A Random Pattern

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?

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……

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

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

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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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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Now this is cool. If you’re anything like me, you suffer from information overload. I think it will become a defining characteristic of the current generation. I’ve been watching for the “perfect” solution, and have been bemused by the lack of even a decent attempt. (Ok, that might be a little harsh.) Over the last few years the situation has gradually improved, due to a variety of products and solutions. A big factor (in my mind) has been PDA’s that sync with email programs – but these still aren’t enough. Enter A Dynamite Personal Information Manager, Evernote. I haven’t used it yet, but am installing it now. I’ll let you know how it goes, but the reviews (and it has apparently been extensively reviewed) put it near the top of the class for current solutions.

It appears to match or exceed Microsoft’s OneNote application in most areas, with the obvious advantages of 1 – not being Microsoft; and 2 – being free.

May this make one of my dreams come true, and allow me to actually use more of the vast amount of information I handle. Well, we’ll see – and here’s to progress.

South River Falls – get the picture?
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Once a week I’ll share a Podcast that has caught my ear amid all the noise, and that I think might be a worthy listen for you too (especially if you have a long commute like I do).

This week’s pick is Slashdot Review. SDR is an excellent example of a quality podcast. Many other podcasts I listen to, and even recommend, could learn from this gentleman’s efforts.

What it is: 10 minute daily summary of news articles culled from Slashdot (news for geeks). The last 2 minutes are a song from an independent artist. I don’t always like them, but I have yet to hate one, and I’ve even stumbled upon a new artist that I really like.

Why it’s so good: Concise, focused, and consistent. I know what I’m going to hear each time, it’s information that I want to hear, the sound quality is good, the volume is consistent, the filler music is used appropriately, and it’s family-friendly. If you’re interested in techy news items (he includes a brief smattering of world news at the beginning also), give it a try. He even has a bit-torrent feed, if you’re a big-enough geek.

For you guitar players out there (that also use Firefox), check out this new extension!! It looks cool, but I can’t use it yet (I’m running Deer Park, which is an Alpha of Firefox 1.1, the next release, to help test it, and a required plugin, jslib, won’t run on my version). As soon as I do give it a try, I’ll blog again (at least if it’s any good!) So get it here, Mozilla Update :: Extensions — More Info:Guitar Toolbar – All Releases: “http://jslib.mozdev.org” make sure to follow the instruction (yes there’s only one), and comment back on your thoughts.