Golfing disaster

I haven't been golfing for two weeks, because of a pulled muscle in my back.  I really muscle the club around sometimes.  Remember:  Timing and excellerate through the ball releasing the club to hit the ball square.  Gah!!  Took the kids golfing today and my back was okay, but my son decided to have a meltdown on the second hole.  Instead of allowing his behavior to piss me off, I just didn't let him play and he had to follow my daughter and me around the course.  After a few holes I asked him if he wanted to play, but the little monster said no.  He can get really cranky playing golf and yet he says he likes playing.  I think it is more a brother and sister thing than a golf thing. 

Who's easier to raise: boy v. girl?

Another MSN article. I find the emphasis on "mom" and lack of references to "dad" in this article annoying.   In any case, both of my kids offer challenges in raising them right.  My daughter is sweet, but has turned shy and retiring.  Big difference from just a year ago.  Blame middle-school sniping by other girls.  I'm trying to minimize that effect.  My son, the sensitive guy, can be prickly and moody.  I blame his mom...joke.  Both make me laugh every day.  I wouldn't say either is easier or harder to raise based on their gender.  They are just different.

Russian Girl

I'm a single-dad in a town that has few opportunities to seek out and find compatible women, I signed up in Yahoo personals.  I haven't put a picture up and I haven't gotten a lot of hits.  That's okay, because I'm still a little leery about getting involved with someone at this stage of the child-rearing game.  However, I did get an unusual response from a woman in Russia!  I wonder if it's for real.  I have doubts, of course, but what could they possibly expect to get out of a fake personals contact?  Am I naive?  Anyway, I'm on guard, but I sent a reply and got another letter back a day later.  It was an exceptionally long letter, full of details, and questions, but no questions regarding my wealth, ssn, or credit card number.  Is that coming?  I'm still on guard, but I just sent a letter back to her and we'll see where this goes.  It is my understanding that Russians love their children.  If she's real, then she's vivacious, beautiful(picture included in second letter) and family oriented.  I wonder where a woman like that is closer to home?  Anyone got an answer?   

LeMonde soak your head in a pond

Greg LeMonde, former Tour champion, is out of line and losing fans with his statements regarding Armstrong and doping.  LeMonde was a great cyclist who biked when cycling was small in the states.  Okay, so it is still small in the states, but Armstrong is making real "sports" money, which is something LeMonde didn't get.  I've heard rumours that LeMonde was bitter.  He has proven it.  Come on Greg, pull your head out!

Teen sex

As the father of a 13 y.o. daughter and 11 y.o. son, the topic of sex is being broached more and more often and usually by me. I don't want my kids growing up with a pornographic sense of what sex is, but I also don't want them growing up thinking sex is "dirty". I laid the groundwork several years ago on sex discussions with my kids by reading books on the reproductive system. Now, it's time to discuss the emotional apects of sex. We can't forget the dangers of unprotected sex or the dream/goal shattering effect of an unwanted, teenage pregnancy. Gahhh! Here is a general article by msnbc on teen sex. Not a bad attempt at bringing out the general issues related to discussing sex with your kids.

Hey ladies!

If you're wondering whether dating a single dad is worthwhile check out this article. I can attest to being able to do the laundry and help the kids with homework.

Porn Blogs

What's up with all the porn blogs on blogspot? I enjoy looking over blogs listed as "Recently Updated" and it seems that more and more of the blogs are porn related. I'm not a prude, but there is so much porn on the internet that it is becoming more and more kid unfriendly. A couple years ago my daughter used yahoo to look up "Pokemon" at her grandmother's house. She clicked on one of the sites and was rewarded with a hardcore porn site. That took a lot of explaining and resulted in installing a parental control software. I've had that software on my computer for a number of years and it isn't 100% effective, but it helps. What's a parent to do? I don't let the kids use the internet without me supervising. Is it censorship? No, it is responsible parenting. I want my kids to grow up with a healthy outlook toward sex and porn doesn't promote that outlook.

New clubs

After five years of shopping for new golf clubs I bought a set last friday. I took them out for a spin on Saturday with my brother and played 18 holes. We walked the course in the sun. I slept well that night! The Blue Angels were performing their air show over East Bay and we were able to watch from the course. I love the clubs, Mizuno MX-23s. They replace my 16 year old, $86 clubs. I bought them from my friend Adam, at his Golf USA in Gaylord. Thanks Adam! I shaved 7 strokes off my score on the second nine. We'll see if I can break 90 on my next outing.

Parenting method #1

My basic child rearing procedure is to punish the kids when they misbehave by embarassing them in the presence of their friends. I enhance the effectiveness of that punishment by acting like a damn idiot while in public with the kids. In that way they know I won't hesitate to act like an idiot at anytime. It works.

Gack!

I told myself I wouldn't waste my time with Michael Moore any more, but this was an interesting article. Decidedly, less partisan than most articles.

Tour de France

I enjoy the tour de france. I, like many people, may find france's politics annoying, but they host one of the most intriguing sporting events and they do it every year. As everyone knows, this is Lance's year to break the record for most wins. Here is an article that details who,when and what to watch for as the race progresses. As a cancer victim, my mom took a great interest in Lance's career and story. She was saddened by his divorce. She was joyous at his victory last July. My mom passed away last November after her battle with cancer was lost. Go Lance. The race starts tomorrow with the Prologue.