I loved summer as a kid; I dread it as a parent. At least the out of school part. Not because I don’t want the kids to have fun and get a break from school, it’s because they get so freakin’ bored and I feel responsible. I don’t remember being bored as a kid. Was I? It seems like my kids are constantly bored and I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong as a parent.

I grew up in a small town surrounded by friends. There was hill after hill of Utah wilderness to explore right out of my front door. My kids live in the middle of suburbia and spend most of their time stuck indoors because of the rain and houses that fill the horizon in every direction. In addition, I don’t know many of my neighbors…there aren’t five kids of assorted ages in almost every house in the neighborhood. As a kid, I played constantly…basketball, football, rode bikes in the hills, had dirt clod wars, hunted with bb guns, and even some Dungeons and Dragons. Sometimes we’d even pack up supplies and as many as ten kids (ages 6-13) would hike several miles out of town, make a fire, cook dinner, and sleep under the stars. Just us kids.

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I’ve had to work out of town for the past two weeks. Today is the first day of summer for the kids, so I brought them with me this week. Although they are well behaved teenagers, they still like to make noise and have some fun on occasion; nothing wrong with that as long as it’s not in the hotel. So before we went in to the lobby, I told them to be professional while we were here. No running around, being loud…that sort of thing. I also told them there were cookies in the lobby and they could help themselves.

Mikayla responded in her professional adult voice, “Excuse me, but may I enjoy one of your circular yummies?”

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The cost to print photos on your own printer is higher than you probably realize. The money spent on a new printer is peanuts compared to the money that will flow out of your bank account for ink. A set of ink cartridges for an Epson R1900 printer will set you back $125. You’ll get about 40 8×10 prints, or $3 each. Add the cost of premium paper (often $1 per sheet) and you are spending what a professional printing service charges (Shutterfly.com charges $4 for an 8×10). When you consider paper jams, clogged ink heads, color tone mismatches, several hundred dollars for a printer, and the hassle of dealing with another computer peripheral… it makes more sense to use Shutterfly.

If you are not technical and not printing several pages of pictures weekly, I suggest you bypass a photo printer. You’ll save money, frustration, get better results, and you can stop reading right now and go do something more enjoyable. Did you know a simple cleaning cycle on your printer can drain 1/10^th of the ink in your tanks? The truth is, once you add up the costs, photo printing companies are cheaper and easier.

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My original interest in this book was based on the story behind story, rather than the novel itself. John Kennedy Toole wrote this and then became depressed when he couldn’t get it published. After his suicide, his mother repeatedly approached Walker Percy (then a professor at Loyola) and finally convinced him to read it. Thanks to Walker it was eventually published, although 11 years after author’s tragic death. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for fiction.

The title comes from Jonathan Swift: “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” I really didn’t know what I was getting when I started the audio version (I listen to books during my daily commute), but after that first morning drive I was hooked. Barrett Whitener does a fantastic job of reading, so much so that I’m going to seek him out for future audio books. I’d like to point out, Stephen King (in “On Writing”) says that listening to a book is the best way to experience it and he used to pay his kids a nickel per page to record audio books for him.

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(Click the Orca to go to my wildlife photo album)

For three years now we have spent Memorial weekend camping at the San Juan County park on the San Juan Island. These islands are a short ferry ride out of Anacortes, WA and are excellent for whale watching. The first two years, several pods of whales swam right past the beach 2-3 times each day. I started to think that it was normal and expected the same thing this year but it didn’t happen. Luckily I had booked us a whale watching trip (we had never done this before) and on our 3 hour boat ride we saw plenty of Orcas and I was able to get pictures that were much better than I had in previous years.

If you want to camp on the islands, you have to make reservations early. Every year I call the day the reservation line opens (usually around St. Patrick’s day). This year I had 2 phones on redial and I sat for an hour and a half dialing constantly before I finally got through (and the camp was already half filled for Memorial Weekend). I know one of these years I won’t end up so lucky and the family will be disappointed.

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Since I was young enough to spend my own quarter, I’ve heard the slogan, “Buy American.” If we live in the US we should support our own, right? Well, I’m not so sure.

I’m not against helping my neighbor and supporting our nation’s economy, but when you consider that, generally, we live in luxury compared to the majority of the world it seems quite selfish to want to make sure our wealth stays within our own borders. So I ask you, where are the boundaries of our social community…the edge of town, the state line, or the fences we are building around our nation?

