Cause My Arms Are Tired | A Field Expedient Baby Carrier

Far and away the fanciest furniture in our home belongs to our little one. Yet, his favorite resting spot continues to be our arms. And while his near 15 pounds of baby cuteness doesn't sound like much, he gets heavy! Our goto carriers are the Moby Wrap* and Baby Bjorn, and they both work really well. Yet, I found myself looking for other ways to help lighten the load.

Inspired by an Aden + Anais extra large swaddle blanket (47x47 inches baby!) that my Sister-in-Law and Brother gifted us, and memories of playing with Furoshiki wrapping, I wondered what would happen if I rigged up a sling to carry the kid around.

I laid the blanket out and tied the opposite corners together like so:

At this point, I had a sort of crude bag that could be slung over my shoulder. Carefully, I slid our 10 week old baby into the space and let the blanket take his weight:

The square knot that bore the most of the weight cinched down nicely and showed no signs of slipping. The blanket itself also felt secure. And just like that, I had the world's worst baby carrier. The knot dug into my back and the kid was nowhere near secure enough to go hands free. Yet the hack showed promise. The weight had been shifted away from my arms, and one hand had been freed up. At this age, the Moby Wrap works great as a place for the baby to cuddle and sleep. Using my improvised sling, which is mostly just me holding him, I found he could face out and interact with the world.

Over the last couple of weeks this little setup has been truly helpful. When I need just a little extra mobility or want to give my arms a rest, into the sling the baby can go. I also like that as long as I carry one of these blankets in his baby bag, I've got a backup baby carrier. This would have been handy when we visited a museum and found out that strollers were a no-no.

Soon he'll outgrow the sling, and at that point I should be able to use more carry options with the Moby Wrap (like say hip carry). But in the mean time, I'll take all the help I can get.

Two final points: First, I bet there's an established way to do what I'm doing. Perhaps it's a product you can buy or a well known hack. Either way, I won't be surprised if someone leaves a comment: uh, if you just bought X, you'd get all the benefits you have now.

Second: Shira's not impressed with the sling idea and has her own solution: lifting weights and having actual arm strength. To each their own, I suppose.

---

*Case in point, I'm composing this blog post as our little one naps in the Moby Wrap on my chest. Man I love this thing!

3am Audio Hack - Playing Lullabies and Netflix at the Same Time

Years ago, as we prepared to take on our first Foster Placement, I read this book. One piece of advice from this text has stuck with me:

There are no maintenance tasks with a baby.

That is, while diaper changing or feeding a little one a bottle may feel like work can be done on autopilot, it's worth striving to avoid this. These so called 'maintenance moments' are in fact a opportunities to connect and be present with the one you're caring for.

Over the years, this advice has served me well. But I also have to admit, even I have my limits. When it's 3am and I'm rocking a little one back to sleep for the 4th time, I think I can be forgiven for wanting to unplug from the moment. And that's what my latest hack is all about.

Did you know that on Samsung devices, you can go to: Settings » Sound and Vibration » Separate App Sound to configure your phone such that one app plays audio through the speaker and other apps play through a Bluetooth headset?

Why is this useful and what does this have to do with rocking a baby to sleep at 3am?

Using this setting you can softly be playing lullabies via Amazon Music on your phone's speaker, while binge watching a TV show on Netflix using a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

Just remember: with great power comes great responsibility; So use with care.

The Separate Sounds functionality should also be useful for solving the age old problem of having Google Maps navigation be announced via the phone's speaker, while a podcast plays via Bluetooth audio. Got to love these non-standard, random'ish features manufacturers add to Android OS.

Passover Thoughts, Covid-19 Edition

I've been mulling over what it means to celebrate Passover in a world wrestling COVID-19. For one thing, it meant trading a raucous multi-family seder for a quaint (and delightful!) one between Shira, Myself and our 11 week old.

Like the first Passover our ancestors went through, we find ourselves under a stay at home order, with an unseen force lurking outside ready to do harm. Sure, the CDC has called for social distancing, and not smearing lamb's blood on your doorpost, but the message remains the same: stay home, heed the instructions of experts, and stay safe.

