
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113503286_fb57c8920d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Cereal for Breakfast">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113503286_bac61e9a90_t.jpg" alt="Cereal for Breakfast"/>
</a>

July has been a pretty full month. The biggest event in the children's lives was that Nora started her two week summer courses: skating and crafts. Every weekday we go to Nora's school at 10:15 to begin getting her suited up for skating. She has knee, elbow and wrist pads. Her skating class is from 10:30 to noon. At noon, she takes off all her gear, stows it in the school lobby, and goes up to what will be her English classroom for the next six years to do _manualidades_, which translates to handicrafts, until 1:30pm. She made some bracelets, a coaster, and some wall art made of little pieces of foam. From what I can tell, she likes the class a lot. There was one day, however, in which she said that two of the older girls had been singing songs about her, not nice songs. Ugh? This already? I told her that anyone who insults her is being silly, and that if they do it again, that she should tell the teacher. We haven't heard of any incidents since. 

### Anxiety

I count myself very lucky to have never suffered from, nor to have witnessed an anxiety attack, and I don't want to use a clinical term incorrectly, but it seems to pretty well describe what happens to Nora sometimes when she is left at an extracurricular class by a parent. Several days when I took her to skating class, she would just freak out at the thought of me leaving. It was as if she was terrified. When she's in this state, she has no ability to give a reason for her emotions. She can agree that yes, she loves skating, and everyone at the class is nice to her and that she knows I'll be back after the class is over, but _Please, Daddy, don't leave me here!! I don't want to stay!!!_

We experienced this with the [dance class](/2014/10/31/state-of-the-offspring-address-october-2014/), as you may recall, dear reader.

> It’s difficult to draw the line between “It’s okay, sweetie, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do” and shoving our little bird off the branch for some terrifying free fall that may lead to a necessary survival skill. Everyone can probably remember something that they were forced to do against their will as children that they were later glad they had been forced to do. I think we’ve decided to make future dance classes mandatory, no backing out. We’ll see how that goes.

In that instance, telling her that it was not optional seemed to have worked. However, my tactic of saying, "No, you have to stay." Did not work with skating. We had one morning in particular, of which I am ashamed as a parent, in which I yelled at her that she had to stay, but she kept skating after me. Eventually she ended up coming home.

The following day, I constructed a plan. All morning as she was getting dressed, having breakfast, and generally getting ready, I had her repeat the following sentence out loud, with ever increasing confidence:

> I'm going to be sad for a little bit when Daddy leaves, but then it's going to get better and I'm going to have fun.

And doggone if it didn't work! She was totally cool about my departure. And she has been for several subsequent days. I think maybe _knowing_ that the storm was going to come helped make it easier to weather.

### Skating

When she's actually there skating, she has a great time and has improved a lot. She's even learned to skate backwards.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K6Q2qtkrKUk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The first couple of days, they held skating class outdoors, but then it rained, and they realized that, even on sunny days, having it in the gym was far superior, both for protection from the elements and the superior skating surface.

### Nada!

Ian's language is developing, albeit slowly. His languages are totally mixed up; he thinks that a place nearby is "_aquí_" while a place far away is "there". The Spaniards get confused when they try and talk to him and he surfaces his English words. Although a lot of his words end up being in neither language and resulting in confusion and frustration for both parties.

One adorable habit he's picked up is responding to both "_Gracias_" and "Thank you" with a shouted "_NADA!!_", a shortened form of the proper Spanish response "_De nada_".

Also of note, watch how he echoes what his sister says. That's very common.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZLdm9kYNG1k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

### Bug Bites

We began the month with some pretty serious bug (spider?) bites on both children. Ian had the worst of it. We took him to the doctor and he got a topical antibiotic.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19518766783_ae35fe3003_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian's Bug Bites">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19518766783_d3fa364227_z.jpg" alt="Ian's Bug Bites"/>
</a>

It got all hard and flaky and disgusting for a bit, but he didn't really complain that much.

### Bonk!

One evening this month, when I was getting Ian ready for bed, he accidentally hit his head on his changing table, to which I said, "Bonk!" and he thought that, both the head bump and the onomatopoeic exclamation were just the funniest thing ever.

Try and keep a straight face. I dare you!

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DY611oQxLVQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Bonk!

### Musical Insight

We have applied for Nora to take a class at the local municipal music school. We could choose from "Pre-instrumental theory" – apparently they normally don't start with instruments until age seven – or "Violin with [the Suzuki method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method)", which starts at age four. I can see the rationales behind both methods, but I'm more of a player than a thinker, musically, myself, and the "Hey man, we all learn to talk before we learn to read, man!" Suzuki philosophy makes sense. She's not even guaranteed to get in, as apparently there is more demand than supply, but we'll see.

