Matt at McDonalds

Turning the corner on basic math

Not long ago I Google’d What age should kids stop counting on their fingers? At the time, I was becoming concerned – although maybe panicked is a better word – that my fifth grade son wasn’t getting it; that even the simplest of problems – 6 plus 3 for example – often required him to…

Rugged Maniac, Part II

This past weekend, I ran – no really, I ran – in the fall installment of the Rugged Maniac in Phoenix. The event was held at Camelback Ranch where the White Sox and the back-to-back World Series losers L.A. Dodgers have their Spring Training facilities. This is the fifth or sixth time doing a Rugged…

Full Tilt obstacle at Rugged Maniac
Report card and grades

First quarter report card

A couple of days ago, my wife and I met with our son’s teacher for a parent-teacher conference. Like all of these meetings, we reviewed some of his in-class work, discussed the good grades (and the bad), his progress, his attitude, his class participation and so on. After complimenting my son – who has autism…

GoRuck Light Challenge

By definition, the GoRuck Light is “an introduction to the team-based training found in Special Operations.” It is billed as a 4-5 hour challenge covering 7-10 miles. The GoRuck Light Challenge in Phoenix (Tempe, actually) on September 8, began and ended in the 9/11 Healing Field at Tempe Town Town Lake. A fitting – and…

GoRuck Light 9/11 patch
Learning digital animation with Scratch

Day one of grade five

As I walked through the door after a typical, grinding, hot commute, my wife approached me. After the usual, “Hi honey! How was your day?” small-talk, she paused and whispered: “Are you ready to cry?” That’s rarely a good sign so I mentally braced myself for whatever she had to say. Instead, she showed me…

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

This past weekend, the twins and I ran Terrain Race in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was so good in so many ways and there are a lot of thoughts and mini-stories to tell. The Meat Loaf reference First and foremost, Terrain Race puts on a very good event. It is a 3.2 mile obstacle course race…

Terrain Race 2018