Top 10 Games to Introduce Games!

I watch enough Top 10 lists I figured I'd give it a go. Thought exercises are nice, but the experience is way more educational when you actually try to do something! 

I hit bumps along the road immediately. What in the world was I going to record with!? I decided to use Zoom since I'm forced to use it for Virtual School all day. I didn't know what to use as a video editor, so I used the pause button between games and collected my thoughts each time. I wanted to do the whole thing in one take which sounds easy, but is hard to pull off well (and I'm not saying I did!).

Some immediate lessons:

1 -  My mic may be dying. The headset is years old and I've been using it for countless hours since the pandemic hit.

2 - Some basic editing would cut out me looking down to click the pause button at the end of each game.

3 - With basic editing, this 18 minute video could have taken much, much longer. It took me close to an hour to make. I paused for a few minutes in between games to shuffle boxes/components and think my way through what to say. Then I watched all 18 minutes to see if I shamed myself and dishonored my family. Editing would give me the ability to watch a take, see what I liked, and try to improve upon it which would mean more watching, more redoing, and then more re-watching until it was right! It puts a perspective on how long content creators may be spending to make their videos....but hopefully they're used to the process and go faster than me!

4 - It's very different from teaching or having a conversation. I talk online all day, but this has a different feel. Good conversation and presenting has pauses built into it. That allows people to process and ask questions. Entertainment content is fast and furious. Wait time is truncated out and the video has to be concise and conveyed with energy to not feel muted....and it feels weird throwing energy at a computer screen in an empty room with no one watching!

It was a fun experiment and rewarded me with some new insight into what goes into making the videos I watch. Watching the playback was humbling! I have no idea if I'll do one of these again. Writing is more my schtick. 

I uploaded the video to YouTube and left it public for once, but, for your ease, here it is.

Five Finger Whack!

Loki loves 'his' shoe.

The thing is nigh indestructible. The fact that it's survived tug-of-war, fetch, and general munching is enough for me to recommend the brand (no matter how odd it looks...).

Loki's learned to shake his head when playing tug-of-war. Only it turns the shoe into a flail when no one else is playing with him!

Shane wanted to play Robolox on my computer. 

"15 push-ups," I said.

Shane started and I gave Loki his shoe.

Hilarity ensued!

I made a gif, too. It would've been much funnier to film from the other side, but I didn't want to spoil the magic!

Shane got his Robolox time. I honor deals I make! I was happy to hear that it got Carrie laughing, too!

Doggy Magician

Carrie hands are faster than Loki's eyes.

It reminded me of the magic oven!

Kittens, Kittens, Kittens!

"Can you get me some kitten videos?" I asked.

"It'll be an easy post," I said.

The kittens look back whenever I peek in on them. I hear them mews, probably for wet food as much as attention. I don't go in.

But today, I did. We ended up having a photo shoot.

Loki came, too.

Before you think, "Mike manages to write about his dog even when his topic is the cats," Loki was Carrie's idea.

This was Loki's fourth trip into the room? Carrie's brought him in before to try and build cross-species relations.

Everyone is nervous around each other. Aria leans more towards the "I'll claw your face off if you get too close" while Tsuki will just hiss enough to get time to duck under the cabinetry. Loki wants to be friends without being injured.....and he's highly aware of the chance he could be injured! He'd rather be in the barn and not trapped in a small room with teeth and claws. You have to shove him through the door before gets away.

So I thought I would get Carrie playing with the kittens and making them do all sorts of acrobatics for the camera. Instead, I got a gentle thawing of Cold War relations and some surprising......'intimacy?' I'm not sure what to call the dog licking a cat's butt in human terms.

Maybe 'grooming' in cat? It's what a mother cat would do. I think it translates to 'snack' in dog, so it's more of a happy coincidence than 'working as intended.'

This is why I don't let Loki give me kisses.

Everyone was very wary of each other, but they've been showing signs of being able to co-exist.

