Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Role Modeling for Your Kids

Hey Fellas,

  How do we have healthy, happy kids.  We teach them of course.  We as fathers are responsible for the overall health, education and development of our kids.  School, neighbors and everyone has an impact, but nothing compared to you and the wife.

  What is the biggest part of raising a kid?  Role Modeling!  What you do, is what your kids do.  If you want your kids to be healthy and active.  You have show them what it means to be healthy and active by being healthy and active.

  I've come to this conclusion over the last few months.  I've always been healthy and active from lifting weights to hiking, traveling, swimming, playing sports, running and other such activities.  What I didn't realize is how much my kid actually wasn't a part of this.  What my kid sees is me talking about such things, but never actually doing them.  Leading back to the old saying: Monkey See, Monkey Do.  Now when I get home after a long day, the couch is trying to run away and I have to sit on it while watching TV to stop if from running away.  Well, guess what, this is what my kid sees as he doesn't come to work with me or the gym or whatever.  And especially these last few months I broke my hand and couldn't do anything.

  So, part of getting back into shape I've started bringing my oldest along with me.  Now he couldn't keep up and limited my workout, but the fact he was doing it next to me made all the difference between knowing and doing.  Now he works out with me 2 days a week.  But the most important part of this is giving my kid(s) a foundation of knowing what a healthy life style could be.

  Rudest Dad

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Kids in General and Something other then Electricity


Hey Fellas,

 Kids in general are smelly, sticky and loud.  The only ones I seem to be able to stand are my own.  Why?  There are several factors that play into this but the most important one is that I love them for some unknown reason.

  This is a fickle thing about kids: They are there no matter what.  The difference between my kids and yours is what you deem appropriate.  What I would think as wrong in my home, would be perfectly okay in yours.  Personal I go with the idea that kids are better off seen and not heard.  The problem with this is that they are not simple robots or Nick Knacks you can put on a shelf.  They have feelings (hate those) and desires (hate those too) that often conflict with yours (say watching the game).  This in lies the problem: How can I be me and still have them.  This is a story as old as time.  The problem now is that a man can't make the money with the wife taking care of the kids.  We actually have to be involved and not come in with fire and brimstone when they begin sowing their oats disrespecting the wife.  As much as we dislike this and are completely evolutionary ill equipped we deal as we always have:  "Come here child and watch TV with me."

  This is a bonding experience we all have with our children.  Just the other night I watched The Cosby Show with my oldest kid and realized I should let Bill raise my kids as he and Clare are much more equipped than I.  The problem is I don't have the DVR space to record every episode.  Priorities right.  So I have to do it the old fashion way, actually interact with my own children.

  To be fair Kids are what we make them.  So if I act like a lump on the couch, I'm pretty sure my kids are going to be lumps on the couch.  My recommendation is wait until they are passable (about 5 they turn into something resembling a human) in public and start taking them to places that are free such as a museum, a park, a river, hiking tails, mountains, etc.  And if they cry and complain find something they want to do.  Remember when you have been a lump on a couch for years you have to start nice and slow.  You can't go from TV, video games and ipods to roughing it for a month on a trail.  Start slow with short time frames of interactions without any immediate gratification.  If I want to eventually go to a museum I will have to start say at a Farmer's Market, an Art Fair, a car show, a Festival (of something or other) .  A kid's natural habitat is the wild.  So don't start in the inner city unless you live there (if you do, do the reverse of what I just said: Don't take them to the country until they know what a tree is).  There is always something going on for cheap if not free.  The problem is knowing where to look.  Start using that computer for something other than porn.

Rudest Dad  

Thursday, September 20, 2012

iPhone 5: Is it worth it?

Hey Fellas,

  The new iPhone is coming out this week.  The question every rational non-apple humping person in society is asking: Is the new phone worth it?

  The only reason you need the new phone is if your contract is up in my opinion.  Needing the phone because its the new shiny thing means your an Apple Zealot Addict.  Like most I have and love my iPhone 4s.  I just got it and there is no way I'm going to be waiting in line at midnight to get one.  Halo 4 or COD: Black Ops 2 more likely to get me staying up pass my bed time.

  Lets look at the difference:new things offered

1. 18% thinner and 22% lighter.  .666in thinner Meaning the width went from .37in to .30in.  The weight went from 4.9oz to 3.8ozs.  Sorry not a deal breaker. 

2. More speakers with a speaker in a different location: Sorry not a deal breaker.

3. Access to 4g Lte networks.  Worth it only if you A) live in a city offering the service and B) have a service that can support it.  The reality of the 4g wireless is there is not enough of a sound structure for you to worry about it right now.  Sorry not a deal breaker.