When I mentioned to Nora that we were signing her up for music class, she said,

> "I know that music can be written down, and that there are lots of lines. But if you look at the music, you can't hear it until you play it.......although, I think that maybe if you get good enough at reading music, you might be able to hear it just by looking at it."

Mind. Blown. That's some really insightful thinking, if I do say so myself.

### Golf Career: Initiated

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19851707335_c198e8231b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Future #TheOpen champion cleaning his sticks">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19851707335_46976259ba_m.jpg" alt="Future #TheOpen champion cleaning his sticks"/>
</a>

Ian got some plastic golf clubs as a gift. They came with a little golf bag with wheels, several balls, a couple of tees, and some little plastic holes. No matter how hard I tried to get him to hold the club with two hands and swing properly in front of him, he continued his one-handed technique. In the interests of the documentary filmmakers documenting his rise to PGA greatness, I took it upon myself to record some video of his very first attempts with a golf club. There are many whiffs, but some good strikes. At about one minute into the video, he stops to take a moment to address the ball (put his club beside it) to assure a hit. What made me especially proud, however, was how he, at the very end of the video, actually took a moment to look at his target and align his body to achieve the trajectory he wanted. He's a natural!

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0EFNnppCbRM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's too bad we don't live at a country club, or this could really be a pursuit.

### Some Photos

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20145240781_866ebe9678_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Crossing Treto Bridge">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20145240781_8560a81726.jpg" alt="Crossing Treto Bridge"/>
</a>

One night we decided to walk across [this famous iron bridge](/2009/02/23/once-colindres-lottery-ticket/) to the next town over to a restaurant for dinner. The walk over, and the dinner, were a little rough, but the walk back was absolutely divine, with the four of us laughing and giggling and having a wonderful time.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19517160764_dfdf49f5e0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Eating Out">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19517160764_2e1e5ac01f.jpg" alt="Eating Out"/>
</a>

Eating some _morcilla_ (Spanish blood sausage) and fries on said evening out.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19951632920_9e887e74f1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian and Carmen">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19951632920_48beb3880a_z.jpg" alt="Ian and Carmen"/>
</a>

Ian gets along very well with Nora's best friend, Carmen.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19517091764_f2bf1824cc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Coffee Table Users">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19517091764_ddd0f30a69.jpg" alt="Coffee Table Users"/>
</a>

Who needs a sofa on which to watch cartoons when you can be sprawled across the coffee table?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20131574682_dcb63501ec_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian and Nando">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20131574682_63c9ea3756_z.jpg" alt="Ian and Nando"/>
</a>

This is Ian's best friend in the neighborhood, Nando – [I mentioned him in April](/2015/04/30/state-of-the-offspring-address-april-2015/) – who delights in filling the grandfather-shaped hole in the children's lives when there is not an actual grandfather here. He brings his actual granddaughters to skating class with Nora, and Ian has learned that he can ask him for two pieces of chewing gum (one for Nora) every day and get them every time.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19517081534_ca32c9c61d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Running of the Bulls">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19517081534_fed048e52b.jpg" alt="Running of the Bulls"/>
</a>

_San Fermín_, the world famous "running of the bulls", takes place in July. It inspired Nora to draw this bull run. The "_Mama y Papa_" is not a caption identifying the characters, but a dedication of who the work was made for. The girl on the right is safely behind the fence.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113375446_0d7f398f7e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora's Crafts Class">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113375446_11e2b521cd.jpg" alt="Nora's Crafts Class"/>
</a>

Nora made this in her handicrafts class out of pieces of colored foam. Look out, Gaudí, here come some mad tiling skills!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113425766_3446d4f693_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hanging Out">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113425766_42672e2fd1_z.jpg" alt="Hanging Out"/>
</a>

I find them like this a lot.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19516917094_acf9293c92_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sibling dogpile">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19516917094_095498d1f0.jpg" alt="Sibling dogpile"/>
</a>

Brotherly love.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20131783382_3b9f96bacb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nap Time">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20131783382_d040397502_z.jpg" alt="Nap Time"/>
</a>

Nap time!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20145413051_6b0e9f5980_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian tries out new playground">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20145413051_9648fcb70c.jpg" alt="Ian tries out new playground"/>
</a>

The primary playground in the center of town has been closed for renovations for at least four months. The primary improvement was to put a roof over it, which is nice in the summer, but, if we're being totally honest about life in Cantabria, is primarily to keep it dry the rest of the year. Ian was the very first child to set foot on the newly laid rubber surface when it opened. "Another thing to put on his CV", quipped his mother when I told her.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19516896834_f4bb1ebd99_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Haircut">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/19516896834_2853d30cb0.jpg" alt="Haircut"/>
</a>

Ian just got his summer haircut today.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20131282912_d10f788dab_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Selecting a Book">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20131282912_046ea2a1a1_z.jpg" alt="Selecting a Book"/>
</a>

What to read?

