Babysitting Baby Aurora

What a pleasure it was getting to babysit baby Aurora! My two big insights from the day:

(1) It's amazing how much she's developed in just 10 weeks or so. She's so full of smiles and so interactive. It's amazing how quickly infants go from a lump absorbing the world, to taking part in it. Of course, I assume Aurora is ahead of the curve cause she's an absolute baby genius.

(2) I put Aurora in the Moby Wrap and took her for a walk. Within 10 yards or so, she was sound asleep. Apparently, putting on a Moby Wrap is like riding a bike - once you learn it, you never forget it.

What a joy she is!

Oh, and in the photos below, you'll notice that I gave her an old Sidekick Slide to play with. She's totally not impressed because it didn't have a touch screen and wasn't Internet enabled. Her Daddy has taught her well.

Virigina, 2011 Democratic Primary Election - Reaching out to the candidates

The Problem

It's always been painfully obvious to me that my interest in politics is probably upside down. I can tell you about the details of the latest scuffle between Obama and McConnell, yet I can't tell you what the county board is up to, or the big issues in the state senate. I've got some hypothesis as to why this may be, but those are all besides the point. As I cruise around town, I see the signs hollering at me: there's a primary coming up in just about two weeks, and I haven't got the foggiest idea who to vote for. Or even what to base my decision on.

To the credit of the candidates, many have personally stopped by my home - but their timing isn't ever going to be right. And besides, I'm not even sure what I'd want to ask them.

In the past, I've poked around youtube for information on local candidates. But this time, I've decided to step it up a notch.

I realize I've got two big issues: (1) I don't really know enough about what I'm voting on and (2) I don't have an easy way to compare the candidates. My solution? I'm going to do, what seems obvious now: ask the candidates themselves. By asking them a standard set of questions, I'll should have at least some basis for comparison.

The Candidates

Step one is figuring out who I even need to reach out to. Of course, Arlington has a web page that helps with this. Even the process of figuring out who I'm voting for involves parsing neighborhoods, precincts, districts and other minutia. I can't imagine how tricky this would have been before I had the web to consult.

Here's who I've determined I need to reach out to:

• David Deanne
• Theo Stamos (what do you know, Theo is a woman! Amazing what you find out with a little research)
• Stephanie Clifford
• Alfonso Lopez
• Barbara Favola
• Jaime Areizaga-Soto

Here's the note that I've sent to each of them:

Dear ________

My name is Ben Simon, and I'm a resident of Arlington. I'm trying to get my act together and to do some research for the 2011 primary so I can cast an intelligent vote. Would you mind taking a few minutes and filling out a quick set of questions I've sent to all candidates in the primary?

http://bit.ly/qo4UK3

I'll be sharing the results on my blog (http://benjisimon.blogspot.com) to help others who may be in the same situation I'm in.

I really do appreciate any time you can spare to help me out.

PS - If you've stopped by my house and I shooed you away, it wasn't anything personal. I love it when politicians hit the streets. It's just that the timing for a conversation never seems to be right.

The Results

So now I play the waiting game. If responses do come in, they'll be found below.

If you could ask these, or other candidates, any questions what would they be? Maybe I can include them before the candidates have a chance to respond.

Gotcha of the Day: Dealing with Yum EPEL Errors

This morning, I was taking my own advice, and upgrading a backup solution I use on one of my servers to duplicity. In the past, this has been painless to do. The first step being:

 yum install duplicity

That command came back with the dreaded message:

 Warning: No matches found for: duplicity

Ugh. I'm still not 100% sure what repositories I should be pointing to, and how to set them up. And then it hits me, I should probably just install EPEL, as I know that's a trusted repository.

I run the rpm command recommended by the FAQ, and all goes well. I then go to install duplicity and run into this gem:

[ben@www ~]$ yum search duplicity
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Error: Cannot access repository dir //var/cache/yum/epel

Surprisingly, googling around for Error: Cannot access repository dir //var/cache/yum/epel didn't really return any useful results. A handful of people have seen this issue, but there was no explanation as to what was going on.

I tried installing other versions of EPEL, but that didn't help. I was just about to give up and build duplicity from source when I had a crazy idea. What if I upgraded yum itself? So I ran:

  sudo yum upgrade yum

Sure enough, yum came back to me and asked me if I indeed wanted to install yum. I did. I then re-installed EPEL:

   rpm -Uhv http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386/epel-release-5-4.noarch.rpm

And I was off and running! I was delighted that I could now do:

[xxx@www ~]$ yum search duplicity
 Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
 ================================= Matched: duplicity  
 duplicity.i386 : Encrypted bandwidth-efficient backup using rsync algorithm
 [xxx@www ~]$ 

The yum install of duplicity pulled in all the required packages, and within a few minutes, I had my first full backup running. In fact, in the time it took to write this blog post, over 3Gig of data has been safely backed up off site.