4. A6 chip.  The whole reason for the new processing chip is to handle the 4g LTE network.  I'm pretty sure you won't see the difference between the A5 and A6 chips.  Sorry not a deal breaker.

5. New headphones.  I can buy those separate if my current headphones aren't awesome enough.  Sorry not a deal breaker.

6. New charging/synching plug:  Assholes.  If you buy this phone you are now having to upgrade or buy an adapter for $30 a pop.  You know my entire house is set up using the current 13 prong jack.  And apple TV is not worth the hundred bucks per to replace what I have.  Do you know how much money that is.  Shit I'm finally going to be able to afford the old 13 prong connector stuff because it's all going on sale.  Apple just made 11 years of equipment obsolete.  Score for the 4s guy.   

7. Retina Display.  Have the new ipad, can't tell the difference.   Sorry not a deal breaker.

8. Panorama Camera option, New Siri, Maps, icloud, Air Play, and Printing are all O6 software upgrade.  Getting that for free who cares the new phone has it.

9. Slightly Longer.  Happy with the current size. Concerns of having the phone in my pocket now.

10. New stronger battery.  If you look at the 4s battery life vs the 5 you get the same results.  The only reason the battery is stronger is to support the 4g Lte network that you won't be using regularly because most of the cell companies don't have the infrastructure to support the 4g Lte data download.  And unless you have sprint you are going to pay a premium for data anyway.  Sorry not a deal breaker. 

  So the new iPhone comes down to the basic question.  1) Are you ready to replace all your iPod stuff for the new connection cord and 2) if your contract is up.  Because I can bet if you buy it straight up you are going to pay near a grand for the basic model.  Personally if your only upgrading because its time to replace your phone.  Going with the 4s is cheaper and I believe a happier way to go.  For the rule of thumb with any new technology and gadget: NEVER BUY THE FIRST ONE.

  Haven't we learned our lessons of Tech history.  The first generation is always going to have issues.  The new iPhone is all new tech and design.  This is a new phone for apple and we have learned apple does 2 things very well: 1) selling you their prototypes 2) being very selective in how they handle their software.

  The iPhone 5 is going to have issues: what those issues are is the questions all the Apple Zealot Addicts are going to solve for me when in a year or two the 5s comes out with all the hardware fixes, just in time when I'm ready to upgrade my contract.

  This guy's opinion is pass on the new phone go for the 4s if your ready for a new phone.  All the cool stuff being offered is on the 4s and won't break your accounts upgrading all the ipod connections you have collected over the pass decade.

  Rudest Dad

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Car Make Over

Hey Fellas,

  What are the two biggest problems with your old car.  You envy the guy in the new car.  Well for a fraction of the cost of a new car you can make over your car with minimum difficulty and give you a day to yourself or a project with your kids.

  Over the years I have found that my car sound sucks after a few months.  The reason for this is because the factory addition speakers are made from foam and cardboard.  So my tunes sound like shit and sooner or later I'm going to blow them out listening to Wu-Tang Clan.

  The solution is very simple.  4 speakers and a deck for your car at a minimum.  The question how far you want to go is up to you.  You can find these at Wal-Mart or on-line.  The key is knowing if what you want will fit into your car.  Crutchfield.com is a great site for figuring out if the deck you want will actually fit into your car.  Click on this site below and it will get you started.  Buying from them is pricy but if your a first timer and want to do it yourself they have excellent support and instructions for your car.

http://www.crutchfield.com/app/car/carselector.aspx?lp=%2fApp%2fCar%2foutfitmycar%2fcar.aspx

  How do you want to remake your car.  This question has three parts: the first is how much can my wallet afford.  The second is what is what is my skill level in doing this project.  Third, what is appropriate for my life.  I have kids and carry lots of different crap throughout the year.  So putting in a box, pull down TV is a waste (even though its what I want).  Instead with the age of my kids and my family budget 4 speakers and a deck are all I really need at the moment.  But believe me, as soon as I can I'll pimp my ride. 

  If this is your first time taking on anything like this you are going to need a few tools: wire stripper, wire cutters, electrical tape, soldering iron and solder, Haynes Repair Manual for your Model and Year, 6-in-one screw driver, trim panel tools, computer, ***wiring harness, ***Dash Kit, time and patience. 

