A New Way to Dance

Jacob and I spend a lot of time listening to music. He usually waves his hands, bounces up and down, or sings along, but recently he started something new. I don't know how he knows to change his dancing when the girl's verse starts, but he does that almost every time we play this song from Grease. Enjoy!

Changes

A prize to the first person who correctly notes the major difference in my husband pictured here and my husband before this picture was taken. Post your answer as a comment.

Udvar-Hazy Center

While we were visiting with my parents and sister in the deep deep south (Virginia) we got to take some time for a Jeff + Stacey date with our good friends Brittany + Mark and hit up the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum.

Britt was my roommate for 4 years at BYU and though we were friends growing up, I probably couldn't have imagined what a great asset she'd be to me through the crazy and oh-so-fun college years and beyond. And we both married boys we met our freshman year at school and have pretty cute babies now. Here are some pictures to document the cool airplanes and spacecraft that we saw on our outing.

Jeff figured this was a lovely plane to take a picture of with me in front of it.

Yes, that is the Enola Gay. Me and Brittany studying this plane very carefully.

The token picture to prove that Chipman 3209 Cute Days exist even outside of the dorms, seven and a half years later. Space Shuttle Enterprise (the large thing in the background, not the foreground!). Do notice how Baby Girl Hoopes is taking up her residence quite well these days.

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a fine specimen of an airplane. And super-fast to boot! London to LA in under 4 hours? Check. That's the kind of flight that would be perfect with children.

And presenting the world's most expensive "lunch": a 6 piece nugget kids' meal for me and a vanilla ice cream cone for Jeff. Cost: $7.00. When did McDonald's decide it could be pricey, even at a museum?

Thanks again to Mom & Erin for keeping an eye on Jacob for us!

Fun With New Toys

Aren't we home yet?

Smile if you love your new Mickey pajamas!

Fun with the McKoys

So, we came to Stacey's parents house for Christmas. It has been a pleasant time. Here are a few pictures that represent our trip thus far. Most probably there will be a more complete update in the future. Jacob got this present from his Hoopes Grandparents, and he enjoys it a lot. I took this picture using the little tripod that Stacey got me for Christmas. Notice Jacob's mouth. Stacey and Erin made dinner on Sunday night. Here the are, showing off their creation. Another picture I took with the tripod Stacey got me. Again, notice Jacob's mouth. The deal is, when I use the timer on my camera, a couple seconds before it takes the picture, it makes this sound and blinks a light. For some reason, this always surprises little Jacob, and so in most of the pictures I took with the timer, Jacob looks surprised. He is a cute little boy. We went downtown on Friday, and here is a picture of the girls and Jacob in front of the Washington Monument. While downtown we visited the National Museum of American History. It was very interesting, and we saw a lot of interesting things. At this museum, we saw lots of interesting things, including this propaganda poster from World War II. I plan on printing it out and putting it above our food storage.Here is a nice little picture taken on Christmas day, after the presents were opened. Jacob took his first steps a couple weeks ago. However, with more space at his Grandparents' house, and as a result of lots of observation during his visit to the nursery, he is getting better and better. Here are a couple steps. He was on track to go longer, but, the stairs got in the way. Apparently, while at nursery, he walked half way across the cultural hall. He is an amazing little boy.

Oh what a difference a year makes

So, last year we took the following picture of Jacob. We placed him in the paper, and we rested well. This year, I put him in the paper about two dozen times, and he crawled all over the place, escaping, and playing. I took 60 or so pictures trying to get one of him calmly sitting in the wrapping paper. I think the days of him calmly sitting anywhere are over. We love this kid. Merry Christmas.

Summitpost.org

So, we did a little hiking trip a year and a hal ago, and my brother David wrote a trip report on it for summitpost.org. It was featured on the front page of summitpost today. For those of you familiar with hiking or climbing, you know how big summitpost is. Check it out! http://summitpost.org. In following days, it will probably not be on the main page, and you could check http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/471468/July-Rim-to-Rim-to-Humphrey-s-a-family-trip.html.

The Greats

Some of the great people who have brought "change" to the world. Magnitude guaranteed. Direction questionable.

