RAGBRAI

RAGBRAI— I love this quintessentially Iowa biking tradition—it's a week of no work encased in physical exercise wrapped in togetherness inspired by common struggle. We went to Truro, Iowa to meet up with the bike route

I had double vision

Our eyes are a deceptively valuable and complex organism. As with many things, it seems that we don't understand its value until its not there. Last fall, I spent 8 days with double vision. Never before, and not since, have I heard of such an illness befalling on someone who hadn't received a knock in the head.

eye glasses over 40

About the time I turned 40, my eye troubles became serious. I was checked out at a fancy eye clinic and I was fitted with one pair of glasses for $350. Ouch. I was pleased though, because for the first time in several years, I saw things that had been hidden from me.

We were out planting pumpkins today. Maxim was at the top of a plastic slide/climbing mechanism when he said, "Papa, do you want to see what I can do?"

"Sure."

He jumped, landed squarly on his feet but kept going and instead of pumpkin seeds, he planted HIS FACE into the grass.

He got up and said with a puzzled look and said softly, "THAT doesn't usually happen."

Glutony

The assignment: Here are the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride. Pick one and write about an episode from your life using one of these sins as your theme.

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"Are you hungry?"
"No, I just want to eat."

School Memories from Baku

The world has become digital. Though we might be shocked to realize the explosion in blogging, chatting, and social networking sites, we will have to accept it. I firmly believe that it is not all bad. My wife and I taught in Baku, Azerbaijan from 1997 until 2001. One Saturday this spring in Almaty, I received four invitations to join people on Facebook. All four were students I had taught in Baku when they were 7 or 8 years old. The kids featured in the pictures below are 15 or 16 years old now.

Podcasts

Do you use iTunes? My wife bought me an iPod some time ago and I was a bit afraid to use it for a while. I didn't want to jump in with all the thousands of people who were using the latest gadget. I also didn't want to spend money for something (like subscriptions) that I might not use. Before I came back to Iowa this Christmas, I downloaded my first free podcast. When I got back in January, I wanted to increase my knowledge about foreign affairs, US politics, because I was set to take the Foreign Service exam in February.