In my family, holidays are really about two things; family and food.\u00a0 Thanksgiving is a holiday we can really get behind.\u00a0 For me, Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday baking season.\u00a0 And since my mom is about to move in… that means baked goodies for the next six weeks.<\/p>\n
Christmas is another holiday I can get behind… not because of the religious trappings, but because it is about family and giving.\u00a0 Plus, with me having a young child, it’s even more fun.\u00a0 It’s a blast to watch his eyes bug out of his head on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n
Anyway, as is moderately traditional for me, I would like to offer my thanks for this Thanksgiving.\u00a0 Since I will be traveling (for the first time ever) this Thanksgiving, I will do this now.\u00a0 Plus, I’m taking my boy to Space Center Houston on Friday and you can forget hearing from me on that day.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for my family.\u00a0 For my mom, who raised me.\u00a0 For my grandfather who taught me about being a man of integrity, loyalty and intelligence.\u00a0 For my grandmother, who (among other things) made best blasted M&M cookies ever.\u00a0 I’ve never had a cookie that matched what she did.\u00a0 All of my\u00a0 grandparents are dead now and my one regret in life is that my son never got to meet my grandfather (and vice versa).<\/p>\n
I am so very thankful for my son.\u00a0 We almost couldn’t have one and he’s an amazing creature.\u00a0 And, of course, for my wife, who puts up with me most of the time and makes art that continues to blow me away (and she’s hot!)<\/p>\n
I am thankful for my mind.\u00a0 Without it, well no none of this would even be possible.\u00a0 I am very, very thankful that I learned how to think and I hope that I can teach my son this skill.\u00a0 Skepticism, thinking, rationality is hard, but it’s so worth it.<\/p>\n
I am thankful that I am currently in the best job I’ve ever had.\u00a0 It’s interesting, it’s hard, it requires thinking, problem solving, and skills that I actually have.\u00a0 Plus, my bosses, supervisors and coworkers are always ready to offer advice, criticism (correctly), help and listen to the same from me.\u00a0 It’s truly stunning to me that the work I’m doing will literally impact millions of people per year and give them some opportunities that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.. and, in some small way, help them to learn to think as well.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for skepticink.\u00a0 This is a good community.\u00a0 I don’t mind looking like an idiot here and I hope that what I do here has an impact for someone.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for the technology that keeps me alive, comfortable, fed, and entertained.\u00a0 Without these results of science, we would continue to have short grueling lives.\u00a0 Even three hundred years ago, I would probably be dead now.\u00a0 Heck, I might not have survived to the age of 8 with my poor vision.\u00a0 But thanks to the enlightenment and a country that (once) supported those ideas of rationality, testing, and achievement, we have technology.\u00a0 Now if we can only get equality.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for my country.\u00a0 For all its flaws (and there are many) it is still the best country in the world to live in.\u00a0 We have massive problems, but we’ve dealt with way worse crises in the past and we can deal with the issues that plague us now.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for Subaru (I love my car), Amplify Federal Credit Union, Promise Pizza, Rick’s Service Center and other companies that go out of their way to be a good place to do business.\u00a0 These are the types of places that remind us what businesses should be about, a pleased customer.\u00a0 This is totally unlike the majority of major businesses whom seem to believe that customers and employees are just the ugly costs of making money.\u00a0 If it weren’t the damned customers and employees, those businesses would be doing so much better.\u00a0 I make it a habit of telling these companies how much I appreciate their efforts and their employees.\u00a0 I’m danged near on a first name basis with the CEO of Amplify.\u00a0 Every time I go to that credit union, they exceed the last visit.\u00a0 Last time I went in, they had hot-warm cookies.\u00a0 Now that’s how to keep customers happy.\u00a0 Sorry you have to wait in line for 12 seconds, have a hot chocolate chip cookie and a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for my heroes who showed a small boy the amazing world that was just outside the door.\u00a0 Who taught me the beauty of the smallest of mathematical formulas and the awe that could be inspired by the universe at its largest and smallest.\u00a0 Carl Sagan once aired a TV program (about 1979-80) called Cosmos.\u00a0 I was 8 and didn’t even know that TC had shows other than cartoons.\u00a0 But Sagan’s Ship of the Imagination struck a cord in me and I have never forgotten.<\/p>\n
I am thankful for teachers.\u00a0 Having been one, I know what they have to go through on a daily basis.\u00a0 But they, especially the elementary teachers, always have a smile, kind words and the ones I’ve dealt with here do fine work.\u00a0 Once my boy gets to 5th grade or so, I could probably handle most anything, but I\u00a0 couldn’t handle elementary school.\u00a0 I’m not that patient.\u00a0 The teachers at Caldwell have skill, dedication, and love for the students and for the teaching.\u00a0 And it’s a joy to behold.<\/p>\n
I am thankful that I am happy.\u00a0 I know there are a lot of people in this world who are not.\u00a0 Whether by their own doing or having to suffer through the actions of others.\u00a0 It’s sad to see that humans can be so evil to our fellow humans.\u00a0 I wish I could do more to help.\u00a0 I am thankful for organizations that I can offer time and money to that do help people after disasters, help them fight for the rights that all living things should have (except for mosquitoes, I don’t fucking care what happens to mosquitoes!), and help the people and organisms that can’t help themselves in the face of the juggernaut that is modern humanity.\u00a0 I am thankful for the strength, courage, and determination of these people.<\/p>\n
I offer a heartfelt “Thank You” to life, the universe, and everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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