Not Until You're Twelve

Or maybe 10, in the state of Wisconsin.

For those who may miss the pop culture reference in the title of this post, it is from the original 1971 version of Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. A permissive parent (to say the least) interacts with his son in the following quote from the movie:

Mike Teevee: Wait till I get a real one. Colt 45. Pop won't let me have one yet, will ya, Pop?
Mr. Teevee: Not till you're 12, son.

There was a lot of satire in the original that probably was intended to give the children's film broader appeal for adults (similar to the sexual innuendo and double entendres in today's "children's" movies). However in this case, the satire seems to be lost on this group of lawmakers.

Just to make sure this is taken as irony and not an anti-gun position, I'll make the following disclaimer. As a registered gun owner and sport shooting hobbyist, I am clearly in favor of protecting Second Amendment rights. Although I am not personally interested in hunting as a hobby, it should also be afforded the same protection.

Raising responsible children has many facets and at the proper time for the individual child, can include gun safety. Just not in any 10 year olds I've known.

Alternate tag: Things that make you go "hmmmm"...

Which is the Imitation?

I'm a fan of (selected) comics. Not the type that are called graphic novels these days, but simply the small amusement from those in the daily paper. Some like Family Circus are cute, or funny like Garfield, or simply amusing like Frazz.

The best ones to me take a piece of daily life and find something amusing in it. Although I don't agree with many of their political views, Non Sequitur can be like that. Their recent series on Non Conceptual Scientists is a case in point. The last strip in the series contained the following quote:

...as a Pre Conceptual scientist, you reach a conclusion to a theory first then just ignore all evidence that proves you're wrong...



That was amusing to me from a number of worldview perspectives, but then I didn't think too much of it until I saw a feed today from The Times. It reports on one in seven scientists faking data to support a pre-conceived conclusion, usually in order to secure funding.

Life imitates art?

Easter in June

Not in the traditional Christian sense of celebrating the risen Savior of course (what did you expect) but in the tradition of software developers to put hidden features in their programs - usually that have nothing to do with the programs primary purpose. Those hidden features are typically known as "Easter Eggs".

Google has produced some amazing services and tools, not the least of which is the most comprehensive search the web has yet to see.

Hidden among all those offerings are a good number of "Easter Eggs". PC World put together a list of the top 17 from Google, including my favorite: the flight simulator inside of Google Earth.

I don't know how much of a hidden feature this is since it is actually well documented in the Google Earth User Guide but the list as a whole is a fun Friday diversion.

Enjoy.

Encouraging A (Perpetual) Mentality of Adolescence

All parents want better for their children than they had for themselves.  Some parents go to great lengths to make this possible in the short term for their children.  Others try and shield their children from the realities of life and consequences of their actions far into the child's teen years.  Many times that shielding is not just from external challenges, but internal as well - from having to think critically.

Just as failing to let children learn from the consequences of their actions will lead to wrong actions in an adult world, failing to challenge them to think will lead to their acceptance of wrong ideas.  Students, particularly at the high school level, are capable of much more than the popular media gives them credit for, with its encouragement of perpetual adolescence.  If we can teach biology and chemistry in high school, why not real theology?

A recent article by John Stonestreet, writing for BreakPoint addresses these and several other issues in a high level outline for challenging students.  Reading this article might raise some questions on how we're preparing our children, students and ourselves to respond to the issues in our culture.