I had no idea that he had figured out a way to access these books until one day I found him browsing them for something to thumb through.

### Summer Sibling Frolicking

I spent quite a few days this month single parenting, as my wife had to work many long hours, and at one point she had to leave for several days to attend the funeral of a beloved aunt. [_D.E.P. Tía Antonia_](https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/9554938669/). During these times, the weather was nice, and we spent a lot of time outdoors. I recorded some video of them being adorable, playing together.

In the second scene, they had invented a game in which Ian had to push leaves through a slot in a playground structure that he needed Nora to lift him up to get to. Teamwork!

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rnx6mpsQw8M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I continue to be amazed at how well they get along. They almost never, ever quarrel. This is mostly because Nora is so deferential; if there are three cookies and they decide how they are distributed, Ian always gets two.

The state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113503286_fb57c8920d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cereal for Breakfast">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2015/20113503286_bac61e9a90.jpg" alt="Cereal for Breakfast"/>
</a>


State of the Offspring Address - July 2015


[![Tenerife](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/3036042626_1f812b4184_q.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoff247/3036042626/ "Tenerife")Tenerife is the largest island of the seven that form the Canary Islands, and it's one of the most important tourist destinations in Spain. While I have yet to visit, this Spanish volcanic isle off the western coast of Africa is high on my list of travel destinations. Sometimes, during the dark rainy winters up here in northern Spain, I long for a winter home in Spain's tropical archipelago. 

### Mount Teide

[![](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/211px-Dracaena_draco.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracaena_draco)Mount Teide is the highest mountain in Spain, and is the third largest volcano in the world from its base. I'm familiar with it from my interest in astronomy, as it is home to the Teide Observatory and the [_Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias_](http://www.iac.es/?lang=en). The Teide National Park has extensive pine forests with very unique vegetation, such as the Canary Dragon Tree, _Dracaena draco_ (pictured on the left). Also of interest are the _Acantilados de los Gigantes_, the Cliffs of the Giants, which are vertical cliff walls, 500 meters high at some points, the plummet into the sea. They must be quite a site to visit in person.

The scenery in general is very desert-like, with drought-resistant flora. Let's just say that NASA has used Teide National Park as a testing ground for Mars rovers because of the similarities of the rocky, barren terrain.

[![](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/640px-Los_Gigantes.jpg)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Los_Gigantes.jpg)

The Cliffs of the Giants, click to make more giant.

[![](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/640px-TeideS.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teide_National_Park#/media/File:TeideS.jpg)

Mount Teide

### Beaches

There are plenty of beaches on Tenerife that tend to consist of black volcanic pebbles and the north coast, and lighter, finer sand on the south and southwest of the island.

Tenerife is known to Spaniards as the Land of the Eternal Spring due to its [year-round warm climate](http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/holiday/location/overview/Tenerife-000335), with temperatures of 18-20°C in the "winter" and 24-26°C in the "summer", with low precipitation year round, especially dry from May to September. The island is at the same latitude as the Sahara desert.

[![playa negra](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/16630902477_1b7bcc71ee.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaumescar/16630902477/ "playa negra")

Black sands of the _Playa Jardín_ in _Puerto de la Cruz_.

[![](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/640px-Las_Teresitas2a.jpg)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Las_Teresitas2a.jpg)

Lighter, sandier beach at _Playa las Teresitas_ in the fishing village of _San Andrés_.

Speaking of St. Andrew, the Tenerife flag is the same as that of Scotland, only with a darker blue hue. Who knew?

### Tourism

Tourism is the primary industry of the Canary Islands, and it is especially important in the south of the island, which is hotter and drier and has many resorts which sprung up during a boom in the 1970's. To improve the standard of tourism service and to promote environmentally conscious development, the government has passed a law so that no more hotels may be built unless they are classified as 5-star quality.

