season, and he’s getting pretty good. So the chance to go out and show his friends what he could do was exciting for him.

I get a call from Denisa at 10 or so, saying the school called. TRC is fine, but he had a wipeout on the slopes, and could I go pick him up. He’d hit a tree(?), but nothing serious. “Hitting a tree while skiing” didn’t seem to be synonymous with “nothing serious,” but I chose to focus on the “TRC is fine” bit of the news as I hurried off from work to go get him. When I arrived, he had a cut lip, but he seemed to be doing well other than that. Knew who and where and when he was, could talk and walk normally.

All was well.

Except he wasn’t himself. I felt really bad that he’d had to miss out on most of his winter fun day, so I told him he could do whatever he wanted. Playing Minecraft the whole day was an option. He chose to lie down and read for a bit, and then to just lie down and do nothing. He played a bit of Minecraft, but then contented himself just lying down again. This was not normal behavior. I suggested he watch a movie in the evening. He complained he was feeling bad about 20 minutes in.

And then he threw up.

Now, being a librarian, I had already Googled the heck out of “head injuries” when I found out what happened to him. (The full story? He’d hit a patch of ice and gone sprawling face first into a tree. This reality only surfaced in bits and pieces as I kept asking questions over the course of the day. I have no idea what he’d told the school nurse who checked him out initially. But “face first sprawl into a tree” isn’t in the same zip code as “nothing big happened.” Just saying.) And one thing I knew was that nausea wasn’t a good sign.

Denisa and I went into panic mode, of course. I got in touch with every medical professional I could think of to ask further questions, and Denisa called our primary care physician. They all said the same thing: mild concussion. Keep an eye on him, but he should get better with rest. Report back if things got worse.

He threw up one more time that evening, but he slept the night away. The next day I downloaded Hunger Games on audio book (no screen time for him. Apparently people with concussions are supposed to avoid reading, watching TV, and playing video games–so I’d had TRC do all three after his head injury. I win the Clueless Caregiver Award for the weekend.) He had little appetite, and little desire to do anything other than lie there.

We were still very concerned.

Thankfully. things improved dramatically Sunday. He was mostly back to himself. Played multiple board games, and beat me a fair amount of the time. His attention span didn’t seem to be entirely back, but his personality was. What a relief. (Though he’s still not back at full speed–stayed home today because he was still feeling woozy.)

It’s funny. Watching sports on TV and following teams, I’ll hear about players getting concussions all the time. No big deal, I thought. They’d be back in action soon enough. But there’s a huge difference when it’s someone else’s child and when it’s your own. All sorts of nightmare scenarios occur to you. Or at least they do to me.

I think the most worrisome symptom was how different TRC was for those two days. How the kid I’ve raised and known for almost 11 years just wasn’t the same kid I was talking to and spending time with. I’ve had some experience with this before–my grandmother fell and hit her head when she had a stroke, and she was never herself after that. But still, to see the potential of it happening to my son was more than a little nerve wracking.

In the end, yay for helmets. We always have our kids wear helmets when skiing. Of course, they’re not quite as helpful when you hit the tree with your face, but . . . yay mouth guards? TRC had his in, and at least he didn’t lose any teeth.

Thanks to everyone who offered help and advice. It was all much appreciated. Did this turn TRC off skiing? Not a bit. He’s already looking forward to his next trip–hoping that the ski hill stays open a few more weeks.

Though we’ve had a few words with him about avoiding trails that go through the trees when the snow conditions aren’t great . . .

Update on My Writing

It’s been a while since I updated all you lovely people about what’s going on with my writing at the moment, so I thought I might take some time on this fine Thursday to fill you in. Ever since Vodnik was published, people have been asking me if I’m still writing and what my current projects are. The more popular question is “When does your next book come out?”

Alas, I still don’t have an answer to that other than “as soon as someone publishes it.” It’s not something I can really worry about too much–mainly because down that path lies frustration and many feelings of insecurity. All I can focus on is doing what I can control, and that’s writing great books, plain and simple. I’ve got super agents who are out trying their darnedest to sell those great books, but as we all know, sometimes the publishing gods giveth, and sometimes they taketh away.

