Easy bedtime

I think that tonight Alice was ready for bed. I left her to play for a bit. Did a small photo shoot with her, then did the whole PJ's thing. Then I was going to put some laundry in, I told her to get her toothbrush. When I popped back, she was waiting at the bathroom sink, patiently waiting for me to get her toothbrush. So I gave it to her and let her run around a bit more. Then she climbed up on me and asked for a story. I told her to get me one, so she got one and came back. Then we walked to the bathroom to wash off her toothbrush. Then she walked to bed.

I... when did she start working with me to get her to bed?

Now I can only assume that this is some toddler mind game she's playing on me. Looking closely at the evenings events, it's the only explanation that makes sense.

I miss the stars

I love living in the city, but the thing that sucks here is the light pollution. I've complained about it before and I keep on debating on figuring out if there is a local push to get a bylaw passed to limit the light pollution. If they just make it for new fixtures or renos, I would think that eventually the problem would be fixed, or at least mitigated.

However, that's not a short term thing. I want to see the stars now. After watching a news story I found out there's a site called telescope.com that will will help you figure out what kind of telescope to get based on what you would like to look at. It had not even occurred to me that you'd get different designs based on what you want to see - I mean, don't they just all show you stuff that's farther away?

*sigh* I'm so ignorant.

So, that made me think. What part of the night sky do I want to see? What do I want to do with it? How much do I want to learn?

• The moon. I'd love to see more detail of the moon.
• The (local) planets. The rings of Saturn? Jupiter's moons? Yes, that's what I'd like to see
• I've love to see these things, but me being me, I'd love to take pictures of them as well.
• I'm lazy. Like, super lazy. So I think that if one day I actually bought a telescope, I'd like one of the ones where I say "Computer! Show me M42! Engage!" I think that I'd rather go out, do some quick setup, say "ooohhh!" and then go inside for some hot chocolate. I don't think that I want to spend 3 hours trying to find the moon. There is a reason why I still use "auto" on my dslr. :-/

So, what telescope should I order before Laura comes home? Nothing. The advice seems to be that I've got a long way to go before thinking about buying something.

But I do miss the stars.

Online shopping: both easier and harder

I love online shopping more and more. I've bought clothes online since I didn't want to bother going to the store. It's easy when you eliminate your choices to a single store and just have to decide among the products they offer.

My biggest problem is when you're allowing your choices to extend against all the stores on the internet - or even half a dozen. Some stores might offer similar products, but perhaps not the exact same one. Others might have free shipping but it will take 3-6 weeks, while others charge more yet it will arrive sooner. Do I trust the ones that I've dealt with in the past, or do I trust a new company? Should I favour the stores that have brick-and-mortar store close by in case I have to return it, even if it costs more? Should I wait for a sale? Is last years model an acceptable compromise since it's cheaper? What about refurbished?

Ahgghgg! It seems to be I'm stuck in analysis paralysis. I think that I need to read The Paradox of Choice. But where should I buy it? Amazon, or Chapters, or....

The hard way, the easy way, and the in-between way

I'm not sure that I mentioned, but I finally bought a Breville Duo-Temp 800ESXL espresso / cappuccino machine to make coffee.  (Yes, I'm adding keywords to be able to find this post again). My father-in-law pointed out a great one day sale and I snatched it up. It's really felt like an extravagance.

I was talking to my parents about the new machine and I'm pretty sure that they think that I'm totally nuts. Mind you, this is from the people who just switched back to instant coffee. Oh the horror. *shudder* Anyways, they couldn't understand why I'd 1) get a big expensive machine and 2) spend so much time making coffee - the quote was "instant coffee is made in seconds!". I guess my attempts at making coffee didn't blow their minds.

I was trying to see it from their side and question myself why I was doing this. I think that it's similar to why I bought a dslr. I have the time, interest and honestly the disposable income to try an entry-level "something". Something that I believe that will require another skill set to master and involved some artistry. I might not be great at it right now, and might not ever become great at it, but I find these things fun and a nice hobby to have. It's healthy to have a hobby or two, right?

Another thing that I find is that faster isn't necessarily better. Sometimes the older ways that are slower are still around for reason. They might be better, or more interesting, or varied. Would it be good to live in a Star Trek future where a replicator could make a perfect [fill in food name here] everytime? Yes, it would be awesome, but perhaps not as intesting. Not as much fun. How would you truly appreciate success unless you knew failure?

