Spring

Well, it's Spring... Time for spring cleaning... Time to be perky and springy... However, I am still dealing with the winter blues, and I haven't been in the mood to post. I have been the cubmaster of a local cub scout pack for the past 5 years. For the last couple of years the pack has been struggling to stay together. We have been having a hard time getting volunteers to be leaders, and help plan activities. This year the pack was unable to get enough volunteers, and at the end of February sadly the pack's charter was not renewed. The pack doesn't offically exist any longer, but I have been continuing the meetings for the boys this month. I have to end the meetings, so his week will be the last meeting of the pack... The good news is there are other packs that are in the area to which the boys could transfer to, so they can still do scouting, and camping this summer. While this is comforting, I still feel bad and a little guilty, as if I should have done more to keep the pack going. I know it's not really my fault that the pack has folded, but knowing that doesn't ease the feeling that some how I failed. In two days I am going to have the last meeting and tell the boys that we won't be meeting any longer. I hope they won't be too disappointed.

Fossil Hunt

I thought I would post a few pictures of our Fossil Hunt last weekend. (Click on pictures for a better view)

---

Here's the location of the limestone or sandstone fossils on the top of the hill

---

The hike up the hill

---

The rocks...

---

A fossil in this rock. Look closely at the "bump" on the top of the rock at the bottom of the picture. Notice the ridges on the "bump".

---

Fossil imprint...

---

The sunset on the drive home after a full day of fossil hunting!

No excuses

Well I don't have any really good excuses this time for going almost a whole week without posting. For the last 2 days I was in bed sick, and I didn't even turn on my computer. The 2 days before that I was so wrapped up in a project at work that I didn't think of anything else The weekend before that, I was tromping around at a farm in Hookstown, PA where I grew up. My nephew, his father, and a few others decided to go on a fossil hunt. Not the kind of fossils you see at the local museum that stand 50-100 feet tall, although that would have been an impressive find. We were searching for old seashell fossils in limestone. On the top of a hill on the farm we grew up there is a bunch of limestone there with very easy to spot shells in them. Growing up on the farm it was always a mystery how those seashells got all the way on top of the hill... Apparently way back in prehistoric times that entire area was covered in water, and that particular hilltop was a shallow shelf in the water (i.e. higher up than the surrounding area), so it was perfect place for small shelled creatures to live. Of course now, there is no ocean nearby, and it's the top of the hill, but there is no mistaking the fossils. Anyway no real excuse for not posting, except I was busy doing other things. What have you been up to?

Changes

Everything changes... Everything... Including me. Today (actually over the last couple of days) I changed this blog. I changed the look, and the title. I thought it was kinda lame, and self centered having my name in the title of the blog. Then again blogs are mostly self-centered as the author is usually writing about themselves, or their opinions. I used to be this skinny geeky kid in high school, and now I am this geeky, not so skinny adult. I used to hate talking in front of a group, now I do it all the time. I used to be shy and socially backward, now I can and do talk to just about anyone (still a little afraid to talk to my boss, but that's another story). I used to exercise and be active, now I eat fast food, and sit all day in front of a computer... Not that I am fat or anything, just extremely out of shape! I used to be driven to do the best I could at whatever I was doing... Best at my job, school, life, whatever... Now after years of trying and not getting where I want, I don't try as hard... I have been worn down. Yep... The biggest change of all... I am getting old. Somewhere in the last decade I became middle aged. Which of course means I still have many, many years in front of me, but I guess I realized somewhere along the way, that I am not a kid any longer... (sigh).

SOOOO.... What do I do about it? Do I just keep on living this depressing life? Well I could... But NO!!!! I am going to change again... I am going to be better than I was yesterday... I am going to eat better, exercise, take the medication that the doctor told me to take (high cholesterol). I am going to drive my self to be the best computer programmer at my company. I am going to have a clean house, car, and life... And I am going to start.... Tomorrow... To tired today... Besides it's Friday...

Readers of Ramblings

Hey... Are you one of my few readers? Well if you are I have a special offer for you... No it's not a chance at the PowerBall (sorry)... No it's not a new car... Ok maybe it isn't an offer... It's a request... Yeah, that's the ticket. I added a new map hosted by frapper.com (part of Google I think), and it lets you add your own "mark" on the map. Check it out by clicking HERE or by looking for the map lower down on the blog. And if you are a winner you will get... The praise and thanks from a gracious host!

