Looking Up To Dad
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Random Question - Color Swatches??
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My family recycles as much as we can. Tonight, while breaking down a cardboard box, my eye caught one of the little color swatches located on the small tab on the top of the box. I suppose I see them all the time, but I took a second glance at this one for some reason. “What is it there for?”, I asked myself.
On almost every box in my pantry, I found something similar to the swatches in the picture. Some have numbers and letters on them, others only have colors, some only have gray-scale swatches. The most common pattern is a group of squares, but some packages have circles. There isn’t a pattern from what I can tell.
What are these used for? I can only guess that they are some sort of quality control for the colors used in the printing of the box. But, that doesn’t make sense for the grays, letters, etc.
I hope it’s not a stupid question…if someone can answer it, you’ll help me sleep a little better at night.
My Tom Bihn Brain Bag Backpack
Filed Under Computers
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I’ve been looking for a new backpack for the past couple of weeks as I have a long summer of travel ahead. As a software engineer, I have to lug around my laptop, multiple cables, power supplies, notebooks, and other equipment, and a good bag is a must. I also wanted something that will hold all that gear, a 17″ laptop, and my DSLR camera, so my old bag, which I’ve had for almost 10 years, is in need of an upgrade.
In doing my mandatory research, I came across the Tom Bihn Brain Bag. I’ve read almost their entire website, done multiple Google searches for reviews, and even had a buddy who lives in the Seattle area drop by to take a gander at their setup. One thing is for sure, there aren’t very many bad comments out on the web about Tom Bihn’s products.
Mine arrived today. I ordered the Brain Bag (in navy) and a 2S Brain Cell (a sleeve for the laptop) to hold my Dell. All of my research was right on target…I love it.
As an engineer, I like it because it’s built well, good looking, and just plain simple. No fancy stuff…just room for whatever you want and a comfortable, attractive way to carry it.
The pros:
- It’s light and comfortable. It seems to “hug” my back and has a great padded feel to it. Although I haven’t weighed it, it feels several pounds lighter than my previous backpack.
- It’s HUGE inside. The Brain Cell takes up the majority of one of the two main compartments, but can still hold more stuff. The other compartment will hold my camera, equipment, and two 3-ring binders.
- There aren’t a lot of small compartments. I consider this a positive as it will keep my “clutter” to a minimum. The front two pockets have some room for some pens and other small items, but there aren’t as many spaces for my stuff to sink to the bottom and be forgotten.
- The waist strap is removable and it comes off without much effort.
- A lifetime warranty.
The cons:
- The cost. Tom is proud of it, but at this point I’d say it was money well spent. A lot of reviews I’ve read said that the owners have had their bags for 5+ years and it still looks like new. And, it seems that once you’re a Tom Bihn customer, you’re hooked on their bags.
I look forward to putting the bag through a few more “tests” and showing it off a bit. It’s a good looking bag that seems to be quite functional, as well. It certainly meets my requirements of carrying more stuff than my previous backpack, and has the potential to be a “one bag solution” to both my work and personal needs. That’s not to say I won’t order a different style of bag from Tom in the future.
My Hummingbirds
Filed Under Outdoors, Photography
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Seems like at least someone in my family has been sick for several weeks now (thus the lack of posting here), but things are looking brighter now, especially since Spring seems to be right around the corner.
One of the “smallest” joys in my life during the summertime is sitting on the swing in my backyard with a cold beer and watching my hummingbirds. They are amazing creatures to watch in flight while they feed. And once they find your feeder, they’ll hang around all year until the daylight starts diminishing.
I usually have two feeders in operation during the summer. Hummers can be very territorial, so multiple feeders offer opportunity for the smaller ones to get a drink too. My mom has at least five feeders, and literally has the birds swarming around the back deck so much that it’s difficult to walk across the deck without hitting them.
Hummingbirds.net offers a sighting map that shows the movement of the birds during their trip north each year. My estimation is that they’ll be here (Memphis, TN) in the next week or two. The site also offers some good tips on how to attract them (plants, feeders, nectar, etc).
Personally, I’m a fan of the Hummzinger feeders. Other feeders I’ve used are similar to the one in the picture that are an inverted-bottle type. These are harder to clean (a weekly chore) and fill (depends on how many birds you have eating). The Hummzinger feeders are just a simple flat basin that you can fill without touching and clean with a damp cloth. I’m ordering another one this week to replace an old feeder…
The hummers also present a great photo opportunity for this aspiring photographer. With the right shutter speed and lighting, you can freeze a bird in flight and catch the wings flapping and a drop of nectar on their long beaks.
Frugal Ways to Learn the Alphabet
Filed Under Parenting
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As I’m sure most parents do, my wife and I strive to provide the best learning opportunities for our son. We’ve bought him the Baby Einstein toys, Thomas the Tank laptop, and other main-stream “toys” that are supposed to be educating my son while also entertaining him. But, we’ve run across two very uncommon (and cheap) methods of teaching him the alphabet….
The first is the game show, Wheel of Fortune. Yes, that’s right, “the Wheel”. My wife and were semi-fans before he was born, but it became a regular show in our house after my son was born. It comes on at the time of night that we were/are trying to wind down, get him prepared for bed, and begin to relax with what was left of the day. Over the past few months, we’ve noticed the boy being very interested in the Wheel. The opening music comes on at 6:30p, and his attention is immediately diverted away from whatever he was playing with and is focused on Pat and Vanna.
As the show progresses, he begins to yell out different letters at the TV. I don’t think he’s actually trying to spell out the puzzles, but I do believe he understands the players are throwing out letters, so he’s trying to join in on the fun. It’s quite entertaining to watch a two-year old playing Wheel of Fortune.
The second method presented itself by accident last week. I bought a new computer a while back, and the old one has been sitting on the floor in my office….PC, monitor, keyboard, mouse…all laying on the floor waiting for someone to dispose of it. My son managed to sneak into the room, and immediately grabbed the keyboard and ran off. He has barely set it down since. He carries it around, sets it down, and uses the PS2 connector to push the different letters. He calls out the letters while he’s playing with it, and although he gets a little confused with the multitude of characters in front of him, he does pretty well. He calls it his “computer”, and it’s a very inexpensive way to teach him his letters and numbers.
It’s certainly fun, entertaining, and a proud moment when your kids soak up knowledge. It’s also nice to know that you don’t need fancy, expensive “toys” to experience those feelings. A simple game show and $10 keyboard seem to be working the best for us.
DK
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