Bryce Moore's Blog, page 309

Buried Beneath Statistics

I'd love to be able to post a nice, scintillating discussion on a lot of various different topics. There are some movies I've seen recently that really deserve to be blogged about, and I've had thoughts on lots of different topics, from the dangers of overzealousness to the nature of evil. Some of these would make great topics for today, but I can't blog about any of them.



Why?



Because I'm up to my eyeballs in library statistics. I have to go through years and years of statistics, all in the effort of finding out some basic information: how many books did we have in 2008? 2009? 2010? How many audiovisual items? How many microforms?



In theory, this just takes a few minutes to check, since we keep track of these sort of numbers. I mean, I work in a library--come on. The trick comes when you notice that a few of the numbers just don't add up. Then you go and do something stupid, like try to investigate the problem more. Ten hours later, you're still going strong.



Oh yeah--and the answers need to be given by this afternoon.



So forgive me, but I'm going to have to cut this entry short. Have a happy weekend, everybody. Go waste some time for me. :-)

Oven Arrival

What you're looking at right there is our new oven. That's right: after baking up a storm since she started her bread endeavor back in September, Denisa had enough money to buy a new oven. She didn't get anything super duper extraordinary--she just wanted a ceramic top, which is easier for her to clean, and a double oven, which will allow her to churn out bread twice as fast.



How's her Breadweavers effort going? Very well. She's attended multiple classes on starting a business, and she now has everything from labels to logos. She's gearing up for an official LLC business soon here--probably early next year. In the meantime, she's getting lots of practice and has baked up to about 25 loaves a day, although she only does that once or twice a week. She's got 127 friends on Facebook, but is always looking for more. :-)



Bread varieties include Vermont Cheddar, Artisan White, Cinnamon Raisin, Whole Wheat, Light Wheat, Potato Roasted Garlic and more. She also does rolls, buns, apple strudel things, and possibly even caramel apples. Hit up the link for all the details. She's got deals in the works with two local stores to carry her bread . . . It's come a long way from where she started, when she just wanted to have some good bread to eat. Then she thought selling a few loaves a week would be good--ten tops. We haven't even really tried that hard to market it, and she's been hard pressed to keep up with demand. I don't know if she wants to ramp things up too much, though. Life is busy enough as is without having a full fledged bakery in our kitchen. :-)



In any case, the oven's here--what's next? New sink? Cabinets? I think she plans on upgrading the kitchen, one component at a time. Congratulations, Denisa--your oven looks lovely, and I wish you many happy baking hours in the future.

Proud Parent

First of all, thanks to all of you for your many helpful suggestions on my Report Card predicament yesterday. All of you were very supportive, and you offered ideas and input that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. There was such a good response that I thought it would be good to update you all on how I ended up handling the situation, and how TRC took it.



When I got home from work yesterday, I sat TRC down to talk to him about his report card. We went over the whole thing together, focusing on all the great work that he's been doing. There was a ton of positive stuff on there, and I wanted to make sure he knew how proud I was of him, and how I respected all the work he's been doing. We talked about things he liked in school and things he didn't, and after all the positive talk, we discussed where he could improve and why it was important. I went forward with my plan to have a bit of extra work each night for him to do--whether it's his homework or some sheets from some workbooks--but I dialed down the time a bit so that it wouldn't be too much for him. Shooting for around 20 minutes or so. I also told him that if he starts paying better attention in school and staying on task more, then we'd be able to do away with the extra work, too.



I just have to say how proud I am of TRC and how he handled the discussion. He's really a great kid--very willing to do what we ask him to and trust us as parents. I'd like to think that some of that comes from Denisa and me involving him in family decisions and giving him responsibilities, but I think a large part of it comes from him just being a really good kid. I can't take credit for that. So often I worry about what I can do to help TRC stay on track and not fall into any pitfalls growing up, but conversations like the one I had with him last night remind me that I should have more faith in him. He's smart, and he wants to do what's right--not because I want him to, but because he does. What more can a dad want from his son?



