A Random Pattern

Update: Final new web home

2006-08-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

I've got a new web address, and I've even imported all my old posts from here. It's my own domain, which means I can do whatever I want with it. ;)

That also means I have a new email address, though you don't have to worry about that. I won't be changing any of my current addresses, just rerouting, etc...

Stop by and see me. Bookmark my feed, too, though it might not work for another few days until I get everything straightened out. :(

My content posts will be happening at ransomedhome.com from now on, instead of ransomedhome.blogspot.com. Thanks to Google and Blogspot for the free hosting, and for getting me started. :)

2006-08-11T12:20:00.000-05:00

Testing complete, and Applets

Not only was it successful, but I've discovered Applets! Now I'm blogging, through Remote Desktop, from a button on my taskbar (bar across bottom of desktop), without any difficulty. Very nice - I really like this tool, it's exactly what I've been looking for.

I've also got a funny screenshot for you. I just grabbed this off my desktop and dragged it into my post, so we'll see how well it uploads to Blogger. ;)

Take a look at the last line of the description. Although monkey-bubble is a decent game, in the vein (though not nearly as good as) Snood, the description by the open-source authors displays one of the weaknesses of most linux geeks. :-D

2006-08-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

testing, testing, 1 2 3

test from Ubuntu using a "blog entry poster" application for Gnome. This is kind of cool, though I'm not sure how useful it will be. Depends on how well it works, I guess.

Animated Jigsaw Puzzle

2006-08-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

This is a simple example, but it's really cool once you figure out what's going on. I hope to see more of these!

Gentle Hint Guide to n.nfshost.com

2006-08-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

First, how this guide will work. I've hidden all except the most gentle of hints, so anything you can read right now is safe and won't spoil your "success" feeling. Then, I provide a few hints for every puzzle, finally practically giving you the answer. Give it a day if you're stuck, then come back to it. This isn't the best made puzzle ever, so there will be some guessing necessary, but nothing's very far out there. The answer is always (somewhat) obvious, so no arcane puzzling knowledge or torturous logic paths are necessary.

Start with 1: Move your mouse over the 1.

On 2? Stuck? You can actually manually type in a web address, did you know that? Or you can change the current one just a bit, and see if there's a page with that name?
More for 2: Go back to page 1, and look at the address. Now go forward to page 2. Look at the address. What would the address for 3 look like?

3: what did you do to get here? Do the same thing, only look at the information on the page first.

more for 3: How does the symbol in the middle of the page correspond to 3? What would be 4 then?

Still need more? Look up "Roman number".

4: Really, just repeat the last sets of instructions. What comes after four?

5: Ok, this is where the puzzle starts to vary a little bit from the formula of the last several. Give it a try.

5 again: Count the o's. Now how do you get to 6?

6: This is your first stretch. How does that number equal 6? Being a computer would help you understand this....

6 not-so-subtle hint: We're not in the decimal system anymore, Toto.

6, one more hint: Try wikipedia. try google. Put in the number you know and the number you don't. Find out how they are related.

7: Tricky one - if you're from U.S., it's not what you first think. Do a google search.

7 more detailed hint: Ok, search for both the clue and the number (7 and sept).

7 TMI: try learning a different language. At least until you can count to eight...

8: Hopefully you're getting the hang of it. Here's another new one, but nothing too difficult.

8 actual hint: How does the clue equal eight?

8: ok, get a mirror. Or pretend you're from a country that reads right-to-left. Unless you are, in which case you probably didn't need this hint. ;)

9: Oh, fun! Where'd your clue go? If you are reading this, you already know how to solve 9.

9: C'mon, you can find it! Did you look for it? Use your mouse..

10: 2 ways to tackle this one. Try selecting your missing clue, or look at source code. Source code's really the better way, because you'll need it later on anyways. Go to "View" "Source Code" in the menu.

More to follow.....

Clues for 11-20 will be posted later this week, followed by clues all the way through 30. Hang in there!

WWDC 2006 Predictions: It's about the Cat

2006-08-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

Everyone else is doing it, I figured I'll throw my hat in the ring too. Of course, I don't have much to add other than what I think is obvious. If you want the low-down on rumors, sites like TUAW writeup will fill you up.

So here's the skinny: This is a developer conference. Yes, Apple may role out some new hardware. Everyone wants them to, but no one's got any real idea whether they will or won't. What we do know is that the main focus here is on Developers, and on the next version of OS X.

Here's my predictions - they fall in line with one of my favorite bloggers, John Gruber from Daring Fireball:
-Leopard out soon, probably before Window's Vista.
-Improved Spotlight and Metadata features (thanks Ars for making me dream!)
-New eye candy, major graphics cleanup.
-Next step for resolution independence?
-New Mac Pro. Yes, I think they'll probably introduce it. No, I don't have any good reason for thinking so, other than aggregate opinion (which is a really bad indicator, historically).

Thanks to someone's quick camera, we know Apple's expecting to wow us with the next version of OS X. And that, my friends, can only be good for computer users everywhere.

My Grandma's got a nicer iPod than me!

2006-08-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

My wife's grandma regularly enters all kinds of contests and sweepstakes. Recently she won a brand-spankin-new 60 GB iPod. It's a generation newer than mine (about 1 year), so it's half the size and plays video. 8-)

I helped Sara's dad rip his CD collection onto our Mac, since they're still running an old HP with Win 98 (gah!). Once his iPod was set up, we gave it a test run in my Hi-Fi. :-D

Sweeeeet!

Don't worry, I'm aiming for a Nano sometime soon so I can run with it. Grandma won't be joining me. ;)

:P

New Sidenotes for my Blogger

2006-08-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

arc90 labs released this cool bit of javascript. You may have noticed me trying it out - I'm still trying to get it right, but seeing how often I segue into little sidenotes I could probably use something like this.

New Kitchen Pictures

2006-08-04T16:22:00.000-05:00

Quick link: Check out our new granite (Tan-Brown) countertops, just installed.

Now if we can just get the sink hooked up....

G Talk: What's old is new again

2006-08-04T15:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, not really old. But Google has just announced some exciting new features being rolled out to Google Talk users. This follows nicely on my last few posts.

IM and collaborative technologies are important to me, because I'm a "tele-worker" - that is, I live and work a few states away from my old office.

Now, if they'd just get a nice "whiteboard" going...

Google Maps saves addresses!

2006-08-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

Finally! Google Maps offers a new feature - they'll save addresses you search for, and you can even label them. The first one I'll be putting in is "home" - the address I use as a starting point for 90% of my direction searches!

One of the most common requests we've received is for the ability to store a list of personal addresses on Google Maps -- and now you can.

Oh, and for all you people still using Mapquest: Please, STOP! Try Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, anything but Mapquest!!! You have NO IDEA what you're missing! (If you've tried the others, and went back to Mapquest, comment or email me - I'd really like to know why.)

iPod integration

2006-08-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

Jupiter Research called my attention to this little iPod news bit:

Well, the final holdouts are on board with Ford, GM and Mazda offering iPod integration for their cars.

I'm glad to hear this, as I was appalled to discover Ford's new Fusion didn't even have an option (!!!!) for a stereo with iPod available plugin. Not only that, but they offer no option to downgrade to cassette tape either. That means it's CDs, radio, or FM-adapter for me, and my 9000 tunes stay locked in my iPod for now....

The implications for satellite radio and 'old' radio are certainly interesting. Do you still listen to regular radio? Do you think it's going away, or staying around? Why?

Puzzle Exhibit

2006-08-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

A few quick links for you puzzle freaks out there: These articles are all pretty much about the same thing. The NY Times article is best, but requires registration (hence the other links).

This is an impressively large and comprehensive exhibit on mechanical puzzles of all types, including one that is impossible. ;)
Slocum puzzle exhibit opens next week

IU's Lilly Library will acquire world's largest collection of ...

Portraits of, and by, the artists

NY Times article on Puzzle Exibit (reg required - or BugMeNot extension for Firefox :) )

Ubuntu install: I've been busy

2006-08-02T15:01:00.000-05:00

I know I'm overdue on some more posts. They'll be along shortly, but here's a few reasons for my delay.

1) trying out new Wordpress software. Conclusion so far: Awesome! Check out my new blog home, probably will end up permanently migrating though I will post several updates here when that happens.

2) Installed Ubuntu, which was also Awesome! However, had a few hiccups due to the PC I was using being very old, and somewhat broken. Everything is good now, however.

3) Finally got countertops installed, so we have an almost normal kitchen. (Pictures coming soon). Now just need to hook up sink and water, get a dishwasher, microwave, and put refrigerator in place....

4) Catching up on a sudden major load of work. This will keep me behind schedule for another week or so, probably. I'll try to get posts up every day or two, though.

Lots to do still, but I should be back on track as far as regular posting. Thanks for stopping by. If you're looking for puzzle posts, I've got a few coming your way very shortly.

I can count to 30!

2006-07-28T08:23:00.000-05:00

I finished the nfshost puzzle the other night. Wasn't terribly exciting, really - I guess I was a little disappointed with the ending. Guess it shows how hard it is to craft a really good puzzle.

Luckily I found this other puzzle to keep me busy now: wefriddles. This one's a lot more friendly, too: each page (so far) tells you what number you're on! The creator also gives directions on the first page. Warning, though, the rumor is this one gets hard quicker.

