He is a nice dog.

So it turns out some of my recent occurrences of life have been summarized in a book, then created a movie. As visitors come to our home and we assure them that he really is a nice dog, their perceptions are overshadowed by the dog that is thwarting them with affection.

For one of our visits to the Davlin Mentor branch we had the car all loaded and ready to go, Lionel too. As we got to top speed on the freeway Lionel became nervous and put his front paws on the car door. Not much of a problem, but the way the window device was designed his chunky paw started to roll down the window.

With high octave screams my wife let me know that trouble was near. Fortuanatley we were able to she was able to grab his tail before he made the big leap and I used the master controls to roll up the window. From then on, whenever Lionel rides with us in the car we make sure the child safety lock in on.

But really, he is a nice dog.

A boy cries wolf

I would like to revive my blog. Over the last few days, I have experienced some things that I thought would be enjoyable readings. If at the very least enjoyable writings for me.

Last night as I took my dog for a walk I was focused on the cold blowing wind when out of nowhere another four-legged friend approached. My mind's first assessment of the situation was that my neighbor's friendly dog finagled her way outside and would soon be scolding her untimely escape. The next moment the assumed owner was not scolding K9 #2 rather he was warning me, "That's not my dog, that's not my dog!"

Once my brain was able to interpret his heralds I realize at the end of my hand was a magnet for curiosity. After shortly walking in backward circles thinking my new observer would lose track, my dog whisperer training set in. With head raised high, I began to aggress the wolf.

I didn't fully think it, but proclaiming what doesn't belong to me does not, in fact, communicate the most pressing issue.

Are you able to exclaim the most important points at a nanosecond of notice?

Does practice help?

How about preparation?

Let me know what you think.

The Economy

The love economy is what I really mean to talk about. I just spent the day around fifty-some teenagers and the biggest thing on my mind is that for one day (not to say they don't receive it elsewhere) they will feel loved and important.

Now that I consciously reflect on all the things I said there wasn't really a time that I was truly admonishing a child, but my efforts were more subtle. I tried to speak to them about things they were doing and listen with full curiosity to their stories of whatever it is they were wanted to share.

I suppose since you are reading this you have some interest in what I have to say and might even take influence, so here goes - show interest in a kid in your life, chances are she respects what you say and do, or that he wants desperately for you to approve of what he is doing right.

So spend the time and make the effort - even if there isn't an immediate response to your doings know that it will affect things unseen long before the bloom arrives.

Big Bird may have never been

I recently read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and I was impressed with the concepts that he was describing.

One story that stuck with me most of all was the telling of how Sesame Street was able to resonate with children so well, research. And not just simple Q&A with little Joey, but intense ethnography and eye tracing technology.

In case you are not familiar with the layout of the children's show here is a dirty download: Puppets "teach" lessons of elementary topics through songs, rhymes, and dancing and games. Each edu-tainment section was emceed by a overjoyed live person that reinforced the learning goal and introduced the next character.

This was the original plan as suggested by top psychologists of the day. They stated that mixing fiction (puppets) and reality (humans) would severely confuse and inhibit children's ability to learn and reason.

Fortunately the eye tracking studies told a different story. Whenever Elmo would be teaching a lovable factoid about the numbers 1-10 children were glued;, however when the person on the street scene would appear (no puppets for blocks) the viewing child would soon become bored and her eyes would wander to the next best thing.

This may have not been a big deal since the "human" parts were very short, but when you have a few of them throughout the show a child was for sure to lose interest and move on. Thus was the birthing of the Sesame Street gang which you know as Big Bird, Oscar the grouch, Snufflufugus and others.

The new concept of mixing humans and puppets for the transition scenes worked incredibly well. The eye tracking studies proved the concept, as well as the endless staring (and learning) by children.

Now I have to ask myself (and you), which is better? A TV show that separates fiction and reality, but doesn't command attention - or a TV show that captivates a child, but risks a surreal state of mind.

Family Tree

Earlier today I started emailing people for the family tree. My last name is somewhat unique, at least that is what I thought. I went through Facebook to find over 30 people with the name Davlin. Some even held it as their first name.

What I know so far is that the Davlin's came from Ireland and apparently spread around. I hope to link up some of these people and see how wide my paternal side runs.

As for my mom's side it is more of a mystery. She learned around the age of 40 that she was adopted. Which leaves my maternal side at a question.

If you know any Davlins pass on my info. I will try to chart the progress here as I learn more.

I am not sure what my motivation is just yet for charting my family tree, I am sure I will learn it as I go.

butter knife

well i havent written in my blog in the longest time and for some reason i think i should again. something about learning by review, and that cant be done if my thoughts arent recorded.

my mom mentioned to me the other day that the fedex logo is amazing because it has an arrow between the E and x. astonished that i never shared this with her throughout my time in school i pondered well maybe i could write about it myself.

the shipping industry is (and has been) overcome with the obsession that moving forward and going somewhere should be explicitly demarcated on their trucks via their logos. well in the early 90s federal express was looking to retool their image and realized that their most loyal of customers were nicknaming them fedex.

after careful creation of a typeface customers would forever revel in the hidden arrow that resides between the E and the x. Do you choose FedEx now due to their designer-ly logo and catchy name or do you just have a disdain for the brown?

one further thing i would like to point out is that the other e dons a striking resemblence to the fancy flatware item also known as a butter knife.

-that's the way i see it.

life takes reflection

Life is interesting and, well, the longer I wait to do things that I want to do the longer it seems things are going to get done.

I have been wanting to catalog my life one day at a time but many distractions have been keeping me from doing so.  I always wait for that next "first" to come up. I missed the March 1st, I missed the Jan 1st and well I think I have to just start whether it's a "first" or not.

I have been a firm believer that the best way to learn is by review what you have already heard. So this all the more confirms that I should be taking time to reflect on my day.  Uday and Pree have really encouraged me to clarify my understanding through the practice of writing.

So here goes, I can't say that I am going to write per diem, or with the depth of thought that Doogie Houser MD managed to script, but I will mention the big stones in my day and what they meant to me.