We are part of a private swim club, but the pool is indoor and attached to the Y, so maybe not so much? We aren't fancy. We just hang with the oldsters.

I guess I'm still a Farscape fan, because that license plate made me think of Pirate DRDs (which are the little roomba-like maintenance droids on the ship).

Yes, I was trying to figure out which DRD the car was named after.

We mostly swim at the Y, which is indoor, but there's a couple nearby public pools that are outdoor that we use from time to time. But I have to say the UCLA Rec Center pools kick serious ass over the other two options, because it's as much a park as a pool, and it has an upper and lower pool and it's just lovely. Wish I had a membership.

Ugh, I am having parenting issues. Isaac grabbed someone by the throat yesterday at school, one of his friends. That's bad. he used to grab my throat when he was a toddler and so we've had talks about why it's dangerous and not to do it. And he hasn't choked anyone in YEARS, but now this. My son is becoming a bully. sigh.

Not sure what to do that we aren't already doing, but clearly what we are doing isn't working.

Oh Burrell, that's hard. been there. Do you have any books that address behaviors? We have some that mac has found helpful from time to time if I read them to him at night.

Anyone want to read some craxy by Santorum?

Santorum: Satan is Systematically Destroying America (From a speech he gave in 2008.)

This is not a political war at all. This is not a cultural war. This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age. There is no one else to go after other than the United States and that has been the case now for almost two hundred years, once America's preeminence was sown by our great Founding Fathers.

He didn't have much success in the early days. Our foundation was very strong, in fact, is very strong. But over time, that great, acidic quality of time corrodes even the strongest foundations. And Satan has done so by attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition.

...

And so what we saw this domino effect, once the colleges fell and those who were being education in our institutions, the next was the church. Now you’d say, ‘wait, the Catholic Church’? No. We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it. So they attacked mainline Protestantism, they attacked the Church, and what better way to go after smart people who also believe they’re pious to use both vanity and pride to also go after the Church.

The whole thing is amazing in its craxy. I find it hard to believe this fucker could ever be elected president.

Do you have any books that address behaviors? We have some that mac has found helpful from time to time if I read them to him at night.

Oh thanks, I would love some recs. We have a couple books aimed at us, but not ones that speak directly to him.

I hope Rick Santorum develops a medical condition for which the only treatment is progesterone supplements. And I hope his insurance won't cover it.

These "Way I Feel" books did a lot to help him better express emotions: [link]

This one we also have and still look at : [link]

Some of the Bernstein Bear books have been good, some are grating. Arthur books address a bunch of stuff (as do other PBS show tie-in boooks), and then Bill Cosby has this series [link] that hits on many social situation topics.

I guess we're really living in the future now.

It's official: Nevada the first state to allow self-driving cars

It's just for testing now, and two humans are required to be in a self-driving car at all times. But that may change:

Cars also have to be equipped with data collectors (like an airplane black box), and will have red license plates. If the cars are approved for public the cars will have green license plates (regular Nevada license plates are grayish-blue). If cars are approved, a person can operate the vehicle "without being physically present," according to one provision. But the person operating the vehicle — present or not — will be held responsible for what the car does.

Also, self-driving cars will have their own drivers licenses.

I guess we're really living in the future now.

Unfortunately, it's A Handmaid's Tale.