So there isn't much "new" to write about in the realm of fatherhood. Fiona hasn't changed too much, and is still very much a sleep/poop/crying machine.
I can take a minute (since she's sleeping ;) ) to write about the "old" a bit. It's been about 8 months since Kim layed the news on me that we were going to be parents. As is normal with most folks, I ended up holding onto the kitchen table for a few minutes trying to catch my breath. I was also nursing a slight hangover from the Thanksgiving party the night before.
It's amazing to me how much a life can change in a single day like that. The night before I was living in a world of randomness. I didn't know what I was going to be doing from one night to the next, and I didn't have any type of long term plan in regards to starting a family. Spontaneous fun is great and all, but it tended to leave one a bit empty late at night. Now here I am, nearly a year later, and I'm doing contract work with plans of paying off debt and moving into a more family friendly house.
I'm sure lots of folks would argue about our methods, and I'd be surprised to find out no one criticized us behind our backs. We weren't married. Hell, we were actually far from it. Still, our feelings for each other have always been there, and we've always been close. My real feelings came to me that day on Friday, November 14th, of 2009 when Kim told me that she was pregnant. Though it took me a good full hour to grasp what she was telling me, neither of us hesitated. My mind was reeling with thoughts of spreading the word and moving onward with our lives together.
I think both of us got a real kick out of telling our families, and everyone of them were overjoyed and extremely supportive. I find myself anxious for holidays this year...unlike previous ones. It seems children really do bring families closer together.
Like I said, it's just crazy how much your life can change in a single moment.
Ah well, I hear the little one stirring around. Time for her late night feeding, and then sleep for her and her mommy and daddy.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Motorola Droid USB Tethering
I found out today (the hard way) that the new tether option included with the Android 2.2 update doesn't actually do anything. Maybe there's a fee I can pay Verizon to make it so, but that's not happening.
In my research to find out how to make the tethering feature work, I discovered a method of tethering I'd not heard of before (and apparently it's been around awhile.)
You don't have you root your phone AND it's completely free. Win win right? It just takes a little bit of configuration on your computer. For this post I'm going to focus on OSX because that's what I use, and there seem to be a plethora of others out there explaining how this works in Windows.
I used this guy's blog as a basis for what I did, and I changed very little: http://jimcortez.com/blog/?p=37
His first step is to install openvpn on your Mac. I already had Viscosity installed on mine and I wanted to try and use it instead of installing a separate openvpn client and using the custom script provided. This method instead allows you to use the Viscosity icon on your menu bar to initiate your tether. It's cleaner in my opinion and allows me to use one central location to initialize the tether and then my work vpn.
For this method you need only follow a fraction of the steps provided from the blog above.
1. First, install Viscosity. You can find it here.
2. Install Azilink to your phone. Instead of going through the trouble of installing the SDK, I find it's easier to just install it directly on your phone from a web browser.
On your phone do the following:
4. Enable USB Debugging: Settings->Applications->Development->USB debugging
5. Create a file with these contents:
#viscosity startonopen false
#viscosity dhcp true
#viscosity dnssupport true
#viscosity name azilink
remote 127.0.0.1 41927
ping 10
dev tun
proto tcp-client
route 0.0.0.0 128.0.0.0
route 128.0.0.0 128.0.0.0
socket-flags TCP_NODELAY
dhcp-option DNS 192.168.56.1
script-security 2
ifconfig 192.168.56.2 192.168.56.1
5. Make sure Viscosity is running and click on the menu icon for it and go to Preferences.
6. Click on the plus (+) icon and then Import the file you just created.
7. Now click on the azilink entry that you just created and then Edit
8. Under "Certificates" choose "Static Key" (You get a weird error about a missing certificate if you don't do this.)
Now connect tether your phone to your laptop, and click on the Viscosity icon and then "Connect azilink."
If everything went according to plan, you should be surfing the inter-tubes now :)
In my research to find out how to make the tethering feature work, I discovered a method of tethering I'd not heard of before (and apparently it's been around awhile.)
You don't have you root your phone AND it's completely free. Win win right? It just takes a little bit of configuration on your computer. For this post I'm going to focus on OSX because that's what I use, and there seem to be a plethora of others out there explaining how this works in Windows.
I used this guy's blog as a basis for what I did, and I changed very little: http://jimcortez.com/blog/?p=37
His first step is to install openvpn on your Mac. I already had Viscosity installed on mine and I wanted to try and use it instead of installing a separate openvpn client and using the custom script provided. This method instead allows you to use the Viscosity icon on your menu bar to initiate your tether. It's cleaner in my opinion and allows me to use one central location to initialize the tether and then my work vpn.