One day I'm going to fully understand what makes yum tick. In the mean time, I'm just going to be thankful when it does what I want.

Thoughts On A Server Outage

As I type out this blog entry, Rimuhosting, one of my favorite web hosting providers is experiencing a major outage. I feel for them, as I've been there before. Hopefully, they'll be back up in no time. However, with this server outage on my mind, I can't help but share a few thoughts that come to mind:

Before the Outage

• Setup offsite backups today. Right now. I've done this for a number of servers, and my preferred method is duplicity + Amazon's S3. Duplicity efficiently creates backups and S3 makes storing the results dirt cheap.
• Life in the cloud means that an outage like this can be a major work stopper. Diversifying where you keep information in the cloud can help. I'll still take the (hopefully) well paid support team of a cloud service over storing things locally and expecting my skills as a computer geek to solve the problem.
• Make sure your company has a Twitter account where service status updates can be broadcast. Twitter makes an ideal place for these updates because (a) it's where folks already are and (b) you'll want a solution that's off your network and unlikely to be down when you are.

Checking for an Outage

• Whenever I notice a website is acting funky, the first place I head over to is search.twitter.com. A couple weeks ago, Gmail wasn't working for me. Turned out I had forgotten to turn off my debugging proxy. A quick search Twitter showed me it wasn't some massive outage. Today's Rimuhosting issue was detected in just a few seconds when I checked twitter.
• I recently discovered Down For Every One Or Just Me.com, a service which no doubt does a trivial check to see if a site is down from its location. The idea being that it would be unlikely that your personal setup and its server setup are both unable to reach the site. It's a clever idea and a site I'll hold on to.

When You Go Down

• The first order of business should be to report the status on Twitter. Be honest. Outages are part of life on the Internet. Keeping people informed will help keep folks calm. Facebook is also a good place to spread the word of your status.
• Work like hell to get the problem fixed.
• Take responsibility for what you broke
• Look for a way to compensate folks' time. You probably can't give everyone everything they want (how do you credit someone for lost customers that may have brought in thousands of dollars worth of business?). But, do something. Anything.

There, my ramblings on an outage. Now, let's see, did Rimu come back while I was typing this away? D'oh. The did not. This ain't good.

I'm pulling for you guys!

Review: The Ragged Edge of Silence

It's actually kind of appropriate that I write this review on Tisha B'Av - a day when my normal routine is turned upside down, and obvious essentials such and drinking are gone without.

See, The Ragged Edge of Silence is the story of John Francis turning his own life upside down. In his case, he stops riding in cars and speaking. He does the former for 21 years and the latter for 17.

17 years without saying a word. I can't go 17 minutes. I may have trouble going 17 seconds. I simply can't imagine it.

What's even more interesting is that this vow of silence and refusal to use cars doesn't lead to a private life. On the contrary, the key part of Francis' story is that he takes these limitations and proudly marches out into the world with them. Literally.

Among other accomplishments, he walks the breadth of the US. Simply walking that distance would be an amazing feat. But, to not be able to speak along the way - it just boggles the mind. Questions as simple as, "where's the next town?" or "do you know where I can find water?" are something he'd have to mime, sign or as a last ditch effort, write down.

For not speaking, he does a heck of a lot of communicating. But, he invented this vow and lifestyle, so I suppose he can make up whatever rules he wants.

As books go, I found myself eager to see how Francis' next adventure was going to turn out. Say, how was he going to tackle college or TA'ing a class, if he can't speak? So, as stories go, it did indeed have me hooked.

I suppose the ultimate question is this: was John Francis better off for going 17 years without speaking? He's got a PhD, a family and has had amazing adventures. So, on the surface, it looks like it. Still, you won't find me following in his footsteps. Still, on a day like today, when life seems limiting I'd like to think I can use Francis' life as a reminder and an example that physical limitations may be used to open doors, not just close them.

Caption Me

Personally, I'm at a loss for words on this one. But surely, you've got some ideas. Add them to the comments. Thanks!

Legg Mason 2011 - Hot, Wet and Fun

It's that time of year again - Legg Mason Tournament time. You know, the time of year, when you voluntarily sit in the broiling hot sun to watch sweaty men duke it out on the tennis court.