I'm also gaining fresh perspective on what it means to have your life dramatically altered seemingly overnight. We look at the Jews leaving Egypt as going from slaves to free men and women. But that's with the benefit of a hefty dose of hindsight. In the moment, you can appreciate how it must have felt like trading one precarious situation for another. That is, to go from a slave to a wandering people unsure where your next drink or meal could be found.

While COVID-19 restrictions didn't go into effect at the stroke of midnight, they have descended on us at an alarming rate. Suddenly, parents are home-schooling teachers; office workers are work-from-home employees, and a massive number of people are simply unemployed. Basic human interactions, like sharing a meal or giving a hug are now off limits. The science tells us this is all for our own good. But like those Israelites heading into the desert and being told how fortunate they are to be free, you can be forgiven for wondering: what the heck did we get ourselves into?!

Here's to enduring the scourge that is COVID-19 with as little hardship as possible, and diligently looking for ways to use it as fuel for good. Like our ancestors, may we be able to look back at these events and see more than just the challenges. And next year in Jerusalem! Or really anywhere, as long as it's together in the same room.

A First Hike in Gunpowder Falls State Park

Two weeks ago, the stars looked to be aligning: the weather was going to be top notch, and our day free. We could finally get in some quality hiking! Because we wanted to practice smart social distancing, we opted for what appeared to be a low traffic hike: Little Gunpowder, Winterfell, Quarry Loop located in Gunpowder Falls State Park.

We arrived at the trail head to find cold and dreary conditions. On the plus side, the cruddy weather appeared to be keeping people away. Off we trekked into the wilderness, opting to take the hike uphill first to help us warm up.

For the first half of the hike we found the seclusion we were looking for. We saw no other hikers, and while the conditions remained cold and damp, they also served to enhance the scenery. With the mist, it felt like were in enchanted woods.

This was our little guy's first official hike and for the first couple of miles he slept right through it.

As we descended the Quarry Trail and re-joined the Little Gunpowder Trail we found ourselves with a choice: go left and log an out-and-back hike which would get us more miles and a chance to see a waterfall. Or go right and close out the loop we'd started. At this point, our 10 week old woke up and urgently asked where his next meal was. It also became clear that it wasn't going to warm up and that the 70+ degree temps we'd anticipated weren't coming. We hadn't expected to hike the full day in 50 degree weather, and weren't properly equipped for the day.

So we opted to close out the loop. We encountered a few families at this point, and I'm sure we looked like quite the sight: our little guy slurping down a bottle while we hustled back to a warm car.

All told we logged only 4.26 miles out of the planned 6.6. I got yet another hard won lesson in the need to closely watch the forecast and plan accordingly. I kick myself, because if I had planned for cold weather, we'd have almost certainly completed the full hike.

Still, I'm counting the hike as a success. We learned about a new state park to explore, our 10 week old got his first taste of the wilderness, and a number of gear choices were spot on. Mainly, I carried a large backpack which had food, our little one's diaper bag and my essentials, and Shira carried the kid and a small fanny pack with her essentials. At the last minute, Shira opted to use the Moby Wrap carrier instead of a Baby Bjorn one. The reasoning: the Moby does especially well in cold conditions. This turned out to be a smart move.

Later in the day Shira noticed this tweet from our trusted weather friends Capital Weather Gang:

A beautiful 70 degrees in DC just before 6p. But look at poor Baltimore, stuck in the 50s. Drive an hour southwest of DC, and it's 80+. pic.twitter.com/TvSNz7NF9q

— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) March 29, 2020

And where's Gunpowder Falls State Park? Outside Baltimore. D'oh!

I look forward to getting back to Gunpowder Falls State Park and seeing this elusive waterfall.

From Office Supplies To Ninja Armaments

Times are tough. Toilet paper, eggs and even flour are scare around here. School is canceled and we're effectively sheltering in place. But here's useful tip: if you have two sheets of printer paper and a few minutes of time, you can have a throwing star. You can also have a boomerang. Welcome to COVID-19 arts and crafts time baby!

I consider my origami skills beginner at best, so I was pleased how approachable the throwing stars tutorial is. Another fun project: make a treasure chest using two origami boxes.