If you're just looking for hints on n.nfshost.com, most of what is out there is spoilers, which isn't any fun. So I'm going to put up a "gentle tip" guide that will help you out without stealing your satisfaction. Look for that in the next day or so.

If you really just want the answers, I shouldn't provide them, but.... they're here if you look hard enough (sigh).

http://blog.snaggd.com/?p=7: this one at least has hints and explanations.
http://snm.imeem.com/blogentry/VuS7Z4gK,Ridiculously_Annoying_Puzzle_Game No explanations or help, just a spoiler list of all n.nfshost.com links.

shareboard - collaborative whiteboard and shared document editing space

2006-07-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

From this search, you can find my new project on Google Code. Uh, my brand new project...

shareboard - collaborative whiteboard and shared document editing space

Actually, you may have noticed from an earlier post that I've been thinking about this for awhile. Last I looked, there wasn't anything out there that met my needs. This time I found something (the Coccinella project), so I may have to rethink.

Anyways, for the last few days I've been thinking about building a mini-version of this for the Google Desktop Gadget Challenge. Don't think I have enough time to complete it for the challenge, given my current skillset. Still, it would be nice to try.

You can see from my comments on this long-ago post with the Google Talk team that I really have been wanting this for awhile.

Anybody have any feedback or suggestions? I'd love to hear what you have to say. Is this needed? Would you use it, and if so how?

Leopard Screenshot Contest

2006-07-27T20:27:00.000-05:00

Gotta dig this stuff. We're still holding on until Steve Jobs does the big unveil of the next Mac OS in less than a month, and these fake, dreamy screenshots are helping me survive. ;)

Please, Steve, fulfill some dreams! My personal faves would be much improved metadata[1], as well as collaboration abilities. Here's the number one winner of the afore-linked contest: First Place, Eric Patterson.

Speaking of which, this person stole my idea! Ok, not really, but I've been thinking about this ever since Google Talk came out. Props to Adam Shutsa for the very nice iMeeting concept.

Think you're not rich?

2006-07-27T12:28:00.000-05:00

Very provoking Q&A over on Yahoo Answers. Although lots of complications to the answer are skipped over, it's probably a pretty good gross approximation. Look at this little bit of the answer:

How much money (in US$) would I get if we divided up all the wealth in the world into equal amounts?

...for an individual share value of $6,685.92....

Alright, seriously, go read the answer in full. Then come back here.

Now, think about your net worth. Looking at where my viewership hails from, it's a pretty good bet that you're worth more than $6700. Not to mention you probably use / manage between 10 and 100 times that much wealth.

To me, this means I'm WAAYYYY above the wealth of the average human. Huh. Kinda makes you stop and think, I hope. So if you don't think you have money to give, or that it's not needed....

WAKE UP!!!! You are living in the lap of luxury, and if you can't afford to keep up with your neighbors, maybe you're looking at the wrong people as neighbors!

Microsoft - principled and transparent?!

2006-07-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this shocking article, Microsoft says Vista to allow Google search engine:

Microsoft says Vista will allow other search engines as default.

"Our goal is to be principled and transparent as we develop new versions of Windows"

I originally had a 12 paragraph reply, which got eaten when my software crashed. I don't have enough time to rewrite it all, so you're going to get the short version this time. I don't expect much complaining about that. :)

Microsoft has a Monopoly, and in a capitalist environment Monopolies have to follow different rules. Microsoft didn't find this easy: the same ruthless business instinct that got them where they were, made it too easy to keep them there by illegitimate means. Several lawsuits later, Microsoft much more carefully watches it's step.

Still, this move, as smart as it is, surprises me because it doesn't seem Microsoft was forceably backed into it. Instead, they used the massive brainpower stored up in Seattle, and realized they probably would be forced to this. So instead they made the ethical, and competitively-friendly decision to allow distributors to preconfigure computers (gasp!).

Alright, this is getting long, and I hope you get the point. Read the article: it's a nice move from Microsoft, which has slowly been turning the ship the last year or two with help from Scoble and the extensive Office 2007 team. Let's see if the new blood and brains can perservere, and clean out the old, dirty corporation...

Wei-Hwa's Puzzle Challenge links

2006-07-26T22:22:00.000-05:00

Via Nathan Weinberg’s return post on InsideGoogle, I quite accidentally discovered this delicious puzzle challenge.

There’s already a blog dedicated to Wei-Hwa’s puzzle challenge, and it seems to have most of the weekly puzzles.

If you’d like, you can Add the puzzle to your Google personal homepage (if you have one set up).

If you want some help getting started on week 9’s puzzle, the googlepuzzles blog offered this very helpful hint: Plug one of the words you need to convert into Webster's Online Dictionary, then look near the bottom of the entry for anagrams.

n.nfshost.com slowly bends before my will

2006-07-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

I have made good progress tonight. I believe I'm at 28 now. It's really hard to keep count! (At least for me - I can't even keep count when playing something like racquetball or tennis :) ).

I'm surprised there haven't been more questions. Let's see... I got stuck on 7, then 13, then 17 was a bit of a challenge. From 19 on it's been pretty good and challenging, though some were really easy as they followed on the same thought-path as the previous puzzle.

If you are thoroughly stuck, I recommend the following:
1. Don't look up any spoilers. At least not yet!
2. Go away and try again tomorrow, or later on. When your brain's had a rest, it'll have a better chance.
3. No really, give it a break.
4. Ok, start over on this puzzle. Erase your previous guesses from your mind.
5. What clues are you given? If you don't see a clue, go back to the previous page and compare it to this. What has changed?
6. The easiest way to compare is to view the source for the page. By the 20 puzzle, you ought to be pretty familiar with what the source for this puzzle looks like.
7. Did the clue not help too much? Try a little creative googling (but not for the spoiler! You can still figure this out!)
8. Once you figure out what direction the clue's pointing in, you're good to go.
9. Still stuck? Not even a vague idea? Alright, you can look up some hints. Ask here in the comments, read through my earlier posts, or follow the link to the digg conversation - but be very careful, it's full of spoilers! You won't be nearly as happy if you find something that gives it away. I like to start with gentle hints first. I'll put out the gentle hint guide once I complete the puzzle.

Good luck!

25 out of 30 - not great, not bad

2006-07-25T13:29:00.000-05:00

Over the course of several days, I've now made it to 25 out of a reported 30. I generally try and do one or two in the evening, but the other night I had a breakthrough when I got through twenty-one, and flew straight through to 25!

It was fairly satisfying, though the puzzles were easy compared to some of the earlier ones. Still, 25's puzzle looks promisingly challenging. We'll see how it goes tonight...

I hate Blogger

2006-07-24T15:14:00.000-05:00

Why does this stupid Blogger's autosave malfunction so badly when I need it?

Completely worthless.

Don't use Blogger unless you have no option - I'll be migrating as soon as I can...

I just lost a 12 paragraph, very detailed, extensively hyperlinked post! Arghh!!

Apple tips its hand? (or The Apple news crowd is too easy....)

2006-07-21T19:55:00.000-05:00

In one of many reports on Apple's recent finance call, Bloomberg News reports on the closest a financial call gets to being exciting - unless Microsoft announces mass-layoffs during its next call, at least.

The news is that Apple, oh she of the supremely tight-lipped, the company that sues rumor sites*, actually tipped analysts off to product(s) coming in the Apple pipline. But did Apple really reveal what is spreading around the web? Or are they just taking advantage of the hysteria that accompanies every Apple announcement? Was this a calculated move to satiate Wall Street and the rabid Apple rumor press, while throwing competitors off their trail, even into a panic? Are they using this opportunity to checkmate some more media executives?

Whatever Apple's up to, they've shown up till now several things:
1. A voracious aptitude for sharp business
2. A nose for cool
3. An intense desire - nay, need - for secrecy

Of course, everyone wants an Apple iPhone to appear, so it's not a surprise that we're all so willing to believe. After all, what other company could actually make a phone that would be a pleasure to use?

So what do you think? Bait, or a real whiff of what's coming next year? Maybe some of both? I'm still holding out for a shiny new Apple PDA/Phone. ;)

*IANAL, but from the fairly extensive reading I did, Apple should have won this case. The Judge's opinion seems almost laughable - of course it is very difficult for many judges on the bench to even follow all the new technology that has emerged... (if anyone can find the excellent write-up by someone siding with Apple, quoting extensively from the Appeals Court ruling, please let me know. I can't find the post anymore.)

On count to 30, I've made it to 21...

2006-07-21T19:36:00.000-05:00

I've made it to 21. There are a lot of spoilers on this digg discussion, but I've mostly only needed the hints so far.

I seem to enjoy only doing one or two a day (not to mention I'm really short on time this week!), so it may be a few days before I can give out a complete set of hints through 30. Still, if you're stuck I can at least point you in the right direction. See my earlier posts, or ask for help in the comments.

Once I finish, it's back to Blifaloo!

Ok, one more hint. Use Google, and try different approaches. The answers can take some guessing: the puzzles don't always seem obvious (self-evident) even after you've solved them. Patience, grasshopper...

Performancing - or not Performancing?

2006-07-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

I've already written a blog entry thrice, but you may not get to read it. That's due to a few reasons.

1. I'm using Beta software - Firefox 2.0b1 (because I have to have the latest and greatest)
2. I was really missing Performancing now that I'm blogging regularly again.
3. Performancing kindly (?) have approved their plugin all the way through Firefox 3(!!), which won't be released for probably a year (!!!).