This year, Shira upgraded our seats and we sat under shade. It was definitely an upgrade worth making. Sure, I still chattered nearly non-stop about the heat and how it was absurd to be playing tennis in August in DC. But, it was infinitely better than if we'd been without shade. Not to mention, part way into the singles match, the skies opened up and we got drenched with rain. Again, our covered seats more than proved their value.

The rain delay, which all told took about an hour, was actually impressive site to see. To watch the court go from sloshing wet, to absolutely dry in a matter of minutes (say, 45?), was quite the feat. Between squeegees, air blowers, and even manually toweling off the court, the staff had the surface back to dry in an impressive amount of time.

As for the tennis, it was excellent, as one would expect. The doubles, which I tend to prefer, definitely didn't disappoint. Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic were evenly matched against Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau for the first set. Then Lindstedt/Tecau pulled again in the second set, managing to get what appeared to me, to be a comfortable lead. In the end though, Llodra and Zimonjic, not only caught up, but ended up beating Lindstedt and Tecau. It was tennis at its best - you think for sure you know who's going to win, and then you're proven wrong.

The singles match was more straightforward - Radek Stepanek played Gael Monfils, and by the second set, Stepanek was proving too solid a player for Monfils to beat. Still, it was quite the entertaining match to watch, what with Monfils losing hold of his racket a number of times, and making a couple especially daring dives for the ball.

All in all, as my once a year to sit and bake while watching tennis, I was definitely not left disappointed.

My Six Legged Friend

Photos captured with my Android G2 using a macro lens—not too shabby.

Rock Creek Park - Exploring The Big Green Splotch of DC

If you check out a DC map, you'll see a big 'ol patch of green in the northern part of the city, which is Rock Creek Park. It's hard for me to believe, but in all our hiking and such, we've never really explored it. Today, with my parents, I fixed that.

We did the 3 mile Boulder Bridge Hike, which proved most enjoyable. It was just the right mix of hills and wooded terrain to give you the sense that you were in the wilderness, but really, you hadn't ever left the city.

Definitely worth checking out.

After our hike, we caught lunch, and then took a fairly relaxing 45 minute boat cruise along the Potomac. It was a fun perspective to see the city from, and just the right kind of shaded relaxation to enjoy after the hike in the morning.

Oh, and while leaving Georgetown, we found the National Pinball Museum. Got to love this city and its fascination with museums.

Ace Mobile Auto Detailing and Wash - Finally delivering on a promise

For years now, every time I got one of our cars dirty, I'd assuage Shira by promising that I'd get the cars detailed. I wasn't exactly sure what "detailing" entailed, but I know that for the first few times I promised this, she was happy. Over the years, she's long since given up on me delivering on this promise.

Apparently our last camping trip was the straw that broke the camel's back. She finally took matters in her own hands and contacted Ace Mobile Auto Detailing and Wash.

I was informed on Tuesday, that I should expect men to show up at my door, prepared to scrub the heck out of cars. All I had to do was to remove the junk from the trunk (and anywhere else), and they'd take care of the rest.

They showed up on time, and gave our cars (they did both) nothing but TLC for about 4 (or was it 5?) straight hours. There was absolutely no corner cutting here - from scrubbed floor mats to buffing out scratches and everything inbetween, they gave it their all.

Sure, they weren't able to remove large scratches. But, man, did they get the cars all shiny and new. The outsides look good, but it's the inside that's really impressive. Sitting in the driver seat, it looks and feels like a brand new car. And yes, it even has the right smell (it's probably not technically "New car smell" - it may just be "clean leather smell" - but I don't care. It's awesome).

All in all, if you want to get your car detailed, you should check these guys out. I just love that they are a mobile operation and came right to us.

I took a few photos - but none of them really capture how the car turned out. So, you'll just have to trust me. We're happy.

Your Lawn Is Evil

I don't know who this guy is, but I'm pretty sure he's absolutely right: Your (and my) lawn is evil. He explains why in this clip:

view video

He even suggestions a service like the one I blogged about a while ago where you'd pay to have your lawn farmed, not mowed.

A quick search of my local craigslist seems to imply that while there are some folks who might help me with a garden, no one is yet offering the kind of full service micro-farming thingy the blog post suggests.

Why not? Seriously, if I had anything remotely close to a green thumb and a desire to get into a new job (or was unemployed), I'd be all over this.

Seriously, someone needs to just do this. Lawns are evil.

Via the always delightful Yum and Yuk.

Funny of the Day: Man'ifying Quotes and Photos

Need a quick laugh? Check out: tumblr4men - a site that's dedicated to taking shmaltzy photos, quotes and what not and making them a little more guy friendly. There's an awful lot of cussing on the site, so it's not really appropriate for all.

