Life with a Two Year Old- Learning to count

It all started with the big, upcoming birthday.

"How old is Sera?"

"Two"

Yaay.

"How old is Mommy?"

"Two"

Double yaay.

Numbers larger than two prove more difficult.

"How many spoons do you have, Sera?"

"One, Two,  Three"

"Excellent.  One for Mommy, one for Daddy, one for Sera!"

But the number of spoons multiplied.

"One, two, three, four, five, six."

"Okay."

Any amount more than two was four, five, six.  Counting became a chant, a sing-song cadence chanted all over the house.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, ten"  sings Sera.

"What happened to seven and eight?" asks Daddy.

"They coming soon!"

"Black Man" by Richard Morgan

This epic sci-fi novel by Richard Morgan is a super-spy thriller that also tackles issues like genetic engineering, institutionalized discrimination and religious extremism.  Its complex meandering plot (filled with sex and violence) focuses on the journey of the titled "Black Man", a genetically engineered bounty hunter (a "13"-style alpha male) who is hired to hunt (and kill) his "own kind", genetically engineered soldiers who've gone renegade.  If this sounds similar to the premise of "Blade Runner", it is.  

Some of Morgan's imagined future is absurdity stretched to the point of unintentional humour.   The United States, for example, has been split up, with the corporate run "Rim States" having seceded from the bible-dominated "Republic".  And the U.N. is a powerful player, if you can believe it.  Other genetic variants include the "Bonobo" woman, the perfect sexually-compliant woman, apparently based on the traits of a Bonobo monkey.  The author was clearly writing for the feminist market.

Best of all, the villain of the story is a "13" who stows away on a spacecraft coming back to Earth from Mars, and munches on the other passengers for sustenance.

All in all, an absorbing, entertaining and somewhat disturbing read on the beach.