Critical Update

Well... I didn't make it. I didn't even last an hour! On Friday I said I would attempt to spend the day without criticizing, putting down, or otherwise showing 'negativity' towards other people... I would attempt the challenge I gave to one of my kids. This morning started like most others, hitting the snooze button a bazillion more times than I should, and finally crawling out of bed, much later than I should. The only good news is that the only one I could be critical of was myself, because there wasn't anyone else at home! So keeping the challenge during this time was pretty easy, and led me into a false sense of "this is going to be a piece of cake." The drive to work was also mostly uneventful, nobody to road rage against (BTW: You have to read Limpy's story), and no traffic tie ups. The only issue was the stupid idiot on the radio! Not the talk show host, he is his own special brand of idiot, the caller. So, less than 60 minutes into my 24 hour challenge I am screaming at the radio... After venting, I realized no one could really hear my criticism so does it count if no one hears it? I decided to not count that episode. I went to work and "hid" in my cube, trying hard to not talk to anyone. I immediately got into my work, and within minutes I am cursing myself, and the person before me that worked on this project... Of course it was under my breath, so that didn't count either... Right? I ate lunch alone. Lunch is usually the big "gripe" session of the day, as a bunch of us go out and whine about the boss, the company, fellow co-workers, or other work politics. So I had "officially" made it up to lunch time without actually criticizing anyone that could hear me. I made it until about 15 minutes before the end of day. My cubicle neighbor came over for a visit to grouse about his ex-wife, and that stirred the pot. Within minutes I am sharing stories, and telling him that his "ex" has got problems... Oops... I slipped... I criticized openly... Of course he wasn't aware of my challenge, so did it really count? The discussion continued until after the end of the work day, and the conversation lead to other situations besides my cube neighbor's ex... And each topic was quickly enhanced with my critical comments... I justified the whole colorful conversation because he didn't know about the challenge.... I went home, picked up my kids, and as soon as my son got in the car he asked... "How was your day?"... I could have lied and said "Great", but instead I changed the subject, so I avoided that one. Then my youngest came out with a stain above her upper lip... I told her that her face was dirty and that she needed to wash her face... Is it a criticism when you are being a parent and making sure your kids are clean? Justification? I took my youngest to the library for a Dr. Seuss Celebration, and started chatting with the librarian. She was mostly positive, but started complaining about the funding for the library, and her short staff... I agreed... Is agreeing with someone else's criticism, criticizing? Who am I kidding... I can't do it! I couldn't even make it 60 minutes, let alone 24 hours!

Critical

Are you a critical person? Are you a person that finds fault in a lot of things, or can't resist pointing out something that could be done better? I am, and I wonder if I am passing it along to my offspring. I was talking with one of my kids the other day about how they seem to "complain" a lot. I asked if they complain as much with other people, or just me. To their credit they said they do it the same with everyone. Of course, being critical myself, I probably noticed the complaining more than other people, but that's a side track. I read in some article in a magazine, or newspaper a long time ago, before the Internet that President Abraham Lincoln had a philosophy of not speaking or expressing criticism with those that worked for him, or with him. He would remain silent if he could not say something uplifting or positive. Of course, I am not sure if this is a truthful story, as I can't cite a source, but non-the-less it gave me an idea. I suggested to the younger Laughlin that they spend a 24 hour period of no criticism, negative comments or expressions. No rolling of the eyes, no put downs, no correcting another person, and no complaining. They accepted the challenge starting at 8AM the next day and going for 24 hours. Of course, I didn't take the challenge myself, because I am a parent, and as parents say "Do as I say, not as I do." :-) This of course is a way of justifying our hypocrisy! After the challenge period had been completed I decided to do a little followup and see how well they did. They said it was very, very hard, especially at school, but they thought they did a pretty good job. I asked if it made them smile more or if they enjoyed the day. The response was they spent most of the day quieter than normal, and attempted to be expressionless. Which of course was not what I wanted... I was hoping to remove the negative, and allow the positive to shine through... Instead I got no negative and no positive... So now it's my turn to take the challenge... Today is Friday the 3rd of March. To be fair, I am going to do it on a regular day of work, rather than a fun filled weekend. So starting this coming Monday the 6th for 24 hours starting at 8AM, I will not be critical, or at least not express it. Think I can do it? Think you can?

Web Host Changes

The web hosting provider I use, www.readyhosting.com, is updating their systems. In doing so it's caused a little disruption in our website, and our blogs, so I apologize for any problems. Hopefully these will be corrected by the end of the weekend. Thanks for your patience.