Here are a few that got me to chuckle:

photo 1, photo 2, photo 3 and photo 4.

Via: BuzzFeed

When Actors Make Sense: Matt Damon on Eduction, Rainn Wilson on Taxes

Being a celebrity doesn't automatically make you an expert. But, I found both these guys points to be pretty dang compelling.

Matt Damon on Education

Watch the clip and see Matt Damon talk about incentive based teaching:

view video

Yes, both Damon and the interviewer are taking an overlysimplistic view of the problem. But, I think Damon does have a key point: he doesn't act just for the money, just like I don't program solely for money and teachers don't teach only for money. We (well, I assume many teachers) do it because we love it. Assuming that you can get results just dangling money in front of them just isn't realistic.

Rainn Wilson on Taxes

To be honest,I wasn't even sure who Rainn Wilson was until I checked his IMDB page. But, that's besides the point. His insight on taxes goes like so:

When I was a broke-ass actor mkng 15k a yr I paid like NO taxes. That helped me get where I am. Now I pay a BUNCH. As it should be. #TaxMe

This is one of the simplest and best explanations for a graduated tax code I've heard. We love to talk about the taxes a rich or poor person pays - but of course, as Wilson explains, those could very well be the same person.

To me, government is working best when it's making smart investments. In this context, it's the tax code itself that's being used to invest in people. Seems like a smart investment to me.

Both stories were found via Buzzfeed.

Hey, that's what Mom always said!

From: yes and yes:

"I’m bored" is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless. The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say "I’m bored."
-Louis CK

Growing up, "bored" wasn't part our vocabulary and certainly wasn't an allowed state. I had no idea other people felt so strongly about this.

Thing is, I think this concept is important. Rejecting boredom means rejecting that you're powerless. If you're not happy, it's up to exactly one person to fix this: yourself.

She probably didn't realize she was giving me such an empowering and important lesson. Knowing what I know about kids now, she probably just wanted me out of her hair for the afternoon. Doesn't matter, the lesson stuck.

Top 10 Lessons/Moments From Our Holliday Lake State Park Adventure

My Dad, brother and I hit Holliday State Park this last weekend. Here's 10+ lesson learned/adventures had:

1. David pulls out the bed sheet he grabbed to sleep with (it was like 100°F out!), and realizes he grabbed a blue table cloth instead.
2. We starting chatting it up a fisherman on the dock and realize that we've found the only liberal Democrat in all of Central Virginia.
3. Our new friend lends us two worms (night crawlers). These two worms last us 3 days and are what we catch the majority of our fish on.
4. The Trout Creek Trail that originally attracted us to the area doesn't appear to exist any longer.
5. Our first stop along the trail was apparently on top of a wasp nest. The result, each of us got at least one wasp sting. Ben learned another use for his lightload towel - use it to swat wasps off of himself and others.
6. Ben learned that fishing is an optimist's sport - "the next cast, yeah, that'll be one that does it. I just need one more cast..."
7. Ben slept outside the second night, but David and Dad left part of the tent open for him to climb in. The result: David and Dad were scrunched together, and Ben had all the space in the world.
8. Macaroni and cheese mixes quite well with Amy's vegetarian chili. Yum!
9. Entanmann's Donuts can survive +100°F temperatures, days in the woods, lots of humidity, and still taste fresh and delicious. Not sure how they do it.
10. Ben is not allowed to pack toilet paper for the hike. His assumption that we'll need about 6 feet worth of it was a severe underestimation. David will be in charge of this in the future, and he'll just bring the entire roll.
11. The perfect beer is the ice cold one after a day of hiking and fishing in some extreme heat.

Gone Fishing - The Simon Men Have An Adventure

I'm tapping this message out from Holliday Lake State Park next to a roaring fire built by my brother David. My Dad is sitting next to me, cheering him on.

We're all a little exhausted, as we did a 10 mile hike today that included a number of stops to go fishing. I'm proud to say that I caught the most fish today, topping off at 4. Though they ranged in size from goldfish to large goldfish. David and Dad also caught fish, and theirs were a more respectable size.

It's been a while since I've been car camping, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect at the campground here. We've got a reasonable sized site, water and electricity just feet from our tent, the car right next to whole setup, firewood and ice for purchase, and clean bathrooms available to us 24x7. Compared to backpacking standards, this place is the Ritz.

The fishing has been OK. Nothing specactular, but then again, the main point is to sit around and be together not actually catch fish (which is good news for the fish). The hiking has been great too. We, we did manage to stop and fish near a wasp nest, and as a result, we all got a number of wasp stings (I think I got 4 myself). But, we survived, and were no worse for wear.

