Double Rainbow, All the Way

/ Shane / Leave a comment

This video has been making its way around the Internet lately. Yes, there is some crying (it’s so intense!)

It’s too much dude. I haven’t been that excited about seeing a rainbow, double or otherwise, since…well, I’ve never been that excited about seeing anything ever in my entire life.

In a way, you have to kind of respect the guy. That something so simple as a double rainbow can make him so emotional means that he probably enjoys his life a lot more than the average person. What simple joy. On the other hand, maybe he cries like that over everything.

“You got me a hamburger? With (sniffle) cheese? (sobbing) Double whopper all the way!”

I wish someone would just tell him what it means.

Light Scoop

/ Shane / 1 Comment

Recently, Sara and I upgraded to a Digital SLR camera. For those not in the know, this is a digital camera, but it works like an old school film camera. In other words, you can have one of those super-zoom lenses, you can change to different lenses, and you have full control over all those little camera words that don’t mean anything to me, like ISO, and F-stop.

I’ve never owned a nice camera, not even back in the stone age when we actually had them. Even if I did, I would still probably stick to the built-in modes. Sara used to have a nice camera and she is much more adventurous with adjusting the settings. So Sara is the master of the camera, but I’m learning a little bit from her, mostly about more basic stuff like composition.

Now if you have little kids, a Digital SLR is almost a must. All of our previous digital cameras were so slow that we would almost always miss whatever shot we were trying to get. After the camera clicked you’d have to wait 2-3 seconds for the camera to recover. In that time the kids would do all sorts of adorable things and I’d be muttering, “Come on, come on!” until the camera came back.

Of course, the downside of the awesomeness is the cost. The camera itself is pretty pricey, and then you have lenses and other things on top of that to turn out truly professional pictures. However, we recently purchased a piece of equipment for < $30 that made a big difference in the quality of our pictures: a Lightscoop.

Basically, the Lightscoop is a mirror that fits over your flash to bounce the light off the wall or ceiling, rather than going directly on your subject matter.

Why would you want to do such a thing? Well, I’m glad you asked.

For one thing, it gets rid of red eye, but the real advantage is that it provides a more natural, more flattering light than a regular flash. The human eye is not used to seeing things the way the flash works. Our normal light source is diffuse, not directed from one close point.

Here is a picture from their website of an example. Basically, if someone or something is close to the camera and the flash goes off, you can wash out that person with too much light, and everything else will be in shadow.

I have definitely taken a picture or two like that one on the left. You can see more examples here.

Of course the first thing we did was try some of our own before and after pictures, and this thing really makes a difference. It is certainly the cheapest piece of camera equipment you can buy to make this kind of significant difference!

Little House on the Prairie

/ Shane / 5 Comments

After we finished our previous chapter book, Evie and I started on the Little House on the Prairie chapter books.

I can not stress how much Evie loves these books.

I had never read any of these books, a fact that surprised Sara. We started with the first one, Little House in the Big Woods, and then moved on to Little House on the Prairie. We are currently in the middle of On the Banks of Plum Creek. (Note that we skipped Farmer Boy because Evie likes to hear about Laura and Mary, and we didn’t want to break the rhythm).

I have to say, these books really are good. As we approach the end of each book, I find myself wanting to read ahead after Evie goes to bed. Sara and I often discuss what’s happening in the book. Also, one night when my mom was over we were reading a chapter, and she enjoyed it as well. They are as enjoyable to adults as to kids.

As we know, Evie loves nothing more than playing pretend, and Little House on the Prairie has been no exception. I can’t even think back to a time before Evie insisted on being Laura. Of course, our family is a pretty good analog, since I can be Pa, Sara can be Ma, Oliver can be Baby Carrie, and Evie can alternate between Laura and Mary based on her mood. Nala, of course, is Jack the brindle bulldog.

It actually works out pretty good, because the book is full of things to pretend. For those not familiar with the books or the tv show, it is basically a picture of pioneer life. So you can pretend to  farm, build a log cabin, hunt, ride in a covered wagon, etc. Evie usually pretends the chapter from the night before during the day the next day.

