Ultrasound of the Little Dude or Little Dudette

Farrah is pregnant!

[Note: Apologies to our shared friends on Facebook.  I know you’ve heard this announcement before, from Farrah’s wall posting last week. I just haven’t had time to make a blog post and post it on my Facebook wall as well.]

Not much to add.  Well, I guess we could throw in a few details.

 How far along are you?

At this point Farrah is at 14 weeks.

 When did you find out?

The morning of November 1.  Farrah woke me up early that morning, showing me a photo on her iPhone of a home pregnancy test.  I had to ask who’s it was. She then smiled and said, “It’s mine!”  Later that day we took two other tests just to be sure.

 When is your due date?

July 11th.

 Do you know the sex of the baby?

Not yet. It’s too early. But we do want to find out when we can.

 How are you feeling?

Not too bad. Luckily Farrah hasn’t experienced a lot of morning sickness, though there were times where she did not feel like eating.  Her appetite returned last weekend with the beginning of the second trimester.

We hear that the second trimester is the best.  I can say, for both of us, that we’re extremely happy,  excited, and of course, nervous.  I take it all of those are natural responses. 

Last Monday, we heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time.  At first it was difficult to distinguish it from the static coming from the Doppler Baby Heart Monitor’s - I think that’s what it’s called -  speaker.  After some maneuvering of the microphone by the doctor, a clearly identifiable strong heartbeat was coming through.  I have to say hearing the heartbeat was as cool as seeing the first ultrasound of the baby back in November. I honestly could have cried.  Yes, I did cry during a couple of the ultrasounds.

We can’t wait until July. 

A belated Happy New Year to all!  Welcome to Twenty-Ten! This is the proper way to say it, right?

Again, I blame the Winter Break for not doing this post earlier.  But here I am, a little late to the party, trying to summarize blog postings and happenings from the last year:

• Kayla started playing volleyball.  This prompted my sister to get into DSLR photography. She is doing great taking photos, and using the plenty of tips on photography from family and friends.
• This past Christmas Eve we did our first Skype call with my sister and her family in Nebraska. I think it surprised my mom, who was happy to see them on screen even though she had just seen them in person less than a month earlier. Ah, technology.
• Two new additions to the extended family this past year: Kaleb and Kaelin.
• We did a few concerts this year: Paolo Nutini, Dane Cook, Rex Navarette, and Tori Amos.  Farrah also saw No Doubt at Shoreline.
• We saw the King Tut exhibit and went to the California Academy of Sciences.  I didn’t blog about King Tut, but will probably do so in March.
• We bought our first LCD TV and took the dive into blu-ray.
• We, and everyone else bought the iPhone 3GS. It’s been a very good phone for us.
• Once again, the state of this blog has fluctuated this year.  The blog has bounced from Wordpress to Wordpress.com to Tumblr to Wordpress again. I also pointed the domain (Janella.com) directly to my Smugmug account to start a new site alex-is.com. And once again, with my manic web life, I’ve decided to shut down alex-is.com and blog back at Janella.com. Confusing, huh?  Even though everyone seems to be on Facebook, I believe I will continue to blog here. I want to avoid getting stuck in a walled garden.
• My uncle passed away last year.  It was tough to take, even though I hadn’t seen him in so long.

Ok, now onto my New Year’s resolution list.  I know, you really don’t need to wait until a new year begins to make a list of goals. You should be able to do this any day of the week. But I suppose New Year’s Day is an apt occasion to think about what you’d like to change. Wait? Wasn’t New Year’s Day about a week ago?  Yes, it was, and I’ve listed “less procrastinating” as one of my goals.

I present here, in this blog post, my “More or Less List.” Should be a straightforward read.

