Fitbit won't charge and Occam's Razor

Hen was griping because his Fitbit had been plugged in for two days and it wasn't holding its charge so I asked him if it was plugged in correctly. Which, I get it, is only going to tick him off because what kind of idiot can't plug something in and yet... Darren followed Hen into the bedroom and showed him an online explanation of Occam's Razor. Then Darr came back out while I continued making breakfast. About three minutes later I heard Hen complain about not understanding Occam's Razor because, and this is the important part, it doesn't make any sense for the Wikipedia page to have several different spellings of Occam. This has completely tripped Henry up from taking anything away from his papa's lesson.

Me, out in the kitchen (a.k.a. the cheap seats): Maybe we should show Hen the definition of irony.

Sometimes life at the condo is humorous.

More poems brought to you by Kids!

I may have to institute a new playdate and sleepover policy that requires every child entering the condo to write a poem before leaving. Normally, I would place some books of poetry on the table and let the kids find poems that inspire them but today I selected a poem and asked the boys to create a similar poem. The results are Ah-Mazing! I ❤️kid-created poetry.

An Evening with Author Kwame Alexander

Hen and I attended an event at the Alberta Rose Theatre Friday night to listen to author and poet Kwame Alexander. I read one of Alexander's books last year - Booked - and liked it. I almost wish authors who write novels in verse would give the reader tips on how to read it because how I read his work and how he did were vastly different. (Note: His reading was far superior to my own.) After listening to how Mr. Alexander read various excerpts, I am tempted to read his stuff again. What a gifted author and how lucky we were to see him. Hen did not initially want to go but he was really into it by the end. There were several instances when Kwame was reading and he deftly led the audience to the right words to end each verse. Hen had a lot of fun doing that and was the loudest on the verse that ended with 'butterfly'. We walked away with a signed book of Kwame's latest work, Rebound, which I'm sure we'll read when we finish our current book of choice, The Mostly True Story About Jack by Kelly Barnhill (another Newbery award winner).

Inspirobot

A bot that kicks out gems like these. I love it. 

I like this quote

So I'm posting it here on the blog:

"Mere Christianity embraces the humble spirit of St. Augusting's "in necessary things unity; in uncertain things freedom; in everything charity."  --C. S. Lewis

I did go to Africa, but the boy didn't

The morning I left for Africa I walked into Hen's room one last time to make sure stuff was relatively picked up and his plants had been watered. As I turned to go out I was struck by an idea. I quickly selected four tiny toys to take with me on the trip - Bob, a little creation Hen made when his cousin Mia was over, diamond-armor Steve (from Minecraft), Unikitty (of The LEGO Movie fame), and a baby ankylosaurus. I stuffed them into a Ziploc bag and into my purse and made my way to the airport.

I thought it would be fun to take pictures of the stowaways in Africa. I'd document their experiences in photos and later write a story to share with Hen since he couldn't be there with me to see it for himself. The first shot was taken of them from above while they stood on the PDX carpet (a must for everyone traveling through Portland) and later I snapped one of them attached to my bag. On the plane, I caught the stowaways trying to watch Deadpool and made them watch Zootopia instead. Our guides, Ole and Moses, and spotters, Blackie and David, likely thought I was nuts when they first saw me do it but it didn't take long before they were making suggestions for stowaway photos. The stowaways sat on the roof of our safari vehicle, checked out giraffes, posed with Sudan, the world's last remaining Northern White Rhino, sat on the equator, straddled the border between Tanzania and Kenya, and a whole lot more.

I still have photo editing to complete and need to proofread the story but I'm already super excited to see the finished product and share it with Henry.

Since the stowaways remain tucked in my purse, I was able to snap this shot of them at Frog Lake the other day. These little rascals are troublemakers for sure.

New words encountered

I have a feeling I'm going to run across several new words in the new book I'm reading. The book is A Discovery of New Worlds by Bernard de Fontenelle, translated by Aphra Behn. It's the first paragraph and I've already found one…

tourbillions - According to Merriam-Webster, it's the name of a kind of watch with a mechanism designed to compensate for the effects of gravity on its movement.

Of course, looking up the definition I learned another word - horology, which is the study of time so, apparently there is much to be learned even though I am very old. I shall put other words I run across in the book here.

Books are awesome. So are words.

New word of the day: Ursine

Yeah, I had feline and canine at the ready, and figured it was of, relating to or resembling another animal species but I didn't know it was bears so there you go. Now I do.