Anyway, we'll do the workbook plan for the next while, and then we'll reassess how it's working. He actually enjoys doing workbook pages, and the ones I've picked for him aren't really boring (too much), so I don't think it'll be too big of a deal. We'll see.



Thanks once again for all your comments and support. It was all appreciated.

Looking for Advice: Children and Report Cards

Okay, faithful readers--here's the deal: TRC brought his report card home yesterday. It's a very good report card. Plenty of good stuff going on with him. He's a very bright boy, and we're very proud of him.



But.



There's one area that he just seems to be struggling with. Not struggling with as in "he's doing poorly and is in danger of failing," but more along the lines of "he's doing okay, but really could/should be doing so much better." If this were in an area like Math or English, I'd be less concerned--for me, the important thing is that he tries his best, no matter what the results. However, we're struggling with an area where it's all about effort: following directions, staying on task, completing work in a timely manner, being neat in assignments. That sort of thing. It's something that I think is sort of fundamental to future success in school. If you can't be focused and stay on task and follow directions, no amount of smarts is going to make up for it sooner or later.



The thing is, TRC is likely bored in class a lot of the time. He's really far ahead in most areas, and so what everyone else is learning isn't new to him. He gets to go to advanced classes at certain times--and he talks to us about how much he enjoys those, and how he thinks they're fun. But that's just some of the time. The rest of the time, there's a good chance he's bored. And so he talks to other kids, he doesn't pay a whole lot of attention, he rushes through easy assignments. That sort of thing.



So what do we do as parents to help him through this?



Here's my current plan. He gets homework once a week. It's nothing terribly difficult, so he rushes through it so he can go watch TV. I'm thinking of having him have a set amount of time each day after school where he works on homework or other work (I bought him some workbooks a while ago--he might do some things from them). Nothing too long--probably about 20-30 minutes. Denisa or I will give him specific directions, and then he'll have to stay on task and get the assignment done to an acceptable level. After the time's up, if he's done it, then he can go off and have his normal fun time. If he's not been focusing, he'll have to keep at it, cutting into the amount of time he has each day for fun.



The goal is to get him used to staying on task, following directions, being neat, etc. Everything he's struggling with. It'll be a bit more work for Denisa and me, but I'm not worried about that. One thing I know might concern him is that we've had a rule that homework gets done first each day--before he can watch TV or do anything else. One of his favorite shows comes on right when he gets home, so he wants to rush through things so he can watch it. As a compromise, I'm thinking I'll tell him he can watch that one show first, then work on homework. Give him sometime to decompress from school.



I also plan on talking to him about his report card and why we're making these changes, encouraging him to work toward better ratings in these areas. Ideally, his ratings improve and he can go back to being self-governed. If the ratings stay where they are, then we'll worry about what to do next.



That said, the boy's just in first grade. Am I worrying about this too much? I don't want to put undue pressure on the kid. I'm a believer in letting kids be kids and have a childhood and have fun. At the same time, I also don't want him getting in bad habits now that will affect him later on. So there you have it. What gems of wisdom do you have for me? Any and all advice is appreciated.

Mikulas and Chester Greenwood

Ten years ago, I had no idea two men were going to affect my Decembers every year. Which two men? Mikulas and Chester Greenwood, of course. Mikulas is a guy most of you at least have a concept of. Comes at night, delivers presents to good girls and boys, wears a red coat and all that? And he puts the presents in their shoes, of course. TRC and DC love the fact that they get TWO days of presents in December: Christmas and Mikulas. He came last night, and so yesterday we all cleaned up our shoes and set them out for the requisite loot (note: in Slovakia, I guess he just typically brings candy, nuts and fruit. I had a talk with him back when Denisa and I got married, and I persuaded him to throw in a little extra toy each year. Because I'm a capitalist, and that's how we roll.) TRC got a cool buildable car, and DC got a Cinderella jewelry set. They're ecstatic. And they avoided getting the dreaded onions or raw potatoes, instead of presents. :-)