In the coming year, I would like to do more:

• Reading: I do plenty of online reading. I’d like to read more books. I started two books last year, American Gods and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I got halfway through both books. I need to finish those first, then find other books of interest.
• Writing: I’ve been trying to write an hour a day, write like a stream of consciousness. I’d like to continue this. I’m hoping this leads to better blog entries or at least more interesting entries.
• Taking photos: As I’ve said in a previous post, I’d like to take more pictures and to be more creative.  My understand lighting and depth-of-field seem to be growing more, but I don’t think about it often on-the-fly. Also, following some of these resolutions would be good.
• Watching movies: There was a time when I would devour movies.  But my ability to sit through a film waned a few years ago.  I’ve been able to watch a few movies the last several months.  I hope to continue the trend.
• Exercising: I took a month or so off for the holidays.  I need to desperately jump back on this horse.
• Cooking:  I need to bust out the pots and pans more this year.>

I probably should do less of the following:

• Dining out: Too many restaurants too often. But it does help with my Yelp reviews. I should be cooking more though.
• Playing video games: I’ve already conquered the world (Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution), won 15 Super Bowls (Madden 10), beat Arsenal to a pulp (FIFA 10), and saved the world - for the time being (Call fo Duty: Modern Warfare 2). Time to cut down the hours on the PS3.
• Giving in to treats: I need to eat less chocolate, drink less soda, and cut down on my Starbucks Mocha consumption. Of course, if we receive a care package with chocolate in it, well, I’ll probably breakdown. I’ve been successful in cutting down on the mochas, so far.
• Spend less time on Facebook, Tumblr, etc.: I’m thinking of just logging in once a week instead of the multiple times a day, onto these networks.  Just a thought.
• Procrastinating: Yes, I just need to get things done!

How did I do compared to last year’s list? Considering that I have many repeats on this list, it seems I didn’t do well.   I probably should assess how I’m doing by the middle of the year.

I haven’t done well with my goal of completing past dailyshoot photo assignments, as I had hoped to in a recent post.  But I did have a chance to take photos yesterday.  We met up with Yen and Timothy at Valley Fair Mall. It’s amazing how much Timothy has grown. I was able to take a few photos of him, but boy does he move a lot. Of the 40-plus photos I took, only half were usable. But that’s a good thing.

I’m trying to get into the habit of pressing and holding down the shutter release button. If I have the camera in a certain mode, it will take a series of three-to-five shots at a time. With an empty 4GB memory card I should be able to take approximately 170 or so photos in RAW format, at least that’s what my camera says.  Unlike film, I shouldn’t worry about taking too many wasted shots, when seeking that one that captures a moment.  After all, it’s difficult to take non-flash photos in low light, a situation I often find myself in.  Using this method, if I’m lucky, one of those three-to-five photos should turn out. I guess I could get a faster lens or start using flash, but a better lens costs money and I don’t often like the results with flash.

I wish I got into this habit earlier. I think it would have come in handy on some of our travel photos.

I didn’t have definite plans this morning, other than driving my wife to work. Unfortunately, she’s working New Year’s Eve day whereas I have it off. After dropping her off I decided to try a new place for breakfast. I launched the Yelp app on my iPhone and found Christie’s in Burlingame. Based on the reviews already on Yelp it seemed like the perfect way to start the day. Well, it would have been perfect if my wife could have joined me.

I love diners. This diner is located on California Drive, a slightly busy street. Metered parking was easy to find. Further out there is free two-hour parking, but you’ll need to walk a block or two. The place isn’t too large, probably holding anywhere from 40–50 people. The host/cashier greeted me promptly when I entered the door. I quickly found a single seat at the eight-seat counter.

The menu offers many choices for breakfast. I went with the “Our Own Joe’s Special” — a dish I’ve enjoyed at other diners. (As a side note, I either want corned beef hash or “Joe’s Special” when going to a diner.) Their “Joe’s Special” includes not only the requisite eggs and ground beef but mushrooms and tomatoes. It came with a healthy heap of crispy hashbrowns and nicely buttered toast.

The food was delivered promptly. My coffee cup was never empty, and I was often asked if everything was ok by several different waiters. The waiters were friendly, greeting new people and regulars with the same warm smile and hello. Luckily I managed to beat the morning rush, finishing my meal just as they were arriving.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back when I’m down in Burlingame.

I’ve been in an inspirational slump. Often, I would bring my camera to any family occasion to capture moments.  But even on those occasions, it’s been difficult to get up for taking photos.  I’m hoping for a change, a spark.  I would often find inspiration through photos people posted on flickr or on trekearth.  But I’ve even been lost in this method of motivation.  A new site is helping to spark motivation and inspiration.  It’s called dailyshoot.com.