Dear Internet, Help me name this boat!

Well, this idea backfired.

When the Natural Environment Research Council asked the Internet for help naming its new research vessel I'm sure they figured they would get some real interesting and humorous options but I bet they didn't guess that Boaty McBoatface would gain the traction it has. I don't believe the NERC is beholden to the name should it win the majority of the votes but I laugh nonetheless because just the thought of a research vessel on the high seas with that name is, well, quite frickin' awesome.

What makes this story better? The man who originally suggested the name has "profusely" apologized to NERC.

Another name worthy of mentioning: Clifford the Big Red Boat

Hen's cheese poem

The Night Cheese

by Henry Finn

I see the moon

So bright, bright, bright

And then I see the moon is cheese

And then I see a giant mouse that

Just ate the moon

Hen's egg poem

Egg on a Spoon

by Henry Finn

Once I ate an egg on a spoon.

And then I dreamt of plagues,

And then I sung the Pledge of Allegiance,

And then I ate another egg.

A Judith Viorst inspired poem by one Henry Finn

If I Were in Charge of the World

by Henry Finn

If I were in charge of the world

I'd cancel bedtime,

Tiny ants getting into your house,

Saying "cheese" when someone takes your picture, and also the

Stink from a stink bug.

If I were in charge of the world

You wouldn't have slow - no one would ever call you Slo Mo again,

Every plant would grow,

No one would ever get sick, and 

You could use mind control to build LEGOs into something you want.

If I were in charge of the world

Gumballs would be fruit,
Candy would be vegetables,
Dirtying your bedroom would make it tidy, and
Thorns would not be pokey.

If I were in charge of the world
I'd write a secret language, and
Have veto power over my parents, and
I'd get to play in the hall.

Hen's poem to Ellie

Ellie, sweet Ellie,
With a little cute head.
I love you because
you have a golden ear.

Importance of imaginative play

I saw this quote overlaid on a picture while perusing Pinterest and thought, "Hey, I could do that!" It isn't as good as the one I saw - hen and I weren't having a good photo session - but you get the idea.

Hen's poem to Mamoe

Mamoe, sweet Mamoe,
with a little furry head.
Cudding with you
is best,
for me
and you.

Overheard preschooler bathroom speak

Whilst toweling off young Henry had this to sing-say about his body parts...

"Penis, penis, penis. My penis is the goodest penis on the planet."

Sage advice for the new year

Finish each day and be done with it.

You have done what you could.

Some blunders and absurdities

no doubt have crept in; 

forget them as soon as you can.

Tomorrow is a new day;

begin it well and serenely

and with too high a spirit

to be cumbered with

your old nonsense.

This day is all that is

good and fair.

It is too dear, 

with its hopes and invitations

to waste a moment on yesterdays.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, in a letter to his daughter

Things he mixes up

1. intruder alert in Hen speak is "atruder alert"
2. predator in Hen speak is "creditor" (Yeah, okay, still works.)
3. more in Hen speak is "mucher" 4. disease in Hen speak is "ahsease" (by way of the movie Home Alone when one of the brothers calls Macaulay Culkin's character a "disease") I love these mistakes and will miss them when Hen inevitably corrects himself.

Sh*t Darr sends me

-- about the genre fiction hit of the year that I just started reading, Fifty Shades of Gray / Hilarious!
http://cassandraparkin.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/adventures-in-trash-fifty-things-that-annoy-me-about-fifty-shades-of-grey/

Yep, we hired a lawyer

The frustration with our HOA Board over allowing storage in our parking garage continues. The Committee (of which I was a member) that was formed to address the issue concluded after a ridiculous amount of time and multiple meetings to let things remain as they are, recommending that we implement a few rules to ensure things were safe (storage shelving wouldn't tip over, etc.) and we were within compliance (no exits or entrances were blocked, nothing was placed directly underneath a sprinkler, etc.). The Board, seated with members all opposed to this idea, decided to go against the wishes of the homeowners. But they are smart in how they chose to proceed. They want homeowners to buy a ridiculously priced storage cabinet - I believe they picked a pricey cabinet because they knew people wouldn't want to spend the money on them, which would ultimately result in people not storing things in their spaces. If you happen to have an item that will not fit in the cabinet, you have to fill out some form and the board will determine if you can then place the item in your spot outside the cabinet. Oy vey. 