Make With Care: Protein Packed Hot Chocolate

I've had the idea a number of times: I bet I can make my morning hot chocolate more nutritionally significant by adding whey protein powder to it. My reasoning goes: whey comes from milk, and milk goes with hot chocolate. And the flavor of the chocolate should overpower the whey. The result: a solid hit of protein in a hot and tasty drink.

And yet early attempts at making whey hot chocolate were disastrous. I'd mix the whey and hot chocolate packet easily enough and then I'd add boiling water. The whey immediately formed nasty clumps and no matter how much I stirred the mixture, wouldn't dissolve. And trying to drink clumpy hot chocolate? Yuck to put it mildly.

Still, I tried this a couple of times before I got the hint: adding boiling water to whey is a bad idea. A little Internet research explains:

If it’s whey protein powder, you might want to avoid boiling it with milk. Most of the whey that is sold in market, is acid whey, which will cause curding of milk. It’s not harmful for health, but you might find the end product difficult to consume.

Difficult to consume is an understatement.

All isn't lost, however. If you're a more strategic about it, you can warm up the hot chocolate and whey so that you don't end up with a curdled mess. Here's what's been working for me:

• Mix the hot chocolate and whey protein powder in a mug
• Put some water on to boil, and turn on your sink's hot water tap
• When the tap water is running as hot as can be, use it to fill the mug a quarter of the way
• Mix the hot tap water with the whey and hot chocolate powders to form a thick sludge. The goal is get the powder completely dissolved at this point
• Once the water is done boiling, let it cool for a minute, then add it to your mug, filling it to the top
• Stir and enjoy!

The hot tap water should help both powders dissolve and the recently-boiled water should be hot enough to make the drink enjoyable, but not so hot that it curdles the why protein.

Mmmm....delicious and nutritious.

This Buds For You | Savoring Signs of Spring

Last Friday Shira, the little one and I logged a 6 mile walk along the Virginia side of the Potomac. It was a perfect day and signs of Spring busting out were everywhere. With the steady drumbeat of pandemic news it was nice to step outside and forget that we're in the middle of a global crisis.

Speaking of being outside, over the weekend DC closed the National Mall, something I didn't imagine was possible. But if you surround an area with enough police and National Guard, I suppose anything is possible.

These are truly remarkable times.

Musings From Within a Pandemic

COVID-19 is turning our world upside down. It seems only appropriate to jot down a few notes to my future self. Self, when you recount these days, folks simply aren't going to believe you.

Thought 1: our 'new normal' has descended upon us at break neck speed. Two weeks ago I was shaking hands with folks at shul and discussing whether coronavirus would be more dramatic than the flu. Last week, we held services with each of the chairs spaced three feet apart, I washed my hands three times during services, and the Rabbi repeatedly reminding us not to touch each other or the Torah. This week, shul is closed indefinitely. We've had friends' Bar and Bat Mitzvah's go from happening, to 'we understand if you can't make it', to called off all in a matter of weeks.

What seems impossible one day, schools closing for months, Metro working tirelessly to lower ridership, DC shuttering all bars and restaurants, is our normal the next. The CDC continues to lower its recommended maximum group assembly count. It's gone from 500, to 250, to 50 and is now at 10. It would shock no one if we awoke tomorrow with instructions not to leave our homes at all.

If a movie came out three weeks ago suggesting a mysterious illness required the world to shutter schools and businesses and mandate groups of no more than 10 assemble, I'd have written it off as ridiculous. Yet, that's where we are today.

Thought 2: the impact on businesses, especially small businesses, is catastrophic. Walking down Columbia Pike and seeing closed business after business is heartbreaking. Being online comes with its own challenges. Suddenly the customers you serve have no income, making your business prospects just as bleak. The more essential the service you provide, the more likely you'll have to offer it at no charge. While this generous gesture will earn you good will, it won't bring in funds to pay your employees or operating expenses.

As terrifying a time as it is for entrepreneurs, it's also every bit exciting. I'm seeing organizations refashion and even invent new business models seemingly on the fly. Companies are seizing the opportunity to help others and continue finding ways to eek out an existence. The very small businesses that are getting crushed are also going to help us get through this. In a small way, it's very heartening.

Thought 3: we're still in the calm before the storm. As of today, we have 14 known cases of coronavirus, a number that seems low when compared to the unprecedented measures being taken (see above). Yet, we're all bracing for this to get bad. Really bad.

