Archive for May 2009

Baseball, politics, and justice

George Will writes about baseball and Obama’s Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor:

The basic premise of American labor-relations law is that conflicts between employers and employees are often messy, but it is generally best to assume that the two parties should be allowed to battle until reason, assisted by exhaustion, produces a settlement. Baseball’s strike began Aug. 12, 1994, and Sotomayor ended it March 31, 1995, by effectively siding with the players’ union. She thereby spared it the need to make significant compromises. This was not (in Obama-speak) judicial empathy for downtrodden labor against jackbooted capital. The 762 players’ average salary in 1994 was $1,154,486.

Read the whole commentary at Newsweek,com.



Angry McDonald’s Customer

Come on people! 911 is for real emergencies like when I need to know what time it is. Or maybe the temperature.

Another angry McDonald’s customer calls 911 [via The Consumerist]



Late Night

My wife and I have always stayed up late. Our “normal” bed is somewhere between 1 and 2 o’clock in the morning.

Now that we have a baby, we should be going to sleep at a much earlier hour. “Sleep when the baby sleeps” is what everyone tells us. Wise advice that we haven’t paid much attention to.

I’m predicting that this will catch up to us in the not to distant future. And we wonder why our child doesn’t like going to sleep when she should. We’ll all be learning together.



The Greatest American Hero

In the early 80s TV show The Greatest American Hero, the main character Ralph has a special superhero-style suit complete with special powers. Space aliens gave it to him so that he could save the world. The only problem is that Ralph lost the instruction manual in the desert where the suit was originally given to him. Without the manual, Ralph’s only option is to learn all of the powers of the suit by trial and error.

That’s kind of like what it is to be a parent. No instruction manual and a lot of trial and error. During the last four weeks, my wife and I have been learning what our special powers as parents are.

Maybe we have the power to save the world.

All that I know at this point is, believe it or not, I’m walking on air.

Believe it Or Not

Look at what’s happened to me,
I can’t believe it myself.
Suddenly I’m up on top of the world,
should have been somebody else.

Believe it or not, I’m walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer,
Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it’s just me.

Looks like the light of a new day,
Hit me from out of the blue.
Breaking me out of the spell I was in,
Making all of my wishes come true.

Believe it or not, I’m walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer,
Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it’s just me.

Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it’s just me.



The Rules as Dictated by the Baby

1) If I am not sleeping, then I must be in constant motion.

2) If I am sleeping, I prefer that you either carry me or place me in the swing. This way I will be in constant motion.

3) I love the changing table. This is not actually a rule. I just wanted to mention that I love the changing table.

4) Don’t even think about trying to eat. I might only be three weeks old, but I already know what the microwave sounds like. If I hear it, I’ll insist you pay attention to me immediately.

5) The same goes for watching TV, spending time with each other, going to the bathroom, or anything else that you enjoyed from your life before me.

6) From now on, you’ll need to do everything with only one arm. It amuses me.

7) I must insist on your individual undivided attention.

8) Don’t kiss each other or show any affection towards each other. You really don’t have the time.

9) Have I mentioned how incredible the changing table is??!

10) I have the power to create rules on the fly. Be ready.

Signed,

the little dictator