The Internet and discipline decisions

I discovered something yesterday on the computer regarding Christian. I'm sure most of you that read this, are aware of a website called YouTube. YouTube has an "age inappropriate" flagging tool that prevents underagers from viewing content, unless you have an account on YouTube with a birthday that makes you older than 18. Well, Booger decided to create an account, with an age of 19.

Well, there's a couple things wrong with this picture, so I'll break them down.

1. Christian is NOT 19. Not even close.
2. He signed up for an account without mine or Danine's permission, or knowledge!
3. He was not using the MSN Explorer software we told him he has to use.

Now, why is #3 important? MSN has a built-in age protection system, and it allows me to block individual sites that we deem to be inappropriate. It's sort of a Net Nanny, and allows us a level of internet protection. I specifically have video sites like YouTube.com, Googlevideo.com, and ThatVideoSite.com blocked on MSN. Unfortunately, these blocks don't extend to other programs like Firefox.

Now, we allow him to use Firefox for only 1 website. Runescape.com. Mainly because that website has so much adware, Firefox was about the only safe software for him to surf to that website. Be that as it may, he used Firefox to create the account that has landed him in some trouble.

So, in the end, he's busted. For the time being, we've grounded him from the computer (unless it's for school work research), and I've now set-up his Windows log in to be password protected and he doesn't know the password. Now he can only get on if Danine or I let him on. Not sure how long to ground him yet, still have some thinking to do about this and the long term solution.

Maybe it was our own naive judgement to allow him kind of a carte blanche access. It's not like we hid the alternate ways to get on the internet. We trusted that he would use the software we told him to, and that he wouldn't try to circumvent the protection. And for the most part he did, but I suppose as you grow older, you have to try and push the boundries against the authority. Too bad for him, he got caught.

- Ben

Took Christian out for a night on the town

Thanks to my parents, they scored us all tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Erie last night. We all like the music, and had never been to one of their concert, so we couldn't refuse.

This was Christian's first large production concert he's been to. He was excited and ready for some rock and roll!

Thankfully they didn't do a strip search and I was able to smuggle in the camera.





Click to play the video:


Afterward, of course we asked Christian if he liked the concert, and his comment: "Heck yeah!" It was an excellent show and I'm sure he's probably going to want to go next year as well. That's fine with me.

-Ben

Happy Halloween!

Pic of my....err, I mean Christian's candy from trick or treating.



Now, if you'll excuse me, there's some candy calling my name.

-Ben

Hog-tying a rhino

I used to be able to do this on my own when he was younger. It now takes the help of a friend of mine. But we were successful.



We tied his shirt sleeves together behind his back, and for an bonus points, I pulled the one shirt sleeve through his back belt loop to prevent him from being able to pull his arms above his head to increase the level of difficulty in getting out.





Of course this proved too difficult for him to escape, and eventually my wife helped him out. The days of doing this on my own are over I guess. But I still figure I got at least a few more years before he can really start defending himself against me, then at that point, the gloves are off!

Isn't male bonding such a brutal ritual?

- Ben

Sharing some candid photos

We were out this afternoon shooting some fall pics, and after downloading them to the hard drive, I was going through some of the other photo directories and figured I would share a few rare candid moments of Rhino (aka Christian).

Rhino at the computer playing Runescape and trying to chat with friends over AIM.


Rhino and the mother being goofy.


Rhino at "Baby's" in State College, PA.


Rhino at McLanahan's with our friend (and his quasi-older brother/bad influence mentor).


The Rhino is getting more elusive to the camera the older he gets, so the photographic encounters are becoming more rare. But at least we snapped these before he ran away.

- Ben