We did try to take the Trout Creek Trail from the park, which apparently has been overgrown and was unusable. But we got plenty of hiking in, so we're not too disappointed. Still, our guidebook recommended the hike - which you shouldn't plan to take, as the trail no longer exists.

The plan is to get up tomorrow and fish all day. I'll see if I can land anything larger than the betta fish we used to have.

The moths sure do love my laptop screen. I better call it a night. Here's to a quiet night in the woods.

P.S. - Surprisingly, T-mobile gets some signal out here in the woods, while Verizon doesn't. I don't think that's ever happened before. Go T-mobile!

Some photos of the weekend:

View Photos

A Debt Ceiling Argument That Makes My Head Hurt

While I would have probably said it different, I think Michele Bachmann is fundamentally correct when she says:

"It's Congress that does the spending. The president is prohibited to do that. If he had the power to do that he would effectively be a dictator," the Minnesota Congresswoman said Thursday on CNN's "American Morning." "There would be no reason for Congress to even come to Washington, D.C. He would be making the spending decisions … Clearly that's unconstitutional."

That is, if you respect the constitution, you respect that there are things that each branch of the Government can do. Obama's job is simply not to decide how money gets spent - that's done by congress. Period.

And the White House agrees:

Jacob Lew, WH Budget Director: “Our plan is for Congress to do its work and the President to sign into law legislation that will make it possible for the United States as it always has, to keep its obligations. We’ll be ready to deal with whatever happens. There is no plan other than meeting our obligations.
...

Which brings me to two points I can't wrap my head around:

First, how can folks like Palin criticize the President for not "prioritizing our spending?" Wouldn't that put him in the position of funding some legislation and not others? Effectively, aren't you forcing the president into the "Dictator" that Bachmann describes?

Second, Bachmman's statement from above is actually her evidence for why Obama can't use the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling.

In other words, if he forces a raise in the debt ceiling he's violating the constitution. If he doesn't force a raise in the debt ceiling, then as far as I can tell he's forced to decide what to fund and not to fund, and therefore, is violating the constitution.

Seems to me, like arbitrarily raising the debt ceiling would actually keep the integrity of the three branches of government, not remove it.

We sure did get ourselves into a pickle here, no?

What-I-Carry-Wednesday: Adventures in Car Camping Gear

I've got a car camping trip coming up, and I figured it was time to start building out a gear list. The good news about car camping is that you can pretty much bring the kitchen sink. The bad news is, it's easy to bring the kitchen sink and still forget essentials.

I love the simplicity of a backpacking gear list, where you're forced to whittle the items down to the bare essentials. With car camping, not so much.

Still, my trip is just a for a weekend, so I'm trying to keep the list as compact as possible. Though, I'm not going to give up the opportunity to bring along a book and a hammock, with the intention of doing some serious chillaxing.

Look it over - did I forget any essentials? Like, maybe a kitchen sink?

Review: I Wonder as I Wander

I admit it: I picked up I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey by Langston Hughes purely because the title sounded cool, and I recognized Hughes' name. Within a chapter or two though, I was hooked.

I Wonder as I Wander takes you along with Hughes as he travels the globe as a young man in the 1930's. From touring the Southern United States, to distant villages in Soviet Asia, he covers an amazing amount of ground. He does it while almost always broke (of course, this is the Great Depression - everyone is broke) and with great determination.

But, perhaps what I like most about the book is Hughes' casual tone. There's no boasting. No, "wow, look at me!" He's just the kind of friend you'd want to sit with and have them tell you story after story as he risked life and limb in exotic locations.

Along with the excitement, is a perspective on history that's truly invaluable. To see Jim Crow laws through the eye of Black man, or communism through the eye of a sympathizer (though, he claims he wasn't a communist - communists don't do Jazz, and that was a deal breaker for him) was powerful. Heck, I barely knew there was a Spanish Civil War, and now I feel like I've been to the front.

In the end, this was an eye opening, educational and just plain fun read. As travel stories and biographies go, I don't think you can ask for anything more than that.

Our Adventure Comes to a Close - Our Foster Placement Graduates

Yesterday, our little guy "graduated" from our home and moved into his permanent family. The adventure that started 561 days ago, has come to a close.

As you can imagine, I've got mixed feelings on all of this. On one hand, I'm overjoyed that he's joined such a wonderful family, where I expect he'll grow up to be a happy and healthy young man. And I know Shira and I can look back and know we did a good thing. Perhaps the best thing anyone can do, help a child in need.

