Seven Samurai

If we aren't doing anything else, Saturday night in this house is movie night. We've been trying to improve the boys' cultural education by watching movie classics - particularly those that have made it into the general cultural vocabulary.

Last night it was the Seven Samurai, after watching the Magnificent Seven a few weeks ago. The fascinating thing for me was how much the boys already knew about it. One of the books in the series Young Samurai was based on the story, and the plot device of building a team of heroes to go on adventure (first used in this movie, apparently) is so common as to almost be a cliché.

Chocolate Cake

Declan had a day of horrible fever and vomiting on Friday, so on Saturday, despite being largely better, instead of going to tae kwon do with Evan and Callum, he stayed home with me to make chocolate cake. It was very tasty, and very easy. Here it is, complete with decorative flowers that Declan chose when we went shopping for ingredients.

Programming

After Callum and Declan have slowed in their typing learning (they have been promised a new iPad if they get to 80 words per minute), Evan offered them both a typing speed discount if they learned how to code. Callum is now getting very enthusiastic about learning Python, using www.codeacademy.com. Declan is not so sure, and has taken to learning German, using www.duolingo.com, hoping that that will also count.

Typing

For the record both boys can now reliably type at about 43 words-per-minute. Callum is properly touch typing without looking at his fingers, Declan mostly. They seem to be stalled in the low 40s though and I'm beginning to wonder if there is a limitation set by the hand-size or something. 

Economics

Callum has recently become interested in economics. He's read several books on the subject and is busy applying the information to the real world - most recently in quite a sophisticated analysis of whether we should get a new food processor or increase the marginal utility of the one we have by getting it out of a cupboard. 

As we also listened to economics podcasts as we drove around New Zealand, Declan is also picking up a lot of ideas. 

It has made me realize how useful an understanding of basic economics is and that it's a shame they don't get taught more of it at school.

LAN party

Callum hosted a LAN party on the weekend. It came complete with pizza, games being played into the wee hours of the morning and sleeping bags in the living room. I have the feeling that this may be the first of many...

Anti-gravity discussions

You have to feel you're doing something right, or perhaps wrong, when your 11 and 10-year old children's dinner conversation with each other is about how to use black holes to power anti-gravity. 

Just recording this in case there's any argument about when they first came up with the idea when they file that patent...