Teaching the Kids to Play the Piano
I'm a pianist, and I'm constantly being asked by friends and family when I'm going to start teaching the boys to play the piano. Our two oldest absolutely love music and play with several instruments of their own pretty frequently, but mainly as toys.
But no friend or family has tugged at my heart as deeply as my boys themselves, as they've asked countless times for me to start teaching them to play the piano.
So I've started to work with them, and have started with some ideas from when Suzanne and I were young and learning to play the piano. First, I developed a page with cut-out squares with the basic note names. These squares can be cut out and taped onto the keys of the piano or keyboard. Then, I developed a simple score for what's likely the most popular nursery rhyme - Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It's set up simply to let a child play the keys for the song on their own. Using this method, we're starting with tune. We'll move to rhythm after a few weeks on tune.
Feel free to follow along as I build this out and add to it in the coming weeks and months. Please share this with friends and invite others to explore and use this method too, if you'd like.
It'll all be here: Halbrook.net/KidsMusic. (Also available in the top navigation of the site.)
I tried this out on Thomas tonight, and he had a blast, is enjoying practicing, and is doing quite well. I have my work cut out for me staying on top of creating new pieces for him to learn and practice.
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STL to Chicago High Speed Rail
I'm pretty stoked about the news today that the DOT has given Missouri and Illinois grants to help with construction of some of America's first high speed rail lines - from St. Louis to Chicago.
O'Hare International Airport is a pain. It takes more than one hand to count the number of times I was to be delayed through the night for a flight home and I instead rented a car and drove the 5 hours home. I avoid flying to and from Chicago at all costs. I'd prefer to drive.
High Speed Rail Network
Actually, I've had great success with the current Amtrak service to and from Chicago. Granted, it takes longer than flying or driving (flying takes about an hour, driving takes about four hours from my house.) It's always taken between 5 and 6 hours from my train to get from Chicago to Alton or St. Louis. But it's nice to not have to focus on driving, to be able to plug in your laptop, hook up the high-speed Internet wireless card, and get to work for the duration of the trip.
The high speed service from STL to Chicago will apparently take "less than 4 hours" at speeds from about 110 MPH to in excess of 200 MPH.
By my calculation, that'd put one in Chicago much faster than "less than 4 hours." I wonder how many stops the new service will make along the way.
Read the whole story at the St. Louis Beacon.
This is apparently part of the proposed "Chicago Rail Corridor", which could also get me up to clients in the Twin Cities and Kansas City, as it would connect Chicago, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville.
Nice!
Want to try the railway from St. Louis - or Alton - to Chicago, and vice-versa? You don't have to wait for the high-speed version. Amtrak already runs decent service along the eventual route. See this PDF for details on a current promotion for 20% from Alton to Chicago through the spring... and kids get a flat $11 one-way fare from Alton to Chicago.
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Pull up a stool to the Whopper Bar
Whopper Bar Concept
Burger King is rolling out a new concept, in conjunction with Anheuser-Busch: The Whopper Bar.
When these go into the airports, I'm in trouble.
Miami-based Burger King will serve beer and burgers at a new Whopper Bar it plans to open next month in South Beach, Fla., the company said Friday.
Via St. Louis Business Journal.
In other news: The Burger King in Granite City (which I don't think I've visited since high school) was torn down in November and is being rebuilt. Right now, it's wrapped in a big wood & plastic sheeting structure not dissimilar from that in E.T. Thomas currently likes to call it "the restaurant in the plastic bag."
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Coffee: A Real Man’s Drink
A cup of coffee: More valuable than previously thought.
I remember a few times when I was a young boy, my dad would give me his coffee mug and invite me to try a sip. I would, and I would give quite a nasty face as I could barely stomach the taste. There was probably more than once that I spit the coffee out into the sink or the backwoods where we were.
I've let my oldest try a sip of my coffee once or twice, but I took the easy route and had him sip from it when I had a mocha and the whipped cream on top was still plentiful and fresh. I'm probably giving him a mistaken impression of coffee really tastes like.
For me, the distaste for coffee changed in my late teens. I attribute it to one too many long weekends working at a scouting event at a camp, with late nights, early mornings, hard work, and a lounge full of old scouters sipping coffee during breaks from the young scouts.
In time, I joined that elite little club. Both in desiring the breaks, and in the appreciation of the acquired taste for coffee.
Since then, I've been a pretty rabid coffee drinker. Depending on where I am - home or on the road - I'll have anywhere from one to five or so cups of coffee a day. Sometimes it's just simple brewed. Sometimes it's espresso. Sometimes it's a more fancy espresso-based drink. But I certainly drink my fair share.
So I was more than pleased to see some worthwhile research coming out of the University of Illinois. (Via Primer: Coffee Can Provide a Better Workout.)
From the Primer article:
"We are all familiar with the fact that coffee is a wonderful way to start your day, but it may have even more health benefits when it comes to exercise. A health professor at the University of Illinois found through first-hand experience that caffeine offered him an edge as a competitive cyclist. Prof. Robert Motl discovered that the caffeine in coffee provided the ability for himself and his fellow cyclists to train even harder when competing.