That’s all outside my control. Yes, I could self-publish–an avenue I think about from time to time–but for now, in the super-busy spot of my life I find myself, I only really have time to write. Have I been writing since Vodnik came out? But of course! For those of you who might have missed it, here’s a rundown of the projects I’ve done since, as well as their current status:

TARNHELM–Written, revised, and went out on submission years ago. It appears that the world just isn’t ready for YA Noir Fantasy. I had some really good feedback from editors, a lot of which boiled down to “I loved this book, but there’s no way in Hades I could get people to buy it. The audience is too narrow.” Fair enough. After consulting with ze agents, we’ve decided to leave this one be for the next while, going on the theory that once one of my books takes off, others will be more easy to sell. In the meantime, just imagine how awesome a YA riff on The Maltese Falcon and books of that vein could be, especially when you’ve got Indiana Jones style magic thrown in.
GET CUPID–The YA heist fantasy that went awry. A group of teenage magic using miscreants are roped in to saving Valentine’s Day from a bloodthirsty maniac and a befuddled wannabe Godfather. I worked on this for three drafts, but it never quite came together. Sometimes you have to know when to shelve a project. This was that time. (More on this in a moment.) The main problem with this book was there was just too much going on for a single book to handle. I’ve since been working on trying to keep my imagination reined in a bit more. Hopefully successfully.
THE MEMORY THIEF–Written, revised, submitted, accepted(!), and then turned back into the cold cruel world by the harsh winds of publishing. It’s currently looking for a home again, and I’m doing my best to be optimistic. A contemporary middle grade fantasy about a boy fighting against a woman intent on draining his entire town of its memories. A bit more somber than my typical style. More broody, if that makes sense. I tried to mix things up from my usual approach, and I think it turned out nicely.
OUR LADY–When GET CUPID imploded on me, I really didn’t want to give up on it entirely. The concept (YA heist fantasy) was too much fun, and I liked the characters too much. So I went out and wrote a prequel to GET CUPID instead. A teenager sets out to con a magic school for delinquents out of all its money, only to find out the school plays for keep, and all that magic is real. This is Ocean’s Eleven meets Harry Potter, and I think it’s a blast. It’s currently with my agents, and they’re reading it over to see what tweaks need to be made before we (hopefully) send it out on submission.
PETER PAN–My Nanowrimo project from last November. I wrote this in a month, and I had a blast doing it. Think of it as The Neverending Story meets Peter Pan. Main character gets sucked into a copy of Peter Pan and has to find the exit before the book dissolves around him. My writing group is going through this one now, and I’m letting it be for a bit before I pick it up to give it a read-through and a second draft. Then it’ll be off to the agents as well. Notably, this is the first book in third person that I’ve written in about ten years. I was worried about it, but I think it went pretty well.
30,000 FEET–A new project I just came up with about a week or two ago, and what I’m currently spending my writing time on. Back to YA for this one. I pitched it to my agents as Hunger Games in the sky–with magic! That doesn’t quite do it justice, but then again neither does Snakes on a Plane–with wizards! I get ideas for boring generic stories. I just never feel like writing them. This one came from me watching yet another airplane movie and wondering if I could do something like that in YA fantasy. My illustrious agents just green lit the idea, so I’ll be finishing this book, then revising PETER PAN and OUR LADY (not sure which order that’ll happen in yet) and then . . . moving on to who knows what.

There you have it. That covers most of my writing efforts in the past few years. There were a few side projects, and one novel I started and set aside because I wasn’t having any fun, but mostly it’s been a series of juggling acts, going from one book to the next and trying to keep them all progressing nicely. I would love to have OUR LADY and PETER PAN out on submission before the end of the year. In the meantime, it’s nose to the grindstone and write write write.

Terry Pratchett, My Favorite Contemporary Author Just Died

I had a post all set to go today. Was just about to hit “Publish,” actually. And then I read this.

I have loved Terry Pratchett books since I first came across them. The Discworld series is just so much fun–so wide and sprawling and interesting. You never knew exactly what you were going to get when you picked one up, but over the course of the series, Pratchett was able to create so many memorable characters and have them do so many memorable things. He wrote books that were immensely fun to read aloud. I read the Wee Free Men series out loud to Denisa, and we both loved them. For years, he’s been my go-to recommendation whenever people asked me what to read or wondered who my favorite authors were. If there were any author I really wanted to be like–wanted to write like–it would be him.

And now he’s dead.

I’m really at a loss for words, and I don’t find myself in that position too often. I’m sad for his family, but I’ll admit I’m mostly sad for myself. Sad for all the books I won’t get to read now–everything he could have published in the next few decades. Yes, we knew he was ill, and yes, we realized this was going to happen at some point, but it’s one thing to know a thing and another thing to face it.

So I’m just going to shut up now and take some time to be bummed. In the meantime, might I suggest you all go out and find a Pratchett book and read it? The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is a lovely place to start, though Wee Free Men is also great too. Who am I kidding? They’re all great. If you already know this, treat yourself to a reread. If you don’t, then you’ve got a bunch of hilarious, often moving books in front of you.

Here’s hoping there’s a thriving publishing industry in the afterlife. One of the things I could look forward to most is knowing there would be many new Pratchett books waiting for me when I get there . . .

