T and M Family Notes

little G at Nine Months

Went to doctor's yesterday.  little G seems to be doing well.  I always like to hear independent confirmation of how wonderful he is.  :)   

This morning, though, he was tired, but wouldn't go down for a nap.  Crying for an hour.  He was crying for so long, after 20 minutes, I went to make sure he was ok.  He seemed fine, but kept on crying.   We went in and picked him up after half an hour to make sure he was ok. He immediately calmed down and even smiled and looked happy.  As soon as we tried to put in him the crib, the screaming resumed. 

Basically, little G's got our stubbornness and our dislike of going to bed just because we're tired.

Cleverness

little G has been very naughty lately.  He turns nine months old tomorrow.  It's amazing to watch his personality and intelligence come to life.  (That's the nice way of putting it.)  For example, he is very willful at the dinner table.  We (meaning Marci) refer to him as Chucky when he's acting up.  Or Little Nicky when he growls. 

Last week, Pretty Bear sang for him, and after she stopped, he crawled over to his rocking horse, tossed LaLa the stuffed Lambie off its seat, and attempted to pull it under the shelf where Pretty Bear sits. Then, when surveying the scene, he pulled open the drawer below the shelf. Fortunately, his plans to hoist himself up using the horse and drawer were thwarted by the fact that he as yet cannot pull himself up into standing position. But seeing the wheels turning behind those Chucky eyes was a window into my future of trying to rescue him from himself...while he attempts to play hero by saving his one true love, Pretty Bear, from her precarious shelf.

Explaining what it's like to have a baby

Chris R came for dinner on Sunday.  I tried to explain what it's like having a baby, in terms that would actually mean something. 

I remember that before we had little G, I heard all the stereotypes, but they really didn't mean much.  And it's hard to explain what it's like to have a baby to someone who's never been there.  It's so lifechanging that there's very little common ground from which an explanation can proceed.

The way I explained it was thus:

 

Gardening attitudes

Gardening attitudes definitely change from childhood to adulthood.  I spent the weekend (past few weekends actually) working on the house and in the garden.

V. satisfying.  Good sense of accomplishment.  I remember that just a few years ago, I was much too restless to stay and do anything on my house.  Now I feel settled and house-proud. 

Marci and I both agree it's v. diff from when we were growing up, and our parents made us work in the garden.  I still remember the worst job in the world as a kid.  Picking up sticks in the lawn from after my dad pruned the fruit trees.  Mind-numbingly boring and tedious.  Ugh. 

Idea Froth

Isolating bubbles from the idea froth in my mind.  Idea Froth contains musings, thoughts and ideas. 

A nation of critics

A "critic" is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men. There is logic in this; he is unbiased
-- he hates all creative people equally.

--Notebooks of Lazarus Long

I've noticed a common theme in TV shows these days.  Especially reality TV.  They provide a way for people to judge and critique the actions/style/knowledge/clothing/character of others.  Whether contests or makeovers, there's a huge undercurrent of focusing on what's wrong with people. 

Think about it.  The Swan. The Apprentice.  American Idol.  Extreme Makeover.  Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.  Trading Spaces.  Rebel Billionaire.  They give the TV viewer a way to sit in judgement on others.

Alaska Tickets Purchased!

Last night, we bought tickets for our trip to Alaska.  Jul 13-28.  It was a major pain in the butt, and I have no idea how computer 'tards are supposed to do it.

A nice thing:  We saved money by procrastinating.  We were supposed to buy the tickets 2 weeks ago.  M's dad got quoted around $420 pp to fly from LAX to Anchorage.  When we tried to reserve a seat for Glenn they didn't offer an option to buy tickets for children 0-2 yrs old.  Even though their policy said that infants can buy seats at 50% off.

Anyways, we finally went online last night, and I thought, "what are the prices like for unrestricted coach fares?"  Scary.  $1260pp! 

I quickly asked for restricted ticket prices.  Yay!  The price dropped $100 pp!  Cool!  Talk about getting motivated to buy the seats right away...

The problem was, there was no way to buy a seat for an infant online.  After doing all the info on passengers, addresses, etc etc, we realized it wasn't going to give the option if we bought the tickets. 

OK, no problem.  We'll just call the reservations line.  Remember that figure of $316pp?  On the phone, the exact same flights are now $520pp.  With no way to get the internet fare.  The attendant told us to buy our tickets online, then call back, and buy Glenn's tix, and they'd allocate his seat next to ours, and link up the purchases. 

So we did...  It took us 90 minutes all in all.  The whole family now has freq flier numbers with Alaska Air, even little G.  He's going to be a little jet-setter! 

Motivation for blogging?

How to keep a blog sustainable? 

What is the motivation to take time to post to a blog?

What is the motivation to write interesting essays, instead of my default shorthand of quick jotting of ideas?

I notice that whenever I read what I've written quickly, I keep thinking, "hey, this could be fun to read if only I would elaborate, and provide better details"  But I just can't be bothered. 

*sigh*  Have fun with the blog.  My apologies for the abbreviated nature of the posts.

Our new blog

Thanks to Hugh for giving me the gift of blog.  Whee!  I'm publishing content!

Today's thoughts. 

Listing information that people need is important for a good website

Categorizing that information requires careful consideration of user interface, so that things are easy to find.  More than that, if you set up your categories/ navigation right, you fundamentally shape the way people think about what your site is presenting.  So categories aren't just supposed to be about "group like things together" they also need to consider the thought process of visitors, and the most useful/popular pages.