Que spooky music as I near completion of a blog post. Then....

Bam!! Not once, but twice, but three times completely wiped out. Crashed. Dead.

So I'm going to hurry up and post this before it dies, too. Enjoy. :-S

A hint on n.nfshost.com, the "count to 30" game

2006-07-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

I'm going to make my tips hard to see. If you're sure you want to read them, highlight the text with your mouse and you'll be able to read it easily. Also, make sure you've really put in best effort before using my clues - you'll just feel cheated otherwise (except perhaps on 13, where you're going to feel cheated regardless). I'm also going to offer progressive tips, to hopefully help you walk the right path to a solution.

If you're stuck on number/page 16, my first recommendation is to think back to number 7. For those stuck on 7, remember: different language. Ok, so if that isn't enough for getting past 16, then use google and do some looking.

If you're still stuck on 16 (it can be hard to find), try this page. That's about all I can help you with. :)

Oh, if you're stuck on another number, put it in the comments. I'm not finished yet, but I'll help where I can.

Puzzles! And ... stuff

2006-07-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered another online puzzle, and in searching for help I found this pretty cool puzzle and game forum full of people who must have much more time on their hands than I do!

This may or may not been helpful when I was working on blifaloo (which I really need to get back to).

Anyways, I've noticed recently more incoming links related to puzzling, so I'm going to try to provide more puzzle content here. No promises, but hopefully at least weekly. I'll also tweak the comments so they're back to useful.

Where we go from here is anyone's guess. :) Good luck, adventurers! (If you follow the last link, k-mail Random44).

Politically Homeless - A Long Tail...

2006-07-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

A long tale, indeed. Yes, pun is intended. For those that don't recognize the term long tail, check the link. Everyone else, march along to the article below - I've only quoted a bit, make sure to read the whole thing! The last two paragraphs wander a bit from the political topic, and get really interesting. :)

Politically Homeless: "I'm politically homeless -- part of what Arnold Kling calls the long tail of politics. Although my political philosophy is generally libertarian or Jeffersonian ('that government governs best which governs least'), I stopped supporting the Libertarian Party several years ago because it is a feckless, corrupt organization. Yet the issues that are important to me -- reforming eminent domain, ending the War on Drugs, eliminating corporate welfare and trade barriers (especially with the so-called Third World), maintaining reasonably open immigration, encouraging greater cooperation within the Anglosphere (e.g., sojourner status for citizens of the English-speaking nations), freeing education by giving the schools to the teachers, ending occupational licensing and other restrictions on making a living, safeguarding the right to self-defense, pushing as much power as possible down to the local level, etc. -- are not important to the Republicans or Democrats. These days I tend to follow Kling's advice to vote against incumbents, though I doubt that does much good. Better, I think, to support organizations that are focused on particular issues (e.g., the Castle Coalition on eminent domain reform). Too many people associate politics with electoral politics, which is a hopeless arena because of gerrymandering and the sheer size of electoral districts. I hold out more hope for initiatives,"

Strangely disturbing pictures

2006-07-17T17:47:00.000-05:00

A series of haunting, disturbing, and otherwise well done images. Juxtapositions of two disparate, but both common, images result in some weirdly unsettling stuff.

Two of the images, in particular, are likely to give me nightmares. Can you guess which two?

(hint: no, one of them is not the picture included with this post!)

Can you count to 30?

2006-07-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

Another day, another challenge. Via Joe Beda's blog:

Check this out. Get to 30. Your day is now shot :)

I'm afraid to say I'm still stuck on 13 (even after a hint! Shame!!)

Hope you fare better. At least do the first five - you'll feel better. :)

Update: I'm now on 17. I think. It's getting harder to remember. :D

Invisible Board - cool homemade video (not by me!)

2006-07-15T15:06:00.000-05:00

"This is the "Invisible Board" section of the skate video "Yeah Right!" by Girl/Chocolate. The skaters were filmed skating on green boards, then the boards were edited out. It's definitely one of the cooler portions of an all-around awesome movie. Even if you're not a skater, you have to appreciate the cinematography, and just plain awesomeness. Amazing backgroud music as well."

Hope you guys like it. I'm inspired to do something similar now. A snowboarding version of this would be completely and totally wicked! :P

Elderly Transportation problem? Solution!

2006-07-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

Independent Transportation Network® and ITNAmerica™ began as a graduate school project at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service in Portland, Maine. Inspired by personal experience when someone in her family was involved in an automobile crash, ITN’s founder, Katherine Freund, realized that crashes are not the problem—they are the symptom.

The problem: the U.S. transportation system does not meet the mobility needs of normally aging people. If older people do not have good transportation options, they cannot make safe transportation choices.

Katherine set out to solve the underlying mobility problem. Throughout the two years she studied for her Masters degree in public policy, she examined all angles of sustainable transportation for older people.

...If the Independent Transportation Network® could effectively solve the problem in one community, creating the ITN model in another community could replicate that solution. The outcome: creating a national non-profit transportation solution for older people who wish to limit or stop driving without losing their independence or compromising their community activity.

That national solution is ITNAmerica™.

This is an example of what one person can accomplish with dedication and vision. Follow the link to the ITN site, and read more about how ITN is addressing part of America's transportation problem.

The story is compelling and inspiring.

Fancy Fireworks Fotos

2006-07-10T22:39:00.000-05:00

After some inspiration courtesy of www.fury.com, I set off with family in tow....

Actually they set off with me in tow....

Anyways, as we watched fireworks booming overhead, I saw it all on a tiny lcd screen. Clicking frantically, waving the camera in the air, accidentally turning on flash (I'm sure everyone on the lawn LOOOVED that), the very definition of an American holiday.

The end results are available online in our Picasa photo album. Give'em a look-see, let me know what you think. I'm thinking there's a few marginally good ones in there.

Thanks for the inspiration, Rachel!

p.s. Yes, I know it's spelled photo, not foto. :P

p.s.s. Yes, I know I need to crop and cut and otherwise pretty up my shots. I figured if I didn't just pick the good ones and put them up now, it'd never happen. So deal. :D

Middle Class - Dual income and Bankrupt

2006-07-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

In a rather depressing, but very eye-opening excerpt from “The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers And Fathers Are Going Broke,” by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, America's struggling middle-class situation is laid out in black and white. Here's a few of the most interesting paragraphs (check out the excerpt on MSNBC for more details).

The average two-income family earns far more today than did the single-breadwinner family of a generation ago. And yet, once they have paid the mortgage, the car payments, the taxes, the health insurance, and the day-care bills, today’s dual-income families have less discretionary income — and less money to put away for a rainy day — than the single-income family of a generation ago. And so the Two-Income Trap has been neatly sprung. Mothers now work two jobs, at home and at the office. And yet they have less cash on hand. Mom’s paycheck has been pumped directly into the basic costs of keeping the children in the middle class.
At the same time that millions of mothers went to work, the family needed the stay-at-home mom (or a costly replacement) more than ever. The number of frail elderly, most of whom must depend on family for daily care, spiraled upward. Hospitals began discharging patients “quicker and sicker,” expecting the family to pick up the task of nursing them back to health. With Mom in the workforce, parents were faced with a painful choice between paying for expensive care and taking time off work. At the same time, the divorce rate continued its upward climb. This situation was compounded by a leaner-and-meaner business climate that closed plants and laid off workers with alarming frequency. In this tougher world, millions of two-income families learned the price of living without a safety net.
Inevitably, the Two-Income Trap affected the one-income family too. When millions of mothers entered the workforce, they ratcheted up the price of a middle-class life for everyone, including families that wanted to keep Mom at home. A generation ago, a single breadwinner who worked diligently and spent carefully could assure his family a comfortable position in the middle class. But the frenzied bidding wars, fueled by families with two incomes, changed the game for single-income families as well, pushing them down the economic ladder. To keep Mom at home, the average single-income family must forfeit decent public schools and preschools, health insurance, and college degrees, leaving themselves and their children with a tenuous hold on their middle-class dreams.

So what's the state of your union? Are you caught in the "Two-Income Trap"? How can this knowledge influence your votes and your actions as a citizen and member of society?

More cheery fireworks pictures to follow. :)

Happy Fourth, Everyone!

2006-07-05T16:09:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy Fourth (American holiday). Here's one of the better shots I got last night, as we watched and listened to firework explosions.

Explosions had a different meaning and feeling when the first Independence Day happened.....

Uh Oh!

2006-06-19T23:53:00.000-05:00

Selah's first word is "Uh Oh". I suppose that says something about us as parents. Not sure I want to know what though. :-D

The end is (almost) in sight

2006-06-19T23:25:00.000-05:00

Here's a screenshot that sums up where we were - a few weeks ago. Follow the link to see pictures of where we are now.

Unfortunately our cabinet guy delayed on us (again). So now due to travels and schedule conflicts (which we specifically had planned to avoid) we will be waiting another week or so for cabinets, followed by a week or two (or three) for countertops.

Yay July 4th. Here's hoping we have a kitchen.....

