Yesterday I volunteered to join Oliver’s class to a visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. The focus of the visit was a presentation in the planetarium. The class had recently been studying planets and moons. Long time readers of Depot Dad will know that, among other kinds of nerdery, I am also a hardcore astronomy nerd.

But of all the interesting facts about the universe, there is one that seems universal and permanent: Most grown ups suck at talking to children, especially groups of children. Read More...

The other day in the car....

Oliver: Papa, why do you play Warcraft 2? Why do you like it?

(and by this, he meant, why do I like that version of the game, and not one of the many versions that have come out since then. Why do I continue to play a game that is ten years old? And the fact of the matter is, that once a year or so, I pull out my old Warcraft 2 CD and replay some of my favorite missions and scenarios.)

Depot Dad: Well, I really like the balance of that version. The missions are well designed. I like the balance of humor, strategy, pacing, and the way there are many ways to solve a mission.

Sometimes, I replay a mission right after I finish it and try a different strategy. For example, when I first started playing the game, I was terrified of the enemy forces controlled by the computer. I used to spend all of my time and gold on building up impenetrable defenses. But I soon discovered that this only gave the enemy time to build up an un-defeatable offense and I could not win.

I learned that some missions require you to go on the offensive right away, even when you don’t have any defenses built up. This has been a great lesson for me and I can even say that I’ve brought that skill into my real life. If a game is well designed, I feel it actually helps me identify my own habits of thinking and problem solving and it can help me to see how the way I go about solving problems may not be the best way, or even a successful way.

Also, the later versions of the game start to take itself too seriously. The artwork loses that cartoony style and starts to get more realistic. The missions start to play out in a way that forces a predetermined story line and focuses too much on individual characters. I guess I like the open ended feel of Warcraft 2 best.

Oliver: Oh.

moment of silence

Depot Dad: Oliver, why do you like Club Penguin?

Oliver: Because it is fun.

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I tell you, I have a lot to learn from this boy.

At times like this, I feel I should shut this blog down for good. I don’t know if it is doing me or anyone else any good that I spill so much information or overanalyze everything. Or maybe I’m trying to excuse my lack of posts lately. It has done me a lot of good to just participate in my own life this month and leave it at that.

But more than that, I’ve also been surprised at my lack of inspiration and motivation here, and I am really starting to feel that the job of this blog has run its course. I think I might be done.

A stick, some string, some raw bacon and just a bit of patience.





That’s all.

O’s homework for Monday was to bring something to his second grade class that was meaningful to him. We talked about it as we walked back to the car after a soccer game.

“Well,” he said,” I could bring my new skeleton warrior. Um...because its a toy I’ve only had for three days.”

“I think your teacher is thinking more along the lines of something else,” I said, “To be special, it has to be different than anything else. It has to be something that, well, if you were to lose it somehow, you would be really sad.”

O thought for a moment and then said,”Well then, why don’t you just come with me to class.”

Every dad has his day, or at least his moment. This past weekend, I got mine.

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Tonight after work, I picked up O and A from their mother’s. Through the summer, they have been spending most nights with me while they have been spending their days with their mother while I work.

When we got to our home, A said she wanted to make a drawing for her mama. This is what she drew.



Depot Dad is having a very bad night tonight.

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Where are you, you hairy chested drum beaters? Sound off here you blokes!

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If you had known me back in my single days....oh, um, I mean, my first single days, I might have given you the impression that I was a sullen, brooding figure. You see, when I wasn’t on the clock earning my living, I was frequently stumbling around San Francisco, reading, writing, drawing, browsing book stores, and hanging out in Golden Gate park. I was always comfortable doing these things on my own. If, after a day of minding my own business, I realized, upon arriving home, that I had not uttered a single word to another living soul all day, then I would regard the day as a kind of success.

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A scene from To Kill a Mockingbird. This scene always knocks me on my butt.
Mary Badham is the greatest child actor of all time.
public domain image

I thought I would write a brief Father’s day entry before I got busy with the real Father’s day. Today, I’d like to make mention of my favorite fictional father, and likely one of my favorite fictional characters of all time: Atticus Finch.

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