We're trying to raise him without the use of spanking, because we think it's a little hypocritical to hit him for... well, hitting people. I tell you, though- there are times I think a good, old-fashioned ass kick'n would get it into his head :P  We've tried reasoning, though with a 2.5 year old, it's fruitless. I've even tried a little home exorcism- "In the name of Jesus Christ, begone from my son, ye demons of the underworld!" (Dora and boots, coming to mind while I'm saying this). Nothing- he just laughs his merry little laugh. A jolly little demon, is he.

Time-out seems to be the only thing that does any good. Though I see, it too, is waning in effect.

At 2 and a half. the arsenal is getting a bit thin. I spoke with my big brother and he said if we were going to implement spanking, it'd better be soon or it'll freak him out much more than you'd want. I love this little guy to death and would throw myself in front of a bullet for him, but I want him raised right and raised to respect others.

He's also been doing the "it's fun to disobey mommy and daddy because I get a reaction" thing, and this includes running away from Mommy in the parking lot! This has given us both of nightmares!

UGH! I love being a Dad (sarcasm, optional)!

After several conversations on Twitter, it was decided that Frederick, and the surrounding area was very underserved for geeky exchange groups. So I signed up a meetup group at meetup.com. For those that follw my sporratic blog, you know that I have occasioned the Columbia PHP meetup and have gotten alot out of the meetings. I feel that the web geeks of Frederick at least have the same talent. Frederick hosts several PHP only houses and a few design firms with PHP devs in them! Nick at Orases has graciously offer to host a few of the events and my wife has offered to bake some goodies :)

When you're both the producer and the customer service (AKA "freelancer"), it's hard to switch hats. You work all day (and nights) on projects in solitude, answer and send emails, twitter and research. What is easy to forget is that customer service is king! You have to keep that line of communication open! In my years of dealing directly with customers, I've found that their main concern is being kept in the loop with their project. Daily emails, phone calls or even tweets do more to make the customer happy than making a deadline.

I have an invoicing system that I wrote for myself and tweaked it to have an automatic email sent to the client when I posted what was done during the day, and the hours spent on the project. He was happier than a dog in a butcher shop!

When the project is done, call the customer back occasionally to see how the site is going. Ask them what they would've done differently, having used the site for some time now. Give them freebies every once and a while- they LOVE that! 

Have genuine interest in the project and their goals to success- after all, their success means your success.

I made myself a cheesesteak and tomato soup and vegged in front of the movie. Not a bad day :)

It's going to be my birthday Wednesday, so this was my birthday meal. It was a spectacular trip into complex tastes and beautifully arranged dishes. We had A great Zin called Paradox (not sure it was spelled that way). Cathy had the lamb and I was totally unimaginative and had the same beef dish I had before (I really feel bad about that).

To make a 2.5 hour meal short, it was fabulous. Fabulous food with a fabulous girl. I love our little boy, but I do miss going out with Cathy like we used to- at least we can do it twice a year:)