Darr and I hired an attorney to fight back. I feel as if I did my part. I got involved. I was on the committee. I drafted the proposal. I even tried to get on the board when a position opened up. All to no avail. So, I'm waiting to hear if/when they respond to this letter: 

Dear Directors: 

Our firm represents Christie --- and Darren --- relative to certain rules adopted by the Board of Directors (the "Board") of the Riverpark Condominium Association (the "Association") relative to the Riverpark Condominiums (the "Project"). 

On or about February 8, 2011, the Board adopted a regulation (the "Regulation") requiring parking unit owners to purchase a brand and model of cabinet from the Association in order to store items within their exclusive, privately owned parking units, and if such cabinetry is not purchased and used, then any items stored within an owner's parking unit wil be removed. Please be advised that the Regulation is an unauthorized exercise of the Board's authority and violates Oregon law. 

The parking units affected by the Regulation are not common elements or even limited common elements under the Project's Declaration; the parking units are units purchased and owned by the unit owners, in the same manner as the residential units, and are subject to the same limitations on regulation. 

In order to be valid, a rule adopted by the Board must be rationally related to an express grant of authority. The Board cites no express basis or authority the Regulation-only the general provisions of Section 10.5 of the Declaration and 4.2 of the Bylaws, and Section 4.3.8 of the Bylaws, which is clearly inapplicable because Section 4.3.8 only applies to regulation of common areas, and the affected parking units are clearly not common areas. In fact, the Declaration clearly distinguishes between parking units owned by unit owners, which use is not expressly subject to rules and regulations in Section 6.2, and the general common element parking spaces, which use is expressly subject to rules and regulations in Section 6.4. The Board appears to be confusing their rights and authority relative to parking units owned by unit owners and parking units that are general common elements. 

Even under a general grant of authority, Oregon law requires restrictive covenants to be interpreted under the maxim of strict construction to promote full use of property and to help avoid imposing a restriction on a buyer of property that the buyer could not reasonably expect to know. Yogman v. Parrott, 325 Or 358 (1997). The Resolution seeks to prevent use of a parking unit that is allowed under the Declaration, and each buyer who purchased a parking unit, including Ms. --- and Mr. ---, did so with the expectation of such use, paricularly given the lack of other storage alternatives in the Project. 

If there is a general grant of authority to the Association and/or Board, then the rules and regulations must stil be reasonable, not arbitrary, and rationally related to a valid purose, a standard that the Regulation fails to meet. The Board cites two reasons for the Regulation. First, the Board states that it is obligated to assist unit owners in "maintaining the harmony and livability of the Association," which is too broad and vague to support the Regulation. The second reason cited by the Board is to assist unit owners in "protecting the property values of the individual members that make up the Association." There appears to be no basis for the conclusion that the Regulation will protect the property values of the unit owners, and no market analysis or other support has been offered by the Board. In fact, it appears that the Regulation will decrease the value of the parking units: if a parking unit owner's property does not fit in the Board required cabinets, then the parking units become less desirable. In addition, to be valid, the rule must be applied to all similarly situated unit owners; here, the Regulation applies only to condominium tower garage parking units and not the other unit owners in the Project, such as the townhome owners. The Board has failed to demonstrate that the Regulation is rationally related to any express grant of authority and equally applied. Consequently, the Regulation is invalid. 

The Board may adopt rules in order to make the Project safe. However, there appears to be no consideration for the safety issues in requiring cabinets that have wheels. Requiring purchase of specific cabinets is arbitrary and amounts to a de facto prohibition on use for anyone who cannot afford the specific types of cabinets that "must" be purchased from the Association. Further, an "annual percentage rate (APR) of 30%" for amounts owed to the Association is a clear violation of Oregon's usury statute. ORS 82.010. 

Finally, please be advised that removal of Ms. ---'s and Mr. ---'s personal property from their parking unit without their consent wil be considered conversion of their property (just as if the Association broke into their home to remove property) for which the Association, the Board and anyone acting thereunder may be liable for damages. 

We therefore urge you to rescind the Regulation to avoid the liability of enforcing an invalid and illegal regulation. Nothing in this letter shall be deemed a waiver of Ms. ---'s and Mr. ---'s rights and remedies and the same are hereby reserved. 

Lawyers are awesome. Also, it should be noted that our attorney did say it was unlikely we'd "win" since folks who fight HOA Boards rarely do. (At least not during the first round, it's usually on appeal.)