Fatherhood

My son recently finished another season of hockey. This year he was on one of the traveling Bantam B-teams of the Sioux Falls Flyers.  For those that don't know hockey, the "Bantam" means that he's playing with a team of 13 and 14 year old's. Some of his teammates he's played with since he was six years old (they were called Atoms back then).

Most people regret wrong turns. When my son was 20 months old we visited his grandparents in Kansas City. He was a great little traveler on the way there but on the way back he hit his limit to being "uncomfortable" in the back seat. When we saw a train on the tracks east of the Interstate, I decided to take the next turnoff in hopes the train would distract him for a few minutes. Unfortunately, once committed to the new highway there was no way to turn around for 18 miles. My 5 minute pause delay turned into a much longer detour. Worse, we failed to grab our prize as the train was long gone from our view. Eventually, I yielded to our fate and made another turn for the country roads. 

Long time readers of CMS Report may recall that each summer I plan a number of small vacations intended to reduce my technology usage as much as possible. I have a real need to unplug from my Internet connection, step away from the blogging of content management systems, and leave the computer screen behind. I don't always succeed at this endeavor so this year I'm deploying some new tools to assist me in making this year's Technology Break a success. I now introduce to you, the Jayco CMS.

This one is for Logan!

In 2009, Casey Pugh asked thousands of Internet users to remake "Star Wars: A New Hope" into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they wanted. Within just a few months SWU grew into a wild success. The creativity that poured into the project was unimaginable.

SWU has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its unique appeal. In 2010 we won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media.

When my wife has "book club" with her friends, my son and I often go out for some Famous Dave Ribs. For the first time, Logan decided to skip the kids menu and join me in eating this full slab of ribs.

My eight year old son calls this artwork Meaning of Shapes. He used the Microsoft Paint program found on Windows XP.

This Labor Day marks the end of my Summer Technology Break, a self-imposed exile from spending too much time at the computer when instead I could be enjoying family, the great outdoors, and the real world.  How did I do?  Well, the family spent some time in Michigan visiting family, friends, and the fish.  My 4 1/2 year-old son caught his first trout on his first fishing trip (thanks to the patience of Jason and Jean Stephens from Head Hunter Guides).  We also spent a week camping and hiking in the Black Hills of South Dakota which included a family hike up Harney Peak.  For the most part, I would say my break from technology during my hours away from my "day job" was a success.

My wife is away on an operational ready exercise for the Air National Guard. For two weeks it's just Logan and Dad. So far we've visited the annual Big Boy Toy Show in Sioux Falls, SD. We also have moved my son to his "big bed". What a great time just to be men. Still, Logan is counting on the days when his Mom will be back.

Dries Buytaert had mentioned that when the Drupal developers came together at the Open Source CMS Summit he hoped they could make a video using Jeff Robbin's catchy Drupal Song.  I'm not sure the status of that video by the developers, but as a fan of Drupal I decided to beat them to the punch.

My son and I have become addicted to The Drupal Song.  In fact, when the song is playing in my house we quickly become The Drupal Boys.