On the other hand, there's the letting go part. Yeah, that part isn't so great. Good gosh I'm going to miss that guy. His smile. The way every day was a fresh start. The way he would learn or do something new every day. The absolute miracle of child development - where he went from a baby to an actual person right before my eyes. The early mornings. The late nights. The way he could crawl into my arms and give me a huge when he scared. Being a daddy. I'm going to miss it all.

But letting go is part of the gig.

No matter how I add it up, the good of this situation has outweighed any bad. I'd do it all over again in a minute. And while it hurts, I know this has actually been a success story.

The Reston Zoo: The Little Zoo That Could

A while back, Shira had taken our little guy to the Reston Zoo, and came back with a glowing report. This Sunday, however, I got to see the place in person.

As promised, it was on the smaller side. But as a kid friendly place, it can't be beat. For one thing, there are plenty of animals to feed and interact with. Our little guy is going to appreciate a goat he can feed far more than an exotic elephant he can just look at. The petting area also provides plenty of shade, and the small size in general is a win because little ones won't get as tired out from walking.

The price, especially compared to the free National Zoo, was on the steep side. But, I suppose, if you want a zoo in your backyard, it can't exactly be free. We spent about an hour there before we decided, on behalf of our little guy, that he'd had enough.

Another win is that the zoo opens at 9am on Sunday - which is late for parents who may have a child who's up at 5:45am.

All in all, it's an excellent little attraction, and for the right age group should be a home run.

Our Special Harbor Sprayground - The perfect heatwave activity

Pop quiz: Weather.com is reporting a feels-like temperature of 120°F and the car dashboard thermometer is reading 107°F. What activity can you do outside with your very activity 23 month old? Not much, right?

Luckily, our friend and gifted photographer had the perfect idea: hit the Our Special Harbor sprayground.

And her suggestion couldn't have been more perfect. It's bigger than the Arlington Spraygrounds, but isn't overwhelming. There's plenty of gushing water to entertain kids (and adults) of all ages. Oh, and it's free to the public.

It was truly the perfect way to beat the heat, and another awesome local find.

Phone Friday: Morse Code Keyboard - Fun and Useful?

Learning More Code continues to be on my TODO list. Every once in a while, I like to poke around appbrain and see what folks are doing with Morse Code on the Android platform. I suppose my hope is that it willmy butt into gear with learning it.

Today I discovered Morse Code Keyboard, which, as you might imagine installs a keyboard which is Morse code based.

As you can see, there's not a heck of a lot to the keyboard - a big o'l dot button, a dash button, and a few other keys (space, delete, etc.).

At first I thought it might be a fun little way to force me to try to learn Morse code. But, playing around with it, it actually seems like it may be useful. That's because the dot and dash buttons are so huge - it's actually the first on screen keyboard I've ever used that feels like I really don't need to put any effort into hitting the right key.

Sure, Swype is an engineering marvel. But, for tapping out messages without looking at the screen, or doing so only every once in a while, it seems like the Morse keyboard could be a much more workable solution.

I've printed out the Morse Code alphabet, taped it to an old (1998 Coke Card - what was the heck?) loyalty card, and I should be good to go for some in field training.

Here's my new setup:

Sleep Karma

Yesterday, in an off handed way, I snarkly responded to a friend's Facebook feed where she mentioned that she was doing sleep training for her baby. I wasn't being snarky to her, more so to all the rah-rah parents who seemed to be kinda pushing a philosophy I'm not really behind. Anyway, it was a harmless remark, certainly not intended to hurt anybody. I'm not even sure I had an opinion on the subject.

Karma, apparently, didn't think it was so harmless.

For the last few weeks (dare I say months?) our little guy has almost effortlessly gone to bed at 7pm. Like clockwork. But last night, we got into a new game:

1. Put child in crib
2. Child lies down
3. Adult leaves the room
4. Child effortlessly hops out of his crib
5. Adult re-enters the room and explains to said 23 month old that it is in fact bed time, not play time.
6. Child requests to be put back into his crib so he can go to sleep.
7. Goto Step 1

After an hour and a half of this wonderful game, our little guy finally hit the sack. At no point was he upset during this little event. He's more than happy to quietly explore his room.

Anyway, I knew that my comment was wrong and I was sorry.

Apparently, Karma wasn't done with me yet.

This morning at 5:15am, our little guy not only woke up, but again, effortlessly hopped out of his crib to start the new day.

Man, that'll teach me to comment on someone else's adventures with sleeping children. Whew. Lesson. Learned.

Kids Today. Maybe There's Hope.

Yesterday, I was hanging out at a video studio, when one of the people I was filming with mentioned her child was interested in the field.