The books are also very age appropriate. I think I’ve skipped maybe two things so far in the three books we’ve read (I remember the last one was a vivid description of leaches that I thought might give Evie nightmares, and maybe I skipped some anti-Indian stuff), but 99% of everything is pretty good.

Actually, the way that Laura Ingalls Wilder was able to tell a tale for children that is also interesting to adults makes me really respect her as an author. (authoress?) So, if you’re looking for a good set of books to read your kid, this one comes highly recommended.

Things that annoy me, part II

/ Shane / 6 Comments

It turns out that there are more than 5 things that annoy me. Would you believe, there are as many as TEN things that annoy me!

  1. When you get gas and the pump automatically prints out your receipt without asking you. I NEVER want the receipt. You’re just wasting paper! Why wouldn’t you just ask first before printing it? I don’t know anybody who wants their receipt printed out, so printing it should not be the default.
  2. People who call you back without listening to your message. What if I said don’t call me back? What if I said I’m being held hostage and if you call me back, they’ll kill me? Best case scenario I’m just going to have to repeat everything I already said in the message.
  3. The way big companies just couldn’t care less about providing good service. Everybody knows Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, etc. all just try to take as much as they can from you while providing as little as possible. They all have the worst customer service ever. It’s almost like they are intentionally trying to give the worst customer service they possibly can. And everybody knows it and everybody still has their service, because there’s no other choice. Every one of those companies is essentially identical. If you want phone or television, or whatever it is, you have to go with one of them. Grin and bear it. The only people worse than those guys are the airlines. I hope guys who try and come up with ways to sell cigarettes to children sleep better at night than the guys who run airlines. Just try to tell me that there’s no collusion with these big companies. They have a silent agreement that, as long as everybody else is just as awful so there’s no other good choice, they can punch us in the face and have us thank them for the privilege.
  4. Waste. I hate wasting food, and I hate throwing away landfills of packaging. I hate the awful and yet totally true stereotype of mindless consuming, not thinking about anything or anyone other than immediate gratification. I hate spending money on things we don’t need. I hate it in other people and I hate it in myself.
  5. I was at the post office and it was taking FOREVER. But that’s not what annoyed me. It ALWAYS takes forever at the post office. If you don’t expect that, then I can only assume you have never been to the post office before. What annoyed me was the lady behind me in line who was acting like she was so put out by everything. You know the attitude: big, over-dramatic sighs, muttering to herself loud enough so everyone can hear, slowly increasing in annoyance and loudness when she doesn’t get immediate attention. One of the attendants was on lunch break and, in fact, was nice enough to help someone while she was on her lunch break. When the other attendant went in the back to look for something, the lady yelled, “Are you all gone??” into the back. She was complaining saying the lady shouldn’t have taken her lunch with such a long line and finally when she left she loudly proclaimed she was going to report the place and then paused, like she was waiting for a slow clap / standing ovation for her efforts on all of our parts. That is what annoyed me, the whole  “this is rediculous, am I right people?” attitude, as if we were all on her side and she was just saying what we were all thinking. I’m sorry lady, but workers have rights too. If it is time for someone to take their lunch break, then they get to take their lunch break. I’m sorry if that causes you to have to wait a little longer. And furthermore, it’s the US postal service that is at fault for not having more attendants, not these individual attendants who are doing the best they can. If you want to be mad at anybody, be mad at the government. Don’t expect special treatment and don’t yell at the wrong people when you don’t get it, and especially don’t expect that I will be on your side if you do.

Quote Monday – Questions and Death

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“I look like a different girl!” – Evie, looking in the mirror while wearing a headband to keep her bangs out of her eyes.

Evie, singing: ” Happy Birthday to Nala! Happy Birthday to you! I don’t want to lose you, but you’ll die some day too!”

Sara: “I think we need a little break from the questions.”
Evie: “Why?”

Me: “Do you want a bite of my pickle?”
Evie: “Gross.”

Where did she learn that one from? It might have been from us. It’s not like we make an effort not to say gross. It was just surprising to hear it come out of her mouth! Sara said, “I guess kids learn that stuff whether they’re around other kids or not.”