A Morning Espresso With My 4 Year Old

While I was visiting Oakland this past summer, I was telling a friend about how frustrating it could be to try and keep my Son’s attention even while I was asking him to clean up his toys or asking him basic questions. She suggested one thing that I hadn’t thought of trying with him and that was, to give him chocolate cake or coffee to watch it’s effects. If it made him hyper then it would be a point in the right direction towards determining whether he was affected by ADD/ADHD. (Please don’t send me emails and nasty comments, I understand there are many proven and more “medical” methods of diagnosing ADD/ADHD. However, this seemed like a quick and surefire solution to a very frustrating problem.

Why Does this work? Caffeine’s active ingredient is a mild stimulant called methylxanthine. This affects noradrenaline neurons and the release of dopamine in the brain. It also reduces blood flow to the brain, which has the same affect as ritalin or other prescription medication for treating ADD/ADHD. While it isn’t advisable for you to consume massive amounts of coffee in place of your ADD meds, it has worked out great for times when I have forgotten my medication or when I’m in a particularly stressful environment like shopping malls, airports and crowded places.

Once I got back from California, I put my plan into action, one morning when my son was particularly distracted and unable to focus, I whipped out the coffee pot and brewed our favourite Starbucks blend (my wife’s a barista you know!) and poured a little less than half a mug, waited for it to cool and sat him down at the table and explained that Daddy wanted to have coffee with him this morning. He was all over it and within about half an hour, he had finished his coffee and I was ready for another cup. We went back to the playroom and I sat down at my laptop while he played and watched the morning kid’s shows on TV. Within another half hour, he had crawled up on the couch and slumped over beside me exclaiming “I want to sit here with you, I’m too tired to play.”

Shocked, I looked at him and patted his head. That morning he had a nap while I worked quietly on the laptop. The rest of the day was a normal day at our house with just a slight bit more peace and relaxation.

Since then, I have been giving him a half-shot of espresso with whip cream. Together, it’s a little sweeter and he doesn’t have to drink as much coffee.

so, if you’re wondering about yourself or one of your children where ADD/ADHD is concerned…Try the coffee test! This also works with Chocolate cake as well.

Good luck, If anyone has any success and/or feedback, please leave comments below!

Bill Clinton Has A “Dream” During Martin Luther King Speech

This is a scream! Bill Clinton begins to fall asleep during a Martin Luther King speech. Watch it through because about halfway through he begins to act a little. It’s hysterical.

Saying Goodbye to Flickr!

I’ve been frustrated by Flickr’s limitations for it’s free users. I started looking a while ago and found Zooomr. This service has the same featureset as Flickr and doesn’t punish it’s free users and beg for money. The uploader is slicker than sn..well, it’s pretty slick. I threw 70-80 photos into it at once and it didn’t even bat an eye, uploaded all my photos and it’s still moving through my over 200 photos that I deleted from my Flickr account this morning. It’s also getting the 1.6 gigs of photos that have been sitting in my iPhoto albums. I love it. I will be sending everyone I can to this service and supporting them as much as I can.

Canadian Tire…NOW You’ve Crossed The Line.

Readers of this blog (and I know you’re out there in the thousands!) will know that I have not had a great deal of success dealing with our neighborhood Canadian Tire store.

Does anyone remember this story – http://addcast.blogspot.com/2006/12/canadian-tire-oh-how-i-hate-thee.html or this one – http://addcast.blogspot.com/2006/02/canadian-tire-sucks.html or how about this one – http://addcast.blogspot.com/2006/01/van-almost-go-go.html
This time, the issue is not with me, it is with my daughter, who found herself on the receiving end of a particular parts counter employee who is just lucky I wasn’t the one standing beside her when he lost his mind and snapped at her for drumming her fingers on the counter while my wife waited for him to take his time to help no one in particular, while she herself needed assistance with some engine oil additive. More on this after my calls to the store and corporate.

Jeff.

ERIC VOLZ RELEASED AND IN HIDING!

I’ve been following the story of Eric Volz and his wrongful arrest and inprisonment in Nicaragua for a year now. I just checked up on his story and was extremely pleased to hear that the judge has been ordered to release Eric immediately. In case you haven’t heard about what has happened to Eric Volz and his incredibly horrific past 12 months, check out the video and then visit www.friendsofericvolz.com to check out the CNN newsfeed of his release and current updates on his situation.

In case you aren’t sure who Eric Volz is, he is son of the Christian Rock band the 77’s founding bass player Jan Eric Volz.

Here’s To All The Stupid People of 2007

You know who you are.

The 2007 Darwin Awards

Yes, it’s that magical time of year again when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least evolved among us.

Here is the glorious winner:

1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach , California , would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And now, the honorable mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine and, after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef’s claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days.

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer… $15. [If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?]

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, “Yes, officer, that’s her. That’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti , Michigan , at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn’t open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren’t available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away. [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home’s sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he’d ever had.

In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with your friends and family… unless of course one of these individuals by chance is a distant relative or long-lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.

*** Remember… They walk among us!!! ***

Lauren Sings Jingle Bells PT II

Mabel-Kate kind of stole the show in the first one. But Lauren pulls it together and kicks it up a notch in this one. If we get her to sing the whole thing, you know it’ll be available on iTunes before Christmas!

Lauren Sings Jingle Bells

We captured this today during snack time when Lauren (not yet two) decided to belt out Jingle Bells while we sat back and picked our chins up off the floor.

Be careful, this is so cute it’ll rot your teeth.

Jeff.

Help Reuben Get To CMTC! (Canadian Modelling & Talent Competition)

As I mentioned before. Reuben’s mother agency, Mod Elle has chosen Reuben to be among the few to represent their agency at the 16th Annual CMTC Canada’s biggest Modelling and talent competition in May 2008. In order to pay for such a trip (hotels/registration/photo shoots/etc) Mod Elle sets up accounts for each of their models so that they can receieve donations from friends and family to offset the costs involved. In order for Reuben to attend, he will require one photo shoot in January as well as a portfolio and to cover his registration costs.

So we’ve set up a secure donation box on Jeff’s blog to help cover these costs. If you donate, using the Chip In widget on the right side we’ll send you updates and pictures on Reuben’s progress and let you know how he does at the Competition in May. You never know, before long you’ll see him in commercials or print ads! Some pretty big names have already seen him and are beginning to talk!

So help a boy out, you can donate by practically any credit card and all the money will be transferred to Mod Elle’s account and 100% of it allocated to Reuben’s costs for the convention.