Photos, Kindles, Hovers, And Links

Saucerers
by Denise Howell

• I took about 300 photos off my camera today, the intrepid saucerers being one of my favorites. Leo hired a social media assistant; I need a family photo editing and distribution assistant. (I need one so badly I — regrettably! — take no video, because the aftermath of shooting is just too time-intensive.)
• Bag and Baggage's Kindle page got updated to match the blog's new look.
• Elliot Noss taught me the geekiest equivalent yet for "I'll be busy then" — namely, "I'll be raiding."
• Elliot also has me intrigued by his personalized domain shortening/customizing/forwarding tool, Hover.com. Like your own tinyurl service, with a nifty bookmarklet too. It's not free but this link gets you 10% off.
• Speaking of which, check out Mashable's 5 Very Weird URL Shorteners, and list of 90 not so weird ones.
• More must-reads from Mashable: How to Use Facebook Privacy Settings and Avoid Disaster, and Should Your Company Have a Social Media Policy?
• Bought: Rip, A Remix Manifesto. ($9.99 on iTunes, or you can pay what you'd like.)
• MagCloud looks like a cool roll-your-own-magazine tool; I can think of a dozen possible client, school, team, and family uses — because magazines are still cool when you make them yourself. More at Lifehacker.
• Exploring: Feedmil (via Lifehacker)
• Quote of the Day: Cory Doctorow, "Their long arm of the law has stretched all the way around the internet to spank themselves in the ass." (Re Warner Music to Warner Music:  You are Pirates!  Is there a Web site devoted to these debacles yet?)
• Quote of the Day, first runner up: Douglas Rushkoff, "[T]he community of Park Slope first thought to protect its brand instead of its people." Rushkoff's forthcoming Life, Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take it Back looks like a super complement to the forthcoming 10th Anniversary Edition of The Cluetrain Manifesto, and he says he'll post "most or perhaps all" of it over the next two weeks at Boing Boing.

Pick Up The Note In Front Of The Planetarium

Myst
Originally uploaded by SilentObserver

The advent of Myst for the iPhone/iPod Touch has me remembering the first computer I bought for myself, an IBM PS/2 — check out John C. Dvorak circa 1987 being young, cranky, and perhaps about to burst forth with Rocky Mountain High? starting at 10:56 of that video — with AOL, CompuServe, and a mile-high stack of CD-ROMS like King's Quest (V, I think?) and Encarta (RIP).

Also loved Stewart Cheifet's Computer Chronicles. (Hi Stewart on Twitter, just followed you.) Episode 932 is a great snapshot of early '90's computer games, and oh, the exuberance for the old skool graphics!

"Is this coverage of the Winter Olympics or is this me actually skiing downhill??"

Reality Check

thoughtful
Originally uploaded by
The Spohrs Are
Multiplying...

I was having a mellow Sunday, finishing the American Lawyer column I started in February on work life balance in a dismal economy (the writing-for-print lead times continue to boggle me), thinking about things like how grateful I am for the person who came up with adjustable waist kids' pants...

...when I stumbled across the story of Madeline Alice Spohr, daughter of Heather and Mike Spohr.  She died last month, after a difficult gestation, premature birth, and giving her family 17 months of joy. The family has been raising money for the March of Dimes in Maddie's name for some time; they ask that we continue to help them do so.  The desolation of losing a child...my head cannot begin to wrap itself around it. My deepest sadness and condolences to their family.

Parental Pet Peeves (And Letting Them Go)

Shout 2
Originally uploaded by andrew_mc_d

Child:  "I'm so, like, gonna have a popsicle." (Thank you Zack, Cody, Hannah, and Sonny.)

"Poop poop poop. Butt butt butt. Poop poop poop. Butt butt butt." (The Terrible Twos have nothing on the Fecal Fives.)

"Say it loud: 'I am a dirtbag!'" (Don't ever watch Over the Hedge if you're not ok with hearing this constantly thereafter.)

"Can I have another cup? This one's stupid." (Thank you Lucy van Pelt.)

Parent: "NICE WORDS, PLEASE..."

You can't stash them away in one of those "Altered States" isolation tanks, it's neither legal nor kind. You can't constantly police this stuff, life's too short and you have better people to be than an insufferable nag.  Personally, I'm keeping close at hand the expression on my kid's face when he orchestrated a thoughtful surprise, and pushing the "That's enough!!!!" line back a few more ticks.

New Digs On Squarespace

Thanks so much to Krystyn Heide for Bag and Baggage's new look and all the help with the move to Squarespace!