  Now any entertainment project for your home or car the receiver (deck) is the most important.  It's the hub and it's abilities will give you options later if you want to upgrade.  No with the technology out there there are some questions you need to ask yourself. 1) How much do I use my car: are you in the car for hours or minutes, in and out, etc. 2) what's my tech like: ipod vs. mp3 player, flip vs smart phone, CDs?.  If you listen to cds still then you will need a player.  If your iphone only than having a blue tooth touch to talk system is handy.  3) Can I handle the technology: This is huge.  If you have trouble dealing with your phone then bells and whistles aren't for you.  4) Can I get away with just replacing my deck: some cars have infinity/bose speakers in, the deck just outdated.  A good deck can boost your sound quality of decent already install speakers. 5) Will the deck I choose fit my car and style: If you drive a minivan your not gonna want some over the top deck.  Sometime less is more.

  Personally I have a Pioneer 6200BT deck with 4 - 51/2" Pioneer 3-way speakers in an old Subaru Outback.  Let me tell you this slim deck is perfect for me and the kids as I cart them around.  Comes with everything to hook up Hands-Free Blue Tooth speaker and synch's with my iphone without any issues.  I don't even have to take the phone out of my pocket to listen to music.

  Now when you install keep in mind you will have to buy in addition to the deck and speakers a wiring harness for the make and model of your care as well as a dash kit.  No one tells you about these, they assume you know.  ***MAKE SURE YOU GET THESE"""

  The wiring harness should come with a diagram.  You will have to splice them together then either A) solder them together or B) use a crimp splice.  Twisting and wrapping with electoral tape is passable but I learned the hard way it doesn't last.  Once this is done you can just snap it into the harness in the car.

  The dash kit can be another headache if you don't prepare.  When I did my Subaru I had a combo CD and tape deck.  My new deck was a 1/3 of all that factory trash.  Leaving me a giant whole when the kit only came with one pocket.  I had to order a piece from an actual Subaru dealer to get the right part.  Now I have two pockets, one's even got a door.  But I had to drive around for 2 weeks with an ugly whole in my dash.  Taking sometime during the week to prep will save you hours of frustration later.

  Last and not least take your time.  An extra hour or two of patience will save the door panel from never fitting right again.  My wife still gives me shit when I ripped the speaker cover out all those years ago.  If you run into a problem, google it.  Someone, somewhere has a video that will teach you how to get the details right.

Good Luck & FUN

-Rudest Dad

Saturday, July 28, 2012

What To DVR for 2012 - 2013

First and Foremost several of these shows should be on your DVR.  If they aren't someone needs to schedule an intervention.  If your watching reality TV just take your man card out and hand it to your wife or significant other  This list does not include sports or anything from the summer shows that are becoming a saving grace to the re-run from last season we are use to.

  Second I'm going to list the shows by days and give you the channel and time it will come on once the season starts.  No I don't know when they will start.  Being a Grown means sometimes you have to do things yourself.  DVR everything and don't bother with commercials.  Included the start dates of non-basic channels

If you want the full line up (does not include not basics):

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/05/16/cbs-fall-2012-13-schedule-revealed/

* = Hopes the new show isn't a flop.  High Hopes for success but won't hold my breath.
Monday:

Bones on FOX at 8pm
How I Met Your Mother on CBS at 8pm
Partners on CBS at 8:30pm (New Show)
  - Will and Jack are best friends with one of them being straight. 
*Revolution on NBC at 10pm (New Show)
   -What happens when all the lights go out?  This is apparently what happens.  Appears to be based on the S.M. Sterling Books about "the Change".  An uncle must help his dead brother's daughter rescue her brother from the evil Warlord of the Midwest. 

Tuesday:

Son's of Anarchy on FX at 10pm, September 11th
Vegas on CBS at 10pm (New Show)
  -The story of how Vegas is cleaned up by a rancher turned Sheriff.  Walking Tall meets the Shield.

Wednesday:

Animal Practice on NBC at 8pm (New Show)
  -Scrubs meets an upscale vet clinic in New York city
*Guys with Kids on NBC at 8:30pm (New Show)
  -Your 30 with a kid(s) and you don't want to lose your coolness and still see your friends.  What every man fears turned into a comedy. 
The Neighbors on ABC at 9:30pm (New Show)
  -You get your dream house is posh New Jersey neighborhood.  But your neighbors happen to be aliens and are just as screwed up as you.
*Arrow on CW at 8pm (New Show)
  -How Oliver McQueen became the Green Arrow - Spinoff from Smallville
Supernatural on CW at 9pm


Thursday:

Big Bang Theory on CBS at 8pm
Two and a Half Men on CBS at 8:30
Person of Interest on CBS at 9pm
*Elemental on CBS at 9pm (New Show)
  -Sherlock Homes leaves London winding up in Manhattan solving crime with Lucy Liu at the ever present Dr. Watson.
The League on FX (Time and Date TBA)

Friday:

Whitney on NBC @ 8pm
Last Man Standing on ABC @ 8pm

 Saturday:

You should be doing something other then watching TV

Sunday:

Dexter on Showtime at 9pm (September 30th)
Do No Harm on NBC at 10pm (New Show)
  -The classic tail of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in an updated format. 