I heard about the site while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, tacksharp.  The site’s concept was created by John Duncan Davidson and Mike Clark.  It’s a simple, helpful idea. Daily photo assignments are posted on the site at 9 AM EST.  The hope is for people to pick up their cameras and look for opportunities to complete the assignment.  Take one photo or ten, but choose the best to share with the community.  You use Twitter to let the site know you have posted a photo for an assignment.  It is then vetted by the site’s “magic”, then posted on dailyshoot.com.  You can see photos I’ve taken here.

I hope to go back through the twenty-five-plus assignments I missed. I’ll try to do a few during my work winter break. So you may see more photos from me here on the site.  I not only hope to take more photos, but also to be more creative, and more expressive in my photography.  

You know this will be one of my New Year’s resolutions.

My photography background consists of taking a few classes at the local junior college, and what I’ve read online and in books. All of these resources have helped me along my journey in photography. I’ve taken a handful of photos that I really enjoy. But I still lack the ability to take decent photos in low-light situations.

Kayla’s volleyball game.

When I shot on film, using my Nikon N90, I was always anxious when shooting in low light. I would dread that the photos I took would develop and show nothing at all. Shooting digitally I am less anxious, but I’m rarely happy with the end results I achieve.

I know part of the solution is having the right tools. If you don’t have a fast enough lens, then shooting action in low light will be a challenge. The photo above is from one of Kayla’s volleyball matches. I used the fastest lens I had, a Sigma 30mm / f 1.4. From the looks of it, the photo came out as best as it could. But the lens is wide, so close-up details are not possible. I wish I could move closer to the action. I guess I need a longer lens.

Kaleb sitting.

I used the same lens to take this photo of Kaleb in very low light. I shot this at ISO 800. You can see some blurring, as I had the aperture wide open. I didn’t take into account the depth of field I was working it. I need to pay more attention to this aspect of photography. I was simply hoping to get a photo without using a flash. I worked on the photo a bit in Photoshop, but it could have been much better if I had just a little more light.

So what do I know right now about shooting in low light?

• If you have a fast lens, use it. As I understand it, a fast lens is f 1.8 or lower. If you have a kit lens it may not be suited for this task.
• Use a higher ISO. If you use 800 or higher, you may get some grainy photos, so don't be surprised.
• If possible, use a tripod. A tripod may not work, especially when your subject is moving.

There are plenty of good tips out there. I just need to read them and keep shooting. As they say, practice makes perfect.

I wasn’t here during the Loma Prieta earthquake 20 years ago. I was out of California, doing my stint for God and country. I remember when the quake happened. It was my day off. I had set the VCR in my bedroom to tape the third game of the World Series. I brought back takeout from Whataburger. I’m pretty sure it was a double-meat Whataburger with jalapenos. I remember setting down the bag, turning on the tv a little after 7 in the afternoon, and then seeing just a green screen with the words “World Series” on it.

No audio, no nothing.

Then I heard Al Michael’s voice come on. He didn’t mention the word earthquake, but what else could it be. I had a feeling it was pretty big considering there was no video on the television screen. I tried to call home several times but wasn’t able to get through. The video finally came up on some channel, I’m not sure if it was CBS, NBC, or ABC. I think I switched back to ABC to watch the complete coverage. I still wondered if everyone was all right at home.

Later in the evening I finally got through to my parents. Everyone, for the most part, was ok. I think there were a few bumps and bruises, and something about the big mirror in the living room possibly coming down. But thankfully, everyone was fine.

Wow, 20 years ago, huh? I wish, just a little bit, that I was here.

My online reading habits lean toward technology. I read a lot of blogs and newsfeeds, keeping up with what I find interesting. One way to get me to read an article is to mention the iPhone. Lately, there seems to be a lot of hate for the iPhone. I’m not really sure why.

