The Perfect Storm

Take one toddler recently turned TWO (You've heard of the terrible twos).
Add four sick people, him included.
Remove his binky from the picture.

NO SLEEP AND CRYING BABY MAKES DADDY SOMETHING SOMETHING

Take your bets.

I have been summoned for Jury Duty starting next week. I have a pretty high number 172, so there is a good chance I won't even need to go in. But feel free to use the comments section, oh loyal reader, to predict the outcome of this.

(a) I will not need to go in.
(b) I will need to go in, spend the day sitting in the county courthouse, then ben discharged without doing anything.
(c) I will be interviewed for a case and dismissed when I utter the words "Philosophy Professor."
(d) I will be interviewed for a case and be dismissed when I utter the words "Critical Thinking, and Ethics."
(e) I will be placed on a jury, only to have the case plead out before trial.
(f) I will be placed on a jury and actually hear a case.
(g) I will be sequestered for months and be prohibited from viewing the Daily Show and Colbert Report.
(h) Other?

Day 17? 18?

So we are all still sick. Carly and I are sicker than before. Not fun.
But tonight as we were getting the kids ready for bed they wandered off (prolonging the experience, as they are wont to do). They were in the play room, and then Sophie started crying. Will has been biting lately, so we feared another.
Carly: "What happened?"
Sophie: "Will pinched me."
Carly: "Why did Will pinch you?"
Steve: "Did you do something to Will?"
Sophie: "I was trying to hug him."
Carly and Steve "Awwwww.."
Steve: "Sophie, you need to ask Will if he wants a hug."
Carly: "If he says 'no' you leave him alone, okay."
Sophie: "I'll try that!"
Sophie runs off.
Sophie: "Oww!"
Carly and Steve Laugh cruelly.
Carly: "Sophie what happened?"
Sophie: "Will pushed me!"
Steve: "Why?"
Sophie: "Because I gave him a hug."
Carly: "If he says 'no' you have to leave him alone. He doesn't want a hug."
Steve: "If he doesn't want a hug, just stay away from him. Understand?"
Sophie: "Okay. I'll try again!"

Wekome to-St. Hug

So I went to the school's "Smart Board" Training session.
By "Training Session", they mean, "introduction to the technology session". Training must be done one on one over the next ten weeks before we meet some subjective standard of competence determined by the smart board people. Then we can try to wrangle a classroom with the technology each division has one such classroom for one of our classes. If we get that, each time we teach we need to get the one key holder for our division to let us in.

So you can tell I am going to dedicate many hours of one one one training for this.

We were shown some nifty "white board" technology. For example, using some high tech "pen technology" you can make marks on the smart board surface that show up, almost like using a dry erase pen, or piece of chalk! Of course, to do that you need to download the software to your laptap, get the specialized passwords, plug it in, run the system through a set of tests (aligned the detection devices, etc.) Then you get all the functionality of a chalk board.

But wait there is more!
The character recognition software can capture your comments and put them into the specialized software (not easily transferred to any document though). Still, not a bad idea. However the super SMART technology translated the words "Welcome to St. Aug" in perfectly clear hand writing, into "Wekome to-St.Hug" And then the TWO trainers spent about five minutes trying to correct that, bringing online a virtual keyboard, using the regular keyboard, using the editing tools, etc.. It was pretty funny.

I will probably try to use the system this semester to show my students some art works. But I must say, I am somewhat dubious of the benefits here. Baby steps, I know, but man, these baby steps are infuriatingly small.

You arrrgh a Pirate

As a parent I am obliged to watch this video over and over again by my kids. What is your excuse?

And just try getting the song out of your brain.

Ouchie Go Away

Munching on some Apple Jacks (a special, please eat something fergodsakes, treat) Will pronounced his better health. He is still hoarse and coughing, but we slept through the night (from midnight to seven) so I will assume that he did as well. What a relief.
Let's hope it sticks, and that no one else catches whatever he had.
It was definitely good to see him eat a whole bowl of cereal, and drink some orange juice.
Before he made is proclamation he looked at me and said:
"Daddy have medicine?"
"No sweetie, daddy doesn't need medicine. Do you need some?"
"No...ouchie go away."

Nothing To See Here, Move Along

Such is the conclusion of our Pediatrician.
Such is the conclusion of the Pediatric Emergency Room Doctor (Yes.. Raleigh's Wake Medical has a specially pediatric emergency room).

So by all accounts Will is perfectly healthy. The fact that he hasn't slept more than an hour here and there in the last three days, or eaten more than a few bites of anything, not withstanding. That he is not just awake at all hours, but screaming bloody murder, is apparently nothing to be worried about.

So... Carly and I are operating on like amounts of sleep.

Note for prospective parents - Kids with almost no sleep = high speed, high energy, attention-demanding, dynamos. Parents with no sleep, not so much.

I am hovering on caffeine induced moments of lucidity, but literally as I am writing this now, I am having those long blinks of unconsciousness, I know this because the music I am listening to is changing.

Warning - Stay off Raleigh Blvd from 3pm to 3:30pm. I will be driving home.