Possible Mid Season Add Ins with Possibilities:


*Friend Me (Midseason) on CBS
  -Two friends move to LA and put an advertisement out to meet new people.  Harold and Kumar meeting and hanging out with someone new each week. 
Cult (midseason) on CW
  -A fictional  TV about a Cult starts to has a real cult following.
The Goodwin (midseason) FOX 
  -What happens when your daddy leaves a shit load of money behind and you have to jump through hoops to get it.
*The Following (midseason) FOX 
  -Kevin Bacon is a retired FBI agent until the serial killer he put away 9 years ago breaks out and starts recruiting and organizing the 300 active Serial Killers in America.
Hanibal (midseason) NBC 
  -Turning the Red Dragon Movie into a TV series. 
*Next Caller (midseason) NBC
  -Radio's Man Show is getting a pretty perky upbeat girl as co-host and he's not happy about it. 


 





Raising Kids

  There are more books on how to raise your kid then satellites orbiting the planet.  The problem is one will contradict the other.  So who should you believe.  If you actually read most of that trash the best thing is to pick and choose things that fit your life, you beliefs and culture.  You don't believe in allowing kids to explore the world your not going to incorporate the granola life style.  Reality is kids have been raised for thousands of years and no matter what, there are going to be good parents and their are going to be shitty parents.  If you want to be a good parent there are some basic things that have to done.

  First and the most basic is keep it alive.  Yes I said "it" children don't have sexual identity until they are older.  Yes they have a "penis" or "vagina" but that does not mean they can understand what responsibilities are associated with those private parts.  By thinking of them as "it" you allow yourself not to place your own stereotypes and expectations upon them.  That comes later.  Keeping "it" alive is making sure they feel safe (this is the same as knowing it is loved), fed a healthy diet (titties/formula at first, fruits and veggies, meats, etc), is appropriate clothed (clothes appropriate for the season), and your house is not a deathtrap (gates for stairs, door knobs, outlets covered, etc).  Kids have a tendency to find the most dangerous objects where ever they are and play with it.  There apparently is a gravitational pull created by dangerous objects kids can't resist.  I personally believe this pull is an evolutionary thing.  If you can't learn to survive then you aren't worthy of surviving. So I've been fighting evolution in saving each of my kids on a daily basis.  Once you get the hang of it, it becomes subconscious.

  Second you must set firm set boundaries for them.  This is first done physically by gates, shut doors, plugs in electrical sockets, stove covers and in my opinion lifting all the nicknacks, pictures and all the other stuff that makes your home look nice a good 5 feet off the ground.  This way they are allowed to explore and you are free to allow them.  Now you don't have stand over them every second.  Having to yell at your kids every 5 minutes to not touch this or that turns you into a prick.  You have better things to do then yell and hover over your kids every second of the day.  As they grow they are allowed access to things because they have matured enough to handle doing so.  As the first boundaries stop being physical, they become metaphysical.  For example: You are not allowed to eat cookies unless you ask.  You find their hand in the cookie jar.  You must now discipline them.  If you don't they will think they can get a cookie anytime they want because you are not going to do something about defying you.  Example 2: Your kid crawls into bed in the middle of the night because it had a nightmare.  Kid starts having "nightmares" every night and has to sleep in your bed every night.  There goes your sex life.  Kids are always going to be testing limits.  Your responsible is to make sure they know their limits.  Otherwise over time your shifting boundaries will let them think they can be little shits because you never punished them for doing what you told them not to.  By not setting firm and consistent boundaries, you create a person without morals or ethics.  They learn that rules are meant to be broken because a consequence is just a word.  People are 99% nurture and 1% nature. 

  Nature vs. Nurture.  Nature is your genetic profile.  Are you tall, short, brown hair, blue eyes, etc.  Nurture is learned through boundaries and role modeling.  If you want your kid to grow up healthy and happy, you have to lead a happy and healthy life.  If you and your significant other fight over every last thing.  Your kid will thing that is how you talk to people.  If you eat like a hog at a trough you can't be surprised your kid is 100 lbs overweight.  Parents are kids heroes and when they are young they don't care how much money you have, that you have all the best toys.  The happiest kids and most well adjusted are those whose parents set boundaries and role model those boundaries while spending time with them.