It's probably for the best we're in a small room. The cats have nowhere to run and activate Loki's herding brain. He'd interpret running as play and they'd interpret it as murderous intent. They outnumber Loki in a fight, but I think either one on their own would put him to the claw (Especially, Aria).

Eventually, the hope is that the kittens will be prowling all over the barn as their mouse-free territory. Loki will run in and out as we do horse chores and no one will do anything to startle a horse.

I got a few shots of kittens being kittens.

I'll have to hope for kitten acrobatics and climbing next time.

You got some litter on your nose, Tsuki.

I suppose I should mention the house cats, as well.

Max is still a ninja. She likes to lurk at doors just before they're opened and to sleep in Shane's room. She knows how to co-exist with others. She tolerates Loki, Bucket, and Happy.

Bucket does not. She's okay with Max...most of the time. She'll try to tangle with Happy every now and then if she thinks Happy doesn't see her coming. Otherwise, she lurks. All day. She'll be behind the couch, around the kitchen table, or trying to break into a cabinet. 

Happy's happy. She's the alpha cat. She can speak dog (even if he can be annoying). 

She was trying to groom Loki the other day. "He's got more fur than you can handle, cat." Loki yawned as she was licking his face. It's impressive how well they get on. Happy's whole face could've fit in Loki's mouth, but she kept trying to groom him. He started to bat at her with his paws (ineffectively cause he's a dog) and wanted to play, but she said, "Nah."

Hopefully, the kittens and Loki will get to that level of trust. I'd settle for a Max-like ability to coexist. There are no plans to bring the kittens in the house. I don't know if they'll ever come up to the house and look into windows or not.

He's Ready to Go Back!

Carrie and I opted to hold Shane home Monday just in case he was contagious. He doesn't miss much school and Carrie and I don't wish the flu upon anyone.

Carrie sent me a video while I was at work. She pulled something heavy in from the garage and put it to use.

Shane's energy level is back! He's going back first thing Tuesday morning!

My kid is cute, but the second video was even cuter.

Yes, I showed both of those videos to my students. They wanted to know why I laughed out loud and it was too good not to share.

Final Shane Wrestling Practice of 2018-19

I was trying to get a picture of Shane, but ended up with a picture of Ryan being goofy instead. 

If you look past them to the head in the background just behind them, you'll see my boy.

Why is it that Shane has his best practices as the season ends?

Shane wasn't 100% into drilling the moves with intensity himself, but he was listening and talking to coaches and trying to teach his partner who hadn't paid attention.

There was a little wrestling at the end, too. They went through the lineup in Shane's group three times. He got taken down quickly the first and third times through, but I happened to video the one round he strutted his stuff!

I kept filming when Ryan came up (if you kept watching). He had a few good runs.

Mother's Day Interview

Pool Noodles Aren't Only For Pools

How to Gross Out Carrie

Step 1: Walk up behind wife's chair.

Step 2: Hand her phone with video prepped so she doesn't turn around.

Step 3: Play video.

Step 4: Cuddle.

Graduation Walk

Shane graduated from PreSchool today! I put some nice clothes in the car and picked him up early for Subway (No "hangry" kids allowed). We ended up a little late, because Carrie demanded kilts. We had to race home and back. Shane's teacher was crying when I dropped him off. She did a great job.

I recorded the whole thing for Nana and Pop. Shane's been singing the songs all week. He was dubbed "Most Musical." I'd contest he's got the biggest lungs. 

Intro - (Shane's supposed to start off National Anthem):

Lots of little kids singing:

Lots more singing. Shane starts to get talked about at 5:04 if you want to skip:

Lots of other kids get awards (but not much Shane screen time):

Passing out diplomas:

It was probably more organized than the high school graduation. We were packed in pretty tight, so I got jostled with every round of applause. 

Rainy Week = Movie Time

Cue song. Roll credits. Dance!

Best Not To Wait

Winter Sports

"Shane, I can cook dinner and we can stay home or you can have crackers in the car on the way to wrestling," I said. "Which do you prefer?"

