mommy bytes mommy bytes Software geek and mom blogs about her life. I blog about the trial of parenting and work. I also review books and classical music, keep up with many podcasts and send along fun things I find on the internet. Articles
Thursday Thirteen #22 - Amazing MIT students
2007-11-08 06:46:00 On the plane, I got a chance to catch up on the MIT Alumni Spectrum magazine, highlighting the work of MIT professors and students. I'm often amazed at the broad range of talents and ambitions of MIT students, which sometimes leaves me feeling a bit of an underachiever. But then I remember being a student and recalling that the vast majority of us were not superstars, but mere mortals and often very normal (OK, some people would argue about the normal part). In my class, James Worden was a superstar, having already won prizes for his solar electric car. In our 2.70 mechanical design class, we had to design a continuously variable transmission for his car. This caused students to resent his fame - like he needed our help! Anyway, these new crop of kids are amazing and now that I'm an adult, I have no problem highlighting their achievements to the world.Nathan Ball invented a 20 pound battery powered rope ascender that can lift 250 pounds more than 600 feet into the air at up ... More About: Students , Thirteen , Amazing , Thursday
Wordless Wednesday - Soccer ball head
2007-11-07 03:41:00 Adam's teammate Joe had his head buzzed to look like a soccer ball for last month's tournament. More About: Soccer , Head , Wednesday , Ball
At the "River and Trees" Leadership Training
2007-11-06 06:18:00 Image from Google Book Search of Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook.I survived day one of "Team Leadership : Meeting the Challenge," held in Rancho Capistrano. This Dilbert cartoon was shown in the beginning of the course before we did any of our experiential activities. Our last challenge of the day was "Laser Pass". We had seven people on each side of these ropes and had to pass four people from one side to the other without touching the ropes or passing through the vertical planes above and below the ropes. We had to estimate the number of failures or "tilts" we would have, where we would have to start over from the first person. If we went over the number of tilts we would get penalized. We did go over our estimated five tilts and ended up having to pass ten people across without tilting. Here's my turn at it... More About: Training , River , Trees , Rees
What kind of worker are you?
2007-11-04 18:28:00 SuperMom Action Figure courtesy of Happy Worker (buy me one please!)Recently I attended an audio brainwashing, I mean training, session for managers at my work and learned this fact:29% of Employees are Loyal and Productive55% of Employees are Not Engaged16% of Employees are Actively Disengaged (troublemakers)Right now, I fall squarely in the majority. That doesn't mean that I am not loyal and productive, but I simply don't live for my company and my job. At various points in my career I have been all three types, and probably in those percentages time-wise as well. I distinctly remember staying up all hours trying to finish a software project or helping manufacturing get instruments out the door. I also remember feeling completely demoralized when my company had to restate its earnings so I spend long hours playing cards instead of working. But for the most part, I am a decent worker who gets things done quickly and efficiently, so I build in some coast time for myself. Wha...
Happy 7th Birthday Adam
2007-11-04 04:49:00 We had to most civilized birthday party ever, even though the kids had to stay inside due to torrential downpours and wind. We had only 6 kids, instead of 21 last year. I even got off pretty easy with the cake. One mom said, "Wow, you've got the official Star Wars font down!" Here's my secret: I printed out the Star Wars logo, carefully cut out the letters with an exact-o knife, and then used it as a stencil on top of the cake. When the letters were semi-dry, I used a toothpick to make the final adjustments. Adam did the honors of putting the Lego Star Wars figures on top. When I asked him why so many were lying down, he said they were dead. Of course, 100% boy. More About: Happy , Birthday
Happy Spider Day
2007-11-03 03:46:00 'Twas the night before Adam's birthday party which means that mom is running around baking him some ridiculous cake and carving the jack-o-lantern. I'm taking a break from decorating his cake (which already broke into three pieces) to post the pumpkin. Believe it or not, this spider was a lot easier than last year's bat. And hopefully this years cake will be a lot easier that last year's Spongebob. As a clue, here is his party invitation: More About: Happy , Spider
NaBloPoMo Here I Come!
2007-11-02 03:21:00 Is it evil? Is it p0rn? Is it a game? NO! It's NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month. I wonder why my company thinks it ought to be blocked. God forbid that one of its employees is a blogger. (I really ought to be more careful than Jessica Carr who got fired over her personal blog). I suppose most "social" networking sites are banned so that would count. Moms Rising, however, is clearly evil to them as we wouldn't want to empower parents to have more rights at the workplace.While we are on blocked sites, This American Life and Air America are banned (I listen to the former but not the latter, a co-worker pointed it out). At first I thought it was just radio sites and bandwidth concerns but then Fox News Radio is wide open. Just an observation. (OK to be fair, NPR is not blocked either).Anyway, I hate to miss a party, so I signed up for NaBloPoMo. It'll be tough to post once a day especially while I'm traveling to CA next week (prerequisite - hotel must have free wi-...
