![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Interesting ways to do things...
Nov. 3rd, 2009 12:50 pmThis week I have been introduced to some new ways of doing things and just thought I'd share:
How to light a jack-o-lantern
Traditionally, one uses a candle. There are a few problems with this approach.
1. Not enough light if the candle is too small
2. Gets blown out by wind
3. May set a trick-or-treater on fire; which could be seen as a downside or as an evening's entertainment depending on your views of children.
4. May set pumpkin and/or house on fire, which is decidedly a bad thing
New way to light a jack-o-lantern
Christmas lights stuffed in a pickle jar.
Good things: Lots of light for a pretty jack o lantern. Doesn't blow out. Pickle jar keeps the lights clean so you can still use them for other things.
Bad thing: must locate your jack-o-lantern near a plug so it doesn't become a tripping hazard. Worked great for me as the outdoor plug was in a perfect spot.
Other bad thing: I miss the smell of lightly burning pumpkin, but enough other people in the neighbourhood went traditional that I still got my fix. And on the upside, unburnt pumpkin means I can now use it in baking or dog treats or something. Every time I open my fridge now I'm met by a grinning pumpkin, which amuses me.
How not to get taken by a stranger
Traditionally children are taught to yell things like "fire" or "stranger". Apparently this doesn't work because we as adults have desensitized ourselves to these cries.
At brunch after derby practice I'm talking to this lovely woman from El Salvador who also happens to be a police officer. Her area of expertise is "crisis response", which is responding to domestic complaints (suspected child or spouse abuse), child abductions and the like. She noticed that calls for kids on the bad side of town were always attempted abductions, while children in the good neighbourhoods were always successfully taken. So she decided to interview the children who got away to see what they did to get away safe, and her discovery was that the old "fire" and "stranger" screams that we usually teach our children to utter are useless. On the other hand, everyone looks when a kid starts swearing. Kids on the bad side of town can apparently turn the air blue. Everyone looks when a child starts swearing and this attracts unwanted attention and therefore will make an abductor take off. It's not that the other adults interfere, but they look and that is enough. It also marks a child as defiant and basically too much trouble. She has now taught her children that if a stranger tries to take them, and this language is ONLY appropriate in that circumstance, that the phrase they are to yell is "Get your hands off me you sick fuck." Apparently during "stranger danger" week at school sharing this information with their classmates resulted in a rather interesting visit to the principal's office - heh.
Georgia will be learning to swear, and she will also be learning appropriate usage. In this day and age I think we all realize that she's going to encounter it somewhere. I'm taking the approach that like sex-ed, religion, bigotry and other adult subjects, I'd rather she learn about it at home, and learn how to deal with it in a matter Jason and I deem acceptable than to take her cues from the playground or popular culture. It's my job to make sure my daughter grows up informed about sex, skeptical about religion and treats everyone equally regardless of their sex, skin colour, sexual preference, nation of origin (that's a big one down here), religion or whatever else might put them in a minority. It's also my job to give her the freedom to explore her world and provide her with the tools that will keep her safe in it.
If someone tries to take you, you just tell that sick mother fucker to back the fuck off.
How to light a jack-o-lantern
Traditionally, one uses a candle. There are a few problems with this approach.
1. Not enough light if the candle is too small
2. Gets blown out by wind
3. May set a trick-or-treater on fire; which could be seen as a downside or as an evening's entertainment depending on your views of children.
4. May set pumpkin and/or house on fire, which is decidedly a bad thing
New way to light a jack-o-lantern
Christmas lights stuffed in a pickle jar.
Good things: Lots of light for a pretty jack o lantern. Doesn't blow out. Pickle jar keeps the lights clean so you can still use them for other things.
Bad thing: must locate your jack-o-lantern near a plug so it doesn't become a tripping hazard. Worked great for me as the outdoor plug was in a perfect spot.
Other bad thing: I miss the smell of lightly burning pumpkin, but enough other people in the neighbourhood went traditional that I still got my fix. And on the upside, unburnt pumpkin means I can now use it in baking or dog treats or something. Every time I open my fridge now I'm met by a grinning pumpkin, which amuses me.
How not to get taken by a stranger
Traditionally children are taught to yell things like "fire" or "stranger". Apparently this doesn't work because we as adults have desensitized ourselves to these cries.
At brunch after derby practice I'm talking to this lovely woman from El Salvador who also happens to be a police officer. Her area of expertise is "crisis response", which is responding to domestic complaints (suspected child or spouse abuse), child abductions and the like. She noticed that calls for kids on the bad side of town were always attempted abductions, while children in the good neighbourhoods were always successfully taken. So she decided to interview the children who got away to see what they did to get away safe, and her discovery was that the old "fire" and "stranger" screams that we usually teach our children to utter are useless. On the other hand, everyone looks when a kid starts swearing. Kids on the bad side of town can apparently turn the air blue. Everyone looks when a child starts swearing and this attracts unwanted attention and therefore will make an abductor take off. It's not that the other adults interfere, but they look and that is enough. It also marks a child as defiant and basically too much trouble. She has now taught her children that if a stranger tries to take them, and this language is ONLY appropriate in that circumstance, that the phrase they are to yell is "Get your hands off me you sick fuck." Apparently during "stranger danger" week at school sharing this information with their classmates resulted in a rather interesting visit to the principal's office - heh.
Georgia will be learning to swear, and she will also be learning appropriate usage. In this day and age I think we all realize that she's going to encounter it somewhere. I'm taking the approach that like sex-ed, religion, bigotry and other adult subjects, I'd rather she learn about it at home, and learn how to deal with it in a matter Jason and I deem acceptable than to take her cues from the playground or popular culture. It's my job to make sure my daughter grows up informed about sex, skeptical about religion and treats everyone equally regardless of their sex, skin colour, sexual preference, nation of origin (that's a big one down here), religion or whatever else might put them in a minority. It's also my job to give her the freedom to explore her world and provide her with the tools that will keep her safe in it.
If someone tries to take you, you just tell that sick mother fucker to back the fuck off.