The Big Switch (or not so big)

2006-05-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

As usual, we're in the midst of transitions. There's one transition in particular that I've decided to blog about, mainly because I expect it'll be of interest to lots of people on the web. There will be at least a few posts here before I exhaust the subject. So, here's the change:

We've switched to Mac OS X from Windows XP. Well, switched isn't quite correct. We got a new Mac Mini, and hooked it up to a 4-way KVM switch, so we can use one monitor for the Mac Mini and the old eMachine XP. It's been a week or two now, so how's it going?

Well, we don't switch to XP much. Of course, I also have a work laptop running XP, so I use that all day. But when I come upstairs, if I need something on our personal computer I mostly use the Mac. Of course, being a tech guy I switch over and check settings or mess around with the different setups, but to do anything I mainly use the Mac Mini.

During the first week, after I did the initial setup, I was getting the Mac Mini on our wireless network. Easy, by the way. Easier than XP. Then I got it to talk to the XP computer. As I was doing this, I noticed that I was feeling a little more out of control than on Windows.

Now I've used Windows for years now, pretty much all the way back to DOS (I remember the monochrome computer in my room with Monopoly and a spreadsheet program!) And though I "used" Macs in high school, the class was fairly lame (my football coach taught the computer class). So I don't think I got a good introduction to Macs.

Back to my narrative: So I noticed that I just didn't know how to do things, even "simple" things, that I knew on Windows. Even though there's tons of help, and I've since discovered most things I was trying to do are easier / better on the Mac, they were different. So all of a sudden I wasn't the power user I had felt like on XP.

Now my wife's been slightly skeptical of the whole thing, and likes to poke fun at my "obsession" with Apple and how I regard Microsoft as "the devil". So I was trying to acknowledge that the transition might not be the easiest thing in the world, and mentioned that it was a little harder than I thought. She didn't sympathize at all, so I asked if she was finding it difficult. Her answer caught me by surprise:

"No, not really."

My wife, surprisingly, doesn't switch to XP hardly at all! The one program she switches back over for is Paint Shop Pro, which is a windows-only program that we paid for and use to edit our photos. But for her, once I got Firefox on the Mac and our photos copied over to iPhoto, she was good to go.

So here's the deal: for someone who just wants to get some stuff done on their computer, and isn't a "power user" (read: geek), it's no harder learning to get around OS X than it is trying to get around XP. In fact, because things happen faster and the same way every time, it's actually easier even to someone who knows XP!

Now me, I'm still trying to find out how I can control the Mac's subnet masking.....

Jungle Fever

2006-04-24T21:27:00.000-05:00

Jungle Fever
Originally uploaded by random4444.

Yes, I need a mower. Yes, Tessa survived the jungle that was our front yard. Yes, I have a mower now. No, the yard is not yet tamed. It's a reel mower - and no, that's not a typo. Maybe I'll put up a picture later.

Check out more pictures on my flickr page - see link below, or click on this pic.

(too good to caption)

2006-04-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

(too good to caption)
Originally uploaded by random4444.

Add your own caption below. Certain words come to mind for me, such as

"nanoo nanoo"

and

"yoda"

:)

Kitchen Remodel and Balcony

2006-04-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

Kitchen Remodel and Balcony
Originally uploaded by random4444.

Current state of the kitchen "mod".

Renovations

2006-04-16T22:48:00.000-05:00

This is the short version of what I've spent the last week doing. Expect to see more pictures soon at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ransomedhome/

Ladybug and Easter eggs

2006-04-16T22:34:00.000-05:00

Selah likes to eat...anything. She likes the yard, but couldn't keep up with Sister and Mom on their Easter egg hunt.

Sisters

2006-03-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

Selah and Tessa having a good time. Selah follows Tessa around everywhere. :)

Wherever I am....There better be food

2006-03-17T12:09:00.000-05:00

Guess who likes to eat?

Selah's always foraging, even on the front lawn...

Bubble Maker

2006-03-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

What fun is spring without a new spring toy?!

Lofty ideas

2006-03-13T10:36:00.000-05:00

Don't hold your breath for the bad puns to end. Do enjoy this picture of the loft, sitting above the kitchen and adjacent to the living room. Right now, the current owner has this set up as a recording studio - pretty cool.

Dining Room has a bright outlook...

2006-03-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

The window seat/bench in the dining room, looking out onto the backyard and creek, is quite nice. It's hard to get a photo with good lighting, because of all the light coming in the windows.

Backyard - another pic

2006-03-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

Standing near the back of our (potential) new property, you can look up the creek and around the bend.

Great Room! (pun fully intended)

2006-03-09T15:16:00.000-05:00

This pic is for grandma, although the rest of you are welcome to look also.
Looking down from the loft, towards the living room, we can see our realtor (red shirt), Grandpa V., and the kiddies.

Selah also spent some time trying to grab a bright patch of sunlight coming through one of the windows. Quite amusing.

If you're wondering why there've been no posts....

2006-03-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

(I'm impressed you're still around).

Oh, yes - if you're wondering if that last pic of a house purchase had anything to do with why I haven't posted in MONTHS.....

ding ding ding, you're right!

We've moved to Georgia, USA. Near Atlanta.

By moved, I mean still-in-the-process-of-moving-and-getting-back-in-the-swing-of-things. Oh, and don't type sentences using the dash-in-between-every-word format like I just did. 1. It's wrong, and unnecessary. 2. It's a pain in the butt to type!

So, yeah, welcome back. I hope to keep you enthralled with a little more regular content. Here's to hoping.....

New Home - Front and Center

2006-03-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

This is the view from the curb of our (soon-to-be-if-things-don't-fall-through) new diggs! To the left, you'll notice multiple windows of various geometric persuasions passing light into the living room (or Great Room, if you want to be pretensious). :)

More pics to follow soon, so stay tuned. Oh, and we're remodeling before we even move in....that's the plan at the moment, anyways.

China's Gas Guzzling

2006-01-06T15:23:00.000-05:00

This article really got me thinking. We react to news every day, yet we are generally oblivious to much of the picture behind the scenes. The furor over the NSA wiretapping, the blogosphere blowup over MSN locking out a chinese blogger, and other daily news generally goes to show that once you start really looking into a decision it's not nearly so easy as we tend to assume (usually in outraged rants to our co-workers).

Take this article on China's growing energy use. It's from the perspective of a blog on alternative energy, but there is a lot of valuable insight into international politics and many other areas here. For example:

China has courted oil-rich nations such as Sudan, Venezuela and Iran that are officially out of favour with Washington, even dangling the possibility of using its United Nations Security Council veto to protect them against sanctions.

China last year repeatedly blocked U.N. attempts to punish Sudan for failing to stop atrocities in its Darfur region. China owns a 40 percent stake in the major oil consortium drilling in Sudan, and it buys half of Sudan's crude exports.

Does that give you a new, refreshed perspective on the Iran relationship we hear in the news? Many of you may already know some of the above, and many of the other points in the article. But reading them from a new perspective often puts the news we know into a different light, with new implications and possibilities of understanding. Give it a read, and tell me what you think.

Credit Cards - bewildered by the choices?

2006-01-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

When I read this Credit Card Rewards article, it answered some of the questions I had, and helped me feel that some options we've looked at weren't "tricks" that would backfire. If you are a careful user of credit cards, and want to improve your understanding of the offers that flood your mailbox, then give this a read. Here's a blurb:

Why would credit card companies pay consumers to use their cards? Discover, the industry leader in cash-back reward cards, said it gave away $500 million in 2005.
This is, after all, an industry better known for tactics like offering low-interest teaser rates that shoot up or changing the terms of a contract at a whim. Therefore, it may come as a bit of a surprise that many of the offers are credible as well as lucrative for the consumer. Indeed, cash-reward cards may be one of the most consumer-friendly products the industry has ever marketed.

As the article says, if you need to look at the interest rate of the card then you probably need to not be looking at a new card, and instead pay down your current debt. I also highly recommend a financial adviser - our credit union provides a free financial advisor, and yours may also.

Ten predictions for the new year - From Blake Ross

2005-12-27T13:19:00.000-05:00

My favorite (and the funniest I've found) geeky predictions for 2006. Here are my two favorites:

Another blog search engine will release a list of top 100 bloggers. Every blogger on the list will blog the news in the form of: “Wow, I’m honored to have made it onto the top 100 list” with a link back to the list maintainer’s blog. The list maintainer will in return blog: “I’m honored to see that the list has been covered by such a high-profile blogger” with a link back to the winner’s blog. The link incest will continue for weeks until it has propelled the list maintainer himself into the top 100, at which point the list will be declared a sham and the blogosphere will erupt in outrage.
The RIAA will be granted its long-awaited patent on the concept of suing your own customers and promptly sue the MPAA for violating it. Buoyed by this success, the RIAA announces its intentions to patent the act of granting patents and threatens to “sue the patent office out of existence” if it is granted.

Hmmm...that first item gives me an idea.... :)

Good and Bad Procrastination

2005-12-25T21:20:00.000-05:00

In his famous essay You and Your Research (which I recommend to anyone ambitious, no matter what they're working on), Richard Hamming suggests that you ask yourself three questions:
What are the most important problems in your field?

Are you working on one of them?

Why not?

Great article - and great excuse to use when the IRS wants to know why you didn't get around to filing your taxes (here, just read this!). Certainly makes me feel better about procrastinating....just kidding.

Official Google Blog: This just in...