I Just Like It My day is often filled with music. The first music-media-capable phone I bought was the LG Chocolate. Big mistake. From what I recall of the Chocolate fiasco, syncing and playing music was awkward. The music UI was also clunky. But worst of all, the touch-sensitive controls of the phone quickly turned into a nightmare. I grew to hate this phone. It would often dial phone numbers on its own. At first, my wife thought I was crazy until her LG Chocolate started to do the same.

When the iPhone became available, I wanted one immediately, but the cost initial cost made it prohibitive. When the price dropped, I was able to get an iPhone. I haven’t looked back since. It does what I need it to do: (1) make calls, and (2) play my music. The immediately added bonuses were visual voicemail, email access, easy texting, and calendaring.

I didn’t find the initial web apps interesting or useful for that matter. I never thought about how much I would enjoy or need natively running apps until they came out. When I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, the phone even became more useful. (I upgraded from the first generation, so we never experienced 3G speeds before.) Apps are now something I think I cannot do without.

Rejection and Upgrades

Apple receives plenty of flack for rejecting apps. High-profile rejections include Google Voice, Someecards and Ninjawords. I admit I understand the appeal of Google Voice, and I did try the GV Mobile app when it was available in the App Store. But not having a native app for Google Voice isn’t a deal breaker for me. I’m of the opinion that any added functionality to my iPhone is icing on the cake. If Apple chooses to reject an app - according to their rules - then so be it. Hey, it’s their playground. they can do what they want. Sure, I own the iPhone, and I should decide what I can put on my iPhone or not. And I do. I put on my iPhone whatever is available in the App Store.

Another problem cropping up is upgrading apps you’ve purchased. This problem is starting with the ever popular Tweetie app. I paid happily paid for Tweetie, and if I feel the features of the 2.0 version coming out are things that I would like, I will happily pay $3 to upgrade. Should it be cheaper to upgrade like regular computer software? I don’t know. Three bucks don’t seem like a lot to part with, for an application you - theoretically - use often.

It’s the Network

I don’t dislike AT&T as much as most people. I’ve had a few phone connection issues, mostly when traveling up to San Francisco. When my wife commutes home, she experiences at least two dropped calls while traveling on 280 South.

I also think the month-to-month cost of an iPhone is too high. You pay for the phone plan, plus $30 for an Unlimited Data Plan, and at least another $5 to have 200 text messages. I feel nickel-and-dimed at times with AT&T. I’m sure other cell phone carriers would charge similarly, but since AT&T is the only carrier that has the iPhone, the extra charges feel more obvious.

In The End

The iPhone is the best cell phone I’ve had, with the exception of my first cell phone. I have very fond memories of that Nokia, seeing how it saved me from being stranded several times. Even after reading all these iPhone-bashing stories, I’m still not looking to change phones or carriers. I think I just need to stay away from reading those stories - and the comments that follow the story.

Rethinking

I am rethinking this new blog thing. Yes, it only took me two months to start rethinking this endeavor. What started me thinking was Nick Cernis’ well-written post called “Rise of the Tablog”. I discovered this via Merlin Mann on Tumblr. It got me rethinking why I blog.

The answer is the same: I enjoy writing - when I can. I want to put my thoughts down on a variety of subjects. I never enjoyed using pen and paper because my penmanship is horrible. My tool of choice has either been a typewriter or a computer. Sure, I don’t necessarily need to publish what I write on a blog, but I enjoy it. It’s something I’ve been doing since 1999. Plus I find putting what I write on a blog more liberating, even now more so since I don’t have comments enabled. If someone reads it, then great. If not, then so be it.

When I started this new blog, I had hoped to write more. I set a low goal of 500 words on any subject, with the hopes of posting once a week. I’ve done ok, posting almost every Thursday. But I really had hoped that I would write more often than I have. I’m sure it will come with more thought, time, and effort.

Cost per Post

Since I don’t write often (yet), it is difficult to continually justify having this blog on a web hosting service. There are many reasons why I wanted to use a web hosting service instead of WordPress.com or Tumblr. One reason is having full control of not just my content but the whole website. I have been using Laughing Squid as the web host. I’ve always wanted to try their service and it has been great. I also like that they are local to me. But in this economy, even their least expensive plan of $8 a month is difficult to justify four blog posts a month. After all, I could use that $8 for two Venti Mochas, which can fuel my brain for the day.

