My Birthday Present

...swung by Best Buy yesterday (32 GB WiFi). I love this thing already! As expected, I've been carrying this around the house with me. It's much nicer and easier to use around the house then even my laptop. I suspect I'll be using this over my laptop the majority of the time. I'm a man of my word!

After using this for one day I still believe this will be the future of personal computing...it's great.

Potty Training Breakthrough

I'd say we had a breakthrough - Jules went numero dos 10 times today! We're talking the real deal, not rabbit pellets. That seems excessive so I hope she wasn't holding it or was having issues. It's such a positive experience for her though that I can't fully discount the fact that she ate a lot the past day or two (fact) and just wants to please Mommy and Daddy. At any rate, today she asked and practically pooped on demand (we're talking 2 minutes or so). She was so excited that she ran out of the bathroom tonight with her undies and PJs around her ankles to tell me. I guess we'll have to teach her that part too. One step at a time...

Hampster Dance in the Backyard

On the way home from the hospital I stopped by Pioneer and got a truckload of gorilla hair for the backyard. Technically I think this stuff is Washington cedar but anyone familiar with the look and function of this mulch knows why it's called by that name. I put some down on the side of the house and it looks great. We had some severe (and I mean severe - it ripped the gate of the hinges) wind the same night I laid it down and it didn't move an inch. It looks great - much better then rock in my opinion. In the next few days I'll make some holes in the mulch and set some walking stones up the side of the house so I can get to the water spigot, when needed. Although only functional, we'll be getting some window well safety covers for the kids too. Probably the best part about the mulch is the smell. About all I'm missing is a giant water bottle hanging upside down from the fence and a wheel...

The nursery also delivered and planted the Autumn Blaze Maple we purchased. It's the third of its kind on our lot. Since we have aspens and a cottonwood in the neighbor's yards (they turn yellow in the fall) we went for red. In addition, these guys grow really fast. Soon it will block most of the house behind us. Right now it's far from full since the leaves are just coming in. In a few weeks it won't look as Charlie Brown as it does now. You can see this tree out the back door all the way from the front door. It's positioned to where it will always be visible from the main area of the house. Space limitations not withstanding, I would have preferred the branches to start much lower like they do on the tree in the front yard. However, the current height allows for traffic immediately under the tree so it doesn't take up any yard space. Eventually it will get wider as it grows...I won't be trimming it narrow like nurseries do to maximize the number of trees they can cram into each row.

We're really getting close now...if only the weather would start feeling more like spring. We had a few minutes of snow again today and we may get a dusting in the early morning hours tonight. Rule 1 in Colorado: don't plant flowers until a week or two into May.

The Baby Name Game

Two letters are missing...can you guess the name of our baby boy? We are going to call him by his full name - hold the shortening. Post your guesses. First correct person wins. I'll give you a hint: it's not Aonzjhts.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ David Sudduth

32nd Birthday

Hmm....well, today I'm 32 years old. For most people their 32nd birthday isn't an interesting one. Mine kind of was in a weird sort of way.

First, I woke up this morning to snow on the ground. Seriously, it's almost May and it's still snowing. I don't commit everything in my life to memory, but I can't remember the last time it actually snowed on my birthday. I guarantee that it didn't happen in Washington, California or Hawaii, so if it has happened in the past it was at least 10 years ago. Maybe my parents can remember a year growing up when it snowed on my birthday. Of course, being Colorado, the snow had melted by lunchtime.

Second, I got two jib jab e-cards both from my immediate family. Not only had I never heard of nor received a jib jab e-card before today, but I got two in the same day from Michelle and my parents. All I can say is that both were funny and yet a bit disturbing...one involved talking/suicidal eggs that ended up in my birthday cake, and the other, my dad and my mom's head on top of disco dancing bodies. I suggest you check out their line of e-cards - much better then Hallmark! I also received a call from Stacey's Dad, which was a nice touch.

