Jacek runs for six hours before he needs recharging!

Happy Pi Day

In honor of Pi Day, I present one of my world-renown apple pies- yum, yum. Unfortunately, mother nature also decided to celebrate with 3.14 cm of snow!

Update: 3.14cm turned into 12" overnight

Kyle is Sweet Sixteen

Poor Kyle is a 16 year old American boy trapped in a country with a driving age of 18. Feeling badly for him, we took him to the embassy on a Sunday afternoon and let him drive around the empty parking lot. We thought that if embassy grounds are a piece of American soil then the American minimum driving age must apply! He circled the lot four times and then was relieved to relinquish the wheel. And, unlike Ryan's first drivers ed experience, Kyle did not get pulled over by the police for stopping too far before a STOP sign!

Wearing his Christmas present from Annette, Kyle prepares to blow. University of Virginia and Virginia Tech are his initial college wish-list.

We hid one of Kyle's treasure hunt presents and clue on the cat. He was amazingly tolerant.

Four layers and all chocolate. For the first time in our history, no Burke was able to finish a piece of cake (and remember, I have passed on the Mallinson gene which results in an huge capacity for dessert).

"Anybody know where the cat is?"

I thought the carpet seemed a little lumpy.

Armed Forces Network (AFN)

Anyone who has served in the military overseas (or State Dept) is familiar with and has an opinion about AFN. American television- the networks, cable stations, premium channels- provide programming free-of-charge to AFN who then broadcasts it to us via satellite/decoders or cable. Two main rules apply. One, the programming must not contain any of the original commercials and two, only authorized military/gov employees are allowed to own the decoders.

AFN had only one channel during out first three overseas assignments. Imagine trying to meet the television viewing needs of a huge audience with only one channel! Cartoons, movies, sports, news, soap operas, series, etc. Back then, there was no channel surfing. The power and volume buttons were the only ones used on the remote. My love of Law and Order started during our assignment in Italy because it was the one show on one evening. I had never watched it in the US but got hooked then and have been a fan since (well, except for Criminal Minds). Other times I turned on the TV I might find wrestling (ick), Sesame Street (call the kids into the room), an exercise show (eh, maybe later), or a movie (please, let it be something watchable).

When we moved to Greece- wow! AFN had expanded to 10 channels! One channel dedicated solely to sports, another to movies, one for news, the Pentagon channel, family channel, and several for series programs. Oh, and the ubiquitous scrolling channel guide (can they possibly scroll it any more slowly- agonizing). I think AFN does a pretty good job maintaining a varied selection of programs although I still find myself watching stuff here that I never would in the US (American Idol auditions).

Two things remain different from what you see in the US. First, the space formerly occupied by commercials is now replaced with AFN "infommercials." These are 30 second to two minute spots that pass along all sorts of interesting tidbits of information. We have learned about operational security, hypothermia, registering to vote, changing legal residence, importance of stretching, driving safety, etc. The most important lesson we have learned- Don't tape grenade handles! Seriously, Kyle wondered, at 12 years old, "How stupid does AFN think we are?"

Some of the infommercials are quite cheesy and viewers have a love-hate relationship with them. I have included one here-


The other difference we deal with is live programming. My kids think the NBC Nightly News is oddly titled because they watch it in the morning while they eat breakfast. The Today Show is on at 1pm and Saturday Night Live is actually Sunday Afternoon Delayed. Some episodic series are broadcast concurrently with their US air dates but those tend to be reality shows like Survivor, American Idol, etc. Dramas and comedies can be delayed by as long as a year. Right now I'm watching the last season of ER which actually concluded last May.

Overall, AFN does a great job. It's free and we eventually see everything we want. And really, how much TV do we need to be watching anyway?

Have a favorite AFN spot? Crazy Uncle Joe who broke both his legs when he overloaded a power strip? Squeakers the Hamster? State quizzes? Put it in the comments section!