Where and Why

And so I have moved the content I generated over to this Tumblr account. Why Tumblr and not Wordpress.com?

As part of this rethinking process, I also wanted to decide where would be the best home for what I wanted to do now. It would seem Wordpress.com would be a natural choice since I use the WordPress CMS for the hosted website. But when I’m on Wordpress.com I realize how much “I can’t do” as far as customization or other tweaks that I can do with a hosted version of WordPress. This annoys me. I’m comfortable with what Tumblr can provide. Clean and simple. But the ‘Tumblarity’ score really bothers me. I need to not pay attention to that sidebar. I’ll hopefully get past this annoyance.

So right now I have two active Tumblr accounts. One is used for reblogged content, and the other is for content I (hopefully) actually create. I can envision these merging (Why have separate accounts?). But at this point, reblogging is an effortless task I prefer to keep separate. I would really like to have an account where I can post a long rant on a subject and not have it seem out of place with the rest of the posts. At this point, it makes sense to me to have two separate accounts for this.

So much read this week:

• One of my favorite bloggers, Dooce, started publishing her hate mail/ comments. People can be nasty
• Is the Palm Pre really selling much
• Microsoft’s nifty Zune HD is out.
• Can’t we be civil?
• Did you catch the latest Twilight: New Moon trailer?

Paolo Nutini - Candy from Nikke Osterback on Vimeo.

This past weekend, we attended our first concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland. The theater opened earlier this year. It’s located down the street from The Paramount, a theater we have been to too often. There is no dedicated parking for the show, but there are several parking lots listed on their website. We easily parked in a lot just down the street.

We passed by The Den at the Fox, a lounge connected to the theater. They offer drinks and some food, but we didn’t have time to look into it there. When we entered the theater, an usher promptly greeted us. Our tickets were for loge seating. But the usher told us we could also access the standing general admissions area on the floor. If we had a Visa Signature card, we could be seated in the limited seating area on the first floor. We opted to take our seats in the lodge. The lodge seating is unusual. The seats are grouped in pairs, with ample space between the next coupled seats. We were in the first row of the lodge, our view partially blocked by the railing, but still a decent view of the performers. The layout of the Fox is very similar to the Warfield in San Francisco, but the Fox is quite larger.

We were seated during the middle of the opening act, Anya Marina. She was roaring through her set, rocking with her electric guitar. She was very crowd friendly, talking and often interacting with the crowd between songs. At one point she asked if the crowd was an “all ages” crowd because she wanted to explain the origin of a song she wrote. The actual meaning of the song could only be described with profanity, which she chose not to utter. Later in her performance, she noticed a Brazilian flag in the standing audience. She asked the pair of Brazilian girls who were holding the flag if it’s true they like anal sex — meaning if Brazilian girls do. (I guess she never got the answer to the “all ages” question.) One of the most interesting songs she did was a cover of T.I.’s “You Can Have Whatever You Like”.

Paolo Nutini came out next. His set was a good mixture of songs from his first album, These Streets, and his latest album, Sunny Side Up. We were very familiar with songs from These Streets and were happy to hear them live. We haven’t listened to his latest album, so they rang as new to our ears and were harder to get into. But Paolo performs with such enthusiasm and passion. It would be difficult not to enjoy his performance.

The big letdown at the Fox was the sound. I don’t have golden ears, and rarely notice the bad sound at a concert, but from where we were sitting the vocals sounded muddled for both performers. At times it is hard to make out any lyrics at all, let alone the blend of instruments. I’m not sure if the sound sitting in the center lodge or on the floor would be better. I’ll need to go to another concert to find that out.

Overall it was a good first-time experience at The Fox. It looks as if several performances are coming up that we’d be interested in attending.

This week’s Missing Link List includes:

• 33 things you should stay away from.
• Did you know Apple released a new iPod Nano this week?
• You do have superpowers. You just don’t know you do.
• If you’re in trouble, don’t forget to update your Facebook status.
• An update for Snow Leopard already?