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August 28, 2003
Lets get this Party started...
So Kieran's christening is this weekend. Being the non-Catholic (although still supportive) parent, it is an interesting process to participate in. We chosen Morgan and Nora to be the godparents.
We are excited to beat Morgan to the punch a little in tieing Nora to the family in writing first. But she has already been a part of the family for quite a while now. She's great with my children, and they like her a lot. Besides, we needed a Catholic.
And Morgan, of course, being the non-Catholic (although still supportive) godparent-to-be, probably is most fitting of the title: Patron saint (lower case for non-Catholicness) of the Second Child. I know, as his big brother, that he has spent a great deal of time introspecting on the role, challenges, and advantages of being the Second (& youngest) Child. And my kids like him too. Besides, we need some close-by family to feel obligated to babysit gratis (well, maybe we'll feed them a little).
The Grandparents being to arrive today.. Poppop Gary and Gramma Jean are flying in from da 'burgh. Gramma Fran (Fwan?) is driving down from VT, and we aren't sure yet if Poppop Greg is flying into Hartford or White Plains tomorrow. To celebrate the grandparents' arrival, Lori and I have something special planned: we're going out to dinner, just Lori and I! We feel a little guilty abandoning "guests" who have just arrived in town, but they aren't really "guests" they're "family"!
Posted by KnipSter at 09:24 AM | Comments (1)
August 17, 2003
Powering Up...
What a week.... I had been home earlier in the afternoon, the day of the blackout. Lori had gone to the doctor while I stayed with the kids. Returning to work, listening to the buzz, meeting with a coworker when I watched the power go out, come back, go out, come back, go out, and .....
No big deal, power goes out, what a pain... I can hear Rob in the office next to me (those who know, understand this isn't difficult). He's speaking to his wife, apparently her power went out too, but he lives 50 miles away, thats strange. People grabbed cellphones, the IP phones limp along for a few more minutes as we drain the UPS batteries (wishing for flywheels or fuelcells).
A few tries calling Lori, no answer. We have a phone that doesn't require power, but Lori must not hear it. The power on the IP phones is gone, I reach for my cell phone. Crap, I left it at home. Well, thats it, I'm out of here.
I head home, I can't do much with no power and when it comes back, I'll connect from home.
I get home and without a cordless radio (add to the shopping list), I resort to the "phone tree" as my source of information. Robyn, my father-in-law, my brother, etc... We listen to the radio in the car.
All in all it was okay, the tense part was not the power outage (who hasn't lost power in a thunderstorm or ice storm), but the massive impact (everything was out) and the uncertainty of how long it will last, and the amputation of the "media".
Posted by KnipSter at 07:04 AM | Comments (2)
August 15, 2003
Wish List...
- Spare Batteries
- Battery Powered Radio(TV?)
- More Non-powered Phones
- Battery Powered Clock
- Candles
- Cooler & Ice
- Battery Powered Elmo Video
- Maybe one of these
- or one of these
Posted by KnipSter at 04:28 AM | Comments (4)
August 14, 2003
Long time....
Its Thursday, and I'm waiting for Dave to invite me to go get a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich downstairs.
I was offered (and accepted) a flat panel display at work. I like it, and its neat, but there's part of me that wants to give it away just to make a point. Unfortunately, I truly believe that it would cause more problems than its worth. I'd bet the more intense coders would prefer higher resolution after the novelty wore off.
off to get a sandwich.
Posted by KnipSter at 08:32 AM | Comments (1)
August 04, 2003
For some reason, I like this...
Ground-breaking work in understanding of time
A bold paper which has highly impressed some of the world's top physicists and been published in the August issue of Foundations of Physics Letters, seems set to change the way we think about the nature of time and its relationship to motion and classical and quantum mechanics. Much to the science world's astonishment, the work also appears to provide solutions to Zeno of Elea's famous motion paradoxes, almost 2500 years after they were originally conceived by the ancient Greek philosopher. In doing so, its unlikely author, who originally attended university for just 6 months, is drawing comparisons to Albert Einstein and beginning to field enquiries from some of the world's leading science media. This is contrast to being sniggered at by local physicists when he originally approached them with the work, and once aware it had been accepted for publication, one informing the journal of the author's lack of formal qualification in an attempt to have them reject it.
Posted by KnipSter at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)
Home Town vs Home Town...
North Stamford, CT vs South Burlington, VT in the little league regional tournament.
Posted by KnipSter at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2003
Welcome to August
Well, the new insanity is dying down, and we are slowing returning to the durable insanity. I found myself looking at the lawn today, thinking I have an hour before we need to leave for a family-style baby shower, and concluding that I can finish the lawn in time. If a mirror were near by, I'd have to ask, "Who is this guy?"
Of course, I finished the lawn and had a strange pride in the slate steps next to the garage being less overgrown due to some weed-whacker persistance.
It was a late evening, but a good day overall. Eventually we'll finish unpacking, but we aren't feeling too rushed yet. Perhaps Kieran's christening will motivate us (Saturday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend.)
Posted by KnipSter at 09:37 PM | Comments (1)