2005-12-24T22:43:00.000-05:00

I hope if you're at all technically inclined, that you didn't miss this little tidbit this Christmas. Google's Earth program is "tracking" Santa - and boy is he zipping around tonight!! When we were watching earlier, he was hitting Egypt - I imagine he's moved on by this point to another country.

Never before could you get such a clear visual representation of the sheer amount of work Mr. Claus would actually have before him each Christmas Eve!!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

Can you trust your computer?

2005-12-22T20:38:00.000-05:00

Can you trust your computer? - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)

With all the hoopla, excitement, and general craziness among bloggers, it's time to slow down and process some of the frenzied news from the last year. With that time to think, there are some serious questions that need to be asked amongst the digerati. Here's a starting point for a few posts on various aspects of control, specifically related to the "brave new digital world".

Keep in mind, for my more geeky readers, that it is a new world, and it's really still in it's toddler years, if not infancy. There are many battles to be fought, and many lines to be drawn. Unfortunately due to the raw power and nearly unlimited reach provided by the internet, this is one baby that's growing up more quickly than it can learn the value of the guidelines successful societies have followed for hundreds of years....

While the referenced article is more than a little old (at least in internet time), it takes on a chilling new gravitas against the sordid story of Sony. How the Sony situation is handled, and how we respond to other attempts to cross reasonable lines of behavior, will determine what our tomorrows hold.

The New Class Divide?

2005-12-18T18:20:00.000-05:00

Technology and the new class divide | Perspectives | CNET News.com: "The truth is that the promise of a digital utopia where all are more or less equal has not yet come to pass. More broadly, income disparities in the United States are greater than they have been in 30 years, and some suggest that income inequality is growing to levels not seen since the 1880s. Recent studies have also suggested that social mobility is stagnating and possibly even reversing. That means very few people are moving out of the class they were born into. Despite all our technology gains, it appears that class gaps are widening. Could it be that technology is actually exacerbating the class divide rather than helping to address it?

In an era when 60 percent of all jobs now require good fundamental technology skills and technology has become a quality of life indicator, tech elites have noticeable advantages. They're able to demand higher paying jobs, communicate better and faster, and save time and money by handling routine tasks (like paying bills and accessing health information) online instead of in person."

Right now there is a brewing battle between pipeline owners and corps such as Google. Web2.0 companies like the current democratization of the web, where all citizens are (at least somewhat) equal. But the pipeline owners are seeing dollar signs through a different vision of the future - a future where the speed of a particular site might depend on how much that site was willing to pay to the pipeline owner. I can see this leading to an even bigger class divide, voiding the promise of technology.

Google Talkabout: Jingle All The Way

2005-12-15T23:35:00.000-05:00

This explains what the Google Talk team has been doing.... and here I thought they were just goofing off the last few months. (I'm kidding, of course.)

Today, two major advances have been made in the openness of our voice capabilities. This morning, the Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) introduced two new proposed extensions to XMPP, known as Jingle and Jingle Audio. These enhancements describe how to write software compatable with Google Talk's voice features and have been introduced into the JSF's standards process where they'll be reviewed and improved by the XMPP community. To make implementing these extensions even easier, we've released a library we call "libjingle."Libjingle is the very same code Google Talk uses to negotiate, establish, and maintain peer-to-peer voice sessions, packaged as a library for other developers to use in their own projects. By incorporating Libjingle into your project, you enable its users to voice chat with other users of the Google Talk service.

The future of voice communications is looking brighter and cheaper for us consumers, though there's a big battle still to get through with the major telcos. My advice to them? Figure out NOW how to get on board, cut your losses while you can.

Chronicles of Narnia

2005-12-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

Chronicles of Narnia

I'm actually worried that the movie won't have a strong enough Christian/religious theme.Now, I'm an athiest, brought up Quaker, with little interest in spreading Christianity or anything.But I read the books before I could understand the whole Christian allegory thing. I loved them. I reread them later, understood, and felt betrayed. Then I matured enough to where I could read them a third time and not take it so hard. And I realize that the whole feel of the stories, the idea that they had weight and importance and weren't just some guys who had beef with each other, that came straight out of the religious treatment of the characters.If Aslan isn't God, and the White Witch is just some woman who wants to rule this place, the story becomes a cheesy special-effects battle movie. Yay, Dungeons and Dragons. If they can try to instill some kind of reverence and awe, and a feeling that these people are taking part in a larger struggle, that what is happening matters, I think the story can carry itself a lot better.If you can get over the fact that it's about Christianity, of course.I never saw The Passion, and I don't think it's a great idea for a movie, and so forth. But think how much more pointless a film it would be if the guy who was being tortured and suffering wasn't Jesus. (via www.slashdot.com comments )

Now that’s some insightful commentary. There is definitely room for a valid discussion on how well the movie was done, or how well the movie followed or didn’t follow the book. But arguing about the religious overtones or symbolism is really kind of silly.

Jim Collins.com | Library

2005-12-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

Jim Collins.com | Library Rochelle spoke to me repeatedly about the idea of "making your life a creative work of art." A great piece of art is composed not just of what is in the final piece, but equally important, what is not. It is the discipline to discard what does not fit -- to cut out what might have already cost days or even years of effort -- that distinguishes the truly exceptional artist and marks the ideal piece of work, be it a symphony, a novel, a painting, a company or, most important of all, a life.

Hmmmm...

Are you a Moderate?

2005-11-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

Everyone thinks they're a moderate. You think you're a moderate. Even if you admit that you're Right, or Left, you still think that yours is a position close to the center, with other viewpoints ranging far to the right and far to the left. "America is full of Centrists, more than you realize", some politicians are now trumpeting. Well, of course. We all think we're reasonable. And except for the most extreme of extremists, there are people on both sides of the political spectrum.

But it really comes down to an even deeper truth: we still think the world is centered around ourselves. Have you taken a look from someone else's perspective? Have you really tried to understand where someone else is coming from, or why they view the world the way they do?

Take a moment, think of someone whose position you've criticized lately - democrat, republican, iraqi, american, israeli - someone whose views you oppose. Now drop your mental guard for a minute, and honestly try to understand their viewpoint. Don't raise defenses, don't try to rationalize or condone, just try to understand.

There, feel even more Moderate now, don't we?

Tessa loves her sister!

2005-11-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Good to see Tessa loves her sister. And good to see Selah's getting ticklish. :)

On another note, Selah often pulls Tessa's hair now, whenever Tessa gets close enough (which is very often lately). Tessa, knowing the rules when she does something wrong, then insists that Selah say "sorry Tessa". Of course, Selah isn't quite up to this yet, being only 6 months old. Inevitably we explain this to Tessa, and inevitably she then uses her own hand to sign sorry on Selah's chest, while saying "sorry Tessa" for Selah to herself. :-D

Podcast of the week - and fresh site KJ52.com

2005-10-25T19:26:00.000-05:00

KJ52.com
J-52 is the first to admit that his gig doesn't make much sense.

"A white dude from the suburbs and inner city of Florida doing Christian rap and driving a minivan?" KJ says. "None of that makes sense. No one says, 'That's the formula, right there!' But at the end of the day, it just proves that God did it."

The absurdity of his situation hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the hottest rappers on the Christian hiphop scene..

This artist rocks - he's got a great song about Mountain Dew ("Oh, what am I gonna do, I'm addicted to Mountain Dew, when I drink like one or two, people say What's wrong with you...). Seriously, dude's got some skills. He's not afraid to have some fun, either. But what's awesome is he podcasts several times a week. Listen to the "Walmart saved my life" podcast. My wife and I cracked up listening to this!

Miers Nomination

2005-10-23T21:33:00.000-05:00

For the record:

I support the Miers nomination. It's simple, really. Not to mention that it doesn't much matter. Not to mention that not only I, but 95% of the people posting their opinions on the web are drastically under-qualified to even comment on Mier's qualification or lack thereof.

Yes, it is simple. Bush nominated her. Dr. Dobson supports her. And there are plenty of smart, even qualified, people on both sides of this issue. Who's really surprised, anyways? We all knew this nominee was going to be a huge battle, well before anyone knew who it was. I don't really care about all the politics, and insulted people, and everyone who wants their opinion counted so they can be a power player. I want the kind of person Bush has promised he'd put on the court - and with every nominee previous to this, he's apparently lived up to that. Even those sounding off now aren't arguing that. So why the sudden fear that he's changed tack or lost heart at the last moment, the most critical decision (possibly) of his presidency? Does that really make sense with what you know of our president?

Nope - that doesn't fit at all. Too many of you have the weak stomachs you're accusing the president of - that's my opinion.

I will add that it's not without some trepidation that I support her - but were she to have the necessary things in place to remove my trepidation, there'd be almost no way she'd get confirmed. ;) At least no one seems to be understating the importance of this nomination...

Blogger Help : Promoting Your Blog

2005-10-23T20:50:00.000-05:00

Blogger Help : Promoting Your Blog: "Be an active commenter. Try to leave comments on the blogs you read every day. This is in the same vein as linking. Leaving a comment on someone's post can make their day. Nothing beats getting those email notifications that whisper tacitly out at you from the screen, 'You're thoughts have struck me dead in my tracks. I simply must acknowledge you and your greatness.' (Or something to that effect.) Most comment systems also provide a way for you to leave a link back to your blog which begs a visit at the very least. So if you feel inspired, leave a comment or two in your blog travels. It behooves you.