Thursday Thirteen #21 - Contests and New Blogs
2007-11-01 03:07:00 Here's the latest scoop on contests and a few new blog announcements!First and foremost, check out my very first contest for HP Photo Books. I have six to giveaway, so chances are good for picking up one!I failed to get many votes for the FuelMyBlog MyBowlAd contest, but then MyBowlAd completely backed out of the trip to Hollywood and hate clubs started forming. FuelMyBlog also issued an apology even though they were not at fault. Speaking of FuelMyBlog, I've been entering their captioning contests and actually won for this picture with the caption "Hello? We said a paisley tie-dyed theme, not solids. But since you came with your peace sign pendant I suppose you're still in." Unfortunately, the something random from Kevin Dixie's cupboard escaped from the envelope on the trip across the Atlantic. And for this picture, I got second place with the caption "'I didn't know it was a vibrating microscope!' exclaimed Dr. Bluebottle." A blue Nalgene bottle just happened to be sit... More About: Contests , Blogs , Thirteen , Thursday
Wordless Wednesday - Spongebob, Ariel and a Cat?
2007-10-31 04:30:00 Don't forget to check out my HP Photo Books contest. Happy Halloween! More About: Wednesday , Sponge , Ariel , Spongebob
HP Photo Books contest
2007-10-30 04:13:00 HP Photo Books are a fun, easy way to create customized, professional quality photo books at home with an inkjet printer. They come in two sizes, 5"x7" and 8.5"x11", in multiple colors. They are professional looking two-toned linen books which come with 12 sheets of HP Photo Paper and software. You just bend the binding back to replace or rearrange pages and add mementos as you like.It is great for scrapbookers (which I definitely am not), or photo enthusiasts (which I definitely am). My last photo book before HP was created at Snapfish of our Disney vacation. Now I can "do it myself" at home and have total control.I've got six(!!) HP Photo Books to give away, three in each size. To enter, here are the rules:Write a post about this contest which includes this line with links:Angela at mommy bytes is giving away six HP Photo Books.In your post, suggest a photo book theme and include a picture if you like.Post a comment here with a link to your blog post and which size book you... More About: Contest
Photo Hunters - Pink
2007-10-27 07:46:00 Here's Dova pretty in pink on a pink piggy. More About: Photo , Pink , Hunters , Hunt
Wordless Wednesday - Go Sox!
2007-10-24 05:16:00 Image from The Boston Globe Store More About: Wednesday
Toy Recalls Aren't All Bad
2007-10-23 23:36:00 Recently, there have been a rash of recalls for lead-tainted toys from China. There has been a huge backlash and boycott against products from China, which I don't necessarily agree with. The mob mentality where French Fries must be called Freedom Fries is totally ridiculous. Assuming that ALL Chinese toys are filled with lead is equally asinine. Sure, Chinese toys are cheap and usually low quality, but most toys are only "temporary" in that they will eventually be given away or donated and don't need to saved to pass down through the generations. Perhaps I am recalling my own bad experience as a baby with a wooden high chair. The babies of my parents' friends had nice cushioned plastic high chairs while I had a hard flat wooden one because it was solid wood and better quality. I didn't care about quality, it was too hard! And it never got saved for my kids (perhaps because of my reaction - could this be why I like cheap plastic toys?). Ironically, Dova seems to prefer ...