Chester is the inventor of the earmuff and a town local, and each year we celebrate his warm ears by having a parade in his honor. I took the kids out to check out the festivities this year. Maine parades are pretty fun: they involve some floats, lots of firetrucks, and snow plows. This year there were a bunch of people on roller-skis, too. The Chester Greenwood parade is unique because all the floats and cars have to involve earmuffs somehow. So you get buses with earmuffs, cars with earmuffs--earmuffs all around. Check out the local coverage.







So to those of you who missed the festivities, happy Chester Greenwood Day, and here's hoping Mikulas comes to visit you next year. If you'd remember to put your shoes out the night of the 5th, that might help your odds . . .

Book Review: The Likeness

The Likeness by Tana French


My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This one was a very unique book to read. It's a mystery, and I have to say that the premise was so outlandish as to make me contemplate putting the book down before I got more than a few chapters into it. What is the premise, you ask? There's this detective, see. And she's a burned out murder detective who also used to do undercover work. And there's this victim, see? And she just happens to be almost an identical twin with the murder detective. And there are no leads in the case. No leads at all. So . . . the detective returns to murder and undercover work, going undercover as the victim.

Yeah.

But here's the thing. Once you get past that premise, it actually is a really good book. The author (Tana French) does a really good job portraying the main character and exploring just how difficult it would be to be put into that outlandish situation. There are some great scenes where the detective (Cassie) is interacting with the victim's friends. Things are made more complicated by the fact that Cassie actually envies the victim's life and is seriously tempted to lose herself in this new identity.

I found myself compulsively turning pages, and that's always a good thing, with me.

So there you have it. If you can get over the premise, I recommend this one. Fun, interesting read.





View all my reviews

Skiing, or the Lack Thereof

So I have the day off today. Sugarloaf Mountain was offering free skiing to all local Maine residents, and Denisa and I had big plans. We had babysitters lined up, I got off work, everything was set for a day full of skiing bliss.



Until it rained like an inch yesterday. Thanks a lot weather.



So instead of skiing, I'm Getting Things Done. I'm moving video over to my 2TB hard drive, capturing new video of home movies from a while back to store it and keep it safe, cleaning the house, putting up Christmas decorations--all sorts of stuff that isn't all that interesting to blog about. I live a fascinating life, don't I? Sometimes I wonder why I insist on blogging every day, when this is all I can come up with.



Hey everybody--Groundhog Day is just two months away! You getting your party ready? :-)





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Movie Reviews: Tangled and Harry Potter 7.1

I actually had the chance over the Thanksgiving break to see 2 (count 'em 2) movies in the theater. Tangled I saw with all the family, and Denisa and I went to see Harry Potter on our own. I assume everyone's familiar with the plot and subject matter of both films, so I'll jump right to my response to them.



Tangled was excellent--a really fun film that I wholeheartedly recommend. 3 and a half stars, and easily Disney's best animated movie since the days of Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and the like. It was funny, fast moving, enjoyable, and you really should see it if you're a Disney fan. I remember when new Disney animated movies coming out were an Event--one not to be missed. Somewhere along the way, that feeling stopped. This is a return to form. The songs didn't feel quite up to par, but part of me wonders if that's just because I was comparing them to songs that are now classics. I've read that Disney's abandoning its fairy tale movies for the foreseeable future, and I think that's a shame. They're fun, they're familiar, and this is a movie that proves the formula can still work.



