It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about my sister’s graduation from UVA. That was, in fact, five years ago. Wow. That went by really fast.
Today, it’s Murray’s turn. A couple weeks ago, Kate, Mary, Simon, and I made the trek down to Blacksburg to help Murray celebrate his college graduation. It was a fun couple of days, and I really enjoyed meeting Murray’s friends and hanging out as a family at my (and Kate’s and my Dad’s) alma mater.
Murray has grown into a young man that any parent would be proud of. If my kids turn out half as well as their Uncle Murray, we’ll be doing pretty well. What strikes me about Murray is the awesome balance he has struck. He has been a solid student, while also getting involved in a number of extracurriculars at Tech, while still making plenty of time for his relationships with his friends and family. He is pretty unflappable, and is going to make a great addition in his new job this fall (working for PWC). They are lucky to have him.
I also count myself among the people who are lucky to have Murray. I’m really excited that he’s going to be in in NoVA to start his career, and I’m looking forward to getting some time to hang out here and there. I know my kids are looking forward to it, too. Yes, that means we’ll be hitting you up for babysitting oh. . . constantly. Mom and Dad will be glad for the time off.
Congratulations, Murray!
So the blog is neglected. Woefully neglected. I owe Murray a “happy graduation” post, and I could write reams and reams about how Simon is “going through a stage” (dear God, don’t let it be permanent!), but instead I will throw out this little exchange that took place in our hotel in Blacksburg over the weekend.
Simon: Mommy, when will I be 60?
Kate:Not for a very long time, Simon.
Simon: <thinks for a moment > – Mommy, I will miss you when I’m 60.
Proof positive that he has a long term plan. . .
Casey has developed an unlikely friendship. . . with a cat. This stray has been appearing more and more frequently around our house, often catching me and Casey on her morning walks. I opened the door this evening to find the cat sitting on our porch, meowing pitifully. We let Casey out for a minute so I could get a picture of this unlikely couple.
Anybody want a cat?
Apple announced their tablet computing device yesterday, and the general consensus around the web seems to be “meh.” A coworker of mine said (paraphrasing here) “why would I buy this if I already have an iPhone and a laptop?” I agree. If you’re already a laptop toting iPhone wielding Apple fanboy, then this has to be a bit of a letdown. There doesn’t appear to be anything vastly innovative or different about the iPad. The iPad appears to be little more than a bigger, faster, iPod Touch. People wanted more. More innovation. More pizazz. Apple didn’t want to shake the boat too much though, and went with what has worked for them in the past.
But for me? I am intrigued. Not blown away. Just intrigued. We have one computer in our house. It’s a somewhat aging desktop, and it’s located in our basement. I don’t have smart phone. I don’t have a Kindle or other e-reader. I do have an iPod Nano. Kate doesn’t understand the appeal of a device like the iPad. Here’s what I see.
- Portable Web Browsing: Not mobile web browsing, because I’m not willing to front the extra $130 up front and $30/mo that the 3G versions of these devices require. But portable web browsing I can get behind. Need to send a recipe to your friend, but don’t want to trek down to the basement? iPad. Want to check the directions to your event that night but don’t want to trek down to the basement? iPad. Want to check your fantasy football score while watching the game? Ipad. Send a quick email, update twitter, or check facebook? iPad, iPad, iPad.
Yes, there is a certain laziness implied in the above paragraph. It IS only a flight of stairs, after all. Let me put this another way. Want to do any of the above but can’t because your spouse/kids/dog/cat/gerbil is using the computer? iPad.
- Portable Video: Watch an episode of Chuck in the comfort of my own bed before I go to sleep? Or on an airplane ride? Or on the beach? Or on my way to New York while the kids sleep and Kate drives? Heck yeah!
Oh who am I kidding? I never let Kate drive.
- Calendar, Contacts, Notes, etc. The functions and form of the iPad point towards it making a pretty decent PDA, especially if it syncs nicely with Google Calendar and Google Contacts. This is something that I always thought would be nice about having an iPhone. The successfulness (or lack thereof) of the on-screen keyboard will likely affect the iPad’s usefulness in this category.
- Photo Sharing: If I’m toting this back and forth from work every day (see the previous bullet), which I would, you’re darn right I’m going to use it to show off my kids. Heck, I’d prop it in my cube when it’s not actively in use and it’ll be a digital picture frame. Because my coworkers don’t get enough pictures of my kids already.
- Light Gaming: I’m kidding everybody if I don’t include gaming. I (and yes, probably the kids) will play a few games on this device. Not like I would on a gaming console or a full blown PC, but I bet there will be a couple of ways to waste some time with this bad boy.
- Digital Books, Magazines, and Newspapers: As much as I hate to admit it, digital magazines, newspapers, and yes, books are the wave of the future. I don’t think I’ll ever give up on reading a hardcopy book, but magazines and newspapers make pretty good sense for a device like this. It remains to be seen if the technology is to a point where I can read on a device like this without getting a headache, but I’m willing to give it a shot.
So while it might not make sense for others, this device might make sense for me. Does it have shortcomings? Absolutely. Might I wait a while for the price to drop and for the next version to come out in a year or two? I might. But this device definitely fits a hole in my electronics devices arsenal. Is it a hole that I absolutely have to fill? Ask me in March.
My new year’s resolution is to blog more often. Waiting for the laughter to die down. . .
Okay, that’s not really my New Year’s resolution. Somehow everything I want to say has recently been magically condensed to 140 characters or less. Because my attention span wasn’t short enough to begin with. Darn you twitter and facebook. So to start 2010, I present you with a picture of my whole family, taken at our Christmas celebration this past weekend.
Here’s an obligatory clip from Simon’s first “concert” at school.
I’ve discovered that taking a picture of one kid is pretty easy, compared to getting a picture of two. Today we took the kids out to try and get a decent picture or two for our Christmas cards. In keeping of the tradition of posting outtakes, here’s a small taste of what we had to deal with.
I’m not sure why I didn’t post this earlier in the week, but I wanted to get it up here before the next game. That’d be tomorrow, against Miami. Anyway, I couldn’t have picked a better finish. The Hokies, after an opening TD drive, did precisely squat offensively the rest of the game. The D and special teams (as well as a few favorable calls and mistakes on Nebraska’s part) kept them in the game for these last minute heroics. I LOVE the frenzied joy that comes with a last minute victory. And experiencing it in person was fabulous. You go from the doldrums to ecstasy with 65,000 of your best friends in about 5 seconds. It’s pretty cool.
Quick Update: I forgot to include this little conversation I had with my brother’s roommate right before this series. An “Overheard in the Stands,” if you will.
Steve (Murray’s Roomate): You know, all it takes is one big play.
Me: Steve, what have you seen in this game that makes you think we’re capable of even a single big play?
Steve: *shrugs*
So yeah, this shows what I know:
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