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Driving yesterday I heard a PSA about helping to bring math into everyday life for kids. I’ll paraphrase:

“Encourage your kids to make change when you buy things at the store. Teach them to hunt for the best deals on the shelf. Make math a part of every day life and you’ll ensure they grow up smart enough to make the right financial decisions for themselves. This message brought to you by the California State Lottery”

Yes, you read that right! Teach your kids to add and multiply, but be sure not to teach them probability, because then they might realize what an insane, regressive, predatory tax the lottery is. This reminds me of the ad my dad once heard on spanish-language AM radio in Austin where one guy advises another to save the money he’s spending on night school to learn English and spend it on lottery tickets instead. At least the message there is consistent…

It’s been a busy month. On top of Jeff getting married, trying to find a job, and finishing my dissertation, we also moved to an awesome two bedroom house in Rockridge (North Oakland). As part of this transition we finally obtained the quintessential piece of IKEA furniture, the Poang chair. What’s more, we purchased this chair like-new at one third the retail price from craigslist, which makes this like the ultimate example of bay-area 20-something home furnishing. Too bad we don’t get to sit in it much:

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Comments

Susan — 2008-09-17 18:58:18

We love the dog and the chocolate brown carpet….and we can’t wait until we see it (and her) ‘in person’!

Cameron — 2008-09-17 19:35:43

Pene approves of this picture.

When I broke down and got a fancy new TV, I decided to get the Xbox 360 instead of the PS3 because of the sizeable selection of games you can download for a fee directly from the couch. This includes old arcade classics as well as new stuff. A couple of days ago, a game called “Braid” was released, which is a sort of puzzle game done up like a painting. It started blowing my mind about 5 minutes after I started playing it, and hasn’t quit. Since. Here’s what it looks like:

The music fits in perfectly with the look of the game. Here’s a little YouTube action so you can get the full aesthetic:

I usually get frustrated in puzzle games pretty quickly, when the difficulty ramp is too steep, or bored, if it’s too easy. Braid is perfect, right in the middle. I’ve solved 3/5 of the worlds, and haven’t been once tempted to reach for a walkthrough. What’s more, Braid doesn’t have any complicated rules–you learn everything by observation, and so the overall experience is very satisfying. It was $15 and has already paid for itself.

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Comments

Cameron — 2008-08-08 17:51:43

Thanks for the recommendation!

Cameron — 2008-08-27 17:17:45

One of my favorite dudes on the internet takes a shot at Braid: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/203-Braid

We’re still mid-trip, but there are some pictures posted from our road trip on gallery. We’ve had a great time, mostly because instead of being fussy in the car on 12-hour stretches, Sous just does this:

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Comments

Cameron — 2008-07-11 05:42:13

I love the pictures! Pene was jealous. Luckily she’s about to have a new “best day of her life” this weekend at the ranch with Travis the dog.

Yesterday when I was driving Murphy home from Dr Myers where he’d been boarded, he stuck his head out the window and enjoyed the car ride - apparently he takes pleasure in the simple joys of life. :)

Let’s discuss a number of awesome things, some sarcastically and some earnestly. In an awesome meeting this week with my advisors, we decided that my schedule for finishing my dissertation was too aggressive to get all the necessary results in and text reviewed, so my graduation slipped by a month! Awesome! Leslie put together an awesome invitation to this year’s camping trip to Utica reservoir:

How could you not go? Looks too awesome to miss. Also assuredly awesome is our upcoming road trip out to Colorado with the pup. You would not believe how many motels will let you bring your dog right in the room with you.

You’re probably thinking that there are too many awesome things in the world for you to keep track of all of them in your head, and you’re right. That’s why God created Awesome Overload as an authoritative source on awesomeness. Don’t miss it… they need submissions!