Thoughts on the Education Secretary Nominee

Tonight I saw a link to this article and figured I'd better read it, since, after all, I have spent a little bit of time (more time than I planned on, by far) learning about education and instructional things in an academic setting. In my roles as both mother and graduate student, let's just say I give a hoot about who the Secretary of Education is. Before I share any thoughts I have about Obama's pick for this Cabinet position I should probably point out that I don't know Arne Duncan, had never heard of him until tonight, and my opinions were formed fairly quickly as I read up on the man just now. So here are a few things I learned that were of interest. First of all, this guy is young. Not my age or anything, but he was born in 1964. He grew up in Chicago and when he was younger helped his mom at the tutoring center that she runs in the city. He has never been a teacher, has a degree from Harvard (sociology), and a couple honorary doctorates from schools I'd never heard of. He played basketball while at Harvard then played professionally in Australia. When he came back to the states in the 90s he started working in schools in Chicago and has risen to be the CEO of Chicago Public Schools fairly quickly I'd say. Obama mentions in the article that "When it comes to school reform, Arne is the most hands-on of hands-on practitioners," but in just reading Nominee Duncan's bio on the Chicago Schools webpage and his Wikipedia article, I couldn't find anything specifically that he had done that was "hands-on." Also, I wonder how many school reformers Obama actually knows? What concerns do I have? Mr. Duncan has never been a teacher, and while this doesn't need to be a requirement for someone to be the Secretary of Education, I think when you are in that position and you can understand more fully the plight of the people putting your policies into action, it gives you a good perspective. Another concern is that I have more schooling that this gentleman. And by that I am not trying to toot my own horn at all, but what I mean is that I don't think that a sociology degree (which I have) necessarily provides someone with the expertise needed for the nation's biggest position for educational reform. Certainly he's been in educational posts for a while now, but it does give me pause nonetheless. Anyone have thoughts on this or other Cabinet position announcements?

For Tess, Sister in-law-the-Newest

Wikipedia

So, I have edited Wikipedia before, many times. I find little inaccuracies or things I don't like or that have been framed in a way I disagree with, and I change it. Usually, these edits are only a couple words, or demanding a citation for something, or something else minor. However, today, I made my first major edit to Wikipedia. And by major, I mean a paragraph. I was reading the Wikipedia article on Olives this morning when I noticed that under the history of olives it did not mention the Bible. It mentioned Greek mythology and other such things, but not the Bible. Olives are a big deal in the Bible, and the Bible is a big deal when considering the history of anything in that region. When I see such omissions, I seem to always think they are not unintentional, so act quickly to correct them. So, I added a paragraph. Not only did I add a paragraph, but it has a reference. Not only does it have a reference, but the reference contains a link to a book on Google Books. I was obviously slightly proud of this little paragraph of mine. You can read my paragraph here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive Interestingly, since this morning, two paragraphs have been added to the history section about olives. Wikipedia is alive, well, and constantly evolving.

MLMs and Opinions and Caring

So, I had a student at UVSC who was a great student. Did well in my class, worked hard, and was bright. This week, I got an invitation (sent to many people) to be part of a multi-level marketing scheme from him by e-mail. This is not a post about MLMs, so bear with me. I knew that he, having taken my class, knew that I was a very opinionated person, and so I did not feel bad at all telling him exactly what I thought of his invitation.

Part of my reply to his invitation:

As you can expect, I have an opinion. Anything where you get paid to sign people up so they can get paid to sign people up is, in my opinion, not business.

He replied with:

I appreciate you at least taking the time to respond but you don't actually get paid to sign people up so they can get paid. You get paid when you sell the service offered by the company. Yes, it's MLM so you get paid when other people sell the service but there is no money in simply recruiting someone. The money only comes when you train someone well enough to sell. It's essentially an insurance company but structured as an MLM. I, unlike most people, think MLM is a great way to do business. It allows people to get started in a business (assuming the business and service are legitimate) for a minimal investment. All the while they get trained on how to run a business and the difficulties of living a salesman life (again, assuming you're with a legitimate business). Those are two things I think everyone needs to learn.

