Spiderman tuk tuk

Wednesday night we decided to go to the night market in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was way more exciting than going to the mall. We traveled from the hotel to the market area in a "tuk tuk", a local convayence consisting of a small Honda 125 moterbike pulling a small trailer with seats for four and a welded frame with a covered roof.

We wandered down Pub Street accosted every few steps by locals wanting us to eat at their restaurants, stop for a massage or stick our feet in a case filled with small fish for a "fish massage". The fish nibble the dead skin from your feet, very refreshing...not! Every five steps we were asked if we wanted a tuk tuk ride.

We found a delightful quilt store, selling items made by the women of the area as part of a non-government project to teach women marketable skills. We wandered a bit more, then Daniel found a stand selling chocolate & bananna pancakes. A bit different from your Saturday morning pancakes, but delicious.

We stood next to a large group of tuk tuk drivers while waiting for Daniel's pancake. suddenly I heard a low gravelly voice wisper in my ear, "Lady do you want to ride in Spiderman's tuk tuk?" Escaping his web I quickly made my way back to Brent's side never to ride in Spiderman's tuk tuk.

I thought I'd share

We have been having fun here in Thailand. Here are few ways Grandma Nedra and Papa are having fun. 

 Papa likes to ride up front.

And Daniel and Ashley too.

And Ashley's favorite -

Elephant kisses.  From Charlie. The artist responsible for the painting she bought. Daniel said the cost of the painting was worth watching Ashley get kissed by an elephant.

Economics in Rap form

I thought Ryan might enjoy this if he hasn't seen it already, but it may be interesting for others as well. They interviewed the creators on NPR, which is how I heard about it. Their goal was to start a debate about economic policy with something that might appeal to a larger audience than econ majors. One of the creators is from the TV world and the other is a professor of economics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc

funny dogs

Hey all of you dog lovers check out this funny post.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html

The appropriate dues have been paid

It seems that in Matt's family, there is an unspoken rule. At some point while using a nail gun, you must shoot yourself. Matt got off lucky. While working on the bathroom, he was holding a 2x4 to skab in where the new tub will be. The nail missed the board. There is debate whether it was the nail or something else went through his hand ("something else" is currently winning 2 votes to 1), but something definitely did. There are entrance and an exit holes. Happily it didn't hurt too bad and it only delayed dinner by about 3 minutes. Maybe next time he will be more careful with the nail gun.

Lincoln's 1st Birthday

Lincoln turned one and had a blast. Here are the highlights.

Christmas 2010

Christmas at our house was great! Everybody got a lot of presents and had a ton of fun. Here are some of the highlights from Christmas at our house.





The last 3 pictures above are videos, you can click to see the whole thing. Here is my favorite though:

Catchup from the Lorimers

A lot has happened in Smithfield. We don't do real good updating the blog though. Rather than tell all of the stories, here are some pictures of what has been happening in our lives.

Stand-up Economist

Developing an "Attitude of Gratitude"

The first wave

I would like to show you the first fruits of our garden. Yes they are yellow, yes they look like

pears, but no they are tomatoes.

Nice video

This post is either late, or really early for next year's Pi day.

Where the caravan ate dinner tonight

Amelia's Recital

There are the pieces Amelia played at her recital.
She did a wonderful job. We are proud of you Amelia.

It's Almost Time for MASS!

Remember?

However, April, kids, and I will not be available in July until the second Friday, so I propose the MASS meets the second Friday for July, and FUSS can meet the 3rd Friday.

Objections? Activity suggestions? What does the social calendar look like out in Utah? Shall our first meeting simply be a planning meeting? Maybe we should meet at Maddox in Brigham City?

From Greg Mankiw's blog: The World Economy in a Nutshell

Memphis in Exile

Things started out pretty rough with Memphis at our house. Winston started out by attacking her. That was 17 staples. They have since been removed and the wound is healing nicely. Winston had a good talking too and is now behaving much more kindly towards our new visitor.

She has quickly joined the crowd of beggars at the back door. Has easily fit in with our daily habits.
And decided that our house is not a bad place to be, as long as Winston is happy.
She has picked out her favorite spots, claimed her time with the rawhide bones and fit right in with this family of sleep lovers. Welcome Memphis. May your second fortnight go better than your first.

Books I've read lately

I thought the family might be interested in some of the books I've read lately:

Flavia de Luce mysteries:
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.
• The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag.
Viva Flavia! She's more interesting than Mma Ramotswe and DCS Foyle combined!

• The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. April also loved these. Can’t wait for the final book in the series.

I've been into the psychology of choice lately. In that category I've read and enjoyed:
• Blink. Recommended.
• Switch.
• Nudge. Recommended if you like Behavioral Economics and Law.
• Sway.
I think Brent might really enjoy Switch and Nudge. Lots of business related psychology ideas based on cutting edge research.

Books with a lot about autism/Asperger’s in them:
• Look Me in the Eye: My life with Asperger's. Highly recommended.
• Create Your Own Economy. Loved this book.
• See also Blink from above.

Other books.
• The Devil and Sherlock Holmes
• The Percy Jackson books. (H. Potter ripoffs, but still good)
• The Maze Runner.
• 1776
• Open. (Couldn’t put it down.)

Felipe Massa's "simplified" steering wheel