Topic by topic, you never know what will wake the Badger…
Originally uploaded by Bill Vinson.
My last post talked about H’s new toy, but I got a new one too. For Father’s Day, Heather let me get a scanner or an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier/fax. Well, I finally decided on one and went out an bought it after work. This baby is really sweet. Fast at printing and scanning. The only complaint I have right now is that it is BIG and HEAVY, but oh well 
Originally uploaded by Bill Vinson.
Heather got a sling to carry Ben in today and it really works well. I’m quite impressed with the quality and with how Ben seemed to enjoy walking around the neighborhood with her. Now we have an alternative to the stroller.
I really think this picture looks great, but I just may be biased… 
How freaking cool is Spider-Man 3 gonna be? And what a way to try and upstage Superman Returns! It is a brilliant move on Sony/Marvel’s part to release this teaser on the day before Superman Returns opens. This trailer may be just about all any geek wants to talk about this week. To finally officially unveil that the Venom arc will be covered in Spider-Man 3 and to do it in such a cool way is wonderful. Honestly, this teaser is probably one of the best I have ever seen. It leaves me wanting so much more, but in a strange way, I feel a bit satisfied.
I have always been annoyed that most printers don’t seem to come with the option to print directly onto a CD. I love the way this looks and despise cheap labels to put on CD/DVDs. Well, according to this site and others that I have now found, Seiko (who is owned by Epson) seems to own a patent on this technology in the US, whereas other countries aren’t limited in this way. So, once again, the pitiful state of US patent law rears up and bites the consumer in the ass again 
Hmmm, I’ve been doing some work from home today. Not the most fun way to spend the weekend, but oh well. Yesterday, Heather, Ben, and I went to my company’s annual picnic. Way, WAY too hot outside, but still a fun time to get out with friends. I posted some pics here. Next year I think Ben might be old enough to enjoy some of the kids activities, but he will still probably be a tad too young.
Last night I stayed up watching Ben and doing some work on the blog. I have been trying to change things up a bit and get this site looking a bit nicer and also maybe a bit more integrated with the likes of del.icio.us and flickr. So, long story short, you’ll likely be seeing some more changes soon.
Well, tomorrow I head back to work. I have had about a 1.5 weeks off and I am glad I have had the time with Ben & Heather. I am kind of conflicted on going back. I want to spend more time with Ben, but I also want to save plenty of time for later in the year for when he is sick or for when I want to spend more time with him. I also want to get back into my routine and get back to my team and find out all that I have missed (haven’t been reading work e-mail).
I’m sure this will feel better once I get back in the office and put up my pics of Ben. Unfortunately, he has been a bit difficult tonight about sleeping and I don’t want to wake him up to move him to his bassinet, so I am staying up a bit to give H some time to sleep… Bet I will be paying for this in the morning
A new way to look at my flickr photos of Ben (or really any of my flickr photos).
Splashr is a flickr mashup to allow for some cool photo display styles. I specifically prefer the ones that look like a bunch of photos are laid out on a desk, but there are many styles to choose from. Going to the main link and entering in a user’s NSID (sort of a non-private ID to identify the user to flickr) and one or more tags. For example, what I am using for this demo is my NSID, 58234700@N00, and the tag ‘ben’.
Go here to see the 50 latest pictures of Ben or for the normal flickr view, just check my flickr photostream and click on the album, ‘Ben‘.
It seems Apple is opening a new store in our area this weekend. I would love to go, just like I did for the Southpoint store opening, but it conflicts with my company’s annual picnic. So, looks like I may be missing this one, but all you Apple fans, enjoy the new store…
Originally uploaded by Bill Vinson.
While checking my e-mail and registering some of our baby stuff with Graco, I looked over and noticed that Ben was seemingly showing interest in the mobile on his swing for the first time.
I really need to look into what I can do to help his mental and physical development…
Hey all,
Just checking in from the weekend. Heather and I are still doing good with Ben and sleep is coming a bit easier. I’m usually on first shift, so I stay up as late as I can and allow H to get some sleep. I had a good first Father’s Day. I got to see my brother and his girlfriend on Thursday. My mom came into town on Saturday and saw Ben for the first time. She stayed with us until Sunday afternoon and then began the long drive back. It was nice to see the family and give them a chance to say ‘Hi’ to Ben. Mom gave me a fun mug for Father’s Day.
I really like that and Heather is considering getting me one of those all-in-one printer/scanner/copier’s so I can get things into the mac that aren’t already digital (like Ben’s footprints, future artwork by Ben, and old pictures). We’re still researching the options right now.
I also got some time to myself on Saturday and had the opportunity to go see Cars. I really enjoyed the movie and while I don’t think it is the best thing Pixar has ever done, it was really cute. While I am not terribly into cars, I will say that the movie still caught and held my attention. A couple of facts to help judge my opinion; I hate NASCAR and Larry the Cable Guy is HIGHLY annoying. The voice-acting was quite good and I really enjoyed Paul Newman’s portrayal, even Larry the Cable Guy was enjoyable! I think I might rate this one above A Bug’s Life. My Pixar ratings go as follows:
7. A Bug’s Life
6. Cars
5. Finding Nemo
4. Toy Story 2
3. Monster’s Inc.
2. Toy Story
1. The Incredibles
It is important to note that whatever the most mediocre Pixar you can come up with is still a better movie than 80 – 90% of the crud the other studios put out.