mt again

I have no idea why Monday is a popular day for me to post here. I rarely have anything worth while to say...ok, I never have anything worth while to say. But for some reason I find myself here just about every Monday. The weekend was pretty uneventful, but then everything kind of is for a period after your wedding. Got the pics back and they are good. We did have some family Christmas pics taken professionally...but not very many due to having the wedding pics. And yes, we went to a photography studio inside of a large department store and yes, we did make an appointment, and yes, we did end up getting in a hour late and almost without any paperwork since they lost track of it for a while. But the pics look good and since my kid's mother is not wanting to help me get any school pics these might have to do in substitution. Speaking of kids and their mother....I have a question for all of you school age parents out there.

What do you do to motivate your child who seems to be underachieving in school. Yes, I know that underachieving can be a label etc etc etc...but I know he can do better, he does for the last two weeks of each semester. He does just enough to get the grades where he can keep them all year if he just tries. We are not talking Honor roll, just average grades. All I have ever asked for is to TRY. Do the homework, study a little. Cs. That's all. We have tried just about every type of punishment and rewards system that is out there and nothing is working. 8th grade, 13 year old, boy, by the way.

Ok, onto other topics. I am seriously thinking about starting a security consulting business on the side. Aimed at SOHO and Small Businesses. With the certifications that I currently hold, plus the CISSP that I will have come January (fingers crossed) I am hoping to be able to secure some extra work on the side and supplement the ole income. Still working out details but the idea has come on strong lately so I can't really ignore it. All of the geeks out there know what certs mean for ego but not sure the SOHO and Small Business owners are gonna see the value. Like I said, still working out the details.

The holidays are fast approaching and, knowing who reads this, I can safely say that I am done fretting over gifts. I know what I am getting (only one left to get really) and that is a first for me. A middle aged, married guy who is almost done with his shopping and its not even Christmas Eve yet. Actually, the wife is great at shopping, in general AND for the holidays. She starts early and is prepared. I may be almost done but she makes me look like a rookie when it comes to shopping. I would go into more detail but those who read this will get a surprise spoiled so, sorry.