I had to explain my eating habits to the sleep psych. That's always great to do to health professionals. No, I don't eat much. No, I don't eat vegetables. Yes, I'd love to eat more. No, I'm not wasting space on green things when there are naked calories out there with my name on them. SHUT UP.

She wants to fix my appetite. That's *so* low on my list of priorities unless you can tie it to headaches or insomnia. And she hasn't.

Today is Adrock on Top Chef day!!!!!

I feel like I should be home picking out the perfect outfit to watch it on my teevee.

I don't even know what that sentence means. The one with chef in it, not outfit. Outfit I get.

Damned fucking Modcloth made me buy sale stuff anyway, even though I resisted the jacket I linked to. I hate them.

Catalooooooupe

Herds of vicious cantaloupe sounds better than lots and lots of bacteria.

I'm dismayed that Ashton Kutcher is such an asshat but given that, I'm glad that Demi tossed him out.

BTW, Stansborough Grey is the wool that they wove the cloaks out of for the LotR movies. You can order your own elven cloak at the link.

My version is a Listerine outbreak.

I hate Listerine.

I feel like we are playing telephone here.

My petty first-world complaint of the day: it was too hard getting the kids out the door to school today. I hate it when the morning begins with a battle. Anyway, the upshot is that I realized I need to come up with a new discipline model.

Punishments (taking away toys and privileges) are not effective these days, as they don't inhibit the bad behavior and end up escalating things, with bonus of kids trying to negotiate with me when I just want to move on. Respectful requests to meet expectations OF COURSE was a bust. Yeah, we start every morning that way, but again, doesn't inhibit bad behavior or deter escalation. Sigh. Parenting is hard.

Burrell, only if you're doing it right.

Is there any way to flip it to a positive reinforcement system? If you get out the door on time, you can have/do x? Over the years this has been the more effective method when CJ needed redirection. Which reminds me that I need to find a way to flip a current problem we are having. Hmmmm...

removing the toys, not at the moment of bad behavior, seems to work somewhat for us.

He acts up and loses computer privileges - it won't work if I reach over and turn off the computer right then (if he is already on) - that always escalates, but I tell him over and over to get off and turn it off, the longer it takes the longer the consequence.......which is, the power cord is gone the next day or he needs a log on to get on. Other variation, toys are gone, put away while he is at school or asleep, do not come out until stated time. TV channels are locked down, sometimes to nothing being visible without a code. Wii controllers are gone, bedroom door is removed, playdates are cancelled. I could go on and on. One thing at a time is all I ever do anymore and I usually only say once what will happen and then always always follow through. Privileges can be earned back, but never 100% once punishments are doled out.

I think we talked about this before... so it's nice to see the bastard went to jail.

Judge Receives Over 17 Year Sentence For Role In ‘Cash For Kids’ Private Prisons Scandal

Former Pennsylvania state judge Michael Conahan was sentenced last Friday to 210 months in prison for his involvement in a scandal to enrich private prison corporations by sentencing juvenile pranksters and other extremely minor offenders to be incarcerated in a corporate-run facility:

Michael Conahan, a former jurist in Luzerne County, was sentenced on Friday to 210 months in custody by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik II. Conahan was also ordered to pay $874,000 in restitution. [...] As Main Justice reported in August, Ciavarella, former president judge of the Court of Common Pleas and former judge of the Juvenile Court for Luzerne County, was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to make restitution of $965,930.

Conahan’s role in the “cash for kids” scheme was to order the closing of a county-run detention center, clearing the way for Ciavarella, once known as a strict “law and order” judge, to send young offenders to private facilities. This arrangement worked out well for Ciavarella and Conahan, as well as the builder of the facilities and a developer, who pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

The arrangement didn’t work out so well for the young offenders, some of them sent away for offenses that were little more than pranks and would have merited probation, or perhaps just scoldings, if the judges had tried to live up to their oaths.