Fire

Maybe it was damp grass that broke his leg, but it certainly saved his house, truck, and who knows what else.

The superkids and I rounded a corner in our neighborhood yesterday evening on our way home and saw smoke. Then we saw the fire, a burnpile that had gotten a little out of hand. Neighbor Jeff was already there, sans cell phone, trying to figure out what to do.

I parked the car, rolled down the windows, and started stamping the low burning leading edge while I called 911. Jeff got the garden hose and went to work. By the time the the VFD got there, we had things damp, but not out.

The VFD cheerfully sprayed a truckload of water on the fire, thankful that it wasn't any more than it was. The grass was wet from this morning's light rain, he said. Without it, at least three houses would have been lost, not to mention a pickup truck that the fire had burned right under the gas tank of, and then stopped.

It turned out that this was the second EMS call of the day to that house. The owner, had slipped and broken his leg while starting the burn pile that morning. In the rush to get him to the hospital, the fire was forgotten.

A nice upside was that Superkid and Babyfish got to see the fire department in action, and Superkid in particular got a real-life example of why fire is not a toy.

Open Letter to Triple Crown of Running

Dear Triple Crown of Running,

For answering the thousands of complaints of frustration and technical problems with assertions that the Pike's Peak registration process is "fair"...

Bite me.

Sincerely,
Tank Thinker

Open Letter to Active.com

Dear Active.com:

Bite me.

Sincerely,
Tank Thinker

New Brother

Kaich now says he has a new baby brother, Elizabeth Kaye. "So now you have a big sister, Elizabeth Kaye, a baby sister, Elizabeth Kaye and a baby brother, Elizabeth Kaye?" "Yep" You'd think the kid would give us more credit for being able to come up with names for our children.

Super Rocket

Offspring Count

Brandon and Krista's count of offspring: 2
Kaich's count of siblings: 4. No 2. Maybe 2 real, 2 not real
Kaich's siblings:

• big brother Little John (not real)
• big sister Elizabeth Kaye (not real)
• baby sister Elizabeth Kaye (real) (Yes, there are 2 Elizabeth Kayes)
• short sister JT Allison (real) (To clarify: that's JT Allison, not JT, not Allison, JTAllison) "What does 'short sister' mean Kaich?" "She's just old." hmm. okie doke.

Definition: Swop

Pronunciation: 'swäp

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): swopped; swop·ping

Etymology: Superkid's custom lexicon hybrid of swat, to strike, and whop, also to strike.

transitive verb1 a : to strike - swop·per noun

Example: Superkid used a broom to swop the icicles and knock them down.

ok, I've blogged

I'm going back to work now.

Definition: Fambly

Main Entry: fam·bly
Pronunciation: 'fam-blE, 'fam-buh-lE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -lies
Etymology: The Mommy's custom lexicon, from English family
1 : a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : HOUSEHOLD
Example: Alex's fambly has two mommies.

The Teeth and Hair Mutual Exclusivity Rule

Here's another item from our Committee for the Promulgation of Scientifically Baseless Theories.

Theory: Babies can grow hair or teeth, but not both at the same time.

Corrollary: Babies with lots of hair have to wait to get teeth. Babies who get their teeth early have to wait a while to get their hair.

Data: The Mommy has noted in her Real Job line of work that this rule very typically holds true.

Case Study 1: Superkid, who serves as our Chief of Polymer Impact Testing, had bunches of teeth very early, but did not get any hair for a good long time.

Case Study 2: Babyfish has very little hair and no teeth. This does not necessarily violate the Teeth and Hair Mutual Exclusivity Rule, as the rule only excludes simultaneous rapid development of teeth AND hair.