"Through extensive research, he began to find that caffeine had the ability to block adenosine in the body, which can directly reduce pain and soreness related to a hard workout. Through a number of related studies, the conclusion was found that caffeine in coffee can help to increase intensity in exercise and reduce post workout muscle soreness."
So that explains the correlation between the serious bicyclists in Edwardsville and the clientèle at Sacred Grounds.
The data suggests that drinking about 2 cups of coffee prior to your workout will reduce pain and soreness by nearly 50%, allowing you to work out harder and longer, since you'll be less sore.
Further, the article points out that recent data also suggests coffee has much higher antioxidant content than once thought, so it even holds its own against much-praised green tea for protecting your body against free radical damage.
Add to that the fact that "coffee is suspected to have the potential to prevent Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, colon cancer, and cirrhosis of the liver," and coffee starts to look like more and more beneficial of an elixer.
I'm pretty thankful that those old scouters got me into coffee when they did.
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What We Can Still Learn From Sesame Street
When we were kids, the letter and number of the day taught us the basics. But I think there are some things we can learn from Sesame Street regardless of our age.
Or even if we already know these things, being reminded of them isn't a bad thing either.
What can we learn from each Sesame Street character?
Elmo:
Life is short... have fun! And anyone can be your friend if you look at life - and other people - the right way.
Big Bird:
Loyalty and trustworthiness are everything. Keep your word, and keep your friends, and everything will be okay.
Bert & Ernie:
Sometimes it's the little things that can bring us the most joy. Whether it's a paper clip collection, a single pigeon, or a rubber duck, look for the beauty in everything around you, and use it for good.
The Count:
There are lots of things in life worth counting: Blessings, friends, sunsets. And there are some that aren't worth counting either: past hurts, regrets. You know the drill. Focus on what matters at the end of the day.
Oscar the Grouch:
Clean your room! An organized home - and mind - make for a happier spirit and more productive you.
Cookie Monster:
After you've done all you can to cover your needs and take care of your fellow man, it's okay to splurge on yourself every once in a while. Especially when it comes to cookies. After all, you can't take it with you.
Grover:
Don't let your fears get the best of you. Always go the extra mile when it truly matters in life, and never recoil from life's challenges. You can do it!
Are there any that I haven't thought of? Which character & lesson would make your list? Please share your comments below...
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Wow. Flight 1549 (Hudson River landing)
Yeah, "wow" is pretty much all I can say. Flight 1549 (Hudson River landing) 3D reconstruction:
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12 Day, $25 Borders Gift Card Giveaway
It's about time again: I'm giving away another $25 Borders gift card. I've been staying on top of posts and would love to encourage some more interaction among my friends - sharing of posts, commenting, recommending the site to friends, etc.
You can collect entries for the next 12 days. You have until the end of the day on Saturday, January 30 to earn your entries by doing the below actions. I'll have the drawing on Sunday, January 31.
Ways to earn entries:
- 1 entry for becoming a Fan of Halbrook.net on Facebook.
- 1 entry for each time you Share a Halbrook.net story on Facebook or Twitter (email me a link to it or a screenshot of it: michaelhalbrook [at] gmail [dot] com.)
- 1 entry for connecting your site & Facebook profiles using the "Connect with Facebook" button to the right.
- 1 entry for each comment published on a Halbrook.net post.
Get going! You can do any combination of the above to score more points between now and January 30, then we'll see who walks away with the $25 Borders gift card.
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Lego CL!CK
Well gosh, that was cool. It even inspired me to pull the box of Legos out of the back corner of the closet here in my office and put a few together. Let's see what I can come up with on my next few conference calls...
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A Diocesan Personality
It looks like our diocese is developing a personality of its own on Facebook... email inbox and all...
Although some will surely be disappointed that it's a personality with a masculine voice. "He."
[Screenshot taken earlier this afternoon. Update subsequently deleted from the profile.]
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5 Point Dessert
Suzanne is whipping me into shape for the new year, putting me on her Weight Watchers "lifestyle change." It's going well so far... although she's a bit worked up that I get 30 points a day (she's REALLY worked up that I get an extra 8 points a day on her just 'cause I'm a guy.) I think I'm on target to lose close to 10 pounds this first week.
Here's tonight's dessert creation...
Start with a Weight Watchers Double Chocolate Muffin (3 points):
Weight Watchers Double Chocolate Muffins
Weight Watchers Double Chocolate Muffins
Unwrap and give it 15 seconds in the microwave. (I did 16 seconds, to give it "one to grow on.")
Add a scoop of Fat Free Vanilla Ice Scream (2 points.)
5 Point Dessert
GREAT, quick, easy 5 point dessert. Now, if I could only make myself take longer than 15 seconds to eat it...
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This is the online home of Michael Halbrook, Suzanne Halbrook, and their growing family. We're a family of five living out our Catholic faith and vocation in the St. Louis, Missouri area.
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