Make something!

  Twitter helps me stay informed on occasion.  Today I was directed to Joel Runyon's blog about Russell Kirsch.  Russell invented the first internally programmable computer.

Joel didn't say whether Russell amassed a fortune.  Evidently Russell didn't mention it either.  You can expect a Harvard MBA (me) would worry about that!  Joel didn't set out to find Russell Kirsch... evidently Russell found Joel working on his blog at a local coffee shop.

Best Russell Kirsch quote in the blog:  "...nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do.  Most people think the opposite..."  Evidently there were only two people who believed that, to quote Russell again: "God and me, so I went out and did it."

Thank you Russell, for that inspiration.  And thank you, Joel, for finding that fine man, for sharing his wisdom.  Perhaps I should save this post, log off and make something! 

Teaching Mathematics

  This morning my youngest woke convinced we should hold a yard sale.  Primarily, she wanted to trade that big Barbie house in her room for some cash, from which she would make a gift to charity and buy a new treasure (probably something to expand her "my little pony" collection).

She would hear nothing about waiting for the neighborhood sale, when signs would have been posted for a week.  Those signs and neighboring "vendors" virtually guarantee that crowds will converge intrigued by the collective marketing.  My princess identified forty or fifty items for sale, made the price tags and sat out with those items (arrayed across the driveway) while eating her breakfast.

I gave her two dollars in change, confirming she knows a penny from a nickel from a dime.  After her sister and Mommy woke up and joined us, we each pretended to negotiate for several items, then got change back from our payment.

Great day to be in the sun, learning from one another.  One little first grader may not be rich, but she will be tuned to her numbers in the Fall.

Coach Pete

  This year my eldest daughter agreed to play lacrosse if I would be her coach.Wow... what could I do?  Learning how to teach scooping and cradling, finding ways to coach field positioning on the practice field or from the sidelines, working with all the personalities... yes, a joy.

Although I was skeptical that work would tolerate early evening practices (yes, I had to miss our championship game due to a major capture), I attended almost every one.  My girls all progressed along the skills spectrum and most came to understand many key field realities.

Contributing to the fastest sport on two feet could be the beginning of a new passion.  Certainly understanding a bit more about what my little girls are thinking... priceless!!