Oh, The Good 'Ole Days

Rules, rules and more Rules! At what point will common courtesy step in? Maybe never again. I recently read a story that left me shaking my head.

"Conn. Prep Football Adopts Score Control Policy"

This makes me almost as sad as the day I read an article about San Francisco schools outlawing tag at recess because it created an unfair environment among kids.

Back to football, or soccer, or futbol Americana...This article is about a new policy to help 'manage the score' in high school football games. Under this new policy, a coach will be suspended from a game if his team wins by more than 50 points! Really?

From time to time, this issue comes up, particularly in football. A few years back, Bob Stoops, the University of OK's ball coach was chastised for drubbing Texas A&M, even though in the fourth quarter he ran the ball on a 4th and 10 from the 15 yard line, and his player scored a TD (third string btw)! The question I pose is this, "How is a policy really going to make sportsmanship happen?" That is what the heart of this policy is out to fight. However, how is a coach supposed to pull back the reigns, when they were letting their players run all week in practice? Some say, play back ups. Well what happens when the backups are better than the other team's starters?

The problem is the system, not necessarily the coaches. Now while I see that some coaches are out of line, putting a score limit isn't the right thing to do. When I was in H.S. if the score was a 35 point run away by the 4th quarter, the game was called. Opponents of this policy say shortening the games limits the time backups have to play. Now when was it a requirement that H.S. players HAVE to play? Why are we worried about the time backups get?

What happens when it is the end of the season, and a team that should be in a lower division is getting pounded by a top team. The coach of the team getting pounded doesn't like the other coach and w/ the score 45 - 2 in the first half pulls his starters with the other team heading in on the 20. The winners score, play the waterboys the rest of the first half and the entire second and win 52 - 2. Now this top team's coach has to sit out the first round of the playoffs, where his team is seeded second because the 2nd tie breaker is point differential!

Oh the world we live in...

7 Weeks

Seven weeks has come and gone, and we are moving head long into eight! It is amazing how time flies. Caleb is continuing to grow very quickly. He is at least 10.5 lbs, probably a little closer to 11. He has really started to focus on objects. He will follow a person across a room. He loves the swing and the moving mobile above it. We even put a "Leap Frog" singing animal on his car seat so he has something colorful to look at while riding!

There are some new pics in the album to the left. They are very cute (at least I think so). The two-pic sequence where he is sitting, then not, were taken about 1 second a part. He was upright, then he chose to dive into the couch! :) He is getting so strong, however, that we don't have to worry about his head bobbling around any more. He is also starting to manage his gas better, which makes for less fussing! He definitely got his Grandpa Mize's hands and gas problem. (Or 'uncle' Chuck's)

6 Weeks Old

Thursday brought Caleb's 6 week b-day. Without much fan fare I must add. He is growing so fast. More pictures are uploaded in the album on the left.

He is becoming more expressive and letting us know more when he doesn't like something :). I told Tara I don't know if I like him getting a personality! He is still cute and alert as ever. Tara and him went to M.O.P.S on Friday and today we went out and celebrated Tara's cousin, Kevin's graduation. He is so good being passed around from family member to family member. Grandma and grandpa Mize came down for the celebration and love holding him!

We are getting out more and more, as Tara calls it 'baby steps'. Taking more time away from the house is nice, but there is a fine line we have to be careful of when it comes to overwhelming him. He lets us know at night if we pushed it too hard! All in all, Caleb is spoiling us. He is a GREAT baby!

Some Things Don't Go Away

July, 1975 was a monumental month in history. Besides the fact that I was born some, ahem, 30 plus years ago, that was the month that Jimmy Hoffa 'disappeared'.

Today, I read this article and wonder why, thirty plus years later this is still national news?

"FBI searching horse farm for clues to Hoffa's disappearance"

Now don't get me wrong, I understand that there are probably family members out there still holding hope that Hoffa took a plane to an unknown island and found an underground hatch where he is living with survivors from an ABC show, but is the state of Michigan STILL spending money investigating his 'death'?