Pitch your posts via email to other bloggers. This is a touchy technique and should be approached with caution. Blogger Eugene Volokh has published a short treatise on how best to pitch one's blog via email and it's filled with great tips and advice. Assuming your blog is actually worth pitching (of course it is), here are some tips from Volokh.

1. Pitch the post, not the blog.
2. Include the full text and your URL.
3. Submit only your best posts.
4. Don't only pitch to high traffic blogs."

Since I mentioned this is something I'm going to start working on, I thought I'd share this helpful advice for increasing traffic to a blog.

Good - and Really Bad - News about future oil

2005-10-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

Rocky Mountain News: Columnists: "Since 1981, Shell researchers at the company's division of 'unconventional resources' have been spending their own money trying to figure out how to get usable energy out of oil shale. Judging by the presentation the Rocky Mountain News heard this week, they think they've got it.

Shell's method, which it calls 'in situ conversion,' is simplicity itself in concept but exquisitely ingenious in execution. Terry O'Connor, a vice president for external and regulatory affairs at Shell Exploration and Production, explained how it's done (and they have done it, in several test projects):

Drill shafts into the oil-bearing rock. Drop heaters down the shaft. Cook the rock until the hydrocarbons boil off, the lightest and most desirable first. Collect them."
(via slashdot)

You might say, "So how is this bad? This is Great!!" And indeed, if you're concerned about the gas prices for the next decade or two, this is very good.

But here's what I think the big picture is: every bit of pain that we save ourselves in the next 30-40 years by methods like these will come back ten times worse (or more) when we really have exhausted every ounce of "black gold" that we can find.

Why? Because it'll make it that much easier for us to "put off" finding another, more viable, solution for the future. The global economy, or everybody's standard of living, will be dramatically affected by how the whole energy situation works out. So it's a pretty important area to focus on - nothing comes for free, and right now we're using vastly more energy than at any point in mankind's history. We need to give some real serious thought and resources towards managing that, or we could put ourselves in some real science-fiction-like scenarios by the end of the century.

2005-10-19T21:14:00.000-05:00

This one's specially for Grandma V (who made the blanket that's capturing the attention in this photo).
Posted by Picasa

2005-10-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

Lifesaver, anyone? ;)
Posted by Picasa

2005-10-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

Black and White - with Attitude. Courtesy of my lovely wife's newly acquired photoshop skills! :)
Posted by Picasa

Communication Nation: Kill your little darlings

2005-10-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

Blog of the week: This guy puts up lots of great material! The name of the blog really says it all, and this is a focused place to continually sharpen your thoughts on communications, primarily within a business framework.

Communication Nation: Kill your little darlings: "The principle is the same for any kind of creative work, whether it's designing a bridge, building a website or developing software. Often the thing that you love the most is the thing that's holding you back. The reason is that in your heart, you don't believe you have the ability to do it again.

You can."

Ain't that the truth? Anybody else feel that pull? The urge to stop where you are, to leave what you have as it is, even though you know it's beauty isn't enough, it needs more? I've recognized that before, but to see it put forth by someone else helps me to recognize and then deal with that propensity to hold myself back.

Myst V | Ubisoft

2005-10-11T20:42:00.000-05:00

Myst V | Ubisoft

I'm both sad and excited - this is the last release in the Myst series, one of the best video game series ever (in my opinion, anyways). Of course, if you've been following Myst, and Cyan (the company founded by the brothers who created the first 3 Myst games), there weren't supposed to be any more after 3. I suppose the franchise was sold to someone else, and they've decided this is as far as the money would carry it.

If you take a look at the site, it's got some great looking graphics, and a few tiny puzzles to unlock more graphics. I'm not really grasping the whole "slate" thing - hopefully they'll find a way to explain it more clearly soon. Or just put out a demo, that'd be fine too. Anybody done any hands-on with this game yet?

So I'd put this series just below X-Com on my favorite PC game list. I don't buy consoles, otherwise I'd put Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario World on the list too. :)

So back to Myst - like puzzles and awesome graphics? Check out Myst V, especially if you've liked the rest of the series.

Frvade - The hardest enigma on the internet

2005-10-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

Frvade - The hardest enigma on the internet

Here's one more puzzle site. I really enjoy these things - the key is to not give up and cheat, but take as many breaks as necessary. If you really need help, try finding someone who can give you hints (there's another guy at my office, we can help each other).

Here's your first hint: you can always post here, and I'll help (unless you've already passed where I am, then you probably don't need any hints!)

Hi from Belgium!

2005-10-04T00:25:00.000-05:00

Leuven - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Take a look at this picture. I'm staying a few hundred steps away from this amazing building, built in 1904. Leuven has an interesting history, as does Belgium. Check out the wikipedia article for some interesting facts. Leuven is a college town, and during both world wars it's library was destroyed. Both times it was rebuilt. The city center (where my hotel is) is very nice, and very culturally rich. Lots of restaurants and bars!!

Go to Google maps or some other mapping service and find Belgium, if you don't know where it is. Oh, and if you like fine chocolate, maybe you should plan a trip here yourself ;).

A quote of the day - Belief and Doubt

2005-10-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

"There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking."
- Alfred Korzybski

What do you think of that? And which side do you tend towards?

Riddle Challenge - Blifaloo.com

2005-09-27T21:29:00.000-05:00

Riddle Challenge - Blifaloo.com

Blifaloo.com Riddle/Puzzle Challege Thingy

Can you complete our first set of 5 riddles?

Click here to go to the first puzzle, after completing it you will be taken to the next challenge. Or, read below for more info and hints.

Here starts a new series of posts introducing you to some fun web puzzles, or riddles. I've started you off easy, this one's got plenty of hints, and will give you a good idea of the tools you'll need for the next challenges. I'll put another puzzle up in a few days, after you've had a chance to conquer this one. Post in the comments if you're desperate for a hint. I don't give away answers easily, but if you're stuck I'll gladly give you a little push in the right direction.

Communication Nation: Picasso on "getting things done"

2005-09-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

Communication Nation: Picasso on "getting things done"

To search means nothing. To find is the thing.

Take a look at this comic - this is a philosophy that I think by and large escaped my generation. The internet doesn't necessarily help here - it encourages searching, but not necessarily finding.

BOTW: Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog

2005-09-20T20:13:00.000-05:00

I'm expanding my "Podcast of the Week" series (which hasn't run in, oh, 2 months maybe) to include Blogs. Maybe I'll come up with a new title, something catchy like "Interesting Internet Auditory or Visual Source of the Week"...

Here's a quote from this week's selected Blog, which I just found tonight:

Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog

One of the concepts behind the Ribbon is that it's the one and only place to look for functionality in the product. If you want to look through Word 2003 to find an unfamiliar command, you need to look through 3 levels of hierarchical menus, open up 31 toolbars and peruse about 20 Task Panes. It's hard to formulate a "hunting" strategy to find the thing you're looking for because there's no logical path through all of the UI.

Office "12" consolidates all of the entry points into one place: the Ribbon. So if you're trying to find a feature and don't know where it is, the scope of your search is drastically reduced. Click on the leftmost tab, and click across the tabs until you reach the end. That it. It's either there or it's not--there are no other "rocks" to look under, no other places we've hidden functionality. We've found in early tests that people find it easier to discover how to do new things in the Ribbon, and they're more apt to explore the UI looking for better ways to get things done.

There are a few reasons I'm so excited about this blog:
1. I've developed a strong interest in Usability, especially since the software team at my company made the mistake of letting me get involved in a Design document for one of the major interfaces in our software.
2. I create, edit, and use documents created with Microsoft Office constantly.
3. B/c for once, Microsoft seems to really be nailing something on the head, which is good for the whole world (at least in some ways).

So watch the video before you critique the new design. I have to say it's probably one of the biggest usability improvements I've seen in software since I've been using computers (which isn't all that long, really). It's certainly one that has the potential for the biggest improvement for my day-to-day activities. Oh, and if you have a suggestion for a better title for my weekly suggestion, throw it in the comments. I'll be sure to respond.

Communication

2005-09-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

Tonight after dinner Tessa wanted to get down from the table. Since we're working with her on potty training, Mommy wanted her to say "Yes Potty", and said and signed this for Tessa. Tessa had asked to get out and go play, so she kept saying "No" to Mommy's guidance...until it became clear to her that Mommy wasn't getting her out until she said what Mommy wanted.

So she said "Yes", paused, and then said "Play". Not Yes Potty, Yes Play. She knows what she wants! I couldn't help but laugh out loud, which made Tessa happy enough to give in. :)

2005-09-11T19:43:00.000-05:00

Pop Star in the making - yeah, she's cool.
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2005-09-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

Ha - guess who's learning how much fun rasberries are? :)
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Something Positive in the World

2005-09-06T20:25:00.000-05:00

On my commute I read a free local paper, the Express. Today I stumbled upon a positive article that I want to share with you.

Title:EU Nations Rush Storm Aid to U.S.

Excerpts:

-Countries of all sizes prep supplies, workers for Katrina's aftermath

-Greece put on standby two cruise ships to house refugees and Sweden has offered aircraft to help distribute aid shipments,

Picture Caption:
-French Red Cross workers are briefed on sunday prior to departing from Roissy airport in Paris to assist in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

Boy, did this make my day. In the literal storm of negativity we have seen regarding this disaster, especially on message boards and forums the world over, this is a beautiful reminder. We're all in this together, and many of us from every tribe and culture realize this. These people that are helping see past all the cultural and political nonsense to the hurting people, and instead of talking about it get up and start helping. It's inspiring.

