simra.net Doing stuff since 1973

http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/844
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/15/howto-make-a-desktop.html

This looks like a super-fun weekend project to do with the kids.

Relying on the kindness of strangers, Part 1.

Relying on the kindness of strangers, Part 2.

I'm more of a Part 1 kind of guy. When we were kids we'd disappear into the fields for hours, scavenging through makeshift dump-sites (they were called municipal 'parks' on the map, but they were essentially fields cluttered with broken fridges, boilers and garage doors, ... and nice big holes to build forts in). The neighbours looked out for us and if anyone was a serial killer they'd replaced their habit with the advent of VHS. You see, back then no one had cell phones, so there was no incentive to murder someone for their gear.

I haven't posted much about the Nathani-Sim household lately. I took the last week off to enjoy an extended spring break with the family. No plans, except to take it easy. Unfortunately, we call caught this virus and while three of us are recovered Sasha is still struggling (which means restless nights for us all, and explains why I'm blogging at 3am). That hasn't stopped us from having fun- last weekend Maya and I went skiing where she accomplished riding the towrope on her own. This was followed by the purchase of a new digital piano. We managed to avoid getting suckered in to the $1500 Rolands at the music store and are pleased as punch with our $300 Casio from Costco, which, believe it or not, has weighted keys. We also picked up this this fantastic book for teaching kids piano, which is loads of fun, comes with a CD, and doesn't require any musical knowledge on the part of the teacher. Even Sasha has been getting into the musical groove with her little head-bobbing dance. It's so great having a musical instrument in the house again- my guitar is still in storage.

Other new things: Maya's also been filling her days with new pottery classes and this morning I introduced her to the basics of gravity and conservation of momentum via Line Rider ;-) . Later, I took her to the UBC rink for public skating. They have nice training frames for beginning skaters, which work *so* much better than the pylons they have at the Kits rink- it was our first time out this year and Maya was blasting around on her own in a couple minutes.

These are definitely the best aspects of parenthood- really engaging with your child's enthusiasm for learning new things. I'm looking forward to these last two days off.

http://buddhanerd.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/teaching-children-reverence-i...

The Level 8th Buddhist has some excellent things to say about raising kids in a Buddhist home.

http://www.alfiekohn.org/managing/fbrftb.htm

A good article on the psychology of using rewards as incentives, and why perhaps they're not so good. Interesting stuff if you're a parent or a manager. I tend to agree- while as parents we've never had an overt policy against a reward program, we do try to avoid 'bribing' the kids as much as possible. This can sometimes lead to frustration but with patience, ingenuity, and determination it can be effective.

Tonight I'm grateful for

• a chance to get out and see friends, and a great Fringe play, to boot. It's all about game theory. ;-)
• the rolling hills of 4th Ave thru Kitsilano late at night. Driving home reminded me of how I felt when I first moved here- the overwhelming sense of geography in this place can wane with time but every once it a while it catches you by surprise.
• My eldest, who is excited to be learning French.
• Six fantastic months at Braintech as of today. I never imagined I could enjoy work this much.

http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/buddhism-and-children.html

The intersection of three big topics of interest to me. James Ure at the Buddhist Blog discusses a recent Tricycle article on teaching Buddhism to kids, which slants towards "We've got to give the kids religion or it will be lost!". Ure takes a more cautionary approach, citing none other than Richard Dawkins who is outspoken against the indoctrination of kids into any religious views. Somewhere in the middle ground is the fact that (non-religious) meditation, mindfulness and compassion happen to be (scientifically proven) handy life-skills. (Of course, if you're a nut job you fit 'scientifically proven' into the religion slot too and it's suddenly all-out religious warfare. Ack.)

My two cents on this debate are that, speaking as a parent here, you can't help but rub off some impression of your world-view on your kids. Dawkins is unrealistic to suggest that kids shouldn't be taught religion but he knows that in a hypothetical universe where that link is broken there are likely fewer suicide bombings and deaths-by-exorcism. (Fewer divorces, too, as the stats play out). I mean, what exactly does he suggest we do in order to prevent any 'world-view transference'? In any case, I'm as much against the teaching of fanaticism and intolerance to kids as Dawkins or any other reasonable person but I think the argument is lost because it is impractical.

