"I wanted to push the Hallelujah deep into the secular world, into the ordinary world," he once said. "The Hallelujah, the David's Hallelujah, was still a religious song. So I wanted to indicate that Hallelujah can come out of things that have nothing to do with religion."

Breaking down Leonard Cohen’s classic Hallelujah. I loved this song, even though it has been so played out in the last several years. If you like this song, you should seek out more Leonard Cohen songs.

Are you looking at me?

We were hanging out in the living room on a Sunday afternoon before baby Graecyn’s arrival when I took this photo. Mia was enjoying a few vanilla wafers and wearing her sunglasses while watching an episode of Dora the Explorer.

This photo was taken on November 4, 2012.

I wanted to take a photo of Graecyn yesterday with my iPhone 4S. I launched the camera app from the lock screen. The familiar shutter image appeared but didn’t proceed any further through the process. I tried again and again, quitting a relaunching, but nothing happened.

I did a hard reset and tried booting into different camera apps I have on my iPhone, but each resulted in no joy.

I did a web search and found that this a problem experienced by some users. I went through the necessary restore steps, even wiping my phone completely without restoring from a backup. The problem did not go away.

I’m guessing it is a hardware issue since it affects all the photo-taking apps I had. We’ll see what the Genius Bar says tomorrow.

Update: Just got back from the Apple Store. The problem was the hardware - the front camera was no longer working. This is one of the things I like about an iPhone, the ability to go to the Apple Store to get it fixed. Where would I go to get my Android phone fixed if I had a problem? The carrier is most likely. I’m not sure their level of service would be the same.

Graecyn Belle was born at 1:50am on November 8. 2012. She weighs 6 lbs 10 oz, and is 19 1/2 inches long, with a thick head of hair like her sister. Mommy, baby, and family are doing great!

Yes!

The plan today is to induce labor since Farrah isn’t showing any signs of giving birth as of yet.

They asked Farrah to call in at 7 AM to see when she could come in. We expected to go to the hospital after dropping off Mia at daycare. But the result of the 7 AM call was to call back at 9 AM, so we took our time getting Mia ready and off to daycare. She arrived there at 8:30, an hour after her normal arrival time.

Mia’s daycare is only a few blocks from the hospital. So we decided to find a close Starbucks to grab a coffee. Farrah then called in at 9 AM. They said now to call in at 2 PM - when people have checked out. Wow, were we ever going to be able to check in?

We made our way to Target to buy a few supplies. Then off to Palo Alto to have lunch at the La Boulange and check out the new Apple store (it’s gorgeous). Oh, and we grab some Philz’s Coffee.

Farrah calls in at 2 PM. Finally, the answer comes into the hospital at 3 PM. Check-in was smooth. We got settled in OK.

Now it’s just a waiting game.

Mia enjoying snacks from the Harvest Festival at daycare.

Instead of celebrating Halloween at daycare, they have a Harvest Festival. Parents are invited to enjoy time with the kids. There are a few activities, such as building necklaces, playing with pumpkins, and painting. Mia has a little bee temporary tattoo on her right hand. And the necklace she is wearing is one she put together herself!!! Mom and dad only tied it on her.

This photo was taken on October 26, 2012.

By the way, speaking of Bill Murray, every time Road House is on and he or one of his idiot brothers are watching TV—and they’re always watching TV—one of them calls my husband and says [In a reasonable approximation of Carl Spackler], “Kelly’s having sex with Patrick Swayze right now. They’re doing it. He’s throwing her against the rocks.” [Away from the receiver.] What? Oh, my God. Mitch was just walking out the door to the set, and he said that Bill once called him from Russia.

I found this bit funny from a Kelly Lynch interview talking about Road House. She also talks about several other movies in this interview. Interesting interview.

Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

This is unexpected but nice to see. I’ve always thought that an adult-flavored Star Wars universe would make a great series on HBO. Perhaps something like that can now happen.

