Thursday, October 2, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Christopher's First Engineering Project - A Shopping Centre
Monday, July 14, 2008
Back again...
So theres been a long gap in the posts but I'm back ish, Nothing much to report right now other than I finally got the chance to catch up on other peoples blogs and they have all posted a lot more than me which makes me want to post again!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Is it really news?
I have just been watching a reporter on one the the Australian TV networks. He was standing outside Heath Ledgers parents home in Perth. Talking about the fact that it looks like his death was accidental. He the second part of the report was to say how the family wanted to be left alone. The report made the point that this was unlikely to happen due to the media presence. It certainly seemed like he was talking about everyone else and somehow justified his own presence as OK?
The thing is I can see no real value added by having the reporter at the family home at all. The real news was coming from the US the only relevant story near to the Ledger family home was the one about the intrusive media and the family wanting to be left alone. That is simply a story created by the media!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Gender Ambiguity
We have had a baby boy for five and a half years. Girls are few and far between on both sides of the family and despite the fact the there is no question that Charlotte is a girl. Vicky, myself, Vicky's parents and her aunts all keep calling her he and him. I'm sure we will get it right soon. Sorry Charlotte!
Surfs up
Just been watching Bondi Rescue on the TV. It's an Aussie show that follows the surf life savers on Bondi. It's the sort of show they might show on sky but I have no Idea if they do or not. Anyway watching the beach and the people surfing It reminded me the the guy I used to be really wanted to be able to surf (I just lack the commitment to do anything about it) . Reality is that I understand surfing is something that needs quite a lot of practice to be able to do let alone to be able to do well. So I gave up on the idea quite some time ago what with work and all the other things I have to/want to do.
Tonight for one short minute I thought that I could learn with Chris if he wanted to do it in a few years. Thing is it didn't take log to realise how uncool it would be for Chris to have his dad trying to learn to surf with him. Its really one of the youth things and I am going to have to admit that if I'm not already then I will very soon be middle aged and If I want to learn to surf well I should at least do it at the other end of the beach! Hopefully when it gets to the time when that may actually happen I still have the sense to realise it may be an issue for the boy.
It's Raining.....
And it has been for almost a week, not all the time and not heavy but it feels like it has been raining since Charlotte got home! The question is when will it stop?
Monday, February 4, 2008
Settling in at school,
Last Friday I drove Christopher to school and found that I could not get parked, In fact there was no danger of even getting into the car park let alone finding a spot. In the end I had to drive half way home before I found somewhere to stop the car. So today I learned my lesson and despite the rain we walked to school. Very pleasant and much much easier!
As soon as we go to the COLA (Covered Outdoor Learning Area) Chis went nuts running around and trying to get everyone in sight to play with him (and I mean everyone!) this was not a real surprise as Chris is very sociable little boy! the real surprise was that as soon as the bell went he changed completely calmed right down got his bag and started to walk to his classroom with no prompting whatsoever. Once at his class room he walked strait in put his bag where it should be, took out his lunch and put that away too. After That he walked over to the mat and sat down and waited! It was one of those moments where I just wondered when did he change how did that happen? He has really started to grow up and I don't remember when the change started. The only shame is he just cant do it at home!
Any way today he came home with a prize which made him very happy unfortunately he couldn't remember what he did to get it. Never mind he is a very happy, motivated boy which is what's important right now.
Five Days Old
Charlotte is five days old now and I am just starting to remember things from when chris was this age.
- Babies are very small
- They sleep A LOT at least Christopher did and Charlotte does
- I think that babies smile from a very early age even if everyone else says its wind
- A babies cry is the most efficent and effective way of getting atention in the world
- They use a lot of nappies
- They have no concept of night and day
- If the baby wants to sleep there is very little you can do about it
- If the baby is awake then it will be awake untill it wants to sleep
- They use a lot of nappies
- The arivals of a new Christopher and Charlotte are just about the most emotional experience I have ever had
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Tactics by Edward de Bono
This has been an unusual book for me to read. Normally I would be reading a thriller or If not that then something closely relating to work. I certainly would not normally pick what sounds dangerously like a self help book. However while walking through Heathrow Airport on a far longer than normal stopover I happened to see it in the New Titles section of one of the bookstores. Something about it caught my eye and as I had already heard of Mr de Bono and his Thinking Hats I thought it may be interesting.
Once on the plane I sat down and started to read, it did not take long to realise that this was no new release and was probably written in the early 80's. The selection of interviewees and some of the comments were clearly made before certain events/developments like Clive Sinclair’s C5 electric car. The list of people interviewed is broad and interesting and as well as Sir Clive Sinclair Jackie Stewart and Sting stand out as particularly interesting to me. I am sure that just about everyone who reads the book will be able to find someone they admire or interested in in the remaining list of interviewees.
Is it a great book?
Probably not to my mind as it has taken me some 6 months to read
Have I read it from cover to cover?
I don’t think so but that does not matter as there is plenty of stuff you can pick up as you weave in and out of the book.
Did I enjoy the read?
Yes Indeed I did
Have I changed my own tactics?
Not really but I think that I may understand them better!
Would I recommend it?
Yes if after reading this you are still interested I think you should read it, but I am not going to try to persuade you!