For this method you need only follow a fraction of the steps provided from the blog above.
1. First, install Viscosity. You can find it here.
2. Install Azilink to your phone. Instead of going through the trouble of installing the SDK, I find it's easier to just install it directly on your phone from a web browser.
On your phone do the following:
- Menu->Settings->Applications->Check the "Unknown Sources" box.
- Install "Astro File Manager" from the Marketplace
- Open Astro->Menu->More->Preferences->Check the "Enable Browser Download" box.
- (Remember to uncheck that same box when you've finished downloading things from the web...that feature can break your ability to view attachments in Gmail)
- Download Azilink here.
- Open Astro and browse to your download directory. Clicking on the file should give you the option to install it (if you've followed the previous directions properly.)
4. Enable USB Debugging: Settings->Applications->Development->USB debugging
5. Create a file with these contents:
#viscosity startonopen false
#viscosity dhcp true
#viscosity dnssupport true
#viscosity name azilink
remote 127.0.0.1 41927
ping 10
dev tun
proto tcp-client
route 0.0.0.0 128.0.0.0
route 128.0.0.0 128.0.0.0
socket-flags TCP_NODELAY
dhcp-option DNS 192.168.56.1
script-security 2
ifconfig 192.168.56.2 192.168.56.1
5. Make sure Viscosity is running and click on the menu icon for it and go to Preferences.
6. Click on the plus (+) icon and then Import the file you just created.
7. Now click on the azilink entry that you just created and then Edit
8. Under "Certificates" choose "Static Key" (You get a weird error about a missing certificate if you don't do this.)
Now connect tether your phone to your laptop, and click on the Viscosity icon and then "Connect azilink."
If everything went according to plan, you should be surfing the inter-tubes now :)
2:00 AM
So here I sit, thinking I've finally gotten her settled down. I suppose it wouldn't be fair if I didn't share the bad along with the good. Normally my temper is pretty stable, but I gotta say, she's sure testing my patience tonight.
Scratch that...she's decided she's not going to sleep so the remainder of this post will be typed one handed...typos be damned.
I honestly can't say why she's so inconsolable tonight. It could be the colic, but how am I supposed to discern that from just normal fussy baby tendencies? It's obvious the way she's squirming and occasionally screaming out that her tummy hurts her, but we've been giving her gas medicine for weeks and reflux medicine for days. I've not noticed any kind of change for the better.
...and now she has the hiccups and is even more upset.
I have noticed a correlation between her screams and her passing gas, but if that's the problem, what good are the gas drops we've been giving her?
Well, I tire of typing with one hand...today is starting out too be a long day. I've tried to put her down 3 times during this post which I started at 2:00 AM...it's 3 now....let's see if the fourth time's a charm.
Waverly
Scratch that...she's decided she's not going to sleep so the remainder of this post will be typed one handed...typos be damned.
I honestly can't say why she's so inconsolable tonight. It could be the colic, but how am I supposed to discern that from just normal fussy baby tendencies? It's obvious the way she's squirming and occasionally screaming out that her tummy hurts her, but we've been giving her gas medicine for weeks and reflux medicine for days. I've not noticed any kind of change for the better.
...and now she has the hiccups and is even more upset.
I have noticed a correlation between her screams and her passing gas, but if that's the problem, what good are the gas drops we've been giving her?
Well, I tire of typing with one hand...today is starting out too be a long day. I've tried to put her down 3 times during this post which I started at 2:00 AM...it's 3 now....let's see if the fourth time's a charm.
Waverly
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Android 2.2 for the Motorola Droid
Did I forget to mention I planned on talking tech in this blog? It's true. This is proof. Luckily for you I'll be tagging each of these blogs appropriately. The tag 'daddyhood' will refer to just that, while 'techtronics' will be anything tech related I care to share. I'm sure I'll add more tags later on for fun.
Onward to the topic of discussion!
I manually installed the official Android 2.2 update on my Motorola Droid today because I couldn't bear to wait for them to push it out to me automatically. I used this site:
http://www.droid-life.com/2010/08/03/manual-android-2-2-update-for-motorola-droid/
I've only been using the new version for about 6 hours now, and I have to say, I'm impressed. I've been feeling a bit tired of my Droid as of late, and have seriously contemplated upgrading to the X or the Droid 2. (Of course, I was delayed in action by yet another set of rumors that the iPhone is coming to Verizon in January...who knows if it'll actually happen.) ANYWAYS, this upgrade makes my phone feel brand new again. Here are some of the reasons why:
1) My phone is WAY more responsive. No laggy screen scrolls, and much less hesitation when I open an application. The phone feels twice as fast.