Mia Enjoying a Sunny Day

This photo was taken back on April 21, 2012. Mia was watching us break down the cardboard boxes that had piled up in the garage. It was a beautiful sunny day, so she decided she wanted to read. As you can see, her choice of reading material involves dinosaurs. My, how she has grown since then.

On Friday morning Farrah and I went to the hospital for the version procedure. We went as prepared as could be.

It was odd, walking to Labor and Delivery with Farrah. The last time we had been there was when Mia was born. I asked Farrah is she remembered this and that, but most of it was unrecognizable to her. Most likely her mind was elsewhere the last time we were there.

There was a lot of paperwork to fill out before the procedure. I suppose they needed all the paperwork just in case we needed to go into surgery. No one wants to be filling out forms when it comes down to crunch time. The receptionist then took us to a room to wait for the doctor.

A nurse came in to hook up Farrah to a fetal monitor, to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. We had to wait for about twenty minutes' worth of pulse readings before the doctor would come in to see us. The nurse also pressed on Farrah’s belly, acknowledging, “Yup, I think that’s a head” as she pushed on the top of her stomach.

The doctor came in with another doctor in training. She introduced herself and started up the ultrasound just to double-check the baby’s position. She began her scan toward the bottom of Farrah’s belly.

“She’s vertex,” the doctor proclaimed. “You can go home.”

Wow, she turned on her own! Farrah and I were so relieved. We didn’t get to go home right away though. They wanted to scan the baby more and try to determine its size and weight (a little over six pounds). Then we had to wait to be discharged. All the time doing paperwork and waiting to be released was actually longer than the time the doctor saw us!

It’s great to know the baby turned on her own. I wonder what that says about her, turning so late in the pregnancy?

About two weeks ago Farrah had an ultrasound to check the baby’s size. The ultrasound showed that the baby is a healthy-sized baby girl. But she’s also breech.

It’s late in the pregnancy for the baby to turn on her own. The doctors say it could still happen, but most likely the baby will need to be helped. Tomorrow we’re going in for that help. It’s called version.

It seems like a straightforward procedure - so says the man not going through the procedure. We’re reading what we can, looking at videos, basically arming ourselves with as much information as possible. But it will still be a new anxiety-filled experience.

Gotta love the political season. I didn’t get much out of the debate, but it was fun to watch the highlights. I pretty much have my mind made up.

Did you?

Voting is the least you can do. Don’t sit on your hands. Vote!

"We're able to view just everything that they do," Bill Diggins, U.S. chief for the Verizon Wireless marketing initiative, told an industry conference earlier this year. "And that's really where data is going today. Data is the new oil."

I use Verizon for my 3rd Gen iPad. The LTE is great. I thought about switching to them for our wireless phone service, but this article makes me pause on that idea. They say you can opt out, but I don’t know if that’s good enough.

Andy Williams, whose soothing baritone and relaxed performing style made him one of America's top pop vocalists and a popular TV variety-show host in the 1960s when he recorded hits such as "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses," has died. He was 84.

My mom is a big Andy Williams fan. She plays a Christmas DVD of his every year for what seems like a month straight. I’m sure in the recesses of my brain I know a few words to a few of his songs.

Brought to you by Bridget Mary McCormack, who is running for the Michigan Supreme Court. It seems Bridget is the big sister of Mary McCormack who played Kate Harper on the West Wing.

I always wanted to know why they broke up. I figure it was relationships within the group that broke down. They did end on a high note, I suppose.

The bottom line: John Gruber makes an estimated $500,000 a year from his blog Daring Fireball. But his relationship with Apple is priceless.

I enjoy John Gruber’s writing, about Apple, design, technology in general, and baseball. I’ve given up on his podcasting though.

I know someone who is looking forward to this…and it’s not me.

With these simple tips and tricks, you’ll learn all the things your intelligent assistant, your remarkable camera, and your amazing iPhone 4S can do.

I know most of these tricks, but do you?

I guess there are only so many places you can visit and talk about food.

