Science Papa's blog

One of the hardest things to break is a long running habit.
Yesterday I went cold turkey on something that I have been doing for … um … well hold on let me get out my calculator. [tap-tap-tap] for 15 years. Yikes, I actually didn't realize that I had been doing it for that long. For the last 15 years I have been making monthly (or near monthly) payments to my student loans.

The first step of getting better is always admitting the "problem". I realized the other day that I am a "fixitaholoc". That is I hate broken things and when I see something broken I have an overwhelming urge to fixit.

My issue with fixing things probably started back when I was a kid. My father was also a fixer and was loathe to throw anything away. He would dive into a washing machine and replace the drum skids milk caps. He would use milk caps instead of buying the actual part because he didn't want to spend the extra $20 for the actual drum skid pads. I think he was motivated by the fact that he didn't grow up with much and wanted to make sure that our family had enough money to cover the family costs (food, housing, retirement and college for four kids). Something that I am very grateful for.

Sometimes the thing that seem common are often the most amazing. A winter sunset over the Austin Hills. The birth of a child. The child's first steps and their first words. A spider web in the sunrise sunlight that is coated with a morning dew. All of these things are extremely common, but under the right circumstances they are the most profound, beautiful and amazing.

As you probably can tell, we have been watching a lot of movies over the winter break. Watching movies is my connection with popular culture ... something that I have a difficult time maintaining a relationship with (really, it's not you it's me). In the past my wife was the one that kept me reasonably plugged in ... so I could at least hold up a conversation when I went out to dinner with friends and colleagues. But in all honesty she is only orbiting this domain--but she is at least within the same solar system ... I'm like that dot in the image of the galaxy saying "you are here" and I am on the outer ring.

Tonight I had that moment ... a moment where I saw something new in something that I have seen many times. This time it was in one of my all time favorite movies A Christmas Story. My family patronized me again this year and sat down and watched the movie with me again for the ... well I cannot remember how many times that I have seen it. Thank you family!

This week has been a collection of close calls.

Abstract: Since the beginning of human breeding, there has been a constant conflict between progenitor and their offspring concerning the offspring's inability to detect the inappropr