Funny Cats Video
The kids were acting up last night and needed some distraction. After a few minutes of searching, Tom found this video. Punkalicious laughed so hard he almost threw-up. Enjoy.
OurFirstMarriage #74: Happy Coincident
Knowing what to look for in another person is hard - without experience. What to do when you’re single but looking. Jealousy is bad. Some mistakes are bound to happen in relationships - either you need to learn from your mistakes or from someone else’s. Truth is important to Tanel. A little more about Pat. Should you ignore your kids when they fight? Tom has a neurotic need to force his kids to get along. Is it a good idea? Even he doesn’t think so. Tom is hard to get along with. Americans DEFINTELY don’t like to travel. How much of an effect do you have over your children’s relationships with each other? Probably not much. How much genetic modification would you be comfortable with? Leave a comment and let us know. Fun fact about surrogate mothers. Tanel hated L.A. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley.
Gifted Education in Elementary School
To recap, my last post detailed my daughter’s initial screening for entry into her elementary school’s gifted program. Our county school district web page (in Florida) was not helpful. I did some Internet research and found the results to be informative, but extremely varied and contradictory. Here are a few web sites that I used for information gathering:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/
http://www.nagc.org/
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/
http://giftedkids.about.com/
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/pages/ed.gifted.html
After scanning numerous articles and book chapters with a variety of perspectives, I realized that many public school systems begin testing children for gifted programs in second or third grade, in spite of the fact that much of the professional literature advocates testing as early as ages five and six. Anecdotal evidence from teachers also seems to advocate early testing, particularly for girls. So I was pleased to learn that our elementary school takes a proactive approach by referring kindergartners for testing.
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OFM #73: About Canadians and Pat
Tom came up with a pretty lousy marketing plan that might work on YouTube. If you’ve got some marketting ideas, we’d love to hear them. Tom and Tanel discuss Canadians. Due South is the show that Tom was referring to. This is the comment that started this whole thing. Has Theresa abandoned us? Tanel doesn’t think so but Tom isn’t so sure. How Captain Evil was potty trained by 2 years and 1 month. Here’s the post Tanel referred to. Theresa sent us two links to related articles one from Slate and one from The Atlantic. Does game theory predict how all the “good guys” get taken? Is settling for a man the answer? Tom repeats himself but it isn’t his fault… or so he says. Danica Patrick has got Tom’s back. Setting your priorities is hard - or maybe impossible. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley.
OurFirstMarriage #72: Work Advice
We officially welcome Theresa to OFM. Some people are good at some things and others are good at others. Either suck it up and get good at both or marry someone else who is. Tanel went to a Toastmasters meeting and suggested that a co-worker attend as well. Tanel’s co-worker needs advice and Tanel is happy to help. She gives some great advice. A few autism topics. There is a room in Second Life that allows autistic people to practice social skills. Have scientists found a possible cause of a subset of autistic people? Maybe. Tom and Tanel discuss. We didn’t have enough time to discuss it but if you have an autistic family member that wants to surf the internet try out the Zac Browser. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley.
Camping close to NE Florida
Since our recent camping trip with Theresa and Pat at Disney’s Fort Wilderness, we’ve been talking about where we’ll meet up next. I work with some avid campers and one of them was nice enough to put together a little packet of her favorite places convenient to Jacksonville that she likes to take her 5-year-old grandson. I specifically asked about woodsy places (as opposed to our Disney experience) that are still kid friendly.
So here were her suggestions:
- Salt Springs Campground at the Ocala National Forest
- Crooked River State Park in Georgia
- Hanna Park Campground here in Jacksonville
- Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine
- Rock Crusher Canyon Park in Crystal River, Florida
- Ginnie Springs Outdoors in High Springs, Florida
Here’s my first impressions:
- The Ginnie Springs camp sites are first come first served so may not be the best option for us. Plus, I’ve been to Ginnie Springs and the water is frigid. Great idea in the hot summer months but who wants to camp in Florida in the summer?
- Hanna Park is in Jacksonville and might be a better day event for us.
- I can’t tell if the Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park allows tent campers or not.
We’ll be looking at these closely when we decide where to camp next and report back. If anyone else has any other suggestions, we’d love to hear them.
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