At what point do cold cases become permanently cold? At what point does someone rest in peace, missing or not? At what point do tax dollars get spent on current missing persons, or the less fortunate who probably need help from the law, more than Jimmy Hoffa? And finally, why again is this a national story?

Hoffa, for all the 'good' he supposedly did, was a shady character. Hence his sudden vanishing act. What is crazy to me is there are as many conspiracy theories about Hoffa as there are about JFK! And again I ask, Jimmy Hoffa?

I was talking to Chuck Strawn the other day about how I'm over media! For many years now, I have been growing tired of the sensationalism, glorification, and blatant embellishment by local and national media. The line between tabloid and news is gone in my opinion, with sadly the news going the direction of the hearsay tabloids! It started for me when the networks gave Florida to Gore, then national stories of Natalie Holloway (and other 'pretty, blond' people), when underrepresented children go missing daily and nobody hears about it, to the Barry Bonds scandal, when scores of other players are in deeper water than him but nobody talks about them, and now this! Instead of discussing or better yet spending tax dollars to combat poverty, homelessness, child neglect, education, we are sending teams of investigators out to a horse ranch to look for someone who has been missing my entire life!

Maybe, just maybe, the leader of the 'others' on "Lost" turns out to be Jimmy Hoffa...Now wouldn't THAT be a twist!

To Whom Much Has Been Given

The California Assembly is voting on a bill aimed at protecting the freedom of speech of college newspapers.

Assembly Votes On Bill To Stop College Newspaper Censorship

Working at three higher education institutions, I've learned quickly to be extremely careful when working with the student newspaper. The key here is the 'student' in student newspaper. These are up and coming journalists who are learning their trade. Because of this, I don't know how many times stories are written out of context, don't have proper in depth research, are based on hearsay, and people are misquoted. Again, these are students and mistakes are to be expected. The policy I currently adopt is email interviews (which the reporters don't like), and I ask to see my quotes in context with the story ahead of time. I also advise the student leaders I work along side of to be careful with the newspapers because often they are quoted as representatives of the institution, when they are also, like the reporter, students.

Now, this legislation looks at protecting the rights of a college newspaper from censorship. The case it is addressing is an administrator asking to see the stories before they go to print. Again, I'm an advocate of free speech, but there is also a responsibility that should be placed on the speaker. The written word in a college newspaper can ignite a campus. Most of the time in a very healthy manner. But occasionally the student mistake can create havoc. Taking away the administrators ability to, in some cases, do the job of the administrator is taking away rights as well. Additionally, most of these collegiate papers are funded by the university! In the simplest terms the university is the editor in chief because they hold the check book. A bill that takes away this power is questionable at best.

What we need is a learning environment where the student journalists are not so proud to think that they will not make mistakes, and also administrators and advisors who are willing to work in conjunction with this learning environment. We don't need politicians sitting in cushy leather chairs making decisions crucial to the educational process.

One of the Reasons

For those of you who know me, this isn't news to you. For those who don't, I'm a sports junkie. My wife Tara talks about how the only t.v. channels I watch are ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports 1&2, TBS or WGN (when the Giants are playing the Braves or Cubs), or TNT (during the NBA playoffs)! I love sports because I love competition. Well, upon moving to California I began down the road of Fantasy Sports! Fantasy sports are DEFINITELY, as Tara would say, one of the reasons why I'm NotOKanymore!

Because I enjoy ESPN so much, I occasionally check out their website. By occasionally, I mean that the ticker is up constantly on my computer, and ESPN.com is my top 'favorite'. One of the contributors that makes me laugh is the SportsGuy, Bill Simmons. Well he just released a piece that is seminal to all those who are dealing with a fantasy sports junkie. So Tara, Cambra, Carrie, Lynnea, and the other significant others of those who play fantasy sports, this is for you:

A Fantasy League for the Females

It is a great read and a great idea! Hey who knows, maybe you all can find a niche and jump into the fantasy waters. As those of us who already play will tell ya, "Hey, the water's warm, come on in!"