Crafting Music | Building and Playing the Canjo

The Canjo is a one stringed instrument that uses a can as a resonator. It has a reputation for being easy to build and easy to play.

A few weeks ago, when 10 year old J was visiting us, we put these claims to the test.

Before J arrived, I'd purchased a couple of Canjo kits and a song book. Surprisingly, I was able to find all the tools we'd need for assembly around the house.

When we had a couple of hours free, we dove into the project.

On the surface, assembly looks trivial. You're doing little more than attaching a can and string to a stick. In practice, we found the build process more on the challenging side. Most of the holes are not pre-drilled, so you need to take your time and assemble with care. This complexity is far more feature than bug. We felt like we were really creating something, not just snapping together a toy. In about 30 minutes, we had the our first of two Canjo's complete. It was awesome.

Playing the thing, like assembly, looks simple. As suggested, we numbered the frets on the Canjo's neck to correspond to the song-book's instructions. In theory, to play a song all one has to do is hold down the string at the number that's listed under the word you're singing, and strum. In practice, it's tricky! Even playing slowly, it takes time to position your fingers and even then, you've got to hold down the string just right to get the best sound. Still, with practice, we were definitely able to make music!

Here's me busting out the Canjo and taking a few attempts at one of the songs in the book:

I know that's screechingly bad, but still, you can hear the tune in there right? That's music. I made music!

As my Brother David noted, the Canjo is effectively an offline version of Rock Band. And he's right; as addictive as it is to try to hit the notes when they are scrolling by on screen, it's even more so when you're the one making the music.

10 year old J really enjoyed the Canjo project, from the measuring and drilling to just noodling around on the finished instrument. If I'd had my act truly together, we'd have hit the local hardware store and would have picked up a set of tools just for him. I would have also picked up some blocks of wood we could have tested the drill and awl on. Not too long ago, it would have been normal for a 10 year old to mess around with hand tools, now it's a novel experience. Want to get your kids to put down that phone? My suggestion: buy them some power tools and other sharp implements, and have them make stuff.

Another suggestion for having a successful Canjo experience: pick up some extra strings at the time you place your order. They are cheap and we quickly broke two of four that were provided. Finally, I'd suggest picking up a digital tuner. This sounds like an extravagance, but $12 for a device which ensures your Canjo sounds as good as it can is a bargain.

So, is the Canjo easy to build and easy to play? Not for me and J it wasn't. But this lack of ease only served to make the project more rewarding. Canjos rock!

Wrestling with a Google Play Services Error

Last week I got the Android 10 update on my Galaxy S9+. Whoo! Then, a few days later, I went to update a Tasker action that used the Spreadsheet Tasker Plugin and got the following error:

Spreadsheet Tasker Plugin requires one or more Google Play services that are not currently available. Please contact the developer for assistance.

I did the usual things: rebooted my phone, re-installed the Spreadsheet Tasker Plugin, made sure all my apps were up to date, searched Google for others having similar problems and cursed the universe. None of this did any good.

Surely the upgrade to Android 10 broke things. I grabbed an old Android device and installed Tasker, the Spreadsheet Tasker Plugin and did a restore from Google Drive to import Profiles and Actions. To my shock and great annoyance, I got the same exact error. Whatever was going on, it wasn't due to the Android 10 update. Even my crusty Android 8.1.0 phone was failing with the same error.

The only hint that others had into this issue was a couple of threads related to Android Auto. Deep in one of those discussions was this advice:

I had this issue but was able to fix it by going to settings > apps > google play services > storage and then clearing the cache. Once I did that and reinstalled Android Auto I no longer got that error. I uninstalled the app, then cleared the cache, then reinstalled the app.

With nothing to lose, i gave this a try:

For maximum impact, I cleared both the cache and the app's data. After doing this and rebooting, my problem was solved!

So what the heck happened? I've got no idea. But if you get the above error, before you curse the universe, try clearing the Google Play Service's cache & data.

One Plaque. So many questions.

I'm walking through Gravelly Point when I notice a plaque affixed to a tree:

It reads:

This is the Isle.
Devoted, Dedicated and
never Quits.

Why is the plaque there? What does the inscription mean? Who went through the trouble of installing it?

