Went in to Marcus’ bedroom to check on him after he went quiet.

He was asleep, but…

I still haven’t found a single tool I can use to maintain my blog, Facebook and Twitter.  Hell, even a single tool which let me update Twitter and Facebook (optionally) at the same time would be cool.

Marcus started school today.  I’m pretty sure we were more wigged out about it than he was.  He had a few confusing moments because he didn’t fully understand a few things, but it’ll get better.

I have a cunning plan.  My last cunning plan required rebuilding a PC. This one could very well require building a PC.  We’ll see how the planning goes.

Gardening is a lot of hard work.  But satisfying.

I’m sad, but not surprised, that my 5 year old MP3 player can’t cope with an MP3 that is 700MB (9 hours) long.

I’m on day 2 of my holiday.  I’ve already been bugged by work 5 times.  2 phone calls, 1 TXT and 2 “incredibly urgent” emails.  And that doesn’t even include the emails that need my attention and if do ignore them until next week, will probably cause me more headaches that it’s worth. 
Doesn’t help that the only other guy on my team that could possibly do some of what I do is currently skiing in Canada. 

I’m a little miffed that Windows 7 can’t access my MP3 player the same way previous versions did.  Sure, it shows up as a removable drive, and I can view the files, delete files and create new folders.  But if I try to copy new music onto it, I get a “Permission denied” error.
I can sync it just fine using Media Player though, so it’s not a real biggie.

Auckland SQL – February meeting.  Need to plan it.  Tomorrow; Thursday at the latest. (PS:  If you want to come talk, please let me know)

Using Windows 7 with a widescreen laptop?  My tip for the day.  Put the “start/task bar” on the side.  You get 40 pixels of vertical real estate back, and the new style bar makes it totally usable.

Need to spend some quality time with the aquarium.  It’s been neglected the past couple of months.  Will get some new plants and try and find new stock to replenish those who have passed on.

IE8 in Win7 beta has a serious problem with remembering cookies.  Serious problem...

Marcus and I went to the zoo today.

 

No! You've had yours. This is mine.

My wife telling our son that he can't have any of the chocolate topping from her ice-cream. (his even had hundreds-&-thousands on it)

It's little things like this that make me glad to be a dad (in the sense I'm glad he's here, not that it's my wife getting all the attention at present).

...but the years are short.

 A friend sent me this link tonight.

Damnit.  I'm a man.  I shouldn't get misty eyed over simple words, pictures and a piano track

I got back from holiday yesterday...

I managed to spend the majority of the time not doing anything related to work, other than thinking away in the back of my head that I have to go back to work on Monday.

I downloaded my work email about half-way through and scanned it, redirecting a few important items to people who could resolve it before I got back, but other than that, nada.

I did a fair bit of reading (more than normal for me), put a bit of study time in for my SQL certification upgrade, played with Marcus a lot, went for swims, walked etc...

A couple of things weren't quite the way I would have done it on the holiday, but overall, I had a great time. I enjoyed all the activities I did and had great fun with all those around me.

But I don't feel any more relaxed or less stressed than when I left...

In fact, I'm not really looking forward to firing up Outlook tomorrow morning and having to wade through the emails. Plus I've got several appointments in the morning which are going to eat into my available time.

Oh well.  I can always keep looking forward to the next holiday.

Sorry for the "awol" period.  Life / work got real busy last week.  Will attempt to stay on track from now on.  Anyway.  Nicked from my wife's blog:

Marcus told me he needed to go to the toilet, so I sent him off to do his thing. (He's at the point where he's toilet trained but still feels the need to tell us when he needs to go.)

After a while, I decided things had got a bit quiet, about the same time he called for me (which usually means helping him get the right foot through the right hole in his underwear).

Instead, he proudly showed me the door handle. Naked from the waist down, he'd taken the screwdriver from his tool box (which Daddy made up for him with real tools) and quietly removed one of the screws holding the door handle to the door. There was no sign of the screw.

"Where's the screw?" I asked.

"In there," he told me, pointing at the wall cupboard.

Sure enough, there beside the spare rolls of toilet paper was the screw.

Fortunately, with a bit of praise and encouragement he was happy and willing to replace the screw and tighten it up again.

You can't turn your back on this kid.

We went to the beach today. On the way back from the pool shop after having the swimming-pool water tested (it was fine), Marcus announced that he wanted an ice cream, but also that I had to go home and get my camera (which I had left behind) first.

So we went home and I got the camera, and Kerry.

And we headed out looking for an "Ice Cream shop". The dairy by the beach in Mairangi Bay was suggested, so off we went. Parked the car and got the ice creams (well, Kerry and Marcus did. I chose not to, primary because I refuse to pay $2 for a single scoop of ice-cream), then walked to the beach to eat them.

I took out my camera and as we walked along, I started taking photos. Every time I go out shooting, I always say "I need to do this more often"

ANYWAY

At the back of the surf-lifesaving clubrooms, there is a concrete ramp. But it doesn't actually reach the ground.  In the 9 years I've been living in the area, I can't remember it ever reaching the ground. 

I can quite easily imagine somebody in a wheelchair or a parent with a baby-stroller thinking it's a path down to the sand, and being quite surprised at the end...