Save the Planet for Me
By doug | April 11, 2009
I look into those eyes and can’t help but feel that whatever I’m doing to that end, it’s not enough.
Topics: Fatherhood | No Comments »
Being Dad – First Two Weeks
By doug | January 24, 2009
This was originally going to be a “first week” post. Guess I’m already experiencing the concept of time moving forward at an accelerated pace with children that people speak about.
Two weeks and one day ago my daughter, Anika, was born. Yep, first kid. I think we are moving past the “deer in headlights” phase (maybe that’s where that first week went) and settling into what it means to be a couple with a child. To me this means folding her into our pre-existing life as much as possible. Really I have no idea what that means, but since she is with me right now as I type this, snuggled in a very cool HugaMonkey sling (Black Leaf Organic – very hip) I have to believe I’m off to a good start.
Some memorable moments:
- Catching her during birth and placing her on my wife’s chest.
- My mom bursting into tears upon seeing me holding her only two hours after she was born.
- Seeing her contentedly drink from my wife’s breast. Instinct is amazing. Maybe a cliche statement, but hard to deny.
- Laughing as we dressed her for the first time to come home, because all the baby clothing we brought were way too big for her 5lb 2oz body.
- First nap with her lying on me.
- Taking LOTS of photos. Uncle Chad suggested we do a photo a day for as long as we can. Why not.
- Walking around the house trying to soothe an unhappy baby, deciding that if she is going to scream I might as well turn off the babbling brook sound and put on jazz. She quieted down immediately.
- Playing guitar for her. A solo arrangement of the standard ‘A Child is Born’ seemed apropos late one night recently.
- Being able to take the entire month off to be near her.
- Reading to her. We read most of The Happiest Baby on the Block
and this morning we were reading Newsweek together.
- Any time she returns my gaze. My heart swells and melts at the same time.
Some challenges so far:
- Newborn gas. Apparently digestive systems have a break-in period. At least that’s what Anika has been telling us nightly for the past couple weeks.
- The whole “I’m crying because I’m uncomfortable — Now I’m yelling because I’m unhappy — Now I’m screaming because of all the yelling — I’m screaming so hard I can’t breathe” thing.
- Going through the LOTS of photos we are taking so we can post some online for friends and family.
- Finding time to keep the rest of life going (bills, email, etc.) while still attending to all the needs of a newborn baby.
- Being able to watch Battlestar Galactica (or a movie, or one of the other two shows we watch) all the way through in one sitting.
- First day of school, first date, teenage insurance premiums, college tuition — okay, so maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here.
- Dealing with child related challenges in a state of sleep deprivation I’ve rarely experienced before.
Really, the challenges so far are not all that great. Well, the sleep deprivation is tough. Still, most of the heavy lifting is done by Mom at this point, with Dad mainly playing the hunter gatherer role — a role I have put off for a month. So basically I’m just making sure the needs of my girls are met, and enjoying it while I can.
Topics: Fatherhood | 1 Comment »
Solar Hot Water Retrofit
By doug | October 12, 2008
When our house was built in 1988, a solar hot water system was installed. Although providing hot water reliably throughout the seven years we have lived here, the twenty year old system was needing some attention.
In particular, the solar storage tank had started to leak, and standing water under one’s house is never really desirable.
Since the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) was offering workshops on how to take advantage of the California Solar Initiative, a program put in place to provide over $2.1 billion in solar incentives, that seemed like a good place to start. The one evening workshop provided some good information on the different types of solar hot water systems, as well as a list of qualified contractors. The best news was that retrofitting an existing system would qualify for the incentive rebate, in theory at least.
Topics: Projects, SoCal, Solar | No Comments »
Live Jazz at Gio
By doug | August 13, 2008
After a hiatus of more than two years, except for a duo gig a little over a year ago, the jazz trio I’ve been playing with on and off for almost ten years now is entering an “on” phase.
If you are in the San Diego area and looking to hear some live jazz, a great place will be the newly opened Gio Restaurant in La Mesa. We’ll be playing this Saturday, August 16 from 6:00pm – 10:00pm.
Gio
8384 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa CA, 91941 (map)
(619) 462-9100
We’ll be playing mostly standards, and possibly some originals. Looks like this should be a fairly regular thing, although the night might not always be the same. I’ll get a regular schedule going here, or check the So What schedule for future dates.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go practice.
Topics: Music | No Comments »
Google Updates (Fixes) Mobile Reader
By doug | August 2, 2008
Well, mostly fixes my issue…
Although going to the www.google.com/reader/m on my N95 still redirects to the iPhone version, www.google.com/reader/i, the iPhone version now contains a settings page that allows external pages to be reformatted for better display in a mobile browser.
Much better. I still prefer the /m version of the mobile reader over the /i version, but as long as I don’t have to wait for the bloated ad heavy external pages to load in the mobile browser I’m pretty happy. The mobile version of Google Reader is usable for me again.
Update (September 23, 2008): Google has removed the redirect from /reader/m to /reader/i for both iPhone and Series 60 users (N95 and other Nokia smart phones). I am happily using the old /m interface again.
Topics: Mobile, Technology | No Comments »