2) The Gmail app has forward and back buttons for scrolling through emails now! I know..this should have been added in version 1.0, but somehow it was missed. Anyone who uses Gmail on their Droid has to have shared my pain in this. Also, there's a button on the inbox screen that allows you to switch to a different email account if you have more than one configured. As far as I'm concerned, the Gmail app is now complete.
3) The update installed a new and up to date version of the official Facebook application. This version provides an icon to access your inbox on Facebook, as well as forward and backward arrows to cycle through messages and pictures. Why the inbox was left out previously, I still don't know.
4) The camera has been noticeably enhanced from 10 fps to 20 fps in the viewfinder window. What this means is that the camera "feels" less sluggish. I haven't taken many pics with it yet, so more on that later.
5) Manually typing in "smileys" in any sort of text is less of a pain now! I know..small gripe, but for some reason someone decided that all colons (:) were meant to rest right up against the letter previous to them. This was an auto-correct feature that I never quite figured out how to disable on my phone (I actually didn't try *that* hard, but still). This behavior is gone now it seems.
6) Tethering! I have the option..haven't tried to use it, but hey, I have the option!
7) Weird sound problems fixed. I think this was a specific problem with my phone, but my phone started to develop really strange audio problems. Music stored on my device (including ringtones and sound effects) started sounding very distorted at times, and almost seemed like things were moving in slow motion. (Now that I think of it...a reboot could have fixed the problem...)
Those are the pros I've found so far that directly affect me. Here are some of the cons:
1) My Microsoft VPN still doesn't work reliably. We use 128 bit encryption at work, and have discovered that for some reason, the higher the encryption, the less likely the vpn is to work. Even at lower encryption levels the vpn is intermittent. So I say boo to this. One more reason to root the phone and install openvpn...
2) Flash is s-l-o-w. I installed the flash app, and attempted to watch a clip on abc.com. It wasn't very watchable. Not a big deal...I don't *need* flash, but still.
3) Home screen still doesn't auto-rotate when the phone is flipped sideways. I realize I can slide the keyboard out and get that behavior, but that's not what I want. I mainly use the on-screen keyboard when I'm using the phone. I'd like to be able to turn the phone sideways and just use the touch screen to interact with the home screen. The "auto-rotate" flag isn't doing it's job properly in my opinion.
4) No hotspot. :( I know this was announced, but I'm still sad to see it's not present on my Droid. I may root my phone yet.
That's all I have so far. I may find other goodies soon, but my first impression is that it's a great move in the right direction for the Android operating system on these phones.
Waverly
Onward to the topic of discussion!
I manually installed the official Android 2.2 update on my Motorola Droid today because I couldn't bear to wait for them to push it out to me automatically. I used this site:
http://www.droid-life.com/2010/08/03/manual-android-2-2-update-for-motorola-droid/
I've only been using the new version for about 6 hours now, and I have to say, I'm impressed. I've been feeling a bit tired of my Droid as of late, and have seriously contemplated upgrading to the X or the Droid 2. (Of course, I was delayed in action by yet another set of rumors that the iPhone is coming to Verizon in January...who knows if it'll actually happen.) ANYWAYS, this upgrade makes my phone feel brand new again. Here are some of the reasons why:
1) My phone is WAY more responsive. No laggy screen scrolls, and much less hesitation when I open an application. The phone feels twice as fast.
2) The Gmail app has forward and back buttons for scrolling through emails now! I know..this should have been added in version 1.0, but somehow it was missed. Anyone who uses Gmail on their Droid has to have shared my pain in this. Also, there's a button on the inbox screen that allows you to switch to a different email account if you have more than one configured. As far as I'm concerned, the Gmail app is now complete.
3) The update installed a new and up to date version of the official Facebook application. This version provides an icon to access your inbox on Facebook, as well as forward and backward arrows to cycle through messages and pictures. Why the inbox was left out previously, I still don't know.
4) The camera has been noticeably enhanced from 10 fps to 20 fps in the viewfinder window. What this means is that the camera "feels" less sluggish. I haven't taken many pics with it yet, so more on that later.
5) Manually typing in "smileys" in any sort of text is less of a pain now! I know..small gripe, but for some reason someone decided that all colons (:) were meant to rest right up against the letter previous to them. This was an auto-correct feature that I never quite figured out how to disable on my phone (I actually didn't try *that* hard, but still). This behavior is gone now it seems.