Living the Sugar Free Life: Week 2

Sometimes it feels to me like I really ought to be writing these blog posts when I’m stranded on some barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Really Castaway it up, you know? And then I think I’m just being silly, and it’s ridiculous that going without sweets is an event that warrants me writing a weeks-long blog series about it.

Then again, I can tell plenty of you are interested from the number of views these posts get, so who am I to deprive you of the opportunity to laugh at my weak will when it comes to sugar?

Two weeks in now, and as before, I’m here to report on how I’ve been feeling–emotionally and physically.

The first week, I was pretty darn grouchy a lot of the time. I really felt like I was missing out on a whole lot of things, and it affected my mood much more than I anticipated. This week? A lot of that has gone away, I’m surprised to say. There have still been a few times when I really wanted something sweet, but interestingly enough, I found myself more wanting the feeling I would have after I’d eaten something sweet, rather than the actual sweet thing itself. Does that make sense? I’d find myself feeling like something was missing–something I could get through ice cream or brownies. But when I thought about eating the actual foods, that didn’t really appeal to much to me. I don’t know if I can describe the sensation better than that.

Another first? I saw an article online for a 350 pound peanut butter cup, and instead of wishing I had my own 350 pound peanut butter cup, I thought it looked pretty disgusting.

This is not normal Bryce behavior.

So some positive changes on the emotion front.

Physical health? I’ve lost another .8 pounds this week, and I’m literally doing nothing other than not eating sweets. I’m still eating plenty of food–probably more than I ought to sometimes. But it seems like ditching sugar from my diet has tipped my caloric intake balance toward “Lose Weight.” I don’t know how far that will take me, and I’m not yet willing to commit to saying this is a long term trend, but 2.6 pounds lost over 2 weeks without any real effort isn’t nothing. (Well, it’s likely a big neon sign that says “Bryce was eating too many desserts,” but we won’t go there.)

How are my energy levels? Pretty good, actually. I don’t find myself yawning nearly as much, and that’s even with the lousy Daylight Savings time change. Again, am I willing to call it permanently in favor of no-sugar? Not necessarily. But trends are good in this department.

So the experiment is definitely a success so far. We’ll see how it goes in the next week. Hopefully as well as this past week has been. Stay tuned . . .

Apple Watch

If you’ve been following tech news lately, then you know that yesterday Apple announced more specifics about its upcoming watch. I’ve been checking the details with no small amount of interest, mainly (of course) because I’ve been thinking about buying one. Why would I want a $350 watch? That’s the question of the day, isn’t it?

Reasons against buying the watch are pretty straightforward:

It costs at least $350
I don’t currently wear a watch

So then the question becomes, “Why would I want to spend $350 for a thing I don’t currently use, and haven’t used in years?”

And surprisingly, the answers there aren’t as straightforward as you might think

First up, I really dislike checking my phone. Every time I have to get it out, it’s one more temptation to me to do something else. Check Facebook. Check Twitter. Check email. Check the news. Because my phone is also the main way I tell time, then this becomes problematic, since I check time often. Checking my phone less would be a good thing. An Apple Watch would let me glance at my wrist whenever I get a notification, as opposed to having to lug out the phone each time. I know this sounds like a major first world complaint, but let’s face it: I’m a first world kind of a guy. I’m at peace with that.

Next, I currently carry a pedometer around with me everywhere. Tracking my steps has become one of the main ways I make sure I exercise and stay health(ish). But always remembering my pedometer is a pain. Having a watch that filled this function would be a big plus for me–enough that I’ve considered buying a fitbit or something like it.

I use my iPhone heavily. I’ve completely bought into the Apple ecosystem. So for me, that watch would be able to do quite a bit for me. I’d have all my music with me, my photos, and my calendar. I imagine it would simplify a fair bit. I especially like that it connects to your iPhone over wifi, so I wouldn’t need to always have my phone right next to me. Just ask Denisa–I need my phone with me less. Trust me.

And then there’s one more simple matter: I love gadgets. Love love them. And having that watch . . . there’s more than a bit of James Bond about it. Very tempting.

But I’d like to hear what you all think about the watch. Are you thinking about buying one? Why or why not? Do you already have a smartwatch, and are you happy with it? Inquiring minds want to know . . .

At the Daddy Daughter Dance: Year Three

The first thing DC asked me when last year’s daddy daughter dance (check out year one’s write up too) was over was, “When are we going again?

“When” was on Saturday, and she was just as excited as ever. (Look at that expression! And check out the other pictures from my earlier posts. DC has grown a ton in two years. A ton ton.)

Just like me, she’s big on tradition. So we went to eat at the same restaurant again, and once again she got chicken fingers. (So did the other girls, although one went with a salad this time instead of chicken fingers. Signs of the beginnings of a trend?) And just like last year and the year before, we danced our socks off.