Third, Stacey made dinner tonight and decorated but it ended abruptly with an hour-long session of "poop on the potty". I ate the rest of my chicken standing up outside the kid bathroom upstairs. Julia is still struggling to go numero dos in the potty even thought numero uno is a breeze. So, since she's now wearing underwear she'll just hold it until it's visibly painful to everyone. At dinner she let out another little cry and squirm. So, between our birthday dinner and birthday dessert/card opening (Stacey and Julia both made me a card), we coached, instructed, and made Julia sit on the potty until she finally went. It took an hour, but afterward the party continued. This may sound mean, but when it's completely obvious to everyone that she really has to go and is in pain from holding it (but will go in about 2 minutes as soon as we put on a diaper), this was a battle worth fighting. The timing was just bad. My hope is that after a few times of doing this she'll get over whatever is causing her to hold it (fear, familiarity, comfort, etc) and it won't be a big deal. It's just something we need to get past.

So, in addition to work I can say that this was a pretty routine yet still interesting day. Despite everything it made me thankful for a roof over my head, a good job, and a loving family.

Crunch Time

Well, the results this weekend went pretty much as expected. Spurs lost to Manchester United, City gained 1 point, and Villa and Liverpool both won their matches. The race for 4th place is tighter then ever with 2-3 games left to play.

This past weekend, while putting in the sprinkler heads and lines in the backyard, Matt and I talked about the different scenarios and tried to figure out what might happen this weekend (the second to the last weekend of play). Or, to put it another way, what was the ideal result(s) that would give our team the best chance to end up in 4th place come the end of the season.

While I was in the shower this morning I came to my final decision on how things will break down this weekend. Spurs v Bolton and City v Villa are both being played at 8 a.m. on Saturday. I concluded that the result most beneficial to Spurs in the other game really depends on what happens in the Spurs match...and vice versa.

For example, if Spurs win then the best result in the other match is a Villa win. That would keep Spurs in 4th place on GD with a game in hand against Villa and 4 points clear of their next opponent, City. Essentially, that simple combination would mean that Spurs' next match against City would be irrelevant and they would only have to win their final game to take 4th place. Liverpool wouldn't factor into the equation even if they won their remaining 2 matches. If Spurs only get a point this weekend then the ideal result in the other game is also a draw. That would keep the advantage in the Spurs camp and with a draw against City and a win in their final game, 4th place.

So, since I'll be rooting for a Spurs win by default I'll be watching that game first. Here's hoping for a Spurs and Villa victory this Saturday.

Silly Putty

I love silly putty. Josh was given a physical therapy variant of silly putty to help rehabilitate his hand. In between uses I play with it at work. A week ago Josh made the comment that when he leaves it on his desk it's usually a blob by the time he gets back. So, last Tuesday I rolled it into a nice ball and set it on the tip of the coolest shape I could find in my cubicle. At first the ball descended quickly. The next day it was already half way down the stein. However, we had to wait another 6-7 days (essentially a week from the start) until it oozed all the way down.

This was a good office distraction. People kept checking up on the progress in between their duties. I think it's pretty cool that you can see the design of the stein through the silly putty. Don't worry, the shot of the stein without the silly putty was taken afterward. It all came off.

Home Security

On Saturday we have an ADT installation tech coming over to our house to upgrade our system and turn on their montoring service. We've lived in our current house for the past 3 years without an active system. Since we now have children, the house outfitted, projects almost complete, etc, I felt like it was a good time to sign up for the $34 a month service.

We don't have issues with burglaries in our neighborhood as far as I can tell, so I'm not too worried about it. But then again, most of the houses in our area have alarm signs on their front lawn. In the end though, it was the proper thing to do even if it's just a deterrent. There are other issues that are addressed with this system too, such as fire, police, and emergency services. For example, if we're out of town and a fire breaks out, the fire department will be called immediately (via the smoke detector and system) to minimize the damage. In the end I think it's a small price to pay for an added layer of protection. With the keychain remote we'll also be able to contact the authorities at any time with a push of a button if we suspect someone's in the house. As long as we have the remote on our nightstand at night we don't have to move or get involved and can exit the house from upstairs.