The folks who were about 10 years or so older than my self all recounted that their first exposure to the world of video (especially editing) was in college.

Thinking back, I realized mine was in high school (Goooooo Morning Show!).

This kid was not only shooting and editing his own video, but had even purchased his own camera with his savings.

Here's the kicker: said kid is 8.

Think about that: when I was 8 years old, I was probably goofing around with G.I. Joe, not shooting a stop action lego film like this kid is.

And here's another example. I recently picked up a Syma S107 RC Helicopter to goof around with teach our little guy about the physics of flight. While surfing YouTube, I found this comprehensive review.

I can't quit tell how old video creator is, but it certainly sounds like a young kid to me.

This just boggles my mind: not only is this kid using a fair amount of technology to get this done, but he's dispensing useful advice to strangers around the world.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that kids today are inherently lazy, or being turned into texting zombies.

Like most things in life, it's just not that black and white. As I suppose we all knew, kids can do amazing things.

Lights, Camera, Action!

I think one of the most underappreciated jobs in the world is that of TV/movie actor. Sure, they make it look easy, but put me in front of a camera and I lose my ability to speak intelligently. Poof. It's gone.

It's with that understanding in mind that I jumped into the adventure of the day: filming a short (10 or so minute) video to help give my story about Head Start.

Our little guy has thrived in and because of Early Head Start. So, I'm a fan. I bit the bullet and agreed to participate in the video.

All in all, it went OK. A few things that surprised me:

• They didn't record the practice sessions. What the heck? My first shtick was perfect during practice. What, tape is so expensive? I'm sure they've got a good reason for this. Though, I don't know what it is.
• They got what they wanted in one take. I guess that means that I was either hopeless, or did fine.
• The filming was the short part of the adventure. Waiting, getting situated, etc. took the majority of time.

All in all, it had a similar feeling to getting my hernia repaired: people were buzzing around me, doing stuff, yet trying to keep me calm. In both experiences I was clueless as to what was actually going on. Oh, and both were painless.

I didn't have the courage to watch the single take the got. Heck, I'm not excited to ever watch it. But, if given the chance, I'll share it here.

And here's proof that this happened - a photo of me after my makeup was applied. Turns out the advice I was given was dead on: if someone offers you make up, always, always, always accept it. I've been waiting for years to practice that advice, and today I got to do just that.

Politics: You can't always get what you want. Accept it.

I really like this presentation Obama gave to some college students. Give it a watch:

(watch the video)

His view that principled compromise is what allows our government to function, is one of those dirty little secrets that politicians would rather not discuss. It's much easier to do nothing on the grounds that you held fast to your principles, than it is, to compromise and take responsibility for your actions.

If you're inching forward through compromise, you're still moving forward.

Via: Obama's Last Lecture.

Phone Friday: GMarks - Tracking Blog Ideas On The Go

My bookmarking strategy has been working well for me lately: I use Xmarks to track organized bookmarks, and Google Bookmarks to hold onto blog topics and other random information that I just want to note, but not bother to organize.

Between the Google Bookmarks' bookmarklet, and the chronological view, I can quickly grab and track random sites.

I hadn't bothered to try to replicate this setup on my Android phone. For a while, I had Xmark's mobile app installed, but I found I didn't use it. I when I checked a while back, I hadn't found a good Google Bookmarks app either.

That was, until a few days, when I discovered GMarks. GMarks is a simple app that allows you to maintain your Google Bookmarks on an Android phone.

It took a few minutes to slurp down my 1,271 bookmarks. But, once it did, it was fast to use. And most importantly, it gives me the chronological view that I find so useful on my desktop.

It has the standard "Share" integration with my G2 browser. Which is to say, if I'm browsing a page of interest on my G2, I can trivially share with GMarks and have it be in my heap of ideas for later consideration.

All this means that while Shira's trying on clothes at the mall, I can be reading content and adding to my I should-blog-this-later list.

GMarks (Google Bookmarks) for Android on AppBrain

Weekend Project: Build Your Own Predator Drone

OK, not exactly. But, the recipe in this YouTube video does show you a clever way to attach a video camera to a remote controlled helicopter. You might not be able to shoot stuff, but you can at least gather intelligence.

(Play Video)

I took a quick poke around and found that recommended camera is only $12.00 on eBay, and the helicopter is around $40.00. Though, to do the project right, you do need a handful of tools and a scale.

All in all, it looks like a fun weekend project.

If you're looking for other fun projects, you should check out Kipkay's videos - he's giving you instructions for making stuff that blow up.

Happy Hacking!

