At last...

Some photos from our recent visit to the US!

Ellie loves helmets, and somehow managed to convince Grandma Phyllis to take the big one, while reserving the more modest bike helmet for herself.


Ben enjoyed browsing in the market.

While in Albert Lea, we went to vist great-grandpa Earl every day. He and Ellie got along extremely well, as you can see here.

We also made ice cream and


blew bubbles.

Finally, we all enjoyed the ability to go for a walk without melting. Here's my favorite walking shot to close off the post.

Not so smug anymore

Cambodia has a big problem with corruption. Not a few corrupt officials here and there, but a whole society based on the rich and powerful getting away with things that they really shouldn't. Cambodia debuted on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index this year at an appalling 130 out of 159 countries. So as an expat, it's easy to feel rather cynical about Cambodian society and rather smug about the relative fairness and transparency in the good ol' USA.

Or, at least, it was. What's been happening to corruption in the US lately? From halfway around the world, it seems like there's been an explosion of bribery, paybacks, and fraud lately. First there was Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay, then the conviction of former Illinois governor George Ryan seemed to indict not just the governor, but the entire state's style of politics. After getting used to the easy availability of fake IDs and other papers in Mexico and Cambodia, I caught a disturbing story on NPR about how easy it is to get fakes in Los Angeles. And this morning I read that current Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher has been indicted as well.

What is going on here? Seems like the land of the free and the home of the brave has been turned in to the land of the free to line your own pockets and the home of the bravely offering bribes and accepting paybacks.

A pretty good day

I know that you are all hoping for photos, but those will have to wait for tomorrow, I'm afraid. I just needed to write about my day today. First of all, I got a job this morning. Some high-end consulting with Yejj, the company I wrote about months ago. The owner/founder contacted me a week or two ago with a slightly new proposal, and today we met and talked details. I need to get official approval from the embassy, and they need to write a contract specifying the things we talked about, but I think I'll be starting in a week. The basic deal is around 20 hours or less a week, a decent hourly rate, and interesting work for some very good organizations. You can check out the web site for the specific places, if you care.

A few hours later, Jen came home with the possibility of a contract with the ILO doing some interesting software work for them, very short term, but it could be a good deal. So I now have more work on offer than I have time for.

For dinner this evening we had bratwurst and kraut. We visited our local German butcher, and he turns out to be a really great guy, very friendly, and he makes excellent brats. We can get canned kraut at Lucky Market, so we are all set. Jen also enjoyed a glass of wine (I of course had beer with the brats) from our new wine store, a little shop that is even thinking about working out a way to get diplomats wine duty free. A good way to learn about wine, good fresh sausages now and again, and some friendly folks to enjoy them with. What more could we ask for?

Goings On

It's been a busy week around here--or rather, I continue to be amazed at how personal time vanishes once you have kids, so every week feels like a busy week. We still haven't posted photos from our trip to the US, but I'm going to leave that for Ed to do when he has a chance.

Ben is now so good at walking that it's tough to get him to sit down. He loves to play chase. He also has developed a real obsession with using silverware to eat, and often tries to feed himself with a spoon in each hand. And sometimes he insists on using our spoons, too. He also likes to smear food in his hair, which means that he often gets an extra shampoo after meals. I think he's taken training in baby passive resistance. He's learned to go limp when you pick him up so he's harder to carry. Send him out to the protest!

Ellie had a tummy bug this weekend but seems to be over it now. She's doing really well in her swimming lessons and this week even put her head under water--a real accomplishment for a child who has been a waterphobe from the start.

She's given us some real zingers lately...She's created a new category of parent--"best mom" and "best dad"--which are similar to a best friend we think, though we're not sure who the competition is in either category. When she likes you, she'll say "You're my best mom". She just went through a mommy phase, which meant that Nathan was getting a bit of a cold shoulder. Sometimes she would tell him "You're not my best dad, but you're still my dad." Once she even told him, "You're not my dad." Ouch. But Nathan just laughed it off. And yesterday when I came home for lunch, the first thing she told me was "I want you to get hit by a bus." Apparently they were playing a game where you got hit by a plastic bus and fell to the ground. Then Dr. Ellie fixed you up using the therapeutic laying on of lego.

Nathan made his acting debut yesterday by volunteering to do a voice over for an Oxfam video yesterday. He also is going to to talk to the consulting folks tomorrow about doing some consulting for them. Work has slowed down a bit for me, which means that it's just busy instead of super busy. A nice change, really.