I vacuumed today

That might not sound like a blog-worthy activity, but today it was. You see, today I got the Cadillac of vacuums. And I don't mean the "Cadillac" of our generation, but "Cadillac" like when it used to be the Cadillac of cars. Yesterday I was still using the '74 AMC Gremlin with one donut and one bare rim of vacuums. Technically it could get from Point A to Point B, but just barely. And today: Fat City.

The last straw came on Sunday night. We'd taken down the Christmas tree, and there were needles everywhere. The Bug and I swept up the biggest hunks of tree, and I pulled out our craptacular vacuum to finish the job. It sucked not at all. Didn't pick up a single needle. So I used the hose attachment and sucked up all the needles in the hallway one by one. About a million or so needles later, I had to unplug and move to another outlet. When I turned off the so-called machine, every needle fell out of the hose and back onto the floor. I was undaunted; I sucked them each up again. Then I turned off the pathetic excuse for a machine, and every needle fell back to the floor again. Because I was with a toddler I could not scream the f-word at the top of my lungs before hurling said piece of shit off of our balcony. So I used a broom to clean the floor, outwardly calm but seething on the inside. It sucked. (Actually, come to think of it, the broom actually did suck as much as the stupid vacuum.)

So now, I have the Cadillac of vacuums. Our floors are so clean, I am a bit grossed out at how not clean they used to be, even when they were clean. I might even use it again tomorrow.

My fritzing camera

Since I'm still mourning the loss of my beloved film camera, laid to rest when it became too much of a hassle to develop film, I'd been planning to buy a good digital SLR this year. Our digital camera takes fine pictures, but it is admittedly a bit old and bulky. It is also apparently imbued with a feisty spirit - one that impelled it to go on the fritz as my brother's wedding began. I deleted most of the ruined pictures, but check out what happened to the vast majority of my vacation documentation.

This is the old footbridge from the hundred-year-old town of Somesville, Maine:


And here's what my camera did to it:


Creepy, right? Or perhaps I've finally found a medium of art that I'm actually good at...

Either way, we now are in the market for a small, inexpensive digital camera, as well as a good SLR.

We Skype now

We do a video chat with my parents every week or two so that they can see and hear what the Bug is up to, in her own words (and songs). We'd been using SightSpeed, but had run into a stretch of terrible luck and uncompleted calls. So last week, we switched to Skype - what a difference! It seems much more reliable, the picture quality is quite good, even blown up to full screen, and the audio actually works so we don't have to carry both the phone and the laptop around with us.

Through the looking glass

We've been using an amazing little video baby monitorsince the Bug moved into her crib. As overly-cautious as it sounds, it's allowed us to keep a close eye on her, without having to get up every time she makes a peep. The monitor has two frequencies: A and B. We've had it set on one of them ever since we put the camera unit on the shelf in her room; the other has always been static. Until last week, when Joker picked up the monitor, and switched the frequency on a whim. Instead of static, he saw another crib. We thought it was a fluke, but that night we again saw the mystery crib. Since we found it to be kinda creepy, we unplugged the camera, and have since been flying blind sans monitor. The Bug's almost two years old now, so it's really not a problem - she definitely lets us know if she needs us!

I called this morning to speak with the manufacturer, and apparently it's something that does happen from time to time - another person with another monitor on the same frequency can appear on my monitor. If you're still under the 1-year warranty, you can exchange it for a new monitor with a different frequency. In our case, we don't have a lot of options, but it's good to know that the manufacturer is both aware of this, and able to offer an alternative.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, via DailyLit

I just finished reading my 51st and final installment of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, via the DailyLit service.

First, my thoughts on DailyLit. In a nutshell, I liked it, but only as a complement (not a replacement) to reading traditional books. The biggest detraction is that the reader does not have control over how much or how little she chooses to read in a single sitting. There is a link to request the next segment immediately, but it's just not the same as turning the pages yourself. On the plus side, I was able to read an extra book over the course of two months, without putting any additional strain on my already tight schedule. I certainly would not recommend this for a very long or complex book, but it served quite well for this children's classic.

As for the book itself, I am embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that the movie diverged so greatly from the book! The book is fantastic - no wonder it immediately became a classic. It's very dark, quite violent at times, and paints the four geographic quadrants of Oz as very distinct lands. Dorothy is much younger than in the movie, Glinda doesn't save them from the poppy fields, and the winged monkeys aren't evil! On the other hand, the Wizard is still a fake, the scarecrow, tinman and lion had to learn they always had what they desired, and Toto's still pretty useless. As with any movie, a great deal of detail and many sub-plots were left out due to time and expense. The biggest difference is that there is no question in the book that Oz is, in fact, a real place. Dorothy did not dream the entire adventure; she actually returned to Kansas.

Having read the book, I now understand the basis for the thirteen sequels that Baum wrote. I'm very pleased that we have several of the set that Joker read as a little boy, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with the Bug! And replacing our missing copies may well become my new eBay project!

Classic lit, one snippet at a time

I'm trying out a service called DailyLit, which has been around for about a year. They send a short, easily consumable segment of a book to your email each day, so that you can read it on your computer or PDA. I'm one of those people who still buys CDs because I like the cover art and having a physical CD, so I'm not sure how I'll feel about this. I like the feel of a book in my hands, and I like being able to flip back and find passages that I particularly enjoyed. On the other hand, there are discussion forums for you to chat online with other readers, which could be fun. Plus, even though I read more than the average person, it's no where near as much as I'd like. So until I finish my 51 installments of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the jury is still out. I'll let you know what I think.