I replied with:

I agree. Assuming a legitimate business with some real product, MLMs are great. The only problem is, once you are far enough into the business to know if it is legitimate, it is too late. Most MLMs operate on "product" that has an incredible markup, such that there is no real growth potential for sale (unless, of course, you convince people that your cheaply produced product is a cure for cancer or something - ie Noni juice.) In a competitive market such as insurance, the further one gets away from actuarially fair insurance, the more difficult it will be to sell, and growth potential is difficult. This is increasingly becoming the case as comparable insurance rates are readily available online. Obviously, at first glance, they all look legitimate. Good luck with the MLM. One might also consider this: Regardless of the legitimacy of a MLM, since, as you stated, most serious people consider them illegitimate, announcing your association with one does not improve your status in most people's eyes. While "status" is a very worldly term and thing to worry about, the market is in the world, and one must worry about status if one intends to operate in the market. Good luck with everything. I am excited to see how your insurance sales go.

So he replied by saying:

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said. That's why I'm happy to be with the company that I am and that I took the time to check things out well before moving forward. Unfortunately, most people won't do so and that's why they either get swindled into a crappy deal that makes them hate all MLM companies or they pass up amazing opportunities.

Thanks for your thoughts. I like hearing what others have to say. It makes me keep my mind open and helps me understand other points of view. I appreciate you being willing to write back even though you are, obviously, not interested. Thanks again.

So, in the end, we completely disagreed, but, I think we both felt very good coming out of the back and forth. I like conversations like this. When two people can tell each other what they really think, and not get all mad or hot and heavy, then true learning takes place and it is evident people actually care.

I replied the way I do because I really do care about this guy—I don’t want him to lose his shirt on something I think is illegitimate (and have his amazing accounting education go to waste J). It may make him feel bad to tell him this (as I am basically saying “the thing you are doing is stupid”), but, I am doing it to try to help him.

He invited me, perhaps at least, because he thought it would be a great opportunity for me to make money (and, obviously, for him to share some of that money). He was looking out for me.

What really hurts people is when we stand idly by and do nothing. Caring means providing your opinion, the person can then take that opinion, factor it into all the information they have, and move on. To say nothing or to just be “supportive” is to not care, and to allow people to get hurt.

Thursday Feature Films

Swinging...

Thanksgiving...

Riding...

Chewing (with an open mouth, consider yourself warned)...

Game Theory and Eternity

So, I was in Econ 602 several weeks back, and we were studying a type of game in game theory in which the game is repeated indefinitely (well named, an infinite game, as opposed to a finite game, which ends at some point). One thing you see in game theory is if the different parties to the game will come to a mutual beneficial cooperative agreement, which benefits both parties. Many times, the answer is no, as is the case in the famous prisoner's dilemma game, which is a very simple and often presented result of game theory. In any event, my professor said something which really hit me. He said something to the effect of, "In most cases, cooperation is not possible in finite game. Cooperation only occurs in infinite games." In the end, this is an important concept. In game theory it is true because of math, the size of one's delta, and other crazy stuff. In life, it is true because if we really believe we are going to have some sort of eternal relationship with someone, we will cooperate. I know the game is infinite, and I hope to act accordingly.

Update on the Small Fry

Here is a variety of pictures of Jacob taken within the last little while. He's been a busy kid, and yet, still no walking...maybe by Christmas?

Waiting patiently for Thanksgiving Dinner. And with only a slightly pained look on his face. We love that he is willing to try just about anything, and the holiday was no different. He ate so much good food!

This is how happy Jacob was when I let him play with one of our finger puppet nativity sets. You would have thought it was Christmas. Oh, wait...

Jacob was convinced by his cousins that he needed to dress up as a cow the day after Thanksgiving. Luckily this didn't keep him from getting into things like Aunt Megan's nice book collection; so even for Jacob the Cow it was business/mischief as usual.

Here is our little friend riding in his diaper and wipes box train. He is riding in the "box" car, obviously, and is pleased as punch to get one last ride in before bed. Since you can't see me pulling him I'll just tell you that resistance bands work as excellent train leashes.

There is something so thrilling about boxes, isn't there? Especially if you are Jacob. Luckily the cardboard box made the Toy Hall of Fame in 2005. He got in to this one all on his own, beginning first by belly flopping in so he was spread eagle for a bit and then maneuvering himself 'till he was sitting up. What a guy!