Me as a cartoon

Religious Freedom - LDS Newsroom

Religious Freedom - LDS Newsroom

Shared via AddThis

Sad but True

Need I say more.......
(From: phdcomics )

H survives baseball paternity test

I have put H through his paces that last couple of days and he has come out strong. We played a simple game of wiffle ball - you know the game that's like baseball only you use a plastic bat and a plastic ball riddled with holes. For me this was a true test of my paternity. I spent 11 years of my life playing baseball from little league to high school and would have kept with the sport had I not damaged my rotary cuff as a senior. Nonetheless I had to see if H had my baseball genes.

Farm League Fields Hedgesville, WV (Photo: Bonnie Cameron)


Josh at High School Field with Little league field in the background Hedgesville, WV (Photo: Bonnie Cameron) The grass infield was not there when I played - it was dirt!


Our backyard is more of a paved turnaround/parking area than a nice grassy yard. Welcome to SW Medford which is more like Somerville or Cambridge. The homes are triple deckers and occupied by as many families/tenants. I started out tossing a ball to H to hit from about 6 feet away. I found this to be dangerously too close to a 4 year old holding a bat. I moved about 12 feet away and he managed to hit it a few times. Not bad. We then switched it up - H tossed and I hit. We need to work on throwing a bit. This was more like a game of cricket than wiffle ball.

So on day two we again started out about 12 feet apart and H hitting. He immediately began hitting balls around. After a few minutes he asked me to move back, so I went to other side of our yard a good 20-25 feet away. To my surprise he hit better from this distance. I decided to put H through his paces, the competetive father that I am. I threw the ball harder and he handled it just the same. I then threw a few curve balls - granted wiffle balls don't seem to curve as much as a baseball, but he hit those too. He wasn't perfect but hitting about .250 is respectable even for the majors.

I think the time for getting rid of the big red bat has come and H needs to move on to a more streamlined model. A glove may be in the works too. I think we have found something we both enjoy. We'll work our way through pitching and catching as the time comes. For now, I am happy to throw and watch MY son hit balls around our yard.

Happy Mother's Day

What a better way to wish my wife and mother of my 2 children a happy mother's day than to show off a bit of what makes her so special. Lets begin with her creativity in sewing. For those who don't know, she sews alot. Below are 5 representatives of her great ability to take ordinary materials and make them extraordinary.

Ellie's Blessing Dress.

Ellie's Blue Dress
Ellie's Green Spring Dress - this one was recently made famous here.
Ellie's Red Dress.
A work in progress: Ellie's soon to be completed purple summer dress. I stole this away one morning to sneak in this shot.
I should mention that this is just a sampling of what she has done since I've known her. Besides little girl dresses, she has sewn bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses,fashion/designer shirts, quilts, curtains, herbal aroma therapy pillows, baby blankets, and the list goes on.

Sewing is not her only forte. She is also an amazing cook. You don't hear me complaining about food in my house. Since I have known her she has had a love for baking and decorating. I am always impressed with the detail and meticulous nature of her creations. This is expected in her sewing, but it also extends to her edible creations as well. The most recent cakes for the kids birthdays are exhibits 1 and 2. They tasted as good as they looked.

I should also mention that she is not limited to cakes. Her apple pie is amazing and looks the part as well.

I would seriously be amiss if I did not let your all in on her greatest creations. They by far the cutest, irreplaceable, and arguably difficult to contain creations. You can get your fill of her two greatest creations on her blog. I'll give you a bit of a taste below - no it is not Hershey's chocolate.

We love you sweetheart! You are the greatest wife and mother. I apologize if any of this has embarrassed you. Thank you for putting up with all of my goods and bads and loving me in the end. Thank you for loving our children and their own creations (aka messes, rips, art, etc). We are forever grateful for such a wonderful woman in out lives. You are a blessing to us all!

Let me make one final thank you to our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Your heritage lives on. We love you.

Josh, Harrison and Ellie.

Glass Blowing: Making an Ornament 101

Me making a glass ornament at Thames Glass on February 20, 2009. Thanks Kristen for taking the photos. A 2500 degree furnace was a welcome feeling in sub freezing cold.

Picking the colors gold, red and green

Melting the colors together

Blowing the molten glass through the pipePinching

Refining the top of the ball

The finished glass ball tapped from the blow pipe

Adding the top hook to the ball - red hot ironThe finished product - ready to be cooled

Perspectives on Marriage

Here was the conversation between Harrison, Elizabeth, Bonnie and I during lunch today:

Elizabeth: I want to get married like mommy

Harrison: I want to be a fireman and marry Ellie.

Josh: You can't marry your sister.

Harrison: Why not?

Elizabeth: I want to be like mommy and marry Harrison.

Bonnie: I wouldn't marry your daddy. We don't marry our brothers and sisters.

Harrison: Why not? I am going to marry Ellie.

Josh: Harrison, you can't marry your sister. It is against the law and just not appropriate.

Harrison: Why is that dad?

I think going into the genetic ramifications would have been a little too much. But, what do you say to a 2 and 4 year old? The question "why?" is a tough one to answer.

Journal Launch Finally

I am the editor-in-chief of a new journal entitled Ophthalmology and Eye Diseases (OED). The journal was made public last week and new articles will be published in the near future. I am excited to see this go forward after months in the making. I am grateful to the excellent group of editors who have joined me in this new venture. The introductory editorial should be available soon. Feel free to read my interview with the managing editor, Tom Hill. I have also added a link to the OED on here and a RSS feeder for new article releases. You can see that I am not very busy as there are no new articles. I should probably mention I am doing this as a service, so no, I have not come into my millions.......yet.

Only fancy cakes will do

I have two great kids with fanciful birthday wishes. Thank goodness for a wife who can make them come true.

Exhibit A (Hello Kitty)

Exhibit B (Curious George)

They tasted just as good as they looked.