Two hobbies at the same time

Update 2020-03-19: I'm trying to fix the steam wand. I've found a helpful site

The Good Husband's Guide

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for her return. This is a way of letting her know that you have be thinking about her and are concerned about her needs. Most women are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially her favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when she arrives. Touch up your deodorant, zip up your pants and be fresh-looking. She has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
• Be a little silly and a little more interesting for her. Her boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your wife arrives. Push some of the crap into a corner and hope she doesn't notice.
• Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for her to unwind by. Your wife will feel she has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for her comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of her arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
• Be happy to see her.
• Greet her with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please her.
• Listen to her. You may have a dozen important things to tell her, but the moment of her arrival is not the time. Let her talk first - remember, her topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Make the evening hers. Never complain if she comes home late or goes out to dinner or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand her world of strain and pressure and her very real need to be at home and relax.
• Your goal: To try and make sure your home is a place of peace, order, and tranquility where your wife can renew herself in body and spirit.
• Don’t greet her with complaints and problems.
• Make her comfortable. Have her lean back in a comfortable chair or have her lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for her.
• Arrange her pillow and offer to take off her shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don’t ask her questions about her actions or question her judgment or integrity. Remember, she is the master of the house and as such will always exercise her will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question her.
• A good husband always knows his place.

Such great advice. I just can't tell if it's fake or not. I originally was going to title this "How to please you woman". Ah, good times. 

Same same, but different

There is something about doing something the first time that's scary. It's special, but there is the fear and hub-bub about doing it for the first time. If you do it a second time, it is no less special, just different. If you do it a third, fourth, fifth, etc time, I'm sure that they become both a mix of the familiar and frightening.

Today I ate deep fried pie for the first time. I fear the pie no longer. Here's to eating DFP the nth time.

Scary diaper changing music - poopocalypse

Some diaper changes are normal. Some are "ewww... gross".

And there are some that require their own soundtrack. For those I like O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. It's just the right amount of drama and fear horror. Bonus points if you can come up with the exact moment that I associate with the opening of the diaper.

What's better: long or fast?

I'm always somewhat shopping for things that interest me. One of them is camera lenses. I can't help it, I just like pretty pictures.

Nikon recently announced a 18-140mm F3.5-5.6. This would be almost our the range of our 2 kit lenses of 18-55 and 55-200. So, it's more of a "every day" lens without any bump in speed (max aperture). Tonight I'd discovered that there's a Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 lens. It covers the range of our "wide" zoom and then some, plus it's much, much faster.

So, hypothetically, if I was to get an upgrade lens, what would I go for: longer or faster? Both have advantages. What I really want is an inexpensive, light weight, small, 15-300 F2.2 lens. You know, something that probably defies the laws of physics as we know it.

Perhaps I just have to finally suck it up and start shooting in raw and spend some of my time doing some post processing. *sigh*

In the meantime, here is a picture of a flower.

I believe that this was just watered by a great dane.

Sometimes you just need a walk

I was going a bit buggy at work today so I went for a walk to clear my head. I work like a block away from some old buildings so I went to check them out. I feel a bit bad that I don't go more often for a nice walk and just see what's up. I think that I'll do that a bit more often - grab a hot beverage and stroll. I think that it will help restore my focus and allow me to actually get some more work done.

A bit of a fixer-upper, but they have a nice lawn

I want everyone to enjoy it

We just got back from the family cottage. It was not an easy experience between the lack of toddler sleep, which leads to lack of adult sleep, cool weather, long drive there and back, slowly leaking air mattress, and did I say sleep deprived everybody?

*sigh*

I did have fun though. I am glad that we went. Alice had her first canoe ride and actually said "weee!" several times, the stars were beautiful, seeing family is great, and Alice used a "big girl" swing pretty well. I really want Laura and Alice to love the cottage as much as I do. It's just hard when you're tired. This is not something that I know how to fix, or even if it's possible. Will it get easier next year? That's what I thought last year.

I love my girls. I just want to share something with them that was such a big part of me growing up (and actually have it be something fun).

Who needs a boat when you've got a pool noodle and a mommy?

I spy with my little eye something that is blue...

Fork me

Sometimes I wish that I could fork myself - spawn a copy and assign him some work. Spawn one to do the dishes and other unfun things. Another can play with Alice all day and another can go to work. Of course I'd spawn a me for some "me time" - reading, playing video games, etc. And there would be a me to hang out with Laura to go to fancy restaurants and long bike rides.

At the end of the day, all the me's would merge together so we'd have the the combined memories and no me would feel left out or like he was getting the short end of the stick.

Would this ability cause the collapse of society as we know it if it was widely possible? Most likely. Would it help me get all my stuff done? Most likely.

*sigh*