  Three, be your child's hero.  For kids there is no one stronger and braver then their father.  No woman more beautiful and caring than their mother.  You are prince charming and sleeping beauty (after she wakes up) to your kids.  By such you have expectations to live up too.  Not because you want to but because you need to if you want your kids to be able to be well adjusted adults capable of supporting themselves being productive members of society.  This means you have to demonstrate the behaviors needed to be a strong morally adjusted person.  Remember kids want to be you and if your a piece of shit of a person your kids don't have to know, if you show them all the positive things normal people do your kids will become greater then you.  You are the first and most influential teacher in your child's life.

  Four: show emotional and physical affection toward your kids.  Not in the pervert way (if you thought that was what I meant you shouldn't have kids, be around kids, maybe you should find a way to leave this planet or your so spastic your a nut case).  Kids are emotional creatures when their young.  Showing physical affection allows them to feel good about themselves, your affectionate relationship with them helps creates a connection of safety they can rely on to become emotionally safe internally.  Yes the old joke "Your mommy or daddy didn't hug you enough" isn't really a joke.  They probably didn't get enough hugs and affection from their family to allow them to establish and maintain lasting emotional connections to others or the exact opposite they become compulsive, overcompensating for their lack of affection seeking it where ever they can.  For you fathers with daughters there are two type of promiscuous women: the one with "daddy" issues; the second is because she really likes it and isn't ashamed.  I'd pick the second over the first. 

  How you implement these things is up to you.  I'm not coming to your house to show you how you should live.  I don't have the time to deal with your problems, I have my enough of my own to deal with.  All of this can be broken down to just a few things: 1. Praise and reward your kids when they do things right, punish them when they do something wrong being consistent.  2. Love your kids and don't be shy about showing them.  3. Stop evolution by keeping them alive.  4. Role model the behaviors you want your kid to have. 

-Rudest Dad

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Reclaim your Manhood

  Men need only a few things to make us Happy.  A cold drink, a lot of sex, no one telling us why were doing everything wrong and feeling capable of providing for our families.  This last part is the key in feeling like a man.  Genetically and through millennium of evolution we have been programed to provide for our families.  Without this we can no longer be considered men internally or externally.  We have to reclaim are manhood, but the problem is we can no longer do that in our current society.  We have lost to designer underwear and service jobs.

  As a man in a emasculating society we have to accept and move past a large amount of things we have been conditioned from childhood.  We are suppose to be Alpha in the house, regardless.  In today's recession driven society men are no longer able to provide for their families as they did.  More and more women are becoming alphas in this capacity.  This goes against everything we as men have been raised to be.  As men we don't do well with change, resulting in anger and douchbagery.  We are no longer allowed to hit things and take our frustrations out on killing animals to provide for our families, earning the money to provide.  This has caused us to feel inferior which leads us to being a sad sack.  Everything we have been raised to know and believe in has been turned on its head.  The problem is we don't know how to reclaim our manhood in the acceptable manner of our current society. 

  We evolve or die.  For this we must develop hobbies and things that allow us to be men again.  Hence all the MMA do-jos,  gyms full of middle age men who want to reclaim something they felt they have lost.  You did lose it and now you have to man up and go reclaim it.  Don't feel guilty in this as you go into a gym or a martial arts studio, take an automotive class or something manly.  You are doing what you need to do to reclaim your manhood.  We have to relearn the skills we no longer pass down from father to son.  Because frankly everything has gotten so complicated we can't recognize them anymore.  But there are still things we are able to do.

  We must shed are ignorance and accept the world for what it is and learn to live within it, then carve out the parts necessary reclaim our manhood.  If we don't reclaim our manhood how will our children know the meaning of respect, honor, and duty.  These concepts will be lost forever to greed, backstabbing and hate.

  As men we must have a common ground to know each other.  No longer should we ridicule each other for trying to make ourselves better.  No longer will we give a shit about the petty things.  No longer will we worry about who makes the money, rather knowing our shit is taken care of regardless of by who.  No longer will we allow ourselves to betray ourselves by wallowing in self-misery because we can't do something.  We will take our man pants out of our wives/mothers/girlfriends dresser and start to reclaim our manhood.  We will reclaim our honor, by doing our duty and respecting ourselves as we swallow our pride to learn and evolve in this panty waist society.