I'm sure you can find internet articles that cover this same topic, and if I find any I'll post the link here, but for now leave comments if you know anyone that's mobilized to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or if you've done anything yourself.

(Edit: 9:42 p.m. - link to article washingtonpost.com/express. Free registration required, or if you are using Firefox you can get the BugMeNot extension, then just use that instead. Email or comment if you want more info about that.)

Asa Dotzler - Firefox and more: firefox is too complex

2005-09-04T20:50:00.000-05:00

Asa Dotzler - Firefox and more: firefox is too complex

Over the last few months I've been at several geek conferences -- Gnomedex, OSCON, FooCamp -- and a couple others. One of the questions I got a lot of was 'what kind of new features can we expect in the upcoming Firefox releases?' My answer was something like 'I'd be pleased as punch if we could remove a couple features for the upcoming Firefox release. A feature is a flaming hoop we make our users jump through and if we're doing our jobs -- writing software that actually works for people -- we'd be removing those hoops, not adding more.'"

(via Asa's blog)

Ah, a software developer with a wonderful point of view. This is why I support and love Firefox - the focus is very solidly on the user. It's not on how it'd be cool to ___, it's on making everything easier and better for the regular user. This was the original vision with the computer and the internet, but we've gradually gotten so wrapped up in computing that now "power users" expect to be able to play with and do all kinds of cool things with software, when they really shouldn't ever need or want to be power users to begin with! The software should get out of the way, and let you do whatever it is you're trying to accomplish!

Time of Your Life

2005-09-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have played any of the Myst video games, or read any of the books....
Cyan Worlds Layoff

Time of your life

Almost all of Cyan Worlds, Inc. was laid off today, including me. I know with the talent we have here people will find new places to go and do great things. It’s sad to see a company with such talented people to basicly expire. I don’t blame anyone for it happening. So today we had a company meeting in which Rand said some kind final words. Then we had a hamburger and goodbye gathering. Over the last few weeks leading to this point many of us had the hope that something would come up, but it didn’t happen. I will try to stay in Spokane as long as I can. I got some really good things going for me right now here and I hate to see that just dust in the wind.
So, as Green Days Time of Your life is playing on the company intercom system.

“Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.”

I did... (Raises glass) Here is to the future.

Truly a bittersweet announcement. Some people reading this found it difficult to be philosophical - I find it difficult not to be. At such times, then is our chance to escape the bland and mindlessness we can get trapped in. Then is our chance to really question the path that we're on, to see the limited time we have, to ponder if we will see what we want to see when we look back from the end of our lives. Have you actually faced the reality of where you are in life, compared to where you thought you would be? Are you on the right path?

OpinionJournal - Why the Salvation Army beats the Red Cross

2005-09-03T13:26:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed, I have a link to the charity group World Vision on my blog, where they have a Hurricane Katrina fund. Although the majority of web links I've seen go to the Red Cross, there are a few reasons I provided a link to a different charity. One of them is that I regularly donate to World Vision, and have reason to be confident that they are responsible with the money given to them. The other reason is b/c of articles like this one: OpinionJournal - Featured Article: "Advantage: God
Why the Salvation Army beats the Red Cross.

EXCERPT 1:

BY MARVIN OLASKY
Sunday, November 25, 2001 12:01 a.m. EST

The American Red Cross ran up a white flag recently, surrendering to critics who had accused it of bait-and-switch fund raising by planning to hold back more than half of the $543 million it had raised for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Officials pledged that just about all of the money (minus $49 million for overhead) would go to the victims for whom it had been given. Red Cross president Bernadine Healy had already resigned from her $450,010 position, but not before suffering a tongue-lashing from Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.). Reporting that some of his constituents had driven to New York City to give the Red Cross a check, Mr. Stupak said, 'They expected that check to be used now, not two years from now.'"

EXCERPT 2:

"The pattern indicates a Red Cross perspective that is logical but tin-eared. Red Cross officials emphasize long-term planning rather than short-term reacting. They justifiably worry about a media-driven populace's tendency to write checks based on television coverage. They pay well, and don't see anything wrong in the CEO of a billion-dollar philanthropic outfit, who can't even receive stock options, earning big bucks.

The response of public opinion: Charities are different. They are expected to be bold and courageous, risking all like New York City firemen running into buildings when everyone else is rushing out. Leaders who play by normal business rules and pay themselves normal business salaries are stung.

Nor is this an impractical reaction. The evidence shows you don't have to be as heavily bureaucratized as the Red Cross (or the United Way, which has also been scandal-ridden) to be effective in the crunch. The $2.1 billion Salvation Army USA shows a different way to help. Peter Drucker has called the army the "most effective organization in the United States. No one even comes close to it with respect to clarity of mission, ability to innovate, measurable results, dedication, and putting money to maximum use."

This is an eye-opening article. As we prepare and pray about starting missions at our church, information like this is valuable to me. It is so easy for us to worry about the future, when we need to be dealing with the now - God has already told us He'll take care of the future.

Please pray for the people of New Orleans. You can also pray for the churches there, and the rescue and relief workers pouring in. We here at Common Ground Church will be praying about how we can help. We're considering sending a team to New Orleans. I pray that God will guide us to His will, as he works all things for the good of those who love Him.

Your chance to make a difference in the world

2005-09-01T19:58:00.000-05:00

Please consider donating to help out with hurricane Katrina! This is a true catastrophe, and lives are devastated. This is your chance to make a difference in the world.
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2005-09-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

Oh, to be a baby! (Am I the only one that thinks she looks like a roll of lifesavers?) :)
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2005-08-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

The title is "Bedtime Stories", and they weren't kidding! This is how we found Tessa asleep one afternoon...
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Back, and Fitter than ever!

2005-08-29T20:37:00.000-05:00

I've been a "non-poster" for far longer than I intended, but I'll hopefully get back in a routine of a few articles a week. Although I haven't posted, I've actually got about 10 posts full of material ready to go. I'll be putting it up over the next week or two, so there shouldn't be any shortage of new reading material showing up.

Over the last few weeks I've discovered some really great blogs, learned a ton of stuff, watched the world go by, and most importantly made some big changes to my diet and lifestyle. I'm in the better shape than I've been in for years, and I'm pleased with the changes I've made. Have you made any changes recently? Are you stuck in a comfort zone that's growing uncomfortable? If you haven't made any life changes recently, why not? Hit me back in the comments with your thoughts.

Peace and Love,
Step

Intelligent design meets recursive decomposition (at Fury.com)

2005-08-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

I wrote some very long posts in response to an interesting discussion on a Googler's blog (and I'm finally getting around to posting them). After reviewing my post, I decided to post it here also. The subject was, loosely, Intelligent Design, Evolution, and the existence of intelligence in the universe. Your thoughts are welcome on the subject, from any side of the issue. There will also be more to follow on this topic.

Intelligent design meets recursive decomposition (at Fury.com): "Yay, thanks for the response! You've asked some good questions, too. Hopefully I can provide as good of a response as you did. :)

I'll have to add more at a later time (maybe tomorrow night) when I can look up and post some good references, but for now I'll just try and clarify what I meant.

I agree that to most people, ID and creationism aren't different to most people. I just disagree on why that is the case. It's not that they're not different, it's that most people don't understand ID. It's really simple - how many people heard of ID without instantly hearing it related to creationism? Not many, probably, including me. And then, based on a person's position towards creationism, our position toward ID is already defined. Which ends up with a lot of people talking about ID when they probably shouldn't be, and it's sort of a self-perpetuating situation. Do you see how that could be the case, leaving aside for a moment the second part of your point in your second paragraph?

Now I didn't realize I had implied or said that I never hear the two brought up in the same discussion. My intended point was that the two shouldn't be brought up in the same discussion, at least not as being the same thing. Because my understanding of both is that they're different. I can certainly understand why, though, people think they are related. Here's the litmus test: what theology is in ID? If you look, you won't find any. ID doesn't deal with anything other than current scientific observations, and dicussions on the interpretations of those observations. It starts with the "real" science, and also tries very hard to stop with the real science. Obviously people can then build what philosophies they want upon it, just as they can upon Evolution, but that is certainly not where it starts, nor where the researchers and scientists who hold that view are working on or from. BTW, I quite like your Shakespearean play analogy. :) Of course, what I'm saying is that everybody is already claiming they're the same person, and so the second person gets booed off the stage by the same people that booed off the first person.

Ok, I'll come back to that later maybe. I wanted to quickly touch on your second statement also: That's exactly the point. No one has yet shown (to my knowledge) how it could have gone from 39 parts to 40 parts. See, the flagellum can't work with 39 parts (this would be a very technical explanation that I'm not capable of, I will try to find a link to one of the research papers explaining how the motor works and why it needs all 39 parts). At least no one has yet proposed how. And if it did, then someone would also need to show how and why it would be possible for it to gain the 40th part. No one's proposed an answer to that question either. What I'm saying is that there hasn't been any scientific answer to how this engine came into existence. "Survival of the fittest", and all the actual processes that make up that theory, don't fit this actual observation from science. Nor do they fit other observations. It's not just because we don't yet understand how it works, either. Evolution is fine as a theory, but it's not explaining things like this. Now, let's not say "magic" or "aliens" - but then again, what's another thing science is looking for? Aliens. How will we know if we have found them? How will we recognize if they send us a message through space? By pattern and complexity, which are the guidelines we consciously and unconsciously use to decipher our worlds every day. I'm not saying Evolution's discredited, at least certainly not by this one example, but it's certainly not credited. It just doesn't answer the question yet. At this point the answer is often "Fine, we'll figure it out eventually, leave God out of it." And "You are trying to set science back 50 years, and you want us to stop trying to solve problems."