Friday Fun
2007-10-20 06:50:00 I had so much fun with the last batch of JibJab videos, I couldn't resist doing the latest Night of the Living Democrats (at least now I get to see all the work I did to rubberband our mouths):Over the summer when the Simpsons movie came out, I Simpsonized myself at the The Simpsons Movie site and the Burger King site. And lastly, for good measure, I South Park'ed myself: More About: Friday
Photo Hunters - Practical
2007-10-20 02:57:00 Practical joke that is!! One of these instrument from my former company was on a FedEx plane that exploded so it was heavily investigated by the TSA (eventually found not to be at fault). This is one is a serious of photos from the "Hall of Dead Instruments" which you can find here:Hall of Dead Instruments More About: Photo , Hunters , Hunt
From Victim, To Bully, To Protector
2007-10-19 06:14:00 Adam is always running to get on the bus, so I was lucky to catch this action shot of him (hmm, why isn't the kid catcher open? he is way below the line of sight of the driver). A few weeks ago, we heard about an incident on the bus and it was nearly impossible to get the straight story. He came home complaining about a girl on the bus who kept hitting him and it really hurt. Doug was furious that such behavior wasn't stopped by the bus driver. Adam claimed that he kept asking her to stop and she kept pounding him. Doug told him to make sure he tells the bus driver next time and threatened to call the bus company if anything like this happened again.When I got home and heard the story, I was less enraged than Doug and a little more skeptical of Adam's story. I asked him whether he did something to this girl which caused her to hit him. He said that he took a toy away from her. What?!? And then we heard that this girl is only in Kindergarten. Now we started to worry tha... More About: Bully , Protector , Victim
iTunes Store vs. Amazon MP3
2007-10-19 05:05:00 I love my iPod and iTunes, but I am extremely wary about purchasing music from the iTunes Store . Like everyone, I hate DRM and would rather hunt elsewhere to buy an MP3. I've been able to strip all my iTunes purchased songs using QTFairUse6 but that's a pain. For classical music, I usually buy the CD so I don't get the watered down bitrate. But my CD shelves are getting a full and I've found that I never listen to anything but my iPod anymore.Until now, I never had a one-stop place to look DRM-free MP3s. I'm sure Amazon has had their MP3 store for ages, but I just assumed it was just as pricey as iTunes (yes I am so cheap that I think $0.99 per song is pricey). But when I got this email from them detailing their store offerings, I took a another look.Amazon MP3 offers Earth's biggest selection of a la carte, DRM-free MP3 music downloads. With over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels, Amazon MP3 complements Amaz... More About: Itunes
Thursday Thirteen #18 - Myths about Breast Cancer
2007-10-18 05:20:00 Thirteen common myths and fears about breast cancer.You only get breast cancer if you have a family history. Although having a family history can increase your risk, 80% to 85% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. Even if no one in your family has ever been diagnosed, you should not skip your yearly mammogram starting at age 40.I'm too young to worry about breast cancer. The disease is more common in post-menopausal women, but 25% of women with breast cancer are younger than 50. At the same time, you're never too old to get breast cancer. If you feel a lump at any age, have it checked out.If I'm diagnosed with breast cancer, it means I'm going to die. When caught early, up to 98 percent of women survive at least five years. The 10-year survival rate is 85% to 90%.If I make it five years as a survivor, my breast cancer won't return. Breast cancer can recur at any time, although it is more likely to happen within the first 5 to 10 years: 75% of ... More About: Cancer , Myths , Breast Cancer , Thirteen
Super Fundraiser Vote
2007-10-16 05:26:00 Here's my vote for the Super Fundraiser 's writing contest:Inside the PTO Secret Society by Angela - that's me of course The Seven Wonders of the World by Rachelle - a heartwarming story reminiscing about school days Back to School and Beat those Bullies by Nigel - a good primer on bullies. Definitely something I will keep in mind now that my kids are school age.Check out these posts and as well as the other contestants at Super Fundraiser and vote on your favorites. More About: Vote
The Google Interview
2007-10-15 05:02:00 A couple years ago, there were some HR trolls or maybe some some resume bots that figured out that I went to MIT and that I was a software engineer from my blog (yes, this one). A recruiter from Google emailed me asking me whether I'd be interested in a position at Google. Um yes, isn't that every software developer's dream? That initial contact didn't amount to anything as there was no local office, but they called again recently when an office opened in Cambridge, MA. My initial phone interviews went great where I kibitzed with the HR recruiter. But they sniffed me out as a faker during the technical phone interview. It's not that I don't know how to program, but having no formal education (let's just say MIT's first programming class 6.001 made me swear never to be a SW engineer), I sometimes leave some of the nitty gritty technical details to magic. Since the software application I'm currently developing for work looks great and works beautifully, this is all I... More About: Interview , The Go , The G
Photo Hunters - Smelly
2007-10-13 15:06:00 Dova and Adam thought the petting area of Long Island's Wild Animal Farm was too smelly. Eventually Dova got over it and petted a deer but Adam stayed put and refused to participate. More About: Photo , Hunters , Hunt , Melly
Photo Hunters - Curvy
2007-10-06 04:12:00 Here's a two-fer, a curvy picture for Photo Hunt ers and a baby bump picture for 5 Minutes for Mom. I'm too late for the contest, but I'm still joining the cyber baby shower party. Adam is posing with me showing off his "baby" in his belly. I was two weeks from delivering Dova. At this point, the doctor said she was about to pop anytime as I was already 3 cm dilated. But she held on through her due date (Christmas Day) and was induced the next day. Two weeks before this, the ultrasound showed that she was only about 25th percentile in size, at about 5.25 pounds, so I gave myself license to eat like crazy the last month. I had been on a "watch your carbs" diet because Adam was so large (9 lb. 8 oz.). She was born at 90th percentile at 8 lb. 11 oz. so either I did a great job eating or they really don't know what they're talking about with those ultrasounds (I think the latter). Either way, we are blessed with two healthy solid kids thanks to that huge baby oven.