Even if you don't have an alarm, there are other things to think about. A few weeks ago a friend from church had their house broken into. The thief didn't take any valuables or electronics. He took their tax returns, social security cards, etc. This is, in my opinion, another big issue to consider. Where and how you store your important papers. Stacey's late grandmother gave us a portable fire safe. Obviously it won't protect against theft (insert Jeff Foxworthy number here), but it will preserve our documents in case of a fire. However, after hearing what happened to our friend's house, it dawned on me that I should probably safeguard our documents. Instead of keeping everything with sensitive information on it in the most obvious location (e.g. neatly labeled in the filing cabinet in the office), I'd recommend hiding it in a non-obvious or very secure location in your house. For me, I will be moving them from neatly labeled folders in the office to somewhere not that obvious. After all, I'll probably only access them once a year. Additionally, I've password protected the computers. On the computer with sensitive information I've turned on the firewall and encrypted the entire home folder. If you have information on your laptop, that's another easy target for physical theft (and other kinds of non-physical theft that you all already know about). Someone could still take my laptop, but unless they are a trained hacker (or know someone who is), chances are they won't be able to use or access it. At the very least, it might buy me enough time to contact the right people.

Yesterday I passed a truck with a bumper sticker that said "Home Security System - Buy A Gun". I've thought through this issue and decided not to bother with this approach. Not only will it require a large additional expense, but if I ever purchased a gun it would probably just collect dust in the safe. Regarding home protection, I have concluded that the costs and benefits about cancel each other out. The likelihood of someone coming into our house with the intent to actually use a firearm against us is very low indeed. In fact, I would argue that if an intruder enters a house with a gun, they are much more likely to use it against a family member if the home owner pulls out their own weapon. That is, it will only escalate the situation unnecessarily. The best approach is to just to get out of the house. 99.9% of the time intruders aren't there to kidnap or shoot someone...that is, unless you threaten them with your own weapon. Additionally, there is a minor but important issue of having a gun in the house with kids, although that can easily be overcome with locks and training. A final issue to consider with guns is accessibility. If the firearm is locked in a safe in your bedroom or basement, it does no good if you can't access it when you need it. That is, if you're having dinner on the main floor and someone comes in, you can't exactly tell him to wait there while you run and unlock the safe. If you do have time to access a gun, as I've mentioned already, you're probably better off leaving the house then starting a firefight. Or, at the very least, if family members are scattered throughout the house, approaching them in a non-threatening way. Point is, practically, financially, and probabilty speaking, this really isn't the best approach for us.

All in all, nothing is completely foolproof. Usually, the perpetrator is a neighborhood kid or like character. I think these measures are appropriate, sensible, and should cover us for the vast majority of break-ins - if it ever happens at all. Statistically speaking, I think we'll be covered. In the end, I really don't care about the stuff in the house. Hopefully, after these things, all that will be available for the taking will be the TVs.

CU Boulder On Tuesday

Even when I went to school there I had no idea how big this really was. I guess that's what happens when you hang out with the Christian ROTC crowd.

It's unbelievable that this happens on University property. For obvious reasons I never attended, don't approve, nor have ever tried any kind of drug...but this is just too staggering not to post. The AP article that alerted me to this content on the internet estimated the crowd at 12,000-15,000 people.

My apologies for some of the song lyrics.

Backyard Edging

What's more boring then watching grass grow? Probably seeing pictures of the edging that surrounds it. Even though pictures aren't that exciting, it's exciting for me to see in person because now that it's in, it allows me to visualize the yard.

I added some curves to our otherwise square lot to compliment the patio and to soften the edges. The white flag in a few of the shots is where the tree will be planted a week from today. We'll do the sprinklers this weekend...which means we're probably only weeks away from being done! Of course, the fun stuff like flowers and furniture will come later, but the work will be complete.