People asking me to draw the borders tight and buy locally seem to feel that helping my own neighbors survive and prosper is the highest priority. Doesn’t that imply one group of people (those in my vicinity) are more important, more deserving, or, ultimately, more human than somebody five states away? I’m all for eliminating poverty at home, but generally it less about that and more about the marketing campaign for those wanting my business.

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I’ve added an new first chapter to my book that offers perspective, drama, and (hopefully) more initial excitement to my novel. It requires some minor editing to the rest of the story and I have taken down the link at Lulu.com until I finish. After this, I’m done editing. I’ll submit and call it good…and move on to my next book.

“Mandala’s Catalyst” is the first book in my Gardone Trilogy. For sixteen years Prince Jasper has honored his parents and supported the laws, but he’s afraid of his thoughts; have his parents and leaders been lying to him? When tragedy compels him to speak out, he is banished from the kingdom. He learns that the forbidden practice of swords and sorcery have been revived by a small group of outlaws who believe Gardone is on the brink of destruction. Jasper, now hunted and despised by the people he loves, must uncover the truth and fight against the dark forces that shroud his nation in ignorance.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Is that her? ZieZee’s thoughts passed to her partner as she pointed down the rocky slope through branches of naked trees that reached into the sky like giant spider legs.

Dorg looked at the large mound of snow in the ravine below, nodded, and answered with his mind. Yes, she’s under there, protecting the egg.

Cloudy vapor froze in frigid air as it left their bodies, marking time in steady puffs. Only two creatures could survive this icy tundra: their kind and the massive beast nesting in the gorge below. They watched and waited, camouflaged by thick white fur on the snow covered ridge. To the keen eye they looked awkward; standing knee deep in the snow made them look unnaturally short, even for snow apes.

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(Click to go to the the Gallery where you can see the full sized images)

Kim got a new kitten and the kids brought her over for a day of kitty-sitting. It was tiny and cute…and since I put off taking pictures of Elphie too long (our cat is no longer a kitten), I decided I better shoot now or never. Her name is Bella and she loved napping in Sandi’s purse. She lives with a German Shepherd 50X her size. From what I understand, they get along well. A picture of the two of them together would be interesting.

Three things usually make me change the radio station. Any jewelry commercial, a DJ that launches into a commercial while making it sound like he’s just chatting casually with his listeners, or a Washington State lottery add.

The lottery is one of the greatest hoaxes the wealthy have ever pulled across on the lower classes. It’s like the authoritarian father telling his children they are not only going to clean out the toilet; they are going to enjoy it. The lower classes have been duped into paying all the taxes funded by the lottery and they defend their right to do it. We are so disillusioned that we don’t care that it’s a scam.

People often vote for what they feel is best for them individually regardless of its effect on society. It’s why we see litter on the ground, why crime exists, why Exxon is making record profits while the rest of the country is suffering a recession. Desperation drives people to extremes. Somebody watching their children starve is going to have a lot easier time stealing food than most of us. But the lottery transcends this logic. The lottery is the pathetic epitome of this warped mentality.

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I stumbled across this article about prehistoric man and it caught my imagination. The theory is that 70,000 years ago humankind almost ended. After 100,000 years of living in small tribes, harsh conditions cut our numbers to a mere 2,000. We declared ourselves a critically endangered species. The postulate is that we then united, ended the stone age, and have ballooned to a super race of 6.6 billion.

I want to know the rest of the story…to the point that my mind starts to create it. Perhaps one of the most charismatic, intelligent, and innovative human beings ever to walk this earth will never be known. We love stories about heroes who have saved the world…just look at our movies, novels, and legends. But outside of theology, there hasn’t ever been one soul responsible for saving the world from destruction. No Superman, James Bond, or Austin Powers. No one person can take credit for saving us all…right?

What if 70,000 years ago a sole man or woman inspired a people beaten by poverty, hunger, disease, and war to radically change their ideals. This person not only introduced complex unorthodox solutions to our demoralized ancestors, he or she also organized and rallied them to action. This hero inspired confidence like rain brings life to the desert, and we flourished and changed. On the brink of destruction, we altered our course and pushed into uncharted territory. Now look at us…maybe he or she is turning in their grave.

At the very least, it makes for an interesting story. I’ll put it on the list of novels that I’d like to someday write…