I just read to my youngest children for an hour. I am hoarse and happy.
Category: Evan
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 8 years old holding 3 week old kitten: "You know how they say they always land on their feet?"
Mom: "NO! Don’t drop the kitty!"
Today’s accomplishment — iPod brought back to life!
For Christmas, Amy and Evan received iPods. About three weeks ago, Evan’s iPod was in his coat pocket when the coat went through the washing machine. Fortunately it was discovered before going through the dryer. I immediately pried the case open (it is held together with a glue strip) and removed the screws holding the mother board in to lift it for slightly for drying. I grabbed a Tupperware container and put the open device in it, covered with a papertowel, then poured two pounds of rice into the container. Next I went to Amazon to order five new adhesive strip stickers
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 7 years old: “Daddy, why do you have spots all over you?”
Me: “Because your grandmother knew it was time to leave the beach when your uncle and I turned red.”
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 7 year old con artist, in a soft, whispery, infectious voice: "Dad, you’re a reeeally good builder." *pause* "Putting up a tv in one day!" *pause* "Building a club house." *pause* "About to build a tree house."
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 7 years old: "A boy in my class said that all the money his dad had was $2. And his dad gave it to him!"
This could be a seven year old misinterpretation. For example, I have $5 in my wallet right now but that’s it and I could see my seven year old saying, "This is Dad’s last $5 and he gave it to me!" The sad truth is that most of us are one paycheck away from being homeless. Good fiscal planning suggests keeping three to six paychecks in savings but if $2 is all you have and your son needs that for lunch then saving anything is going to be impossible. The problem snowballs. Let’s say the $2 dad wants to feed his family and didn’t turn to Fish. Instead he knows he gets paid on Friday and since this is Thursday, he skates a check at the grocery hoping it won’t clear until after his deposit. But the bank processes the check first. Now $2 dad is faced with a $36 fee from the bank plus a $25 fee from the grocery store. $61 vanishes from the budget which is already not making it. Now the next pay period will be even harder. This is the poverty cycle.
I read something astounding yesterday.
The world’s 100 richest people earned a stunning total of $240 billion in 2012 – enough money to end extreme poverty worldwide four times over
[Source, RT.com, World’s 100 richest earned enough in 2012 to end global poverty 4 times over]
Read that closely. One hundred people could change the world.
"The richest 1 percent has increased its income by 60 percent in the last 20 years with the financial crisis accelerating rather than slowing the process."
[Source, RT.com, World’s 100 richest earned enough in 2012 to end global poverty 4 times over]
More power to them! I would love to increase my income by 60%. I would love to taste the lifestyles of the rich and famous. However, read it closely. "[T]he financial crisis accelerating rather than slowing the process." Why? Because in the past 20 years the tax laws and other laws have been skewed in favor of the rich. It’s the opposite of Robin Hood. The rich are robbing from the poor to give to the rich. Cutting off welfare programs will not suddenly make the poor responsible and bring them out of poverty; cutting off welfare programs will make the poor dead…which I suppose does end poverty.
I did not mean to politicize this. My point was that a lot of people, normal people, are struggling. It is amazing that 100 people in the world could dramatically change that 4 fold. And yes, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and others are already donating their wealth for good. I hope we can reach a point where no child ever has to say "$2 is all my dad has" again.
Why does Apple make this so confusing?
Goals
- Get beyond setup so the children can play on their iPods.
- Sync their iPods through a shared Macbook Air without compromising my wife’s iPhone and iPad settings.
- Allow the children to Facetime and iMessage their friends without compromising my wife’s contacts and without using her account.
Situation
We have one Macbook Air in the house. My wife syncs her iPhone with iTunes on this Macbook Air. For Christmas, the 7 year old and 10 year old received iPods. Yes, I understand DRM. Rovio Entertainment would much prefer I buy Angry Birds 3 times instead of one. I have no problem with that although I do feel like the model for DRM for music fails when compared to the physical world of records and CDs.
Possible solutions
As best I can tell, there are four ways to manage multiple devices with iTunes.
Each of these has their respective pros and cons.
Individual User Accounts
Since each user account is its own space, that means each user has their own iTunes library and sync settings for their iOS device. Easy to understand, (relatively) easy to set up, and easy to maintain–it’s a good approach!
[Source, About.com, 4 Ways to Use Multiple iPods on One Computer]
The problem with this approach is Apple doesn’t allow children under 13 to have an AppleID. So you are faced with lying and apparently Apple permanently associates the age first entered with the email address. Sharing of apps and music is difficult or impossible (DRM…and I’m okay with that).
Multiple iTunes Libraries
With this method, each person who uses the computer has their own iTunes library and sync settings. This way, you won’t get music, apps, or movies mixed across iTunes libraries (unless you want to) and won’t end up with someone else’s content on your iPod by mistake.
The downsides of this approach are that parental controls on content apply to all iTunes libraries (with user accounts, they’re different for each account) and that each user’s space is not as cleanly separate. Still, this is a good option that’s easy to set up.
[Source, About.com, 4 Ways to Use Multiple iPods on One Computer]
Although promising, this approach seems burdensome and ripe for making errors since iTunes launches the last used library by default.
Management Screen
With this approach, you choose what content from each of the tabs in the management screen you want on your device. Other people using the computer do the same thing.
