Sunday, August 31, 2008

Photosynthesis



Photosynth is a Microsoft Live Labs product that could be fun. This first attempt isn't much (due to the user), but I think this could have useful teaching applications.

The Cat....



Seamus has been fascinated by cats for sometime now, but we have one dog (Bear) who would probably eat a cat. Thus, we will not be getting a real one anytime soon. However, a couple of weeks ago I found this neat cat puppet on Amazon.com and ordered it for him. His response to it has been overwhelming. He carries it around, hugs it, lies down on it, meows to it, etc. The picture and video were tough in indoor light today (Christine took these), but you get the idea.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Proximity

Traveled to Greensboro for a meeting at a trendy hotel that was very sustainable. Solar assisted hot water and much more. Most interesting to me, all the hotel shuttle vehicles out front were unusual antique or foreign taxis.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The big hike and cool breeze ....







Well, I had to work again today, but Seamus, Christine, Grammy, and Grandpa went for a Hike up to Max Patch. For an 18-month-old he gets around really well. I was told he did almost the entire hike without being carried.

Here is Joe cool! He would be even cooler if he could drink from a cup without spilling it down the front of his shirt :-)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Seamus and the impossible 40...

First, a picture I took of Seamus a few weeks ago (pre-haircut). We bought this recliner and he loves to sit in it and watch movies. His current favorite, almost an obsession is Milo and Otis. I don't know what it is about this movie, but he can't get enough. He definitely looks All-American in front of the tube. Archie Bunker would be proud.

I have a meeting in Greensboro tomorrow and had to drive down today. I decided to see if I could break 40 mpg in Christine's 2002 Honda Civic Sedan. I heard of folks getting 42-44 mpg in this model. The trip is almost entirely Interstate with a couple of big hills and then rolling to flat terrain. I did run the AC, but all the windows were up. I also did not exceed 65 mph during the entire trip and kept the cruise on for 80% of the way. I also tried to accelerate very modestly.

The best I could do? 39.527 mpg for the 212 mile trip. I bet if I went 55 mph I could get 42, but I might also wind up stuck to the grill of an 18-wheeler! Cost of fuel for the one-way trip $19.49

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Busy busy...


One of Seamus' more mild daily destruction projects.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The waterbowl incident....

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Haircut and a movie...

Well the crazy big blond hair finally had to go. Despite all the warnings about how he would not tolerate a haircut, I got out the clippers, demonstrated on myself and then called him over. He didn't mind the buzz a bit.

Then an even more noteworthy event occurred. Seamus at 18-months-old watched his first full length feature with me. I had put The Water Horse in the Netflix Que thinking he might like the creature and watch 15 minutes of it. Instead he watched about half of it from his pint size recliner and the other half from my lap. We also shared several bowls of popcorn together. I think the plot was probably lost on him, but he kept watching for the water horse to pop out. This movie was about 90-minutes. I am still amazed he sat through the whole thing.