Spy Games

We had a party last weekend with a theme of spying. My oldest son loves the idea of being a spy or a detective and I have occasionally sent him notes in his lunch with puzzles and/or codes to break. During school, he'll work to solve the puzzle or break the code. So far, he hasn't failed to break one and he loves it!



At the party, the kids had some friends over and I created a treasure hunt in which the clues were encoded with simple ciphers. I gave them a few examples of ciphers, but I didn't tell them which cipher I used on each clue and I didn't list all the ciphers I used. Most of them were pretty easy, but a lot of the kids just didn't get it. With the practice my son has had, he led the pack in solving them and he LOVED that too! He claims he's shy, but he really loves being the center of attention ... like his dad.

He's a problem solver, which doesn't really surprise me. Maybe he'll be an engineer ... poor kid.

Go ahead. Click the link. In the previous paragraph. See it? Give it a try. It's funny.

The Retro Encabulator

For those of you who are a bit geeky ... you might enjoy this.



If you've ever read a technical document with too many acronyms (TMA) or one that just speaks a language you're unfamiliar with, this will seem so familiar. For those of you who aren't technical ... the video is a joke. What the heck is "sinusoidal depleneration?" Or "capacitive duractance?"

Another Fun Weekend

This last weekend was beautiful! Saturday's weather was so perfect and we got to enjoy it quite a bit. We went to the boys' first soccer game of the season. They are both REALLY good! My oldest has become fantastic at that sport. He played goal keeper and full back and dominated the back half of the field in those positions. I am so impressed! The younger boy did a great job too. For their ages, they are both VERY good!



After soccer, we had lunch and then went to a birthday party. After the party, I took the boys hiking for a Cub Scout activity. It was beautiful! We hiked for about 1.5-2 hours and the boys were begging to be carried by the end of it. After the hike, the exhausted boys relaxed at home, but lucky me - I got to come home, shower, and rush out the door to a Church meeting and youth dance. That was fun too; I was just tired.

On Sunday after Church, we had nothing on our schedule, so I got to play games with my kids for about three hours that afternoon. No, three hours is NOT normal for me. It was great to spend so much time hanging out with them with no commitments to anything else. Having friends over for dinner that night capped off the weekend very nicely.

Still trying to make time to play ...

Life's Little Joys

At dinner last night, at Emily's suggestion, we listed some of the little things in life that make us happy. Some of mine included 1) laying in bed just before sleep with the covers pulled up; 2) my youngest girl's angelic smile; and 3) cuddling with my wife and kids.

This morning, I thought of a few more.

Cooking with oregano - that is a fun spice! I cooked hash browns this morning and added oregano. My younger son asked why I was cooking spaghetti when he came into the kitchen. Tee hee.

Good movies - last night, we watched Cinderella III. Who knew Disney made so many cheap knockoffs of their classics? The second one was cute, but had a flimsy plot; the third one actually had a really good story. I may be immature (no surprises there), but I loved it! The basic plot is that the stepmother gets a hold of the fairy godmother's wand, turns back time, and tries to ruin Cinderella's chances with the Prince. I actually liked it better than the original.

Working as an engineer - in a meeting last week, a colleague asked me what percentage of my time I worked on technical problems. In recent weeks, the answer has been "very little." He asked because he's been facing the same frustration. I've been wondering why I got a degree if I'm not going to use it. :) I studied engineering because I love math and physics and I enjoy solving tough problems. Yesterday, I worked on a technical problem for several hours and made a lot of progress. It was very satisfying.

What are some of your favorite things?

The Power of Truth

In thinking about the content of a previous post on this blog and the central idea of an ancient prayer I quoted there, I did some research and came across the following quote, which is, I think, a great expression of faith in the power of truth. I believe truth will ultimately emerge triumphant even if it loses a few battles here and there. The prayer I mentioned is also found at the end of the quote below.

The quote is by Hugh B. Brown, who died before I had a chance to know him. I've researched him a little since finding this quote and I have been extremely impressed with him as a man. I may have more quotes coming from him in the future, but this is one of my favorites so far.

"We are grateful in the Church and in this great university that the freedom, dignity and integrity of the individual is basic in Church doctrine as well as in democracy. Here we are free to think and express our opinions. Fear will not stifle thought, as is the case in some areas which have not yet emerged from the Dark Ages. God himself refuses to trammel man's free agency even though its exercise sometimes teaches painful lessons. Both creative science and revealed religion find their fullest and truest expression in the climate of freedom.
 
"I hope that you will develop the questing spirit. Be unafraid of new ideas for they are the stepping stones of progress. You will of course respect the opinions of others but be unafraid to dissent—if you are informed.
 
"Now I have mentioned freedom to express your thoughts, but I caution you that your thoughts and expressions must meet competition in the market place of thought, and in that competition truth will emerge triumphant. Only error needs to fear freedom of expression. Seek truth in all fields, and in that search you will need at least three virtues; courage, zest, and modesty. The ancients put that thought in the form of a prayer. They said, 'From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth, from the laziness that is content with half truth, from the arrogance that thinks it has all truth—O God of truth deliver us'."

-Hugh B. Brown, speech at BYU, March 1958

Fun Weekend

I got to work early yesterday (Friday) morning for a meeting so I was able to get off a little early. It worked out great because my wife had planned to take the kids to the zoo that afternoon, so I met them there and we played for a couple of hours. Then we came home, ate cardboard pizza, and watched a movie as a family. After the movie, we camped out in the living room together. The kids were all looking forward to this for several days ... and to be honest, so was I. The whole day was so much fun.

Here's a picture I took of a bird at the zoo. Pretty cool, huh? I let the camera do most of the work - that's my secret.

Every February, we have a ritual we call "no TV month." I hope the title is self-explanatory. It's great! I love the freedom of telling the media to take a hike for a few weeks. So in early March, when the TV hiatus is over, we always have a little party and watch our first post-Feb movie as a family. The movie du jour (or du an) was Cinderella II. The movie was cute, but mostly, it was just fun to hang out with the family and we all had a really good time.

Today was pretty fun too! We went hiking this morning at a state park and wore out the kids. In the afternoon, the girls went with mom to a birthday party at a roller skating rink. I took the boys shopping (we got doughnuts!!), I fixed the van (very satisfying), and we jumped on the trampoline together. That trampoline was a blast! I need more days like these last two.