Joseph Bulger IV

Ok, we finally have the board.  Exhibit A:

I decided to keep the basic layout that I talked about earlier, but my wife wanted to flip it so the people were on the side and the stages were on the top, but none the less, the layout of the board is still the same:

We had our first weekly meeting, where everyone decided the things they needed to get done in the coming week.  We also had some discussion about things that we all shared, like doing dishes for example.  After we got everything down, this is what the board looks like:

And we also made a “Dailies” chart for Sarah.  These are things she has to do every day of the week.  She’ll check them off as they complete them, unless they need approval from a parent before hand, in which case the parent does the final sign off.

So, week 1 begins!

I’m going to be making my family “agile” in the upcoming weeks.  What does that mean exactly? Well, I’ll be posting more about it, but essentially we’re going to organize our family activities around agile principles.  These are software management principles that I have been studying (and trying to apply) for a number of years now. They have proven to be very effective at my work, and I can see how they would be equally effective at home, as well.

So what exactly am I talking about?  Let’s take a look.  I’m going to start out by making a cork board for our family.  It should look something like this:

Colored cards are “shared” cards.  That means any parent can do them.  Children also have a daily card.  These are things they have to do every day, and they check them off when they’re done.

When we actually get the board I’ll post up some pics and explanation.

This is really sad, but it’s true. I have evidence!

Me and my wife went to the beach last weekend and took some pictures of our kids with a good friend of my wife’s.  She’s a professional freelance photographer. Priscilla Santos does some really amazing work.  Her sight is here.

I’ve been unexpectedly suprised by the longevity of my BlackBerry Curve.  I’m coming up on my 2 year mark, and it’s still operating the same as it was when I bought it.  I think that’s the first phone I’ve had that I can say that of.  That’s also not for lack of use, either.  I’ve really beat the heck out of this phone.  The only issue I’ve come across is the ball will get sticky every now and then and it won’t respond to movement.  There’s a simple remedy, though.  All you have to do is move around the ball with a damp cloth.  After you’ve done that for a bit, let it dry and you should be able to use the ball again.  I’ve had to do this about 4 times, because my son, Isaac, get’s a hold of the thing and get’s some funk on it.

All in all, very pleased with my BlackBerry.