What-I-Carry-Wednesday: A Day Hike Kit

I sure do like to hike. And when I do, my Boy Scouts instincts kick in, and I feel most comfortable being prepared. Essentially, I want to be able to spend a night or two outdoors if I'm lost or injured.

Most of the places I end up hiking around are quite populated, and the most important survival kit item is probably a good 'ol whistle. Still, got to be prepared.

Resources I found useful when compiling these items, include: my weekend backpacking list, Field and Stream's Altoid Tins Survival Kit, United States Rescue & Special Operations Group's gear list, This wiki, and Doug Ritter's survival kits.

All right, onto the gear:

• A cheap LED - this is a backup, as I always carry a Photo X-light with me.
• A compass. Again, a backup to the one I carry every day.
• A roll of dental floss. Yes, dental floss.
• A package of Portable Auqua water purification tables. Including the very handy neutralizer tablets which make the water taste, well, like water.
• A safety pin
• A FireSteel for matchless fire creation
• A Scripto Micro Lighter
• Hand sanitizer (useful for cleaning up, as well as a fire stater)
• A heap of Toilet Paper. Probably the most useful item in the kit.
• A Lightload Towel
• About 3 square feet of heavy duty tin foil
• An Adventure Medical Kits Heatsheet - more durable and usable than a classic mylar blanket
• Blister treatment
• Benadryl
• Ben's Bug Spray Towelette
• Some bandaids
• A large black garbage bag
• An oven bag. This one was new to me: it's a durable, yet lightweight, way to carry water if you don't have a canteen handy.
• Somewhere around 20-30 feet of paracord
• A travel "purse"

(My wallet is next to the packed bag to show scale)

Like I said, I assume I've got my usual stuff, which includes a knife, whistle, and other critical items.

The above is a pretty basic kit, but I think I've got my bases covered:

• Fire: lighter, firesteel, rope (for a bow and drill).
• Shelter: garbage bag, heatsheet, rope, dental floss.
• Signaling: whistle, towel, notepad, cell phone, Photon X-light and fire.
• Food/water: tin foil, oven bag, fire, heatsheet (useful for "rock boiling water and chow in a hole in the ground").
• First Aid: band aids, blister treatment, Benadryl, Lightload Towel, Hand sanitizer, paracord, dental floss.
• Towel: yes.

As a bonus, I've been keeping the kit in one of our cars. It means that I'm already half-way packed for a hike (grab some food, water, maybe a sweater, and a pack to throw this all into) and I'm also more prepared if I get stuck on the side of the road.

What's in your day hike kit?

A Tactical Quick-Release Sonic Defense System

I don't carry much when I run, but as a nod to preparedness, I usually carry a whistle. It's super lightweight and useful for getting people's attention. If it was good enough for the Met Police, it's good enough for me.

But, what's the best way to secure it during a jog? It's tempting to just tie it in my drawstring, next to key, and be done with it.

But, what if I need to grab it and make some noise? Expecting that I'll have the wherewithal to untie my waist draw string, remove the whistle, not lose my house key, and blow it, seems downright silly. I'm just not that coordinated.

After a few minutes of though, I arrived at what I believe to be the ideal solution: the rubber band. It holds it securely, yet one strong tug, and the whistle is in hand.

It's simple, cheap, and gave me the perfect excuse to use the word "Tactical" in a blog post entry.

Here's what the setup looks like:

Guest Blogger Maryn - Who's Behind The Great Spork Shortage?

Guest Blogger Maryn writes:

I have had a question burning in my mind for months. I can't seem to find the answer and no matter where I look, it seems like I'll never figure it out.

What happened to the spork?

I remember in elementary school, sporks were incredibly handy for an array of food items either packed from home or purchased from the school cafeteria. Say it was spaghetti day and you also wanted a cup of sherbet for dessert. Ordinarily, you'd need a fork and a spoon to devour both tasty treats, but when the spork arrived on the scene, it became a time saver, a trash saver, and let's be honest- using a spork was a good ol' time. Fast food restaurants started supplying sporks and they were sold in grocery stores.

What happened? Did a law pass that outlawed spork usage? Did some utensil extremist group decide sporks were going against basic human values? I miss the days of carefree eating when you knew you were prepared for life's edible choices. I implore anyone with knowledge of what happened to sporks to share with the rest of the world because I am certain (hopeful?) that millions of American citizens have been wondering about this issue for years.

Editor's Note: the spork is alive and well in my backpacking gear - but not at the restaurants I frequent. Hmm....who's to blame?!

If you've got a story you'd like to contribute to Ben's Journal - then by all means, send it my way. I'll do the best I can to publish it.