The Rogue Parent

A Plea From a Chrystler Dealer, Family and Provider

This post is a little off topic from my parenting discussions.  However, I read this letter and it made me cringe to think that what we own can be taken away from us in a heartbeat.  Hopefully this will remind us of the importance of a true free economic market and give us the motivation to stand up for those who have been wronged.

This letter was published in a local Florida newspaper about a profitable Dodge dealer who was told he’s not allowed to run his own business anymore.

My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business. Read the rest of this entry »

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar. Choose to Be an Eagle.

I am republishing a story I received in a forwarded email, though I have removed the Comic Sans font and cheesy graphics.  This is a story about how you can choose exactly the kind of day, and life, you want to have.  You can go though life complaining and making excuses for your life, or… You can make a change.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey…

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Gifts for Dad: The Seven Food Groups of Gift Giving

It may sound strange, but there’s a lot of people out there that think it’s hard to find a great gift for the dad in your life.  I say that’s crazy.  If you stick to the seven main gift food groups you’ll be sure to get him exactly what he wants.  Here’s the secret for gift buying, a gift is best when it’s something the recipient wouldn’t go out and buy for himself.  Don’t go into Christmas morning with a gift for dad and then, “TADA… it’s a new shirt for work!”  That’s the equivalent of a guy giving his wife a mop.  Now if you stick a new shirt under the tree, that’s fine as long as it’s not the ‘big gift.’

Now, Here’s the seven main ‘food groups’ of gifts. Stick to these and you’re gonna knock his socks off (note that socks are not on this list).

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All Bands Should Take Names from Photoshop

WARNING: Non-Parent Content: Time and time again my co-workers and I talk about how many great band names are out there for the taking in Photoshop.  Yeah you won’t find names like Red Hot Chili Peppers or The Rolling Stones but you will get some hidden gems like Gaussian Blur.

Now I know this is far away from parenting, but if you’re in a band with a bad name, here’s a list of great names, all taken from Adobe’s Photoshop.  I’m also offering these up under Creative Commons so if you like it it’s all yours.  In fact, if you’re a band and you use one of these names, I’ll post one of your songs here!

So without delay, the best band names of Photoshop…

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Mom Play Versus Dad Play: Why Your Child Needs Both

I’m sure to hear, “don’t throw her that high” or, “hon, you’ll pull her arms out of socket,” when my daughter and I are playing in the living room.  Now I’m always very safe with our two-year old little girl, but I do play with her in a much different way than my wife does.  I’m pretty sure that it goes back to the caveman days where the father was preparing the children to be tough and ready to make it on their own.  That or a lot of cavemen just had really bad tempers.

Either way, when my wife plays with our daughter it’s a much different experience than when I amp up the excitement.  Here’s the top five ways that dad play is different than mom play… Read the rest of this entry »

The Big Game – Six Guys on the Annual Football Journey

It’s an annual ritual, a time of devolution for the cavemen, our crew of football guys, who spend most of the rest of their year working and changing diapers. The annual trip of the cavemen gives us all a chance to reconnect with that drunk college guy we all once were, at least for a few days.

This year we headed to Charlotte to see the Panthers take on the Lions.  Special thanks to the resident Lion’s fan in our crew for providing awesome Lions hoodies with our cave names and numbers on the back.  This year was Cha’s (cave name substituted for his real name) big year to see his game in unfriendly territory with five guys at his back. Unfortunately, and as expected, Panther’s took the game.  Next year we’re heading to see Philly and then, assuming we make it, we’re going to a Giant’s game; which I’m eagerly waiting.

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Top 10 Places Your Kid Just Hid Your Stuff

You’re missing your remote aren’t you?  Hey, where’s those car keys?  The little ones in your life look up to you like you’re the greatest thing in the world and want to play with what ever you’re using.

So if you’re missing one or two things around the house, here’s the top ten places to find them.  For starters, look under the lid, at least that’s where we found our daughter’s Care Bear.  Not in there, keep going down the list till you find it.  Better yet, take the opportunity to go buy a shiny new gadget.

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It’s Election Day 2008, This is Why I Voted.