The downsides of this technique include that it only allows one setting for parental control of content and it can be imprecise (for instance, you might only want some music from an artist, but if someone else adds more of that artist’s music, it could end up on your iPod).
So, even though it’s messy, this is a very easy way to manage multiple iPods.
[Source, About.com, 4 Ways to Use Multiple iPods on One Computer]
I believe this is how my wife has been managing multiple devices in the past. It does allow for sharing of certain apps and music but if a child starts syncing with a different iTunes library, your personal device will start prompting you for their password in addition to yours in certain circumstances. I am also not sure that this approach will allow the children to use Facetime, iCloud, and iMessage the way we want. Instead the 5GB of space on iCloud may end up being shared between all the devices while the iMessages intended only for my wife (nudge nudge) could inadvertently be seen by the children.
Playlists
Downsides of this approach include that everything each person adds to the iTunes library is mixed together, the same content restrictions for all users, and the possibility that your playlist could be accidentally deleted and you’d have to re-create it.
[Source, About.com, 4 Ways to Use Multiple iPods on One Computer]
I am afraid this will also have the problem noted above with Facetime, iCloud, and iMessage.
Conclusion
Apple has made this unnecessarily confusing. It’s as if Apple is adult techie centric and in no way thinking about the way a family might use their devices. For instance, the iPad does not support multiple logins or even a level of control that would allow your child to safely use the device. Cathy is constantly having to rename folders and put applications back in the correct spot because she cannot hand the iPod to the child in a locked down mode. A simple second password with attached restrictions such as "cannot view certain applications" or "cannot rename folders." With such an approach Apple could allow unlimited screen lock passwords that would allow settings for the adult, the teen, the child, or even the toddler (and yes, toddlers use iPads).
So, how do you manage multiple iDevices in your house? And with children under 13?
From the mouths of babes
Somehow I hurt my knee badly. I suspect it has something to do with playing hacky sack with Amy (10) and Evan (7) at the bus stop every morning. How badly? Last night I iced it with a 50/50 slurry of water and 90% isopropyl alochol, and washed a hydrocodone down with a glass of wine (or two). How badly? This morning my wife had to help me put my pants and shoes on.
Me, hobbling to the bus stop with one of my Mountainsmith Carbonlite Pro Trekking Poles
Evan, 7 years old, cheerfully: "You look like Granddaddy!"
Nothing heals you faster! (And guess which child is getting coal for Christmas)
From the mouths of babes
Moe’s employee: "What can I get you brother?"
Evan, seven years old: "You’re not my brother."
Moe’s employee: "Little man, that just means I like you. We’re friends."
Evan: "But you’re not my brother."
From the mouths of babes
Evan, seven years old: "Daddy, wanna know something? When you get too old, you get a goatee."
And we camped!
Evan and I just returned from our first camping trip to the Cosby Campground in the GSMNP. Greenbrier used to be my hideaway in the Smokies and is still one of my favorite spots. Cosby is on the Greenbrier side of the mountains and was a wonderful experience! Our scouts, their parents, their support, our pack, its support, the attitudes, the adventures and the weather were all great…better…they were perfect! This is one of those father/son bonding experiences that had so many precious moments that this trip will always hold a special place in my heart.
Teach them automotive maintenance young
My 16 year old son is driving now. Some good friends cut him a deal. They gave him a 1991 Ford Tempo GL and, in exchange, he drives their son to school. The only problem is the Ford Tempo isn’t running right now. The radiator is too gunked up. When I was 16, you could have given me the biggest lemon in the world and I would have spent every waking moment cleaning it, tuning it, staring at it, and driving it to Timbuktu. My 16 year old son doesn’t seem interested in the car in the least. Before we knew this car was coming into the family, I offered to lethelp him repair the Jeep but he wasn’t interested. This is not limited to my son. The 16 year old populace, at least those we know, seem genuinely disinterested in driving. I think we need to rename them Generation Xbox.
So, I set out to replace the radiator myself. And, surprisingly, ended up with a great helper. My seven year old stepped up, and single-handedly removed the air filter and all the connecting pieces.
And that lollipop is not cigarette inspired. Just a coincidence, but funny!
Spider-Evan
Yesterday we took Evan rock climbing at The Climbing Center in Knoxville. He is a natural! Once attached to the rope, he shot up the 40 foot walls without fear. Understanding that his next handhold could be discovered by straightening a bent leg seemed intuitive to him. Noah made it up the wall twice before feigning to hunger. Cathy only had her hand sucked into the ATC (brake) once. My supple skin only lost a few layers of epidermis due to belaying. We had a blast!
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 7 years old, talking to Mom: "I thought Daddy and I were still cleaning the garage today. I’m his best helper."
I love that boy so much!
Evening goal – relax
I really wanted to have a nice relaxing Saturday night to clear my head and find some extra happiness. Oh, of mice and men! Slow FTP. What could I do? Naturally, run to the steamed broccoli drive-thru. While at the local Chinese buffet, struggling to understand what the staff was trying to say, my phone buzzed with a panicked child, "The bathroom is flooding! Come right away!" I reply, "but I’m not at home." The ten year old quandaries, "where are you?" My head explodes, picturing a naive child talking on the phone, a wife unknowingly cleaning in the basement, while rivers flow through my home. All was well. The flood was bad. But our saving grace, were the tampons for they absorbed it well.
