With 4 children in 4 different schools, we are guaranteed to catch everything! But I am feeling better today thank you.
Month: August 2006
Site Tools – URL Investigator
I have posted about the tools I use when looking at a url, ip address, etc. URLInvestigator is another one new to the scene.
Give me land lots of land under the starry skies above…
Google Maps vs Yahoo Maps and Geotagging
I love Google Maps! I used to use Mapblast and still contend its line directions are the best way to present driving directions. Are Google Maps accurate? Using Sergey Chernyshev’s tool to compare Google Maps and Yahoo Maps, I am surprised to find that although Google Maps has more detail in Europe, Yahoo maps appears to be more accurate in the US (at least in the areas I checked).
I found Sergey Chernyshev’s site while reading Thomas Hawk’s review of Flickr’s new geotagging option. Thomas Hawk is the Chief Evangelist for the photo sharing site Zooomr which makes his review of Flickr so much better. Zooomr was reviewed by C|Net 7 days ago. Geotagging is the practice of associating GPS coordinates with a picture, blog, post, or other information. GeoURL is a service mapping URLs to specific locations on the planet.
Geotagging is unhealthy for the paranoid because placing coordinates on a photo, or blog entry, publishes publically (in most cases) your exact location at an exact time. Some people may decry this a privacy issue (remember, you voluntarily put the information in the public’s eye) or declare it dangerous as "the bad people" could derive patterns in your life and track you down. It may be wise to not geotag your house or neighborhood but in reality does it really matter if people know that on Tuesday at 3:03pm you were standing by a cool statue? Personally, I wish my camera automatically put the coordinates with the EXIF information on the pictures and that the photo services would automatically grab that info. Some cameras do this already.
It’s Good Pod When The Cat Watches
How did you learn to shave?
In days of yore, packets of razor blades came with a blank. As a child, I had my own razor. Dad would put a blank on it. I would lather up from that blue can with the red and white stripes. Then clear my face of foam by Dad’s side.
One day hairs poked out of my face. Coincidentally, I had one distinctly red hair on my mangy chin. Dad handed me a real razor and my own shaving cream. Then he left. I was on my own. Fortunately, Bill Cosby taught Theo how to shave on an episode of The Cosby Show so I felt I had some guidance.
Now-a-days, children do not need parents for anything. Everything is available on the Internet! No Bill Cosby re-runs to teach my children. They can learn to shave from YouTube!
Late to school! Alzheimers warning signs.
I woke this morning at 7:10. The panic set in immediately. Noah had missed his bus! I rushed upstairs muttering, "where had Sunday gone?" I thought of the hellish schedule for today and how I had hoped to make a little progress on the client’s work Sunday. The construction project also had no changes from Saturday. I make mysef do something to it everyday. I guess Sunday had been too busy. I distinctly remember yesterday’s travels in the car, the trip to the grandparents to pick up the children. The quality time with Cathy during the day and in the evening. I guess Sunday was a good day and I will deal with today.
Noah is not in his room. He normally wakes me if I am not up. I guess he got himself to school. Sarah and Amy are missing! Oh. Wait a minute.Today is Sunday!
Odd Ball Out in a Big Family
Target last night was quite the adventure. After leaving a stench in their bathroom we casually wrapped up our shopping by dividing and conquering. The bulk of the crew went for the remaining items and I headed to the pharmacy for their very cool prescription bottles. The crew joined me at the pharm and we played with the blood pressure test machine, laughed and shopped happily. At the checkouts, Cathy, Sarah, Amy, Evan and myself started the checkout process. Out of the blue, Noah appears behind us! "Uh. Were you going to leave without me?" Cathy replies, "yes!" We look at each other and laugh asking, "Did you know he was here?" to which we both replied, "I forgot."
There goes our shot at parents of the year! A big family teaches self-reliance and independence!
Update: Target provides 6 colors for their medicines which assumes you will never have a family larger than 7. The bottles could be improved for larger families by allowing more than one color ring per bottle or using some striped rings.
Dear Target, sorry about the stink in the bathroom…
I love having a big family! Big families teach self-sufficiency and team work.
Last night in Target I heft Evan up on my shoulders as he giggles maliciously. Seconds later the smell hits me. That familiar smell of a runny diaper filled to capacity with sludge. Microseconds later he is off my shoulders and being held in that non-loving pose at the end of my outstretched arms using only my finger tips as if carrying hazardous waste all too aware that squeezing the diaper could make John Belushi’s zit seem tame.
I pass Noah playing demos in the video games. I speed past aisle after aisle knowing I could easily be walking right past Cathy and crew. Then I see a cute little Amy peek out. I alert Cathy that I must go to the car and she deftly produces "equipment" from her purse.
Wordlessly I grab the diaper and wipes and rush to the nearest restroom. One thing parenting has taught me is that stores abound with hidden restrooms. Some are singles; some are family; some are "employee only"; but if do not have children, these secret water closets are invisible to you! In Target, I was nearest the rear one located in toys. The men’s room is a single shooter graciously outfitted with a changing table with a broken safety belt. Not having the belt means one hand holds the baby, while another hand handles the wipes, another hand keeps the baby’s hands from helping, another hand removes the diaper, another hand guards the clothes from sliplage and overflow, two hands bag and seal the toxic waste, and two hands put the new diaper on the baby.
