Worried All The Time

Worried All The Time - David Anderegg Ph. D

As a parent, I find myself constantly worrying “Am I doing enough for my child? Am I expecting too much? Am I expecting to little? Am I doing this correctly?” etc, etc, etc. I’ve always been a worrier. Whether those around me have realized it or not, it’s been a constant in my life, for good or for bad, but mostly for bad.

Reading this book was a search for some relief from constant parental worrying on my part. To a certain extent it’s been helpful, since it isn’t filled with the platitudes you’ll find in 99% of the parenting books out there. It deals with straight facts about children, schools, violence, and the myriad other things a sophomore parent worries about. Therefore, it’s a little dry. However, to a logic programmer like myself, it’s a decent “slap upside the head” when my restless mind starts to exaggerate things. I highly recommend it for every nervous parent.

Little Children

Little Children – Tom Perrotta

This one surprised me. I wanted to read something outside the hard SF genre, something about everyday modern existence and struggle in suburbia. A lot of the “list mania” reading lists in Amazon.com pointed me to this book.

The story is about a number of characters going about their lives suburban Boston. And like all of us, their internal thoughts and feelings can differ greatly with the persona the public sees. It seems a mundane topic, but I identified with the thoughts and of at least a few characters in here. In the end it turned to be a satisfying read, affirming that the bulk of society is just as lost and clueless about this life as I am.

The Art Of Intrusion

The Art Of Intrusion - Kevin Mitnick

This one’s written by Kevin Mitnick. Anyone with the least bit of computer knowledge should recognize that name. In fact, I’ll probably wind up on some government list for even including it in my blog. The books is about various real-life “hacking” episodes as told to Mitnick, in most cases, by the perpetrators themselves. Some of the chapters will be pretty boring to most, but there are a few chapters which should make any security conscious person’s hair stand on end.

A Grand Day Out

Sydney, Kristin and myself spent the morning hiking through Horicon Marsh. It was an absolutely wonderfull morning. Not too hot, not too cold, and a great breeze to bring the ducks and geese to a near standstill on landing. The marsh had a large number of geese, but those numbers will increase ten-fold by the end of October.

I love these days out with the girls, looking at nature, and letting them run their heads off while I take in the scenery. It’s also great when they show an interest in what they find and ask me about them, like the giant puffballs and turtles. I can only hope they keep that silliness and curiosity throughout their lives.

All and all, a grand day out.