The mug, the picture frame and my phone
2007-10-06 02:17:00 It could be a title for an eclectic movie such as The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover. I had once suggested this movie to Doug and a friend long ago because Helen Mirren starred in it. The movie was so disgusting and vile, they forever banned me from picking out movies. But I digress. This photo is actually a contest entry for Mommy Community's Scavenger Hunt contest. Check out the cool stuffed dog prize.Adam expertly took this picture of Dova and myself. My parents gave me this mug as a Christmas gift when I was in high school and is still my favorite. The picture frame was bought for Adam so he could have a family portrait in his room. Of course we've never updated the picture to include his sister. And you all know about my beloved iPhone ...Speaking of the iPhone, here's a quick update. I've been using the iPhone on my bike rides and it is working really well. I can use the side volume buttons to adjust the volume (they removed these buttons from the iPod ... More About: Picture , Frame , Picture Frame
Go Pink!
2007-10-05 04:54:00 If you're on RSS, come visit me as I've gone pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can too! And guys, don't roll your eyes, because it does affect men as well. Check out Pink ForOctober.org for other sites going pink this month.
Thursday Thirteen #18 - Join the Gal to Gal Virtual Walk
2007-10-04 06:10:00 Here are some great reasons to join Gal to Gal Virtual Walk to improve the lives of those diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer.It takes only 3 minutes to log onto www.galtogalwalk.org and create your virtual walker to join this journey. Only a $3 minimum donation to join the walk.There is no real walking required!There are no sponsors required!Their goal is to register 1 million walkers over the month of October to raise funds for Stage IV breast cancer patients through the Gal to Gal Foundation.Celebrities such as Martha Stewart and Lynn Redgrave are already walking.On Monday, October 1st (the first day of breast cancer awareness month) we began our journey in Boston in honor of Robin Bloksberg who passed away at 45 after losing her brave battle to Stage IV - leaving behind a wonderful husband and a six year old daughter.Today we are walking in Baltimore MD and will visit 31 cities in total along the way.We cross the "finish line" on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in memo... More About: Join , Thirteen , Thursday
Be Happy Without Being Perfect
2007-09-30 06:19:00 I was interviewed for the book, Be Happy Without Being Perfect : How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception. I'm not sure whether my interview actually made it into the book, but I will definitely be picking up a copy to check out. Pre-order yours today!Unfortunately, Adam suffers from perfectionism as well. Part of his homework is to record the number of minutes that he reads every night. He likes to write down the exact number of minutes according to his digital clock, usually around 14-18 minutes (been whizzing through his books). One night, he failed to note the starting time, so he didn't know exactly how long he had been reading. He got all upset that he wouldn't be able to record the exact number of minutes and it was too late to start over. He was so besides himself that no amount of comforting or reasoning would help him. I told him it was OK to "estimate" the time, like when he estimated objects in kindergarten. Finally after about an hour, I came up with ...
Inside the PTO Secret Society
2007-09-29 05:21:00 Now that I officially have school age children, I finally got to attend a PTO meeting. Of course, this is no big deal to most parents, but ever since a faux pas I made in grade school, I've always wondered what it was all about. My mom is an accomplished professor and researcher and I had always assumed that her work was more important than anything else. So when my teacher in 1st or 2nd grade asked the students to let their parents know that there was a PTA (it was "association" as opposed to "organization" back then) meeting, I responded, "My mom is too busy for that" and never told her about it. Of course she was furious to hear what I had said and to this day I am reminded about the incident.So it was finally my turn to attend a PTO meeting. Luckily an information sheet went home with the kids as teachers have learned not to trust them to bring home information verbally (maybe I had a sheet which I threw out?). I was not very pleased with the meeting schedule as it alterna... More About: Society , Secret , Inside , Secret Society
HTML Speak
More articles from this author:2007-09-28 02:18:00 Since when did HTML / XML syntax enter popular culture? Here are two pictures that I love being a geek and relatively proficient at writing such gibberish.From I Can Have Cheezburger and The Thinking Blog. More About: Speak , Html 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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