This morning I got to my polling location just before 7:00 am on a drizzly cold morning thinking I’d beat the crowds to do my most important civic duty, vote.  Little did I know that at least 300 like-minded patriots were thinking the very same thought.  At first I was just a little frustrated, I’ve got a busy day ahead of me and this was going to put me behind schedule.  Very quickly, as I started to see the people walk by proudly displaying their “I Voted” sticker, I started to realize…

Countless lives have been lost over the past 232 years to give us the right to wait in a line and push a button.  It’s the most important button in the world and controls the fate of over 300 million Americans. If you’re eligible, you better get down to the polls and do your duty.  Here’s why…

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American Values I’m Teaching My Kids… And You Should Too.

With all the buzz of the election and the core of our country’s fundamentals more diluted than ever, now is an important time to take a look at a few of the ideals that made America great.

America is based on the strength of the individual and the understanding that if you want to accomplish something in life, YOU need to be the one to make it happen.  We’re fortunate to live in a country that allows us the freedom to reach for the stars, that same freedom means we must also risk a fall.  Teaching our children to understand freedom, and the responsibility it entails, is a paramount job for all parents.

Why is it so important to teach our children the fundamentals of America, and freedom?  As Ronald Regan put it, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”  Here’s five values that I’m teaching my kids and you should be teaching yours…

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The Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Congratulations, you’re having a kid!  Before you even register at Babies R Us, Go to ImaginationLibrary.com and sign up for the single greatest program ever for your little Einstein.

Back in 1996 Dolly Parton was looking for a way to foster reading with the children in her home-town of Sevier County, Tennessee and launched her Imagination Library.

Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Sign up for free.
Step 2: Get a free book every month for five years!

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The Top 5 Things Kids Learn From Presidential Politics

Right now you can’t go into first grade and not be bombarded with political banter.  From security to education, the wheels of democracy are in full motion through November.  Our kids are listening too, but what are they taking away from the process?  Well, you’d better be prepared to have a chat with your little ankle-biter about what they can lean (or not learn) about how the world of high-stakes presidential politics.

I asked the people on Yahoo! Answers what they thought the top five lessons were and combined it with mine.  Now let’s look at the top five things kids learn from presidential politics…

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Teach Your Kids About Life, Build a Fire

As a follow up to my post on the Five Dangerous Things for Kids to Do here’s just a handful of things your kids (and you) can learn from an evening under the stars building a campfire.  You can wrap up just about everything a fire can teach you in the motto of the Boy Scouts of America, “Be Prepared.”  From respect to imagination, a fire is a great tool to teach your kids to be prepared.

For starters, my daughter is too young for the campfire and is now content to just watch the glowing embers.  So this is more about my experiences and what I learned from the ultimate caveman tool, fire. Read the rest of this entry »

Rogue Review: Ultimate Guy Toys, The PlayStation 3

I’m now officially changing the phrase “The best thing since sliced bread” to “The best thing since PS3.”  This thing is awesome.  Aside from the video games, it’s a great BluRay player.

I’m not a big video game guy, though I do definitely enjoy sacking out on the couch for a little bit and playing a shoot-’em-up game.  Once I did start playing, I was blown away by how amazingly crisp and detailed the games were.  I just finished Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and the way the character interacts with the environment is incredible.  If you walk through high grass, it moves around so naturally that at times you think you’re watching TV, not a game… Read the rest of this entry »

Rogue Review: Dusty the Talking Vacuum

You can read this review later.  First, go out and get this toy.  Our daughter is 21 months old and was getting tired of her younger toys; so we got this for her on our last adventure to Toys ‘R’ Us.  It’s only been a few days, but all she’s done since then is vacuum.  She loves the voices, swirling lint, hand tool and don’t get me started on the moving eyes… Read the rest of this entry »

When Mom is the Target: Protect Yourself from Theft

Last September, I got a call from a number I did not recognize.  Sometimes I’ll let unknown numbers slide over to voicemail since I’ve got just about everyone I’ve ever known or done business with in my phone, but today I answered the phone.

My wife was hysterical on the other end of a Good Samaritan’s cell phone.

She was at the grocery store with our daughter, 9-months old at the time, unloading the shopping cart into her car.  Just minutes before she strapped our little one into the car seat and quietly slid her purse onto the center console of the front seat… Read the rest of this entry »