DC was no longer quite as concerned about what everyone else was doing, which I was happy to see. Instead, she danced how she wanted. We tried out all sorts of different moves (all of them just bits and pieces I’ve learned from Denisa somehow over the years. Repetition: the mother of all learning.) So there were plenty of twirls and spins and dips and slides. Her favorite song to dance to was probably YMCA, and her favorite song they played was definitely Let It Go (from Frozen). Not saying she was completely oblivious to what other people were doing–she noticed other girls resting their heads on their dad’s chests when they were slow dancing, so she picked that up fast. No complaints here.) But in general, she wanted to have fun and that’s all that mattered.

She’s getting old enough now that yes, I was thinking about how she’ll be dating in another 9 years or so. And yes, I might have been starting on overprotective thoughts already. All part of the package deal of being a father, I suppose.

It’s so fun to see DC get older and take on more personality. She’s a very focused girl, who’s big on saving money, doing art projects, and having fun. We get along great. Hard to believe she’s already seven.

Little sister MC was envious of DC, and I might be going with both of them to the dance next year. (MC has been clamoring for dresses. As soon as she gets one on, she starts dancing in place. Very cute.)

In any case, another successful year, and I’m really glad I have the chance to do things like that with DC. They’re definitely outside my comfort zone (dancing in general), but dads are willing to put up with an awful lot if it means their kids are having a good time.

Further Adventures in Minecraft

Way back when I first came across Minecraft (that’s a fun old post to read, actually–check it out), I thought it was fairly cool, but I wasn’t really convinced it was something I’d want to spend much time with. It was more a fascinating novelty that TRC might find interesting. I passed it off to him, and he really ran with it. The boy’s bought Minecraft books, asks for Minecraft clothes and merchandise, wants to go to MineCon–you name it. We’ve set up a server so he and his cousin in Texas (another Minecraft junkie) can play together, and it’s been fun watching them and their explorations. (Even more fun to listen to the conversations they have.)

DC has been out of the loop, though. She would get out the iPad edition of the game whenever TRC and his cousin would play, but she didn’t have a chance to play along in the same world with them. Late last week, I decided that needed to change. I want her to have the same cool chances TRC is getting, so I plunked down the $25 or whatever it was to buy a second Minecraft account. DC was overjoyed. Of course, she soon discovered that using a mouse and keyboard to move around and control things is a lot different than using the touch interface of an iPad. And different meant harder.

So she went back to the iPad version after some exploration. Not that she’s given up, but that she’s exploring the PC version a bit at a time. I’m completely okay with that.

It means I can play Minecraft in my son’s world, side by side with him. We’ve already had a few adventures. First off, he and I went deep into the mine beneath his house, exploring for items and monsters. There were some close calls, but we both ended up surviving to fight another day. I was really impressed with the sheer volume of knowledge he’s amassed about this game–what sort of items you need to make other things, the recipes involved–you name it. Getting into Minecraft can be a daunting experience, but TRC has thrown himself in whole-heartedly.

It’s also been interesting to see the different approaches he and I have at this point in our lives. I’m much more focused on working toward becoming sustainable in Minecraft. We need iron and diamonds to start making basic tools that can help us find more resources. We need food to be able to stay alive. Armor to protect us. So I’ve been approaching the game from that angle–working on getting the resources we need so that we can get better resources.

TRC is more about fearless exploration. He wants to get the minimum he needs to get farther into the game, and then continue building on that success to go deeper and tackle bigger problems. It’s the glass cannon approach. If he ever dies in the game, it’s going to be tricky to rebuild for him. He’ll lose a lot of progress. But at the same time, by risking more, he can advance much more quickly than I can.

At the same time, my old days playing Quake and Doom have proven handy, as I’m much more able to handle facing down the monsters in the game. I came across an Enderman (I guess one of the most fearsome creatures to encounter?) and I managed to kill it, getting an Endercrystal TRC was ecstatic about–since he could use it to build a portal to the Netherworld.

Honestly, I have no idea what half of what I just typed means. But I do know he was very impressed, and killing that monster for him made him very happy. I also know I love living in a world where I can do cool things like this with my family. Yay technology!

My current plan is to start work on a super secret underground lair when TRC isn’t in the game, then surprise him with it one day. There are a ton of resources online to show you how to do it all. I’m looking into making a wheat farm so that we can have a sustainable supply of bread, too.

I know some people disparage Minecraft for being nothing more than a virtual Lego set, but it’s so much more than that. It’s one thing to build a model of a tiny house. It’s another to be able to actually go inside it and live there, then use it as a base of operations to keep out the bloodthirsty zombies waiting outside to eat you alive.