Searching the internet for the exact text reveals no hits. None of the surrounding trees have been modified.

It's a good old fashion public poetry mystery. I love it.

Review: The Disappearing Spoon

Looking at the periodic table, you could imagine that each cluster of elements would have some sort of story behind them. And you could imagine in the hands of the right story teller, those tales would be riveting.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Keans takes this hypothesis and kicks it into overdrive. Keans not only takes you on a tour of the elements by way of various tales, he manages to weave them together so the whole book flows.

The range of topics is staggering. For every subject you'd expect to find in this type of book (the discovery of DNA, the advent of transistors) there's even more that are surprising (the impact of Gandhi's involvement with salt; the commoditization of aluminum). Whether you count yourself interested in science or not, I have to think that the storytelling is so on point that you'll find yourself enjoying the book.

The various stories seems to be the right length: detailed enough to let you appreciate the element being discussed, but not so detailed that you'll lose interest. Of course, all these narratives add up and the audio version of the book felt long. But again, thanks to the quality of the writing, this is mere fact, not complaint.

Overall, this was a terrific read (well, technically listen) and one I keep finding myself recommending to others.

Catching Some Air at iFly

Two weekends ago we schlepped out to Gaithersburg for a truly unique experience: indoor skydiving at iFly. Ever since we passed the oddly shaped building a few years ago I'd known I'd be back. Personally, I could do without the experience, but I had a hunch that this would be the perfect activity for the various teens and pre-teens in our life.

We showed up at our 11am time slot with quite the crew: two sleep deprived parents, a high school freshman and senior, as well as a 10 year old. We also had a two week old, but his job was just to chill in the stroller.

In an act of sheer courage, I'm proud to say I didn't opt out of this experience. All 5 of us donned flight suits, took in a how-to-fly briefing and strapped on our safety goggles and helmets. Before we knew it, we were queued up in a staging area right outside the massive, cylindrical wind tunnel.

Up first was 10 year old J. He leaned into the wind as instructed and the guide helped position him for maximal stability. After a few moments, he was doing it; he was flying! A minute later, his turn was completed. Then M and P went, with equal degrees of success. Finally, it was my turn.

I approached the entrance to the wind tunnel and tried to relax as much as possible. On one hand, this was obviously safe: I'd have an instructor literally holding me, and I'd be hovering among a wire-mesh floor at waist level. There wasn't anywhere to actually fall to. Still, a small voice in my brain looked for ways to panic. I did my best to ignore it.

I leaned into the tunnel and whoosh, I was in the thick of it! As instructed, I kept my chin up and and looked straight ahead. Between this head position and the massive amount of wind noise, I really had no idea what was going on. As far as I could tell, I was floating with perfect grace. I pretty quickly relaxed when I realized that the whole experience was going to be pretty smooth. I did do a number of rotations which again, that voice in my head wanted to panic about, but I shushed it and just went with it. Before I knew it, my time was up and I was high-fiving everyone in the tunnel.

I switched places with Shira who was watching the baby so she could have a turn. Like the boys, she totally crushed it.

We had bought a package of 10 flights with the intent that we'd each get two flights. I was fine with a single flight, so the kids worked it out who would take a bonus 3rd flight.

At $34 per minute, the experience is sort of ridiculous. And yet, I have to say I'm quite glad we did it. The experience was wholly unique and was enjoyed by adults, teens and pre-teen alike. And personally, I got to push my adventure comfort zone, challenging an experience I'd normally chicken out of. Given the crazy price tag, I doubt we'll be back any time soon. But man, we all got to fly!

Incidentally, the only negative part of the experience came after the fact. While you're flying, the crew at iFly shoots photos and videos. Last night we finally logged in to access these and I was blown away that they charge for the content. You're telling me after I've payed hundreds of dollars for the privilege of 10 minutes of flying time, I need to pay another $30 ~ $60 to get zero-cost-to-you media? Media, by the way, which I'm going to turn around and share with friends and family and will serve as an advertisement for iFly. That just strikes me as sleazy.

With that complaint lodged, I will say that the package we bought did entitle us to 5 free videos and 2 photos. So yes, I was able to get a video of each of us flying without paying anything extra.

So here it is, proof that we really did go indoor skydiving: