This past weekend was an opportunity to get to quite a few things that I’ve been neglecting for a bit. One of them was replacing the trim on the door in the downstairs bathroom.

(flashback, for context)

Our dog, Patrick (who we lovingly refer to as “Big, dumb, dork-dog”) likes to chase the cats. Years ago, while we were out, he tried chasing one into the bathroom and ended up closing himself in. Not liking enclosed spaces, he tried to get himself out. Without thumbs, of course, his only option was to scratch his way out. We got home not long after and let him out but only after he chewed up the door frame a considerable amount.

I’ve never done such a repair before so wasn’t in a hurry to try, but try I did. After going at it with a hammer and seeing how it was attached, I went to the hardware store and got the necessary supplies. Having been my first time, I wasn’t paying attention that I had the trim backwards so marked (and subsequently cut) the wrong end.

After coming back from the hardware store a second time, I was far more careful to mark the correct end before doing the 45° cut.

Last week, there was an email exchange that required a last-minute scramble that didn’t have to be last-minute. When one of my guys expressed his frustration to the user, the user’s manager wrote back in a considerably harsh and unnecessary tone. It was learned later, after calming down, that he did not feel quite as he wrote. If he had just taken a moment and considered his words and thoughts, I believe it would have been much more reasonable or may not have been set at all.

In both cases, I was reminded of the old adage “measure twice, cut once.” Please do yourself a favor and heed that in both such situations in the future. Thank you.

(Sorry for the false post earlier. I accidentally hit publish.)

I’ve mentioned before that we have decided to homeschool our oldest daughter. While in her particular case, the primary problem was the general disregard of her level since she wasn’t jeopardizing the results of the standardized tests that public schools are obsessed about.

I recently ran across two presentations of Sir Ken Robinson at the TED conference. The first is from 2006 and was an observation of children’s innovation and creativity and how that is trained out of them as they work through the system:

He again presented just earlier this year with additional thoughts the subject:

He recommends revolution of education system and not evolution. I couldn’t agree more. While I hope that those involved in the system (at all levels) take these thoughts to heart, but until things change significantly, I don’t think we’ll be alone in finding our home as the best place to learn.