About The Parenting Blog
Probably more than any generation before us, we're the most obsessed with parenting. We read guidebooks and magazines, tune in to morning show experts, pause to consider what other moms and dads at the playground are doing, and forever second-guess our own maternal and paternal instincts. People warn you that parenting is the hardest job you can possibly have. "Say goodbye to a full night's sleep for the next 18 years," they say. Then you think about people like your great grandparents who raised eight kids in a three-room apartment without the benefits of things parents of today take for granted, like dishwashers, disposable diapers, and portable DVD players. How did they do it?

Back then they didn't have electronic learning toys, or put their infants on waitlists for competitive pre-school programs, that's for sure. Bedtime counselors and those dubbing themselves "Super Nanny" would have been unemployed during their era. And forget about shopping cart protective coverings and keeping antibacterial hand cleanser in every room of the house–germs make kids stronger, they'd declare!

What was true then as it is today, though, is that once you think you get the hang of being a parent, some new curve ball comes your way (a winter full of stomach flu and the croupe, potty training, sibling rivalry, puberty!). The only thing you can do is learn how to deal as you go, have a few laughs along the way, and realize that kids are more resilient than you give them credit for. Once you take the pressure off of yourself, parenting can be the greatest job you'll ever have. That's what this Parenting Blog is all about! Just forget about sleeping in.

The Hidden Price America Will
Pay for Wall Street’s Debacle
Graduates of top universities sought their fortunes in banking, rather than in careers like medicine, engineering or teaching. – The New Yor...

Continue Reading The Hidden Price America Will
Pay for Wall Street’s Debacle


Why I’m Writing Less
When I first started this blog in the Spring of 2004, I never found myself at a loss for words. Lately, though, I’ve had a hard time po...

Continue Reading Why I’m Writing Less

Blog, Real Worlds Merge
So for the last week or so, I’ve been looking at a handful of software vendors for a project at work. I finally get it down to one. With a couple ...

Continue Reading Blog, Real Worlds Merge

Financial Scare Hits Home
The financial turmoil racing around the world gave us a personal scare last night. With so few safe havens to keep money, we’ve kept ou...

Continue Reading Financial Scare Hits Home

Prediction: Income Taxes Will Go Up
Regardless Who Is Elected President
After reading up on all the turmoil in the financial markets last night, I came to one inescapable conclusion: federal income taxes will be go...

Continue Reading Prediction: Income Taxes Will Go Up
Regardless Who Is Elected President


Book Review
Just How Many Descendants
Will I Have by Year Million?
As a dad, I worry much about what the future holds for my children. Then again, my time frame only runs a few decades ahead, not the millions of...

Continue Reading Book Review
Just How Many Descendants
Will I Have by Year Million?


Career Massacre
at Los Angeles Times
During the eight years I was at the Los Angeles Times, I saw a lot of friends forced to leave, offered buyouts or outright fired. It was one o...

Continue Reading Career Massacre
at Los Angeles Times


In which my son expresses his opinion about how I earn a living
The doorbell rings but I’m not sure I heard it. I lean back in my chair, straining my hearing towards the hallway, and listen. I hear sm...

Continue Reading In which my son expresses his opinion about how I earn a living

A working condition that can lead to illness or death
One of the occupational hazards of being a geeky self-employed entrepreneur who runs his own servers is that I am my own IT department. And th...

Continue Reading A working condition that can lead to illness or death

Mysterious Hints Revealed:
Changes Ahead for My Family
There have been very subtle clues on my blog and a couple not-so-subtle statements in DadTalk’s comment section. Did you pick up on it...

Continue Reading Mysterious Hints Revealed:
Changes Ahead for My Family