How Fast a Month Goes!

Probably the most unexpected thing about having a new child is how fast time goes. Going from feeding to feeding, or in Caleb's case, 3-4 hours at a time, really makes days go by so fast! Both Tara and I can't believe how quickly this first month has gone. With newborn babies, you measure time in weeks, so this last Saturday, was one month old, but his 'weeks age' is on Thursdays. I still haven't figured it out yet in that he is 4 weeks old on Thursday, one month old on Saturday, but there are 4 weeks in a month, but 30 or 31 days in a month, but 7 days a week times 4 equals 28, oh, it just makes my head hurt. No wonder a mom told us her little one was 21 months old, yet another mom said her's was 6 weeks. I guess around the two to 3 month time we will start using months, then not until 2 years will we use years. Then, when do we start using quarter centuries? But I digress...

Back to Caleb. As I said, on Saturday he was 4 weeks plus 3 days old, or a month. We met my Aunt Jean and her family out in Glendora for a Caleb's first picnic. It was fun because my sister, Lacy, and parents were here so it was a mini-family reunion. Lacy brought Caleb his first pair of shades and being a California boy, he sure looks right at home with them on! We had a great time at the park, and Caleb slept right through it all, mostly in the arms of his second cousin Stephanie! (You can see more pics in the photo album on the left.)

Grandma and Grandpa Houston left on Sunday, Lacy left this morning, so now it is back to the three of us. We are settling in well. Caleb is a great baby. I have said it before but keep saying it because I keep waiting for him to turn into me or his mom, when we were babies. But so far so good! On Friday, he went to the Reagan Library and got a sticker for his baby book's first museum page :)! On Saturday went to his first park. Saturday night he got to meet Will, Scott and Cambra's boy, at "The Counter". On Sunday went to Church and Baja Fresh. It was a busy weekend, but a good one.

Today, I think he was missing the fact that Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt weren't around. He didn't want to be put down. He would fuss, and as soon as someone picked him up, he went back to sleep! I came home at lunch, had a quick bite with Tara, then held him until I had to leave at one so Tara could take a shower! All in all though we are acclimating to the new parent thing great.

I'm back at work now, so that brings a new adjustment. It was such a blessing to be able to be home for the first month! Also, having all the family and friends around was amazing. And the meals! Our freezer is STILL full, so thanks to all you who provided. One month down, many more to go. I wouldn't change it for the world, other than trying to figure out the week/month thing...

Week Four

Caleb is a good sleeper, as babies go that is. He makes it roughly 4 hours between feedings which typically means midnight, 4 a.m. then 8 a.m. So all in all, we can't complain too much about sleep. This of course is coming from dad who only has to wake up for 5 minutes to change him, while mom is awake a little longer feeding him.

Operation "Grandparents Houston" is well underway and going great! They have been a huge help already and Caleb really enjoys them. I think he was a little confused at first not quite knowing why Grandpa looked so much like dad, sounded like dad, but wasn't dad! Last night, Caleb had some bad gas, and grandpa held him/slept with him on the couch from 1-5 a.m.! That was super so we could get our sleep.

We made it to church last week, but this week we were just too tired. We did get out in the afternoon to take Caleb to Chevy's Mexican Grill, Target and Babies 'R Us for the first time! He did great. While at Babies 'R Us, Tara and I were looking to exchange our Baby Bjorn for a different color. My mom came up asking for the pacifier and I heard this loud cry. I asked, "Is that Caleb?" Sure enough it was. He was ready to eat. So Tara took him to the glider section, set down in one and fed him (covered btw). That is a plus to breast feeding...you always have it wherever you are!

Sorry for the long delay in updating the photo album and this blog. Last week was a little crazy, but now we are back to normal. Saturday will bring his one month b-day, and more pics so don't forget to check back then.