So, rather than take Dawkins' hard line and aim closer to the middle, how might one educate their kids to be-- umm, whatever it is we can all agree is good to teach kids. Many aspects of Buddhism are not so well suited to kids in the first place- too much sitting still and introspection, but the lessons of kindness and compassion, maybe some dabbling in the second noble truth, learning self-discipline, etc, are all great starting points. Ultimately, I agree with Dawkins that learning to be inquisitive and skeptical are traits that are not only good for individuals but for society as a whole.

Alas, I've had a lot less time on my hands this week. Here's a raw dose of things I'd say more about if I had some time:

http://petriproject.com/2007/08/09/get-your-head-in-the-game-kid/
Parents hiring sports psychologists to help their seven-year-olds excel. I think Noam Chomsky once had something to say about sports.

http://www.diylife.com/2007/08/10/legos-75th-anniversary-23-diy-lego-ide...
Ideas for celebrating Lego's 75 anniversary.

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=7,4643,0,0,1,0
Meditation as a treatment for alcoholism.

http://newdharmabums.blogspot.com/
Dharma Bums. A new subscription in my feedreader.

http://community.livejournal.com/buddhists/2169684.html
Good vs Bad Buddhism. This week I'm a baaad Bhikku.

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/2148253&from=rss
Long-time slashdotters/linux geeks will remember the SCO case. The last nail has finally been driven into the coffin.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/85/i32/8532notw2.html
Death by bottled water. Increasing evidence of the toxicity of bisphenol-A.
Also: Plastic Bags are Killing Us.

http://smarterfitter.com/chain
Productivity: start your Seinfeldian Chain.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/08/09/bc-protesters...
B.C. protesters glad to be home after 36-hour detention in China. Two Canadians among a bunch of others detained for unfurling a protest banner related to the Olympics, Tibet and human rights at the Great Wall. It was disturbing to read comments in our local commuter paper this morning justifying the Chinese response. Most favored trading partner indeed.

http://smart-machines.blogspot.com/2007/08/urban-challenge-teams-down-to...
The Urban Challenge is whittled down to 36 contenders, including the usual suspects.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/10/french_kid_who_trans.html
Evil children's lit publishing empire attacks over-enthusiastic teen fan.

Today's my birthday. I'm officially older than You-Know-Who.

Tonight I'm grateful for all the truly wonderfully fantastic things in my life-

• my beautiful wife and children,
• reconnecting with long-lost friends on Facebook,
• my extended family on the other side of the country,
• my new-found enthusiasm for life, the universe and everything. I've taken some strange turns the past few years but I'm feeling like a 20-year-old again. Ok, maybe just a really lazy 20-year-old.

and the simple things, too

• gently bouncing Sasha to sleep the past two nights,
• a birthday breakfast at the Naam,
• crossing the Lion's Gate every day on my way to work (and letting the chauffeur drive so I can enjoy the view.)
• and last but not least, my fantastic job. Even tho' the jetlagged kids dragged me out of bed at 5 this morning, I came home from work more energized than when I left the house.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/08/07/babyvideos.html?ref=rss

Big surprise there- plopping your kid down in from of the tube- even an educational program- impedes language development (especially if they're 6-16 months of age). I think a big problem with these videos is repetition- playing the video every afternoon for a month deprives the baby of several hours of diversified conversation. Likewise, the videos were found to have no impact- positive or negative on older kids. Nothing competes with good old-fashioned TLC.

Ok, I have work to do, but these three articles are worth a read:

The fourteen mindfulness trainings:
http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2007/07/14-mindfulness-trainings.ht...

Ten keys to lasting happiness:
http://www.tysonwilliams.com/archives/the_ten_keys_to_lasting_happiness....

and last but not least, why perhaps you should spend *less* time with your kids:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/07/15/leave_those_k...

http://fototiller.com/blog/2006/06/26/coloring-pages-from-your-photos-3-...

Use photoshop to turn your family photos into colouring sheets for kids. I can't wait to try this out when I get back to Vancouver. I wonder if the Gimp provides the same filter, and I wonder what the effect is like if you just use a Canny filter.

http://simra.net/blog/boat_fun

Made with love by Maya and Rob.

http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/21260/

Title says it all.