Alright, so if we get to those questions maybe we're getting somewhere, but before I go off on more tangents I want to know what you think of my points so far. I'll try to keep this one last point short. We're sort of discussing several different things at once, which is very difficult not to do, but also can really muddy debate and understanding. I think we're discussing science, actual cases, philosophy of science, politics (not national politics) and theology, all in one big muddle. My goal is always to try and keep fields separate, so that on each field we're playing by the correct rules. Does that make sense?

I hope I did my tags correctly. I know I didn't answer all of your questions or points, but hopefully will be able to do that in the next post or two. :) In the meantime, I look forward to your thoughts on this.

Ok, I've reread the thread again (I like to respond to the actual questions, rather than what I thought or felt when I read the questions - which is more difficult than it sounds, I suspect). I have to add a few more comments real quick. First, David has a decent point: ID is really a critique of Evolution, that it's not currently doing it's duty as a scientific theory. The idea is that science generally chooses the best answer to a problem. Best is defined by simplest that actually accounts for all the observations. Theories that have proven true over time generally get more elegant as more observations are gathered - that doesn't appear to be the case with Evolution. So Evolution comes up because ID is in many ways just a critique of E: look, here's a simpler solution that really fits our observations. Why don't we procede under that unless or until we find something better? Look, we can't ignore or dismiss ID just because of the following philosophical implications, which is I think pretty obviously what is really going on for a lot of people. Just like we can't accept, or disgard, Evolution because of the follow-on philosophical implications. Science does not say "our results can't have implications in other fields". Science shouldn't care. Of course, that's part of the claim, that ID is driven by religious dogma. That's certainly true, for many of the people that talk about it on forums. But is it true for the scientists that are actually writing the peer-reviewed papers? Some would say that's an easy answer, but I challenge you to do a little better than that. Did you know over 400 scientists have signed a recent statement that is critical of Evolution? I'll try to provide a link later. You can go to the Discovery Institute's website if you want to venture into "ID territory". :) Tom had some good points, many of which I disagree with also, but hopefully some I've answered here. :) He's right to point out that we're intermingling talk about origin of life, origin of species, origin of intelligence. We also need to be careful in our definitions and use of words to represent concepts. For example, Tom states that Evolution is fact. Well, depends on what he means. micro-evolution is certainly fact. macro-evolution, or the evolution most people mean when they capitalize it, is not fact. It's theory. It's generally used to refer to Darwin's theory, though most of what he came up with has been replaced. His "pretty good treatise" doesn't have much scientific validity anymore, though the philosophy is still around. The distinction between micro and macro-evolution is a pretty important one, and to date there's no good interpolation of one to the other. At least, not that I know of. :) Ok, I'll break now.

The Elements, by Tom Lehrer

2005-08-29T20:26:00.000-05:00

Flash Animation - The Elements, by Tom Lehrer haha!

Apparently this flash animation has been around awhile, but it's the first time I've seen it. Make sure you've got speakers or headphones, then click the link. This is a short animation that names all of the elements - great refresher if you've been out of high school chemistry for awhile!

Multiple Exposures

2005-08-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

I had a very good commute today! (You won't hear me say such things often.) Like normal, I had my headphones on, and was listening to my iPod as I waited for the train. As it was pulling up, one of my songs en espanol came on. I really like most of the spanish tracks I have, though my vocabulary isn't great.

Anyways, as I got on the train, I realized the two guys opposite of me were signing. I couldn't help but watch, since my wife and I are trying hard to learn ASL. Eventually, at a break in their conversation (they had noticed me watching them closely), I identified myself and why I was watching. As soon as I began signing, I had their full attention. I then had a great conversation with them. I learned some new signs, and was able to keep up decently, which was good. This is definitely the kind of experience that Sara and I need more of.

One cool thing is that this is the second time this has happened to me! The first was a few months ago, again on the train, again listening to a Spanish song on my iPod when I noticed someone signing. In that instance, I was also writing (in English) on some work stuff. I laughed, quite pleased with my situation, because I am quite a lover of languages and communication, and to be dealing with 3 languages at once made me feel that my interest in languages was not in vain.

Geek Speak Radio - Podcast of the week!

2005-07-18T20:12:00.000-05:00

When I first tried out this show, I wasn't instantly hooked. However, I soon found myself listening to each new episode, and now I'm a devoted fan. This is one of those podcasts that really makes my commute fly by. Not only is it good, relaxing, and entertaining, but it's informative. Check out Geek Speak Radio, see if it fits you.

What it is: A long format show (around one hour normally), with a rambling, technical format. It's primarily aimed at geeks (No!!! Who would have guessed?!), but covers a lot of entertainment and media type items as well. There are a few hosts, and sometimes they do guest interviews also.

Why it's so good: Lots of topics, loosely related, good conversation and interaction between the hosts. I like that they're not strenously trying to "get anywhere", but just talking about the things they like. The show news and game station news is also good for me, since otherwise I'm not very plugged in to those worlds.

Hmmm, I suppose one of these days I should add a "Why it's not so good" or "What could be improved" paragraph to my writeups. Then again, maybe not. What do you guys think?

DRM is coming! DRM is coming!

2005-07-18T08:19:00.000-05:00

Look, if this article doesn't scare you, then you're either a record exec or a hermit (or maybe just not a geek). The article Microsoft Courts Hollywood Allies talks about the exciting, cool new world of dowloadable content (read: like iTunes, but for Movies and TV shows), and the toys that will give us access to it. However, as I began reading about how the content is being locked down, a disturbing picture began to form. I won't rewrite the article, and there are numerous like it, but this is definitely something to be aware of, especially as you consider new purchases of electronic gear. In this largely undefined fields, many large businesses are going to see how much they can get away with. And we already know how ethically-inclined Microsoft is......

Party Time and a Sick Munchkin

2005-07-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

Guess who? If you read the previous post, you are probably guessing right...it's Sara of course. I know you were all waiting anxiously to hear from me! :)

Today we were invited by Uncle John and Aunt Emma to a party for one of his employees. She turned 40. Her husband threw her a huge party with lots of food. He happens to be deaf...so UJ invited us to meet him. Evidently, he's talked to Toni (the birthday girl) about Tessa a lot...and she's talked to him about her husband quite a bit as well. We went and got to meet quite a few deaf people. It was amazing to watch how fast they signed. When they were signing to each other, I couldn't catch very much of what they were saying, but when they signed with us, they were slow enough that I understood most of it. I'm still far behind on fingerspelling, but I'm not surprised. That will take us a while to master. Tessa had a blast! It was VERY hot, so she played in the sprinkler with the other kids there. We ate lots of good food and had some good conversations. We spoke with one guy, Anthony, about how being deaf was like being in the Matrix. We needed to help Tessa "crack the code" so she could communicate with both cultures. We also received many compliments on our desire to communicate with Tessa through sign. It's a hard thing for the Deaf culture to feel like it's going to be gone because of the cochlear implant, so I think it gives them hope when they see a family that has a child with a CI signing relatively proficiently (well...better than most parents, I suppose) with their child.

I'm happy to say that Selah is feeling much better today, which made the party much more bearable I'm sure. Since the beginning of this week, she's been feeling pretty miserable. I took her to the dr. on Wednesday becuase she wasn't eating much (maybe 6oz. a day) and slept the entire day on Tuesday and Wednesday. They said she had a virus as well as a slight case of anemia and a moderate case of eczema. Poor girl. We've been dealing with pretty gross diapers, but I am happy to report that those are done with (which is a good thing, because it was getting old VERY fast). The amazing thing is that until yesterday Selah wasn't acting cranky at all. She's slept through the night every night this week, but one. I'm wondering if she'll keep that up now that she's not sick anymore. One can hope, right?

Well, suppose that I better be hitting the sack...because I wouldn't be surprised if Selah wakes me up in the middle of the night tonight. Can't say I'm disappointed that she has her appetite back, though it does have it downfalls. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Sara

Exciting times - Improvements at the Random Blog!

2005-07-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

If everything works properly, my lovely wife will soon be posting here as well. She's joined the blogging team, and will be sharing pics and news on the kids. She'll still be maintaining Tessa's CI site and Selah's Paige, but will be able to more freely post pics and general family news bites here.

Also, I've opened up the comments, to save my family from the necessity of yet another unnecessary username and password. So please, comment on any post you want - I'll see it, and will be happy to respond. I might even bring the post back to the top if it becomes the focus of discussion.

Love and Peace,
Step

2005-07-14T19:09:00.000-05:00

alright, she is looking WAAAY too grown up in this pic - remind you of anyone? (Probably not unless you know my family).
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2005-07-14T18:56:00.000-05:00

Let Sleeping Babies Lie...

Here's a collage of recent naps - note Tessa's strange choice one afternoon. She woke up shortly after going to sleep here, and was ready to stay in bed after that.

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