Kate and Simon have started something she calls “Simon School.” She picks a topic each week and they have lessons, in lieu of preschool (he’s not potty trained yet, so we can’t quite send him). This week’s theme was dinosaurs.

I think Simon School has been pretty successful so far. All day today he’s been tromping around the house in great-big Simon steps, roaring, and referring to himself as “The Tyrannosaurus Rex.” I’d post video, but our camera that takes video is in the shop (again). Anyway, it’s really cute.

When he woke up from his nap he came downstairs and told me “the Tyrannosaurus Rex turned into Simon.” And then he was all snugly. Life is good.

MostlyLisa, one of the blogs I read on a semi-regular basis, posed the following question: “How did you get into photography? What or who was your muse?”

Well clearly this was a no-brainer for me. My kids! Well, my kids and my dog. We bought our first digital camera about a year before Simon was born, and used it like anybody uses a point-and-shoot. When Ellen accidentally dropped that camera (which I consider a huge blessing in disguise) it set off a chain-reaction of upgrades (okay, two) that culminated this June with the purchase of my first DSLR. By the way, Ellen, anytime you want to come over and “accidentally” drop my television, computer, and iPod, feel free.

The vast majority of my photography is my family and my dog. Part of this is because it is all I have time for. Between work, other commitments, and other interests/hobbies I find it difficult to find time to take and process pictures of them, much less anything else. But the pictures I do take, I want to share. I want to become more involved in the large and active online photographic community.

But then I think about all the weirdos on the Internet. They’re out there and they’ve already impacted how I write on this blog. I decided to stop talking about politics after a conveniently anonymous stranger commented that I was “brainwashing children”. Was it a totally ignorant and ridiculously outrageous comment? Absolutely. Was it also enough to make me not want to deal with it? Definitely. But it begs the question: what other kind of undesirables are out there, reading my content?

The amount of information we publish in this medium can impact our lives in a number of ways. How much we provide is a decision we all have to make for ourselves. Unless you’re a 3 year old who relies on his parents to make that decision for you. Oops. The rule we established with Simon is that we’d post pictures on Flickr that were “public” up until the time he turned one, at which time they all became available only to those we’d marked as “friends” or “family.”

I relaxed that rule a bit when I got the new camera, because one of my main subjects is Simon, and I want to share my. . .um. . . art. As of today, my paranoia has gotten the better of me (again), and I’ve changed most of the Simon pictures back to their restricted status.

I’m clearly somewhat conflicted on the issue, so I throw it out to my readers: What lines do you draw with regards to pictures of you, your family, and your kids on the web?

The linked article is from the Washington Post, and it discusses the growing prevalence of swearing among children. I will be the first to admit that I swear far too much, and I need to cut back. Way back. It’s an easy habit to slip into, and I can see how it is difficult to stop children from swearing.

Kate is a teacher and deals with this every day (god bless her). The article makes some interesting points not only about the inappropriateness of the behavior, but also the effects it is having upon the English language itself. What’s the solution? No idea.