Shane thought a moment.

"Crackers and wrestling!"

"Are you sure?" I wanted to verify.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Shane bounced around.

It was my turn to think a moment.

Did Shane really want to go to wrestling or were the crackers what he really wanted? Shane's a clever little guy, but he doesn't think much farther than instant gratification. Then there were the roads. I didn't really want to be out on them. Frankly, I preferred to stay home.

Another test was required.

"Okay. Here's your next choice: Do you want to stay home and eat crackers or go to wrestling and eat crackers?"

"Umm....Wrestling and crackers!"

His answer never wavered when I asked again (I really wanted to make sure!). We honored his choice.

I'm wonder about Shane and wrestling next year. He may have been too young this year. I hope that he'll show an interest going forward (as a coach, I'm rather into it).

He spent half the practice not practicing and interested in videos and video games. There was one boy on a cell phone while his brother practiced whom Shane really wanted to meet. The other half he did some half-hearted wrestling. Shane doesn't really like to drill. After a move, he flops on his back, laughs, and rolls around. Most of the other boys aren't interested in a partner like that. They moved on. Shane did practice moves with me, but that's not really being part of the team. I was thrilled whenever he did participate.

Shane had some difficulties adjusting to soccer, too, but he mostly got with the program by the end (minus the playing actual games). Wrestling practice is more demanding. Soccer was an hour. Wrestling is an hour and a half. There's more instruction and push-ups. In wrestling, you have to work closely with a partner. Sometimes you get thrown around. In soccer, everyone had their own ball. There were team and partner drills, too, but not on the same level of expectations.

Or maybe I expect too much. I don't coach soccer. I've started to recognize and be recognized by a chunk of the other coaches, parents, and wrestlers. I didn't discover wrestling until high school, so I don't know what to expect of or from a pee wee. I don't see any other kids flopping around like a seal while coach talks, but maybe they all started out that way!

There are great benefits from being on a sports team. Exercise, friends, learning....I hope Shane chooses to take and enjoy the opportunities. I'd love to share wrestling with him. My dad and I bonded over my time on the team.

In the end, I'll drive and support wherever his passions lay.

Plus, the kids got energy to spare. He needs the practice to learn how to focus in and stay still (enough) at times!

That's my boy! Absolutely dadgum highly delightful.

I need to figure out what sort of spring sport Shane will do next. Baseball? Soccer again? His coaches are coming back. Taekwando? Or maybe piano but can he sit in one spot?

Have We Done This Before?

Shane loves inflatable beds. Period.

Grandma's Hip Recovery

Grandma had a "jiffy hip" operation on Thursday. Shane, Carrie, and I went to visit her this weekend for coaching and morale support.

Shane coached. "Go, Grandma, go!" 

He ran ahead and cheered whenever she did her physical therapy: Laps up and down the hallway.

He even helped Grandma take her medicine.

1:17 in is the best part. You can watch the whole thing or skip to it, but it was the highlight of the trip for me.

Discovery Museum

Museum membership is only worth it if you go. 

Shane and I went.

Aerobed Fun

"There was a gleam in his eye when you told him not to jump on the bed." I said.

Nana replied, "Mike, that was no gleam. The boy was manic!"

Protests fuel the fun! This gets Shane in trouble sometimes. He either inherited it or learned it from me.

Whoops.

Pop enjoyed it!

"Can you keep your tongue in and smile for a moment?"

The struggle to take a selfie with Shane is real.

Another Video Roundup

Some old videos that never got posted.

1) Carrie put the cape from the birthday party on the ceiling fan. Shane's a fan!

2) Carrie sold her old saddle and bought a new one for Pixel. Do you think she hopes Shane will learn to ride?

3) Nana apologizes to me every time she buys a garbage truck at a thrift store. She also tells me every bullet I dodge when she sees one, but Shane's not there to beg for it. This is why:

Pop Rocks!

They gave out Pop Rocks as party favors last Saturday. Shane was a fan!