I plop Evan on the table and open the diaper. Huggies should be proud! Evan immediately goes for the flip and almost simultaneously throws in the helping hands. I am off to a bad start and recognizing I misjugded the diaper threat level I know I need reinforcements. Evan at this point is in full scream and sending a text message sos is out of the question. I dial Cathy’s number and put the phone down as I attempt to salvage the situation. Assuming I went to voicemail. I slap the phone shut, hit redial, and return to mud wrestling. Moments later, a 4 year old girl opens the men’s room door. Then a 13 year old girl opens it slight further. My reinforcements have arrived!
Suffice it to say that with Evan now outnumbered we won the battle with minimal damange. All hands, including Amy, pulled their weight. The 13 year old deserves a purple heart for casually stepping into the men’s room. From Cathy’s perspective, when the phone rang she could hear the baby screaming in stereo and knew to deploy the more mobile of reinforcements. Good choice on the special ops!
My next transport – personal helicopter
Oh I want one! It’ll fly 3000 feet! No license required in Japan. Only $30,000 in the US. See the details.
A couple of related links showing the helicopter crash in New York: video and stills.
Daily Show Interview Ray Kurzweil
Was I the only one surprised to find someone as brilliant as Ray Kurweil submitting to a Daily Show interview?!
Happy Anniversary Wife!
I first met Cathy on October 23, 1999. I knew she was remarkable at first glance! We probably exchanged 3 sentences and by happenstance were brought together by friends in the beginning of 2000 hoping we would dispense with some mutual angst and move on with our lives.
Cathy and I dated approximately a year an a half. During that time she won me over and I put an engagement ring on her finger. A short while later we were watching the children play in the cove and questioned why wait. We had each experienced fancy weddings with our previous marriages. Noah was too young to appreciate a wedding; he has almost no memory of our trip to Disney World. Tommy was still too unpredictable and self-absorbed. The wedding would be meaningless to each of the boys, or so went our thinking. I checked some legalities and acquired a marriage license. Cathy and I told no one of our plan, had the grandparents watch the boys, and we took Sarah with us to Gatlinburg to Garter’s & Gun’s. We picked three nice costumes which velco’d on the back. They took our ol’ tyme photo. We went to a room decored as a chapel that could probably hold all of 10 people. The photographer performed a legally binding ceremony and Cathy and I became married on August 25, 2001 much to the disappointment and disbelief of many people.
Amy was born on June 10, 2002. There has been speculation that she encouraged our marriage. This speculation is wrong. Suffice it to say, everyone responded to 9/11 in their own way.
Six and a half years fly by so quickly. As I look back, they have been fantastic years! As I understand, the milestone years in marriages are 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 21. Those the years with the greatest numbers of divorces. Our relationship is still magical and strong. If anything could stand improvement, I need to be a better husband, father and provider. I remain the wildcard that introduces instability into our family. I need to be more of an anchor, a rock, a foundation. Looking back on our five years of marriage, the only missed goals have centered around that instability. So before we blink again and see another 5 years pass, I must provide more stability. In all other aspects, we have a wonderful marriage and a wonderful live!
Happy Anniversary Cathy! I love you!
ps. "5 years is a wood anniversary." Uh…
Math is hard
One of the things The They don’t tell you is that as a parent you get to repeat school. You repeat it once for every child you have. I find it interesting to watch little minds grow. Concepts that are reflexive to us are foreign to them.
Today I wrote the number 1943 and asked Noah watch place each number occupied. 3, ones. 4, tens. 9, hundreds. 1, thousands. Then I added 1943.5 and asked about the 5. "That’s the oneths. No. Tenths." Good. So I added a 2 making the number 1943.52 and asked about the 5. "That’s the hundredths. The 2 is in the tenths." Hmmm. I add 7 making the number 1943.527 and asked about the 5. "The 5 is in the thousandths."
I started over putting only the 3 and he correctly identified it as the ones place. When I added the 4 for 43, the 3 remarkably remained in the ones place. Using this knowledge and some diagrams I think Noah finally got it. He correctly identified the 1/10s, the 1/100s places and so forth. Still, I think some reinforcement is in order.
I enjoy being a dad. I enjoy helping minds grow.
Private Calls With Spoofcard
Spoofcard is a calling card that allows you to specify what is seen on caller id. You can also record calls. Legit service? I’d say buyer beware!
We each walk our own path; even if it is a well worn path
My teenage daughter frustrates me so much. Why as teens do we do such stupid things? The irony is I acted much like she is. I retreated emotionally at her age. I silently screamed for notice and became angered when no one answered, when no one read my mind. That was ok. I knew everything. I didn’t need them! I cut ties to friends and family. I made mistakes and I seem helpless to stop her from making the same mistakes.
