Okay here is something I found to go along with the whole Harry Potter line of life

Well this was a busy week to say the least. It started out in Boulder CO, and ended at dinner to celebrate the twins birthday, but only after playing knights and villains with 100+ kids. Generally as weeks go this was probably very quiet!

So after spending several days at a training class in Boulder on DSS, a fun, but strange dinner in a wild game restaurant that reminded me of an Irish B&B, a conversation on serial killers, flatulence and cannibals I flew home late Thursday night. While getting ready to fly home from Denver my IPOD contents were wiped while installing the mobile application suite, which left me sitting on an hour twenty flight with the prospect of reading the “if the plane crashes instructions” or some shopping with Sky Mall magazine. I decided I could handle the in flight mags, only to find some nut had glued them together with their gum! Gross was not the word. So I sat in silence between the Van Winkle twins who slept the entire flight.

Friday morning was bright and early as we begun DAY 1 of the Knights of Freedom Summit 2007. What is that you ask? Well a darn good chance to let your kids have a richer imagination that your own and learn some values as they go along. The KOF’s are a group similar to the boy scouts, except for home school kids. So for two days we take them and let them pretend to be knights of old, dress in knightly clothes and play swords and defeat the villain! Why was I there? I was on the weapons committee and also as number 1 son was there I was also a weapons trainer.

So DAY 1 passed well, with fun and teaching the kids how to make a shield! DAY 2 was more of the training with weapons and the final battle. During this final battle I got to change sides and fight for the evil king. For a number of the kids who I had trained that morning, this was hard to believe, how could I be a bad guy? So after a few sword strokes I corrected that oversight.

However it seems revenge was to be enjoyed more by them! When your with your band of evil doers, your pretender king, and surrounded by about 100 kids from ages 8 – 11, who want to kill the evil doers, you understand how Custer felt at the end. After the fourth wave we were tired and bruised. However after the next few waves we were surrounded in pockets and pounded. As our knights fell the younger kids were on them trying to squeeze the last drops of blood from their kill!

As you can imagine our numbers thinned and the bad guys began to fall. In the end there were a few of us left standing. Defiant and protecting our false king. As I watched the 100 + or so kids now surround us in a complete circle and charge us I knew then I was going to hurt, immediately or sooner. There was no pretend in fighting here, this was gritty combat, survival was the key. You have no idea how devious this number of 8 – 11 years can be, until the have you circled and pounded. We had explained the rules, no head shots, no groin shots, you know be knightly! Well I took a few to the head, and many many more to the back and chest. So much for knightly. What a riot! Probably the most fun I have had in a long long time. So dressed as a turn coat knight I got beaten (literally) by a 100 + 8 – 11 years olds and I had fun? Yes, what fun living for one weekend a knightly dream.

So for the final battle, my wife took pictures. My twins and little man were present too. The twins were 7 this weekend. Next year I will have all 3 at the Summit! It will be a riot!!! I however will most likely need a life flight!

So after the final ceremony we took the twins for dinner at Red Robin. This was fun and we hung out for a bit before they went to they’re aunts for the night. I do not remember then growing up so fast, nor do I remember the years that seemed to have passed so darn quickly. They are growing up to be handsome and wonderful little men. Ones I will need to nobble first at the final battle next year! Hey I was a villain cry me a river okay. I still ache from that battle.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY twins! Your awesome and Thanks Number 1 for letting me share the 2 day dream of being a knight and a dastardly villain!

Knights of Freedom

So over the last while I am watching this series on TV about McDonalds. There is a wave of people who are holding them accountable for the number of over weight kids in North America. They want McDonald to publish the numbers for fat and such in more obvious places. So by this very idea, they are giving McDonalds full responsibility for their kids being fat. This is like saying guns kill people. People kill people. No gun ever jumped off a shelf and killed someone, nor did any Big Mac wrestle a child to the ground and force feed itself to them. When did fast food ever represent itself as the health option. It is fast food, and generally fried people. Hold the bus here batman, how dumb are these people?

So we have the same with the tobacco industry. People say they have cancer and never knew smoking caused cancer! Guess when you can’t read then it is understandable, but last I heard the people in North America could still read! So okay.

The story that has my goat here is the defense of Warren Jeffs. So for those of you who don’t know he is the polygamist leader on trial. An article I saw today (CNN. So this girl who was married at 14 and was never happy and essentially forced into this is now being told since she did not cry rape, then how can she come forward now and get pissed? Wow do we really live in such a society of utterly stupid heartless people who can justify letting this man walk by saying if you didn’t say it then, then perhaps you weren’t raped? If you read the article you will see the listed behavior she demonstrated at the time. Am pretty damn sure someone who was thrilled to be there would not hide in a bathroom after the wedding and be fed their lines during the wedding. She does not sound like one of the biddies who after a night of passion changes her mind and cries foul. This is a girl who was 14 and was consented by her family and Warren Jeffs into this.

Okay am getting off now, but you know there is a place in the universe for these people!

Well season 2 of the IT Crowd has begun and thanks to the miracle of YouTube I get to watch it here all the way in the states. So the first episode is stored at: The Working Outing , Return of the Golden Child , Moss and the German

The writing is excellent and the humor much like my other favorite show BBC Coupling is written on things I hate to say seem rather familiar in daily life.

However in other news, Say No to Crack!  Some great ideas here on how to run or be a part of a meeting at work Meeting Tips

Other than that there is no real news. So life goes on and we count down to home. Lets hope the passport arrives!

So why do Spanish television stations here in America not have english subtitles? You always see our shows in Spanish!

Why can’t I see behind me own ear?

While channel surfing I managed to catch apart of an American movie on Spanish TV. It had such b actors, it must have been so bad it went to dubbed. I wonder if that is worse than straight to video. Perhaps in order to sell said movie they were told if they bought a Jean Claude Van Dam movie they could have this one too?

Other than that work is good and not much else bothers me!

You need to motivate your staff in order to get the most out of them, at least so I am told. Obviously we can not mistreat them in anyway. Well from when I was growing up at home, you had to use the rubber hose to reduce the chance of marks. So as I like to do as often as I can, I peruse the Dilbert site to see what he knows about today. There are so many times I think he knows exactly what my day is like. So have a look below and see what I know.

Well work was killer last week. WOW! The week was busy and full of interesting challenges. One of them to need to flow chart what we do. My associate and I feel were very proud of ourselves until our leader asked questions. At that time the flow chart started to crumble. So now are working on it again. When you look at your job in a line of images and processes you start to wonder, is it really this boring a job?

So last night I got to go and sit through the KOF 2007 Summit meeting. What fun this will be. The kids get to dress as knights and along the way learn some valuable lessons and then pummel the adults with swords and shields. How good can it get. I am responsible for weapon patterns (drills), shield assembly jib and cartography! Today G and I are going to do some drills and see what works best.

As you can tell from the date it is Saturday and I got to get up with the monkey and have breakfast with him. He is such fun in the morning. He likes to have his sippy of milk, watch some Prince of Egypt and then eat. Makes life nice and easy. Of course this is liberally sprinkled with about 1,000 hugs in an hour time frame. Is there a better way to wake up? Doubt it!

Labor Day weekend here! I took most of yesterday off and have Monday off as well. I am excited. – well more later a smy day progresses. Have some computer work to do today for the kids!!!