larryport.com Dad, software guy, runner, swimmer, biker. Follow me @larryport.

I’m writing this post for those of you that are seeing images of Chile, in the wake of their 8.8 earthquake, and are getting the impression that Chile is some sort of broken down, ramshackle Latin American slum. Take a look at my photos of Chile on Flickr. You’ll get a different impression.

The Chilean city of Tongoy at sunset. Click this image to see more photos from my time in this beautiful country.

Chile is a gorgeous, very modern country with one of the most advanced telecommunications infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere. Their police officers, or carabineros, are apparently the only ones in all of South America you can’t bribe. Chile is the home of amazing wine and phenomenal art and literature. They produce more copper than any other country on Earth.

Chile is physically gorgeous, a place of wonder for outdoorsy types. It contains a varied landscape, ranging from the driest desert in the world to the Andes (which you have to see to believe). The glaciers, lakes, islands, and the windswept plains of Patagonia are some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen.

I know Chile pretty well. Fresh out of college, I journeyed to Santiago for a once-in-a-lifetime photojournalism internship. I lived in the capital for seven months, worked alongside Chileans, and had the kind of access to high-level people and events only a member of the press can enjoy. I traveled from Puerto Williams, the southernmost settlement in the world, up to the Atacama desert in the north.

When I heard about the earthquake, that it was 250 times more powerful than the recent Haitian disaster yet with less than 1,000 deaths (so far), I was not surprised. It’s a testament to how much the Chileans have their shit together. I wasn’t surprised about the strength of the earthquake, since I had heard about the 9.0 record setter in 1960, and had experienced a minor quake myself. That particular tremor was small by Chilean standards – only a 5.4.

I’m hoping that in the aftermath of this disaster, the U.S. can repair its image in Latin America. In one of the darker corners of American history, the CIA helped overthrow the government of democratically elected Salvadore Allende. The result was the ascension of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, which was replete with typical dictator things, like mass murder, torture, disappearances, and death camps. A lot of folks still were pretty peeved at the U.S. when I was there in 1997. I heard earful after earful of heated diatribes on U.S. foreign policy, as if I were in the foreign service or the official U.S. spokesperson.

So here’s a chance to hopefully make things right, or at least take some of the sting away for what America did to Chile nearly 40 years ago. Para mis amigos Chilenos, quiero que sepan que estamos pensando en Uds. Todo el mundo en los EEUU esta prestando atención a lo que pasó alla con este terremoto horrible. Estamos rezando por Uds. y les ofrecemos nuestra ayuda y apoyo en este momento difícil. Uds. No están solos, sus hermanos Yanquís estan preparado con manos abiertos.

UNO is the first game I’ve played with my kids where it doesn’t feel like some stupid kid game. I honestly would rather sit and do something mildly unpleasant than play Chutes and Ladders or Candyland. UNO, on the other hand is actually fun.

Even a three year-old-can play UNO. I’m not trying to insult anyone by saying that, so if you don’t know how to play UNO don’t be offended. What I mean is a three year old can match colors and numbers and have the dumb luck of running out of cards first, which is what UNO’s all about.

However, playing with a three-year-old is a bit like playing with the Alan character from The Hangover (not the card-counting scene, the peeing-on-the-floor scene). They generally cannot fan their cards, so their cards are all over the floor. Or sometimes they’ll stick the cards between their toes. And picking one card from the top of the deck is tough for them. Sometimes they pick two or three, and sometimes the cards are chosen from the middle. And they run around in circles when it’s not their turn.

My five-year-old, the other hand, is a fierce competitor with intense concentration. She hates to lose. I think this would be the case under any circumstance, but I make sure to celebrate on her and talk smack when I win (I’m not sure what the American Academy of Pediatrics advises on age to begin smack talk, but I’m sure they have it wrong. One of my fundamental beliefs in life is that success is determined by how well one can handle adversity, and smack talk is a key part of that).

Today, for example, she giggled and kicked her little legs when she threw down two “plus four” cards on me in a row. The she told me I was “going to be sorry” and later threatened to “take me down to China”, leaving off “town”, a key part of smack talk. When it was her turn to deal the cards, I made the mistake of leaving the room. I came back in to find that the pile was no longer a pile, but what looked like a bunch of cards on the floor that someone had rifled through for the best ones. She beat me in seven straight cards and wagged her little tush at me.

To give her credit, she’s playing with strategy. She reserves her wild cards to the end of the game. When she throws a wild card, she assesses and picks the color with the most cards of hers remaining. Small things, but she’s learning to think. And when I look back to the last time I was in Vegas and found myself at a craps table with a woman who didn’t understand that a four came up less than a seven, perhaps she’s ahead of a number of adults.

All joking aside, games with your kids are a godsend: you spend time together having fun, you’re engaged and in the moment, you build some basic skills, and you’re not staring at a glowing rectangle.

We live in Florida and are two and a half hours away from Disney World. We have seasonal passes that allow us to come and go as we please, and over the past couple of years have figured the park out cold. So we’re sharing what works and what doesn’t with small children, where to eat a good meal, and how to maximize time in the park without dealing with crowds.

Here’s the advice my wife gave to a friend in a recent email:

As far as Disney is concerned, here’s my input (based on about 15 trips in the last few years):

Call 1-407-WDW-DINE to make dining reservations. And call me or email me if you have any other questions. I can tell you about Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and MGM if need be, too.

In November we got an adorable Havanese puppy. The good news: he’s alive and thriving, though soon to be separated from his gonads.

The bad news: a week later, with the kids at the pet store on a supply run, we impulsively bought a Tetra fish and named him Rudolph. Bad idea, though in theory, it’s a good idea, much like a picnic. Tetra fish are pretty little goldfish-sized fish that need their tank cleaned once a week and need miniscule amounts of food every other day.

So last week I was traveling for work, and no one remembered to feed Rudolph. When I returned, he was no longer blue, but green. And apparently, the broken window theory applies to fish as well. Once you forget to feed a fish for a week, you keep forgetting until they die.

Don’t buy a Tetra fish unless you’re ready for the guilt. You’re supporting “BigPet” and you know in your heart or hearts that the fish is gonna die and it will be your fault.