Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Games That Little Boys Play

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

calvin.jpgI recently saw an article on the Internet about how video games have been connected to urinals in men’s rest rooms.  The point being that with proper aim you can compete at a higher level whilst you relieve yourself.

 My how far we have come from just trying to hit the pink urinal puck.  Yes those little odor control cakes were quite the novelty for a farm boy.  

Not that turning peeing into a contest is anything new for boys.   As little boys growing up on a farm, we invented more variations on that game than there are statistics for baseball.

Yes the term “pissing contest”  was very real and literal for us.  And since we were on the farm we weren’t obligated to keeping the game to a strictly indoor contest.  

To help you writers of mommy blogs to understand what may be going on and solve the perplexing dilemma of those unexplainable stains and to give my grandson some ideas for game playing, let me educate everyone on the variations and finer points of taking a leak as a competitive sport.

I do want to be helpful.

The simplest and most basic peeing contest is seeing who can make the biggest and best puddle.  This of course is strictly a rural/outdoor contest.  There are two aspects to winning this game.  The first being simply the luck of the draw in bladder volume.   Sorry boys, like some other things in life you only got what you got.   No matter what you see on late night TV there ain’t nothing going to make it bigger.  Holding it until your teeth are floating will help somewhat but won’t make you a major contender. 

There is a certain skill in site selection.  The best puddle is created on a site where enough of the proper type of farm traffic has traveled to not pack  the dirt but turn it into a thick layer of light as flour dust.  On such a spot, a very self satisfying foaming puddle can be created from even the smallest bladders.

Basic sword play is another contest.  For those of you who lack imagination think of this as something akin to a contest with star wars type light sabers with fluid as the laser and the wand is your… well I think you get the idea.

The object here is to stand side by side at a slight angle to your competitor and allow your streams to criss cross.  The winner is the one who lasts the longest.  This game has both an indoor and outdoor version.

The indoor event is more of a duathlon type of contest. The first being the sprint from the basement to the upstairs bathroom where you immediately drop your pjs to your ankles and engage your competitor.  Penalty points are assessed for hitting the edge of the toilet bowl.   Double penalty points are assessed for missing completely.

The problem with this game is the wrath of your mother.  I don’t know what her problem was.  We never failed to lift up the lid.

The outdoor event required another skill set.  That being the ability to maintain proper direction and constant stream flow while quickly moving your feet in a dancing fashion so your brother wouldn’t pee on your pant leg. 

The best game by far was called sister’s shoe.  The idea here is to see who could hit sister’s shoe from the greatest distance.  This contest requires the most complete set of skills  and should only be attempted by  very experienced players.

The successful player will of course have physical abilities to maintain maximum sustainable flow, pressure and expert eye hand coordination.  But master players also have a firm grasp (no pun intended) on higher principles of physics, civil engineering, ballistics and fluid dynamics.

Have I ever mentioned that my brother eventually earned a Ph.D in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on water treatment facilities and water conveyance systems?  He is now in charge of a water modeling lab at a consulting firm.   I wonder what goes on behind those doors.

Marksmanship improvement and general practice in a noncompetitive environment for any of the above mentioned games can be had by finding a chicken coop and annoying the laying hens.

Unlike the usual warning of  “Don’t Try This at Home Kids”, peeing contests are best only tried at home or in secluded lots and woods and certainly not in public rest rooms.  Playing games in public rest rooms will, as a minimum, result in a reprimand and could just as easily lead to arrest and public humiliation for you and your family. 

Just ask Senator Larry Craig.

Men Vs Women

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

NICKNAMES

If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.

If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT

When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need but it’s on sale.

BATHROOMS

A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .

The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.

So this is funny hee hee!  But I am a statistician.  I want things tested empirically.  So I did some field research with my camera.

 His Bathroom:

His bathroom

Her Bathroom:

Her bathroom

I swear this was not staged.

Friday Favorite-The Crapshooter

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Guys and Dolls Crapshooter

Andrew as a crapshooter from the Cappies award winning Luck Be a Lady ensemble from the musical Guys and Dolls by West Potomac HS.   They won best ensemble and best song.

He is such a stud.

And today is Inger-lis’s birthday.  Twenty something years ago today she was born at home in Oregon.  I can’t remember if that was a Friday the 13th or not.  It wouldn’t surprise me.  :)  Head over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday.

Boys Adrift-A Book People Should Read

Monday, June 9th, 2008

I have several books the rotate through the Library Thingy widget on my sidebar.  Most of the books I enjoyed.  If people ask, I would recommend almost any of the books.  

There are few that I think people “should” read.  Boys Adrift is one I think that anyone who has a son, grandson, nephew or works with young people should read.

boys_adrift_cover.gif

From the jacket:

Excerpt
Click HERE to read the first chapter of Boys Adrift

The Five Factors
Click HERE to learn the five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men.

Something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, they’re less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. In fact, a third of men ages 22–34 are still living at home with their parents—about a 100 percent increase in the past twenty years.

Parents, teachers, and mental health professionals are worried about boys. But until now, no one has come up with good reasons for their decline—nor, more important, with workable solutions to reverse this troubling trend.

In Boys Adrift, family physician and research psychologist Leonard Sax tackles the problem head on, drawing on the very latest research and his vast experience with boys and their families. He argues that a combination of social and biological factors is creating an environment that is literally toxic to boys. Misguided overemphasis on reading and math as early as kindergarten, too much time spent playing video games, over-reliance on medication for attention deficit disorders (much more common in boys than in girls), and overlooked endocrine disturbances are actually causing damage to boys’ brains.

Dr. Sax offers a wide range of reassuring remedies— including innovative ways parents can wean their sons away from video games, practical steps they can take to improve their sons’ schooling, and surprisingly simple life changes they can make to protect boys from the environmental estrogens that undermine boys’ motivation.

Filled with moving success stories that will inspire parents and teachers everywhere, Boys Adrift points the way to a new future for today’s boys and young men.
 

Summer Classes for Men

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

Sent to me by a friend. How would she have any idea if I need this?

THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
by Friday, June 27th 2008
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM

Class 1
How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays–Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll–Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub?–Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor–Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
Dinner Dishes–Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning
at 7:00 PM

Class 6
Loss Of Identity–Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things–Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch–Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost–Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined

Class 10
Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday’s noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live–Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy–Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You’re Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven–What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.
Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.