Trying to recreate a photo from Farrah’s childhood. We’ll need to go back to Hawaii and try again.

Trying to recreate a photo from Farrah’s childhood. We’ll need to go back to Hawaii and try again.

On our last trip to Hawaii, Mia and Farrah tried to recreate a photo from Farrah’s childhood, circa the late 70’s early 80s. Mia wasn’t as cooperative for the photo, unwilling to stand on her own. This just means we need to go back to Hawaii to retake this one day soon.

228. 44.

Two numbers. Just numbers.

The first number is the highest it has been in my life. It has increased by leaps and bounds over the years. At the end of high school, it was 118. At the end of basic training, it topped out at 130. After a time overseas it climbed to 155. This was only a period of about six years! And now it is what it is.

I need to stop it from getting any larger.

The other number has been steadily climbing over the years. It’s a good thing, considering the alternative.

I know you’ve guessed right. The numbers are my current weight and age.

The weight thing has been a problem for a while, something I’ve grown into (insert laugh). It not only affects my ability to fit into clothes, but it is messing with my blood sugar. I took a glucose test today to see how bad it is. We’ll see what the results are.

I’m not surprised. I’m a bit concerned. I only have myself to blame. I need to get back into shape, and soon.

The company picnic was last week. We broke up into several teams for soccer, a sport I enjoyed very much in my younger days. I played hard for three games, huffing and puffing up-and-down the field. I almost scored a few times. I also blocked a few scoring attempts. All I have to show for my efforts is my screwed-up left knee and big toe on my right foot. Both are a bit strained from the sudden need to be extremely mobile, this a week-and-a-half after the picnic.

I’m not getting any younger. But next year, if I go to a picnic again, I would like to not be in such bad shape.

I’m writing about this just to write, to know where I am at and where I need to go.

228. 44. I can’t do anything about the last number. But I sure as hell have control of the first. I need to get my act together.

Oh, I can’t wait. But I sure don’t look forward to seeing Amy and Rory leave.

I just sold a somewhat old gadget to Gazelle.com. It is the first time I’ve tried selling back an old electronic device - that still had considerable value - to an online service. I’ve heard good words about Gazelle.com. I am hoping I won’t be disappointed.

It was easy enough to find the item I was selling to them on their website. They previously would take almost any electronic item, but they now have narrowed the selection down to mostly Apple products. Trying to find the configuration of my product was moderately smooth. I put in the condition I thought it was in, the additional components that came with it, and bam! popped up the price they were willing to pay me. It seemed reasonable (comparing it to Amazon.com’s trade-in service). So I pressed on.

I got an email shortly after, giving me instructions and a shipping label. About an hour after that email, I received another email from Gazelle saying my shipment option has been updated. Instead of me packing my item to ship back, I could go to a FedEx to have them pack it for me free of charge. Way cool!

I have to say my FedEx experience was a bit unnerving. I went to the shipping counter. They took my item to the back where I could not see the pack it. They then brought it back up to label in front of me.

I had to ask, “Was [the item I was selling] in this box”? After all, I didn’t see them place it in the box.

“Yes it is,” she replied. How could I continue to doubt her without sounding like a douche?

And then a co-worker of the girl who packed my item proceeded to put a label on the box. The wrong label! Luckily she caught her co-worker’s mistake. I eyed that the correct label was applied to the package. The item is now out of my hands. The waiting game starts.

One Week Later

I was able to track my package through a link from Gazelle’s website - which leads to FedEx of course. Once my package was received, Gazelle emailed me. Once they examined my item, they emailed me again saying, “Hey guess what? Your item is in better shape than you thought it was. We’re giving you more money!” Seriously? I chose my payout option to be an Amazon gift certificate which provides you with a 5% bump. Since my item was in much better condition than I thought it was, they simply increased the gift certificate amount.

It’s nice to know they were honest about the assessment. They could have easily gone with my assessment but did not. This “honesty” makes me want to use their service again - if I ever have anything else to sell.