Microwave instructions

I find it a little hard to believe, but a new blog-worthy sign appeared at work yesterday. This one was taped to the front of the microwave in our pantry.

I find the illustration of the microwave to be particularly helpful, in the event that you weren't quite sure to which appliance this sign applied. The list of metal items is also useful, although it excludes many metal items, such as golf clubs or dump trucks.

However, the message of the sign is what I find to be truly inspired. Are there really people who don't know that you shouldn't microwave metal? I actually remember the first time we used a microwave, to defrost strawberries at my Grandma D's house. We kept putting the strawberries on "defrost" for 1 or 2 seconds, opening the microwave cautiously, and temperature-testing the still-frozen strawberries. Even then, inexperienced as we clearly were, we knew that metal was taboo... and that was more than 25 years ago!

The new yuppies

Even if the term "yuppie" had not gone out of use by the early 1990s, I never would have thought of myself as one. Now, however, I think I have to reconsider. I'm not sure why it has this stigma for me, but I feel like our newest purchase, a hybrid, kinda makes us the 2008 version of the yuppie. Actually, more of a yuppie-meets-tree-hugging-hippie. A huppie.

Anyway, it's an awesome vehicle. If you haven't ever driven or ridden in a hybrid, you'll be shocked the first time you turn the key and hear... silence. The engine doesn't turn over. It's battery-powered. Weird.

Your identity is your most precious possession. Protect it.

You speak, I listen. You can now comment anonymously. If you feel like leaving your name (or handle), please do so - the secret agent in me loves to see who's out there.

Video chat update

After a couple of attempts, my parents and I collectively decided that AIM was not working for us. More than once - including the time my grandparents were going to participate on the video chat - we simply could not connect, even though everything appeared working (cameras, internet connections, video clients). We've settled on an alternative solution, and thus far I would highly recommend it. If you want to show off your little ones with out-of-state relatives, check out SightSpeed. It's really easy to use, seems to work great, and you have the added satisfaction of not supporting AOL. Let me know what you think!

Video chat with the grands

Today the Bug had her first video chat with my parents. We'd given them a webcam for Christmas 2006, but never quite got around to hooking ours up. After an hour on the phone today - and it was me, not them, who hadn't downloaded the proper AIM client - we finally got the whole thing to work. It was pretty hilarious, I think. I couldn't see that much - I was pretty focused on not letting the Bug stick the webcam into her mouth. She crawled around, and the webcam followed her, which worked great. She clapped, we played patty-cake. My parents sounded totally thrilled.

One Laptop Per Child

I read this morning in the Times about the latest development at the organization called One Laptop Per Child. I first learned of this a couple of years ago... essentially, the group is trying to get laptops to under-educated children in the world's poorest areas. It's been quite controversial, for reasons including the lack of much less-expensive and higher-impact malaria nets in the same regions targeted by OLPC.

I'm really impressed with what they've done. The price of the laptop has not been driven quite down to $100, but they've now got a deal where you buy one laptop at $400, receive it and the tax paperwork by Christmas, and a second laptop is sent to a student in a poor country.

Apparently some critics (bloggers) are panning the design of this inexpensive laptop because for $1000 a consumer can get something much "better." But what I found very interesting about David Pogue's piece is that these laptops have some amazing innovations in technology, from battery design to the indestructible case. And its interface and built-in programs are wildly compelling to children. Plus, it was described as looking something like Shrek's robot cousin.

I really think that OLPC has taken an innovative stab at fighting devastating poverty. Malaria nets may be the single most needed item in many parts of the world, but bringing valuable educational tools to those most in need might just play an important role in driving permanent change.

Twitter

I've been enjoying my blog. I still don't know exactly what people will expect when they come here, but I have been having a good time with it.

Since I work at a Web 2.0 company... and since I now have a blog... I thought I would try another new experiment. I am going to "twitter", in the voice of the Bug. For those of you who are interested, you can follow along and see what the Bug is up to. Although sometimes it just may be what I am up to. You can see my twitter badge in the sidebar. Let me know what you think!

Verizon and NARAL

I was absolutely infuriated last week when Verizon announced that they would not carry text messages that their users opted to receive from NARAL Pro-Choice America. To tell you the truth, I didn't even realize a cellular provider could do that! Apparently, in the small print of your carrier's terms and conditions, it states that they don't have to carry information that they find to be objectionable. Ultimately, Verizon backed down from this assertion in this case, and agreed to carry NARAL's opt-in messaging. But regardless your stance on the issue of choice, it should be clear to everyone that net neutrality is a very real issue, and one that can directly impact your life. Carriers provide the backbone on which digital communication is delivered; that they may be able to deny service based on the content of the message is very scary.

Remember Home Movies?

I have incredibly fond memories of our old home movie nights. Dad would set up the projector and the screen, and we'd watch the Super 8 reels in the living room. We had so many old movies that Mom had spliced some of them together to make larger reels; if you remember, each reel was only a couple of minutes tops. We knew our favorites by heart, and every member of the family believed his or her narration to be the wittiest.

So today I bought us a movie camera, too, to capture the Bug's first (or, more likely, her second) steps and other /mis/adventures. But this isn't a movie camera like the old Super 8, audio-free days. It's also a far cry from the first VHS camera that we bought - that thing was a little bigger than my coffee maker. No, this thing is about the size of a beer mug (and can also be easily managed with one hand) and takes high-definition video. Yeah, that's right: high-def home movies. Maybe in the future, when we pop some corn and watch the hilarity on a 42-inch plasma TV, we'll hit the mute button for old times' sake.