With its stark natural beauty and year-round tropical climate, it's no wonder so many people choose Tenerife as a holiday destination.

[![Tenerife](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-09-tenerife-all-year-round-destination/3036042626_1f812b4184.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoff247/3036042626/ "Tenerife")


Tenerife – All year round destination


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19499744056_590abaf935_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19499744056_36af804cb9_t.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>

This year, July 4th fell on a Saturday, so it was easy to choose the date for our annual hamburger consumption fest. The regular crowd showed up and we ate hamburgers and a few other appetizers. The kids were away at their Spanish grandparents' house for the party this year, which made the preparation and party much more relaxed for us. Marga had to work on the morning of the 4th, and we thought she might even have to work through the party itself, but she ended up getting off in time to help with some of the last minute prep. It was a good party this year, too.  For past year's posts: [2008](/2008/07/05/july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2008/), [2009](/2009/07/06/july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2009/), [2010](/2010/07/05/july-4th-hamburgerfest-2010/), [2012](/2012/07/11/july-4th-hamburgerfest-2012/), and [2013](/2013/07/10/july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/). We spent July 4th in the US in 2011.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/18903335734_ac0e1fc2ae_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/18903335734_c460677a27_z.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>

A Basque invention, _gildas_, are a mouthful of spicy and salty deliciousness.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19499739996_89a0aa9d1f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19499739996_1c9848bd49_z.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>

Everyone seated. We had one person drop out and I overcounted the places, so we had two extra places set. Oops.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19339351809_d144c07c4c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19339351809_290d19ec23.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>

The main course.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/18903340124_d7036e10b8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/18903340124_651ebd67ee_z.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>

Everyone enjoyed theirs, while the Apple TV was streaming salsa music via Airplay via my iPhone.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19525845955_d3e3f3f58d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19525845955_d04f7b2668_z.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>

Normally I don't ask for or want help in preparing food, but Elena really wanted to prepare an apple pie, for all its American-ness. It was delicious.

All in all, it was another great party this year.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19499744056_590abaf935_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hamburgerfest 2015">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-08-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2015/19499744056_36af804cb9.jpg" alt="Hamburgerfest 2015"/>
</a>


July 4th Party - Hamburgerfest 2015


![crystal](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2015-07-07-personality-profile-with-crystal-knows/19488547572_de96fd88ac_o.png "crystal")A podcast I have been enjoying lately, called [Note To Self](http://www.wnyc.org/shows/notetoself/), recently did [an episode](http://www.wnyc.org/story/crystal-knows-email/) about a company called [Crystal Knows](https://www.crystalknows.com/), that performs online searches on people to guess their personality type with the end goal of allowing you, as a marketer, recruiter, support technician, etc., to write a better email that will be better received by the other person. It seems a little bit like bullshit, and they are very secretive of their algorithm and just what information they use – it seems to be primarily from LinkedIn, but they claim to use Twitter as well (although I didn't specify my Twitter screen name...although that might be in my LinkedIn profile) – but, like a general horoscope that everyone thinks totally applies to them, i.e. [the Barnum Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect), it seems, subjectively to confirmation-bias-suffering me, to have spit out a surprisingly accurate description of this lad named Erik on LinkedIn. 

Erik is a natural problem-solver: perceptive, analytical, creative, detail-oriented, and _very_ quickly becomes bored with routine.

### Accuracy confidence: 89%

### When _speaking_ to Erik...

- Start conversations with a problem to solve
- Interrupt him if the conversation is going too long
- Use visual aids
- Provide your reasoning before you get to the bottom line

### When _emailing_ Erik...

- Send lots of extra information (like links and attachments
- Provide lots of detailed information and instructions
- Ask him something that will require a long and thoughtful response
- Use data to prove a point

### When _working_ with Erik...

- Spend time exploring new ideas
- Surprise him to get his attention
- Take time to work out logical conclusions
- Schedule meetings over food or drinks

### When _recruiting_ Erik...

- Expect him to ask lots of questions
- Use visual aids to explain your product
- Make sure you're prepared for tough questions
- Leave detailed voicemails

### It _comes naturally_ to Erik to...

- Question the authenticity of an advertisement or sales pitc
- Invent something
- Independently come up with lots of ideas
- Experiment with many solutions to a problem

### It _does not come naturally_ to Erik to...

- Act as a mediator in a group decision
- Stay loyal to trusted companies and brands
- Finish one task before starting another
- Be comfortable with a rigid structure

Creepy? Genius? Terrifying? Amazing? Yes, all of the above.


4 posts from July, 2015