6) Tethering! I have the option..haven't tried to use it, but hey, I have the option!
7) Weird sound problems fixed. I think this was a specific problem with my phone, but my phone started to develop really strange audio problems. Music stored on my device (including ringtones and sound effects) started sounding very distorted at times, and almost seemed like things were moving in slow motion. (Now that I think of it...a reboot could have fixed the problem...)
Those are the pros I've found so far that directly affect me. Here are some of the cons:
1) My Microsoft VPN still doesn't work reliably. We use 128 bit encryption at work, and have discovered that for some reason, the higher the encryption, the less likely the vpn is to work. Even at lower encryption levels the vpn is intermittent. So I say boo to this. One more reason to root the phone and install openvpn...
2) Flash is s-l-o-w. I installed the flash app, and attempted to watch a clip on abc.com. It wasn't very watchable. Not a big deal...I don't *need* flash, but still.
3) Home screen still doesn't auto-rotate when the phone is flipped sideways. I realize I can slide the keyboard out and get that behavior, but that's not what I want. I mainly use the on-screen keyboard when I'm using the phone. I'd like to be able to turn the phone sideways and just use the touch screen to interact with the home screen. The "auto-rotate" flag isn't doing it's job properly in my opinion.
4) No hotspot. :( I know this was announced, but I'm still sad to see it's not present on my Droid. I may root my phone yet.
That's all I have so far. I may find other goodies soon, but my first impression is that it's a great move in the right direction for the Android operating system on these phones.
Waverly
Monday, August 9, 2010
1 month of being a dad - thoughts
So I decided to start a daddy blog at Fiona's 1 month birthday. That was last Sunday. Obviously, being a daddy is more time consuming than I realized, as this is the first chance I've had to actually post!
First impressions are that I didn't quite take into account just how little babies sleep (or should I say how many times they wake up during the night) the first few months. Somehow I had it figured out that babies were only rough the first month or so...upon further research I realize that she potentially won't sleep through the night for the whole first year! It's been very difficult for Kim and I to adjust, but so far I think we're doing well. The most frustrating part of her fussy nights is MY frustration. I thought by the age of 31 I'd have learned to control my anger pretty well, but there's nothing like a baby screaming at the top of her lungs directly in your ear knowing full well you've done everything you can for her.
Still, it's gotten much easier, and I've always managed to quell my desire to yell at her, though the stern daddy voice has definitely emerged once or twice :).
Kim and I are adjusting well and have even developed some patterns and a general schedule. I think they could still use some work, but I'm very pleased with how well we both seem to be at communicating with each other. Don't get me wrong, we both lose our cool from time to time, but the turn around apology times are always quick.
Originally this post was going to be about reflection of the past year, but I think I'll hold off on that for the time being. I rarely get time for posting, and that type of post is much more involved. (I attempted to start that one twice, and after it sat on the page for 4 days I gave up...hard to get my mind into it when I'm constantly side-tracked ;) )
So there, first post complete. I hope to be adding funny stories and introspective views on fatherhood as Fiona grows up, as well as what it'll be like when we have our next baby ;).
First impressions are that I didn't quite take into account just how little babies sleep (or should I say how many times they wake up during the night) the first few months. Somehow I had it figured out that babies were only rough the first month or so...upon further research I realize that she potentially won't sleep through the night for the whole first year! It's been very difficult for Kim and I to adjust, but so far I think we're doing well. The most frustrating part of her fussy nights is MY frustration. I thought by the age of 31 I'd have learned to control my anger pretty well, but there's nothing like a baby screaming at the top of her lungs directly in your ear knowing full well you've done everything you can for her.
Still, it's gotten much easier, and I've always managed to quell my desire to yell at her, though the stern daddy voice has definitely emerged once or twice :).
Kim and I are adjusting well and have even developed some patterns and a general schedule. I think they could still use some work, but I'm very pleased with how well we both seem to be at communicating with each other. Don't get me wrong, we both lose our cool from time to time, but the turn around apology times are always quick.
Originally this post was going to be about reflection of the past year, but I think I'll hold off on that for the time being. I rarely get time for posting, and that type of post is much more involved. (I attempted to start that one twice, and after it sat on the page for 4 days I gave up...hard to get my mind into it when I'm constantly side-tracked ;) )
So there, first post complete. I hope to be adding funny stories and introspective views on fatherhood as Fiona grows up, as well as what it'll be like when we have our next baby ;).
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