Well, our twin sons, Joshua and Jacob are two years old today. Two years ago at this time I was trying to wrap my head around the concept of being a father for the rest of my life after meeting the boys for the first time face-to-face, meanwhile my wife was being stitched back together after her scheduled C-section.

At the time, I didn't really know what it means to be a father. Although I had excellent examples in my own parents, it was still just a label. It was something that had never applied to me before so I had no way of knowing what it truly meant. I think I'm only beginning to understand that responsibility and that makes me appreciate my parents even more. Sam and I still turn to each other every few nights and say to each other "Can this really be happening?"

It's been a challenging two years in many, many ways, but we consider ourselves very blessed.

Check out my photos on Flickr for some pictures I uploaded this morning.

§236 · March 15, 2006 · Kids, Life · Comments Off on The Two-Year Mark ·


Yep, I'm still alive... Taking a break from technology for a bit, here's some personal news: Read the rest of this entry ...

§233 · March 8, 2006 · GDC, Kids, Life · Comments Off on Checking Pulse ·


Sam and I took the boys to Toys "R" Us last night more for something to do than for shopping. They had fun, smeared their germs on some toys while Sam and I got some ideas for Christmas.

Anyway, on the way out while packing everybody into the minivan at 8:45 PM (we didn't realize how late it was), I saw two younger guys getting out of their car and carrying a bundle of stuff towards the store. I didn't think anything of it until I started pulling out of the parking lot and saw them sitting down beside the store entrance, in other words planning to camp out for the night.

"I wonder what they're camping out for... is there a Ticketmaster outlet in Toys 'R' Us?"

This morning when I got into work and checked my feeds, Mister Scoble enlightened me as to what they were waiting for: The Xbox 360. It was cold last night, I hope it was worth it...

§184 · November 22, 2005 · Entertainment, Games, Kids, Life, Technology · 1 comment ·


I've written a little bit about the impact of The Long Tail before I even knew what The Long Tail was. If you have some time, read the excellent 1-year old essay here by Chris Anderson. It illuminates the way things are going to work in the new market and the rules that companies must follow:

  1. Make Everything Available
  2. Cut the price in half. Now lower it.
  3. Help Me Find It

I started thinking about this again while watching some Our Gang (Little Rascals) VHS tapes I borrowed from the library. I would gladly pay to have restored, remastered and uncut/uncensored versions of these great films on DVD (especially if they had the same level of care present in the
Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVDs
), yet they are simply NOT AVAILABLE. There were some Cabin Fever DVDs that were released years ago that are long out of print. I'm currently on the eBay hunt for Laserdisc versions of these films. Ironically because whoever owns the rights to these films are not releasing them, they are contributing to a thriving piracy/bootleg community (I was very suprised to find snazzy-looking bootleg DVDs of these films on Amazon, of all places!).

My general rule is: Plunk down my hard-earned cash for the stuff that is available and quite simply bootleg the rest... If you lock up national treasures, don't expect people to take it sitting down. The bottom line is this: I want my kids to experience some of the great things that I did as a kid. I am not going to let the fact that certain films are entangled in ownership or censorship battles or that some marketing executives feel that there isn't a market for such and such a film stand in the way of enriching my children's life experience (and yes, I know there is more to a children's life experience than watching some funny shows - but that was a big part of mine). My kids will soon grow up - and I don't have the luxury of waiting until you sort out your legal battles or clear things with the politically correct crowd. I need to act now.

I will apply the same rationale to Disney's Song Of The South (may be released by Disney November 2006) and those great black and white Fleischer Popeye films that are being held for ransom by King Features Syndicate. Release these films and we'll buy them! In today's Long Tail world there is profit to be made.

§175 · October 31, 2005 · Cartoons, Entertainment, Kids, Life, Movies · Comments Off on The Longer Tail ·


Mileage may vary depending on your reading and voice acting skills, but I thought I'd list some books our boys have enjoyed in case there are any parents out there looking. Warning! This entry for parents only ... and beware of shameless ads. Read the rest of this entry ...

§167 · October 18, 2005 · Kids, Life · Comments Off on Books for Babies ·