Harry Potter was . . . good. I'd give it around 2 and a half to 3 stars. If you're a Harry Potter fan, then it hit a lot of the right notes. No expense was spared, certainly, but seeing it on screen brought to light a lot of the gripes I had with the book. SPOILERS AHEAD (but then again, if you haven't read Harry Potter 7 at this point, it's your own fault if you get spoiled)



One of my biggest complaints is how irrelevant a lot of the first part of the book seemed, and thus the entirety of this movie. Why wait until book 6 of the series to mention that there are these Horcruxes that need to be destroyed, and oh yeah--there are seven of them. Yes, one of them was already destroyed by Harry accidentally back in Book 2, but still--I think it cheapens the experience. If Harry can dispatch the other 6 in the space of one book, why was it so hard to get rid of them, exactly? In my opinion, the Horcruxes should have been limited in number to 3 or so--so that destroying each one feels like a real accomplishment. I mean, by the end of the movie, they still have only gotten one more destroyed, and they have no clue where the others are. This was a total Deus Ex Wrench--my term for when a random thing pops up to make things more complicated (as opposed to a Deus Ex Machina, where a random thing pops up to solve things).



There are other complaints I had--the camping, the aimlessnees of the plot, etc--but I'll stop grousing. Rowling is the one with five trillion dollars, and I'm not, so clearly she's doing something right. I loved the series, especially the first four or so. The last few felt to me in need of a good edit. That statement won't make me popular with the Harry faithful, but there you have it. The movie is faithful to the book, for good and bad. Let's leave it at that.



So how about you all--seen the movies? Got an opinion? Questions? Do share!

I Love My Job

I know--news like this really shouldn't deserve its own blog post, but I just got back from vacation, and I wasn't really looking forward to heading into work. Bed was warm, it's another night shift, and I'm in the middle of a good book. Work is for suckers. Plus, I had a headache, and I was dreading the virtual pile of emails and blog posts to be gone through, plus snail mail and whatever tech problems had accumulated for me to fix.



But I got into work, got busy, and everything seemed to brighten up. Not that I didn't have work or I wasn't behind. Take a vacation for a week, and you're bound to be behind. No--I just enjoy what I do for a living. I enjoy being able to read up and stay current on the latest trends in technology. I enjoy being able to order DVDs and CDs and books that will be viewed, listened to and read by an entire community. I enjoy being able to solve people's tech problems. I enjoy answering reference questions.



Yes, there are times when that enjoyment wears thin (10 o'clock at night, for example), but show me a job where the enjoyment is at 100% all the time. Every job has things you like and things you don't like as much. Every job has good days and bad. But the fact that I have a job I can look forward to going to after a vacation speaks volumes, I think. I love writing, too--but I just wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to librarydom.



What about you? Do you have a job you love? What is it? One you hate? What's your dream job?

Thanksgiving and a Simple Question

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow, in case you didn't know. And that means food. Lots of food. I know that some people think it means being grateful for stuff, but this leads me to my blog topic o' the day.



Why is it humans seem to have an innate need to make every holiday "mean" something?



All the good ones, at least. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Years, July 4--any day that might actually earn itself some individualized decorations. Halloween will be the next to fall. "Remember the true meaning of Halloween, kids. If you eat too much candy, demons will steal your soul and torment you forever." Yeah yeah, I guess there's that whole "holy day" origin of the word, but can't we all just have some unabashed binge eating, followed by stomach aches and football? I'm thinking the trouble with Thanksgiving is it's got that "thank" word right there in the name.



And that's why I'm starting a petition to change the name from Thanksgiving to Foodsgiving. We can be thankful for stuff every day of the year--in fact, we should be thankful year round. Why have a special day for something we should all be doing all the time anyway? It doesn't make any sense. What makes much more sense is to have a special day where we get to do stuff we're not supposed to do the rest of the year. We're not supposed to eat lots of meat and carbohydrates and sweet stuff. Everybody's always telling us this. Well, Foodsgiving is the day you get to ignore all that helpful advice and eat eat eat eat eat eat eat.



At least, that's what I plan to do. I'll be very grateful and thankful while I'm doing it, too. :-)



Happy Foodsgiving, everybody. Go out and eat until you pop.