The Mayhem Papers

One of the things that really makes my day is getting cute pictures of my little ones.  Think back just 10 years ago and remember how long getting pictures took.  Sure, technology had advanced enough to do 1 hour processing but you still had to drive to the store, drop them off and then come back and hunt through the big box for the packet of your pics.

Now, you take a picture and email it immediately, no matter where you are.  Yeah, yeah, I know this has been going on for a few years now, but every now and then it’s good to get a reminder that we live in the future.

Here’s what Maryanne sent me a few minutes ago that sparked this line of thought:

I’ve been trying everything I could do (short of spending $2500 on a new DSLR body) to work around using a flash indoors.  I did learn a lot about experimenting with ISO and exposure as well as some interesting photoshop techniques, but it still wasn’t working out how I wanted. I finally broke down and decided to buy a fairly basic Canon Speedlite.  The difference was instantly noticeable.

Click the picture for more of this series

I was happy with these results since one of my self created rules about learning to be a better photographer was that I would not try to spend my way through it.  So far, so good.

I’ve never really understood people going ga-ga over Disneyland.  Sure it has some fun rides and a pleasant atmosphere, but it has never really been a place I would go out of my way as an adult to visit.  Having lived in close proximity to both Disneyland and Disneyworld as a kid, I took my share of trips there.   Yet when I try to think back on it, I have very few enjoyable memories.  All I seem to remember from those trips are people either rushing to have fun according to a schedule or arguing about something or other.  When Maryanne brought up the potential plan for a trip to Disneyland, I thought “why not” and set everything up.

What I was not prepared for was this:

From Disneyland

The absolute wonder that Zoë experienced when she first saw Minnie Mouse and Goofy made it all worth it.  Now I completely  understand the draw to Disneyland.  I seriously found myself contemplating staying an extra day just so she could have more time to play.

Being able to take my little girl there and have her so excited has replaced any negative memories I had about trips to Disney.  While I’m not sure how many lasting memories Zoë will have from this trip, I know I have some that I will carry with me as long as I live.

Good job Walt!

(for more on our trip to Disneyland, see Zoë and Maryanne’s sites)

I know there are some people that read this site that just don’t “get” video games.  Well, my dear daughter Zoë wants to display her approval of Fallout 3.

It may not be apparent from the angle, but she is wearing the box.

Given the approaching arrival of Audrey Katana, we’re happy to announce the launch of her official website.  The layout combines a really cool wordpress theme along with an awesome piece of work by the talented Miss Joëlle Jones.  Given a name like Audrey Katana, we asked for Audrey Hepburn holding a katana in the stance made famous by Uma in the Kill Bill one sheet.  We definitely got what we asked for.

Without further ado, please take a look at Audrey’s new site.

It works best if you have your browser maximized.

Last week, Zoë put on one of Maryanne’s sweatshirts and started cruising around. Maryanne snapped a bunch of pictures of her since she looked like a little Jedi running around. So the next day I was bored at work and spent a couple minutes with my friend photoshop. Click on the slideshow below to see the pics in full size.

Well, one of the things that I am having to get used to about being a dad is all the advice. I mean TONS of advice. Metric tonnes even. Some of it good, some of it, well, not so good. The most common one lately is “you need to tell your wife to hurry up and go into labor”. Well folks, I tried. I told her exactly that and it didn’t work so please choose some other pearl of wisdom.

The thing about advice is that its not so much the wisdom imparted (when there is wisdom), its the tone in which the advice is given. Yes, I realize my life will be different, so no need to add in the tone that implies I have no idea what I’m in for. Will things be difficult when Zoë arrives? Absolutely, but I won’t be doing this alone. I have tremendous support available from family, friends and church. Given that support base, there is not likely to be anything that we can’t handle and if there is for some reason something that we can’t tackle on our own, we’ll have people there to fill in. So for the smug advice givers, I think I DO know what I am getting in to.

Now the advice I really like is from my friends who give simple tactical advice like “breathe” or “be aware that driving home from the hostpital with the new baby can be really weird”. That’s good advice, stuff I can use.

Parents are more likely to think their infant is allergic to certain foods than is actually the case, according to a new study from England.
Dr. Taraneh Dean of the University of Portsmouth and her colleagues found that 54 percent of a group of one-year-olds were avoiding some foods, because their parents perceived them to have had reactions to ingredients such as cow’s milk, wheat, eggs or additives.

Overall, however, only 2 percent to 6 percent of the infants had clinically confirmed food hypersensitivity, the researchers report in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Read the entire article here