If you want to buy the book then This Link
will give me a cut of the sale price The illusion of a routine
So its day three and we are getting back to normal. Charlotte is sleeping during the day and feeding at night which is a little less than considerate but hey, she has a very polite cry so we have to excuse her for now. She is feeding well and has so far done everything we could ask for.
We gave her her first bath last night which was a pleasant surprise. From memory Christopher screamed and screamed for his first bath. Charlotte on the other hand gave a short cry and then relaxed into the water very happily. I think we may well owe this to one of the Hurstville Midwives who told us to make sure that the bath was deep enough for her to float and to give her a face cloth to hold on to. She certainly seemed to appreciate the advice and we did too.
Friday, February 1, 2008
The week in pictures....
What a week!
The last week has been hectic; in fact I would say that frantic is probably a bit more reflective of how things have been.
On Wednesday Chris had his first day at school. Wednesday morning had him more excited than Christmas day and frantic to get to school as soon as possible! Once there he obviously felt very at home and found it much easier to trot off into the classroom on his own than Vicky and I found it leaving him there. Vicky balled her eyes out but tried not to let Chris see in case he got cold feet (I don’t think this was likely). A nice reassuring touch at the school was the teary mum kit they had on hand. It was a small plastic bag containing a tissue, teabag, instant coffee and a note letting us know that most people feel this way, they are just as keen to see your child do well and let you have a chance to relax until the end of the school day!
Once Chris was back home tucked up in bed thoroughly exhausted from his first day Vicky relaxed and on came labour only 10 days late. The midwives had told us they think that because Vicky was so keen to see Christopher’s first day at school she kept stopping her labour. Anyway a quick call to the in laws and a short drive to the hospital saw us arrive at the delivery suite by 1am. By 3.56am we had a beautiful baby girl and by 4pm the same day Vicky, Chris, Charlotte and myself were at home. Frantic hardly describes it but somehow it all felt very right and we all managed to stay calm all the way through the week.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
No more waiting!
Finally and only ten days late! we have a baby girl. Both mother and baby are doing very well all things considered. She was born less than 40 mins ago and is already tucking into her first meal. She has not been checked out and weighed yet so I can't tell you the weight. Vicky got her wish and made it through on just gas and air. I am a very proud husband and father!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Australian Open
Novak Djokovic won the Australian open just a few minutes ago. It Was in fact a fantastic match and only slightly overshadowed by the scariness of the Djokovic family all four of them waring white tracksuits with N-O-L-E written on them. His father seemed to be more than a little enthusiastic in his support. I truth though if Chris ever got the the final of the Australian open there is a good chance I would go nuts as well.
Still waiting....
As the days go by we are still waiting for the baby to arrive. She shows no sign of coming just yet and poor Vicky is about ready to go round the bend.
We have been watching cracker on DVD a fantastic TV series if a bit gritty and depressing how ever did have a fairly good pregnancy joke in the last episode.
DCI David Bilborough talking about his wife who is over due (and I'm paraphrasing!)
"The midwife suggested that my wife be induced but she said no she wants a natural birth. I told her that if she wasn't going to induce my wife she should induce me. My Wife is only having a baby I'm having Kittens)"
Not quite as funny when i read it back, but I have to say right now I know how he feels.
Still waiting, not really sleeping but man am I glad I'm not Vicky right now!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Advance Australia Fair
This is best termed as a violation of the corporate dress code... But it is in honor of Australia day so I guess its OK?
Monday, January 21, 2008
Anyone for tennis???
I really can't say that I am all that much of a tennis fan but over the last few days I have really enjoyed watching the Australian open. I found it fairly amazing though that they schedule games that will run late into the night or even into early the following morning. It seems to be in absolute contrast to Wimbledon (the only other tennis tournament I have ever paid any attention to) .
Child stars and computers for kids....
Having just spent quite a lot of time looking at some of my friends Bloggs I have been struck by a case of child envy. I guess I'm not really being serious but the idea that Christopher could manage enough concentration to learn where any constellation is in the sky seems to be a long way off right now (or am I just transferring my own inability to learn where constellations are on to my son?). Obviously there are plenty of things he can do but spending the time to learn something like that is not very high on his list of priorities. Anyway the software that Andrew recommended on his post looks very cool and I think I'm going to download it and see if it may spark some interest in Christopher, maybe we can learn the constellations together?
Christopher has definitely shown an interest in to anything that involves a computer. The truth is that Christopher would happily sit in front of a screen of some description for as long as we would let him. We have bought a number of cheap educational games for Christopher to play on an old laptop and he just can't seem to get enough of it. It's a better use of this time than sonic the hedgehog and he seems to get just as much fun out of it. It has also prompted me to download the CD image for Edubuntu. I haven't actually installed it yet in fact I haven't even burnt it to a CD yet so that I could install it but the intention is there and I will get to doing it soon.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
SixSigma for kids???
Sitting down in a coffee shop today Vicky suggested I spend the weekend teaching her and Christopher about SixSigma. I explained to Christopher that it is a way making difficult decisions, Chris just said "I'd rather just play rock paper scissors.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
First Mobile Post
Just testing it out for the first time but this is my first mobile post. Nothing more to say at the moment other than lookout for my first mobile photo.
Happy new year
Happy new year and welcome to 2008, Somehow I feel That I can say that as we (That is those people living on this side of the world) got here first! Obviously its not really a competition but if it was we would have been quite close to winning!
Congratulations Kiribati, Christmas Islands.